Chapter 13: Caring Jiejie. Teacher Zhao

Zhao Ke made it clear she intended to compete, and no matter how much Zhao Er Nai made a fuss, she refused to back down.

Zhao Er Nai used Hu Hezhi’s injury as an excuse to stir up trouble, but even if she could admit it was just a couple of bruises and nothing serious, Zhao Fangfang couldn’t say she was pretending.

In the end, Zhao Er Nai didn’t gain any advantage and lost quite a bit instead, leaving with her family in a sorry state.

The commune members, having enjoyed the spectacle, left satisfied.

Meanwhile, Hu Hezhi sat at home. When he saw Zhao Er Nai and the others return looking dejected like wilted eggplants, he had a bad feeling. “Fangfang?”

Zhao Fangfang looked at him with some guilt, finding it difficult to speak. She quickly summarized what had happened at Zhao Ke’s house.

The more Hu Hezhi listened, the more labored his breathing became.

All they had to do was cry and make a scene every day. Zhao Ke, a young girl, would surely back out on her own.

But smashing someone’s belongings had turned them from being in the right to being in the wrong.

Rural people are just stupid—nothing gets done if it’s not explained clearly!

Incompetent and only capable of ruining things!

Hu Hezhi was so angry his mind went blank. Unable to hold it in, he blew up, glaring and huffing, “If you’re going to make a scene, fine, but why smash things?!”

His tone was harsh, and with Zhao Er Nai’s temper, her voice immediately rose louder as she scolded, “You eat our food and use our stuff, and you’re useless! How dare you lecture me!”

Hu Hezhi’s face stiffened. Regaining his composure, he quickly adjusted his tone, lowering his voice to apologize, “Granny, I was just frustrated by Zhao Ke’s family and lost my head. Please don’t hold it against me.”

Zhao Fangfang chimed in to support him, “Yes, Granny, Hezhi didn’t mean to criticize you—he was just too anxious.”

Zhao Er Nai glared fiercely at Hu Hezhi. “Eat!”

Hu Hezhi swallowed his anger, following Zhao Yunyun with lowered eyes full of resentment.

One day, he would get rid of these rural people.

At the dinner table, no one spoke. Only the clatter of Zhao Er Nai’s chopsticks and bowl grew louder and louder.

*Clang.*

Zhao Er Nai slammed her bowl down heavily.

Everyone turned to look at her.

Fuming, Zhao Er Nai said, “We can’t take a loss like this. I’m going door to door to ask.”

She stood up and walked out without the slightest concern for having lost face in the village earlier.

But Hu Hezhi wasn’t as confident as she was. He knew he didn’t have the same local advantage as Zhao Ke, and with all these incidents, it was highly likely he wouldn’t be chosen.

Even though he knew he wouldn’t be picked, he couldn’t accept Zhao Ke becoming a teacher so easily.

His eyes flickered, and a new plan formed in his mind.

—

Zhao Er Nai went door to door again.

Most of those who had accepted her gifts outwardly agreed, no matter what they thought inside, and showed no sign of reneging.

Zhao Er Nai returned satisfied.

—

That afternoon, Zhao Ke went to the school to substitute for Hu Hezhi.

The children welcomed her warmly, their clear, bright voices ringing out, “Hello, Teacher Zhao!”

Zhao Ke smiled and responded, then looked at Niu Xiaoqiang, “Niu Xiaoqiang, are you feeling better? No need to speak, just nod or shake your head.”

Niu Xiaoqiang, tough as nails, grinned and nodded vigorously.

Zhao Ke smiled slightly, and as she shifted her gaze, she noticed that his desk mate, a little girl, had her head lowered, seemingly in a bad mood.

“We’ll start the class.”

As Zhao Ke flipped through the book, she glanced at the roll call on the podium. Niu Xiaoqiang’s desk mate was named… Wei Ruyue.

A very pleasant name.

Zhao Ke carried on with the lesson as if nothing had happened, and after class, she even took the initiative to play with the children on the playground.

She was having a great time herself but noticed that Wei Ruyue didn’t come out, staying alone in the classroom.

At the end of the school day, the children gathered around Zhao Ke, walking with her and chattering non-stop along the way. Then they split up at each intersection.

After Niu Xiaoqiang waved goodbye, Zhao Ke noticed Wei Ruyue walking alone up ahead. She quickened her pace to catch up.

When someone suddenly appeared beside her, Wei Ruyue was startled and stammered, “Zhao… Zhao teacher.”

Zhao Ke’s expression softened as she asked with concern, “I noticed you don’t seem to be in a good mood. Did something happen?”

Wei Ruyue ducked her head, gently shaking it.

Seeing this, Zhao Ke didn’t press further, instead lightly resting her hand on the girl’s shoulder.

Wei Ruyue flinched, but then realized Zhao Ke was just comforting her, so she relaxed, her cheeks flushing slightly.

She was such a pure and kind young woman, yet she had scared the child.

Zhao Ke’s tone became even softer, almost casual, as she asked, “Do you have any good friends at school?”

Wei Ruyue shook her head lightly, then after a pause, whispered, “I have a good friend at home, but she doesn’t go to school.”

Zhao Ke paused, “Is she a girl?”

Wei Ruyue nodded, “Mm.”

Now, nearly every family is struggling, but many still have multiple children, believing that more children bring more blessings.

However, it’s difficult to provide for even one student, and family resources are naturally biased.

Boys don’t have to do much to receive the full attention of the family, while girls are often the ones who are sacrificed.

There are few families like Zhao Ke and her siblings in the surrounding ten miles.

Every time Zhao Ke hears about such things, she feels a little sad, but she can’t control others; she can only take care of her own little patch of land.

“Zhao teacher…”

Zhao Ke snapped back to her senses and gently responded, “Hm?”

Wei Ruyue bit her lip, raised her head, her eyes misty with tears, and asked, “Did I almost cause Niu Xiaoqiang’s death?”

Zhao Ke was surprised, “Why would you think that?”

Wei Ruyue choked up, “When Niu Xiaoqiang was choking, he pushed me. I thought he might have done it on purpose, so I ignored him, but later… later I realized he just wanted me to help him call the teacher, but I was scared…”

Behind them, holding two buckets of water with almost no sound, Fu Hang raised his eyes and looked at Wei Ruyue.

Zhao Ke didn’t notice anyone behind her, gently patted Wei Ruyue’s head, “It’s not your fault.”

Wei Ruyue shook her head, self-reproachfully saying, “If I had been braver…”

Zhao Ke softly asked Wei Ruyue, “Did Niu Xiaoqiang blame you?”

Wei Ruyue pressed her lips together and shook her head.

“Then what about the teacher? Principal Gu, Teacher Wu, and me, did we blame you?”

Wei Ruyue paused for a moment, then continued to shake her head.

“So, you’re blaming yourself, thinking you didn’t do well, right?”

Wei Ruyue sniffled, “Mm.”

Fu Hang lowered his eyes, his clearly defined fingers tightening around the rope on the shoulder pole.

Zhao Ke smiled and gently hugged her, praising, “You’re a kind child.”

Wei Ruyue’s eyes, as clear and pure as glass, stared at her in a daze.

Zhao Ke’s profile was rounded, her hair softly brushing her face, her smile genuine in both her eyes and at the corners of her lips as she kissed the girl’s cheek.

Fu Hang couldn’t help but stop walking.

Zhao Ke squatted in front of Wei Ruyue, “Because you’re kind, you always take all the blame upon yourself, and you can even recognize your own shortcomings. You’re really a smart child.”

Wei Ruyue was flustered, her small hands rubbing together, “R-really?”

Zhao Ke nodded reassuringly, “We all face many unexpected things. From now on, let’s become better and braver, and work hard to avoid such accidents in the future, okay?”

Wei Ruyue looked into her eyes and couldn’t help but respond, “Okay.”

Such a well-behaved child.

Zhao Ke smiled warmly and reached out to smooth down the little girl’s hair, which she had disheveled with her touch.

Suddenly, Zhao Ke felt a gaze on her face. She turned her head and saw Fu Hang, surprised.

Fu Hang showed no sign of being caught, paused for a few seconds, nodded calmly at her, and then carried on with the water, walking ahead.

Zhao Ke watched his straight posture and steady steps, her gaze unconsciously drifting over his broad shoulders and narrow hips.

Oh, so he’s not a delicate intellectual after all.

Since returning, Zhao Ke hadn’t focused much on the plot or the main couple, but now thinking about it, in the novel, the male lead had helped the female lead several times—twice he had even fought, once with the village’s scoundrel, and once with her younger brother male supporting character.

However, in the novel, Zhao Feng is not diligent, but now it’s different. If the male lead were to fight Zhao Feng, the outcome would be hard to predict.

Zhao Ke didn’t think much of her encounter with Fu Hang, and after saying goodbye to Wei Ruyue, she went home.

While making dinner, Zhao Ke lit the fire for Comrade Yu Xiulan and casually mentioned Wei Ruyue.

Yu Xiulan paused her stirring, covered the pot, and then spoke about her family’s situation. “That child is quite pitiful. Her mother was hurt when she gave birth to her and never got pregnant again. Her father, Wei Dahu, was upset because he didn’t have a son, and when he drank, he would hit her mother. Several times, she couldn’t get off the kang.”

“Ah?” Zhao Ke turned around on the bench to face her mother. “Didn’t you do anything?”

“How could I do anything? How could I manage that? The couple’s fine, though.” Yu Xiulan glanced at her, chopping vegetables as she spoke. “But Wei Dahu has some sense; he doesn’t hit the child.”

The women’s director doesn’t manage the persecution of women… Zhao Ke felt uncomfortable, but these matters were indeed hard for Yu Xiulan to handle, and it seemed normal that she didn’t want to get involved.

Moreover, it wasn’t related to her.

Zhao Ke turned back, quietly tending the fire.

–

Around six in the evening, a rare visitor arrived at the educated youth station.

Hu Hezhi greeted everyone warmly and was then led by familiar old educated youth into the male dormitory.

As soon as he entered the room, his gaze searched for Fu Hang.

Fu Hang was sitting behind a desk with a candle lit in front of him. He was holding a fountain pen that looked expensive and writing something, not sparing even a glance at Hu Hezhi.

Hu Hezhi’s gaze moved from Fu Hang’s clothes to the watch on his wrist, then to the fountain pen, his eyes flickering with a hint of jealousy.

The old educated youth, Liu Xingxue, asked him, “Lao Hu, why do you have time to come over today?”

Hu Hezhi withdrew his gaze, sighed, and replied, “I’m not afraid you’ll laugh, but I wanted to be a teacher, so that our educated youth could better integrate into the production team. Unfortunately…”

Liu Xingxue and another old educated youth, Deng Haixin, exchanged a glance, both having heard about what happened today.

Hu Hezhi left it at that, then put on a forced smile and said, “But I thought, if I can’t do it, it doesn’t mean the other educated youth can’t.”

“What do you mean?”

Hu Hezhi looked at Fu Hang. “Fu Zhiqing, you graduated from high school and are said to be very good at science. Would you be interested in becoming a teacher?”

Fu Hang lifted his head and stared at Hu Hezhi.

Hu Hezhi couldn’t tell what Fu Hang was thinking and continued, “It’s like this, my grandmother has some acquaintances in the village. She promised to vote, but I think you should have more advantages than me. If you’re interested, I can convince my grandmother and get the villagers to vote for you. With our educated youth, the chances are high.”

Fu Hang saw through the hidden thoughts in his eyes and cut to the point with a sharp question: “What’s in it for you?”

Hu Hezhi, with a stiff face, said pompously, “We’re all educated youth, so of course, we need to unite the power of the educated youth…”

Fu Hang didn’t have time to listen to his nonsense and interrupted, “What do you want?”

Hu Hezhi’s gaze subconsciously shifted to his watch and fountain pen, stammering, “My grandmother will put in some effort and has given away quite a few things… I don’t have any other intentions, just hope the elderly lady feels better.”

The new educated youth, Lin Haiyang, who was lying on the kang, couldn’t stand listening to this, threw off the blanket, sat up, and bluntly said, “What if he’s not elected? If not, do you expect to get some compensation?”

Hu Hezhi didn’t say anything.

Fu Hang coldly replied, “I’m not interested.”

Then, he turned back and buried himself in writing again.

Hu Hezhi’s face darkened at the blatant dismissal.

Lin Haiyang said flippantly, “Hu Zhiqing can’t beat Zhao Ke, so he wants to push Fu Hang out? Maybe get something in return, he’s not losing anything inside or out.”

Hu Hezhi suddenly stood up, furious and ashamed, “Don’t misinterpret me.”

Lin Haiyang shrugged, with a face that said he didn’t care.

The two old educated youth, who were seasoned, didn’t help either.

Hu Hezhi, feeling isolated, muttered “Good intentions, bad results” and angrily left.

Lin Haiyang continued talking with the two other old educated youth, mentioning Zhao Ke’s name a few times in their conversation.

It really was because she had such a strong presence in the Zhao Village production team lately.

Even Fu Hang, who usually didn’t pay attention to such things, had heard her name many times recently, both intentionally and unintentionally.

It was as if the Zhao Village production team, before she appeared, was like a still pond occasionally stirred by waves. Suddenly, she showed up, dove in, and now swam freely in it.

It felt full of life, as if she had revitalized Zhao Village.

TN:

Merry Christmas everyone~🎊