Chapter 9: A Midnight Visit (Part One)

  Long Dahai took a break, holding the knife and basin to go outside the yard to skin the dog. Pang Haiyan stayed in the yard, chatting with Long Shan Hui and Geng Feng Huang.

  Everyone chatted for a while, feeling bored. Pang Haiyan went back to the inner room and brought out another bottle of beer, opened it, filled their glasses, and apologetically said: "Look at me, I'm not good at drinking, so I forgot about the wine."

  Geng Fenghuang looked at him and said: "I heard that in the past, you and Long Dahai drank a whole case of beer together, like drinking tea."

  Pang Haiyan smiled and said, "Don't listen to their nonsense. A bundle of beer would be half a bucket even if it was poured into the barrel. At that time, food was a problem, where did the beer come from?"

  "Today there's a condition, let's have one bottle." Long Shan said.

  "I really can't! Not to mention a bottle, even a cup is a problem," said Pang Haiyan.

  Geng Fenghuang raised his wine glass and said, "You can substitute tea for wine, but Longshan and I will drink a cup of wine! On the condition that no one is allowed to go to the toilet."

  Although Pang Haiyan found it difficult to drink this cup of water, she felt that no matter how great a young person's capacity for liquor was, it couldn't compare with drinking water! So she readily agreed: "Alright! I'll keep you company."

  "Clang clang bang bang" The sound of clinking cups echoed in the small courtyard - the three people drank with great relish.

  "How could he have forgotten the file bag!" Pang Haiyan had drunk a bottle, sizing up Geng Fenghuang, was discovered by her, felt it was not good to peep at others, so she handed over the package that Pang Shunxing had left behind to Geng Fenghuang, "You take the package to him, he is my maternal nephew."

  Geng Fenghua gazed at Pang Haiyan. Although she was over 40 years old, her skin was tight and radiant, looking like a young girl with a rosy complexion. Pang Haiyan lowered her head to unzip the bag, took out a book with a passionate cover, and continued to introduce: "He is also my godson, after Xue Lian left, he has not remarried, and transferred that love to his creation. His point of view is quite avant-garde, so his old partner scolds him when she sees him, sorry to make you laugh!"

  "After Xue Lian married him, she never had a happy day." Long Shan said with sorrow and resentment.

  Geng Fenghuang and Long Shan were in middle school when Xue Lian would often come to the school to deliver dry rations to Long Shan. She thought that with Xue Lian being such a beautiful and kind teacher, her love life should be wonderful, but unexpectedly she ended up marrying the despicable Party Secretary Pang Shunxing. As she recalled the days she spent with him, her hand trembled slightly, and the book slowly slipped from her grasp. Pang Haiyan bent down to pick it up, only to find a document inserted between its pages: "State Council Office Notice on Resolving the Issue of Private Teachers (Guo Ban Fa [1997] No. 32)".

  "The work of solving the problem of private teachers should strengthen management, improve quality, and improve treatment at the same time, comprehensively implement the policy of 'control, transfer, recruitment, dismissal, and retirement', plan in batches, implement step by step, gradually reduce the number of private teachers, and strive to basically solve the problem of private teachers by the end of this century." Pang Haiyan read it over and over again, getting excited, ran out of the courtyard to briefly introduce the file of transferring to regular teacher to Long Dahai.

  "Don't just dream of marrying a good wife! From the late 1970s, there was a shift in policy and public opinion, but we are still private teachers, aren't we? You guys go ahead and chat." Long Dahai peeled the yellow dog under the moonlight.

  "Tomorrow then, you're drunk today." Pang Haiyan went to pull Long Dahai's arm.

  "Don't get cut by the knife. I'm drunk but sober, some are awake yet dreaming, which one is right? Covering my butt with both hands, no way!" Long Dahai said, fiercely tearing off the dog skin.

  "Can this dog still eat?" Geng Fenghua was shocked. "You think it's poisonous? Nonsense! I think the dog drank too much and died of intoxication."

  "I mean, the dog is guarding our house and watching the gate for us, how can we bear to eat it?" Pang Haiyan explained.

  "It jumped out from the yard, hit a wine bottle. When I came back, Huang Er was lying at the door of the feeding house, with blood coming out of his nose and foam in his mouth. If we bury him, we'll always think about it; if we eat him, then let's just eat him." Long Dahai said, taking down the dog's buttocks, "Let's cook it first, Geng Fenghuang likes to eat this the most."

  Pang Haiyan washed the dog meat, put it in a pressure cooker, turned on the gas stove, and in less than 20 minutes, a plate of fragrant dog meat was served. Then she sat back down beside Geng Fenghuang and continued chatting.

  "Due to the extremely limited quota for each conversion and the long interval, private school teachers have almost shed tears of despair. The 1997 document is truly exciting and inspiring!" Pang Haiyan handed the document to Geng Fenghuang.

  "You can keep this file. I have another copy here," said Geng Fenghuang, "If Xue Lian were here, she should have fulfilled her teaching dream by now, it's all my fault back then..."

  "It's not your fault... Godmother, if Godfather had let her attend normal school, it wouldn't have been so bad..." Longshan said sorrowfully, with tears already welling up in his eyes.

  "Let you guys go up, someone also told you. Because you are repeating a grade, they told you to study hard too, it's only natural, can't blame them." Pang Haiyan said, wiping away tears with her hand.

  "It's all my fault, it was my decision in the first place!" Long Dahai shouted, "What's the use of being so excited? Does that 1997 document control what we eat or sleep? Everyone on earth knows about it already! What's there to be excited or enthusiastic about? Just go to sleep!"

  PT thief, building station is easy!

  PT thief, building station is easy!

  Content from PT program