Chapter 98

“You? A kindergarten teacher? Isn’t that wasting your talents?” Commissar Xu shook his head repeatedly.

“I have no teaching experience. I haven’t even been to school properly, I don’t even have experience being a real student, so I’m not suitable to be a teacher at elementary or middle school. My teaching ability is insufficient. Even if I could score a thousand points on a test, I still wouldn’t be fit to teach. Commissar Xu, do you think what I said makes sense?”

“A good teacher is a good teacher because they have been a student themselves. They understand what children need and think during their school years. They can put themselves in their students’ shoes and then teach in ways they think are appropriate.”

“But I can’t do that. When the old professor taught me in Gazi Village, that’s how I would teach others too. I’d only know to teach them the way I was taught.” Qiao Xinyi shrugged. “Besides, I have a bad temper. If students don’t learn well, I’d get angry.”

Commissar Xu was moved by Qiao Xinyi’s words. “Alright, I’ll have them discuss it and make an appropriate arrangement. You can go out now and help me call Fu Qingshan in.”

As soon as the door opened, Qiao Xinyi heard the laughter of two children from next door. She walked over, greeted Staff Officer Dong at the door, then called Fu Qingshan to come to Commissar Xu’s office.

“Comrade Qiao Xinyi, come, sit here,” Staff Officer Dong stood up to greet her, smiling as he said, “Old Xu is quite the chatterbox. He talks all day long, I don’t know where he gets so many words. You wait here for Fu Qingshan; I’m just going out for a walk.”

Qiao Xinyi heard this and didn’t go in. She stood by the door shaking her head and asked, “Can the two kids and I watch their training downstairs?”

“Of course, why not? Just don’t wander off. Watch on the open ground downstairs, let you see the heroic spirit of our troops.” Staff Officer Dong patted the kids’ heads, “Your father is a great hero, and your uncle is also an outstanding soldier. When you grow up, you should be as excellent as them.”

The two kids looked up at Staff Officer Dong with eyes full of mixed feelings, somewhat understanding but also conflicted. But as they turned to look at Qiao Xinyi, who was already looking outside, their faces instantly brightened again.

“Aunt Qiao, let’s run!” The two kids, one on each side, laughed and sprinted out with Qiao Xinyi.

Suddenly the stairwell was filled only with the clear, carefree laughter of children and Qiao Xinyi’s few calls of “Slow down, slow down.”

Staff Officer Dong watched the three running off and couldn’t help but smile, “Really a big friend leading two little friends.”

Out on the open ground, a platoon was training in pairs. It was hot, and the young men, full of energy, had already taken off their shirts and hung them on nearby parallel bars.

Qiao Xinyi took the two kids under a tree. At first, all three stood watching, but after getting tired, they all squatted down together.

Fu Qingshan chatted with Commissar Xu for almost forty minutes. When Commissar Xu gestured that he could leave, Fu Qingshan didn’t linger; he immediately opened the door and turned to go out.

He met Staff Officer Dong at the door and asked, “Are my girlfriend and the two kids still in your office?”

“Go downstairs and straight ahead; they’re watching our soldiers train on the open ground.” Staff Officer Dong responded cheerfully. After Fu Qingshan walked away, Dong went back to Commissar Xu’s office.

Sitting down, Dong said, “You men sure can talk. So tell me, what do you think about Fu Qingshan’s girlfriend?”

“What else can I see but with my eyes?” Commissar Xu laughed. After laughing enough, he spoke seriously, “She’s very smart but holds grudges. She’s sharp, but unfortunately, she doesn’t have much ambition.”

Commissar Xu sighed, “Getting three diplomas in one day is truly a genuine talent. It’s really a pity—she wasn’t properly nurtured from a young age and was held back. If she hadn’t grown up in the village, how could she be so lazy and sluggish now?”

No ambition, lazy, when faced with difficulties she doesn’t tackle them head-on but chooses to avoid them. This was the flaw Commissar Xu noticed in Qiao Xinyi during their conversation just now. Though she gave reasons that seemed to convince him, Commissar Xu could see through the surface to the truth.

“Your environment shapes your character. You can’t really blame her for this flaw. If anyone is to blame, it’s the Chen family who swapped the children—taking such a promising talent and sending her to the countryside to be worn down for over ten years.”

When mentioning this, Commissar Xu couldn’t help but bring up the He family.

“Once Fu Qingshan and his girlfriend get married, the He family is probably going to be in chaos. Fu Qingshan’s girlfriend is fiercely protective. She talks more than I do; when she opens her mouth, I don’t even get a chance to speak. But He Shengli is a bit unreasonable.”

“The He family members really are…” Staff Officer Dong shook his head. “If He Shengli could put all that scheming energy into improving himself, he wouldn’t be in such trouble now.”

“And I think Fu Qingshan’s girlfriend is quite good. She’s straightforward in how she handles things and gets along with Fu Qingshan’s two nephews as if they were family. Once Fu Qingshan marries her, we won’t have to worry about family harmony. When the home is stable, Fu Qingshan can focus on his work.”

Fu Qingshan left the office building and headed in the direction Staff Officer Dong had said. Sure enough, not far ahead he saw the three people squatting under the tree. The two kids sat on either side of Qiao Xinyi, fidgeting like monkeys with lice.

But Qiao Xinyi was watching very intently—so intently that even when Fu Qingshan stood behind her, she didn’t notice at all.

Fu Linzhou and Fu Zeyu had noticed Fu Qingshan approaching early on but said nothing as he got closer. They even thought their uncle was going to play hide-and-seek with “Bald Aunt.” After Fu Qingshan stood behind her for quite a while without startling her, Fu Linzhou couldn’t help it and reached out to grab Qiao Xinyi’s sleeve, shaking it to get her attention.

“Bald Aunt, look behind you!”

Only then did Qiao Xinyi turn her head back to glance. Because she had been squatting for so long, her legs had gone numb. The movement caused her to suddenly sit down—with her butt landing right on Fu Qingshan’s foot.

Fu Linzhou and Fu Zeyu doubled over holding their stomachs, laughing heartily. No one tried to help Qiao Xinyi up—finally, Fu Qingshan took both her hands and pulled her to her feet.

Qiao Xinyi let out an “ouch” and leaned on Fu Qingshan, quickly shaking her legs to get the feeling back.

“Is it really that good-looking? So good that you squat motionless until your legs go numb and you don’t even notice?” Fu Qingshan asked.

“Uncle, Bald Aunt was watching so cutely,” Fu Linzhou said, “She didn’t even blink and was smiling so happily.”

Fu Zeyu stood up and imitated Qiao Xinyi, shaking his legs. Clearly, he wasn’t numb—he was mocking her with his actions.

“I don’t know why Bald Aunt likes watching so much. My brother and I think it’s only a little bit interesting,” Fu Zeyu said.

At first, the two kids found watching the training matches novel, but after one round, they thought it wasn’t that interesting. However, because Qiao Xinyi was enjoying it so much, they didn’t tell her to leave.

Hearing his younger brother, Fu Linzhou immediately shouted excitedly, “I know what Bald Aunt is watching!”