I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 171Book 2: : Retired but Rehired

Vol 2 Chapter 171: Retired but Rehired

“There sure are more and more people in the nursing home.”

Old Bai said this with a slightly odd tone.

Zheng Fa glanced sideways—sure enough, Old Bai looked a little uneasy.

Or rather… a bit down.

He looked over at Tang Mu Dao beside him and saw a similar expression on his face.

Suddenly, it all clicked—Elder Hou’s arrival was a good thing for the nursing home.

But… it made Old Bai and the others feel a little awkward.

For example, when it came to agricultural experiments, they used to rely on Teacher Tian.

But now, working with Team Leader Yang’s group, Zheng Fa could basically get in touch with any of the country’s top scholars.

In a way, the nursing home had developed too fast, and the old crew was afraid they were becoming obsolete.

“Professor Bai, there’s something I’d like to ask of you—actually, ask of all of you,”

Zheng Fa suddenly said.

“What is it?”

Sure enough, Old Bai’s eyes lit up as he eagerly asked.

“I need some... textbooks that integrate Immortal Dao concepts with modern technology.”

“For example, the relationship between talisman diagrams and topology—ideally starting from the most basic math knowledge.”

“And then,” Zheng Fa looked at Tang Mu Dao beside him, “things like the connection between thunder techniques and electromagnetism—again, written from the ground up.”

“And also agriculture, and artificial intelligence...”

After Zheng Fa finished, Old Bai looked a bit puzzled. “You want us to write that?”

“Only you. You’re the only ones who understand both sides… it has to be you.”

Zheng Fa spoke with genuine sincerity.

Senior Sister Zhang had said she’d write textbooks. Zheng Fa didn’t doubt her brilliance—

but writing a textbook was a whole separate skill.

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Especially textbooks for beginners.

What came naturally to Senior Sister Zhang, without even thinking, might be an enormous hurdle for others.

Even though Old Bai and the others were university professors and might also struggle with elementary education, they still had a lot more experience teaching.

More importantly—

the moment Old Bai heard those words, the look of disappointment on his face visibly faded.

He was clearly intrigued now.

“What are you going to use these textbooks for?”

he asked.

“To become an academician of the nursing home,” Zheng Fa grinned, “you’ll first need to publish your works!”

“The modern cultivation system—your name has to be written into its foundation!”

The moment he heard that, Old Bai’s eyes lit up even more. He rubbed his hands together, grinning like a fool, clearly lost in a little fantasy.

Zheng Fa watched him and smiled, shaking his head.

“There’s one more thing,” he added after a pause, “Regarding our future collaboration with Team Leader Yang and her people, I want to divide it into sections, each overseen by one of you.”

“Hmm?”

“For example, all math-related topics—you’ll be the point of contact.” Zheng Fa said, “One, because of your academic depth, and two, because you now understand cultivation.”

“Teacher Tang will handle the physics-related research.”

“And Teacher Tian, naturally, will be in charge of agriculture.”

Zheng Fa laid out his plan.

Old Bai caught on. “Like a think tank?”

“Exactly. Don’t worry about not having anything to do, Professor Bai…” Zheng Fa laughed, “There’s plenty to do!”

This wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment idea.

Working with the government meant access to many more resources.

But it also meant a lot more responsibility—actually, way more.

How to communicate with all kinds of people, how to manage topics, how to structure collaboration—

these were all complicated matters, and frankly, areas Zheng Fa was weak in.

But people like Old Bai had years of experience in these things.

Even if they weren’t quite at the level of the experts Team Leader Yang brought in, they’d have no trouble communicating.

In fact, Zheng Fa didn’t fully trust those experts from Yang’s team. Cooperation was cooperation, but their interests would never fully align.

It was people like Old Bai he trusted most—

with them overseeing certain projects and people, Zheng Fa could rest easy.

“This workload…” Old Bai muttered, mouth slightly agape. Clearly, he knew it wouldn’t be easy. But he wasn’t discouraged anymore—just grumbling, “I’m already retired!”

“You’ve already started cultivating—can’t you delay your retirement a little?”

Zheng Fa grinned.

“...Kid, if nothing else, you’ve got a real knack for leadership!”

Zheng Fa had just opened his mouth to reply when he suddenly turned his head toward the entrance of the nursing home.

...

“Who is this Zheng Fa guy?”

Aunt Ye was getting a headache listening to her husband mumble nervously non-stop. “Didn’t I tell you already? He’s Lingwu’s classmate!”

“You don’t get it!” Tang Lingwu’s father said firmly. “Do you know how many big officials I’ve met just this month?”

“I’m telling you—projects I never would’ve dreamed of getting before, people are now coming straight to me, asking for me by name!”

“You think that’s just some regular high schooler? Lingwu knowing Zheng Fa has been great for business!”

Even Aunt Ye was starting to feel a little nervous—

She’d known Zheng Fa was a bit special, but had always just thought of him as someone with some mysterious medical skills or something.

But now, with all these changes, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

“He was really polite before, always treating me with the respect due an elder… had a good personality too.”

Aunt Ye couldn’t help but say.

“Maybe that was him hiding his identity!” Tang Lingwu’s dad shot back. “Now he’s not hiding anymore… and we’d better stop acting like we’re some kind of elder to him.”

Hearing her husband’s words, Aunt Ye slowly nodded—

That… actually made some sense.

“And another thing, why do you think Lingwu’s been keeping me from coming here?” Tang Lingwu’s father frowned.

“Huh?”

“Maybe she was worried we’d offend someone… or maybe that this person didn’t want to see us. I heard he’s pretty proud.”

“...” Aunt Ye frowned, “Doesn’t seem like it, though?”

But Tang Lingwu’s dad had the look of someone who knew. His expression was full of certainty.

“...”

Just as they arrived at the entrance of the nursing home, Aunt Ye exclaimed, “Zheng Fa?”

Tang Lingwu’s father looked ahead.

There stood their daughter, beside a young man, waiting at the nursing home gate.

That young man could only be Zheng Fa.

Recalling everything that had happened lately, Tang Lingwu’s father pursed his lips.

His throat felt dry.

In his eyes, Zheng Fa was practically glowing.

There were some things he didn’t even dare to say to his own wife—

He had looked into Zheng Fa’s background, asking a well-connected figure he happened to know.

But after a brief inquiry, that person was warned off…

He was only told one thing:

“There are people who can’t even get a meeting with Zheng Fa—he’s turned them down outright.”

The implications of that had left Tang Lingwu’s father feeling extremely uneasy,

and made Zheng Fa seem even more unfathomable in his mind.

Just as he got out of the car, he heard Zheng Fa say, “Aunt Ye, this must be Uncle Tang?”

His tone was quite friendly, and he even extended a hand toward him.

Tang Lingwu’s father, a bit dazed, reached out and shook it.

“Welcome to our nursing home, please come in.”

Tang Lingwu’s father hadn’t expected Zheng Fa to actually treat him as an elder…

He gave his daughter a strange look, staring at her little face—

and for a moment, he actually started to wonder:

Did I give birth to a Daji or something?

But she doesn’t even seem that clever!