A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 89 The Girl in the County

"Feed? Fan Bingbing."

"Brother Li? — Brother Li!?"

Fan Bingbing's somewhat hurried voice rang out, the first syllable a tentative one, followed by a complex mix of relief and doubt.

"Yes, I'm here. What's up?"

"Are you alright? Where are you? In China? Or in the United States?"

Upon hearing this, Li Mu knew what she wanted to ask, so he said, "I'm fine. I'm still in New York, but don't worry, I didn't go to the Twin Towers, so I'm safe and sound."

"Ah? — Phew, that's good. You scared me to death!"

Last night, Fan Taobing attended a drinking party and drank too much. She went home and fell asleep immediately. She just woke up and saw the news, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"When are you coming back? — Come back soon, it's not safe over there."

"I'd like to, but flights to New York are already closed. And—Fan Ye, which news channel were you watching?"

"CCTV! I just saw it, such a big thing happened!"

"Didn't you see my live interview?"

"----ah?"

Fan Taobing was a little confused, not understanding what he meant: "Live interview? Brother Li, weren't you going to attend an investment conference?"

"I was actually at the scene when the accident happened—"

After Li Mu's words, Fan Bing was silent for two seconds before uttering another thought-provoking question: "Huh??????"

moment.

"Phew—that scared me to death. So, Brother Li, where are you now? At a hotel? Is the hotel safe? Please don't stay on a high floor! Get someone to change your room right away!"

"I left the hotel a long time ago. I'm staying at a friend's house in New York, away from Manhattan, in Queens."

"That's good—oh dear, you have no idea how worried I was. I called you as soon as I finished reading the news."

"That's it!"

"Ha, thank you."

Li Mu sincerely thanked him and then finished the last bite of the pork chop.

Hearing the sound of cutlery, Fan Bing asked, "Brother Li, what are you doing now?"

"Time to eat. I've been busy all day, and I'm finally having a meal."

"Oh, you can cook?"

"Hmm, well—"

Fan Taobing had only asked casually, but when Li Mu looked at his almost perfectly balanced pan-fried pork chop, he instantly smiled with a sense of novelty and pride and said, "My cooking skills are excellent."

"Huh, really?"

Upon learning that Li Mu was alright, Fan Bing, who also breathed a sigh of relief, asked with a smile, "So confident?"

"Of course! I'll make it for you when I have the chance, and then you'll see."

"Hehe, it's a deal then. I'll have to try it sometime!"

The two chatted for a while before hanging up the phone.

After Li Mu finished washing the dishes, he received another call from Bie Yan: "Xiao Li, I've sent your number to your phone. Contact him. This is the director of the news department at Guangdong Radio and Television. You two can discuss the interview arrangements."

"Okay, Brother Bie, I saw the message."

"Hmm—oh right, people in New York have already inquired about your set of photos, and we're negotiating the price. They'll give you a cut of the profits later."

"Okay, Brother Bie. I'll contact the people at Guangdong Radio and Television right away."

"Okay, we can talk about it later."

"Okay, sure."

After hanging up the phone, Li Mu immediately contacted the people in Guangdong.

As a journalist with firsthand information, he will obviously be very busy, at least for the next 24 hours.

Tongxu County and Lizhuang, both under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng City, Henan Province.

Early in the morning, before dawn, Li Dajiang and Zhang Xiuqin, a married couple, rode their tricycle out of their home.

Pulling two bags of wheat, they arrived at the town of Sishuolou to grind flour.

We've run out of noodles at home, so we need to make some more today.

After working until 8 a.m., Li Dajiang returned home with dozens of kilograms of flour. While he was parking the car and unloading the flour, Zhang Xiuqin had already gone into the kitchen and brought out the heated breakfast.

Two yellow porcelain bowls of noodle soup, several mixed noodle buns, and a bowl of pickled garlic.

This is a simple breakfast for two farmers who have spent their entire lives working the land.

After setting out the bowls and chopsticks, Zhang Xiuqin called out, "Let's eat."

"Oh, here it comes."

Li Dajiang responded, patted the flour off his clothes, and went into the bungalow.

Unlike some other two-story houses in Lizhuang, Li Dajiang, who has three children, still lives in a single-story house.

The large bungalow is divided into a living room and two bedrooms. There is a small bed in the living room, but there is no luggage. There are some books and other odds and ends piled on the bed.

That was Li Mu's bed.

Before his two older sisters got married, they lived in one room, and he lived in the living room.

The small, single-story house with blue bricks and mud tiles was where he grew up.

The couple sat down at the small dining table, and Li Dajiang turned on the old-fashioned television next to the table.

CCTV-1 on TV is broadcasting the news.

But Li Dajiang didn't listen much.

I've been hungry all morning, I need to eat something quickly.

But just as he picked up the soup bowl and took a sip, and was grabbing a steamed bun, a voice suddenly rang out from outside: "Brother Dajiang, Sister Xiuqin, are you home?"

Li Dajiang was taken aback. He looked towards the door and saw a plump woman of similar age walk into the courtyard.

He recognized the woman; her name was Yan Xiuli, a distant relative of his wife, and her profession was matchmaker.

A matchmaker is coming to the door?

He seemed to realize something, just then he heard his wife's voice calling out, "Xiuli, come in and sit down, have you had some?"

As Zhang Xiuqin spoke, she picked up the thermos and glass and poured a glass of water for the guest.

"That's enough eating, that's enough eating."

Yan Xiuli smiled and waved her hand, then took the stool Li Dajiang handed her and sat down. She said, "Li Muzhen has really made something of himself! Oh my, it's been years, he looks quite presentable!"

"???"

Li Dajiang was stunned.

third child?

"Have you seen my third son? Where is he?"

Li Dajiang instinctively put down the soup bowl.

Didn't the third brother find a job at a newspaper in Guangzhou?

Last month they called and said I'd started the job, but I wouldn't be getting much pay for the next few months. But after the internship, I was supposed to be making over two thousand a month—why did I suddenly come back?

You were fired?

What went wrong?

He suddenly became a little anxious.

Seeing Li Dajiang's expression, Yan Xiuli quickly said, "Brother Dajiang, are you watching TV? Li Mu is on TV!"

"television?"

Li Dajiang quickly turned his head, but the TV screen showed GG.

"This morning, I was watching the news at home. Li Mu is in America. There was a plane that crashed into a building there, and he was interviewing people downstairs. Wow, it was terrifying! It crashed twice."

"???"

Even Zhang Xiuqin's eyes widened: "The Li Mu you saw on TV? He's in America? He went to America?"

"right."

Yan Xiuli nodded: "He mentioned it on the news during the live TV broadcast. Wow, this kid has grown up so well, he's not young anymore, and he was on CCTV-1 again. Brother Dajiang, shall I introduce you to a couple?"

'

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Mr. and Mrs. Li Dajiang fell silent.

They had a vague feeling that something was wrong—not that the matchmaking was unreliable, quite the opposite, the third son was indeed of age, had started school early and had good grades, and now that he had graduated and entered the newspaper, he had a very good formal job, so getting married and having children early would definitely be a good thing.

But... something feels off.

"What did the third brother say on TV?"

Hearing Zhang Xiuqin's words, Yan Xiuli was taken aback, then said, "He said he saw the plane crash into the building with his own eyes. Ugh~ let me tell you, Xiuqin, America really isn't a good place, it's incredibly dangerous. They build their buildings so high, and planes fly so high and still crash into them—how dangerous!"

"Is the third brother alright?"

As soon as his wife finished speaking, Li Dajiang immediately realized what she meant.

Yup!

My son—are you alright?

"Is Li Mu alright? How is he now? He—I'll call him!"

Instantly, Li Dajiang panicked and quickly picked up the landline at home to call Li Mu.

?

Li Mu looked at the landline phone at home, somewhat puzzled, but still pressed the reject button.

Although he has activated international roaming on his phone, allowing his family to easily reach him by calling, international roaming is very expensive. He doesn't care, but if his parents knew that a phone call costs more than twenty yuan per minute, they would probably be so upset that they wouldn't be able to sleep for several days.

So, after hanging up the phone, he called home again.

-

"Beep beep—Hello, third brother?"

The call was answered quickly, and her father's somewhat hurried voice came through: "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Dad, what's wrong?"

"What's up? Where are you? What's the matter?!"

"Well----"

Noticing the change in his father's tone, Li Mu quickly understood what was going on, and laughed, "I'm fine. Didn't you see me on TV? I'm missing an arm or a leg, but I'm perfectly fine."

"Really? You're not kidding me, is it true?"

"It's nothing, I'm fine. I came to the US with my boss from work and just happened to run into him. It's nothing, but Dad, I can't tell you now, it's an international call, it costs over ten yuan a minute. I'll tell you when I get back to China, don't worry, it's nothing."

The reason he suddenly wanted to hang up was simple: he received a message on his phone from Guangdong Radio and Television: "Reporter Li, we will call you back in two minutes."

The important business is at hand and cannot be delayed.

On the other hand, upon hearing this, Li Dajiang lost interest in asking any further questions.

It costs over ten yuan per minute, how can it be so expensive?

"Hello, hurry up and hang up. Call me when you get back to China!"

He hung up the phone after saying that, but his expression wasn't so tense anymore.

"See, I told you so, Li Mu..."

After Yan Xiuli finished speaking with a smile, she changed the subject: "Brother Dajiang, Sister Xiuqin, how about we find Li Mu a match? He's a college student, went to America, and even appeared on TV—I can definitely find him a nice girl, what do you say?"

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Li Dajiang subconsciously looked at his wife.

He discovered that his wife was also looking at him.

They were clearly waiting for me to make the decision.

So—he was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Then I'll have to find a girl from the county."

Instantly, Yan Xiuli's eyes lit up.