Chapter 38
The next day, Cheng Jin was chattering and Cheng Mingcheng was crying. In this noisy environment, Tao Zhi opened the newspaper as usual.
Suddenly, a piece of news caught her attention.
"Flower Thief Outside Luxury Mansion?" A man's late-night wait sparked a misunderstanding. Was he a flower lover coveting a rare orchid?
Tao Zhi quickly skimmed the article, which roughly said, "Several men were seen wandering around the villa complex, pointing and talking in the courtyards. Their suspicious behavior alerted residents, who called the police. However, an in-depth police investigation revealed a surprising truth—these men weren't criminals. They had simply spotted the precious orchids and felt a desire to possess them. Their sole purpose was to pick a few flowers."
"After verification, it was confirmed that the four individuals had no criminal record, were strangers to the residents, and had no prior disputes or conflicts with them. After a severe reprimand and education, they were released without charge. Police remind everyone that entering someone else's home without permission is an illegal act, and we hope the public will take this as a warning."
Tao Zhi sneered and took the newspaper to report to her landlord Sister Yin.
When she came back, she saw Cheng Man running down the stairs and looking around at the door.
Tao Zhi was curious: "What are you looking for?"
Cheng Man was a little anxious: "The teacher hasn't come yet. He's already half an hour late."
Tao Zhi glanced at the grandfather clock. Ding ding ding, it was almost nine o'clock. She comforted Cheng Man, "Don't worry, go back and review first. I'll go out and check for you."
She was about to leave when she turned back and asked, "Which subject's teacher?"
“Math and English.”
Tao Zhi understood what was going on, and she headed towards her neighbor's house.
The math tutor was a freshman, introduced by a neighbor. He was a relative's child, from a poor family, and was working part-time to support himself. When Tao Zhi explained her purpose, the neighbor looked bewildered, obviously not aware of the situation herself.
The neighbor put down the watering can, wiped her hands and said, "I'll go ask for you." She turned around, pushed out a ladies' motorcycle, closed the door, and rode away.
Tao Zhi didn't even have time to stop her. She smiled helplessly and turned to walk towards her English teacher's house.
As soon as she reached the entrance of the alley, she heard a noisy sound. She listened carefully and it seemed that someone was arguing with someone.
Tao Zhi continued walking forward. The closer she got to the teacher's house, the louder the quarreling became. She looked closely and saw that it was the teacher's house where the quarrel was taking place.
Two young men and women stood at the teacher's door, blocking her from leaving. The woman pleaded, "Mom, please, just for our sake, can you please not teach this child?"
The English teacher was very angry: "People should keep their promises. The parents asked me to come again and again, and I promised them in person."
"Mom, I don't care. I just won't let you go."
The teacher glared at me and said, "If you don't tell me the reason, I won't listen to you."
The young man hesitated, looked around and refused to speak clearly.
Tao Zhi quietly turned and left, pretending she had never been there. What was there to understand? Someone was deliberately doing something bad, not wanting Cheng Man to pass the college entrance examination.
When she got home, her neighbor was waiting for her at the door. The neighbor apologized, saying, "My child suddenly got another job that pays more, and the family just happened to need the money..."
Tao Zhi smiled and said, "It's okay. People always strive for higher goals."
After saying goodbye to her neighbors, Tao Zhi hurried back to tell Cheng Man and asked her if she needed to find a new teacher.
There was no need to resign specifically for these two teachers. Tao Zhi planned to give them a gift afterwards, to preserve this brief teacher-student relationship.
After Cheng Man and Liu Qingyue discussed it, "Mom, we can review these two subjects by ourselves. We don't need to find a teacher anymore."
Tao Zhi asked, "Do you have faith?"
Cheng Man brought out a stack of books, all filled with math exercises and thick test papers. She patted Jiang Shan and said, "These were all found for me by my cousin Li Yan."
She pulled out two more Walkmans and pointed to another desk, piled with books like New Concept English, Linguistic English, and Crazy English, along with accompanying tapes. There were also review guides and an English-Chinese dictionary, which dazzled Tao Zhi.
Cheng Man patted her chest and said, "The key points of review are: one is to practice questions, the other is to memorize. Don't worry, Mom, we are already prepared."
Since Cheng Man told her not to worry, Tao Zhi would listen to her.
As one crisis settled, another arose. The next day, while everyone was having lunch, they faintly heard a medley of instruments playing in the park. Gongs clanged, drums thumped, and the erhu hummed. With each sound, Tao Zhi's heart fluttered.
After a while, the chorus began, its voices high, passionate, and majestic. Tao Zhi and her friends, sitting at home, could hear it all clearly, as if they were there in person.
From time to time, there was also the sound of a loudspeaker: "Comrades in the back, please speak louder."
Tao Zhi's head was buzzing, and she had to raise her voice to speak. She looked at Cheng Man and Liu Qingyue. They hadn't even reviewed yet, but their faces were pale and starting to feel disturbed.
Tao Zhi felt fortunate to have had the foresight to do so. She made a quick decision: "Move all your textbooks upstairs. I've soundproofed the entire study."
They both sprang into action, entered the study, and shut the door, isolating the demonic sound from outside. They both breathed a sigh of relief.
Tao Zhi has lived here for more than half a year and has never seen the park so noisy. No matter what the truth is, she is convinced that it was the Guo family's doing.
The next day, the front page of the newspaper published the following news.
"The top scorer in the county middle school entrance exam, but failed to get into the city's key school?"
The report read: "During a visit, a reporter discovered that a top-scoring high school student in the county seat was attending a key high school. Curious, the reporter asked the student why he didn't go to a key city high school. The student replied that he wasn't accepted. The reporter was perceptive and concealed this information while secretly investigating. He dug deeper and discovered that two individuals, Ms. Sun and Ms. Huang, from the Education Bureau's Admissions Office, had exploited their positions to accept bribes from parents and, by falsifying original scores, had admitted several unqualified students to key high schools. The disciplinary inspection commission has intervened in the investigation, and the relevant personnel have been suspended for investigation."
Tao Zhi immediately contacted the reporter and handed them all the materials she had prepared earlier. She also hinted that the mother of the person who assaulted her classmate was the Sun mentioned in the news. The reporter, overjoyed, left feeling satisfied.
The publication of this article caused a huge uproar. The newspaper was flooded with letters, some questioning, some providing evidence, some asking for help, and all kinds of letters, disturbing the tranquility of the city.
The reporter compared the admission score with the final admission list and found that the candidates mentioned in the letter did not meet the admission standards, but appeared on the admission list.
Just as a reporter was about to reveal the list, his pen and paper were pressed down. His colleague handed him a stack of documents, and he immediately changed his script after reading it.
The next day, such sounds could be heard in the streets and alleys.
"Hey, Lao Zhang, you're here to buy groceries too."
"Old Li, you're here so early today too."
Aunt Li whispered, "Have you heard? The woman surnamed Sun from the Education Bureau's Admissions Office has been arrested."
Aunt Zhang also lowered her voice: "I think the whole city knows about what you said. The words in the newspaper are so big that you can see them when you pass by the newsstand."
"The kid next door to me had excellent grades, but he didn't get into No. 3 Middle School. I felt like something was amiss, but I never imagined there was such a big conspiracy going on."
"I heard the price is fixed. It's this amount for a place in No. 3 Middle School." Aunt Zhang held up three fingers.
"three hundred?"
Aunt Zhang glared at her and said, "Three hundred, you wish."
Aunt Li gasped: "Could it be three thousand?"
Aunt Zhang nodded: "That's the number."
Aunt Qian, the vegetable seller, also came over and asked, "I heard she got her own daughter into No. 3 Middle School as well?"
"Yes, they took someone else's child's place, and now the parents are complaining to the Education Bureau."
**
At noon, in a factory cafeteria, two workers sat down to eat together.
Female Worker 1: "My niece is in the same class with Secretary Sun's daughter. I heard she bullies a lot of people."
Female worker 2: "How do you bully me?"
"She would slap anyone she disliked, or lock them in the bathroom and beat them. She would force those who were good at studying to do their homework for her and copy their answers during exams. She would also threaten her classmates not to tell on them, or she would beat them every time she saw them."
"Aren't there any students who are a little tougher?"
"Of course she did. She complained to the homeroom teacher, but it didn't work, so she went to the Dean of Studies. Guess what happened? Her daughter was completely fine, and it was the classmate who complained who was beaten up by Secretary Sun's daughter, Guo Ying. I heard the classmate was beaten so badly that he ended up in the hospital."
"Oh my god, the school is owned by her family?"
The female workers all laughed. "That's about right. The Dean was promoted by Secretary Sun to protect Guo Ying in school. They're in the same group. If you go and complain, you'll end up getting harassed."
"Officials protect each other, and students have no way to reason."
**
Afternoon tea time in the office
A certain official commented: "I've said it before, she's going to get into trouble sooner or later. Guess how she got into trouble?"
My colleagues were very polite and asked, "How did you translate it?"
An official said: "There was a parent who was a tough nut. When his child was bullied, he got furious and secretly collected evidence. He sent a letter of complaint to the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, listing all the witnesses and evidence. I heard there was even a recording in the letter."
A colleague said, "Serves her right. It's like saying evil will be punished by evil. If you walk too much at night, you're bound to run into ghosts. What about her daughter and that director?"
An official said: "Her daughter will definitely be expelled, and her academic qualifications may even be invalidated. That principal, who knows how many bad things he did in secret, was also taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission. This time, let alone being a teacher, he may even be held accountable."
Colleagues: “It’s really satisfying.”
**
Every household is having dinner
Dad said, "This is what they call good deeds will be rewarded in the end."
The mother was terrified: "Luckily, our children didn't encounter such a thing, otherwise they would want to tear such people apart every minute. They should be severely punished, preferably spend a few more years in prison."
Grandma also sighed, "The key is the children who were replaced. Their bright futures have been delayed just like that. How can we compensate them for this? And those children who were bullied, I wonder how sad they must be."
Everyone agreed: "How wicked!"
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