The Red Era, the Opening University Speech

Chapter 6: Marry a Prettier College Student
three days later.

Li Mu lay on the bed, staring blankly at the dark old roof.

The cold wind whizzed into the room through the window cracks, and even the quilt couldn't keep out the chill.

"What a horrible weather." Li Mu tightened the quilt and cursed in his heart.

His eyes accidentally glanced at the calendar on the wall again, and the particularly eye-catching numbers 1960 once again reminded Li Mu of the era he was living in.

In the second year of the three-year difficult period, everyone was hungry and had to tighten their belts.

"I can't go back!" Li Mu gradually accepted the fact of time travel.

Li Mu also sighed and lamented about the difficult times that were only recorded in words in later generations, but when he actually lived in that era, he realized what it was like to not even have enough to eat.

After lying at home for three days, Li Mu tried to find a way back through the chat page.

But nothing was found.

I can only accept the reality, pretend to be sick to delay time, and think about the lightning avoidance plan.

Lightning avoidance plan!

It is to solve the problem of how to fool the other party when you suddenly encounter an acquaintance from your previous life without exposing your own ignorance.

The most perfect result, of course, is not to meet acquaintances from the previous life. Otherwise, no matter how good the plan is, accidents are bound to happen.

Thinking of this, Li Mu was very distressed:
“School is a huge minefield!”

"Those classmates who spend every day with each other will notice something is wrong if they don't pay attention."

"And the teacher in class, what if I am asked to answer a question and I can't answer it once, but what about two, three, or four times?"

"Unless I can find a reason to explain my change." Li Mu thought secretly.

In psychology, it is normal for people’s personalities and behaviors to change when they go through big changes.

But Li Mu did not start the game by offering sacrifice to the gods with his entire family, so this would not work.

"Or...broken heart?"

Li Mu's eyes suddenly lit up.

This is a good idea.

"But the relationship between men and women in this era is not like that of later generations. I have to plan carefully..."

"Ding~"

A message alert suddenly rang in my mind.

It's Ask.

Li Mu stopped his plan and silently said "appear", and a chat window appeared in his field of vision.

This is a new method he discovered to call out to the chat page, so he can chat without closing his eyes.

Ask: "Lee, I followed your method and caught a really big fish! Hahahaha... [Picture] *jpg."

There is also a picture of a big fish under the information.

"It's great to have this achievement for the first time." Li Mu looked at the photos and praised them generously.

Over the past three days, occasional chatting and gossiping with Ask became one of Li Mu's few pleasures.

As for when his family members came over, Li Mu pretended to be unwell to deal with it.

Ask: "Li, do you have time to play games? I just learned a new hero."

After chatting for a while, Ask sent a game invitation.

Li Mu wanted to play games, but he didn’t even have a mobile phone, so how could he play?
"Let's fight again later. I'll teach you the Xia country's method of cooking fish..." Li Mu changed the subject.

Ask: "Ah! Xiaguo food? I can't do that. I only know how to spread butter on bread!"

Li Mu smiled. Most foreign dishes were not tasty. Unlike Xia Country, there were many ways to cook fish, such as steaming, braising, and boiling...

"Gurgle~" As Li Mu was thinking about it, his stomach started to growl.

“Hungry…” Li Mu stared at the roof in a daze.

"Cough, cough, cough..." A familiar cough and rustling footsteps were heard outside the door.

Li Mu quickly lay down.

After a while, the door was opened with a creaky sound.

A cold wind blew in.

A short, hunchbacked old woman in her sixties or seventies wearing a patched grey cotton coat came in, holding a bowl of cornmeal and two sweet potatoes and placing them on the small table. She was the old woman who brought Li Mu back three days ago, and also the grandmother of the previous incarnation.

"Xiao Mu, it's time to eat."

Cornmeal and sweet potatoes again!

They ate cornmeal and sweet potatoes every day. The cornmeal was not ground as finely as it is today, and the cornbread made from it was so coarse that it hurt your throat when you swallow it.

Li Mu rejected it in his heart, but his stomach was honestly expressing its opinion by growling.

Seeing that Li Mu didn't move, Grandma Li carefully took out two cooked eggs from her pocket and whispered in a low voice:

"There are eggs today, get up and eat them."

Li Mu sat up from the bed and looked at Grandma Li, who was full of worry. He stammered for a long time but didn't say the word "Grandma".
"I, I'm not hungry, you eat!"

Grandma Li's eyes became more worried. She walked forward and stuffed two hot eggs into Li Mu's hands:
"Ahem, what nonsense are you talking about? I know you love your grandma and want me to eat it."

"Grandma has already eaten. Well, these two eggs are reserved for you!"

Grandma Li is not in good health and has been taking medicine all year round. She coughs and wheezes when she gets excited or speaks.

Li Mu's lips moved, and he became more and more afraid to face the old man's concern. He was just a future soul who had occupied the old man's nest!
"Ah——" A soft cry suddenly came from the door.

The two little guys, one high and one low, stuck their heads out and accidentally fell to the ground.

They didn't care about the pain, they quickly got up from the ground, one pushing the other and running away: "Run, run!"

These are his uncle's two daughters.

Li Mu was stunned for a moment when he saw them.

Even when the two sisters fell, they stared at the eggs in his hand and swallowed their saliva.
Holding the egg, Li Mu felt uncomfortable.

It is really hard for people in later generations to imagine what kind of life people lived in that era when they had to wait for a long time to eat an egg.

His parents died in an accident while working in a factory two years ago, leaving only six people in the family.

My grandmother has no job, my aunt is a temporary worker, my uncle works in a glass factory, and he is in college and receives government subsidies and living expenses.

In fact, life was relatively comfortable before, but when the three-year disaster hit, Grandma Li had to take medicine all year round, so life became very difficult.

Eating eggs has become a luxury.

"The two girls are just greedy. They want to eat more after they've already eaten. Your aunt doesn't even watch over them!" Grandma Li wanted Li Mu to eat the eggs peacefully, so she explained in a nagging manner.

Suddenly there was a commotion outside, with loud gongs and drums, and firecrackers, it was very lively.

"What's going on outside? Why is it so noisy?" Li Mu took the opportunity to get out of bed, break free from the heart-wrenching unfamiliar family affection, walked to the table, picked up a steamed sweet potato and took a bite.

You have to eat it even if it tastes bad, it’s better than going hungry!
"It seems that the man from the next door yard is getting married. I heard that she is a girl from the countryside. She is pretty. No wonder the boy from the Jia family likes her. He is a worker in a steel mill..."

Grandma Li was relieved when she saw her grandson start to eat, and she smiled again: "Our Xiao Mu is so outstanding, he will definitely marry a more beautiful college student as his daughter-in-law in the future."

People get married early these days, and many college students are also married. It’s just that Grandma Li wants Li Mu to marry a good wife, so she has been delaying it.

Li Mu smiled awkwardly and said nothing.

Grandma Li thought Li Mu was shy, so she didn't ask any more questions and said:

"Someone from your school came to ask about your condition yesterday. I came in and saw you were asleep, so I said it was nothing serious and sent him back."

"Xiao Mu, are you still feeling bad today?"

"If you feel uncomfortable, just rest for a few more days and go back to school after you recover."

"I'm much better now. Which teacher is here?"

After eating the sweet potato, Li Mu began to eat the cornmeal steamed bread with difficulty.

"It seemed like it was a teacher named Zhuang, who said he was a teacher in your mechanical engineering department." Grandma Li recalled.

She could not read or write, but she was extremely proud of her eldest grandson who was attending college, and she remembered everything related to him, big and small, very clearly.

"Oh, it's Teacher Zhuang."

Li Mu responded as if he was very familiar with Teacher Zhuang, but in fact he had no idea what this person looked like.

After thinking for a while, Li Mu said, "I'm much better now. I'll go to class tomorrow. I can't miss too many classes."

The planning is almost done, now it’s time to take action!

"Okay, then Xiao Mu, you should rest more so that you can have enough energy for class tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Grandma Li felt relieved and a smile appeared on her wrinkled face.

(End of this chapter)