Chapter 223

Lijian was very attentive in taking care of the baby. It lay beside the crib and would watch closely at any movement.

If the baby’s blanket slipped off, it would pull it back up. It was truly a dog that could take care of a child.

If there was an emergency it couldn’t handle, like if the baby wet or soiled himself, it would wake Shi Tingyu.

Sometimes, when Shi Tingyu was cooking, she would place the baby in the small bamboo stroller and have Lijian watch over him, checking in from time to time.

Whenever this happened, Lu Weiguo couldn’t help but praise Lijian.

Having Lijian made taking care of the baby much easier.

After breakfast, Lu Weiguo went to the barracks.

This time, he first sought out Commander Song.

When Commander Song saw Lu Weiguo, he smiled.

“Xiao Lu, you came at the right time. I was just about to look for you.”

Looking at the tall and stern man before him, Commander Song felt a great sense of pride.

“I just received news that this year, the teachers for our province’s college entrance exam will be isolated in our barracks to prepare for the exam.”

Lu Weiguo was surprised that his superiors had already mentioned this before he could bring it up.

Though surprised, he seemed to understand the leader’s intention, realizing that this matter was likely to be entrusted to him.

Sure enough, the next moment, Commander Song said, “You’re quite lucky. I heard your wife is one of the teachers preparing the exam. This is a huge honor. We’ll set off firecrackers at the family quarters’ entrance.”

Thinking of his wife, Lu Weiguo’s expression softened. “Commander Song, I came today to discuss this matter.”

“The provincial admissions office asked my wife to help prepare the exam, but our child is still young, so they granted permission for her to bring someone to look after the baby.”

Commander Song laughed upon hearing this, “Isn’t that easy? I was planning to have you be in charge of this, so you can go and take care of your wife and child. No need to trouble anyone else.”

Commander Song was quite familiar with Lu Weiguo’s family situation.

There were only Lu Weiguo’s parents-in-law to help with the baby, but they were crucial researchers and couldn’t afford to spend a couple of months on childcare.

He had originally intended for Lu Weiguo to be in charge of the safety of the exam teachers, so he decided to let him handle everything.

The main point was that this task was relatively simple, and Lu Weiguo could manage it.

Lu Weiguo smiled, saluted Commander Song, “Thank you, Commander! I guarantee to complete the task!”

Commander Song rarely saw him so cheerful and let him go with a smile.

That afternoon, Lu Weiguo returned home to share the news with Shi Tingyu.

Shi Tingyu didn’t waste any time and went to the school to borrow a phone to call the provincial admissions office, informing them of the caretaker.

Hearing that it was the person in charge of their security, they readily agreed.

Having a soldier was great because the background check was simpler.

A certificate from the military would suffice, saving them a lot of hassle.

Soon, it was November 1st, and Shi Tingyu and Lu Weiguo left with a lot of stuff.

Lijian was temporarily entrusted to the military dog squad.

If it were a short time, having Mrs. Zhang feed him for a few days would be fine, but since this was a long duration, Lu Weiguo decided to leave him with the military dog squad.

They had considered bringing Lijian along.

But their situation was already quite special, and bringing Lijian might cause gossip.

They knew Lijian wouldn’t bark indiscriminately, but others didn’t. If they brought him, the head of the exam committee might not agree, fearing the dog’s barking would disturb the teachers.

Commander Song’s talk of setting off firecrackers at the family quarters’ entrance wasn’t just empty words.

Becoming one of the first teachers to prepare for the college entrance exam after its restoration was indeed something to boast about.

He had heard that some schools even hung banners for their teachers who became exam setters.

He felt that setting off firecrackers wasn’t grand enough.

As soon as Shi Tingyu and Lu Weiguo left the family quarters, a soldier arrived with a string of firecrackers.

Lu Weiguo took the baby a little farther away and covered his little ears.

Shi Tingyu was embarrassed by the commotion.

Goodness, she really wanted to exclaim.

It’s just setting exam questions for the college entrance exam, why set off firecrackers?

If she hadn’t resigned from the primary school, she wouldn’t have felt so publicly embarrassed if they had hung a banner at the school’s entrance.

It felt like she had become famous and her husband’s unit was hanging a banner in her honor.

The sound of firecrackers attracted many people from the family quarters, and many children ran over to pick up the leftover firecracker pieces.

Shi Tingyu tried to warn them about the danger, but it was no use.

The parents of the children just laughed and said it was fine.

Before long, the car from the provincial admissions office arrived.

This time, the provincial admissions office had selected twenty-four teachers, including Shi Tingyu, to participate in the exam question preparation.

The art group, including Shi Tingyu, had only three people.

The remaining twenty-one teachers were responsible for politics, Chinese, mathematics, history and geography, and physics and chemistry.

The first three subjects, politics, Chinese, and mathematics, were required for both science and liberal arts students.

This secluded question-setting process was led by Teacher Wang, who was appointed as the head of the exam committee. Any issues during the question-setting process would be directly communicated with the higher education bureau’s leadership.

Just as the teachers arrived, another truck pulled in.

It carried printing equipment and twenty-five workers.

The fifty people, including the teachers, workers, and the head of the committee, were responsible for the preparation, printing, packaging, transportation, and destruction of the first college entrance exam.

Shi Tingyu truly felt the weight of responsibility.

The soldiers verified the identities of everyone, and Lu Weiguo led them into the barracks.

At this point, everyone was still unfamiliar with each other.

Seeing Lu Weiguo holding a baby made them curious.

However, looking at Lu Weiguo’s stern face, no one dared to ask.

The barracks were rows of brick houses, with open spaces in front for activities.

In their free time, soldiers would play chess, write, and engage in other activities in these open spaces.

A row of barracks had twelve rooms, and the camp had cleared out five rows of such barracks for the task.

One row was for the workers, another for the teachers, and the remaining space was used as a buffer zone and printing area. Except for the fifty people and a ten-person security team, no one else was allowed near this area.

The exam committee had also established strict confidentiality rules: no going out, no phone calls, no leaving any traces behind, and all waste paper had to be meticulously checked. Teachers from different subjects couldn’t communicate or inquire about each other’s work.

When it came time to package the exam papers, if glue or paper ran out and needed to be purchased, three people had to go together to supervise each other.

Shi Tingyu was astonished at the level of confidentiality.

Upon arrival, Team Leader Wang didn’t arrange for immediate work but allowed everyone to rest first.

After all, some teachers had traveled long distances from other provinces and couldn’t afford to fall ill now.

In Shi Tingyu’s group were two older male teachers, both with grandchildren.