Chapter 023
The iron-barred gate was locked.
Chuxia followed Lin Xiaohan through the threshing ground and headed towards Secretary Liu's home.
Lin Xiaohan didn't give her the watch and watch oil, and asked her to make another trip by herself. Chu Xia certainly didn't think that he did it to accompany her. It was probably because he was afraid that she would share his credit with Secretary Liu and steal his limelight.
But Chu Xia didn't care about these. She had never thought of taking any credit from him. She just wanted to help run errands. After all, everything in the school was related to her.
The two of them went to Secretary Liu's house with their schoolbags on their backs. Lin Xiaohan returned the watch and watch oil to Secretary Liu, and exchanged a few polite words with him. Chu Xia, who was standing beside them, naturally also echoed a few words.
Secretary Liu praised both Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan highly.
After praising them, he couldn't help but sigh and said, "If the other ten educated youths could be like you, we would have less worries. You can also help supervise them and help them improve together. You are all from the city, and you are about the same age, so you are easier to talk to."
I dare not accept this thankless task lightly.
Chu Xia was thinking about how to refuse and ask Secretary Liu to find someone else to supervise them, but Lin Xiaohan spoke up and said, "Secretary Liu, I don't think you need to worry too much. They are just young and like to play. What young person doesn't have some minor problems? I think these are all normal and not a big problem. Also, we have been in the countryside for a short time, so their ability to adapt is relatively poor. They haven't adapted yet, but they will be fine once they adapt. They are generally fine now. Except for being lazy occasionally, they don't seem to have any other problems."
Secretary Liu felt that what Lin Xiaohan said made sense, since they were young.
Seeing that Secretary Liu agreed with what he said, Lin Xiaohan continued to speak a few more words, finally convincing Secretary Liu to feel relieved and think that it was indeed no big deal.
There is nothing else to say.
Secretary Liu politely invited Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan to have dinner.
Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan naturally declined politely.
Then he exchanged a few more pleasantries and left Secretary Liu's yard carrying his schoolbag.
Because of enrollment and the opening ceremony in the afternoon, the entire team now knows more of Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan’s fellow villagers, not just those who often work together.
When they saw Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan, they would also greet them with a smile: "Teacher Tang, Teacher Lin."
After saying hello a few times and seeing that there was no one around, Chu Xia looked at Lin Xiaohan and asked, "Do you really think that Han Ting and the others are just playful and their problems are minor and don't need anyone to supervise and manage them? As long as they adapt to life in the countryside after a while, they will be able to live a good life and there will be no problems?"
The expression on Lin Xiaohan's face at this moment was completely different from when he was in front of Secretary Liu.
He replied in an emotionless tone and voice: "No."
Even if the problem is a minor one, it is impossible for there to be no problem.
Chu Xia stared at him in a daze.
So when he said that in front of Secretary Liu just now, was he trying to cover up for Han Ting and the others and protect their image in Secretary Liu's heart?
Impossible, Lin Xiaohan is definitely not that kind of "good guy".
He must have some other purpose in saying this.
Chu Xia speculated further and felt that Lin Xiaohan said and did this most likely to completely eliminate Secretary Liu's worries, so that he would no longer have to worry about it, and then let Han Ting and the others go without worry.
He deliberately downplayed the problems of Han Ting and others in front of Secretary Liu so that Secretary Liu would think that there was no big problem. Naturally, Secretary Liu would not spend too much time on Han Ting and others. After all, their energy is limited and they have a lot of things to do.
If they realize that the problem is serious, they may devote some time to deal with it in advance and adopt special methods.
If someone took the trouble to govern, Han Ting and his friends might be able to live a peaceful life.
If left alone, they will most likely run into big problems.
Lin Xiaohan probably wanted the team to leave Han Ting and the others alone and let them make a big mistake in the future.
Chu Xia held her breath gently, but couldn't help but feel that Lin Xiaohan's thoughts were so deep that they were a little scary.
But she tightened her fingers around the strap of her schoolbag and said nothing.
She walked beside Lin Xiaohan in silence.
After struggling and hesitating for a while, she finally made up her mind: Forget it, she shouldn't meddle in other people's business, lest she get into trouble and become a nobody. She should just pretend she knows nothing and be a bad person who stands by and watches quietly.
People like Han Ting who advocate freedom, publicity and individuality will not be willing to obey the rule of others under the current circumstances. They will only complain.
They won't face reality unless they suffer a severe setback.
***
Return to the educated youth point.
Everything is as usual and life goes on as usual.
Chuxia doesn't interfere with others, eats his own food and sleeps his own sleep.
She now has no feelings for the educated youth center and only treats it as a place to eat and sleep.
There are limited houses in the village and there is no other place to live.
If conditions allowed, she would naturally prefer to move out.
Since you can't move out, just reduce your presence to the minimum.
***
The sudden ringing of the alarm broke the early morning silence at the educated youth site.
Others got up sadly, Chuxia went back to the dormitory, picked up her schoolbag, put it on her back and hurried out.
After running out of the fenced yard, he quickened his pace and caught up to Lin Xiaohan.
She panted slightly and asked Lin Xiaohan: "Can I sit in the back of the classroom and listen to your first class later? I want to learn how to attend class from you."
Lin Xiaohan kept walking and said, "Whatever you want."
Chu Xia breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you."
The two of them went to school together and it felt different than before.
Before I went to school, I was thinking about enrollment, but today classes will officially begin.
Because it was still early, Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan took care of their own things for a while and made mental preparations.
Then, according to the time on the horse-head clock, at exactly seven o'clock, Lin Xiaohan picked up a small hammer, stood up and walked outside the office, raised his hand and knocked on the thick iron plate hanging under the eaves of the office.
The hammer and the iron plate collided, making a distant clanging sound.
After Lin Xiaohan knocked ten times, he returned to the office and sat down for less than two minutes before the child came over.
There are hardly any children carrying proper schoolbags. Most of the children’s schoolbags are made from modified snakeskin bags.
Lin Xiaohan and Chuxia got up and went to the classroom together.
When all the children arrived, the classroom was extremely noisy and bustling.
Lin Xiaohan raised his hand and patted the table, asking everyone to be quiet.
Then he and Chuxia used the time originally set aside for morning reading classes to get reacquainted with the children who had officially become their students.
Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan introduced themselves first and asked the children not to call them "educated youth comrades" in the future, but to call them "Teacher Tang" and "Teacher Lin".
After they introduced themselves, they asked the children to introduce themselves one by one.
These children had never experienced such a thing before, and most of them were shy and embarrassed, so they stood up and said quickly in a very low voice: "My name is..."
Of course, there were also quite a few naughty children. They stood up and not only said their names loudly, but also said which team they were from, and even performed a show of Guan Gong wielding a sword for everyone.
Led by these naughty children and encouraged by Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan, everyone gradually relaxed a little and spoke a little louder when introducing themselves.
After the self-introduction session, Chuxia and Lin Xiaohan talked to the children about the school rules.
Although they said they would not hit people when recruiting students, there are still rules to follow.
Chu Xia said first: "Everyone must remember, first of all, our class bell and dismissal bell, when we ring once, ding, ding, ding, this is the preparation bell, it is to tell everyone that class is about to start, hurry up and get ready. Then the class bell rings twice, ding ding, ding ding, and three times is the dismissal bell, ding ding ding, ding ding ding, remember them all?"
The children responded in unison: “Yes!”
Lin Xiaohan continued, "We will definitely tell you the stories we promised to tell you during enrollment, and we will also give you comic books every week. However, we also have rules and disciplines in class, and everyone must abide by them."
"First, you are not allowed to be late, leave early, or skip classes without reason. If you are sick or have something important at home, you can ask for leave. Second, you are not allowed to talk to each other casually during class, and you are not allowed to be distracted. You must listen carefully to the teacher's lectures, and you must complete the homework assigned by the teacher after class. We will check it. Third, you will be classmates in the future, so you must help each other, unite and love each other, don't have conflicts over trivial matters, and don't form gangs to bully others. We will reward students who perform well during school, and punish students who perform poorly. Do you understand?"
The children responded in unison: "I understand!"
After answering, a child asked again: "What is the punishment? Spanking?"
Lin Xiaohan looked at the child who asked the question and said, "We said we won't hit students, so we definitely won't hit students. There are many ways to punish them, such as standing in the corner, cleaning the classroom for a week, or cleaning the toilet for a week."
"Ah..." The children exclaimed in unison.
The child who asked the question said: "This is worse than a spanking!"
I feel cheated!
After letting the children speak freely for a while, Lin Xiaohan patted the desk to make them quiet down.
We got to know each other and the school rules and regulations, and since there was still time, we chose class leaders and divided up the duty groups.
Chu Xia said: "We need to elect a monitor, a deputy monitor, a study committee member, four class representatives, and a labor committee member. We will use the method of self-recommendation. If you want to be elected, just raise your hand. If there are more than two people who want to be in the same position, then raise your hands and vote again. Whoever gets the most votes will be elected..."
…
After selecting the class leaders and assigning the duty groups, the class was almost over.
Chuxia went to the office to check the time, rang the bell for the end of get out of class, let the children rest for ten minutes, and told them that they could play in the school yard, but they were not allowed to run out to play.
Seven minutes later the bell rang.
The children playing in the yard looked at each other and immediately ran to the classroom.
When the bell rang, Lin Xiaohan walked into the classroom with his Chinese textbook and lesson preparation notes.
The children stood up and shouted "Hello, teacher", and the first class in their lives officially began.
After the bell rang, Chuxia put the hammer back into the office, then quietly entered the classroom from the back door, sat down at the desk in the corner of the classroom, and listened to Lin Xiaohan's lecture with all the students.
The children learned what Lin Xiaohan taught, while Chuxia learned his way of teaching.
As for how to attend class, learning in half a class is enough.
Tired of listening, Chuxia unconsciously became distracted and turned to look out the window. As soon as she glanced out the window, she saw a person crouching outside the window. The person was hiding behind the wall, with only a little bit of his head showing.
Although she didn't see the whole face of the person outside the window, Chuxia recognized her.
She was the girl who had been carrying a baby on her back, telling stories to other children by the small pond, and wanting to attend classes at school for free.
Unexpectedly, after being rejected, she would still come to school to secretly attend classes.
Seeing that she was listening attentively outside the window, Chu Xia did not go out to disturb her. She retracted her gaze to look at Lin Xiaohan on the podium, pretending not to see the girl standing outside the window.
When it felt like half of the class had passed, Chuxia walked out of the classroom quietly, preparing to go back to the office to check the exact time and ring the bell on time. When she went outside and looked again, the girl was gone.
Chuxia took a deep breath and glanced at the gate of the yard unconsciously.
***
Ding ding ding…
Ding ding ding…
When the school bell rang, the children in the classroom rushed out with their schoolbags.
Under the command of Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan, they stood in the yard, lined up according to their production teams, and marched out of the yard to go home.
After sending all sixty children away, the school became quiet and Chuxia stood there and breathed a sigh of relief.
After exhaling, she turned to look at Lin Xiaohan and asked, "Are we going back too?"
Lin Xiaohan glanced at Chu Xia, didn't respond to her, and turned and went straight into the office.
Chuxia now had a better understanding of his temper and personality, so she didn't care much about his attitude. She turned around and followed him into the office, packed her schoolbag, and went back to the educated youth point with him.
Return to the educated youth point and have lunch.
Lin Xiaohan did not stay at the educated youth site to rest. He washed his hands and went out again.
Chu Xia didn't want to stay at the educated youth center with Han Ting and the others. Hearing them laughing and playing, she guessed that Lin Xiaohan must have gone back to school, so she also carried her schoolbag and went back to school.
But when I got to the school gate, I found that the yard gate was locked.
This lock has only one key. After locking the door after school just now, Lin Xiaohan took the key.
Chuxia stood outside the gate with a puzzled look on her face, wondering, since he didn't come to school, where did he go?
After thinking for a while, she thought of a possible place - the private plot on the river beach.
After thinking this over, Chuxia immediately turned around and went to the brigade headquarters opposite.
She borrowed a sickle and a hoe from the brigade headquarters and went to the riverbank carrying her schoolbag.
When they got near the riverbank, before they reached the private plots allocated to them by the brigade, they saw from afar a familiar figure busy in the private plots - Lin Xiaohan was here indeed!
Seeing Lin Xiaohan, Chu Xia smiled and trotted to the edge of the plot. She greeted him in a crisp voice, "Are you here to weed as well?"
Lin Xiaohan turned around when he heard Chu Xia's voice, but did not show any enthusiasm.
He quickly retracted his gaze and said in a tone full of impoliteness: "Why are you everywhere?"
Chu Xia ignored his harsh attitude, took off her schoolbag and put it on the grass, and replied to him, "Of course it's because your private plot is next to my private plot, and I also want to weed and grow vegetables."
Lin Xiaohan ignored Chuxia and focused on his own business.
Since she had something to do, Chu Xia naturally didn't talk to him and just focused on her own things.
She plans to cultivate her private plot and plant her favorite vegetables, such as tomatoes, greens, leeks, peppers, cucumbers, etc.
Vegetables grow quickly, so we can have stir-fried dishes soon.
It’s not easy to get meat, but she can go to the market and buy a few hens to raise.
When the hens grow up, they can lay eggs and we will have eggs to eat.
If you can’t finish the eggs, you can take them to the supply and marketing cooperative to exchange for money.
Although the brigade has a target task and encourages everyone to raise more pigs, Chuxia does not plan to raise pigs.
It is not easy for a family to raise a fat pig, let alone for her.
It takes a lot of time and energy to take care of such a big guy.
She also has her work as a teacher to take care of, so she can't have so many side jobs. She has to make a choice.
While weeding in early summer, I was thinking about the future.
Even though she couldn't stay in the countryside for long, she wanted to live a good life during this period.
I've figured it out, and looking at the angle of the sun, it's time to go back to school.
Their main job now is to be teachers and teach children to read, and their side job of growing vegetables on their own plots can naturally only be done in their spare time.
Lin Xiaohan went to the river to wash his hands and prepared to leave.
Chuxia didn't delay much. He put on his schoolbag and went to the river to wash his hands. Then he took his tools and went ashore, following the path on the river bank back to school.
The sun shines on the river bank.
Lin Xiaohan and Chu Xia were standing one in front and one behind, one tall and one short.
Their reflections are reflected in the river, reflected in the sparkling waves.
Chu Xia didn’t want to look at Lin Xiaohan’s arrogant face any longer, so she didn’t follow him.
She followed him, keeping a short distance between them.
Anyway, as long as I can get some of his magnetic field energy, it's fine.
The two returned to the brigade, first went to the brigade headquarters to return the farm tools, and then went to the school to rest for a while.
The children arrived at school one after another as the preparatory bell rang, and their half-day study life in the afternoon began.
The children are adapting to the new campus life, while Chuxia is adapting to her new role as a teacher.
After another half day, hearing the voice of "Teacher Tang" during class and break, I naturally felt what a teacher should have.
Half a day passed quickly, and the school bell rang again under the eaves of the office.
Except for the students on duty who stayed behind to clean the room, the other students still lined up to go home.
Dependence
Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan were naturally the last to leave school.
But after locking the school gate, Lin Xiaohan did not go directly back to the educated youth center to have dinner and rest. Instead, he went to the riverbank to work on his own private plot of land while it was still light.
Chuxia secretly watched his movements and went directly to the private plot.
When they reached the river bank, the two of them worked on their own plots of land, just like they did at noon.
The weeds in the two fields were pulled out little by little, revealing the yellow soil.
Lin Xiaohan removed the remaining weeds in his field and got up to finish work.
Chuxia saw that the sunset had already set halfway below the horizon, so she stopped working and went back to the educated youth site with Lin Xiaohan.
Walking on the small path along the river bank, Chuxia was still a short distance away from Lin Xiaohan, just like at noon.
Because of the short distance between them, Lin Xiaohan's shadow fell right at Chuxia's feet.
Chuxia looked down and inadvertently caught a glimpse of his shadow, and then she started stepping on his shadow out of boredom.
Then, when I was stepping happily, the shadow beside my feet suddenly stopped.
Chu Xia looked up in confusion, only to see that Lin Xiaohan not only stopped, but also turned around.
He stood with his back to the light, his entire face hidden in the shadows, and his expression could not be seen clearly.
Chu Xia reacted, stepped back and said, "I'm sorry."
What a fool he is. Even shadows are something that cannot be touched?
Lin Xiaohan looked at Chu Xia without saying anything.
The spring breeze, mixed with the scent of earth and grass, blows softly on your face.
The sunset at dusk, the fields and the river, and the girl jumping behind him and stepping on his shadow, it is a beautiful picture no matter how you look at it.
But he felt inexplicably irritated.
Lin Xiaohan didn't say anything. Chu Xia felt a chill down her spine from being stared at by him, so she took another step back.
Just as she was wondering what Lin Xiaohan was trying to do, he suddenly turned around and continued walking forward.
Chu Xia: “…”
It's really unpredictable and weird.
But, it seems that she didn't disturb him just now?
She is such an ordinary, inconspicuous person with no sense of existence, so she shouldn't bother him.
I thought about this for a while while looking at Lin Xiaohan's back.
Chuxia felt relaxed and then she took another step forward.
***
After going to and from school became the main content of daily life, the days began to repetitive.
In the next few days, life took on a new routine and pattern.
Chuxia’s daily routine was similar. She would get up in the morning, wash and cook with Lin Xiaohan, go to school together, and then go to work on the private plot with him at noon and in the evening.
They weeded their respective plots of land, dug out the roots, and cleared away the stones and debris in the soil, anything that would hinder the growth of vegetables and crops.
Then use an iron shovel to loosen the soil.
Shovel up the hard soil little by little, shovel deeper, break up all the shoveled soil, apply fertilizer and level the land, then you can use it for farming.
After getting used to this routine, the days seem to pass by very quickly.
Between sunrise and sunset, five or six days passed by unknowingly.
On Saturday morning, Chuxia got up as usual and repeated the routine.
But today would be different, because she and Lin Xiaohan's private plots had already been taken care of, and there were no vegetable seeds available for sowing for the time being, so there was no need to go to the private plots today.
After breakfast go to school.
Chu Xia followed Lin Xiaohan this time, hesitated for a while and asked him: "Are you going to the market to buy vegetable seeds tomorrow?"
Lin Xiaohan turned to look at her and asked, "Why? You want to go with me?"
Chu Xia smiled at him and said, "If you're willing, I think it would be nice to have a companion."
Lin Xiaohan also smiled at her but didn't say anything.
Chuxia thought he agreed, so she didn't ask any further questions.
The air is fresh in the morning, and facing the rising sun, it is hard to be in a bad mood.
Chu Xia followed Lin Xiaohan and walked lightly.
When he arrived at school, Lin Xiaohan took out the key and opened the gate of the yard.
It was still early and there was still some time before the morning reading class, so no students came.
The small campus was very quiet. Chuxia was in a relaxed mood and expression, following Lin Xiaohan into the office.
She was thinking of sitting down and looking at today's class schedule first, but as soon as she stepped into the office door, Lin Xiaohan suddenly reached out and held her arm.
Chu Xia was stunned for a moment and didn't have time to react. Lin Xiaohan didn't give her time to react. He closed the office door, grabbed her arm and pulled her to the corner, then stood in front of her and trapped her in the corner.
Chu Xia was caught off guard and frightened by Lin Xiaohan's sudden behavior.
When she saw the expression and eyes on his face, she involuntarily shrank back into the corner, even her breathing unconsciously tightened.
Chu Xia didn't know how she had offended him that made him suddenly behave like this.
Lin Xiaohan didn't let her think too much. He looked at her with a dark face and asked directly: "What do you want to do? Why do you keep pestering me?"
It turned out that it wasn't sudden, but something that had been held back for several days.
Chuxia looked up into his eyes, feeling oppressed by his aura. She tried very hard to hold on but still felt weak.
It took her a long time to find her voice, and she said, "I...I didn't pester you..."
Lin Xiaohan stared at her and asked, "Do you think I'm stupid?"
He could tell whether she was working with him normally or trying to get closer to him.
It was required for enrollment before, so there was no problem being together every day.
But after enrollment ended and school officially began, they didn't have much to do together anymore. They just needed to take their own classes and do their own things.
But after this week, Chuxia did not put enough distance between them.
She was around him almost all the time, although she didn't bother him or try to attract his attention.
To put it more exaggeratedly, she almost followed him to the toilet.
He certainly didn't know why she did that.
After thinking about it, I felt that she probably figured it out rationally and felt that Han Ting was not worthy of her love, but she couldn't let go of him emotionally all of a sudden, so she regarded him as a substitute for Han Ting, and transferred her empathy to him to relieve her inner emptiness and sadness.
He could not tolerate being used by a woman as a substitute for Han Ting.
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