Literary Master 1978: Time to Teach the Literary World a Lesson
Liu Yimin, who had been exhausting himself and spending money in pursuit of success, accidentally finds himself transported back to 1978. He becomes a Chinese language teacher at a junior high school
Spring was turning to summer in 1978, and the weather this year was exceptionally hot. In Ruxian, it hadn’t rained for over a month—not even a few sparse drops managed to fall. Often, the clouds would barely begin to gather before the sun chased them away again. The rumble of thunder sounded more like the dry cough of an old man who’d smoked a lifetime of pipe tobacco—loud but empty.
On the streets of Shiling Commune in Ruxian, passersby moved hurriedly, paying no mind to searching for acquaintances to chat with. They bared their teeth against the oppressive heat, each man and woman pressing onward in search of shade.
In the middle of the street, a young man wearing a battered straw hat, a pale yellow vest, and blue coarse cloth trousers wiped the sweat from his face uncomfortably. His worn canvas “Liberation” shoes gripped the pedals of his bicycle, stubbornly resisting the sun’s harsh glare.
Liu Yimin stopped his bicycle in front of the post office, squeezed through the crowd, and strode quickly inside, his hand gripping the strap of the army-green satchel slung across his shoulder. The edges of the bag were badly frayed, with sparse green threads exposing the original fabric, and a large patch had been sewn onto the bottom.
“Comrade, I’d like to send a letter!”
“Registered or regular?” The clerk replied, barely pausing her work. Needle and thread in hand, she stitched up a parcel with swift, practiced motions.
This was only a branch office for the post in Shiling Commune, with just three clerks and one mail carrier. When things were