Chapter 13 "...And that Shu Ran! What a mess..."
Shu Ran, holding Tie Dan, subconsciously followed a few steps behind him.
Whispers then broke out in the crowd, deliberately hushed:
"Good heavens... Officer Chen spoke up personally, that's a special envoy from above..."
"Zhou Qiaozhen has really messed up! Teacher Shu is a technical expert who came with a mission, and she's someone that Secretary Chen is supposed to 'protect'!"
"Shh...keep your voice down! But Zhou Qiaozhen has really messed up this time, she was too talkative! Who is Officer Chen? Last time, when the battalion headquarters lost a flock of sheep, even the division's security department was baffled, but Officer Chen led a team out for two days and found them all, sheep and all! And last month, the conflict between the well survey point and the herders, wasn't it Officer Chen who negotiated it? Anyone he sets his sights on will suffer the consequences!"
"Sigh, it's all Zhou Qiaozhen's fault for bringing this upon herself; she just had to provoke Teacher Shu..."
Shu Ran listened to the intermittent discussions drifting over from behind her, and her heart stirred slightly.
These fragmented pieces of information pieced together a clearer picture: Chen Yuanjiang, this special commissioner, was not only protecting professional and technical personnel, but also safeguarding the production order and daily life of this land. His power and prestige were built up in handling a series of thorny and special affairs.
Chen Yuanjiang seemed to notice that she was still following him. He paused slightly, but did not turn around. He asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong with the child?"
"He wet his pants, it scared him." Shu Ran subconsciously tried to wrap her blouse tighter to cover the smell. "I'll take him home to change."
Chen Yuanjiang didn't press the matter about the child further, and said in a deep voice, "Go to the clinic to get your back injury checked."
Shu Ran was taken aback, not expecting him to notice. She instinctively wanted to refuse, "No need, it was just a bump, it's nothing..."
"How can you be sure about something like bones?" Chen Yuanjiang interrupted her, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Teaching responsibilities are heavy. If your health collapses, who will take over your work?"
Shu Ran was speechless. Indeed, if the bones and muscles were truly injured, it would delay the entire literacy campaign.
"After dropping off the kids, go right away," Chen Yuanjiang said one last thing before striding away.
Shu Ran stood there, her arms tingling and numb, and the dull pain in her lower back was getting worse. She looked down at the little guy and gently patted his back.
"Don't worry, Tiedan, your teacher will take you home to change into clean pants."
There were still a group of children waiting for her in the shed, the collapsed desks needed to be rebuilt, Adil's problems urgently needed to be solved, and Shuanzhu's sick mother was a cause for concern...
Here, the only way out is to persevere.
***
Shu Ran handed the exhausted and asleep Tie Dan to his grandmother, explained a few more words, and then walked back to the classroom.
However, just as she approached the row of adobe houses at the company headquarters, a roar reached her ears.
"—Backward! Terribly backward! What are you all doing?! Three whole days! And you've only dug this little bit of drainage ditch?!"
It was Zhao Weidong. Shu Ran stopped in her tracks, a sense of foreboding creeping into her heart.
Sure enough, the next second, Zhao Weidong's angry roar turned towards her.
"...And that Shu Ran! What's she up to! She set up a shabby shed and gathered a bunch of kids making a racket! It was chaos! The whole company heard it! Some were crying, some were making a scene! What kind of nonsense is this?! She doesn't use her energy on the right things! She just does all this showy stuff! She's dragging the whole company down! I think she's just..."
With a loud crash, it sounded like an enamel mug being smashed on a table.
"Old Zhao, calm down..." came the voice of Technician Ma trying to persuade him.
There were still children waiting inside the shed.
Ignoring the roars coming from inside the wall, she quickly walked around the corner and headed towards the tool shed.
***
Pushing open the broken door, the scene inside the shed was even more chaotic than when she left.
The collapsed adobe bricks were moved to the corner by the stonemen, breaking into smaller pieces, with soil and lime powder scattered on the ground.
Xiao Ya and Chun Cao huddled together in the corner, their eyes still red. Hu Zi and Da Mao squatted to one side, scribbling on the ground with lime blocks. Tie Dan's spot was empty.
The most conspicuous was Adil. Like a stubborn little wolf, he still stood against the wall with his arms crossed, chin held high, his eyes warily scanning the doorway. Ayman, on the other hand, sat on the ground at her brother's feet, her hands wrapped around her knees, her little face buried in her hands.
Only Shi Tou, imitating the class monitor, stood guard near the door. When he saw Shu Ran return, he immediately straightened his back and reported loudly, "Teacher Shu! Tie Dan was sent back? We...we didn't run around! The desks...the desks were moved over there!" He pointed to the pile of broken adobe bricks in the corner.
"Yes, teacher understands. Shi Tou did a great job, he's a responsible class monitor!" Shu Ran praised.
She glanced around, her gaze lingering on Adil for a moment, and the boy immediately glared back at her with hostility.
Her eyes remained calm as she walked to the collapsed pile of adobe bricks, bent down with difficulty, picked up a slightly larger, relatively flat piece of adobe brick, and then picked up a piece of lime.
All the children's eyes were on her.
Shu Ran placed the broken adobe brick on the ground and wrote the character "手" (hand) on it with a piece of lime. Then she picked up another broken adobe brick next to her and wrote the character "工" (work).
She raised her head, her gaze sweeping over each child before finally settling on Adil's tense little face. In a calm tone, she said, "Just now, someone pushed the teacher with their hand, and someone kicked over a desk with their foot."
Adil's eyes flickered, and his arms tightened unconsciously around his body.
She pointed to the word "hand" and said, "Hands can work, create, but they can also push and destroy."
She didn't mention the chaos in the previous class, and continued calmly, "But the teacher believes that we want to use our hands to create and to learn."
She changed the subject, pointing to the character "工" (gōng), "工 means to work, to labor. Just like your parents are clearing land and digging ditches, herding livestock and milking cows, just like Shitou is delivering water and cutting pig feed, and Shuanzhu is taking care of his sick mother!"
She stood up, walked to the blackboard, and wrote the character "工" next to the existing character "手".
"Labor is glorious!" Shu Ran's voice rose a little. "We learn to read not so that we won't have to work, but so that our hands will be stronger and wiser! If we can read, Shi Tou will be able to remember his work points clearly, just like his father! If we can read, Adil will be able to read the words written on the medicine bottles used to give lambs at the veterinary station, and know how to better take care of the flock! If we can read, we can understand the instruction manual for the tractor, know how to fix it, and let it help us clear more wasteland!"
Stone's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously. Even Tiger and Da Mao stopped scribbling and looked thoughtful. Ayman quietly raised her head, looked at the words on the blackboard, and then at her brother.
“Now,” Shu Ran picked up the pointer and pointed it at the door, “read after me, hands! Work!”
Stone took the lead and recited it aloud. The other children followed suit.
Adil didn't speak, his arms crossed, but the hostility in his eyes faded. He stopped looking at Shu Ran and stared at the dirt at his feet.
"Very good!" Shu Ran didn't force him. Her gaze fell on the pile of broken adobe bricks in the corner. "The desks that collapsed earlier were also our 'tools' for work. Now, the teacher needs a few little helpers to turn them back into our desks! Stone, Tiger, and Big Hair!"
"Here!" "Present!"
The three boys immediately stepped forward.
"You three are strong, so you're responsible for picking out the usable pieces from these broken adobe bricks, carrying them to the middle of the classroom, and rebuilding them! Remember, make sure they're sturdy!"
"Yes!" Stone replied loudly, and immediately set to work with Tiger and Da Mao.
"Spring Grass, Little Girl!"
"Teacher Shu..." The two girls stood up timidly.
"You'll be responsible for sweeping up the dirt and dust on the ground, so our classroom can be clean again, okay?"
"Okay!" The two girls immediately ran out of the classroom and found two bald, broken brooms.
Shu Ran looked at Ayiman one last time and gently beckoned, "Ayiman, come here."
Ayman looked at her brother, Adil, but he didn't say anything. She hesitated for a moment, then slowly stood up and walked to Shuran's side.
Shu Ran picked up a small piece of lime, put it in her hand, pointed to the character "hand" on the door panel, and then pointed to another slightly smaller piece of broken adobe on the ground. "Ayman, help the teacher draw another 'hand' here, okay? Just like before."
Ayman looked at the familiar words, then at Shu Ran's encouraging gaze, nodded vigorously, squatted down, and began to draw on the broken adobe brick.
Inside the shed, everyone was doing their job.
Shu Ran looked at Ayman, who was focused on drawing characters, and then at Adil, whose eyes were filled with complicated emotions. A thought suddenly struck her.
"Stone," Shu Ran called over the foreman who was diligently building adobe bricks.
"Teacher Shu?" Shi Tou immediately ran over.
"Stone, you're the oldest, the class monitor. The teacher is giving you an important task."
Shu Ran pointed at Adil, then at the words on the door panel, "Adil might not quite understand what we're saying. Could you do the teacher a favor? In class, could you tell him the general meaning of what the teacher says?"
Shi Tou looked at Adil, then at Shu Ran, and puffed out his chest: "Yes! Teacher Shu! I can speak their language!"
Adil frowned as he looked at the stone and said in broken Chinese, "Hey! She speaks simple language! I understand her!"
Shi Tou quickly told Shu Ran, "Teacher, he said he can understand what you're saying! But you have to say some simple sentences to him..."
Shu Ran suddenly realized that Adil was not completely ignorant of Chinese; he understood some simple and commonly used words.
That would be even better.
Shu Ran said to Shi Tou, "Then from now on, you can translate any difficult or complicated things the teacher says, okay?"
Stone patted his chest and said, "I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"
Adil looked at his sister's smile and then at Shi Tou's conciliatory manner. He loosened his arms slightly, and although he still didn't speak, he put away his tense demeanor.
Shu Ran watched quietly from the side, feeling somewhat relieved. This was a good start.
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