Chapter 9898
After the final exam, Jiang Bai took the remaining review papers given to him by the teacher in Shanghai and asked him to go back and continue practicing questions to adapt to the questions and exam rhythm in Shanghai.
Jiang Bai took part in the college entrance examination in Shanghai, and his examination results were included in the score file of Shanghai High School. He can finally come to Shanghai to take the college entrance examination.
It’s just that Jiang Bai didn’t want to come to Shanghai to study in high school, and there was indeed a language barrier problem. After he came back, he continued to practice questions. If he had questions he didn’t know how to answer, he would either ask his class teacher or call the teachers in Shanghai.
The entire senior year of high school was spent in tense exams. After the final exam, the first, second and third mock exams followed.
Jiang Bai is visibly getting busier and busier, but even so, he still comes to the store to sell clothes during his half-day off every Sunday. Even if he only has half a day, he will do everything in the store well.
For him, he studied hard just to be able to work in the store and earn money.
It rains a lot in spring. Whenever it rains, there is no one on the streets and the shops have no business.
So every time it rains, Grandpa Jiang gets worried. He worries that the clothes in the store won’t sell, and what will happen if his eldest granddaughter and grandson can’t pay their monthly mortgage payments?
Wucheng on a rainy day seemed to be immersed in mist, like a dream, and the water level of the moat was getting higher day by day.
At first, Grandpa Jiang was just worried about the business in the store, but as it rained, he became worried that if it continued like this, there would be a flood this year.
There is a flood here about every ten to fifteen years. Now there are river embankments and river dikes to block the way. In addition, in their area, even if not every household has a boat, most people have water chestnut basins and large wooden basins at home. People will not be in any danger, but the rice in the fields will be in trouble. Basically, a year's harvest will be ruined by a flood.
If you count the time, they have indeed lived in peace here for more than ten years.
The old man was afraid that just when things were getting better, a flood would come and everything would be gone.
He was worried all day, hoping the rain would stop soon.
On the eve of Qingming Festival, the rain finally stopped, but less than two days later, the old man couldn't sit still again.
"How can it not rain during the Qingming Festival?" He watched the weather forecast after the "News Broadcast" every night, and the more he watched, the more worried he became: "It rained every day before, why hasn't it rained in the past two days? No, I have to go back!"
For ordinary people, they all hope that it will not rain on Qingming Festival, but for forest rangers like Grandpa Jiang, it can be rainless on any day of the year except Qingming Festival. If it does not rain, it means there is a risk of forest fire.
Every year during the Qingming Festival, the nerves of forest rangers patrolling the mountains are most tense.
People have legs and can run, but trees cannot run. Once a forest fire breaks out, the flowers, plants and trees can only burn. The loss will be immeasurable. That is the mountain he has guarded for most of his life, how can he really let it go?
This is the first year that Uncle Jiang has been a forest ranger. I have patrolled the mountains for him in the past, but I have never patrolled the mountains during the Qingming Festival.
It had been raining before, and Grandpa Jiang was only worried about the water level in Shahe River in his hometown. Now that it is not raining, he is worried about the forest fires during the Qingming Festival.
Even though he is no longer a forest ranger, he still can't let go of the mountains that he has protected for most of his life. The day before Qingming Festival, he packed his clothes and returned to his hometown.
But Jiang Ning couldn't go back to her hometown on this day.
All schools in Wucheng only have half a day off on the Qingming Festival. All schools will take all students to the Martyrs' Cemetery to sweep the tombs in the morning of the Qingming Festival. Only after sweeping the tombs in the Martyrs' Cemetery in the morning, can the students and teachers go home in the afternoon to sweep the tombs of their ancestors.
Fortunately, it didn't rain that day. After recuperating for more than half a year, Grandpa Jiang was no longer the skinny and malnourished man he was last year. He had some flesh on his face and looked much better. Seeing Jiang Ning was worried about him, he pretended to be impatient: "You don't need to accompany me! I don't know how many times I've walked this short distance. I can go back with my eyes closed. Why do I need you to accompany me? Just study hard in school!"
Grandpa Jiang feels both happy and annoyed that his granddaughter loves to worry about him so much. Well, it's a good opportunity for him to go back and talk to his old friends about it. His eldest granddaughter is so annoying. She wants to control everything and she is always worried when he goes home and has to take leave to accompany him.
He is in good health.
Grandpa Jiang said impatiently, but his face was full of smiles. He said, "Besides, why should you worry about this? I'm not going back alone. I won't go to Guoan. Guoan doesn't go home on weekdays, so why won't he go home on Qingming Festival?"
Guoan is the eldest son of Uncle Jiang. Since Uncle Jiang and Grandpa Jiang are twelve years apart in age, the age difference between Jiang Guoan and his brother is also ten years between them and Jiang's father and his brother. In addition, one lives in the third room and the other lives in a mixed residence of the first and second rooms. Younger cousin Jiang Guoliang and Jiang Song play together and are closer to each other. Older cousin Jiang Guoan has been studying outside since he was a child. After he started working, he married the daughter of the principal of Wucheng Middle School. Now he has been transferred to Wucheng Middle School as a teacher.
Jiang Ning said: "My eldest uncle is a teacher. He will also go to the Martyrs' Cemetery to sweep the graves on Qingming Festival!"
When Grandpa Jiang heard this, he stopped talking, packed his clothes, and prepared to leave early the next morning.
"You don't have to worry about me. You're just worried that I'll be patrolling the mountain alone and no one will know if I fall down. Your grandparents are both in the mountain now, and I'm not alone. What are you afraid of? You're really worrying about nothing." Grandpa Jiang said to her, "I can take a bus from here to Shuibu Town, and a boat from Shuibu Town will take me to my doorstep."
What Grandpa Jiang said about arriving at my doorstep was not just empty talk, but the truth.
It rained for such a long time before the Qingming Festival this year that the water level of Shahe River must have risen to the doorstep. There is no need to walk for more than 40 minutes to the ferry to get to the village as before. The boat can go directly to the village entrance.
The weather forecast said that it would be sunny and rainless on Qingming Festival, so there was no need to worry about the roads being slippery on rainy days.
Jiang Ning saw that he was in good condition indeed, and that Grandpa Jiang was not the only one on the mountain. Uncle Jiang and his wife were also on the mountain. They were both in their early fifties and in good health, so she did not stop him.
In fact, she couldn't stop it.
Grandpa Jiang left early in the morning with the loudspeaker in the store. As he expected, the water level had indeed reached the doorstep of Linhe Brigade. Now there is still a river embankment blocking it. Once the river embankment is flooded, the countless farmlands blocked by the river embankment will be completely turned into a vast ocean.
Because the river water rose, the old men and children who were herding cattle could no longer take the cattle to the river bank to graze, so they took them to the mountains to graze.
As soon as Grandpa Jiang got home, Aunt Jiang, who was hanging clothes on the waterproof platform, spotted Grandpa Jiang and shouted in surprise, "Dad, why are you back at this time?"
Aunt Jiang's shouting also attracted Grandma Jiang.
Grandma Jiang was a tall and strong woman when she was young, and she is still very healthy now. She has a rosy and plump face, bright eyes, and her hair is cut to ear level and tightly tied behind her ears with an iron-toothed headband.
Grandma Jiang was also surprised and asked, "Aren't you begging in Wucheng? Why are you back now? Can't you beg for food?"
Grandma Jiang wasn't really mocking Grandpa Jiang. It was just a normal question. She really thought that Grandpa Jiang was a beggar in Wucheng.
Grandma Jiang and Grandpa Jiang did not have a good relationship when they were young. Grandpa Jiang lost his father when he was young. His mother had just given birth and had bound feet, so she could not work. He was only twelve or thirteen years old, and he had to take care of his mother and raise his younger siblings. At a very young age, he had to follow the adults in the village to climb the coal caves on the charcoal mountain. He used his tender shoulders to kneel in the coal caves and carry out baskets of coal to support his family.
Later, when a disaster struck, Grandma Jiang's family was left with only her and her younger brother, so she was introduced to Grandpa Jiang by a matchmaker. However, Grandma Jiang's requirement for marriage was that she must bring her younger brother with her and raise him until he was eighteen years old.
Both of them have younger brothers and sisters to raise, but everyone has selfish desires.
Grandma Jiang naturally favors her younger brother. It can be said that in Grandma Jiang's heart, her eldest son is not as good as her younger brother whom she raised.
In her previous life, before Grandma Jiang died, she was holding on to her breath and couldn't close her eyes. Everyone thought she was waiting for Dad Jiang, but when Dad Jiang came back, Grandma Jiang was still gasping for breath and staring at the door. It was not until her younger brother, whom she missed so much, came that she finally closed her eyes and took her last breath.
So, Grandma Jiang is not nice to Uncle Jiang.
Because of this, the two quarreled a lot when they were young, until Uncle Jiang was sent away and Grandpa Jiang became a forest ranger in the mountains and lived alone. The two were considered separated and stopped quarreling.
Quarrels are very common in rural areas. Just like everyone in every ordinary family, they quarrel all their lives, but stop quarreling when they get old.
Seeing Grandpa Jiang coming back, Grandma Jiang started asking.
Grandpa Jiang found the key on the gatehouse and opened the door. "It won't rain during Qingming Festival. I'm worried about Laicai being alone in the mountains, so I came back to check on him."
Grandma Jiang rolled her eyes at him and said, "You worry too much, old man! You sided with your brother when you were young, and now he's fifty years old, and you're still worrying about him! Don't you look at yourself? You already have one foot in the coffin. What's the point of thinking so much? You're already an old man!"
Grandma Jiang has been nagging about it all her life, and Grandpa Jiang has long been like the breeze passing over the hills. She talks about her things, and he does his things.
When he was young, he still cared. After he was assigned to live with the younger son's family, the two of them got along like two families. He said, "What does this have to do with whether I support him or not? I'm just worried about wildfires."
"If you don't support him, would you give him the job? Such a good job, but you, an old man, just say you don't want it." Grandma Jiang really thinks that the old man is being suicidal. With her second daughter-in-law's personality, if she doesn't have a job, do you expect her to serve you when she is old? Having a job means at least he has money and he doesn't have to worry about the younger generation not being nice to him.
When the family was divided, not only did the second son's wife not want her, she was also unwilling to live with the second son's wife and took the initiative to live with the eldest son's family.
She knew very well that she had offended the second daughter-in-law when she was young, and she has always been on the side of the eldest family over the years, raising three grandchildren for the eldest family. Given the kind nature of the eldest daughter-in-law, when she gets old, she will always have to feed herself.
After she converted to Christianity these years, she has become a calmer person. She has her own old sisters and goes to church every week to sing and learn to read. She lives a very comfortable life.
Glancing at the old man again, alas, he has been working for others all his life, and thinking about his children and grandchildren all his life. I don’t know what his end will be.
It would be fine if they had a conscience, but if they didn't...
Grandpa Jiang didn't stay at home for long before going up the mountain. He wanted to tell Uncle Jiang in advance which areas of the mountain needed to be inspected tomorrow and which areas were most likely to cause forest fires. It would be best to take a shovel and shovel out an isolation zone in advance.
He looked at the sky again, fearing that there would be a mountain wind. If there was a mountain wind, the isolation belt would be useless and a small spark could start a big fire.
At this time, the fields are covered with rhododendrons, and the roadside is covered with patches of clematis and roses, as well as various yellow and white wild flowers. It is so beautiful.
Uncle Jiang thought Grandpa Jiang came back to pay respect to his ancestors, and comforted him, "Aren't you in Wucheng? Why did you come back from such a long distance? The travel expenses are quite a lot of money. I will take care of the graves, you don't have to come back!"
Grandpa Jiang looked at the familiar forest and the hut that no longer belonged to him. Sitting in the hut, he looked at the completely different layout from when he lived alone in the past, which was cleaned up neatly. Somehow, he felt empty inside. After a long pause, he said, "Tomorrow there will be many people visiting the graves, and it won't rain in the next two days. I'm afraid they will leave after burning the paper and before the fire is out, which could cause a forest fire."
He stood up and took a shovel and a bamboo rake. "I'll take you to see where we need to focus our inspections and dig out some grass-free areas. When they burn paper, they can do so. Otherwise, if a forest fire is started, it will be too late to put out the fire."
This was taught to him by the previous old ranger.
Uncle Jiang didn't dare to delay either. He also took a shovel and went with Grandpa Jiang to the places most likely to cause forest fires and the places with the most graves. They first used a bamboo rake to rake away all the pine needles and fir leaves near the graves and piled them far away. Then they used a shovel to shovel the grass on the ground one shovel at a time until the moist soil was turned over, forming an isolation zone with the surrounding vacuum.
The two brothers spent the whole day digging such isolation belts outside until Grandpa Jiang felt that there should be no hidden dangers. Then he said to Grandpa Jiang: "Tomorrow you will patrol the mountain on this side, and I will patrol the mountain on the other side. Bring shovels and loudspeakers. If you see people burning paper, be sure to remind them. Wait until the fire is completely extinguished and cover the fire with mud before leaving. Be more aggressive when speaking!"
This is Grandpa Jiang's experience in patrolling the mountains over the years. It's okay to be gentle and silent at other times, but on the Qingming Festival, you must speak harshly to let those people know the seriousness of the matter.
Then he asked him, "Where is Wei Hong?"
"Wei Hong went to pick tea leaves."
The highest mountain here is a tea mountain. Because the tea mountain is contracted out, a large number of tea pickers are needed every year. In the spring, local women will go to the tea mountain to pick tea and earn some money for the family.
The tea buds before Qingming Festival are small and tender, and the price is higher. Picking one pound of fresh tea can earn one yuan. After Qingming Festival, due to abundant rain, the tea leaves grow rapidly. The tea buds are as big as the palm of your hand, and they are picked quickly, so the price is only half of the tea before Mingming Festival.
There is a lot of tea here, and almost every household has a few tea trees. In the past, Grandpa Jiang would pick tea from his own trees every year, fry them and send them to his children. This year he is not on the mountain, so his family's tea leaves were picked by Grandma Jiang and Aunt Jiang. If they are not picked, they will get old later.
Uncle Jiang went to get a can of tea leaves and handed it to Grandpa Jiang: "I know you like to drink tea, this is made by Wei Hong for you."
When Uncle Jiang’s grandmother was young, she didn’t know how to pick or roast tea leaves. She learned it here after she married Uncle Jiang’s grandfather. Now her skill in roasting tea is no worse than that of the locals.
Grandpa Jiang put the tea can on the table and said, "I'm sorry for the trouble."
Grandpa Jiang smiled and said, "Why is it so difficult? It's all as it should be."
To Uncle Jiang, Grandpa Jiang is both his elder brother and his father.
Ever since they moved to the mountain, no one has ever told them anything that hurts their feelings, like their eldest son is unfilial, never returns home during the holidays, lives in his father-in-law's house all year round, and is no different from marrying into his wife's family.
Especially the Qingming Festival. The annual Qingming Festival and New Year’s Eve ancestor worship are the most difficult times for the couple, because on these two days, as long as they are not in a faraway city, they will rush back to worship their ancestors.
The villagers all knew that Jiang Guoan was in Wucheng, not far away, but he was unwilling to come back to worship his ancestors. No matter how they told the villagers that Jiang Guoan was a teacher and wanted to take students to visit the martyrs' graves, the villagers still laughed and said, "We know about visiting the graves of heroes, but we don't need to visit the graves of martyrs on New Year's Eve, right? Why don't we see him coming back?"
Not to mention his wife felt uncomfortable, even he felt as if his heart was blocked by something every time he heard this.
Now the two of them live quietly in the mountains, with no one gossiping about them. Since the spring, the wife has been picking tea for others on the mountains, and can earn nearly ten yuan a day. She has earned more than a hundred yuan just by picking tea leaves during the spring.
He also gets a salary, so it's not as tiring as working on the charcoal mountain, where he risks his life to earn money every day.
With an income and a job, and no more gossip in the village, my wife looked much more cheerful and smiled more often.
The two brothers were not talkative. Uncle Jiang saw that it was getting dark, so he asked Grandpa Jiang to wait for a while. "I'm going to the mountain to pick up Wei Hong. You wait a moment and don't leave. Let's have dinner here tonight."
You can't go picking tea in the mountains too late. Generally, you have to return in groups around 4:00 p.m. If you go too late and are alone, you may encounter jackals.
Grandpa Uncle Jiang was worried about Grandma Jiang being alone in the mountain, so he would go to the mountain to pick her up every afternoon.
When Uncle Grandpa Jiang took Uncle Grandma Jiang back to the cottage, the door was locked and Grandpa Jiang had already gone down the mountain.
Looking at this mountain road that he had walked countless times, Grandpa Jiang walked down the mountain step by step, as if he was gradually unloading the responsibilities and burdens he had once brought to this mountain.
Grandpa Jiang went back to his hometown to patrol the mountains. Jiang Ning and the others were not idle at school either. They attended classes as usual during the day and made wreaths after evening study.
He Xiaofang and Xu Xiuli had not attended evening self-study classes with Jiang Ning for a long time. This evening, Jiang Ning finally did not have to go to the competition class. The two of them happily came over and made paper flowers together around Jiang Ning and Xu Xiuli's table.
The school bought paper, bamboo poles, and strips for making wreaths. Every student in the school had to make a paper flower by hand. Led by the head teacher and the monitor, they made the stand for the wreath. Then everyone went up and tied their own paper flowers to the wreath with thin wire.
The wreaths made by students themselves are not as beautiful as those bought in stores, but Jiang Ning has made such paper flowers by hand every year since he entered junior high school.
The big paper flower in the middle was supposed to be made by the student with the best grades in the class. Jiang Ning happened to be the student with the best grades in the class, so she was the one to make this paper flower.
Jiang Ning hadn't made paper flowers by hand for many years, and for a moment she had forgotten how to make them.
But He Xiaofang and Xu Xiuli, who were both high school students at this age, were very familiar with it. Seeing Jiang Ning holding those papers, thin wires and other tools and not knowing how to make flowers, they thought she was just clumsy and smiled as they taught her: "Finally there's something you don't know how to do. Come, I'll teach you!"
The arrangement of the wreath colors can be designed by each class, or not. Everyone can make the wreath however they want. However, the monitor of Class 3 still designed the wreath. Standing on the podium, he said to everyone: "Our class's wreath is one circle of white and one circle of yellow. Jiang Ning will make the largest white flower in the middle, and eight water-red paper flowers will be dotted on the eight bamboo ribs on the outside."
He pointed at the wreath frame with a thin bamboo stick.
The wreath frame was built by several class leaders during lunch break and placed against the wall beside the podium.
So the students in the class were all busy making flowers, and after Jiang Ning tied the largest paper flower in the middle of the wreath, everyone tied their own paper flowers. Then everyone tied another flower to hold in their hands tomorrow to present flowers to each martyr. Then they wrote the elegiac couplets to be posted on both ends of the wreath.
Everyone had already noticed that Jiang Ning had beautiful handwriting, so the monitor spread out the white paper that had been cut long ago and asked Jiang Ning to write the elegiac couplet.
Seeing Jiang Ning politely decline, the monitor handed her the brush soaked in ink and said, "If my handwriting is seen by other classes, our class won't be able to see anyone. I know you write well, come on!"
Xu Xiuli and the girls in dormitory 610 also urged Jiang Ning, so Jiang Ning did not refuse. After a little thought, he wrote on two pieces of white paper: Starry Dou Hanmang Martyrs' Tomb, Wind and Thunder Spirit Guardian Heroes' Monument.
Liu Ping suddenly started to cheer, shouted loudly: "Good!" and then applauded.
The classmates in the class also shouted, "Good handwriting!" and applauded.
At this moment, Jiang Ning was led by Liu Ping and had the illusion of returning to the system of her previous life, and she couldn't help laughing.
There is nothing to do after that. Those who are willing to stay in the class for evening self-study can go there, and those who don’t want to go there can go back to the dormitory.
Some people chose to stay in the classroom for evening self-study, some went back to the dormitory, and some boys went to the basketball court to play basketball.
Tong Jingang hadn't played basketball for a long time. Finally, one night he didn't have to go to evening self-study and Jiang Bai didn't have to go to the store to look after the store, so he dragged Jiang Bai to play basketball.
The lights in the basketball court were on, but they were very dim. However, the boys still played very enthusiastically.
This is one of the few joys in their boring high school life.
Jiang Ning originally wanted to go back to the dormitory to sleep, but the monitor came to inform her that the head teacher asked him to inform her to prepare a speech for the student representative tomorrow: "The head teacher asked you to quickly write the manuscript and just read it tomorrow."
Jiang Ning: ...
Why can’t I escape from such speeches even though I’m a student again?
In previous years, such speeches were all given by key classes and had nothing to do with their parallel classes or even the first year of high school. The speeches were given by the second year students.
Senior high school students have to prepare for the college entrance examination and cannot be distracted, so school representatives will choose from freshmen and sophomores, usually sophomores.
But this time, the representatives of No. 1 Middle School chose her, and she was personally appointed by the principal and the directors.
Who made her beat Wuzhong and take first place in the county in last year's joint examination?
Who else should we send if not her?
Whenever Director Zhang thought of the expressions on the faces of the people in Wuzhong after hearing Jiang Ning's name, he wanted to laugh out loud three times!
Generally speaking, the person who will be chosen to represent the school to give a speech every year is assumed to be the top student in the second year of high school, so the teacher will greet the top student in advance and ask him to prepare the manuscript and memorize it in advance.
Originally, Teacher Wang didn't expect that she would be the one chosen, so he didn't tell her in advance about preparing the manuscript. It was not until the director of the Political Education Department came to inform him that he unexpectedly discovered that a student from their first year of high school was chosen this year, so he quickly asked the class monitor to notify Jiang Ning.
He was very confident about Jiang Ning. It should be very easy to write a speech for the Martyrs' Cemetery.
On the other side, Song Peifeng from Wuzhong also received the same task.
Song Peifeng did not attend junior high school in Wucheng. Like Jiang Bai, he was transferred to Wucheng Middle School with his father in the third year of junior high school and took part in the high school entrance examination here. So it was also the first time that he received the task of speaking as a student representative at the Martyrs' Cemetery.
Not only Wuzhong and No. 1 Middle School, but all schools in Wucheng, including elementary schools, will send a student representative to give a speech in front of the Martyrs' Monument after tomorrow's tomb-sweeping ceremony. The theme of the speech will be nothing more than how the heroes fought bloody battles and protected their homeland, which has led to our happy life today, and how we must study hard and serve the motherland.
Jiang Ning had given so many speeches like this in his previous life that he didn't even need a script. He could speak for hours without stopping. He would quote the speeches of all the big leaders word for word, and analyze real cases, explaining them in depth over and over again.
Because they had to get up early, at 5:30 in the morning, when the sky was still just dark blue, all the students had already gotten up. Everyone was wearing school uniforms and white sneakers. Everyone was holding a white paper flower that they had made the night before in their hands and went to the cafeteria to eat breakfast.
After breakfast, the class monitor, or the two strongest boys, held a big wreath and walked in the front. The remaining class members were divided into two groups, male and female, and lined up behind the two boys in the front, holding brooms, bamboo baskets and other items in their hands. They started from the first grade of high school, Class 1, Class 1, Class 1, Class 1, Class 3... all the way to Class 30 at the end.
When their No. 1 Middle School opened the school gate and came out holding wreaths, Wu Middle School across the street was also coming out holding wreaths.
Students from the two schools, as if they had rehearsed it countless times, each holding a wreath and led by their teachers, filed out. One school walked on the left side of the road, and the other school walked on the right side.
It was still very early and there were not many cars on the road. Only students were walking quietly and solemnly on the road.
Gradually, the long queue of students became longer and longer. Looking forward, there was no end in sight. All of them were students who were going to sweep the graves.
From the high schools at the front, to the junior high schools in the middle, and then to the elementary schools at the back.
Every time Jiang Ning saw such a scene, an indescribable emotion surged in his heart and his nose felt sore.
The Martyrs' Cemetery is not close to Wucheng, about twenty miles away, and all students have to walk there.
It would have been fine if it didn’t rain on Qingming Festival this year, but when it rained on Qingming Festival, all teachers and students had to wear raincoats and rain boots, and hold umbrellas for the wreaths, which was particularly embarrassing.
It was sunny two days ago, but on the Qingming Festival, the sky was gloomy. It didn't rain, and the sun didn't come out.
The head teachers of each class walked with the students, and many teachers also followed on bicycles.
Teacher Wang arranged everything, and the students followed the group forward. He finally found time to come to Jiang Ning and asked, "Have you prepared the script I asked you to prepare yesterday? Give me your name, and I'll report it. When the host calls your name, you just need to go up and read it."
Jiang Ning winked at Teacher Wang.
Teacher Wang didn't know how to understand what she meant, and almost jumped up in anxiety: "You are not prepared, are you? Didn't I ask Shen Xirong to tell you that you will be the representative of the first grade students of our high school today? Shen Xirong didn't tell you?"
Jiang Ning quickly said, "I've said it, I've said it."
Teacher Wang then glared at her and said, "Why don't you tell me your name? What are you standing there for?"
Jiang Ning: ...
Teacher Wang: …
The two of them stared at each other.
Teacher Wang's voice suddenly rose: "Jiang Ning, you are not prepared, are you?"
"Ready, ready!"
"Where's your manuscript? Bring it to me and have a look!"
"I forgot to bring it."
Jiang Ning didn't have a manuscript, and Teacher Wang was so angry that he wanted to hit her!
Why is this girl so unreliable? She hadn't prepared for such an important speech in front of so many people! If this were embarrassing, it would not be in the class, but in front of all the schools and students in Wucheng High School. How could they hold their heads up in front of Wuzhong then?
Seeing that Teacher Wang was really anxious, Jiang Ning quickly pointed at her head and said, "Teacher Wang, I have memorized it all! I have memorized it all in my head!"
Teacher Wang finally breathed a sigh of relief, glared at her and said, "You'd better memorize it! Tell me the name of the topic!" In the end, he still trusted Jiang Ning more, thinking that she would not joke about the school's honor and make trouble in front of so many schools and classmates, so he said, "You don't have a manuscript, recite it silently a few times on the way, don't forget the words when you go up, otherwise you will be embarrassed outside the school!"
One must be fun for everyone.
Jiang Ning randomly gave a name. Teacher Wang got the title of her speech and said to her, "You are so bold. You actually memorized it and didn't even bring the manuscript."
Over the years, he has never seen anyone speak impromptu during a speech after the Tomb-Sweeping Day ceremony.
Such a speech by the school representative is not important at all. It is not unimportant at all because it is a speech in front of all the teachers and students in the county, representing the reputation of No. 1 Middle School.
When they arrived at the Martyrs' Cemetery, they first went in in an orderly manner to wipe the tombstones, and clean up the fallen leaves and dust in the cemetery. After all this was done, they lined up again. Everyone placed the white paper flowers in their hands in front of each tombstone, and placed their handmade wreaths on the largest martyrs' hero monument in front. The wreaths surrounded the three or four meter high hero monument in circles.
After the tomb was swept, students from each class, led by their class teachers, lined up in front of the hero's monument.
Many people living nearby came to the Martyrs' Cemetery to pay their respects after sweeping their own graves. After the worship, they did not leave but gathered at the very outside of all the students, watching these students line up in pairs, look solemnly at the Martyrs' Monument, bow three times to the martyrs, and then the principal came out to give a speech, telling the revolutionary deeds of the martyrs.
Even though they have told it many times, and tell it every year, it is still not too much to tell such a story a hundred times, a thousand times.
Their heroic deeds should not be forgotten, they should be passed on from generation to generation forever.
Jiang Ning went to Linhe Primary School, which was far away, so he never came to sweep the graves. But after junior high school, he went there every year.
In their Shuibu Town Middle School, not every student can come to the Martyrs' Cemetery to pay respects to the martyrs because it is far away. Except for students in key classes, only a few are selected from each ordinary class. Jiang Ning is one of the few selected from ordinary classes.
They hear about the deeds of heroes every year and are familiar with them, but they still have to pass them down from generation to generation.
After Principal Wu Zhong finished speaking, it was the turn of a Wu Zhong student representative to speak. Surprisingly, this year Wu Zhong also selected a freshman as a representative.
Jiang Ning also knew this person - Song Peifeng.
At this time, Song Peifeng was still very young, but his face already had a calm demeanor. He walked to the high platform in front of the hero's monument, spoke in front of all the teachers and students in the county, took the microphone, and spoke without any fear without a script.
Principal Sun and Director Zhang felt a pang of anguish when they saw this.
Song Peifeng's demeanor, bearing, and appearance were all so good. Standing on the stage, he was like the gentle breeze, bright moon, and lush forests and bamboos. Although he was wearing the same school uniform, he looked like someone from a different world from these ordinary small town students.
This made many school representatives who had not yet gone on stage to speak, holding their speeches in their hands, their hearts suddenly beating like drums with nervousness.
Teacher Wang also became nervous. Thinking that Jiang Ning didn't bring a manuscript, he was anxious and walked to Jiang Ning and asked her in a low voice: "Are you sure you have memorized everything?"
With the example of the Wuzhong student representative, and No. 1 Middle School set to speak next in line to replace Song Peifeng, he was afraid that Jiang Ning's performance would be too poor, and that he would be made to look like a nobody by comparison to Song Peifeng from Wuzhong, which would be a huge embarrassment.
The teachers of Wuzhong, looking at the gentlemanly Song Peifeng on the stage, couldn't help but feel satisfied that they did not choose a high school sophomore this year but chose Song Peifeng instead. They looked towards No. 1 Middle School with pride.
What’s the point of winning a joint entrance examination? That Jiang Ning, by chance, scored just one point higher than Song Peifeng from their school. Look how proud they are. This year, when they went to the township schools to do enrollment promotion, they simply used Wuzhong as a stepping stone. They hung the top ten list of the last joint entrance examination in the most conspicuous position on the first page of the enrollment brochure, with the school number behind each name, so that people could see at a glance that the word "No. 1 Middle School" was behind the first place above Wuzhong. Among the top ten, six were No. 1 Middle Schools and four were Wuzhong. They were clearly marked.
Wang Suoping, the director of the Academic Affairs Office of Wuzhong, can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Wasn’t he using Wuzhong as an excuse to promote his enrollment? Now, in front of the teachers and students of all the high schools, middle schools and primary schools in the county, I want to see how your No. 1 Middle School compares.
Principal Sun and Director Zhang looked really unhappy. They had known for a long time that Song Peifeng from Wuzhong was very outstanding. They had spent a lot of money on scholarships to attract him to their No. 1 Middle School. Who would have thought that he was the son of the top leader of their county? The scholarship was attractive to students from poor families, but it had no appeal to students from such families. In the end, he still entered Wuzhong.
Director Wu Zhongwang couldn't help but smile with satisfaction when he saw their faces. He took a sip of Pangdahai leisurely and continued to look at the graceful young man on the tall martyrs' monument.
Soon, the student representative from Wuzhong finished his speech and there was thunderous applause.
The host took the microphone and continued, "Next, please welcome the student representative of No. 1 Middle School, Jiang Ning, to give us her speech "This prosperous era will be as you wish"!"
Everyone turned their heads to look at the figure walking towards the platform of the Heroes Monument step by step.
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