Chapter 26 Teacher's Roll Call

The group carried water up from downstairs, wet the rags, and wiped the two people's bed boards.

After the water has dried, lay the mat on top.

I found a few more bamboo poles and tied them around the corners of the bed to secure it. Then I put on the mosquito net that I had brought from home.

Pillows and blankets were all placed on the bed, along with the suitcases they brought, which were also placed on the bed against the wall.

The box is about knee-high for an adult. It's not particularly big, but it's big enough to store clothes, miscellaneous items, and a few valuables.

The box also came with a lock.

When not in use, lock the box to prevent things from being stolen.

Theft is a common occurrence at schools.

Therefore, the best approach is to keep your wealth hidden.

Of course, elementary school students don't really have much to lose.

If someone wants to steal your things, they'll steal even a pair of underwear...

After making the beds for the two of them, the group went downstairs to carry water up and put it away. Then they took the two of them away from the school and had lunch at a rice noodle shop outside the school.

After lunch, several adults took the two children back to school.

At the school gate, I gave them a long lecture, watched the two figures, one tall and one short, return to their dormitory, and then turned and left.

Shen Xuewei carried the two jin of longan that her maternal grandfather had just bought for her, and with her other hand she touched the five yuan that her second aunt had secretly given her in her pocket, hiding it from her maternal grandparents. Her steps were extremely cheerful.

Wu Yuhong, standing beside her, looked both nervous and excited.

"Weiwei, I've never lived in a school dormitory before. Those roommates seemed easy to talk to, but I don't know if the others will be easy to get along with."

"What's there to be afraid of? We'll see them later. If they're difficult to get along with, we'll ignore them and never play with them again."

Shen Xuewei said as she went upstairs.

As students and adults passed by, the two stepped aside to make way for them.

Once everyone had walked a little further away, Wu Yuhong lowered her voice and assured them:

"You're right! Since we're together, if you get bullied, I'll definitely protect you!"

Shen Xuewei nodded and returned a smile.

Back in the dormitory, the girls who had arrived before them had already introduced themselves to each other.

Having already learned their names from their parents, one of them smiled and said upon seeing them return:

"Yu Hong, Wei Wei, may I call you that from now on?"

Wu Yuhong nodded demurely.

Shen Xuewei smiled and said, "Sure, my name is Shen Xuewei. You can just call me Weiwei from now on. Sister, what's your name? And what are the other sisters' names?"

The girls were quite pleased to be called "sister" by her repeatedly.

They all exchanged names with her, and Wu Yuhong, who was standing to the side, was no exception.

Gradually, more and more boarding students came to the school to register.

Those who arrive early can choose a good bed, while those who arrive late have no choice at all.

Someone glanced at the bed with the name on it, scanned the room, and fixed their gaze on Shen Xuewei.

Seeing that Shen Xuewei was young but occupied a bunk bed all by herself, she felt dissatisfied and suggested that she switch with Shen Xuewei.

Before Shen Xuewei could speak, Ye Meiling, the girl who had been most pleased by Shen Xuewei's earlier calls of "sister," retorted:

"Who do you think you are, to just switch beds like that! If you wanted to sleep in the top bunk, why didn't you come earlier?"

In just a few hours, Shen Xuewei had roughly figured out Ye Meiling's temperament.

She's loyal, fiery, and has a personality like a little chili pepper.

She slept in the lower bunk of Shen Xuewei's, sharing a bed with a gentle, quiet, and thin girl.

After being rebuked by Ye Meiling, the girl, who was just a paper tiger to begin with, immediately fell silent. She didn't mention changing beds and obediently slept with another girl.

Ye Meiling's eyes lit up with pleasure. She gave a soft hum and clicked her tongue in the direction of Shen Xuewei, looking both pretty and smug.

Shen Xuewei didn't say anything, but slowly crawled out a little and held up a thumbs-up in front of her.

As night fell, all 24 people in dormitory 405 had arrived.

Meanwhile, Shen Xuewei, Wu Yuhong, Ye Meiling, and Ye Meiling's bed partner Zhong Shiqi had already begun to form a friendly little group.

With more people, it gradually became lively.

Shen Xuewei was a little hungry.

She hid inside the mosquito net and secretly ate longan.

While eating, he also stuffed a few pieces into the mouths of Wu Yuhong and the other two, whispering a "shh" as he did so.

There was nothing she could do; she only had these two kilograms of longan, and there were a total of twenty-four people in the dormitory.

If she shares it with everyone, she won't have many left to eat, so it's better to share it with a few people she's close to.

She specifically reminded them that the three people who received the longan would not make a fuss and would eat it quietly.

Shen Xuewei was too lazy to get out of bed to take out the trash, so she prepared a plastic bag and put it on the box, planning to take out the trash whenever she got out of bed.

As darkness fell, the dormitory lights came on.

A short while later, a tall, slightly overweight, burly man appeared at the door with a roll call book in his hand.

As he appeared, the people in the dormitory gradually quieted down.

Shen Xuewei had already guessed his identity.

At times like this, no one else will come except the homeroom teacher.

Sure enough... "Class, quiet down!"

After he finished speaking, he paused deliberately, then looked around and found that everyone was watching him quietly and attentively.

So he nodded slightly and continued, "I am your homeroom teacher and also your Chinese teacher. My surname is Yan, you can just call me Teacher Yan."

One of the more clever girls greeted, "Hello, Teacher Yan!"

After she called out, the other girls looked at each other and also greeted her with "Hello, Teacher Yan".

The voices weren't in unison, but a smile flashed across Teacher Yan's otherwise expressionless face.

He gestured for everyone to quiet down and continue listening to him.

"I'll keep it short. From now on, if you encounter any problems at school, whether related to your daily life or studies, feel free to come to me. If I'm not here, you can talk to other teachers..."

He spoke at length, and everyone listened very attentively, afraid of missing anything.

When he had finished speaking, he waved the two pieces of paper in his hand.

"Alright, now it's time for roll call. Whoever I call, raise your hand and say 'Here,' understand?"

"Understood, teacher!" everyone shouted.

He began taking attendance.

"Shen Xuewei".

The first person mentioned was Shen Xuewei.

Shen Xuewei stretched out her arm and shouted, "Here!"

Teacher Yan looked up at her, then looked at her again, and thought to herself: This child is indeed a bit too young.

While thinking to himself, he didn't stop talking. After putting a checkmark on the list, he called out the next person's name.

"Zhong Shiqi".

"arrive!"

"Wang Manman".

"arrive!"

"Wu Yuhong".

"arrive!"

...

After counting everyone's names and confirming that everyone had arrived, he folded up the list, told everyone not to be late for class the next day, to go to bed early, and then left in front of the dormitory.

As soon as he left, everyone in the dormitory breathed a sigh of relief.