Chapter 30: Choir and Reviewers Part 7
Find out her grades and perform weighted calculations. Who in their right mind would think of going this far?
"This is just your speculation. The sisters in my family are all relatively smart. My eldest sister has read a lot of books, and my second sister is a famous talented woman in Jiangnan. It's not an exaggeration to say that I am smarter in some aspects, right?" she argued cunningly.
Xu Shaoqian asked with a smile, "You planned your grades for every course, and you scored exactly as you expected. This paves the way for your future without making you too conspicuous. If that's true, then can you tell me what you're hiding?"
It seems that this person treated her as a research subject, conducted multiple on-site investigations, and conducted a careful analysis of the statistical data, and was just short of writing a paper.
Chu Wang scratched his head helplessly.
"Professor Xu's hypothesis is good, but the evidence supporting it is not strong enough."
After saying this, she regretted it.
Seeing Xu Shaoqian's smile growing, he said, "I only gave you two weeks to translate my paper questioning the hypothesis. Thank you for your hard work."
This person is really cunning and cunning, and there are traps everywhere. Lin Chuwang sighed, and his scalp tingled: "Whatever you think."
"It doesn't matter what I think, it's what you think that matters."
"What am I thinking?"
"I remember you said: There's no big plan, just take it one step at a time."
"Well, Professor Xu has a good memory."
"I don't know if you remember, but I also said: If there are any difficulties, I will do my best to help."
"Well, I've never had a very good memory."
"It's okay. I'll help you review. I should have mentioned that Miss Lin could have had a brighter future, but because of certain difficulties, she's confined here. Isn't that a pity?"
"I think so."
"Whether it's Miss Lin, who's unmarried and therefore refuses to see anyone, or Linzy, a dignified twelve-year-old, my words are always valid. So, may I ask, what is Ms. Linzhi's response to me?"
"Ms. Lin Zhi said she had no response and was simply looking to earn some pocket money."
Xu Shaoqian smiled and said, "The strike at the beginning of the year is almost over, and the publishing house has hired a few official reviewers."
Lin Chuwang said "oh" expressionlessly, but he was extremely depressed inside: he lost his job.
"But I don't think they can do this job better than you."
"Yeah, I can understand." After all, he has a diploma!
"You're smart, very smart... maybe a genius if nothing else."
“Even a genius can be short of money.”
Seeing her dejected expression, Xu Lai smiled. After a moment's silence, he said, "If the publishing house isn't too busy in the future, we won't be sending you many papers."
"Not a lot, meaning, infinitely approaching zero?"
"Well, publishing houses are probably busier for one or two months a year, probably less than or equal to two."
"Okay, I understand." Chu Wang lowered his head even lower.
"If you're really short of money, I do have some more personal work I could offer you. The pay is no less than that of a reviewer."
"What kind of thing?"
"Tutor of English and Latin."
"Are we going to your house?"
"Yes."
Chu Wang thought about it for a moment, then smiled and shook his head, "That won't work."
Xu Shaoqian probably knew what was wrong with this, so he smiled and explained, "My wife asked me to do this. She wants to adopt one of my nephews and brought him here from my hometown in Guangdong not long ago. He wants to attend Queen's College in a few years. She originally wanted me to find a teaching assistant or teacher at the school who is fluent in both languages. Now it seems that you are the most suitable."
Chu Wang stared at his glasses in deep thought.
People often say that wearing glasses, while adding elegance, can also make people look like a beast in human form. She pondered the reason for this for a long time: while those wearing glasses see everything with exceptional clarity, the reflections from the lenses obscure what the eyes behind them are thinking—this indirectly creates an information asymmetry, a relationship of control and subjugation.
She didn't understand this era, nor did she understand Professor Xu. He knew this era like the back of his hand, and he knew every detail of her. Chu Wang felt deeply insecure: "You say she's your wife, so she's your wife. Words are not proof. Who knows what you're really trying to say?"
Seeing her hesitation, Xu Shaoqian still smiled and said, "I'll publish this job posting in the newspaper under my wife's name later. I'm asking for your opinion in advance because I really appreciate smart people and I'd like to take you on as my student. After all, you want to get a physics degree in the shortest possible time. I'm afraid no one else in Hong Kong, besides me, is qualified and capable of giving you this privilege in advance."
He put the stack of transcripts away and filed them away. Seeing she was still hesitant, he said, "Don't worry too much. I'll keep everything about you confidential. I won't delve into it, and I won't tell anyone else. Besides, you're not the only tutor in Hong Kong. If you're unwilling, we can hire someone else. Also, taking you on as a student is just a suggestion."
Chu Wang looked up at him.
Xu Lai walked quickly to the library entrance, opened the heavy door, and said a few words to Father Wilson with a smile. Then he turned around and said, "If you change your mind, you can call this number. You're welcome anytime."
He quickly read out a string of phone numbers.
Seeing that Chu Wang didn't take notes, he wasn't too surprised. He just said with a slight smile, "I have something urgent to do. I probably won't be able to take you home today. Please have a good rest."
He tilted his head and thought for a while, then said, "I think Miss Lin will not refuse my proposal, because she is a smart person."
After saying this, he said goodbye to Father Wilson and hurried away, leaving Chu Wang, a bewildered and lonely figure, sitting at the wide table in a daze. It wasn't until the tall Father Wilson blocked out all the light from the crack in the door and coughed twice in a very polite manner that she patted her butt and left with a very apologetic look.
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Xu Shaoqian's proposal was indeed very tempting. As for why he hesitated, it was probably because of his fear of the ignorance of this era.
First, she didn't know Xu Shaoqian's character, so she rashly went to someone else's house. Even if it was true as he said: it was Mrs. Xu who proposed the job. But if there was really a situation, Mrs. Xu, a woman in the feudal era, couldn't help her, right?
Secondly, for a young lady from a wealthy family, how much impact would it have on her reputation if she became a tutor in someone else's home?
Without knowing any of this, her biggest challenge was not having any elders or friends to confide in or seek advice from. If she had been able to get some advice from a respected senior friend who was well-versed in the times and understood her situation, she wouldn't have been so hesitant and caught in such a dilemma.
The twenty yuan, like a severance pay and sympathy pay, was readily transferred to Mr. Saumur's account. She looked at her sixty-five yuan savings and began to worry: Perhaps Professor Xu was just a mentor who sympathized with and appreciated her, but she had become timid and doubted his kindness?
But soon she had no time to dwell on this trivial matter. The aftermath of the May 30th Incident had not yet subsided when the March 18th Massacre in Peking once again shocked the nation. On the 19th, at breakfast, my aunt, holding a newspaper, lamented the victims and expressed her gratitude to Si Ying and Lin Yu for their foresight and shifting their focus to Shanghai, thus cleverly avoiding this incident.
This reminded Chu Wang of her middle school textbook, "In Memory of Miss Liu Hezhen." National education hadn't helped her grasp the meaning of "a bleak life, dripping with blood," and the mention of the March 18th Incident always felt like a satire on the present.
This time the suppression was even more blatant, and the casualties of this uprising were even greater. She couldn't help but wonder: Is the silenced fratricide more worthy of sympathy from outsiders, or is the era of humiliation from outsiders, where the power disparity is absolute, darker?
Regardless, in this era where women's rights and status are insufficiently protected, and information is pre-eminently developed, rumors are even more formidable than in later generations. In this era of lost sovereignty, territorial divisions, warlordism, and an already imperfect legal system (whites in Chinese territory are governed solely by their own laws, while Chinese in the colonies enjoy none of the benefits of foreign laws), she couldn't count on the British's "advanced" legal system to offer much protection, so caution was advised.
She had many questions. For example: The Executive Yuan was a mere puppet, half of Beijing was run by people with the surname Feng, and outside the city stood the Fengtian Army, whose strength was three times that of Duan Qirui. Why had the Executive Yuan been the one to shoot and kill the students?
Chu Wang really wanted to find a friend who understood the facts and had a broad vision to talk to, but now, besides Mr. Somir and Mrs. Ruan, the only person she could confide in was Xie Miya.
Mr. Saumier believes: "Any relationship involving more than two people should be objective. In any dispute, only one party is at fault."
Mr. Saumur's words were perfectly objective and fair, and Chu Wang seemed to understand: "Just like during the Shang Dynasty, most of the princes were extremely tyrannical, yet historical records attributed all the faults to King Zhou alone. So, history is a flower girl that can be dressed up by anyone."
Mrs. Ruan said, "When I quarrel with my husband, I am not wrong. Women are not wrong."
Chu Wang and Mr. Saumier smiled and shook their heads: Mr. Ruan is probably a soft-hearted person, and Mrs. Ruan is actually a very modern woman.
While eating cake at the Bluebird Cafe, Xie Miya took a tack and asked, "Aren't Shanghai and Guangzhou richer now? Is the Boxer Protocol really an unequal treaty?"
Chu Wang sighed silently. To some extent, Xie Miya was really a very typical colonial woman, a pure non-Chinese.
Another pure and classical Chinese woman, Lin Yunyan, now avenges her past shame both at school and at home, and her glory is far from what it once was. Her assessment of this incident is entirely in line with her aunt's: "Daddy and Uncle Si, of course, are extremely good at judging the situation."
Xue Zhenzhen couldn't help laughing. "If you want to judge the situation, Miss Lin Er should first make sure your English grades are passing. Otherwise, one day you won't be able to read the Hong Kong English Morning Post."
Mrs. Qiao first put down Xue Zhenzhen's arrogance: "Women should not discuss current affairs."
He also praised Chu Wang for the first time: "Zhenzhen and Yunyan, why do you quarrel every time you meet recently? How can you behave like the daughters of wealthy families? You should learn from the other girl."
At this moment, he remembered something important and told Yunyan with great regret: "Maybe I'll have to find another English tutor for you at the beginning of this weekend."
Yun Yan was shocked: "Is Teacher Mary going back to England?"
Zhenzhen smiled and joked, "Maybe you think the students at Qiao Mansion are difficult to teach?"
Mrs. Qiao rolled her eyes at Zhenzhen and said, "Well, I heard a family from the mainland wants to send their son to Huangren Academy. I saw in the newspaper that they're hiring an English teacher and a Latin teacher. The salary is quite high, so I think Teacher Mary is tempted."
Hearing the words "Huangren Academy", Chu Wang's heart moved and asked, "I wonder which family is so rich?"
Mrs. Qiao thought for a moment and said, "It seems his last name is Xu."
At this time, Zhenzhen and Yunyan seemed to have remembered the relationship between Ye and Professor Xu. They looked at each other and seemed to understand.
Yun Yan couldn't help but feel very aggrieved and begged, "Aunt, Teacher Mary has taught me for such a long time, and I will not be used to the sudden change of teachers. Can you persuade Teacher Mary and tell her that I really don't want to leave her..."
Mrs. Qiao had been very tactful in her words, but when she heard Yun Yan's words, her expression changed. "I've been teaching you for so long, and you haven't improved at all! I think we should change teachers!"
Yun Yan was shocked by her and shrank back. In front of Zhen Zhen and Chu Wang, he naturally looked unhappy.
Mrs. Qiao had already had a lot to worry about lately: Mr. Qiao, after returning from Guangzhou, had important matters to attend to in England. He seemed to be planning to take Michelle and Leon with him. Firstly, the emperor was far away, and Ma Ling was married again. What if Mr. Qiao was seduced by that vixen abroad and immediately promised to give the family fortune to that bastard son? Secondly, she had heard from somewhere that many Chinese were now going abroad and remarrying with other wives. Mrs. Qiao was extremely nervous and tried many ways to prevent Mr. Qiao from taking the concubine and her mother with him.
At this time, someone came up with an idea for her: let her register Leon as her own son. This way, Leon's status in the outside world would be guaranteed, and if he inherited Mr. Qiao's property in the future, he would not treat Mrs. Qiao badly.
Michelle naturally couldn't understand what "adopting a son" meant. She probably thought that they wanted to snatch her son away. So she was in tears all day long and refused to do anything. Mrs. Qiao spoke Japanese well, but her English was only enough for daily communication. She couldn't explain clearly to her what "adoption" meant, so she entrusted Chu Wang and Zhenzhen, two people who were good at English, to explain to Aunt Michelle, and repeatedly persuaded her: "If she cries, you also cry, and cry louder than her. You can't bear to part with Leon, and you certainly don't want him to leave our Qiao Mansion, right?"
Chu Wang and Zhen Zhen couldn't stand her constant nagging and finally agreed. They were shoving each other at the door of the second-floor guest room next door, neither wanting to be the first to start. Just as they were arguing, the door creaked open, revealing half of Michelle's pale face.
The safety latch on the door was still half locked. When Michelle saw them, her vigilant eyes softened slightly, but her tone was cold: "If you are here to lobby for Mrs. Qiao, then please go back."
Zhenzhen was at a loss and looked at Chu Wang for help. Chu Wang looked back at her, but suddenly an idea struck him. He said to Michelle, "Aunt, Zhenzhen and Leon are best friends. She wants to talk to him."
When Zhenzhen heard her using herself as a shield, she couldn't help but stare at her with her big eyes, wishing she could gouge a piece of her flesh off with her eyes.
Leon seemed to have heard Zhenzhen coming, so he ran to the door of the room and whispered through the door, “Sister Zhenzhen, Sister Chuwang.”
Zhenzhen’s heart melted when he shouted this, and she couldn’t help but said softly: “Leon, sister can’t bear to leave you…ah.”
Michelle's attitude softened, and she didn't immediately close the door and chase them away. Chu Wang took advantage of this moment to bow slightly to keep his eyes level with Michelle, so that he wouldn't feel too intimidated by the adults around him.
She whispered, "Leon, do you want to go to the best secondary school in Hong Kong? This school teaches in English and offers Latin courses. Most of its graduates go on to the best universities in the UK and the US."
Leon raised his head slightly, looking at his mother half puzzled and half longingly.
Michelle was also somewhat moved, and asked with a trembling voice: "You...what do you mean?"
She didn't answer the question directly, but instead said, "Even if you follow a Chinese businessman like Mr. Qiao to England, the British won't think highly of you and your daughter, right? So even Mr. Qiao can't find a good school for Leon in England, right?"
Hearing such a little girl speak so bluntly, Michelle licked her lips nervously and motioned for her to continue.
Chu Wang continued, "If Leon is registered under Madam's name, you can still see him every day in the same mansion, and there will be no difference. But Madam can provide Leon with much more than you can, as you must have seen: a good education, superior living conditions, a good reputation..."
Michelle laughed: "How can you be so sure that the wife will treat him well?"
Chu Wang smiled and said, "If you agree to register Leon under Madam's name, I can also guarantee that Madam will send Leon to the best Queen's College in Hong Kong. Whether you want to go to England with Mr. Qiao or stay in the Qiao Mansion and watch Madam educate Leon, it's up to you. You'll see."
The author has something to say: Hahaha, since everyone thinks my real name is good, I’ll use it for now. A bad name is easier to live with.
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As for why it’s always Yun Yan Yun Yan, Lin Chu Wang Lin Chu Wang Xue Zhen Zhen Xue Zhen Zhen, it’s because my input method remembers Yun Yan but not Chu Wang and Zhen Zhen… I’ll write a post about it and pay attention to it in the future tt
Seeing everyone actively commenting and discussing this, I'm really happy. I hope everyone will discuss this and feel free to point out any shortcomings.
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Speaking of Zhao Yidi's friend, it was Zhang who invited her to Fengtian, right? Whether her father's expulsion from the Zhang family genealogy was due to political considerations or his desire to "help a couple," it was all because of this incident, right? Regardless, from the heroine's perspective, visiting the celebrities of this era feels like visiting scenic spots and cultural relics, unrelated to whether these relics will be remembered for posterity. (← That's probably the feeling.)
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What's with you guys saying you'd stay up late even if it meant the Republic of China? Hahaha.
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Xu Lai… is very important to the heroine, and also… very complex and strange, characteristic of the times. Don't dwell on the male lead! This is a women's drama (emphasis added)! Aren't the women of this era the biggest dramas? Just pretend they're all male supporting characters…
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Furthermore, the reason why professors have the ability to recruit students on a special basis is that during the Renzi academic system and the period after it, university admissions policies included independent admissions, planned university admissions, government-run admissions, and a number of other methods. Therefore, the ability to recruit professors on a special basis should also be reasonable.
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I don't know why I haven't been signed yet, perhaps because the subject matter isn't good enough? Article points are really unkind to non-contracted authors. I feel like after falling off the Newcomer Rankings, there won't be any other automatic rankings to get on. Oh my god, I'm so angry... I tried changing the copy to "big study abroad trend" to "big study abroad fever," maybe that would help. But this chapter I wrote to use the past to satirize the present...
But I am also very grateful to Jinjiang for giving me this opportunity to be on the new list and meet many lovely people.
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Dear cuties, please don't bomb my posts. It's a bit of a waste. If you have time, please leave more comments. Comments with more words will be better for points. I hope that one day I can be on the automatic list under non-contract points and get a little more exposure.
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Regarding the March 18th Incident, I suggest you search for "March 18th Massacre and Duan Qirui" on Zhihu. I think many of the answers here are very detailed and the insights are very pertinent.
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Since I haven't signed a contract or become a V-list member, please allow me to ramble a bit, and I welcome the discussion. I saw a comment saying, "He's not even going to save the country yet, he's still messing around with a concubine." I thought it was quite endearing. I've also heard the sayings, "If you don't rebel in the Qing Dynasty, you'll be like a drill in your ass," and "Men in the Qing Dynasty are all rebelling, and women in the Qing Dynasty are all dating princes." If I get the chance, I might write an article titled "When a Qing Dynasty woman who wants to date a prince meets a Qing Dynasty man who wants to rebel."
But I think this is a logical question: much of later knowledge is based on computers, which hadn't been invented yet. Von Neumann was still studying chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, and another computer pioneer was attending the same middle school as the heroine's fiancé. The first vacuum tube computer wasn't invented for another twenty years. The father of computers certainly made a significant contribution to World War II, but didn't he also face his own challenges? Suppose Turing had been saved, what would have been the consequences? Would the Turing machine have been invented earlier? Or would the iPhone icon of later generations have been a gnawed carrot instead of an apple? Forgive my lack of imagination.
The heroine doesn't have a cheat code; everything she learns is based on computers. If anything, she's changing it: war. But war is a highly variable thing. Instead of fantasizing about the protagonist using a cheat code, changing the course of events, saving the victims and the entire nation for generations to come... it doesn't actually save the entire nation. I think if we have the talent to depict war, instead of indulging in pleasurable fantasies, we should instead write about the cruelty, struggle, and hope within war, so that people can better understand and avoid it.
The above is my personal understanding. Also: Please forgive my shortsightedness; I won't be so gullible as to have the heroine intervene in the war. This article is truly just a bit of resentment from the author after reading "Fortress Besieged" and "The First Furnace of Incense Chips." I simply wanted to write more about the women of this era, their various encounters, and their love lives.
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PS: I've been doing a lot of revisions and bug fixes in the last few days, so don't think I'm faking it again after the daily updates!!! It's really just revisions!!
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