amaotonovel Chapter 1262 Even a Good Foundation Can Cause Worries
Chapter 1262 Even a Good Foundation Can Cause Worries
Chapter 1262 Even a Good Foundation Can Cause Worries
"So late...who is it?" Zhu Bai's questioning voice came from the main room, accompanied by her footsteps as she walked towards the courtyard gate.
The courtyard gate creaked open.
"It's me, Zhao Peng, your teacher's wife." Lu Zhao Peng's voice was filled with excitement at the long-awaited reunion.
"Oh my, it's Zhaopeng! Come in quickly!" Zhu Baishi recognized the visitor and immediately stepped aside with delight. She had a good impression of this well-read young man from the Lu family who had studied in the provincial capital, and she quickly turned back to call out towards the study, "Old man, Hao'er! Look who's here! It's Zhaopeng who's back!"
Qin Hao and Mr. Zhu followed the sound and came to the main room.
"Mr. Zhu!" Lu Zhaopeng bowed deeply to Mr. Zhu, his posture respectful and devout—a heartfelt reverence for such a great Confucian scholar. "Your student...is back!"
"Zihan..."
Mr. Zhu helped him up, a sincere and gentle smile on his face: "It's been a few years, and you've become even more composed! I heard you're going back to our Bailu Village to be the principal. Good, education is of paramount importance, and you and Hao'er are of the same mind."
Lu Zhaopeng smiled wryly and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Qin Hao: "Zihan's compilation of textbooks and simplification of Chinese characters have benefited students all over the world. How can I compare to him?"
"No, no, teaching and nurturing people is not about quantity, and besides, Zhao Peng's willingness to give up his high-ranking position in Xi'an and return to Bailu Village is already commendable." Qin Hao did not hold back his praise. He knew very well that Lu Zhao Peng would not come to him without a reason. Whether it was the security regiment or the ammunition factory, he would not let Lu Zhao Peng get involved. He would praise him first to avoid him making any excessive demands later.
Lu Zhaopeng shook his head and said bitterly, "Zihan is giving me too much credit. I only came back because I couldn't make it in Xi'an..."
Before Lu Zhaopeng could finish speaking, Mr. Zhu pulled him into the main room: "Alas, you are mistaken. The officialdom is corrupt and chaotic these days. Zhaopeng, you have not gone along with them and have been able to return to your hometown to teach and educate people. This shows that you have not forgotten your roots, and I am very pleased."
After the three of them sat down in the main room, Zhu Baishi served them hot tea.
"I heard about your amazing achievement at Peking University when I was in Xi'an! 'I have a dream'! It was like a beacon in the darkness, shaking the heavens! The entire academic community in Xi'an was talking about it! Brother, your courage and sincerity truly make Zhaopeng... admire you to the core!"
When he said these words, Lu Zhaopeng's tone was sincere and earnest, and his eyes were burning with passion; he didn't seem to be lying.
Qin Hao smiled and said, "If you keep praising me like that, I'll get all cocky."
The three of them laughed heartily, and the awkwardness of not seeing each other for many years gradually dissipated. Everything seemed to have returned to the days when the two of them studied together under Mr. Zhu.
After reminiscing about the hardships of the past, Lu Zhaopeng sincerely addressed Mr. Zhu and Qin Hao: "Sir, Zihan, although I grew up in the village, I have been studying away from home for the past ten years and know very little about the village. I sincerely wish to ask you about Bailu Village Primary School. Where does the foundation of education lie? How can we live up to the name of 'national education'?"
Mr. Zhu waved his hand: "I stay at home all day long, you'll have to ask Zihan about this."
Qin Hao did not refuse and said seriously, "Zhao Peng, there was originally a private school in Bailu Village. A few years ago, I spent a lot of money to invite two teachers who graduated from the teachers' college from Xi'an. One taught the small class and the other taught the large class. The small class taught the first and second grade courses, and the large class taught the third, fourth and fifth grade courses. Overall, our village's educational foundation is quite good."
"However, private schools are tuition-free, but your primary school..."
"The tuition fees are funded by the Ministry of Education, but after hearing what Zihan said, I'm afraid our primary school will have a lot of trouble recruiting students." Lu Zhaopeng couldn't help but smile bitterly. Primary schools in other villages are probably worried about the students' poor academic foundation, but the situation in Bailu Village is that the students' foundation is too good, but the competition is too strong.
"There are quite a few children in the village who couldn't attend private school. Zhaopeng, you can spend more time with these children," Qin Hao reminded him.
Although private schools do not charge tuition, classes still take time. Children in rural areas have to help with housework and farm work from a very young age. Many families are still poor, or parents who think that studying is useless do not let their children go to school.
Upon hearing this, Lu Zhaopeng's eyes lit up: "Indeed, I made the right decision to come today."
The three chatted until late into the night, with Lu Zhaopeng expressing his admiration for the "October Revolution" in every word.
After Lu Zhaopeng left, Mr. Zhu shook his head and sighed as he watched his retreating figure, saying, "That child Zhaopeng... how could the fire in his heart be contained by the position of a primary school principal? I hope... I hope that fire can provide some light and not... burn down the forest and spread like wildfire..."
"Uncle, it's getting late, let's go back and rest."
Mr. Zhu nodded slightly, but paused as he stepped back through the courtyard gate: "Hao'er, it seems things are really about to get turbulent on Bailu Plain. Keep a close eye on things."
"Ah."
……
After saying goodbye to Mr. Zhu, Lu Zhaopeng returned to his long-lost home under the moonlight.
"Who?"
"Mother, it's me, Zhaopeng!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Zao Hua slammed open the courtyard gate with a creak, the dim light of the kerosene lamp shining on her face. Her face, etched with wrinkles from years of worry, had deep-set eyes and a few strands of gray hair at her temples.
"Zhao...Zhaopeng?" Her voice trembled, tears welled up instantly, and she staggered forward, hugging her son tightly: "My son, you've finally...come back!"
Lu Zhaopeng felt a lump in his throat: "Mom, it's cold, let's go inside and talk."
Zao Hua hurriedly wiped her eyes and pulled Lu Zhaopeng into the courtyard: "Are you hungry? Mom will cook you...you can have a bowl of noodles!"
She frantically turned on the stove and added water to the iron pot. The lid clattered, steam rose, and the warmth slightly eased the chill.
She chopped scallions with her back to her son, rambling on and on, her voice trembling with tears: "It's good that you're back! Who will dare to bully us, a widow and her orphan, anymore? Your third uncle came to collect a debt last month, and I had to stuff half a sack of wheat into his pocket to send him away. The month before last, your second uncle wanted to borrow our cow, and I blocked the door and cursed him all day... When your grandfather was alive, who dared to do that? Now it's all good, my eldest son is a school principal, he's a government official!"
The noodles were cooked, steaming hot, with oil and scallions floating on top. Zao Hua brought over a large bowl, stuffed it into her son's hands, and watched him eat with eager eyes: "Try it! Mom knows you've always loved wide noodles since you were little."
Lu Zhaopeng lowered his head and swallowed; the soup was rich and fragrant, but tasted like chewing wax.
Watching her eldest son wolf down his food, Zaohua smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Son, I've got it all planned out for you! Leng's second daughter, Qiushui, has been waiting for you. The engagement was arranged a long time ago, let's get it done at the end of the year! Her sister married into the Bai family, so our family and the Bai family will be related by marriage. Besides, you're a principal now, you need a well-educated and sensible wife to maintain appearances..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lu Zhaopeng choked on his soup and spat it out: "Mother! Didn't I already tell you to call off the engagement?"
Zao Hua's face changed drastically, her knuckles clenching until they turned white: "Break off the engagement? Bullshit! The engagement was arranged when your grandfather and father were alive! The betrothal papers have long been changed, the whole clan knows! How dare I break it off? The Leng family will gossip about me behind my back and curse me to death!"
“Then I’ll go and say it myself!” Lu Zhaopeng suddenly stood up.
Zao Hua grabbed his sleeve and hissed, "If you dare to step out of this door, I...I'll jump into the river!"
She threw herself against the doorframe, tears and snot streaming down her face: "I've waited half my life, hoping you would settle down and start a family. You're breaking off the engagement? How can I face anyone now?"
The cries were shrill and piercing, and Lu Zhaopeng's temples throbbed.
Helpless, Lu Zhaopeng could only change the subject. Seeing that he no longer insisted on breaking off the engagement, Zaohua felt sorry for her son, wiped away her tears, tidied up his room, and told him to rest early.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the door was flung open, and Lu Zhaohai swept into the inner room like a gust of wind. "Brother!"
The boy's high-pitched voice dispelled the oppressive atmosphere. Eleven-year-old Lu Zhaohai, dressed only in a thin shirt, his nose red from the cold, rushed onto the kang (heated brick bed) and hugged his older brother: "Mother said you were back this morning, but I didn't believe it. I can't believe you really are back. Am I dreaming?"
Lu Zhaopeng pinched his cheek and smiled, "You little rascal, you've grown taller."
The two brothers rolled around on the kang (a heated brick bed), their laughter bridging the gap between them.
Lu Zhaohai kept talking about how tall the Xi'an city wall was and how fast the trains ran, and Lu Zhaopeng patiently explained until Zaohua came to call the two brothers for breakfast.
At the dinner table, Lu Zhaopeng took the opportunity to ask, "Zhaohai, are there many children in the village who go to school?"
Lu Zhaohai's mouth was full of paste: "There's plenty! The private school doesn't charge tuition, and it's almost overflowing. The teacher that Brother Bai hired is amazing. He not only teaches arithmetic, but sometimes he also does magic tricks for us. He says it's something about physics, which we'll learn when we go to middle school."
Lu Zhaopeng frowned: "What about the children who didn't go to school?"
Lu Zhaohai counted on his fingers: "The Zhao family in Donggou has five children. They're so poor they can't even afford to eat. How can they have time to go to school? There are a few other families on Xipo with several children. They're counting on them to chop wood, herd sheep, and help with farm work..."
He blinked: "Brother, are you really going to start a primary school? But don't charge tuition, these families can't even scrape together a single grain of rice!"
Lu Zhaopeng nodded thoughtfully.
After the meal, Lu Zhaohai slung his cloth bag over his shoulder and hurried to the private school: "Being late will get you a beating!"
Lu Zhaopeng spread the list his younger brother had given him on the table—a dozen or so poor families. He carefully put the list away, put on the old cotton hat his mother had forced on him, took a deep breath, and went out.
As he expected, the recruitment process was exceptionally difficult.
The first person to knock on Zhao San's broken gate was a disheveled man who opened it.
"Who is it?!" The man was shirtless, chopping wood, the blade gleaming.
Lu Zhaopeng smiled obsequiously: "Uncle, I'm the new Principal Lu, and I'd like to get my child..."
"Get out!" Zhao San spat. "The family is counting on the kids to do the work. Can reading fill your stomach?"
The gate slammed shut, giving him no chance to speak again.
After visiting several families, the situation was similar. Even though they said they didn't charge tuition, the children in these families either had to help with farm work or take care of their younger siblings, so they simply didn't have time to go to school.
However, Lu Zhaopeng did not give up. The next morning, Lu Zhaopeng carried a hoe to the wasteland on the west slope—Zhao Sanjia was digging the land for spring plowing.
Without a word, he rolled up his sleeves, got out of the field, and grabbed the hoe: "Uncle, let me help you!"
While Zhao San was still in a daze, Lu Zhaopeng had already dug several meters, his thin clothes soaked with sweat, and white mist rising in the cold wind.
Feeling bad, Zhao Sanfu handed over a bowl of cold water: "Principal Lu, please rest..."
"Not tired!" he grinned, continuing to work despite the blisters on his hands and feet.
Zhao San curled his lip: "What's the use of doing this little bit of work? Unless you come and help me with half a day's work every day from now on, don't even think about letting these kids go to elementary school."
Lu Zhaopeng wasn't in a hurry. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a smile, "Uncle, you're farmers, so you must know how hard it is to farm. Do you really plan to let your child spend his whole life farming with you, never having enough to eat or wear?"
"What else can a farmer's child do if he doesn't farm?" Zhao San said dismissively.
Lu Zhaopeng patiently explained, "Uncle, the world has changed. No one says that farmers' children can only farm. If they are literate, they can go to the county or the provincial capital to find work. If that doesn't work, they can just continue to farm with you."
"How about this, you can have them attend classes for half a day each day and come back to work for the other half. There's always another way out, isn't there?"
Zhao San didn't say anything, but his wife was tempted: "Wa Tada, I think Principal Lu is right. Let's let the child go for half a day to try it out. It's better than him toiling in the soil like us for the rest of his life."
"let me think again."
Seeing that Zhao San's attitude had softened, Lu Zhaopeng came to help with the work every day for the next few days.
Perhaps moved by Lu Zhaopeng's sincerity, or perhaps feeling that his own children were starving to death while toiling in the fields with him, a few days later, Zhao San brought two dejected boys over: "Have a lesson with the principal this morning... and remember to go home and work this afternoon!"
The other villagers were more or less moved by Lu Zhaopeng's sincerity and agreed to let their children try attending half-day classes.
Just as Lu Zhaopeng was immersed in the joy of finally having his first batch of students at the school, a sharp female voice suddenly came from the ridge of the field: "Lu Zhaopeng! You stop right there!"
As everyone looked over, Leng Qiushui stood with her hands on her hips in the wind, her delicate features carrying a fierce aura, her blue cloth shirt faded from washing.
"You better make yourself clear today: are you going to marry me or not? If not, then go and talk to my father yourself and call off the engagement!"
Lu Zhaopeng then realized that the young girl in front of him was his "fiancée," and quickly put down his hoe: "Miss Leng, let's talk in private..."
The villagers watching joked, "Principal Lu, what a wonderful wife! You should treat us to drinks tomorrow!"
"Yes! Plenty of wedding wine!" A wave of laughter erupted.
Lu Zhaopeng's face flushed red, and he grabbed Leng Qiushui, dragging her away from the crowd as she staggered.
Only when they reached an empty, deserted area did Lu Zhaopeng release his grip: "Miss Leng, I'm sorry, when my grandfather was alive, I already made him annul the engagement, but many things happened afterward..."
"I know your family is in trouble, but you can't keep dragging this on like this. I'm almost an old maid, are you trying to kill me?"
After saying that, he picked up a stone from the ground and was about to fight Lu Zhaopeng. Knowing that he was in the wrong, Lu Zhaopeng could only keep running ahead. This scene quickly spread throughout Bailu Village.
Leng Qiushui ran crying to the Bai family to tell her sister, Leng Qiuyue.
"Lu Zhaopeng is really bullying us. He said he had been in Xi'an and hadn't come back, but now that he's back, he's not going to marry you, and the Lu family isn't even coming to break off the engagement. What does he mean by this? Does he really think our Leng family cares about this marriage?"
Leng Qiuyue spoke out for her younger sister.
Qin Hao shook his head inwardly. Lu Zhaopeng was still the same Lu Zhaopeng, constantly saying that he couldn't accept arranged marriages, yet he didn't want to bear the stigma of being an unfilial son and ruin the reputation of the girl.
"Don't cry, I'll talk to him later."
Leng Qiushui immediately raised her head: "Brother-in-law, you must make that bastard Lu Zhaopeng break off the engagement. I don't want to marry him!"
Well, so you're just putting on an act with him?
"You little rascal." Leng Qiuyue poked her sister's forehead.
Leng Qiushui shrank her neck: "Well, I had no choice. My father would make a scene as soon as I mentioned breaking off the engagement."