Chapter 022

After Liang Youtian, Chu Xia, and Lin Xiaohan left, only the remaining ten were left by the riverbank. Apart from Han Ting and Su Yun, the other eight began grumbling freely, without restraint, about the lousy plot they’d been given.

The land really was terrible—no matter how they looked at it, they couldn’t see how anything could grow there.

Giving land like this to people who had never farmed before just felt like they were being set up to fail.

Su Yun, however, was more focused on Han Ting than the riverbank plot.

She noticed he hadn’t looked away for a long time. She reached over and gently shook his hand.

That small motion brought Han Ting back to his senses.

Seeing Su Yun in front of him, his gaze softened instinctively. “What’s wrong?”

Su Yun looked at him, her eyes full of concern. Her voice was soft and soothing. “If you’re really upset, I can try talking to Chu Xia for you. She’s probably just being influenced by someone right now.”

Han Ting replied in a relaxed tone, “No need. Let her do what she wants.”

In his seventeen-odd years of life, Han Ting had never bowed his head for any girl.

Not even a proud and difficult rich girl like Tong Rui had ever really managed to get to him.

Chu Xia might have declared severing ties with him and run off to trail behind Lin Xiaohan, and yes, it annoyed him—but it wasn’t enough to throw him into a panic.

He’d said everything that needed saying. There was no point repeating himself.

Now, he would simply wait for Chu Xia to see Lin Xiaohan for who he really was—and wake up on her own.

After finishing his conversation with Su Yun, Han Ting stopped thinking about Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan.

He moved to stand between Chaozi and Guogai, joining them in complaining about the plot of land assigned by the brigade.

Meanwhile, after leaving the riverbank, Lin Xiaohan headed straight back to the school.

Naturally, Chu Xia followed him—she was headed to the school too.

Seeing her walking beside him, Lin Xiaohan turned and glanced at her, reminding her, “There’s nothing we need to work on together anymore. You don’t have to follow me everywhere.”

Chu Xia looked at him with clear eyes and replied, “I’m not following you on purpose. I’m planning to go back to the office to prepare for tomorrow’s class. It’s my first time teaching, and I’ve got no experience, so I need to be ready. Are you going to the office too?”

Lin Xiaohan held her gaze for a moment, then looked away without replying.

He didn’t say anything else either and quickened his pace. When they got back to the brigade headquarters, he first went to find the tools Liang Youtian had mentioned. He picked out a few usable ones and brought them back to the school.

Chu Xia arrived at the school a bit earlier than Lin Xiaohan.

She unlocked the door and went into the office, pulling out the textbooks for first and second grade math.

The elementary curriculum mainly included six subjects: Chinese, Math, Music, Physical Education, Moral and Political Education, and Labor.

Due to the special circumstances of the era, Moral and Political Education and Labor were considered the most important.

Chinese and Math came next, while Music and PE were seen as supplemental.

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan had already agreed to split the teaching duties evenly.

Chu Xia would teach Math, PE, and Labor, while Lin Xiaohan would handle Chinese, Music, and Moral-Political Education.

All the “fancy” subjects were left to Lin Xiaohan—Chu Xia didn’t feel up to them.

This time around, they had enrolled a total of sixty students.

Among them, fifty-nine had never been to school before. Their ages ranged from seven to ten, and they were all enrolled in first grade.

Only one student, Li Xisheng, was different. He was older and had previously attended first grade before the Cultural Revolution shut schools down. Now, after several years of delay, he was returning to pick up from second grade.

While Chu Xia was studying the first-grade math book, Lin Xiaohan came back.

She heard him enter but didn’t look up. She just kept reviewing the material for the next day’s lesson, trying to figure out the best way to start her first class.

Lin Xiaohan didn’t bother her either.

He had brought back the tools, sat down at his desk, and started tinkering with the horse-head clock that no longer ticked even when wound up.

After more than half an hour of focused preparation, Chu Xia finished getting ready for her class.

She closed the textbooks and stretched her arms backward to ease her shoulders.

When she glanced to the side, she saw Lin Xiaohan still deeply focused, taking the clock apart and working on it.

With nothing else to do, she sat quietly at her desk and just watched Lin Xiaohan, his face absorbed and serious as he worked.

She didn’t understand what exactly he was doing, but his focused look was surprisingly pleasant to watch.

So she quietly rested her head on her arms and started watching him like he was the main character of a movie.

Lin Xiaohan, ever perceptive, clearly felt her gaze.

He looked up briefly at her and asked while continuing to work on the clock, “Why are you staring at me like that?”

Chu Xia didn’t look away. She replied, “You’re pretty impressive. Seems like you can do just about anything.”

Most of Lin Xiaohan’s attention was still on the clock, and he replied calmly, “I had no one to rely on from a young age. Knowing a little bit of everything just makes life easier.”

Chu Xia was momentarily stunned. She hadn’t expected him to say something like that.

After watching him a while longer, she asked, “Your dad didn’t take care of you?”

“My dad…” Lin Xiaohan only said those two words before suddenly catching himself.

Realizing what he was about to talk about, he paused, then quickly shut down the conversation. His voice turned cold. “Why are you still here if you’ve got nothing else to do?”

Of course he wasn’t going to really open up.

Chu Xia didn’t take it to heart. Still looking at him, she replied, “Obviously because I don’t want to go back to the commune housing. I’ve offended everyone there. Watching them all laugh and joke around while I sit alone in silence—wouldn’t that be depressing?”

Lin Xiaohan kept working on the clock. “If it bothers you so much, why’d you offend them?”

Chu Xia, still leaning on the desk, answered, “If I didn’t offend them, I’d have to join forces with them. But if I did that, I’d be the one doing all the cooking since none of them know how to cook. They don’t know how to manage daily life either. Any side jobs or responsibilities would end up on me too. I’d be the idiot doing everything for the other ten people. No thanks.”

Lin Xiaohan glanced at her again but didn’t comment further.

He didn’t seem interested in badmouthing the others behind their backs. What he enjoyed more was mocking Han Ting to his face and watching him lose his temper.

So Chu Xia thought for a moment and then changed the direction of the conversation. “Don’t you ever feel lonely, being by yourself all the time?”

Lin Xiaohan answered decisively, “No.”

Even though he didn’t seem very talkative, he still responded.

So Chu Xia shamelessly kept going. “Haven’t you ever thought about making a real friend? Or maybe finding someone who gets you… like, romantically?”

Again, Lin Xiaohan answered without hesitation, “Don’t need it.”

Chu Xia looked at him and couldn’t help thinking maybe he really didn’t have a heart. She pursed her lips slightly.

Just as she was about to drop the subject, Lin Xiaohan suddenly looked at her and said, “With no woman on your mind, your sword strikes true.”

Chu Xia: “…”

He still remembered that line she had said before?

And he even knew how to remix it with flair!

Lin Xiaohan finished talking, put down the tool in his hand, and wound up the spring on the horse-head clock a few times.

Once he was done winding it, the clock’s hands stuttered slightly before smoothly shifting to the next tick, successfully starting to run.

Chu Xia sat up straight in surprise, her face lighting up as she exclaimed, “You actually managed to fix it!”

Lin Xiaohan, however, remained calm and expressionless. While tidying up the scattered tools on the table, he said, “Ask Secretary Liu to borrow his watch so we can adjust the time. Then it’ll be ready to use.”

Chu Xia didn’t hesitate. She jumped to her feet and dashed out, her voice crisp and cheerful as she called back, “I’ll go borrow it from Secretary Liu right now!”

Lin Xiaohan’s gaze followed the sound of her voice, but before he could catch a glimpse of her retreating figure, she had already vanished beyond the school’s front gate.

“……”

Not even a rabbit could run faster than her.

Chu Xia went off to borrow a watch from Secretary Liu.

Lin Xiaohan returned the tools to the brigade office, then came back and flipped through the Chinese textbook to prepare for his lesson.

After reviewing the Chinese materials, he also looked through the political education textbook.

These days, improving the ideological awareness of the masses was considered the most important task.

About ten minutes later, Chu Xia came bounding back like a rabbit.

She burst into the office and handed the watch to Lin Xiaohan, panting slightly as she said, “Quick, set the time. I still have to return this to Secretary Liu after you’re done.”

Lin Xiaohan reached out, took the watch, and began adjusting the horse-head clock.

Once the clock’s hands matched Secretary Liu’s watch, and he had fully wound it up, the task was complete.

Seeing the clock was now set, Chu Xia reached out and said, “Alright, hand the watch back. I’ll return it.”

But Lin Xiaohan didn’t give it to her. Instead, he set the horse-head clock against the wall to stabilize it, grabbed his bag and the clock oil, and said, “Let’s go together.”

Of course going together was fine!

Chu Xia responded enthusiastically, quickly slinging her schoolbag over her shoulders and leaving the school with him.