Chapter 506 A Little Interlude at Hefeng Academy
Compared to the girls' school, the Japanese-style academy seemed rigid, traditional, and even somewhat uneasy at this moment.
Pingping, who had always been well-regarded at the academy, was punished for pushing and shoving someone. Not only did she have to miss a class, but she also had to sweep the fallen leaves in the courtyard.
The boy who was punished along with him was named Yang Fan.
It wasn't that he was being righteous and helping Pingping shoulder the burden, but rather that the conflict between the two of them led to them both being punished.
Yang Fan's family reacted strongly to the girls' school that had recently appeared in the town.
Their family, along with other opposing families, went to the academy to demand that Tao Ran handle the girls' school matter, but ultimately to no avail.
Although Tao Ran is friends with Wan Qiqi, he is not the owner of the girls' school and has no right to shut it down.
Even if his father was the head of the household, he could not be arbitrarily arrested and detained if the other party had not committed any crime.
But the matter didn't end there; instead, it shifted to the children.
After learning that Pingping's mother was the owner of the girls' school, some people began to isolate Pingping and even target her at times.
However, these things don't seem to bother the wealthy young people much.
Whether or not girls' schools were open or not had little impact on the children of wealthy families. They still used their family's money to attend the academy and continued to learn their own knowledge.
Only middle-class families who can afford the money but are reluctant to spend it will have a strong reaction.
Therefore, Pingping was not actually affected much, because Feng was protecting her, and others dared not act rashly.
Only Yang Fan, during his argument with Pingping today, somehow ended up fighting, and was caught red-handed by Headmaster Tao.
Yang Fan stood far away from Pingping, holding a broom, as if avoiding a plague.
Pingping ignored him and swept the floor listlessly, but the fallen leaves remained in the same place after a while.
He hated those who spoke ill of his mother, and he also hated Yang Fan!
Just then, a pair of exquisite shoes and a broken broom suddenly appeared in front of Pingping.
Without even looking up, Pingping knew who was in front of her.
He said helplessly, "Feng Zheng, what did you do wrong this time that made the teacher punish you?"
Feng Zheng touched his nose and said, "I broke Wu Choudan's inkstone."
Before Pingping could speak, Feng Zheng immediately interjected, "It's alright, I'll bring him an even better one tomorrow!"
"Why did you smash his inkstone for no reason? Wouldn't it have been better to listen to the teacher's lecture inside?" Pingping seemed somewhat helpless.
"It's alright, Wu Choudan is listening in. I'll have him tell you when he gets back tonight." Feng Zheng said, tossing the broom aside and putting his hand on Pingping's shoulder. He asked, "Tell me, how could someone as good-tempered as you get into a fight? Did he bully you?"
Feng Zheng raised his head, looking as if he would rush over and beat up the person in the corner if Ping Ping just nodded.
Pingping glanced at him, her eyelids drooping slightly, and pushed Feng Zheng's hand away, whispering, "No, with you here, who would dare to bully me?"
"Did he bully your sister?" Feng Zheng said, starting to roll up his sleeves.
Although An An doesn't really like to talk to him, he does like An An quite a bit; she's smart and cute.
Feng Zheng became increasingly agitated. How dare someone bully An'an? He was determined to teach them a lesson!
Pingping didn't know where Feng Zheng got so angry, and fearing that something might happen to him, she immediately pulled him back and said, "It has nothing to do with An'an."
He hesitated for a moment, then said, "It is related."
Feng Zheng was confused and asked, "What are you saying? I don't understand."
Pingping sighed and said, "Don't tell me you didn't know my mother ran a girls' school?"
"I know! So what if it's open?" Feng Zheng said dismissively, adding, "Your mother has a kind heart, allowing girls from poor families to learn to read. It's a good thing, what's the problem?"
"This is not fair to us!"
Yang Fan walked over at some point and joined their conversation.
"We have to pay tuition to enter the academy, and if we don't pay enough, we're not allowed in, or we can only audit classes. These women don't need anything, yet they can enter the school. Why is that?"
"Yang Fan, are you out of your mind?" Feng Zheng said in an unfriendly tone, "What do they have to do with you? Why don't you talk about how they worked from dawn till dusk when you were studying at the academy? Is that fair?"
“Studying is a man’s job, and women should take care of housework. Isn’t that normal?” Yang Fan retorted.
“Normal things?” Feng Zheng sneered. “That’s because you’re poor that you think that way. My family has had a female tutor since I was a child, who taught my eldest sister to read and write. In terms of literary talent, she is no less than any man. It was because of her talent that she met my eldest sister’s husband, and now she has married into Liangzhou and is in charge of all the affairs of the family.”
He glanced at Yang Fan with disgust and said, "If it's really as you say, that women shouldn't study, then why did my father hire a female tutor?"
"I..." Yang Fan was so embarrassed by Feng Zheng's words and his words that he was really confronting him that he was red-faced and his neck was thick. "That's because you're rich people, of course it's different!"
“I don’t see any difference. Aren’t we talking about men and women? If my sister can learn it, then other girls can learn it too. Let them learn it, what’s it to you? Are you afraid they’ll learn it better than you and make you lose face?” Feng Zheng pressed on, not giving Yang Fan a chance to breathe.
Pingping looked somewhat taken aback.
He never expected that the person he initially disliked would say such a thing.
He suddenly realized why these rich families could keep making money, while some poor families could only remain poor.
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