Chapter 47: Kneeling for Delay!

The trial class was scheduled without any major issues, though it was a bit rushed. The class began at 2:00 p.m., and Lin Wei only had the morning and one lunch break to prepare.

For experienced teachers, a few hours of preparation might be enough, but Lin Wei was inexperienced, so time felt tight.

Fortunately, Principal Feng didn’t intend to make things difficult for her. Not only did he send over the textbooks, but he also provided the lesson plan written by Ms. Chen—who had been hospitalized with a broken bone—so Lin Wei could use it as a reference.

Although Lin Wei had never formally written a lesson plan before, after two hours of thoughtful effort, she still managed to put together a decent one.

To ensure she could speak smoothly in front of the class, Lin Wei practiced delivering the lesson three times at home after writing the plan. As for the students, in addition to Ming Ruirui and Xiao Shitou, Chen Bamei also joined to make up the numbers.

Although Chen Bamei was there primarily to fill in, she ended up offering the most feedback.

Since Ms. Chen taught second grade, Lin Wei had to teach second-grade material. One shouldn’t assume that second graders had just graduated from first grade and that the content would be similar.

In reality, the second-grade curriculum was much more advanced than that of the first grade.

Lin Wei began teaching the children following the structure of the first-grade textbook, but her pace was much slower than the typical first-grade teacher at a standard elementary school.

Even with the slower pace, just over a month into the school year, they had only covered basic topics—such as phonetics, kinship terms, and the names of living things. They hadn’t even reached slightly longer sentences yet.

By contrast, second graders, after just a month of school, had already started reading longer texts and memorizing classical poems for comprehension practice.

As a result, even though the three children had learned a good number of characters under Lin Wei’s instruction and seemed to follow her explanations, they still appeared confused and somewhat lost.

In this respect, Chen Bamei was doing slightly better than the younger children. Her difficulty didn’t stem from not understanding Lin Wei’s teaching, but rather from her poor academic foundation due to never having attended school.

Although Lin Wei read through the textbook with them before each lesson, and went over it again section by section during the lesson—highlighting key vocabulary—the text was simply too long. Chen Bamei couldn’t remember it all at once. So even after listening to the lesson and reading the text again, there were still many words she didn’t recognize.

However, not recognizing all the characters didn’t stop her from grasping the overall story, since Lin Wei’s explanations were quite surface-level.

Moreover, Chen Bamei had a clear sense of purpose when listening to the lesson, unlike the younger children, who often became so absorbed in the story that they forgot their actual learning tasks.

As a result, she was able to point out a few areas where Lin Wei had done well, and where there was room for improvement.

After hearing Chen Bamei’s feedback, Lin Wei made slight revisions to the lesson plan and went over the lesson with them again.

Thanks to the foundation laid during the first round, Rui Rui was able to understand most of it this time. While his comprehension wasn’t as strong as Chen Bamei’s, he had a good memory. After reading through the text once, he could recognize most of the characters. Still, due to his limited life experience, he often didn’t fully grasp the meanings behind the words, which made it harder for him to understand the text as a whole.

When Lin Wei revised the lesson plan, Rui Rui asked Chen Bamei about the parts she didn’t understand. After Chen Bamei answered her questions, Rui Rui was able to give her own opinions during the second run-through of her mother’s lecture.

As for Mingming and Xiao Shitou, they didn’t understand as well as Chen Bamei and didn’t memorize as well as Rui Rui, so from start to finish, they were really just there to make up the numbers.

Fortunately, the opinions from Chen Bamei and Rui Rui were enough. By the third time, Lin Wei’s lecture was already very smooth—so polished, in fact, that she no longer needed to look at the lesson plan. It was quite impressive.

Although Mingming and Xiao Shitou couldn’t offer any suggestions, they secretly rehearsed a little dance while no one was watching, and performed it to cheer Lin Wei on before she left the house.

They called it a dance, but really, the two kids were just jumping around and waving their hands. Still, their voices were loud and spirited: “Mommy/Auntie is the best! Mommy/Auntie, good luck!”

Lin Wei covered her face. “……”
Fortunately, her house was in the innermost part of the residential area. If someone had seen this, she would’ve been too embarrassed to leave the house.

When Chen Wenfang first told Lin Wei about the trial class, Lin Wei was worried she might freeze up in front of the children. But in fact, the bigger the occasion, the calmer she became. She handled the lesson steadily from start to finish.

Feng Ying, who sat at the back of the classroom for the entire lesson, and Zhao Aifang, the experienced teacher Feng Ying had invited, were both very satisfied with Lin Wei’s performance.

In fact, “satisfied” was putting it mildly—Feng Ying was genuinely surprised and delighted.

Although Lin Wei’s teaching style wasn’t entirely conventional and she occasionally paused mid-lecture, her method of weaving in literary references was unique among the current faculty at the military district elementary school.

Not just in the school, but even across the Autonomous Region, very few teachers had a teaching style similar to Lin Wei’s. There were two reasons for this:

First, due to the political climate, many people were overly cautious—worried that saying too much might lead to trouble. As a result, lessons became rigid, confined strictly to the textbook, and teachers didn’t dare to elaborate beyond what was labeled as “key content.”

Second, many new teachers in recent years hadn’t received much formal education and lacked literary background, so referencing classical literature was difficult for them.

Lin Wei, however, was especially good at engaging the children emotionally. Feng Ying noticed that not a single child in the classroom was zoning out. On the contrary, when Lin Wei asked questions, the students were eager to answer.

Even in Feng Ying’s own classes, it was rare to see such enthusiasm.

So, once the trial class ended, Feng Ying immediately confirmed Lin Wei’s appointment as a substitute teacher.

Although it was a temporary position, Lin Wei would receive a full salary—26 yuan per month—as well as industrial coupons and the same benefits as regular staff.

The other terms were as previously discussed: she would teach two classes in the morning and two in the afternoon, without needing to stay at school in between. Morning reading was held daily, but to accommodate students who lived far away, the military district elementary school scheduled it along with the four morning classes. This meant Lin Wei only needed to arrive by 7:20 a.m.

During morning reading, the children simply recited texts on their own. Lin Wei only needed to supervise occasionally and conduct spot checks—no need to speak much herself.

Knowing Lin Wei had two children, Feng Ying specifically said she could bring them to school. The military wife in charge of cooking could help take care of them. If Lin Wei wasn’t comfortable with that, she could even bring them to class, as long as they didn’t cry.

Overall, the conditions were very generous.

After discussing the terms, Feng Ying added, “Since your class isn’t over yet, why not just take the next one too? We’ll start your pay from today.”

Lin Wei: “……” Alright then.

Due to the island’s low latitude, the weather on Yazhou Island hadn’t cooled down even in October. The military elementary school still had a noon break, and the class schedule remained unchanged.

Afternoon classes started at 2:00 p.m., with each session lasting 45 minutes. After two classes, the day ended at 3:40.

After the day’s lessons, Feng Ying personally brought Lin Wei to her new office, assigned her a desk, provided lesson plan books, pens, ink, and other supplies, and introduced her to the rest of the staff.

Like in other work units, most of the teachers at the military elementary school were military wives—many of whom Lin Wei already knew—so the formal introduction wasn’t really necessary. Still, Lin Wei followed along politely and greeted everyone with a smile.

Everyone was friendly. After Feng Ying left, a military wife across the desk from Lin Wei, named Huang Aiyun, said with a smile, “Now that you’re here, Principal Feng can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

Zhao Yanhua, sitting behind Huang Aiyun, also turned around and laughed. “That’s right. Principal Feng’s been worried for days, but as soon as you arrived, we saw her smiling again.”

This put Lin Wei in a slightly awkward position. If she acknowledged it too enthusiastically, it might seem self-important; if she denied it, it would sound insincere. The fact that two teachers had been hospitalized one after another wasn’t a secret, and it was also true that this situation had opened up an opportunity for Lin Wei to join them.

So Lin Wei put on a standard smile that suggested everything was manageable and humbly said she was a newcomer, had never been a teacher before, and that there might be many things she would need help with in the future—so she hoped everyone wouldn’t mind.

If Lin Wei hadn’t entered the military district elementary school under special circumstances and was only a temporary substitute teacher, some of the people in the office might have heard this and, even if they didn’t say anything outright, would have looked down on her in their hearts.

Even if they didn’t express it openly, they would have silently thought less of her. Some might have even believed that Feng Ying had lost her mind—after all, even if it was only the second grade, how could she let someone with no teaching experience take over the class?

But there were no “ifs” in this situation. Before Lin Wei arrived, not only was Feng Ying worried, but everyone else was under a lot of pressure too. First, because the leadership was in a bad mood, and second, because they were afraid the leadership might assign them extra tasks.

After Lin Wei arrived, not only did Feng Ying start smiling again, but everyone else also breathed a sigh of relief. So they all laughed and said, “You’re too modest. If you didn’t have the skills, Principal Feng wouldn’t let you substitute, no matter how desperate she was.”

Even as they said that, they still patted their chests and reassured her: “If there’s anything you don’t understand in the future, feel free to ask us. We might not teach second grade, but we’ve got experience.”

For a while, the office atmosphere was cheerful, and Lin Wei smoothly integrated into the group of teachers.

When it was time to pack up and go home, Lin Wei walked out with Huang Aiyun, who wasn’t a homeroom teacher and usually didn’t have to stay for the last class.

However, not long after they entered the family area, they parted ways—Huang Aiyun lived in the row houses on the side, so they weren’t headed in the same direction.

Lin Wei went straight ahead, turned into the Zhou family’s yard, and was ready to call Mingming and Rui Rui home.

Since there was no one in the front yard, Lin Wei walked right in, followed the sound to the backyard, and saw Chen Bamei leading the three children in a game of hopscotch.

The one jumping when Lin Wei arrived was Mingming. Since the game had already reached the second half, most of the ground was already claimed. He clearly hadn’t won many times, so after he tossed the tile, he hadn’t even put his right foot down yet.

Just as he was about to crouch down and pick up the tile, Rui Rui suddenly shouted, “Mom!” When Mingming heard the voice, he instinctively turned his head—but didn’t see his mom—and promptly fell backward onto the ground.

After landing on the ground, he finally saw Lin Wei but didn’t bother greeting her. Instead, he immediately blamed his brother: “It’s all your fault! I was just about to pick up the tile!”

Rui Rui: “……” He was completely innocent!

Chen Bamei, being the oldest of the group, was mostly just playing with them to keep the kids happy—she wasn’t concerned about winning or losing. So when she heard Mingming complain, she simply suggested letting him pick up the tile again.

Rui Rui, as the “culprit” who caused his brother to fall on his butt, naturally had no grounds to object. Little Shitou didn’t mind either—he had only circled the second-to-last piece of land and had no chance of winning anyway.

Mingming, who was in last place, didn’t give up. Sniffling, he got up, crossed his legs, and continued trying to pick up the tile.

But his stance was unstable. Jumping on one leg was fine, but squatting down with one leg crossed was truly difficult for him. So before he could fully squat down, he lost balance again and plopped onto the ground.

This time, Mingming had no one to blame. All he could do was sigh and walk out of the playing area.

Next up was Rui Rui. He had circled the second-most plots out of the four of them—it was a big area—so it was easy for him to jump to the end. He squatted steadily to pick up his tile.

The difference between them was so stark that Mingming’s heart was breaking. He clung to Lin Wei and refused to let go of her hand.

But Rui Rui didn’t win in the end. After all, Chen Bamei, being a big girl and quite flexible, even if she went easy on them, could still easily beat a group of little kids.

Since the result was expected, the winners weren’t overly excited, and the losers weren’t too discouraged either.

In fact, once the game was over, what they cared about more was the result of Lin Wei’s trial lesson.

Probably because Lin Wei had already guessed the outcome based on Feng Ying’s expression during the lesson, she didn’t feel particularly excited when she got the official confirmation.

So when Rui Rui asked about it earlier, Lin Wei responded calmly, with no intention of showing off.

But now, seeing the expectant faces of Chen Bamei and the three kids, Lin Wei couldn’t help showing off just a little. With a smug look, she said, “I’m going to step in officially, so of course this job is in the bag!”

Unfortunately, Lin Wei had clearly picked the wrong audience to show off in front of.

As soon as she finished, the four faces opposite her looked blank. Rui Rui asked, “Mom, what’s a ‘job in the bag’?”

Lin Wei: “…It means I passed.”

The big one and the three little ones all let out sighs of relief. Mingming blinked and asked, “Mommy, are you a teacher now?”

“Yes, but it’s temporary,” Lin Wei replied.

Rui Rui was puzzled. “Why is it temporary?”

Lin Wei explained, “Because Mommy is just helping out while a teacher at the elementary school is sick. When that teacher gets better and comes back, Mommy won’t be a teacher anymore.”

Rui Rui nodded in understanding. “Oh, I see.”

Then Mingming asked expectantly, “Is Mommy going to work?”

Since Lin Wei had worked before joining the army, Rui Rui understood what “going to work” meant. So as soon as he heard that, he immediately asked, “What will happen to my brother and me when Mommy goes to work?”

“Dummy!” Mingming immediately leaned close to Rui Rui’s ear and whispered, “If Mommy goes to work, no one will be watching us, so we can play however we want!”

Chen Bamei added, “I can help take care of Mingming and Rui Rui.”

Hearing that, Mingming turned his head and looked at Lin Wei with sparkling eyes.

Even though his mom hadn’t nodded yet, Mingming had already begun fantasizing about his future life—sleeping in as long as he wanted and playing games until his legs cramped up.

Most importantly, from now on, he would never have to go to class again!

Caught up in his moment of joy, Mingming conveniently forgot that Lin Wei was only a temporary substitute teacher and would be stepping down in at most three months.

As for Lin Wei, when she met Mingming’s hopeful gaze, she gave a small smile—then ruthlessly shattered his dream: “No need. I’ll take them to school with me.”

“Is that convenient?” Chen Bamei asked.

Lin Wei smiled calmly and said, “There’s nothing inconvenient about adding two desks at the back of the classroom. It’ll even help them get a little early exposure to school life.”

Mingming’s voice trembled as he asked, “Then, Mom… if we follow you to class, does that mean we don’t have to go back to our own class?”

“Of course… not,” Lin Wei said, deliberately dragging out her words. “Including morning reading, I have five classes a day. If they’re all in the morning, your afternoon classes will go on as usual. If my classes are in the afternoon, then we’ll shift your lessons to the morning. Don’t worry—Mom definitely won’t let her job interfere with your great journey of learning!”

Mingming’s bright eyes were now welling up with tears: “……” Begging for mercy!