In this era, very few people could afford private cars. County No. 1 High School was a provincial key school, and its principal held the same rank as the county magistrate, so the government provided him with a dedicated car. County No. 2 High School, however, was just a county-run school, and its principal naturally didn’t receive such high-level treatment—his car was bought with his own money. Lin Fang thought to herself that as people’s lives improved in the future, not only would more and more people be able to afford private cars, but all sorts of machinery would also become increasingly common. Her eldest brother had learned excellent technical skills in the army, and it would be a shame for him to stay in the countryside farming. Could she perhaps do something about this?
Staff Officer Shangguan was from the capital, spoke with a pleasant accent, and was very talkative. Today’s events were something he had never encountered before, so once he started talking, it was like a floodgate had opened—there was no stopping him. Lin Fang played the role of a good listener, appearing attentive and occasionally interjecting with a word or two, which only made Shangguan even more enthusiastic.
As they chatted, they entered the water room, each filling their thermos bottles from the tap before heading toward the dormitory area together. Just as Lin Fang was about to bid farewell to Shangguan and turn toward her own dormitory, Shangguan asked her, “Do you know what’s really going on with Fu Hongxia’s family?”
After all that idle chatter, he was only now getting to the main topic. Lin Fang found it amusing internally but kept a straight face, shaking her head. “I don’t know. We’re not close, and we’re not from the same village, so I’m not very familiar with her situation.”
Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you. The future Fu Hongxia was quite capable. After graduating from teachers’ college and working at No. 2 High School, she dated the only son of Principal Zhou to get her brother—who fell far short of the admission score—into high school for free. She later married that playboy, divorced him after just over two months, and somehow remained a virgin. Not only did she eventually find herself a much better marriage, but she also managed to transfer to a city school.
To be honest, though Lin Fang didn’t like Fu Hongxia, she had to admit that the fifteen-year-old Fu Hongxia was indeed a beauty, especially her large, multi-folded eyelids, dark irises, long lashes that curled outward—like a doll’s eyes. Right now, she looked too dark and skinny, almost skeletal, because of her hard life. But after graduating from college, she would transform completely, surrounded by many talented and handsome young men.
The teachers’ dormitory was still a bit farther away. Not getting the answer he wanted, Shangguan didn’t press further and continued walking. Lin Fang suddenly remembered something and called out to him from behind, “Teacher Shangguan, there’s something I’d like to ask of you. I don’t know if it’s possible.”
Shangguan turned back and asked, “What is it?”
Lin Fang smiled. “Well, I’ve been learning calligraphy recently, but practicing uses up so much paper. I just remembered—the newspapers in the office are useless after they’ve been read. Could you give them to me for practice?” It had been a long time since she’d written with a brush, and she missed the feeling.
“Oh? You’re learning calligraphy?” Shangguan seemed to have found another topic of interest. Carrying his thermos, he turned back and asked, “How long have you been studying? Who’s your teacher?”
This guy. Why does he immediately assume I must have a famous teacher? Can’t someone learn calligraphy without a master? Lin Fang chuckled inwardly but replied politely, “You flatter me, Teacher Shangguan. I’m just learning from my dad. As for who taught him, he never mentioned it, so I don’t know.”
“Oh, I see.” Shangguan’s excitement vanished instantly. He turned back toward the teachers’ dormitory, saying as he walked, “Come with me.”
“Alright, I’ll just put my thermos away first.” Lin Fang hurried into her dorm, set down her thermos, and ran back to catch up with Shangguan.
Despite his disappointment, Shangguan didn’t ignore Lin Fang. As they walked, he chatted with her. “Coincidentally, I just cleaned out a pile of old newspapers yesterday. I was planning to sell them at the recycling station today, but my trip to Fu Hongxia’s village got in the way. You can take them all—there’s quite a lot.”
What luck! Lin Fang quickly thanked him. “That’s perfect. Thank you, Teacher Shangguan.”
When they entered Shangguan’s dorm, they found Mr. Su, the first-year P.E. teacher, sitting at the desk fiddling with a Go board—clearly in the middle of a game. Seeing Shangguan return, Su immediately complained, “What took you so long to fetch water? I thought you were building a boiler from scratch!”
Shangguan retorted just as loudly, “Quit pretending. I bet you wished I’d stayed out longer so you could swap more pieces.” He set his thermos on the floor and turned to Lin Fang. “Wait here. I’ll get the newspapers for you.” Then he went into the inner room.
Rumor had it that Shangguan was related to Principal Zhou, which was why the principal had specially assigned him a small apartment meant for married teachers, even though he was single. Mr. Su, who had just graduated this year, had initially resented this arrangement and had even clashed with the principal a few times, demanding equal treatment. He and Shangguan were supposedly sworn enemies, but judging by their familiarity now, it seemed the rumors of their feud were exaggerated—or perhaps they’d moved past it.
Lin Fang politely greeted Su. “Hello, Teacher Su,” then stood by the door to wait.
Su barely glanced at her, asking casually, “Which class are you from?”
Before Lin Fang could answer, Shangguan emerged with two stacks of newspapers and interjected, “What kind of teacher are you? There are only three first-year classes, and it’s been half a year already. You can’t even recognize your own students?”
Su retorted, “Three classes means over a hundred students. How am I supposed to remember all of them?”
Shangguan started heading toward Su with the newspapers, but Lin Fang quickly explained, “Actually, I’ve never attended P.E. class, so of course Teacher Su wouldn’t know me. Teacher Shangguan, just give me the newspapers. You must be busy.”
Glancing at the Go board, Shangguan suddenly remembered. “Oh, right. Here you go.”
Carrying the newspapers out of the dorm, Lin Fang shook her head inwardly, amused. These two were like a pair of hot-headed kids. If she hadn’t interrupted, they might’ve argued endlessly. Meanwhile, the Go board Su had been fiddling with kept flashing in her mind, and she suddenly felt a strong urge to play a game.
Ah, life was so ironic. In her past life, she’d had no talents and had envied classmates who excelled in various skills. Now, she was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—yet she had to hide it all. Otherwise, how could she explain a previously unremarkable person suddenly becoming so accomplished? She’d probably be treated as a specimen for study.
“Lin Fang, wait up!” Shangguan called out from behind when she was already some distance from the teachers’ dorm and about to turn toward the student dormitories. He quickly caught up to her.
“Teacher Shangguan, is there something else?” The dismissal bell had already rung, and Lin Fang was in a hurry to fetch her lunchbox from her dorm. If she delayed, she’d end up at the back of the line—or worse, miss lunch entirely. Still, no matter how rushed she was, she had to hear him out first. She couldn’t just abandon him after getting what she wanted.
Shangguan understood how precious time was for students right after class, so he kept it brief. “There’s no extra space in the student dorms, let alone a desk. Where do you plan to practice calligraphy?”
Oh, that’s what this is about. For such a tall, imposing man, he’s quite thoughtful. Lin Fang smiled. “Thank you for your concern, Teacher Shangguan. I’ve already thought of a solution. The bicycles in the dorm are lined up neatly, so I can place a wooden board on the rear seat to use as a desk. I’m just a beginner, so it doesn’t need to be perfect. If that doesn’t work, I can always practice in the classroom during free time.”
By now, students were starting to pass by—those who lived in town and didn’t board at school, heading home for lunch. Most greeted Shangguan, and the more outgoing ones even joked with him. Their glances at Lin Fang, however, were odd or curious. Due to her heart condition and poor circulation, Lin Fang’s skin had a bluish tint, and she was as thin as a stick—far from attractive. Next to the tall, handsome Shangguan, the contrast made her seem even plainer.
Shangguan casually slung an arm around a male student’s shoulders and said to Lin Fang, “Alright, if your plan works, then go ahead. If you run into any other problems, feel free to come to me. Hurry back now, or there’ll be no food left.”
“Right. Thank you, Teacher Shangguan.” Bidding him farewell politely and enduring the increasingly curious stares of passing students, Lin Fang headed to her dorm.
Before she even reached the door, she heard Meatball’s voice and the laughter of her female classmates. Lin Fang couldn’t help but smile. No need to guess—Meatball had come looking for her and was now joking around with the girls in her dorm.
The moment he saw Lin Fang, Meatball started complaining, “Where’ve you been? If you’d taken any longer, those guys would’ve eaten me like a persimmon-flour bun!”
This guy. Before even getting the promised persimmon-flour buns, he’d already promised to share them with his friends. Now he was here to corner Lin Fang.
As she entered the dorm, Lin Fang deliberately teased him. “What’s the rush? I haven’t even gotten my lunch yet. Every second counts right now. Let me fetch my meal first.”
Meatball reached into his coat with his left hand, grumbling, “Ha! I anticipated this move. Look, I even prepared a countermeasure. Hurry up and put away your scrap paper. Here—catch!”
Curious, Lin Fang turned to see what his “countermeasure” was. The guy made a big show of rummaging inside his coat before finally pulling out a lunchbox—causing the right side of his previously bulging coat to instantly deflate. Opening the box revealed two large meat buns, still steaming. The girls burst into laughter again. Zhang Jiejun pointed at him, gasping between giggles, “You’re truly one of a kind. Most people lose their belly after giving birth, but you? Your armpit just got smaller!”
“How can you compare the two? They give birth to babies—I give birth to buns!” Meatball’s small eyes crinkled into slits as he laughed. He urged Lin Fang, “Hurry up and get your lunchbox. These’ll get cold soon.”
Squeezing past to her bunk, Lin Fang set the old newspapers on the floor, took down the bag containing the persimmon-flour buns from the wall, and retrieved her lunchbox from another bag. She then squeezed back out, hung the bag around Meatball’s neck, and opened her lunchbox. Using the fork inside, she speared one of the meat buns from his box while asking, “Isn’t bun-and-pancake day usually Friday? Today’s only Monday. How’d you get these?”
Shoving the other bun into his mouth, Meatball mumbled around the food, “Heard they hired a new female quartermaster. This is her first meal in charge, so she went all out. Plus, the buns only cost as much as steamed buns today. There’s even meat in the dishes, but I figured you’d already eaten a big lunch, so I didn’t get you any.”
A female quartermaster? Lin Fang’s mind lit up. Could her rebirth have brought this woman here earlier too?
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