1970s: Hot wife accompanies the army, cold-faced rough man is not easy to tease

Chapter 298 Hometown Association

After class that day, Professor Hopkins called Lu Youyou over.

"Lu, there's an academic forum at Columbia University next week. Would you like to go?"

"Of course, is there anything I need to prepare?" She certainly wouldn't miss such an opportunity.

"I'll be giving a keynote speech at the forum, how about you take charge of the introduction?"

Lu Youyou was taken aback: "You mean you want me to go up and speak?"

The professor smiled, his trust evident in his eyes: "What, lack of confidence?"

Lu Youyou was naturally confident, but she didn't expect the professor to give her this opportunity.

Even if the school can't find a satisfactory student, there are many talented people in the lab. If it were based on seniority, an international student would definitely not get a chance.

Since the professor trusts her, she certainly won't let him down.

"Don't worry, I'll do a good job."

Hopkins smiled and said, "Come with me, I'll give you the information."

If he didn't really have faith in them, he certainly had plenty of other candidates.

That's because he likes students like Lu Youyou—capable, confident, and always bringing surprises to the tasks he assigns her.

The two walked together to the parking lot, where Professor Hopkins took a bound booklet from the car.

"This is the forum material. Take a look when you get back. I'm going to talk about the lab's recent research projects. You can give a brief introduction, about ten to fifteen minutes will do."

As the two were chatting, two acquaintances passed by in the distance.

"Hey, isn't that Lu Youyou?"

Yu Qingtian caught a glimpse of the golden thigh she hadn't seen in a long time and was immediately unable to move.

Li Mingyue, standing beside her, had a slight glint in her eyes. She had noticed it earlier than Yu Qingtian and had been silently observing it for quite some time.

The two underwent several months of language training before enrolling, but all their longing for a new life was worn down in just a few days.

The situation for international students here is really not good. Even Chinese immigrants are mostly not close to them. Yu Qingtian and Li Mingyue can't stand each other, but they have no choice but to stick together for warmth.

Yu Qingtian wanted to find Lu Youyou, but Stanford was huge and Lu Youyou was getting busier and busier, so they never ran into each other.

They were both surprised to see Lu Youyou chatting casually with a professor-looking man.

Li Mingyue goes without saying, but even someone as naturally outgoing as Yu Qingtian is hesitant to communicate with teachers. When she does communicate, it's like a primary school student facing their homeroom teacher, unable to even open their mouth.

The two of them had the same idea: since they had finally met, they had to talk to Lu Youyou today.

The two waited by the roadside for five minutes before Hopkins finally drove away. Coincidentally, someone else arrived with Lu Youyou.

Yu Qingtian couldn't help but feel envious. She didn't think that the "golden thigh" was particularly cheerful and talkative. How could he communicate with foreigners so smoothly?

A few minutes later, after everyone had finally left, Yu Qingtian immediately waved and ran over, calling out, "Lu, long time no see!"

Li Mingyue followed, smiling shyly: "Hello, Lu!"

"It's you guys, long time no see." Lu Youyou smiled and nodded.

She was so busy that she almost forgot that there were several fellow countrymen who had come to Stanford with her.

Yu Qingtian said excitedly, "Lu, are you busy? How about we have lunch together?"

After exchanging greetings, Li Mingyue didn't know what to say next. She thought she had forgotten the embarrassing incident at the airport, but seeing Lu Youyou again brought back the memory.

Lu Youyou was indifferent; she had originally planned to buy a sandwich to eat at home anyway.

"How about we go to the cafeteria next door?" Yu Qingtian smiled broadly. "Sure, sure! I've never been to this cafeteria before, so I'll give it a try."

The prepared excuses were useless; I thought I'd have to be shameless and pester them for a while!

Li Mingyue breathed a sigh of relief; if she were alone, she would only be able to watch Lu Youyou pass by.

"Were those two your classmates just now? I'm so envious. I can't even recognize everyone in my class anymore."

Yu Qingtian couldn't even wait for dinner; on the way, she couldn't wait to tell everyone about her frustrations since starting school, including being isolated and being mocked for her "mute" English.

"Lu, do you have any tips for practicing spoken English? When I talk to foreigners, my mind goes blank, and I can't say what I've thought of."

"Didn't you practice spoken English in your language training?"

"Well, I did practice, but when I got here I realized it wasn't like that at all. Everyone talks like a machine gun, and I forget what I heard before after hearing the later part." Yu Qingtian said somewhat embarrassedly.

Li Mingyue pricked up her ears; her situation was similar. Even if she could barely understand, she made many grammatical errors when replying.

She was one of the best English speakers in China, but when she got to the United States, it turned out she didn't even have a kindergarten level of English.

While they were still confused and at a loss, Lu Youyou was already thriving, making it hard for Li Mingyue not to be jealous.

Lu Youyou frankly said, "Listen more, speak more, and don't be afraid of making mistakes."

Unlike mathematics, foreign languages ​​are not something that can be learned and practiced diligently. Even reading the newspaper every day for a month will inevitably lead to improvement.

The method is a bit clumsy, but it's perfect for international students who are short on cash.

Li Mingyue felt that Lu Youyou was hiding her true abilities. If reading newspapers was useful, why hadn't her English improved when she read textbooks every day?
But she didn't dare to object directly, so she could only hope that Yu Qingtian could get more information out of her.

Yu Qingtian didn't feel cheated, but she just couldn't believe the method was so simple.

Is reading newspapers really useful?

"Yes, read it aloud, just like reading aloud from a textbook."

"But I'm afraid they'll laugh at my accent..."

"Don't worry, most Americans can understand you, and Indians have even stronger accents, but you can still communicate."

Although Yu Qingtian found it outrageous, she still decided to listen to the golden thigh.

Li Mingyue didn't dare to ask too many questions. He decided to wait and see how Yu Qingtian fared. He couldn't keep up with her studies, so he didn't have time to waste on useless efforts.

She subtly nudged the person next to her, mouthing a reminder that she shouldn't forget the important matter.

Yu Qingtian cleared her throat: "Hey Lu, have you ever heard of the hometown association?"

"no, what happened?"

"It's an exchange event organized by Chinese students at Stanford. Most of the international students from the past few years have been there. Do you want to join?"

Yu Qingtian looked at Lu Youyou with pleading eyes, eager for her to agree immediately.

The hometown association not only includes international students, but also several government-sponsored visiting scholars; basically all the Chinese students at Stanford University are in it.

Yu Qingtian had long wanted to recruit a powerful figure into the group, and only today did she finally have the opportunity.

Seeing that Lu Youyou did not respond immediately, a hint of urgency appeared in Li Mingyue's eyes.

The hometown association is just a very loose mutual aid group, and even visiting scholars at Stanford don't have much influence.

She still remembers the scene when Zhao Xiang had a private conversation with Lu Youyou on the day she arrived. Lu Youyou was no ordinary person at all, and joining the hometown association would only bring her benefits.

She tentatively suggested, "There's a gathering this weekend, Lu, would you like to come and join us?"

Yu Qingtian also said, "Yes, come and take a look first. Consider it a gathering of compatriots. Whether you want to join or not, you can decide after you've seen it."