Chapter 51 Chapter 51 We Must Find the Person

On their way out, Shen Moer and the others met Teacher He from Liuqiao Commune Primary School in the corridor.

Teacher He was about to go out with two students. When he heard that Shen Moer and the others wanted to go for a walk nearby, he was immediately happy: "Great minds think alike, Teacher Shen. We are from a small place, and it's rare for us to come to the provincial capital. I was just thinking of taking them out for a walk to broaden their horizons."

Compared to Shen Moer who had no idea about the provincial capital and was simply planning to take her two children around aimlessly, Teacher He was obviously much more prepared.

"I have asked the comrade who received us and the people at the guesthouse. The place where we will compete is just across the street from the Provincial Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Primary School. Then two blocks east is the Provincial University campus. There is also a department store beyond the Provincial University."

First, go to the school where the competition is held to let the students get familiar with the environment, then go to the outside of the provincial university campus to feel the atmosphere of an institution of higher learning, and finally go to the department store in the provincial capital for a stroll. Regardless of whether you buy anything or not, it will at least broaden your horizons.

The four children chattered along the way and soon they were chatting together. Shen Moer also heard two children from the commune primary school praising Zhou Zhaodi. Zhou Zhaodi was so shy that she kept shaking her head, but the smile on her face was brighter than ever.

"It's worthy of being a provincial capital. Even the streets are many times wider than ours. The trees here block out the sun, and the houses are all made of concrete. It's obvious that life there is much better than ours."

Teacher He sighed and said, "It was just my luck that I got this opportunity to come out and see the world. I don't know when I will have the chance to come again in the future."

As for wide streets, in fact, Shen Moer has lived in the capital of Daliang since she was a child, and she has been going in and out of the inner court of the imperial palace and the residences of officials. She doesn't think that the streets in the capital of Southern Province are that wide.

But there were cement houses everywhere, some of which were four or five-story buildings, bicycles everywhere, the occasional car passing by, and the electric lights and tap water that I had seen in the guesthouse before... It was obvious that the lives of the people in the provincial capital were indeed much better than those of the people in the communes below.

"Hey, there's an old noodle shop in this alley. Let's go there to eat something?" Teacher He suddenly said, pointing to an old alley.

They had lunch in the car, eating dry food brought from home. Although it was not yet time for dinner, everyone's stomachs were already empty.

Teacher He had been looking around since a while ago. Shen Moer thought he was curious about the streets and houses in the provincial capital, but it turned out that he was looking for the noodle shop he had heard about.

The noodle shop is just a hundred meters from the entrance of the alley. There is a wooden sign with the words "Liuxiang State-owned Noodle Shop" inscribed on it. There are three shops in a row. Maybe it is still early, so there are no customers in the shop. The waiters in white uniforms are sitting at the tables bored.

When they went in, they were stopped by the waiter at the door, who told them that it was not yet business hours. Teacher He was a good talker and he immediately explained to them that they were there to participate in a competition and had not had time to eat as they were in a hurry. The waiter glanced at the elementary school students who had huddled together like quails and did not stop them.

Teacher He took out the money and said he would treat them all. Shen Moer definitely couldn't let him pay, so the two of them finally agreed and each paid half, and ordered six bowls of noodles and a portion of braised pork.

The skills of the noodle chef in the noodle shop are really good. As soon as the noodles came, the children whispered in surprise, "It smells so good." Then each of them held a huge bowl of noodles and started to eat it up, without having time to say a word the whole time.

In the end, when there was still half a bowl of noodles left in Chen Moer's bowl, everyone else, including the skinny-looking Zhou Zhaodi, had finished the noodles and the braised pork that was given to them, and even drank up all the noodle soup.

“…”

Shen Moer quickly sped up.

After finishing her meal and coming out of the noodle shop, Shen Moer even observed a few students, fearing that they would feel uncomfortable because of overeating. As a result, the little guys rubbed their stomachs with satisfied faces: "It would be great if I could eat such a big bowl of noodles every day. I haven't eaten a full stomach for a long time."

Even the shy Zhou Zhaodi nodded in agreement: "Me too, the competition is great. I was full the last time I went to the city for a competition. This time it's even better. It would be great if we could have competitions every day."

Teacher He was amused by them, and probably saw Shen Moer's worry, and said: "Don't worry, it's okay, such a bowl of noodles, let alone them, even my little niece who hasn't started school yet can finish it."

Then he sighed again: "It's not easy to have a full meal these days!"

Shen Moer thought about it and it made sense. People these days are like this. They usually don’t have enough to eat, but when they can, their stomachs are like bottomless pits, and no matter how much they stuff, it’s never too much. Seeing that the children were not feeling unwell, she felt relieved.

"Sister Moer, there is a sister crying over there." Maomao suddenly rubbed against Shen Moer, pulled her clothes and whispered.

This naughty kid may be naughty, but he is also very smart. If he hadn't said it, Shen Moer wouldn't have noticed that just across the noodle shop, a girl of eighteen or nineteen was huddled against the white wall outside the courtyard gate, holding something in her hand, her shoulders twitching, and she wiped her face with the back of her hand from time to time, looking like she was really crying.

Shen Moer noticed that there was a wooden sign hanging at the gate of the yard, with the words "First Workshop of the Southern Province Embroidery Factory" written on it.

This sign is actually a bit strange. Generally speaking, signs are hung in government departments or enterprises and institutions. It is not strange to hang a sign at the door of a state-owned factory, but it is a bit inappropriate to hang a sign at the door of a workshop, especially since this workshop is located in an alley in a busy city area. It is even more strange.

Originally, Shen Moer was not a person who liked to meddle in other people's business, especially since the girl was probably one or two years older than her and old enough to register for marriage. No matter what happened, she would probably be able to solve it herself in the end.

However, after seeing clearly what the girl was holding, Shen Moer couldn't help but walked over: "Comrade, can I see the embroidery in your hand?"

As she approached, the sobbing sound became clearer, as if she was startled by Shen Moer's sudden sound. After the sobbing stopped abruptly, the girl wiped her face casually with her sleeve, looked up at Shen Moer, and saw that it was a stranger. She frowned, thought about it, and raised the thing in her hand unhappily: "It's a failure, what's so good about it, just look at it if you want!"

Her attitude was not very good, but Shen Moer didn't care. From the tone of her voice, she seemed to be crying because she was upset because the embroidery was ruined. Shen Moer would never care about it.

Shen Moer carefully took the thing, it was a peony painting. In Shen Moer's opinion, the color matching was a bit too bright, the technique was not bad, but unfortunately there was a mistake in the embroidery, and the embroiderer probably found it after the embroidery was finished, and it was too late to change it at this time.

The reason why she noticed this embroidery was that at first glance this peony pattern looked very similar to the style that Concubine Cao liked most in the palace during the Daliang period. She and her father had never gotten along well with Concubine Cao, so when they saw something related to her, they would inevitably be more concerned to prevent being cheated.

Now if you look closely, the difference is quite big.

Shen Moer glanced at the girl and thought that she would do a good deed that day, and said, "It's not a complete failure. You can change it if you want."

Then she explained a few words about the needlework style that Concubine Cao liked the most. The girl didn't take it seriously at first, but after listening to her clear and logical explanation and her knowledge of various embroidery needlework techniques, she became more and more serious.

By the time Chen Moer took out a pen and paper from her bag, drew the pattern and handed it to her, the girl was already stunned. She held the piece of paper that Chen Moer had torn from the notebook as if it were a treasure.

Seeing that she was fascinated by the pattern, Shen Moer didn't say anything more. She waved her hand and left with Maomao and the others who were peeking around.

Teacher He exclaimed: "Teacher Shen, I didn't expect you to know so much about embroidery!"

Shen Moer paused for a moment, then said: “My mother taught me all of this, and I don’t have many opportunities to practice, so I’m just talking on paper.”

Teacher He: "That's impressive too. Besides, you said last time that compared to your father, you are only superficial. Hey, I just saw it. If your painting skills are only superficial, then I think Teacher Dong is just a hair."

Shen Moer was amused by him: "Have you ever seen Teacher Dong painting? You said that, aren't you afraid that Teacher Dong will know?"

Teacher He: "Well, I happened to see it when I was attending a meeting in the county. I'm being realistic. Besides, how would Teacher Dong know about it, unless you told her."

Maomao came over immediately and raised his hands high: "And me, and me!"

Teacher He: “…”

About 20 minutes after Shen Moer and the others left the alley, a woman in her forties wearing glasses, short hair, and a gray-blue cadre uniform hurried out of the yard of the first workshop of the Southern Province Embroidery Factory. She anxiously looked around the alley and asked the crying girl who followed her out, "Xiao Li, where is she?!"

Niu Xiaoli hesitated and said, "Such a long time has passed, he must have gone far away."

She was puzzled: "Director, is this pattern so good?"

Chen Jiahua frowned and said, "Let's go to the intersection and take a look."

As he spoke, he walked quickly towards the intersection, saying as he walked: "Although it is only the petals that are painted, the whole pattern is very classic and elegant. The key is that this person's mastery of embroidery needlework is also superb. If such talents can be absorbed into our first workshop, there is no need to worry about the increase in export volume."

Niu Xiaoli curled her lips, somewhat disapprovingly.

Chen Jiahua walked to the intersection. There were people and cars coming and going on the road, but there was no girl and boy with four children. Obviously they came out late and had already walked far away.

Chen Jiahua was immediately extremely disappointed. After a long while, he sighed and turned to walk into the alley, muttering unwillingly as he walked: "How can two people bring four children?"

When he looked up and saw the sign of Liuxiang State-owned Noodle Restaurant, Chen Jiahua's heart moved and he quickly walked into the noodle restaurant.

The characteristics were so obvious that when Chen Jiahua asked, the waiter remembered: "A young man and a woman brought four children. Yes, they ate noodles in our restaurant. The children each ate a big bowl. They said they came from the commune below to participate in a painting competition. The two adults were teachers."

"I don't know which commune they are from, and they didn't tell me. But they should be staying in a nearby guesthouse. They said that the waiter at the guesthouse recommended our noodle restaurant to them, so they came here specifically to eat. Director Chen, do you have something to talk to them about?"

Unable to get any more useful information, Chen Jiahua made up an excuse, thanked the waiter, and walked out of the noodle shop.

Seeing her serious expression, Niu Xiaoli thought that she hadn't heard any news, so she said, "Director, it's just half a sketch. I don't know if it's useful or not."

It must be useful. After all, she felt very excited after listening to it, otherwise she would not have run directly to tell Chen Jiahua.

But seeing that Chen Jiahua cared so much, Niu Xiaoli couldn't help feeling a little jealous.

Chen Jiahua didn't pay any attention to what Niu Xiaoli said. She frowned and thought for a while, then said directly: "Xiaoli, let's go to the nearby guesthouses to look for him. We must find him."

Niu Xiaoli's face suddenly looked a little ugly.

Chen Moer knew nothing about what happened in Liuxiang. They went to see the Provincial Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Primary School and the Provincial University campus. Of course, they all stood outside to watch, but even this was enough to amaze the elementary school students.

Especially the Provincial University, the school gate looked extremely majestic, and they walked all the way there, walking a long way along the wall of the Provincial University. The primary school students all commented that the campus of the Provincial University was even bigger than that of the commune.

When they arrived at the department store, it was even more amazing. Compared with the department store in the provincial capital, the supply and marketing cooperative in the commune was like a lady from a noble family and a fire-making girl. The department store was not only tall and big, but also had a dazzling array of merchandise. Many of the things were things that these country bumpkins had never even seen.

Shen Moer bought some much-needed daily necessities and some food that was not available in the commune, while Teacher He directly bought a large net bag of cakes.

They shared some with several students. The children did not expect that after eating a bowl of delicious noodles, they would have such an unexpected surprise. All of them had red faces with joy.

When we came out of the department store, it was the rush hour after get off work, and the road was packed with bicycles. Not to mention the elementary school students who were stunned, even Shen Moer and Teacher He were shocked.

Each brigade only had one or two bicycles, and people like Shen Shaoyuan, who only got a second-hand bicycle, would be extremely envied by others. However, in the provincial capital, they were everywhere as if they were free.

Even when they returned to the guesthouse, several elementary school students were still chattering about what they had seen along the way.

"Oh, or else you would say they are country bumpkins who have never seen the world. At such an important time, they don't even bother to cram for the exam, but actually take their students out shopping. Lao Ke, look, it's not that I have a prejudice against them, but with this kind of attitude, if they can win the prize once by sheer luck, can they win the prize every time?"

As soon as I went upstairs, I ran into Teacher Hu and Deputy Director Ke. Teacher Hu probably felt that their relationship was already bad, so he simply didn't hide it and started to criticize them in front of them.

Deputy Director Ke frowned and glanced at Shen Moer and the others. The children who were chattering just now suddenly fell silent, stood at attention and lowered their heads unconsciously, secretly glancing at Deputy Director Ke with their little eyes.

"The competition is the most important thing. Teacher He, Teacher Shen, try not to do things that are not related to the competition." After a few seconds of silence, Deputy Director Ke said.

He said this in an obscure way, but in reality he disapproved of the behavior of Shen Moer and the others. After saying this, he nodded and left.

Teacher Hu immediately followed with his chin and head held high, like a victorious rooster.

Several primary school students looked at their teachers nervously. Teacher He looked depressed, but Shen Moer smiled and said, "What we did was not unrelated to the competition. We went to see the competition venue tomorrow, so when you go there tomorrow, won't you feel more familiar and less scared? Also, we had delicious noodles, so you won't go to bed hungry today, and won't you be more energetic tomorrow? As for what we heard and saw on the road, these are things you have never seen before, so won't you have more materials for painting?"

Maomao immediately puffed out his chest, put his hands on his waist, and said confidently, "In the future, I will be able to draw a department store, a waitress wearing a hat, and a really big school... I couldn't do these before, but now I can!"

Now that everyone knows this, they can only listen to it, but this state of self-confidence is good. Shen Moer touched his head and praised him, "Student Chen Yu said it very well. The teacher believes in you. After studying in the afternoon, you will perform better in the competition tomorrow."

Several elementary school students looked at each other, their expressions changing from nervousness, confusion, and surprise to confidence, and soon they started chattering about the issue again.

Teacher He silently gave Shen Moer a thumbs up.

The six people parted ways in the corridor and went into their respective rooms. At the other corner, Liu Yadan, who happened to see this scene, asked Xiao Cui, an official standing beside him: "That was Ke Hongwen from Jiangbei County, right? Do you know who those two young teachers are?"

Xiao Cui was the person in charge of the personnel arrangement from the Lingjiang Municipal Education Bureau. He had some knowledge of the teachers and students participating in the competition, especially the fact that the brigade primary school under Liuqiao Commune had a second prize at the municipal level. Out of curiosity, he paid special attention to it. When Liu Yadan asked, he immediately answered: "Director Liu, they are from Liuqiao Commune under Jiangbei County. The boy is He Mingda, from the commune primary school, and the girl is Shen Moer, from Yangliu Brigade Primary School."

Liu Yadan raised her eyebrows: "Is that the one who won the second prize at the municipal level?"

Xiao Cui nodded: "The winner should be that little girl."

Liu Yada hummed and said nothing more.

The next day, the students participating in the competition were led by their teachers to the Nan Province Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Primary School, and the students from Lingjiang City were arranged in the same classroom.

It was only then that Shen Moer discovered that their Jiangbei County had the largest number of participants. The other counties had only three or four people, and the city's primary schools had a maximum of five people. From this perspective, their Liuqiao Commune actually reached the number of people in another county.

In addition, the students from other schools all looked nervous, with many of them looking haggard with dark eyes and tired faces, as if they had stayed up all night. Only the four children from Liuqiao Commune were full of energy and spirit, with the spirit of "the sun at eight or nine o'clock".

Teacher He was a mischievous person. As soon as the students entered the room, he ran to Shen Moer and whispered, "It's stable, at least the mental outlook of these four children in our commune is far ahead."

"Hey, what's wrong with the other three from our county? They look like they didn't sleep last night. Can they still compete well in this state?"

“…”

Shen Moer actually knew why, after all, she lived in the same room with the teachers and students of Dongfanghong Primary School. They went out for a walk and were exhausted when they returned, so they went to bed after washing up. The teachers and students of Dongfanghong Primary School, however, had tutoring sessions quite late. In the middle, Shen Moer woke up from thirst to drink water, while the three of them were still drawing with their eyes wide open like bells.

When the students were competing, the teachers had nothing to do. Fortunately, the Provincial Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Primary School provided good hospitality and arranged several classrooms for them where they could sit down and chat with each other. If they wanted to walk around the campus, there were people from the school who could take them to the other side of the non-competition venue for a walk.

Time passed quickly, and when the bell rang, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, another sigh of relief about grades rose up again.

Maomao rushed out of the classroom first, and when he saw Shen Moer, he shouted, "Sister Moer, I draw so well!"

Zhou Zhaodi and two students from the commune primary school ran out shortly after, with relaxed smiles on their faces.

"It seems like everyone performed well!" Teacher He said with a smile.

Then, teachers from other schools saw their own students walking out of the classroom slowly with sad faces.

“…”

What are you talking about everyone? Is it just you guys?