Chapter 173 Something Happened (Fourth Update)
Wang Xiannian just said that, and Wen Wan didn't think much about it. Scheduling programs was her specialty. There was no need to think about it. She would just go when she was needed! It was just a casual remark at the moment, and there was no certainty. She would talk about it later when they got together.
The weather was good. It was bright all around shortly after daybreak, even before the sun had climbed over the hill. The sun was strong, so it would definitely be warm at noon.
As soon as the morning reading class was over, the children in the class rushed out of the classroom one after another.
The compacted mud ground was scratched into lanes by them with sticks, where they played shuttlecock, hit sandbags, and jumped over sandbags.
There were also people holding their legs and shouting cockfighting rhymes: "Gossip about the neighbors to the east, three toads with four eyes--" They were all jumping enthusiastically.
Others didn't even bother to join in the dancing and just took their own baking baskets to a spacious place and started shaking them vigorously. After shaking them for a while, the fire inside seemed to have gone out and then it started to burn again. They had to light it now, otherwise it would not be good enough to hang there during class and would go out in a while.
The ten minutes after class has always been short. It always feels like the bell rings again before I have had much time to play. Everyone enters the classroom reluctantly and starts class.
Wen Wan was about to enter the classroom with the homework books and textbook lesson plans that she had corrected the day before. At this moment, there was a loud bang, followed by a scream.
Something happened!
Lu Donglin stood in the middle of the playground, looking at the baking basket that was knocked out of his hand, the scattered charcoal fire and his classmates rolling on the ground. He was so scared that he stood there in a daze for a long time and couldn't react.
Wen Wan threw her things onto the windowsill and ran towards the center of the playground. Hu Gaoquan was faster than her. He picked up the child on the ground, knocked the fire off his neck, and ran into the clinic with him. The homework books and textbooks in his hands were scattered all over the floor.
Wen Wan went to help pick it up, looked at Lu Donglin, and pointed to the fourth grade classroom: "Go, stand by the door, we'll talk later."
After saying that, he went to the classroom with his fourth-grade notebook, then turned around and went to the health room.
The kid's name was Li Xiaohu. He wasn't in fourth grade, but in Wang Hongmei's second grade class. As soon as the bell rang, a group of frantic kids rushed into the classroom like mad calves, and he was no exception. Lu Donglin did the same, running towards the classroom like a bandit, carrying his baking basket and swinging it around. He wasn't just swinging it in circles, but in figure-eight patterns, a fancy way of saying it. The two of them happened to collide, and Li Xiaohu collided with Lu Donglin's swinging baking basket, flipping it over and sending the charcoal inside spilling all over his neck.
His throat was hoarse from crying. Zhou Wanlin was applying cold water to him, while Hu Gaoquan held him and pressed him onto the bench.
Wen Wan came in and greeted, "Teacher Hu." She then called out to Zhou Wanlin, "Doctor Zhou, how is he?"
Before Zhou Wanlin could answer, the second-grade teacher Wang Hongmei also arrived.
Knowing that the injured person was from her class, Wen Wan apologized to her first: "Teacher Wang, I'm really sorry for causing you trouble."
Wang Hongmei said nothing.
Zhou Wanlin glanced at her and said, "Teacher Hu shook herself just in time. She was wearing thick clothes in winter, so most of the charcoal spilled onto her clothes. There were a few on the inside of her neck, so she must have been burned. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and it didn't get on her face. I'll give her some ice. Hopefully, there won't be any blisters. If it does, I'll have to apply some medicine."
Wen Wan breathed a sigh of relief, as long as he was okay.
Unexpectedly, Wang Hongmei spoke up at this moment: "Teacher Wen, I have no problem with you. You have a high degree, are good-looking, married well, and know a lot. The teachers in our school all like you and respect you. But this Lu Donglin, although he is not a student in your class, you are his sister-in-law. Seriously, this kid really needs to be punished. If he burns someone like this, the adults in his family will definitely come to make a fuss."
Wen Wan said, "I know. When their parents come, I will apologize and pay for the medical expenses. I will also compensate for the burned clothes. After all, they were injured. But Teacher Wang, we still don't know if this is Lu Donglin's fault alone. If he deliberately threw the fire into the student's neck, I would break his hand right now without you saying anything. The problem is that we don't know the situation yet. As a teacher, I don't think we can jump to conclusions just because one person is injured and the other is fine."
Wang Hongmei hadn't expected her to come back so directly. She was so choked up that she didn't know how to speak again. After a long while, she said, "After all, someone was hurt. I hope Teacher Wen can be as eloquent as this when Li Xiaohu's parents come to the school to look for him."
Wen Wan ignored her, turned around and left the clinic, went to the class to distribute homework books and assigned tasks for self-study, then went to the fourth grade to take a look around, and then went back to the office, took out two candies from the drawer, held them in her hand and went back into the clinic.
She squatted down and stretched out her hand: "Don't cry, here, I'll give you some candy, eat the candy and the pain will go away."
Li Xiaohu howled so hard that he couldn't stop even if he wanted to.
After a long time, he finally couldn't resist the temptation and took the candy from her hand.
Zhou Wanlin had already taken the towel off his neck. Wen Wan took a look and saw a large red spot. There were blisters in the neck and she needed to apply medicine.
While Zhou Wanlin was applying the medicine, Wen Wan asked Li Xiaohu, "Tell the teacher how you got burned. Was it Lu Donglin who did it? Did he pour the fire on your neck?"
Li Xiaohu sobbed and shook his head: "No, no, I was also, I was also Phuket Island. I was running into the classroom and didn't pay attention. We bumped into each other and then I got burned."
Well, there is no need to ask Lu Donglin, it was just a collision due to carelessness, or it was Li Xiaohu who bumped into Lu Donglin.
Wen Wan looked at Wang Hongmei and said, "Teacher Wang, the medicine has been applied. I'm going back to class." Then she thanked Hu Gaoquan.
Hu Gaoquan also felt relieved. At least nothing serious happened. After all, Lu Donglin was a student in his class. If something really happened, he would not be able to escape the responsibility.
When she got outside, she saw Lu Donglin standing there with his head drooping, looking pitiful. She walked over and called out, "Lu Donglin, go back to the classroom!"
Lu Donglin was stunned for a moment, raised his eyes, looked at her with red eyes, opened his mouth but couldn't say anything.
Wen Wan repeated again: "Go, go to class!"
Lu Donglin sniffed and entered the classroom.
The class had already started for a while, and Wen Wan did not delay any longer and walked into the classroom. The old drying rack was leaning on the edge of the playground, surrounded by scattered charcoal ashes, which were almost extinguished in a short while.
Wen Wan paid ten cents for the medicine to the clinic, and then waited for Li Xiaohu's parents to come to the school to find her.
In the afternoon, Wang Xiannian called them to a meeting regarding what happened in the morning, which was about the students bringing fire to the school.
Hu Gaoquan said, "It's impossible to not allow children to bring firewood because of this. The cold has just started, and there is still more than half a month before the holiday. Many children don't even have cotton coats and pants, and their hands and feet are cracked and have frostbite. Otherwise, if they bring firewood, they will just shiver when they sit there in the morning. How can they attend class?" The classroom was warmer because all the children in the class brought firewood. If they were really not allowed to bring firewood, it would be too cold to sit there.
Wang Xiannian sighed, "You can't do it all the time, but you have to be more diligent, with more reminders and supervision. You can bring fire, but you're not allowed to swing it around outside during breaks. Safety is still very important. If a student got burned, it would be a disaster. That morning was truly a blessing in disguise."
After that, everyone dispersed. Wang Xiannian asked Wen Wan to stay and told her what happened in the morning: "Did Li Xiaohu's family come to school?"
Wen Wan said: "No, I have been waiting, but no one came this afternoon!"
"Come here. Don't get involved in this matter. Li Xiaohu is a second-year student, and Lu Donglin is a fourth-year student. Just let the homeroom teacher handle it."
Wen Wan didn't quite understand what he meant and looked at him in confusion.
Wang Xiannian coughed twice. "It's hard to say whose fault it is in this matter. If you look closely, it was Li Xiaohu who bumped into Lu Donglin, but it was Li Xiaohu who was burned. To prevent his family from being unreasonable, you should stay out of this matter. Didn't you already pay for the medicine?"
People in the mountains are not all stupid. He has seen many people who use trivial things to make things difficult for others.
Wen Wan probably understood what he meant: "I understand. Thank you, Principal Wang!"
Wang Xiannian waved his hand: "Go ahead and do your thing."
After school in the afternoon, Lu Donglin was still silent and looked listless, walking even slower than Wen Wan.
Wen Wan waited for him for a while, then reached out and slapped him on the back of the head: "Watch the road when you walk, go back quickly, I'm busy. What's wrong with you? Were you scared this morning? Are you scared silly? Why don't you go back and tell your mother to call you?" She heard that this was a popular thing in the mountains here. If a child was scared, he would ask his closest person to call his name a few more times and he would be fine.
Lu Donglin finally reacted. He looked at her and grinned. His smile was uglier than crying. "Sister-in-law, do you still know how to call back souls?"
"What's there to not know? I know everything."
Lu Donglin said: "It's useless to know. I'm already this old, not a child anymore. It's useless. Besides, I'm not scared."
He was just pretending to be tough, but he was actually really scared. Although he had been a naughty kid since he was a kid, he had never really gotten into any trouble. When the baking basket flew out of his hand and Li Xiaohu lay on the ground crying, he was completely scared. That moment was on his mind all day.
"Now that you know you're not a kid anymore, you need to be more steady. I told people today you're not wrong, but I actually think you're still at fault and responsible. The bell has rung and you're still showing off, swinging that thing around. What's it for? Isn't it for keeping warm? The fire's already burning, and you're still swinging it around, and I even asked you to swing it in a certain way. Do you think you're that awesome?"
It was true that Lu Donglin was increasingly unable to raise his head.
Wen Wan raised her index finger and said, "Remember to pay me back for the medicine later. Also, don't look for your brother when you get home. Go tell Dad and Mom everything yourself. Don't lie."
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