"I'll go and ask about it then."
Mu Xuejian's eyes showed a hint of worry.
After school in the evening, Mu Xuejian packed his luggage early and waited patiently at the school gate.
Before long, he saw Wang Gou Dan, who was walking timidly with his head down, slid along the wall at the back of the crowd.
"Dog Egg!"
Mu Xuejian's shout made Wang Gou Dan tremble.
When the child saw Mu Xuejian, his eyes lit up, but then he noticed the strange looks from those around him, and his joy was short-lived.
Mu Xuejian understood this feeling perfectly. He glared fiercely at the parents around him and protected Gou Dan'er as they walked towards home.
On the way, Mu Xuejian, having prepared himself mentally, also asked Wang Gou Dan a question.
"Dog Egg, have you ever thought about transferring schools?"
"Go to a place where there is less pressure and tuition is free."
Upon hearing this, Wang Gou Dan was stunned for a moment, then looked at Mu Xuejian in a panic and asked anxiously.
"Teacher Mu, are you abandoning Gou Dan?"
Mu Xuejian was slightly taken aback, then smiled and comforted him.
"No, it's a policy here."
"I can support your studies."
"You'll only be in the second year of junior high in the fall, you still have three years."
"You can have a good time during your junior high school years there."
After hearing this, Wang Gou Dan gritted his teeth, seemingly deep in thought.
Mu Xuejian didn't ask any more questions. He just pushed his bicycle and walked slowly with Wang Gou Dan, waiting for his answer.
After a while, Wang Gou Dan turned around and looked at Mu Xuejian, asking him timidly.
"Teacher Mu, can I stop studying?"
Mu Xuejian never expected that this would be the answer he received.
This was also the first time in over a year that Wang Gou Dan had seen Mu Xuejian become so popular.
Mu Xuejian, abandoning his usual gentle demeanor, angrily rebuked Wang Gou Dan.
"What are you planning to do if you don't study?"
"Go to work?"
"You're only thirteen years old, where can you find work?"
"After you finish these four years, then you can consider anything else. Until then, you just need to focus on your studies!"
Wang Gou Dan shuddered, a hint of fear appearing in his eyes.
Mu Xuejian noticed that his tone had been a bit too harsh and quickly tried to calm him down.
"Dog Egg, you might be studying far from home."
"But as long as you study hard, come back and repay your grandparents properly."
"Do you understand?"
Wang Gou Dan nodded silently.
Looking at Wang Gou Dan in front of him, Mu Xuejian could hardly express his feelings.
Wang Gou Dan was just a kid who collected recyclables downstairs from his house.
The two originally had no interaction, until one day after get off work, Mu Xuejian found Wang Gou Dan holding a junior high school textbook and reading it with great interest.
Mu Xuejian initially thought the child was just joking, so he went up to him with good intentions to give him some guidance.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Mu Xuejian quickly discovered the child's extraordinary abilities. As a child who had not received any education, but had only learned to recognize characters and use a dictionary when he was young, he was able to learn junior high school knowledge on his own.
And when there's something they don't understand, the child will use the things around them to study it and eventually figure it out.
Since then, Mu Xuejian has taught the child something every day.
In just half a year, Wang Gou Dan had mastered all the knowledge from five years of primary school and even some of the knowledge from the first year of junior high school.
Mu Xuejian had to admit that he had stumbled upon a promising talent downstairs.
After discussing it with his wife at home, the two decided to send Wang Gou Dan to Mu Xuejian's school to give it a try.
Wang Gou Dan lived up to expectations, ranking among the top thirty in the entire grade right after enrolling. However, Mu Xuejian knew very well that this child's abilities were far more than that.
Wang Gou Dan's poor academic performance is largely due to the school environment. Constantly living with feelings of inferiority is detrimental to his mental and physical health, causing Mu Xuejian great concern.
After taking Wang Gou Dan home, Mu Xuejian also met Wang Gou Dan's grandparents.
Wang Gou Dan's father died early, and his mother ran away immediately after his father's death.
Only two elderly people were left to take care of Wang Gou Dan.
Wang Gou Dan's grandparents are getting old. They had a son late in life, and now they can only make ends meet by collecting recyclables.
Wang Gou Dan refused to finish elementary school because he knew his grandparents were struggling financially and didn't need to pay for their tuition.
After Mu Xuejian explained the policy to the two elderly people, they were very happy.
"Dog Egg's ability to study is more important than anything else."
"I don't care."
A hunched old man gently patted his back and looked at Mu Xuejian with a smile.
The elderly woman next to her was also wiping away tears, constantly sighing softly about the benefits of the policy.
Seeing the two elderly people's appearance, Mu Xuejian felt a pang of sadness.
But for Gou Dan's future, he also decided to go to the school there as a "parent" to investigate it thoroughly.
Thursday arrived quickly, and Mu Xuejian asked the school for leave early to switch classes.
To reassure students about their studies, the city of Shangdu specially arranged a bus to take parents to visit the school and let them know that it is a legitimate school.
However, for these parents, this is already an unnecessary undertaking.
As long as children can study for free and continue to receive education, that's more important than anything else.
On the bus, Mu Xuejian looked down at the parents heading to school.
On this bus heading to the stone-picking site, many families had members with disabilities; some used crutches, others were partially paralyzed—these were considered among the more tragic cases.
Some parents even avoided eye contact and seemed timid, clearly afraid to interact with others.
That deep-seated inferiority complex was on full display, making Mu Xuejian, a teacher by training, seem out of place on the bus.
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