Chapter 69 New Year

Halfway through her walk, Fu Qing unexpectedly ran into two acquaintances.

Song Rushuang and her mother Xu Mingyu.

The three of them were browsing on the nearby shelves when Xu Mingyu recognized Fu Qing first and happily called her over.

"Principal, Happy New Year!" Xu Mingyu's eyes almost curved into crescent moons.

Last time on the pedestrian street, Fu Qing not only saved Song Rushuang, but also earned Song Rushuang an award because of it. An educational film adapted from her personal experience was played in public places such as primary and secondary schools and subway stations for several months, which made her whole family feel proud and triumphant after their initial fear.

After that, Xu Mingyu often mentioned this young and outstanding principal at home.

Hearing the enthusiastic greeting, Fu Qing turned her head and met Song Rushuang's gaze.

The latter slowly lowered his head and saw the Want Want gift pack in the principal's hand.

There was always a slightly awkward feeling when teachers and students met in the snack area.

Fu Qing tossed the gift bag into the already overflowing shopping cart and gave Xu Mingyu a professional smile: "Hello, Song Rushuang's parents."

"Hello, hello, what a coincidence." Xu Mingyu pulled her daughter over, gesturing for her to greet the principal. She then took a half-step back, quickly pulled out her phone, and typed a message to Song Jianguo, who was buying meat nearby, asking him to quickly buy some gift boxes and bring them over.

How could we let the principal go home empty-handed during the Lunar New Year!

Song Rushuang was pulled off balance by Ms. Xu, who was unusually strong at this moment, and almost bumped her head into Fu Qing's arms. She regained her balance in shock and then received her mother's secret signal to cover for her.

Song Rushuang: "..."

She stammered, "Principal, um..."

Before Song Rushuang could find a topic, Fu Qing sighed silently and took the lead in a routine teacher-student encounter: "How was your homework?"

Song Rushuang: "..."

Yes, as a unique case in university, Fang Zhou does have homework for winter break.

In addition to the daily 5km run, students also have to find places to practice combat moves on their own. The student wristbands can detect whether the moves are performed correctly and help them upload their progress.

In addition, there were review assignments for the hoarding course, zombie characteristics course, and first aid course, as well as various home-based assignments, such as checking the family's medicine and emergency supplies reserves, or practicing sewing with pigskin.

Therefore, the question of supporting young people is perfectly valid.

"Fortunately, I've been checking in on time every day." Song Rushuang was on the verge of tears, feeling as if she hadn't even left high school yet.

No sooner had she finished speaking than someone walked around the shelves behind Fu Qing and asked, "Why haven't you come back for so long... Did you run into a student?"

When Xu Mingyue saw Song Rushuang, she subconsciously abandoned her casual demeanor and stood up straight.

She still has some teacher's baggage.

Seeing another teacher arrive, Song Rushuang became even more flustered: "Hello, Teacher Xu."

"Hello, hello." Xu Mingyue didn't expect to see any students here. She looked at Song Rushuang, who was unfamiliar and didn't seem to be a student in the infrastructure course, so she awkwardly asked, "Uh, how's your stockpiling going?"

Song Rushuang: "...Yeah, I've stocked up quite a bit. I even bought several cotton-padded coats on Taobao yesterday..."

After that, silence returned.

Before Xu Mingyue could rack her brains for a new topic, another person strolled over from the same corner: "What are you doing? Why are you standing here as punishment?"

Lu Yan looked down and discovered that there was actually someone else in front of Fu Qing and Xu Mingyue.

He looks somewhat familiar; I saw him when he killed the devout believers in Xishan. He's a student of Fangzhou.

Their eyes met, and Lu Yan suddenly asked with a touch of wit, "Have you mastered mattress sewing?"

Song Rushuang: "..."

With "Hello, Teacher Lu" stuck in her throat, Song Rushuang just wanted to dig a tunnel and escape.

This is never going to end!

How many people did the principal bring?!

...

Question: Is there anything more terrifying than running into the principal and teachers having a team-building activity outside of school on a day off?

—Of course there is, and that is when teachers from different subjects take turns checking how well you've done your homework in order to ease social awkwardness.

Some people even started checking the homework assigned by other teachers because Song Rushuang didn't choose their class.

At this moment, Song Rushuang felt incredibly envious of Shen Qingqing, who was far away in the countryside.

If she had a choice, she would rather go to the village and outsmart the wild boars.

Seeing that Song Rushuang was completely overwhelmed by the three soul-searching questions, Fu Qing suppressed a laugh, stopped the two people beside her from fooling around, took two steps forward and said in a low voice, "Teacher Zhao and Teacher Bai have also come along. There are too many of us, so your mother won't have to worry about us."

“?” Song Rushuang turned around and saw Ms. Xu behind her, turning her body to the side and typing away on her phone.

The screen displayed large, bold fonts for middle-aged and elderly people; even from a distance of two meters, the group chat content was clearly visible to everyone.

[I am your mom: @I am your dad, two more teachers have arrived, one box of sea cucumbers isn't enough! We need two boxes!]

[I'm your mom: Get two boxes of nuts too! Do you have lobster? Get an Australian lobster! Otherwise, it won't be worthy of the principal's class!]

[I'm your mom: Oh wait, I forgot to ask the principal if he's allergic to seafood. Wait a minute, I'll try to find out...]

Song Rushuang is numb.

Given the principal's eyesight, which allows him to accurately discern the number of holes punched in a zombie two hundred meters away, he probably knew Ms. Xu's intentions from the moment she typed the first word.

So, was the principal just... helping her stall for time?

That's true. If the principal leaves immediately, I'll probably get scolded by my mom when I get back.

After figuring out the principal's intentions, Song Rushuang was a little confused.

After speaking, Fu Qing resumed her normal volume and politely bid farewell to Xu Mingyu. The latter was eager to persuade her to stay, but she smiled and said, "It's getting late. We came out to shop and have to go back to school soon. The students staying on campus are waiting for us."

"Oh, I see. Well then, we won't take up any more of your time. Let's not keep the children waiting."

Hearing that there were still students who couldn't go home for the Spring Festival waiting, Xu Mingyu nodded, then glanced regretfully at her phone: Song Jianguo hadn't had time to buy anything yet.

It seems I'll have to wait until next time.

Fu Qing then looked at Song Rushuang and routinely reminded her, "Remember to return to school on time when the holiday is over."

Finally, she paused for two seconds, and just when Song Rushuang thought the principal was about to leave, she suddenly heard him say in a low voice, "Happy New Year."

"Teacher Xu and the others were just joking. Don't rush the homework, just enjoy the New Year."

Song Rushuang was stunned for a moment, and when she realized what was happening, the three of them had already pushed the shopping cart far away.

I never found the right moment to say "Happy New Year".

Song Rushuang stood on tiptoe and watched Fu Qing and the others disappear into the crowd of shoppers before turning her gaze away and quickly taking out her phone.

She wanted to show off in the dormitory group chat.

—The first Happy New Year she received this year came from the principal!

*

Fu Qing wasn't lying. More than forty people stayed on campus for the Spring Festival this year, and they were all going to have New Year's Eve dinner together in the cafeteria.

Most of the dishes were made by robots, with only a few main dishes cooked by the teachers themselves, with Xu Mingyue as the head chef and others assisting. It was a special perk for the New Year.

The students carried paper-cut window decorations, couplets, and red lanterns purchased by Fuqing, and were responsible for decorating the canteen and the campus.

Both sides were busy with their own tasks, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.

Hao Zhenye was in charge of flipping the wok. He could lift the heavy iron wok with one hand and turn the fried rice into a perfect semi-circle, earning enthusiastic applause from Bai Tang and Zhao Yunxiao, the two novices.

Fu Qing used two cleavers to chop the dumpling filling with both hands, producing a finer and more even texture than a meat grinder.

Lu Yan took his scalpel and in half an hour he had removed a whole jar of boneless chicken feet.

Grandma Liu went to the field and picked a few Chinese cabbages. After removing the outer, wilted leaves, the insides were still fresh and crisp, perfect for making sauerkraut and dumpling filling.

Head chef Xu Mingyue was even busier, constantly moving between several large pots.

With all preparations complete, Xu Mingyue pushed away any unhelpful people, leaving only Hao Zhenye and the robot to help with the final touches.

With nothing to do, everyone sat around the large round table in the canteen and learned to make dumplings from Grandma Liu.

The students returned at that moment and, seeing this, crowded around.

"Principal, is there anything we can do to help?"

We can't expect the teachers to be busy cooking for everyone while the students just stand by and watch!

Noticing the eager looks from the students, Fu Qing thought for a moment, then pinched off a few small dough pieces from the large dough and generously distributed them to them one by one: "Here, take these and play with them."

Everyone: "..."

The principal's tone sounded like he was coaxing a child.

The students stared at the small dough balls in their palms, their eyebrows furrowed.

They wanted to say something more, but Fu Qing was already engrossed in her arduous struggle with the dumplings and ignored them.

The students could only leave reluctantly.

They found a few tables next to the teachers' group, huddled together and discussed something, and soon started working enthusiastically as well.

Fu Qing, Zhao Yunxiao, Lu Yan, and Bai Tang, four young teachers, all happened to be unable to make dumplings. The only two who could make dumplings, Xu Mingyue and Hao Zhenye, were busy in the kitchen, making the progress of everyone making dumplings quite bumpy.

After working for most of the day, I only managed to produce two crooked dumplings on the cutting board.

The low efficiency is one thing, but the ugliness is simply unbearable.

Fu Qing looked at the dumplings on the cutting board, not quite satisfied. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly felt someone gently tap her shoulder.

A boy, carrying a tray, looked at her expectantly: "Principal, do you think this is okay?"

Zhao Yunxiao, Grandma Liu, and the others were also drawn to his attention, so the boy simply placed the tray gently in the center of the round table.

A deathly silence fell over the room.

Everyone stared at the exquisitely beautiful rose on the plate.

The rose petals are delicate and soft, and underneath them are even stems and leaves made of vegetable juice, making them look lifelike.

Zhao Yunxiao exclaimed, "This is so realistic! How did you do it?"

“My grandfather used to make pastries. When I was little, he taught me how to make many kinds of Chinese pastries with playdough…” the boy explained shyly, seemingly not thinking it was anything special. “If there are jujube paste or black sesame paste in the kitchen, I can try to make even more varieties.”

Fearing the teachers might be worried, he added, "Don't worry, it's very simple!"

Fu Qing: "..."

Her gaze shifted to the edge of the round table, to the ugly rabbit she had casually sculpted. She coughed lightly and said calmly, "We don't have jujube paste, but we should have red bean paste, black sesame paste, and purple sweet potato powder. You can ask Teacher Xu to look for them in the kitchen."

"That's enough, thank you, Principal!"

The boy was clearly excited to be allowed to join in the preparation of the New Year's Eve dinner by the principal, and he immediately went to the kitchen to find Xu Mingyue.

Even after he left, everyone looked at the pastry rose with admiration.

No one dared to touch it, for fear of ruining the artwork.

Fu Qing finished wrapping the dumplings as if nothing had happened, and casually shook her hand as if to relieve the soreness in her wrist.

...Then, with lightning speed, he punched the ugly rabbit into a flatbread, quickly kneaded it back into the huge dough, and destroyed the evidence. Only then did he pick up a new piece of dough. The whole set of actions was so fast that it was as if a TV show was being broadcast at three times the speed.

By the time the others at the round table heard the commotion and turned around, everything had already returned to calm, and Fu Qing was already scooping out the filling with a spoon.

His lips were slightly pursed, and his expression was very focused.

Zhao Yunxiao hesitated: "I felt like the table shook just now?"

Sitting directly opposite Fu Qing, Bai Tang kept her eyes down and said, "It's just your imagination."

Zhao Yunxiao was even more confused: "But it also sounded like there was a bang...?"

Bai Tang was certain: "It must be your imagination."

Zhao Yunxiao: "...Okay."

Completely baffled, he frowned and continued his struggle with the dumpling wrappers.

*

At eight o'clock sharp, the small TV hanging in the cafeteria started playing the Spring Festival Gala, and steaming dumplings were also served.

The dumpling filling is Grandma Liu's secret recipe, and the teachers don't hold back when they make them. Every bite is bursting with juice, the savory meat filling blends perfectly with the crisp cabbage, and the shrimp dumplings even have a whole, sweet shrimp inside, along with crisp bamboo shoots and tender shiitake mushrooms...

Everyone buried their heads in their food and ate heartily. Xu Mingyue ate with great satisfaction, then looked up and let out a burp without any regard for her image: "I haven't had such delicious dumplings in so long!"

This so-called "long time" really is a very, very long time.

It feels like it's been at least three or four years, right?

Xu Mingyue: "However, it tastes good, but its appearance is really..."

It's unbearable to look at.

Some are the size of small wontons, some are like steamed buns, and some are like winding crawling insects.

—By the way, who actually made that steamed bun?

Fu Qing, engrossed in devouring the food, managed to utter four concise words amidst her busy schedule: "If you're not going to eat, give it to me."

He successfully shut Xu Mingyue up.

After dinner, dozens of people gathered on the playground to set off fireworks.

Fangzhou is located in the suburbs and is not in an area where fireworks are prohibited. Fu Qing simply bought a truckload of fireworks and laid a large tarpaulin on the artificial turf of the playground, placing all the fireworks on it so that everyone could choose the style they wanted.

Even the teachers joined in, weaving through the crowd, bending over and carefully picking through the items, finally picking up a few sparklers or bold firecrackers.

Bai Tang moved a small stool for Grandma Liu so she could sit and watch, and then ran off to find Fu Qing and the others.

Hao Zhenye had no interest in setting off fireworks, so he simply stayed and kept Liu Yingchun company.

When the first firework burst into the night sky, the crowd screamed and roared with excitement, their shouts almost drowning out the clamor of the exploding fireworks.

If you look closely, you'll see a group of young teachers mixed in with the crowd, secretly jumping and skipping along.

Liu Yingchun couldn't help but laugh, pointing at them with her hand, her wrinkles deepening with laughter: "You usually act so serious... but you're clearly still just a bunch of kids."

Indeed, in Liu Yingchun's eyes, the age difference between Fu Qing and the students was nothing at all.

Hao Zhenye looked at it carefully, and when he opened his mouth, he exhaled a puff of white breath. The hint of laughter in his voice was blurred into the night along with the snow-white mist.

"really."