Mr. Snail
A gust of wind swept across the sky, whooshing and crashing—
Raindrops pattered on the tiles, making a crisp crackling sound. It was raining heavily outside the window, and a light drizzle was falling inside. The conditions at the free school were quite difficult. The abandoned local temple had been transformed into classrooms by Principal Wu, and his family simply lived in the back room to make it easier to take care of the children.
The desks for the newly opened small class hadn't been set up yet, so the children had to borrow small stools from nearby residents to learn strokes and phonetics around the teacher and the simple blackboard. But this didn't dampen their enthusiasm for reading at all; the sounds of wind, rain, and reading filled the air.
Despite the wind and rain, Qingcheng, who was riding her bicycle to school, took off her heavy rubber raincoat and shook off the water droplets. Principal Wu quickly handed her a dry towel and told her not to catch a cold. He also asked his wife, who was also a Chinese teacher at the school, to take Qingcheng to change into dry clothes.
Her soaked trousers clung tightly to her body, and her shoes felt like they were stepping on a saturated sponge, leaving watery footprints with every step. She looked quite disheveled. Qingcheng shivered in the house, occasionally huddling near the stove to warm her frozen hands. She complained to herself that God was blind, raining on such a cold day. Who could stand it?
She was surprised to find that the original dirt ground had been carefully paved with cement and gravel, and the original dilapidated pavilion had been transformed into an activity center. It would be a nice outdoor activity place on a sunny day.
A moment later, Mrs. Wu brought out warm clothes from the inner room. While changing, Qingcheng shared what she had seen with Mrs. Wu, thinking that Principal Wu had renovated the backyard. By the fireplace, Mrs. Wu helped her dry her clothes while laughing at her for only knowing how to attend classes and rushing around without ever taking a stroll in the backyard.
Qingcheng was truly at a loss. She was a working woman with a regular job during the day and had to come across districts to teach in the evenings, making her schedule extremely tight. She wasn't afraid of being laughed at by Mrs. Wu, explaining that she couldn't drive and could only huff and puff on her old, beat-up bicycle to shuttle between school and home.
Adding to the social engagements she can't refuse, Qingcheng feels that 24 hours a day is not enough except for sleeping. As soon as she finished speaking, Mrs. Wu burst into laughter and jokingly suggested that she find a husband with a car so that she wouldn't have to worry about getting wet in the rain and could even sleep in the car for a while.
"Sister-in-law, your reasoning is too biased. Why do you have to have a man? Can't I buy my own car? Although I can't afford it right now, hehehe." Qingcheng joked happily with Mrs. Wu after changing into dry clothes.
"Yes, yes, you're a female warrior, proficient in all eighteen martial arts. Why don't you take advantage of a nice day and repair the roof of the classroom as well?" Mrs. Wu from the outer room teased.
"Oh dear, this touches on a blind spot in my knowledge. Professional matters should be handled by professionals." Qingcheng walked out of the inner room dressed neatly. The cotton cheongsam was a little short on her, and her calves felt chilly as the wind blew through them.
Mrs. Wu also noticed the problem and said apologetically, "Sister, please wear this for now, and I'll ask you to change back when it's dry."
“Hey, I’m not in a hurry.” Qingcheng rubbed his hands together and suggested, “Since Principal Wu has repaired the backyard, why not repair the roof as well? I’ll go buy the materials if we’re short.”
“Old Wu is just a schoolteacher, how could he do this kind of thing? We don’t have the money to hire a professional, so it was all done by the new teacher, Ms. Tian, who bought the materials herself,” Mrs. Wu replied.
"Oh, isn't the new teacher Mr. Tian the art teacher? He can do cement work too?" Qingcheng had heard of Mr. Tian's name from the children, but she had never met him. His class always started earlier than hers.
"I'm not sure either. Maybe he repaired a house in the countryside, but he doesn't seem like someone from the countryside," Mrs. Wu said, her eyes full of doubt.
Since Mrs. Wu didn't know, Qingcheng didn't press further; she needed to go to class now.
In the classroom, when the students saw Qingcheng come to the podium, they all stood up in unison with lightning speed and shouted, "Hello, teacher..."
"Hello, students!" Kiyosumi waved for them to sit down. "What did you learn today?"
The audience responded enthusiastically.
“I learned about ‘farmers and blacksmiths’: farmers cultivate the land, and blacksmiths forge iron.”
"They sang while they worked."
"I sing better than them."
"The character 'iron' is so hard to write."
Listening to the children's innocent words below, Qingcheng felt that the pressure of the day had been greatly reduced. She especially remembered that when the students first came to the school, they were pale and thin. Long-term malnutrition and overtime work made them look a size smaller than children of the same age.
They didn't dare to lift their heads then, only their timid eyes peeking at her as if she were a man-eating monster. Sometimes Qingcheng would try to pat their heads in a friendly manner, but several children would immediately kneel down with their hands covering their heads in terror, and Qingcheng would feel her heart clench.
Fortunately, everything was back on track. Qingcheng stopped everyone from talking and began today's lesson: "Now that you've learned about 'farmers and blacksmiths,' let Teacher He ask a simple question: A melon farmer grows watermelons. Now there are five watermelons in the field. The farmer picks four and then sells two. How many watermelons are left in the field now?"
"One," almost all the students said in unison.
"How many melons does the farmer have now?" Kiyosumi pressed.
After the question was asked, some answered three questions, some answered two, and some scratched their heads, seemingly stumped, and replied hesitantly, "I don't know, you should ask Teacher Tian."
These words amused Qingcheng, who pinched the child's cheek and said, "If you don't know, you don't know. Why ask Teacher Tian? Teacher He is right in front of you."
"Teacher Tian can make watermelons. She can make as many as you want." The child was probably referring to something like clay sculptures.
"Don't go off-topic, the teacher is asking you math, answer properly. If you answer correctly, the teacher will treat you to real watermelons in the summer." Qingcheng promptly offered the reward.
Encouraged, the children danced with joy. Qingcheng asked them to gesture their answers. At this moment, Xiaodie raised her hand and asked, "Teacher, are you referring to the melons that the farmer has already picked, or all the melons he has?"
Before Qingcheng could answer, the class monitor, Shitou, blurted out, "That depends on whether the farmers can afford to pay the rent. Those who can afford it own three, while those who can't afford it belong to the landlords."
The math problem suddenly turned into a social issue, which caught Qingcheng off guard. After a moment's thought, she smiled and looked around at everyone, announcing the correct answer. Students who answered two or three were correct. Just as Xiaodie said, the question did not specify whether the melons were picked from the farmer's hands or added to the melons in the field.
"The teacher wants to use this question to tell everyone that not all questions have only one answer," Kiyosumi said sincerely, looking at the children below who seemed to understand but not quite.
As for the relationship between farmers and landlords, she would suggest to Principal Wu after class that he reinforcing the idea in the children's Chinese class that the land belongs to the farmers. If she were to elaborate on this now, the math lesson wouldn't be finished.
A few days later, Qingcheng came to return Mrs. Wu's clothes during the day. Of course, she also wanted to take a look at the new teacher, Teacher Tian. However, when she arrived at the school, she found the classroom empty. Three workers were repairing the building, while Principal Wu and another stylish man in a white suit were talking.
Could this be Teacher Tian? Qingcheng happily called out to Principal Wu. Principal Wu turned around at the sound of her voice, and at the same time, the man also turned around. Qingcheng was surprised to find that the man looked familiar, but she just couldn't remember where she had seen him before.
"Isn't this the famous Miss He?" The man grinned, revealing his standard eight front teeth, which looked quite comical. Qingcheng immediately remembered that the two of them had met at the theater before. He was Boss Wang, who provided a one-stop shop for stage design and construction. Qingcheng also remembered that he had a strange name—Wang Renyong.
"Mr. Wang, hello. You've taken on the school's construction project again?" Qingcheng extended her hand, and the two shook hands amicably. But a tremor ran through her; her intuition told her that this man wasn't as simple as he seemed, and this feeling intensified after shaking his hand.
"I was asked by a friend to do this," Wang Renyong explained with a helpless expression. "If I had known it was about the school of righteousness, I wouldn't have bothered arguing with him. I wasted several days."
"Oh, you must be Teacher Tian's friend," Kiyosumi said with a sudden realization, her doubts easing somewhat.
“Teacher Tian? No…” Wang Renyong looked at Principal Wu in confusion.
Principal Wu, who was standing next to him, quickly chimed in: "Yes, yes, it was Mr. Wang whom Teacher Tian invited."
Looking at Principal Wu, who was eager to explain, and Wang Renyong, who had an awkward smile on his face, Qingcheng seemed to smell a conspiracy. What kind of riddle were these two playing?
Before Qingcheng could think it through, Mrs. Wu came out from the backyard and took her to visit the backyard during the day. Several children who were fostered in their home were playing games. The afternoon sun was just right, and Qingcheng could see that there were several colorful squares painted on the cement floor, full of childlike fun.
The boys jumped and skipped on the lattice floor, while the little girls played house under the pavilion, holding delicate little saucers and teacups. The warm sunshine and the children's liveliness slightly dispelled the biting cold wind.
Once inside, Qingcheng returned the cleaned clothes to Mrs. Wu and asked curiously, "Sister-in-law, where is Teacher Tian?"
“You’re too early. Everyone else has a regular job during the day, and they all come after get off work, just like you,” Mrs. Wu said, taking the clothes. “Besides, everyone’s classes have been postponed because of the house repairs, so you won’t have any students to teach.”
"Hehe, I'm just curious." Kiyosumi chuckled dryly as she poured herself a cup of hot tea.
"Sister, why are you here so early today?" Mrs. Wu asked.
"I'm going out today to sign a contract with a writer, I'm doing fieldwork." Qingcheng's thoughts returned to the room with the stained glass windows.
She always felt that having to relay messages through Uncle Qin was too inefficient, so she proposed a bold idea to Emerald: to make Emerald her contracted writer, so that their meetings could be more public. Furthermore, Emerald could use this opportunity to write articles that spread progressive ideas.
The plan to kill two birds with one stone was quickly approved by Emerald. All she had to do was stamp the contract tomorrow, and the deal would be done.
Suddenly, the sound of a child crying came from the backyard. Mrs. Wu and Qingcheng stepped out of the house one after the other. Under the big tree, Shi Tou was knocked to the ground by another child. The child who was knocked down was already unconscious. Shi Tou, who was knocked down, did not cry. His eyes were filled with tears, and he pursed his lips as if he was suppressing the pain.
Mrs. Wu didn't have time to ask any questions and quickly pinched the child's philtrum a few times. Qingcheng tried to pull Shitou up, but Shitou cried out in pain as soon as he moved. Qingcheng immediately pulled up his trouser leg and found that his calf was black and purple. She didn't know if it was broken.
Qingcheng didn't dare to delay. She didn't know where she got the strength, but she picked up the injured Shitou and, guided by Mrs. Wu, rushed to the nearest traditional Chinese medicine clinic through the back door.
It wasn't until she put the stone down that Qingcheng realized her arms were numb and she couldn't use them anymore. She lamented that she was too weak to even lift a seven-year-old child. She regretted not trying to be brave and should have asked Principal Wu and the others for help. She realized she should think twice before acting in the future and not be so impulsive.
During the doctor's treatment, the child gritted his teeth and didn't cry out again, even as the doctor rubbed the stone. He comforted the worried Kiyosumi, saying that he had just bumped into something and would be fine in a few days. He also apologized for being too sturdy and causing trouble for the teacher.
What an understanding child!
The child was eventually diagnosed with a fracture. After a splint was applied, the doctor instructed them to come back in three days for a dressing change. But Qingcheng faced a dilemma: the child would definitely not be able to walk again, and she simply couldn't carry him anymore.
Outside the clinic, Qingcheng thought about hailing a rickshaw and asking the driver to take her child home.
At this moment, Shi Tou gently tugged at her sleeve and said shyly, "Teacher He, don't worry about me. It's not far from the school. I'll slowly crawl back in a bit. When Gou Dan broke his leg, he also crawled to work."
"Nonsense!" Qingcheng scolded loudly, feeling as if she were being slowly tortured. With red eyes, she said softly, "You're a human, how can you crawl back? Teacher will call you a car."
"It's alright, I'm tough... Ah! Teacher Tian." Shi Tou wanted to say something more, but suddenly smiled and waved towards the door.
Following the child's gaze, Qingcheng saw the person who had arrived and shuddered. She couldn't believe her eyes—Gao Junxiao, with an unfriendly expression, stood at the door.
"He Qingcheng, is it so hard for you to ask someone for help?" Gao Junxiao asked philosophically right from the start.
Before she could retort, Gao Junxiao rolled his eyes at her and went to the examination room to ask the doctor about some precautions. Qingcheng blinked and listened to the doctor's instructions while peering through the wooden door.
She only remembered to change the dressing in three days; she hadn't realized there were other things to be careful about. She'd never thought of that before. That man was definitely more meticulous. But how did you become Teacher Tian, Inspector Gao?
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