The timeline system has gone awry; they insist that steamed buns are a magic pill.

Li Qingqiu ultimately failed to persuade Shi Lanhua. He even tried to throw a tantrum and act like a spoiled child, but he couldn't resist Shi Lanhua's amazing ability to pull him by the ear.

"It hurts, it hurts... I'll let go now... Mom, I give in."

A wise man knows when to yield. He should first feign submission. After all, he's a man with a system, so he can easily find a blind date. He can then show his lazy, sly, and unreliable side, and any decent girl will run away immediately.

"Give them a good talking-to when the time comes, or I won't let you off the hook."

"Yes, yes, I'll definitely clean it up properly."

Li Qingqiu rubbed his ears and thought to himself, "I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget. If it weren't for your age, I would have dealt with you long ago. I, a transmigrated system male, will never be a slave."

Back in his cave, Li Qingqiu glanced at his cultivation panel and realized that the family pillar task was still incomplete.

"Try to mention the oxen to Lao Si when you have the chance. Open up a public community for sign-in; you'll get more points, if nothing else."

"My constitution attribute is still 9 points. Based on the calculation that 1 point of constitution corresponds to about eight years of lifespan, I'll only live to around 70 years old, which is still far from my ideal lifespan of 150 years. I'll keep trying my luck with the lottery; I'll eventually get more attribute points."

Just thinking about how it takes 100 points to start the community's initial lottery, I need to make the most of this time to accumulate more points and participate in the lottery a few more times. I'm still a bit short of 50 points.

"Starting tomorrow, I'll be checking in at the trial area."

"Complete more missions."

Relying solely on sign-in points is too slow; it's better to accumulate more task points. Li Qingqiu closed the system interface. He turned on the radio, listened for a while to learn about some major domestic events, and figured there would be fewer study activities next year.

However, it didn't matter much to him, a small farmer. But with the arrival of the pig demon, Li Qingqiu hesitated. The team needed to buy twenty piglets, which would cost at least a hundred yuan. What if they died in the swine fever outbreak?

The families raising pigs were already struggling, and this was just adding insult to injury. But he had no reason to stop the team from buying piglets, and he might even incur the wrath of Jiang Mei and other impoverished families. Oh well, it's hard to be a good person. He'll just mention it later, and try to improve hygiene. Hopefully, it will have an effect.

As for the rest, he didn't want to say much. Even if he did, he was afraid it would be taken as a joke. These days, if you say something without any evidence, you might be accused of being a spy or a secret agent. How did you know about the swine fever? Did you do it?

Li Qingqiu shuddered. It was too dangerous. It wasn't worth it for a few pigs. Safety first. Thinking this, Li Qingqiu decided to remind everyone to be careful. He wouldn't say anything unless there was a good opportunity.

"Who is it this morning?"

These past two days have been really strange. Every morning, someone comes to the house and makes a ruckus. Li Qingqiu put on his coat and cotton shoes, tied his shoelaces, splashed cold water on his face, squeezed toothpaste, and brushed his teeth. Li Xianshu and the other kids, seeing their third uncle brushing his teeth, ran off to the opposite side and squatted down.

"Third Uncle, you're blowing so many bubbles."

Li Xianshu blinked her big eyes, looking at Li Qingqiu expectantly. "Want to eat toothpaste?"

"Uh-huh."

"Here, I'll put a little on each of you, remember to spit it out."

"Uh-huh."

Li Xianshu, Li Xianqing, Li Xianye, and a somewhat shy Li Xianning, the four little radish heads lined up waiting to have toothpaste applied; it was quite amusing. "No, you're holding it in, you'll just throw up."

"Understood, Third Uncle."

Li Xianye went to the brigade again to show off. Now, the little kids in Lijia'ao can brag for half a day about eating a mouthful of toothpaste, and the other kids are incredibly envious.

After brushing his teeth, Li Qingqiu put away the porcelain jar, toothpaste, and toothbrush, glancing at them.

"Xianjing, who just came by?"

"Matchmaker Wang from the next village came over early this morning."

"Third Brother, I just saw Matchmaker Wang whispering with Mom for a while. She got some scraps of cloth and a handful of red dates, and she was as happy as if she'd eaten honey," Li Qingmei whispered. "It seems Mom is really determined to find you a capable wife this time."

"A capable daughter-in-law?"

Good heavens, Li Qingqiu pictured a burly woman weighing 150 pounds, 1.5 meters tall, with wrists thicker than her thighs. Ouch, he shuddered. No, no, absolutely not. If that's really the case, a hunger strike, no, running away from home, doesn't seem like a good idea.

What to do? Maybe poison Wang the matchmaker? No, system, do you have any long-range poisoning skills? Li Qingqiu fiddled with the system for nothing, but there was no response. Maybe he could ask Qinglian and a few others to put a bamboo basket over Wang the matchmaker's leg and break it. Thinking about it, Li Qingqiu was actually quite tempted. If the matchmaker's leg was broken, could she still do matchmaking?

"I'm leaving now. Tell Mom I'm not eating breakfast."

Furious, Li Qingqiu fumed and planned to go to the educated youth settlement for a while. He couldn't stay at home anymore. Just thinking about his burly and capable blind date made Li Qingqiu a little scared. It was better to live in the future.

Pressuring girls to get married, arranging blind dates, and then demanding dowry, gold jewelry, a house, and a car—if you don't have the money, there's nothing you can do. Nowadays, some girls don't want a dowry, they don't want anything at all. They'd rather have a thatched hut, two quilts, and a thermos than marry someone.

This is outrageous! What's wrong with this society? If you don't want a bride price, what are you going to do with a single guy like him? If he comes to you for free and you don't want him, people will think you're crazy. Or is it better to have a high bride price?

Li Qingqiu sighed, "I really envy those single men who don't have to pay a bride price. This world is giving us no way to survive. So what if I don't have a wife? So what if I'm single? So what if I don't have a son?"

"That's so backward. They don't even want a bride price or a house. At least a house in the county town, and a bicycle or something."

If they introduce someone who doesn't want anything, Li Qingqiu will be literally running around naked. I'm not crazy, you can't force me to get a wife.

"The world is so difficult."

Li Qingqiu sighed, speechless. Oh well, he was a little hungry; he'd used up a lot of energy getting angry. "Yin Yi, has breakfast been cooked yet?"

"Mixed grain pancakes, red date porridge."

"That's good, give me one."

Li Qingqiu sat down, calmed himself down, and waited for Yin Yi to bring him breakfast. "Where's Zhao Nan? Still not up?"

"Third Uncle, you're here?"

Guo Zhaonan rubbed her eyes; the little girl was still half asleep. "Hurry up and get dressed; it's so cold outside, don't catch a cold."

"oh."

To be honest, this adopted niece is quite well-developed, almost as big as Yin Yi. He secretly sized up Yin Yi, and she had both a great figure and a pretty face. It's a pity she's a bit too young. He's said to be eighteen, but he's a little doubtful if she's even eighteen.

However, the red date porridge was really good, and the multigrain pancakes were also nice. As for his mother, whose cooking was just so-so, Li Qingqiu decided that he didn't want her anymore. It was just a matter of losing a mother. Blind dates? Absolutely not. Absolutely not in this lifetime.

I, Li Qingqiu, am not some useless guy who needs to go on blind dates. That would be too pathetic. Who with a system would go on blind dates? It would lower the level of the system's male protagonist. I can't lose face like that.

Before Li Qingqiu could even finish his second bowl of jujube porridge, Li Qingmei, Li Xianjing, and Xian'an arrived and began preparing the mushroom branches. Their diligence made Li Qingqiu seem particularly lazy.

"No way, how can my students be more diligent than me?"

Absolutely not! Li Qingqiu planned to teach them a lesson. He originally intended for them to take Guo Zhaonan as an example and go to bed early and get up late. However, Yin Yi told Li Qingqiu that Guo Zhaonan had been making ten mushrooms before going to sleep last night.

They got up early to work and then took a short nap. They were all hopeless, and Li Qingqiu wanted to give up. Fortunately, there was Yin Yi. The two of them played with pebbles and quickly mastered the Lazy Eater Technique.

[Sign-in successful. Sign-in location: Temporary encampment of Immortal Sect disciples. Items received: Immortal Toothpaste, Spirit Food Box, +2 points]

Toothpaste and a lunchbox—they were quite nice and practical. Li Qingqiu casually picked them up and stuffed them into his canvas bag.

"No, I meant canvas bags."

I haven't bought Li Xianbao's schoolbag yet, and this kid hasn't made a move. "Oh well, I'll wait and see, I'll pick one up for him when I go to the commune later."

"Third Brother."

"What's wrong? The mycelium is gone?"

Li Qingqiu was squinting.

"Xianye has brought your letter."

"Trust me?"

Li Qingqiu was puzzled. Who would write to him? This was strange. He racked his brains for a long time but couldn't think of anyone who would write to him. "Huh, this is Han Caiju. Why would she write to me? Wait, how does she know my home is in Lijia'ao?"

Li Qingqiu didn't remember telling her that.

Upon opening the letter, Li Qingqiu read some quotes from Han Caiju. She said she saw him during the competition, but he had intended to find her after finishing his work, and unfortunately, he had left first. After saying a few more things, the last thing she said made Li Qingqiu suddenly stand up.

"Well, all I asked was for you to treat me to a meal to repay my savior, and you actually planned to come to my house to eat. How malicious!" No wonder, I was wondering why Han Guodong would be so kind as to come to Lijia'ao to show a movie.

In this freezing weather, it seems the simp has been given a mission by his goddess. The most crucial question is why Wu Xiaoyue is getting involved. Could it be that she's eyeing his food ration coupons? It's true what they say, "Don't flaunt your wealth," now that a woman has her eye on him.

"Come on over, these days, female classmates can come to male classmates' houses to play all they want."

Li Qingqiu wanted to write a letter to Han Caiju, telling her not to come to his house. But even if he wrote it now, he wasn't sure if it would even reach her. What he was afraid of was Han Caiju's personality; the more he told her not to come, the more she wanted to.

Women, oh women, there's always something wrong with their brains. If the ideal man falls into the dust, she might even spit on him. But if the ideal man ignores her and even achieves some success, good heavens, this woman will definitely rush to pounce on him.

"Blame me, blame me."

"Is Third Brother alright?"

"It's nothing, a small matter."

Li Qingqiu casually said, "A few of my junior high school classmates are coming to visit."

"A junior high school classmate?"

Li Qingmei wondered, "My third brother was expelled from junior high school after only a few days because of fighting. How could he have any close classmates in just a few days? I haven't heard anything about that before."

"Yeah, really, what's the fun in going to the countryside if you have nothing better to do?"

"Third Brother, is your classmate from the city?"

"I guess so, I work in the county town."

Li Qingqiu casually mentioned it, and Li Qingmei looked surprised. Her third brother had classmates who worked in the county town and had come to visit.

"By the way, what do you girls like to play?"

"A girl, a female classmate?"

"There are two, I think."

Li Qingqiu thought to himself, "Wu Xiaoyue counts too, otherwise it's hard to explain."

"Really, bro? Where do they work?"

"One county revolutionary committee and one county agricultural technology station."

When Li Qingmei heard that the job was pretty good, she thought, "Would a girl really go to the countryside to visit my third brother? Is that even possible?" But what her third brother said sounded so real, it didn't seem fake.

"I still need to buy some groceries. Last time I went to the county town, I ate at their restaurant."

Li Qingqiu thought about Han Guodong, that annoying guy, but he couldn't just not entertain him. As for the projectionist, well, Uncle Fuyuan would probably have to go out of his way to greet him. "Sigh, everyone's waiting to see the movie. If I don't give them face, I might just attract a bunch of gossip."

"How annoying," Li Qingqiu slapped his forehead. "Oh well, I'll go to the trial tomorrow to sign in. If I get a mission and it's fun, I'll take them for a walk in the mountains, just as a token of my friendship."

After all, there's really nothing fun to do in the countryside, and entertaining classmates is quite a hassle.

Li Qingqiu casually stuffed the letter into his pocket; he wasn't in the mood to slack off with Yin Yi anymore. "Yin Yi, come on, I'll take you to dig up some wild pears."

"Uh-huh."

Yin Yi immediately went to get the basket. Li Qingqiu and Yin Yi left, and Li Qingmei sat for a while before hesitating. "Xianjing, you guys continue with the mushroom cuttings. I'm going home for a bit."

"Auntie, is there something you need?"

"Something came up."

Li Qingmei felt she needed to tell her mother about what her third brother had just said. A female classmate, from the county town, coming to visit her third brother—could there be something fishy going on? "Could it be that this female classmate is the one my third brother mentioned wanting to marry a city girl?"

Li Qingmei thought about it more and more and felt that this was not going to happen. Oh, what should she do now? Her mother is arranging blind dates for her third brother. What if this happens?

"What did you say? Your third brother's classmate is coming over to visit, and she's a female classmate from the county town?"

Shi Lanhua's mind was buzzing. When her third brother was in school, besides not studying, he got into fights and caused a lot of trouble. He even hit female classmates a few times. How could he be intimate with female classmates? This was simply unbelievable.

"That's what my third brother said. Both of my female classmates are employed in the county town."

"A permanent employee in the county town, why didn't he mention that before?"

Shi Lanhua looked at Li Qingmei. "Did you see anyone when you went to the county town last time?"

"No, we were waiting for Third Brother outside. We didn't go into the County Revolutionary Committee, and we certainly didn't go to the Agricultural Technology Station either," Li Qingmei shook her head slightly. "Mom, why don't you ask Fourth Brother to call Second Aunt? Isn't Second Aunt's husband working at the County Agricultural Technology Station?"

"Yes, yes, I'll have your fourth brother call and ask around. Do you know the name of the classmate at the agricultural technology station?" Shi Lanhua was stumped by Li Qingmei's question. How would she know?

"I don't know."

"Sigh, this is a problem. How can we ask without a name?"

"My third brother said he was a junior high school classmate, probably around twenty years old."

"Just knowing someone's age isn't enough to get their information."

"Look at the third brother, how come you didn't tell us about such a big thing? He came to our house to play without any preparation."

Shi Lanhua planned to ask Li Qingqiu when she was eating.

At noon, Li Qingqiu returned home with some pears. Goodness, as soon as he sat down, he realized something was wrong. The whole family was looking at him strangely.

"What's wrong?"

Li Qingqiu secretly looked himself over. Nothing seemed amiss, except for some mud on his feet.