Chapter 205: Running-in
The playground of the commune primary school is behind the school. To get to the last row of houses, you have to go up a slope and it is together with the junior high school students.
When she got there, Wen Wan came to her senses. Isn't this the dam behind the commune compound where they performed last time?
This playground is really big enough.
After the teams were lined up and started doing morning exercises one grade at a time, Wen Wan ran slowly beside the elementary school students, feeling hot from running so early in the morning.
After the group disbanded, the sky was completely bright. The sun had not yet risen, but the glow of the sunset had already illuminated the entire world.
A group of students ran and jumped towards the classroom.
Wen Wan followed at the back and greeted several primary school teachers, which was considered a formal introduction to them. They would be colleagues working together in the future.
The commune primary school also has five grades. In addition to the principal Zhu Jianjun and the dean of studies Song Dewen, there are two other teachers, whom Zhang Xuewenwan is familiar with, and there is also a male teacher named Li Zhongxing.
Time was a bit tight, so Wen Wan simply greeted them both, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then walked up to them and entered the office.
I still didn’t have time to clean up, so I opened the doors and windows to get some fresh air, and then went to the classroom first.
The noisy classroom suddenly became quiet because of her arrival, and the innocent and tender faces looked at her with curiosity.
Wen Wan stood on the podium and glanced around, then pointed to a few tall boys sitting in the back row and said, "Come on, follow me to the Academic Affairs Office to get the books over."
There are four books for the third grade: Chinese, arithmetic, ideology and morality, and a science book.
There were thirty-six students, and more than a hundred books in total. They were all moved and placed on the old podium.
Wen Wan was not in a hurry to distribute the books, but introduced herself first.
"My last name is Wen. I will be your substitute teacher starting this year. I hope we can get along happily in the new semester. You can learn a lot of knowledge from me, and maybe we can become good friends." After saying that, he took a piece of chalk and wrote a big "Wen" on the blackboard.
Then he picked up the handwritten class roster and said, "Okay, now that everyone knows me, I have to get to know you. There may be too many people, so it may take a while for me to get to know everyone, but I believe we will become familiar with each other soon. Now I will call the roll. When my name is called, please reply with "Here" and stand up to show me who it is."
"Do you understand what I said?"
"Understood!"
The sounds were long and short, and dragged out for a long time, with a strong Ganling flavor.
Wen Wan knew that it would not be easy to change the situation, so she didn't care and took the roster and started calling the names.
There are thirty-six students, the same situation as in the brigade, more than twenty boys and only eight girls.
The oldest is thirteen and the youngest is nine.
After taking attendance, I got a general idea of the students in the class and then started distributing books.
There were four rows of desks in the classroom, with two people at each desk. Students in the first row passed their books to the back.
The classroom was so quiet that the only sound was the rustling of books.
Wen Wan picked up her textbooks. "Okay, students who have received their books, please take inventory. We have four books this semester: Chinese, Math, Moral Education, and Science. Count them. If you have any questions, please raise your hands."
There are only a few books, and I counted them repeatedly when I went to the Academic Affairs Office to pick them up, so there won't be any problem.
She held up the book and said, "Everyone, if there's nothing wrong with your book, look at me now. When you get the book, write your name on it. Write your age and name on the blank space on the cover, and then write your name on the side of the book as well. This is to prevent some of our classmates from not taking good care of their books. Before school starts, the cover of the book is gone, and then they can't even tell whose book it is."
Several students were laughing below.
Wen Wan looked at the time and it was almost time for get out of class to end.
"Okay, everyone, write down your class names, and then you can start looking at the first lesson on your own. Look at the first lesson in Chinese and math."
After saying that, he took the textbook and left the classroom.
When she came in the morning, she knew she had to clean, so she took a rag, a basin, and a broom. She first got some water to wipe the desk and put the things she needed on it.
Mo Shui can be obtained from the Academic Affairs Office, but she hasn't had time to go there to get it.
I wiped the chairs and tables first, and then the bell rang.
Wen Wan glanced across and saw the students in the classroom running out in a swarm like birds whose nest had been blown away, chasing each other in the open space in the middle.
She wiped the windows with water, then rubbed the rag and poured the water under the tree.
Put the textbooks on it, and take out the drawers and other things after wiping them to get rid of the smell.
I was so busy that ten minutes passed without me even having time to touch the book.
As soon as the bell rang, the noise outside faded away instantly.
Wen Wan looked at the old class schedule. Adjustments needed to be made, but for now she would stick to this one.
After a morning of getting acquainted with the students, Wen Wan held a class meeting to re-elect class leaders. There were only two actual classes in the morning, and it was not until school was over that she finally found her groove.
She was probably the teacher who lived the farthest from home in the commune. She found it difficult to run back and forth, so she didn't plan to go back at noon, but all the other teachers had to go back.
The fields have already started to get busy. Although they don't have to go to the fields because of their work, they can still help with the housework when they go back.
Wen Wan wanted to use these two hours to tidy up the office, and she could also prepare for get out of class with the extra time.
She didn't bring a kettle today. In the morning, she went to Zhang Xueqin to get hot water to wash the tables and chairs. She didn't even know where to get cold water.
The office was quite spacious. There was a desk next to the windowsill and a wooden shelf on the right side of the door. On it were two boxes of chalk, two wooden rulers, an abacus with peeling paint, and two thin, straight bamboo sticks.
There was a half wall at the back, and inside was a wooden bed, just lying there with its two ends against the wall.
Wen Wan just took a quick look inside and didn't have time to pay attention to it for the time being. She would deal with it outside first, as there were still a lot of things to do.
Lu Chun'e came to her with a lunch box in her arms: "Sister-in-law, it's time to eat!"
Wen Wan knew that there was a cafeteria here. In the morning, Lu Chun'e took away her lunch box, saying that she had gotten some food and wanted to eat together.
Food grain is paid when you register for school at the beginning of the year, so you only need to pay a little money and don’t need food stamps.
The meal was similar to the one at home: grits porridge, fist-sized steamed buns made of leavened multi-grains, and some pickled vegetables.
Wen Wan said, "I'll go to the classroom and get you a stool."
Lu Chun'e ran quickly: "I'll go by myself."
After getting a stool, the two of them ate together at the table. Wen Wan then asked her, "Where's your brother? Doesn't he eat in the cafeteria at noon?"
Lu Chun'e said, "He doesn't always eat. Sometimes he eats at home and then skips lunch. Sometimes he's busy and doesn't eat either, but he'll go occasionally. Now that you're so close, if he goes to the cafeteria to eat, he'll definitely come find you."
After chewing the bun and swallowing it, he asked again: "Sister-in-law, how are the children here? Are they difficult to teach?"
"It's okay, not much different from being on the team, except that there are a few more people in the class. The handover was pretty rushed, and I haven't studied the transcripts from last semester's final exams yet. I need to work with them a little more before I know the exact situation."
"Then, do you need my help?"
Wen Wan smiled and said, "I really need your help with something. Do you know where to get water around here at school? I used to pour water from someone's kettle to clean the table this morning. Also, I need to buy a lock later. Director Song said he wants to make his own lock for this door."
Lu Chun'e said, "Then we'll bring a kettle tomorrow. We can get hot water in the cafeteria for free. The cold water is behind the playground. There's a well there. The cafeteria here all fetches water there. When we need water for cleaning in the school, we also use basins to get it there. I'll bring you a basin later and wash your lunch box while I'm at it. If it's locked, go find my brother and ask him to buy it for you this afternoon."
After dinner, Lu Chun'e ran away with the enamel basin.
Wen Wan stretched out her arms and began to prepare for the afternoon class. In the afternoon, Song Dewen came over and the door of the Academic Affairs Office opened. She went over to get ink, a lesson plan book, and a stack of white paper. This was considered a luxury because there were no lesson plan books or white paper in the brigade primary school.
By the time school was over in the afternoon, Wen Wan had become friends with the kids in her class and had become completely familiar with them.
The elementary school finishes school early, so she is not in a hurry to go back. She had agreed with Lu Chun'e in the morning that she would go home with her brother after school in the afternoon.
After the students finished cleaning, Wen Wan corrected the class assignments in the office during daylight. Lu Dongping came over when she was almost done.
Wen Wan asked him while sorting her things, "Where's Chun'e?"
"I went back with Dongfu first. I was a little busy today, so I didn't come to see you at noon, and I couldn't come to see you."
Wen Wan put her hand in her pocket and went out. Lu Dongping took out the newly bought lock, hung it up, locked the door, and put the key in her pocket.
The two walked back while talking.
Lu Dongping said, "There's a cafeteria here in the commune. Chun'e paid for food when she signed up. If you don't want to eat, you can bring your food coupons every day. There's a special window for teachers in the school in the commune compound. The food is a little better."
Wen Wan said she knew, but she hadn’t had time to go to the cafeteria to check!
"I didn't expect that there was a cafeteria in the commune. I always thought it was only in junior high schools!"
"You didn't expect that, did you? The cafeteria here is shared by the entire commune. It's shared by junior high school students from all the brigades and production teams, and they live far away. Many of them can't go home for lunch. The same goes for teachers and cadres in the compound."
But he seldom went to the cafeteria to eat. He always ate at home, except in winter when he couldn't make it in the morning. It was already late when he arrived at Lujiazui, and it was still dark quite early.
Wen Wan glanced at the edge of the wheat field inadvertently when passing by. At this moment, the educated youth site was still very lively, with many people, and she didn't know what they were doing.
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