entertaining Director Huang
Monday arrived in the blink of an eye.
Last time, Xu Tangmian was kicked out of the principal's house along with the gifts after trying to give him cigarettes and alcohol. After much reflection, she decided to take a roundabout approach and start with the head of the teaching department.
You don't like her doing underhanded things, right? Fine, she reluctantly accepted Yu Chunsheng's suggestion and tried to show her loyalty in her work attitude.
The dean of students and the principal usually had a good relationship. Xu Tangmian asked around with other teachers and learned that he had two children at home, so she specially bought a pound of fruit candy to bring to school.
Since transmigrating to this impoverished and remote place, she's become more and more backward. She used to shop at malls without batting an eye, but now she hesitates for ages to buy a pound of sugar at a convenience store.
Xu Tangmian glanced around the office, and seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she quickly opened the drawer, grabbed a handful of candy, stuffed it into her pocket, and locked it. Taking advantage of the fact that neither of them had class, she slipped into the dean's office.
The office door was open. She knocked twice with her fingers and, after hearing a "Come in," respectfully approached the dean's desk.
The director's surname was Huang. When Director Huang saw it was her, he put down his pen and said with an unfriendly expression, "Oh, it's Teacher Xu. You want to see me?"
Xu Tangmian kept thinking about the scene when she first transmigrated and yelled at him that she wanted to quit her job, so she usually tried to avoid meeting him to avoid embarrassment. Now that she needed his help, she had to be even more humble.
She grabbed some candy and scattered it on the table. The other person shifted their position, moved back a little on the chair, and pointed at the candy, saying, "What's this?"
Xu Tangmian smiled and said, "Director, you see, I didn't even invite everyone to have wedding candy when I got married, which was really a neglect. I specially weighed some out this time so you can take it back for your child."
"No, no, no!" Director Huang pushed the candy back, his face falling. "That's not how it works. Don't pull this stunt. There are so many teachers in the school; this must cost a lot of money."
Xu Tangmian quickly added, "It didn't cost much; I bought it specifically for your child."
Director Huang raised an eyebrow, flicked his finger to grab a candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth. "Only I have this?"
Xu Tangmian quickly explained, "That's right, after all, Director, you hold a special place in my heart."
Director Huang smiled even more broadly, and said meaningfully, "You've become much more sensible since you got married. Your husband has done a good job raising you."
"What do you mean, my husband?" Xu Tangmian got angry as soon as she heard others mention her and Yu Chunsheng, and quickly waved her hand impatiently. "Director, please don't mention him. What has he taught me? I can't even be bothered to communicate with him normally."
"That's great!" Director Huang blurted out.
Xu Tangmian: "?"
Director Huang quickly explained, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and distance makes the heart grow fonder. It's no fun if the couple talks too much."
Xu Tangmian didn't think much of it; she had to agree with what the director said, so she quickly replied, "You're right!"
Director Huang peeled another candy and handed it to Xu Tangmian, but he held it a little high, so Xu Tangmian had to raise her hand almost to her chin to get the candy.
She thanked him, and the director said, "You wouldn't come here without a reason, would you? Hmm? If there's anything I can help you with, just let me know."
Xu Tangmian originally wanted to talk about the letter of introduction directly, but she was afraid that she would be too hasty, so she did not take too big a step. She simply said humbly, "Director, I have been thinking about the shortcomings of myself and other teachers. I think what I lack is work experience."
"I have too little experience, so I would like to ask the director to arrange more courses for me. In addition to Chinese, I can teach subjects like math, English, art, and music."
"Not bad, a multi-talented person." Director Huang praised her, then frowned, "But can you manage so many people all by yourself?"
Xu Tangmian cursed inwardly, "I'm just being polite to you, are you really going to treat me like a donkey?" But she still smiled and nodded, saying, "I just want to do more for the child."
Director Huang nodded. "It's good that you have this intention, but how can I let you work so hard?" He smiled and said, "I remember Mr. Geng Hao, the fifth-grade teacher, taught math and several classes at the same time. He also had to be a PE teacher, which was quite tough. Do you think you can handle fifth-grade math?"
Xu Tangmian considered it in her mind. She might not be able to handle fifth-grade math in modern times, such as construction teams A and B starting work at the same time, one pool being filled with water and the other being filled with water. But this period should be okay, right?
Never mind, I'll just agree first!
Xu Tangmian nodded quickly, "Wherever I'm needed, I'll go!"
"That's perfect." Director Huang flipped through the calendar on the wall: "Next week, district leaders will be coming to inspect. You and Teacher Geng should contact each other and see if you can put on a public lesson."
He glanced outside, then gestured for Xu Tangmian to come closer.
Xu Tangmian quickly turned her head and heard him whisper in her ear: "There's a quota for performance evaluation near the end of the year. You did well this time, so I'll promote you."
Xu Tangmian was overjoyed. With the title of "Outstanding Teacher," the principal would surely approve her application!
She nodded quickly and excitedly grasped the director's hand: "Director, don't worry, I won't let you down."
Director Huang's gaze fell on her slender hands that were folded over her, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
Over the next few days, Xu Tangmian borrowed a sixth-grade math textbook from Li Yutao, intending to catch up on her studies.
Although Yu Chunsheng was curious, he didn't ask any questions and did his best to fulfill his role as a "stay-at-home husband".
Two weeks later, the open class went very well, and Xu Tangmian was nominated for "Outstanding Teacher" as she had hoped.
To thank Director Huang for his help, Xu Tangmian spent a lot of money to buy several delicious dishes and invited Director Huang to her home after get off work on Friday.
When she bought candy before, Yu Chunsheng told her to be mindful of her manners in dealing with people. That's why she refused several invitations from Director Huang to go out to dinner, and he almost turned against her.
Having witnessed the gossip of the village's old ladies beforehand, Xu Tangmian was completely convinced. She and Yu Chunsheng maintained a friendly marital relationship, occasionally going out together to make their presence known; the two had developed a tacit understanding.
The work wasn't tiring, and there was a hot meal waiting for her when she got home. She didn't have to do tasks with him at night, and if she felt lonely and wanted to kiss him, Yu Chunsheng would let her kiss him. Besides, he was handsome and gave her all his salary.
Xu Tangmian is satisfied with her current life and has no intention of falling out with Yu Chunsheng, so she sometimes listens to his opinions.
Since he didn't want her to get too close to Director Huang, she could just invite him to be right under his nose. Surely nothing would go wrong that way?
The cigarettes and alcohol I bought last time to give as a gift to Principal Ding have now come in handy. Xu Tangmian doesn't like drinking, but thinking about Yu Chunsheng's drinking capacity and drunken behavior, she still reluctantly drank quite a bit with Director Huang.
Yu Chunsheng felt sorry for her and tried several times to stop her from drinking, but Director Huang was too enthusiastic. The three of them finished two bottles of baijiu together, and the two of them slumped onto the table.
But there's a problem if he's drunk. Where does Director Huang live? He came alone by bike; we can't just let him ride back. Who will be responsible if something happens?
But there's no guesthouse in the village!
Before he passed out, Yu Chunsheng quickly found the hangover medicine he had prepared after getting drunk in the drawer. He took some himself and fed some to Xu Tangmian before helping her back to the bedroom.
As for Director Huang, he was dragged to his usual bed and then naturally went back to his bedroom to sleep with Xu Tangmian in his arms.
When Yu Chunsheng woke up the next day, he felt dizzy. As soon as he opened his eyes, he subconsciously looked at the pillow. He was relieved to see Xu Tangmian lying safely in his arms, and then he closed his eyes and fell asleep again.
He wasn't asleep; he was just thinking that he'd done foolish things when he was drunk before, and this time they were just lying together and nothing had actually happened. Plus, kissing had become a part of their daily routine lately, and with such a warm and soft woman in his arms, he really didn't want to get up.
Unexpectedly, while he didn't want to get up, someone else had already gotten up early.
Just as Yu Chunsheng was contemplating whether to take advantage of Xu Tangmian's still-unconscious state to have some fun, the door suddenly moved.
He disliked the director from the first moment he met him, but Xu Tangmian insisted on trying to please him. Yu Chunsheng closed his eyes, wanting to see what this man was up to.
Director Huang tiptoed in, walked around the foot of the bed to Xu Tangmian's side, and reached out his wicked hand to touch her face. At the critical moment, Yu Chunsheng suddenly opened her eyes, grabbed his hand, and said sharply, "What do you think you're doing?"
The sound startled Xu Tangmian awake. She squinted and tried to stretch, but her hand hit something. The slight discomfort made her open her eyes, only to be met with Director Huang's large face.
"Ah!!" Xu Tangmian screamed in fright, pulling the blanket over her upper body and saying in a panic, "What are you doing in my room? Get out!"
"Don't be afraid, it's alright!" Yu Chunsheng quickly reassured her. "I'm here, everything will be fine."
Seeing Yu Chunsheng also lying in bed, Xu Tangmian finally felt relieved. She was terrified; if she had gotten drunk and had any intimate relations with Director Huang, she would have immediately gone to the knee-deep river behind the kitchen and drowned herself.
Xu Tangmian took two deep breaths but hadn't spoken yet when she heard Yu Chunsheng angrily shout at Director Huang, "What are you still doing here? Are you disappointed that I didn't hit you?"
Director Huang sobered up instantly, staggered and scrambled to the living room, pointed at the two people on the bed and cursed, "You two adulterers, just you wait, you'll see!"
The two of them went straight to bed without even taking a shower yesterday, and didn't even draw the curtains. Seeing Director Huang leave through the window, Xu Tangmian was a little worried: "Won't he go to the school to retaliate against me? And you, why did you have such a big argument with him just now? Now my letter of introduction is completely ruined."
Yu Chunsheng frowned, somewhat displeased: "Hey lady, I'm your husband, at least in name only, okay? No man could tolerate what happened just now. Listen to what you're saying!"
Putting herself in his shoes, Xu Tangmian understood his feelings, but the harsh words Director Huang had uttered still made her uneasy.
"So all my efforts over the past few months have been for nothing?" She pulled the blanket over her head and lay back down.
Yu Chunsheng burrowed under the covers and pinched her cheek, saying with a smile, "Why are you worried about something that hasn't happened yet? We'll deal with it when it does. We'll meet challenges head-on. Instead of worrying about that, let's think about what to eat for lunch today."
He sighed, "Comrade Xu Tangmian, our food and beverage budget for this month has already exceeded our limit."
Xu Tangmian sat up abruptly. "What do you mean? Are we going to go hungry?"
“We don’t need to go hungry, but…” Yu Chunsheng glanced at the increasingly foggy view outside the window and said with a worried expression, “We’ve spent a lot of money this month to buy meat that doesn’t require ration coupons, and we’ve already diverted money from other sources.”
"for example?"
“For example, if I ask you to buy yarn to knit a sweater, you say you don’t know how. I can handle the cold weather, but you can’t. Buying thick clothes is an expense, right? Also, heating in winter uses more coal. Buying honeycomb briquettes is an expense, right? And this quilt, if we sleep in separate beds, we’ll each have to make one. Adding it all up, I think we really have to tough it out this winter.”
Just as she finished speaking, Xu Tangmian's stomach growled at just the right moment.
Xu Tangmian frowned and said, "We'll figure out the rest later. As for this last one... let's just make do with this for now. Bring your blanket over too; it should be warmer to have two blankets together."
Seeing Yu Chunsheng's lips curl into a smile, she quickly added, "This is just a temporary measure! Once your arm is healed, get back to work and find some side jobs to make some extra money!"
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