Dead Duck

"Please all students stand up..."

"It's vacation time!"

"yeah!"

"Liberation!"

“Ahhhh!”

"I want to go home!"

“I miss my mom’s cooking!”

“…”

Some people cry, some people laugh, some people are sad, some people are happy...

The end of the semester is like a dream. When I look back on the semester, it seems like a collection of used black ink pens, clocks that keep turning, and lonely and unbearable night lights.

For these fifteen-year-olds, as soon as they entered high school, they immediately rushed towards the long road of college entrance examination.

Half a year, just over 180 days, more than 4,000 hours, and more than 20,000 minutes, it was over just like that.

"Wow, Sister Zhou, Yuanyuan, see you next semester. Phew, let's go out and play together during the winter vacation!" Xiao Xiaoyu threw the unused test papers and teaching materials books next to the podium and carried the remaining textbooks back.

"Okay!" Gao Yuanyuan stuffed the book into her bag with all her might.

"Okay." Zhou Xi turned around, "This is for you. I'm sorry, I was wrong."

"What is this?" Gao Liyang picked it up and took a look. It was his chemistry book that had been lost for eight hundred years.

"Zhou Xiaoxi, are you trying to make me laugh to death? You were so stubborn back then, and now you've been slapped in the face, right? Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt..." Zhou Xi smiled awkwardly. She really made Gao Liyang miserable. For some reason, Gao Liyang couldn't find his chemistry book, which happened to put him in the wrong hands of the chemistry teacher, who punished him by making him stand outside for a whole class.

Gao Liyang said that she had borrowed it. Zhou Xi didn't know if she had a brain freeze or what, but she just forgot about it. Instead, she blamed Gao Liyang for slandering her. Gao Liyang was so angry that he laughed.

"Forget it, I'll forgive you for my mistakes. Anyway, I didn't want to listen to the teacher's rant at that time."

"Put it in order, it's all messed up, how dare you let an old man like me clean it up!"

Zhang Tu was doing recycling. He threw the books that students didn't want together and sold the waste to earn money for his classes.

“Got it!”

"Lao Zhang, take a break and have some tea."

Zhang Tu checked the things on the podium. The chalks were scattered all over the place, some long and some short. "Hurry up and clean up. Go back to your mothers as soon as possible."

"Lao Zhang, I have another pear here. Can you help me with it? I really can't take it back. My bag is full of books!"

"I don't want the pear, I want the book."

"No, no, no! You still have to take this book back. It will be useful in the future."

Zhang Tu flipped through a few books and asked, "Is this a precious book? When I asked you to find your test paper in class earlier, how come you couldn't find it?"

"Oh my god! He's my deskmate. My test paper was with him, and I didn't even remember taking it. I asked him, but he said he didn't have it. He only discovered it when he was packing up today!"

"Be more civilized, then go and settle the score with your deskmate."

Li Li returned to the classroom to move the books for the second time and overheard someone in the corner: "You are not the landlord, and you are slandering me again! Didn't you borrow my book, put it in there, and then leave it at home?"

"No, it's obviously..."

“…”

"Lao Zhang, why are you back? The students in your class left so quickly!" Liu Manci leaned back in the lazy chair, his fingers tapping on the keyboard.

Zhang Tu was so sleepy from the noise that he could not help but slip back to the office to find some peace and quiet: "No, I just came back to lie down and I'll go over later."

"Teacher Liu!"

There was a knock on the door, and Liu Manci closed the game page: "Come in!"

"What's wrong? Why haven't you gone home yet?"

"Teacher, I want to ask you a question." Wu Yi greeted Zhang Tu with a notebook in hand. "Hello, teacher!"

"Come in, let me take a look."

"Just come in, no need to close the door." Zhang Tu tidied up the messy table and found that not a single red pen was left.

"Yes, teacher."

Liu Manci found a blank notebook and asked, "Which question?"

"this."

"Hey, Lao Zhang, why are you here too? To join in the fun?" Liu Manci was like a thick pancake sandwiched in the middle.

Zhang Tu put a hand on Liu Manci's shoulder: "Look!"

"Do you understand?" Liu Manci took out a pencil and a ruler from the pen holder. "Look, this question, these conditions..."

"If I could understand it, why would I teach Chinese? Oh, your high school math problems are so complicated, I can't understand them at all."

Although Zhang Tu graduated from a prestigious key university, he had not touched mathematics for decades and had long since returned the little high school knowledge he had learned to his teachers.

He watched Liu Manci draw a line in the east and mark a symbol in the west on the complex shape.

"Do you understand?"

"Almost there. Thank you, teacher!" Wu Yi wrote down his thoughts on a piece of paper. "Goodbye, teacher!"

Close the door and take away the cold wind.

"Why didn't you close the door just now? The heating was blown out!" Liu Manci reopened the game.

"Look at you, you have no idea. We are the only two male teachers here. It's not good."

"You're overthinking it. We are teachers."

"You think too little. Let me ask you, look at you, you look young and young. When I took you out before, I always remembered that you were a student."

"Those high school seniors are all 18 years old. Girls these days are very sensitive. If they have any thoughts, they'll be taking the college entrance exam soon. Can you guarantee that?"

Liu Manci's playful smile suddenly disappeared: "Well, this is indeed something to pay attention to."

"I don't know what the school was thinking, letting you teach the second year right from the start and even promote along with the students."

"We need to be very careful. There's a precedent for this. One year, there was a young female teacher, and her male classmates became interested in her."

Zhang Tu gathered the scattered documents and said, "Later, the parents of the students found out and started making a scene. In the end, the female teacher lost her job."

"This is such a sudden disaster! It's so tragic!"

"That teacher is not wrong, but there is nothing I can do..."

"So, learn from past experience and chat with students. It's okay, but you must keep your distance and don't cross the line."

"By the way, let me tell you, that student just now was so focused on math that she's already pretty good at it, but she's too obsessed with it." Liu Manci irritably tore off the draft paper he had just written, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it around for fun.

"So teaching is easy, but educating talents is the hardest. Different students need different teaching methods. You should guide them appropriately."

The paper ball was thrown aside, and Liu Manci opened a bag of potato chips from the drawer: "Being a teacher has a lot of taboos. It's not the front, and it's not the back. What do you want?"

"Potato chips? You have a cough, don't you? Eating potato chips while coughing is a wonder you can't get better. I'll report this to your mom. Your mom asks me about your school situation every day."

Zhang Tu took out his cell phone and pretended to send a message.

Liu Manci immediately threw away the potato chips and surrendered: "Uncle Zhang! Okay, okay, I won't eat it!"

"By the way, what else does my mother want to do? Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Girlfriend, your mother wants to hold her granddaughter."

Liu Manci immediately pretended to be deaf and dumb. He had no intention of falling in love or getting married. "Ah, what, what is that? Who's calling?"

"Hello, principal, hello, teacher!"

"Hello, Principal!"

“Hello, teacher!”

"Okay, okay."

"Um."

Zhang Lixia smiled and said, "Be careful, the zipper of your schoolbag is not zipped up."

"Ah, thank you, teacher. I can do it myself."

"Drive slowly! Be safe!" Zhang Lixia waved to the students with satisfaction.

The student wearing the big yellow duck cotton jacket was secretly puzzled and turned back to confirm. Who is this teacher? He was walking with Principal Yang. He was too enthusiastic. I, a little girl, am not worthy of such an enthusiasm. Run, run as fast as you can.

Zhang Lixia didn't put her arm around Yang Wen's arm as usual. Instead, she stood side by side, a fist's length away from him, and whispered, "Old Wen, I finally feel the joy of being respected by all the students. Wow, it's such a sense of accomplishment!"

Yang Wen put his hands behind his back and didn't expose or criticize her. He smiled and said, "Look at you. When Yangyang was in school, he only came here once to move things at the end of the semester. He didn't come to any of the parent-teacher conferences for three years. Not even once. You're only now experiencing this kind of happiness."

"What do you know? I'd never have thought of your son's behavior. Besides, that one time when I saw his dorm, I really wanted to lose my temper and beat him to death!"

"Humph, you're just embarrassed. My son's test scores are indeed not ideal, but you can't let me bear the pressure alone. I've lost all my face."

Yang Wen still gets a headache when he thinks about Yang Jinyang's freshman year of high school. He went to a parents' meeting and became famous overnight.

The principal's son failed all his subjects.

Some older teachers joked with him, but he laughed it off. Then, they began to encourage Yang Jinyang for two and a half years, and the results were good.

But the final result was that his son carried a suitcase and ran to the United States to go to the same university as his academic girlfriend, and only returned home once every hundred or eighty years.

"I don't know when he will have a holiday?" Zhang Lixia took out her mobile phone and looked at the calendar. Today is the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, and tomorrow is the Little New Year.

"You didn't even come back after graduation. You stayed in the US to work for the Americans. What a traitor!"

Yang Wen nudged Zhang Lixia lightly with his shoulder: "How could you say that about your son? All his classmates are staying there, and you said he doesn't have any good friends when he comes back. Besides..."

"Hello, Principal!"

"good."

"Young people should go out more and see the world, and experience the differences between cultures."

Zhang Lixia knocked on the door: "Tongtong!"

"Aunt Zhang, Uncle Yang."

"Have you packed your things?" Zhang Lixia took Zhou Xi's hand and said, "Your hands are so warm. Come and warm them for me."

"Two suitcases packed."

Zhang Lixia patted Yang Wen's beer belly and said, "Old Yang, come on!"

"Okay!" Yang Wen went to the balcony and checked the windows. "Is there anything else? I'll think about it later."

Zhou Xi locked the cabinet: "It's gone."

Yang Wen weighed the box and said, "Wow, Tongtong, your box is so heavy."

"Be careful with your waist, don't get hurt!"

"Don't worry." Yang Wen rolled up his sleeves and stretched his shoulders.

"Uncle Yang, that box contains books, and the other box also contains some."

"So many?" Zhang Lixia rolled up her sleeves, eager to try.

"Ouch, it's so heavy!"

"The teacher assigned a lot of homework, and I want to put some reference books back."

Zhou Xi's gaze stopped at the bookshelf. He had wanted to take the unfinished biography back with him, but it was too thick to fit in. He also had two bags of thick winter coats.

"Tsk, Yang Wen, can you ask these teachers to give out less homework? I feel like compared to before, Yang Yang and the others, they give out a lot more now."

Yang Wen stood at the door pushing two suitcases. "I really can't do this. The teachers can't wait to hand out all the test papers. There's always a line in the printing room."

Near the end of the semester, one of the machines in the printing room broke down. The finance department had closed the accounts and there was no time to buy a new one, so it had to be dealt with in the next semester.

Zhou Xi locked the door and closed the windows in the corridor.

"Your girls' dormitory is still clean. As for the boys' dormitory, every time at the end of the semester, the socks and other things are not washed."

Yang Wen walked slowly with his suitcase and glanced at the other dormitories on the second floor. They were all in good condition, without piles of messy garbage.

"Of course, girls like to be cleaner. The first time I entered a boys' dormitory, I was so proud of it, but it left a deep impression on me. It was so dirty!"

After going down the stairs, Zhou Xi turned to a separate dormitory opposite the stairs. The door was filled with unwanted books, cardboard boxes, and various daily necessities.

She registered at the table next to her and handed the key to her aunt.

"When I was in college, I even gossiped with Yan Zi and the others about what the boys' dormitories were like. Hahaha, I gave up after getting the answers."

Maybe it's because she's getting older, Zhang Lixia couldn't help but sigh that their conditions were not so good back then, and the university dormitories were not as good as the junior and senior high school dormitories today. She really envied these little guys for being born in a good time.

"Hello, Principal!"

“Hello, teacher!”

"Hello, Principal!"

“…”

From the dormitory building to the school gate, Zhou Xi also experienced what it felt like to have a huge golden Buddha by his side. Wherever he passed, everyone treated him with respect, and some parents even came to chat with him.

"Aunt Zhang, brother, when will you be back?"

Zhang Lixia suddenly became furious: "Who knows? I think he wants America dead!"

Yang Wen drove to the school gate and just as he got out of the car, he heard Zhang Lixia's nonsense: "Pah! Pah! Pah! It's almost New Year's Day, what nonsense are you talking about!"

"It's already the 22nd, and you haven't even sent me a message about when you'll be back. You've forgotten your parents' things because you're working, and you didn't even bring your girlfriend home to show me! I'm so pissed!"

Zhang Lixia helped Yang Wen put the suitcase into the trunk, and closed the lid with a bang, causing the ornaments inside the car to shake.

"Let's go!" Yang Wen breathed a sigh of relief, turned on the car stereo, and his powerful voice exploded.

"Yang Wen! What are you doing? Change the song!" Zhang Lixia leaned directly from the back seat to the central control and fiddled with the screen.

Yang Wen was so shocked by the sound that he covered his ears: "Recommended, I don't know."

"By the way, Tongtong, did your teacher tell you to go back home during winter break and think about your subject choices?"

"Yes."

"As for course selection, you need to think carefully in advance. Tongtong, do you have any ideas for choosing?" Zhang Lixia leaned on Zhou Xi, feeling comfortable.

"I haven't decided yet. I'll see next semester." Zhou Xi looked at the passing scenery outside the window. There were more and more trees and the view was getting wider and wider.

Zhang Lixia tore off a piece of paper and soaked up the water she had just spilled. "You have good grades, so just choose what you like."

"You still have to be cautious, otherwise it will be difficult to find a job after you graduate."

"Um."

After not being home for two months, there are obviously more cars and people in the town. People who work away from home are returning home one after another, and the young, the elderly and the children are finally reunited.

Today happens to be the market day, and the roadside stalls are filled with New Year's goods. It is very prosperous and lively.

Zhou Xi leaned on the car window, feeling the long-lost bustle, the smell of firecrackers, the sweetness of freshly baked sweet potatoes, and the sound of frying melon seeds and peanuts.

Having stayed in school for so long, she could hardly remember what it was like at this time last year. Her mind was filled with thoughts about school.

"Since there's a traffic jam, I'll go down and buy some grilled sausages!" Zhang Lixia was tempted by the barbecue stall set up on the roadside. It smelled so good that her stomach was rumbling.

"Slower!"

"Your Aunt Zhang is still like a little girl who hasn't grown up, making so much noise. No wonder Yangyang is the same."

Zhou Xi reached out of the window and picked a small plum blossom: "It's good, I'm happy."

It is still a half-open bud and the stamens inside cannot be seen.

She felt that she was really cruel. The flowers were hanging on the tree, waiting to bloom, but she pulled them down for fun.

"Ouch, it's so hot!" Zhang Lixia bit the whole sausage in her mouth, still holding the box in her left hand. When her right hand closed the car door, she immediately caught it.

The aroma of pepper and meat immediately blooms in the small space, making people salivate.

"Come on! Eat it while it's hot!"

Zhou Xi took a piece of paper to wrap the oily stick: "Thank you, Aunt Zhang!"

"It smells so good!" Yang Wen couldn't help but take the last one.

"It's so refreshing to eat something hot and delicious like this in the winter. There are no street vendors like this in my lab, so I eat in the cafeteria every day!"

"You went to deliver something to me but didn't buy it for me!" Zhang Lixia pushed Yang Wen, "Remember to check the car."

Although packaged junk food was indispensable every time Yang Wen visited her, those cold little things could not compare to the hot food from the stalls.

"It's too late. I usually leave from school, so I can't just buy it at the school gate..."

Pepper fell on his clothes, and Yang Wen wiped it off: "I've been shouting on the radio every day not to go to the street vendors to buy food, but then I turned around and went to buy some myself. The students saw it, and they were so disgusted! It's really unbearable!"

"Okay, okay! Principal Yang should lead by example, so I'll take advantage of the holidays to eat more!"

"Aunt Zhang, how many days of vacation do you have?" Zhou Xi rolled down all the car windows to dissipate the smell.

"It's not much anyway. The second day of the Lunar New Year is almost over. Oh, there's nothing we can do. For workers like us, money is hard to earn and shit is hard to eat!"

"The lab can't allocate funds every day, and they're holding back three months' salary. I can't buy the things I want!"

Zhang Lixia had a quarrel with her superiors a few days ago. What the hell, they invested money in some stupid project. It was obvious that there was someone behind it, and the materials were submitted without any problems.

As for them, there has been no movement for hundreds of years, and it is harder than climbing to the sky to get some benefits. If she hadn't been reluctant to leave the children she had raised with her own hands, she would have just left long ago.

The car in front started moving. Yang Wen quickly wiped his hands and got on the steering wheel. "What do you want to buy now?"

"It's a set of gold jewelry. I finally saw it while shopping during my holiday, but it's a bit expensive. I can't bear to part with it."

"Don't look at me, I don't have any money either. I just bought a tea set and my budget has run out. I asked Yangyang to buy it for you."

Zhang Lixia snorted: "Men are just unreliable!"

"Then I just bought you a foot bath tub a while ago, along with all sorts of medicinal herbs. Aren't they free?"

"Ah? You emptied my shopping cart?" Zhang Lixia opened her phone. "When did you log into my account?"

"Wow! Lao Wen loves you! I love this foot bath tub, and the accompanying foot massage!"

"Anyway, I've spent all my bonus and have no money left. I can only buy the gold jewelry next year. The gold price is seriously overvalued right now, so I'll have to wait and see."

“Okay, okay, okay!”

Zhang Lixia threw herself at Zhou Xi and said, "Tongtong, wait! I'll buy you a gold necklace for your birthday next year!"

"Aunt Zhang, no need. I can't use up all the things you bought for me."

"Ah, girls should be nice to themselves. I wanted a little girl like you, but I didn't expect you to be such a naughty boy!"

Zhang Lixia was thankful that her son did not corrupt Zhou Xi. Although she was the first one to disapprove of the idea of ​​arranging a marriage for a child, she was the first one to disapprove of it.

What if it really happened, and his son and Zhou Xi had a quarrel and parted ways unhappily, it would be awkward for everyone to get along with each other in the future, so it would be better for her to be a goddaughter.

"Brother is also very good."

"Yeah, yeah, he won't be bullied by men, but only hurt by women. I heard that his girlfriend is not simple."

Zhou Xi was puzzled and closed the window: "Sister Fu is quite outstanding."

Zhang Lixia patted Zhou Xi's hand and said, "She's just too good. I'm afraid he'll fail. If I don't make more progress myself, how can I catch up with her?"

She had hinted to Yang Jinyang on the phone that the girl should be one in a million, but her son was worse than a jerk and was not worthy of her.

"A good relationship is one where both parties are equally matched, and each has their own areas of pride."

"I support this!" Yang Wen turned the steering wheel and turned into the small road.

"Your brother is a flexible person, but he's too playful. How can he give a girl a sense of security?"

"It's okay now, just one or two years after graduation, when the friction is still small, but when your career is flourishing, you will definitely want a stable and reliable partner."

Zhou Xi silently mourned for Yang Jinyang for a few seconds: "Well, brother is indeed, a little, um..."

Zhang Lixia was bored and braided Zhou Xi's hair: "Don't cover up for your brother, or I'll tie you up too!"

"Well, if brother does something wrong to Sister Fu, I won't let him go."

"You've made me really curious. What does that little Fu look like?"

"Sister Fu has a strong personality." Zhou Xi chose not to reveal too much, leaving room for his brother to perform.