Chapter 4: Dusting Off (Part One)

  "The villagers refused to raise funds for a school because of an old tree. How can private teachers afford to take the lead?" Longshan said.

  "The old locust tree is a cultural landscape with high historical, cultural, scientific and environmental value, it belongs to the country. The Long family has been worshiping the tree as their ancestors for generations, and revering the snake as a divine spirit. As long as we don't touch a single branch or leaf of the tree, anyone who cares about the development of Huai Tree Garden Primary School will generously contribute! And they won't oppose the construction of the teaching building either. Principal Long, isn't that right?" Geng Fenghua said with emotion and reason.

  Longshan Hui said excitedly, "In these years, who has asked about our salary, our promotion? How many were once public school teachers, and then became officials from the teaching staff. Many are eating away at schools, eating away at teachers. I think you're not one of them." Longshan Hui gazed at the setting sun, gazed at that group of boys with bare buttocks, gazed at the farmers carrying hoes, pushing carts, and leading oxen back to the village, feeling the weight of his responsibility, the length of the road. At the same time, he also realized that the path Geng Fenghuang was walking on was also a muddy and swampy road, with tears, and there would be wind and rain...

  "We'll build our own development zone, no one will be allowed to put collective assets into their own pockets; we'll build our own school, not just to let you take the money for free. I heard your dad took over a section of the river from Pang Shunxing and made a fortune! You're taking out tens of thousands, isn't that just a drop in the bucket?" Geng Fenghua looked at Long Shan's ever-changing expression, waiting for an answer.

  "To be honest with you, my dad always thought it was you who took my spot in the civil service exam. He had no idea I didn't even want to be an official! Of course, except for you..." Longshan shouted as he rowed the boat, "Hold on tight, we're arriving at the old willow tree ferry!"

  Geng Fenghua grasped the side of the boat, the small boat was battered and worn out, being tossed about by the waves. She became a bit tense.

  "The boat is broken but there's still a paddle, and even if the paddle breaks, there's still the bottom!" Long Shan comforted.

  Geng Fenghuang suddenly cried out, "The boat is leaking!" The river water shot into the cabin like a silver arrow from the hole at the bottom of the boat. The speed of the boat slowed down suddenly, and the hull shook even more violently. Long Shan made Geng Fenghuang sit tight, took off his jacket and jumped into the river.

  Longshan slipped under the boat, pulled out a wooden stick that was inserted at an angle in the back of the boat, and threw it onto the boat. He quickly stuffed his sweatshirt into the hole, just as a white handkerchief wrapped around a dagger flew out from the shore and landed perfectly in the still-splashing hole, merging with Longshan's sweatshirt. The water stopped flowing. By the time Longshan climbed back onto the boat, the knife-thrower had vanished without a trace.

  Geng Fenghua grasped the wooden stick, gazing at the shore where reeds swayed and green willows leaned, her jumping heart hard to calm.

  "Sorry, maybe the crowd and teachers don't understand you yet. With me here, don't worry about anything!" Longshan gripped the oars tightly, rowing towards the dock on the east bank...

  The Xiao Long River shone like a golden road under the sunset. Geng Feng seemed to see thousands of people surging from afar on this road, holding bouquets of flowers... She felt hopeful and empowered, shaking off her long hair and running forward to greet the applause that poured in like a river...

  "Get up, we've reached the shore! Aren't you worried about farting into the wine?" Long Shan only then discovered that Geng Fenghuang was sitting on his fish basket.

  "This is a fish basket, where's the wine?" Geng Fenghuang stood up and said humorously.

  "That fish can't be exchanged for wine!" Long Shan said, walking over and pulling out a bottle of millet wine from the basket. He tilted his head back and took a few gulps, "glug glug".

  "So smelly, and you can even drink it down?" Fenghuang Ge was shocked.

  "This is exactly what we need! Usually, school is so busy, it's rare to have some free time, and us grassroots teachers all like to have a couple of drinks!"

  "Long Dahai is your dad, you advise him to make a statement for the teaching building!" After the boat docked safely, Geng Fenghua went to seek Long Shan Hui's opinion again.

  "He's just my godfather, my dad is Long Haitao. My real dad wanted to build a school with the money, but our family isn't rich; my godfather has it, but he's too stingy, you'd have to twist his leg to get anything out of him, like spinning cotton into yarn. Does money fall from the sky? We should ask the government for help to build the school!" With that, Long Shan carried the fish basket off the boat.

  "Your sugar daddy has millions, but he's as stingy as a iron rooster who won't even give up one hair." Geng Fenghuang followed closely for several steps and walked shoulder to shoulder with Long Shan Hui. The narrow mountain path was too cramped, and Long Shan Hui often stepped off the small road onto the fluffy grass beside it.

  "I just want you and me to walk this path together, it's not like we'll trample the little grass."

  Longshan listened to her and returned to the small road, but instead of walking in front, he hid behind her.

  At this time, a tall and ruddy old man walked over with a tobacco pouch at his waist. This was Long Dahai. He seemed to have smelled the wine and quickly came to Long Shan's side, wanting to drink his son's wine. After drinking half a bottle, he shouted: "I've been a private teacher for nearly 50 years, how can I be a useless thing! Give me a nickname! You're not worthy!" Long Dahai scolded, and then began to boast about his honors: "Which department in the city, county, group, enterprise, or development zone doesn't have my students? When I was glorious, they were all still turning around in their parents' bellies!" As he spoke, he grabbed the bottle of wine again and continued drinking.

  "You can't drink anymore!" Geng Fenghua grabbed the wine bottle.

  "Let him drink!" Longshan handed the wine to his father. "Forbid his drinking, is an enemy; advise his drinking, is a friend! That time of abstinence was indeed pitiful, smelling other people's wine and running over to kiss relatives' homes, sometimes crawling on the ground to sniff out the wine that others had spat out!"

  "What? Bringing up this old stuff is meaningless! I've never made a mistake." Long Dahai retorted, "When I pick up students during the day, I don't drink a single drop of wine... Whether or not I drink wine is our Long family's business! It's okay for my son to advise me, but you're also joining forces with my son to bully me, aren't you?"

  "Please forgive me! Dad never drinks water when he's drinking, and doesn't eat vegetables. I'm worried about his health... If dad could quit drinking for your sake, our whole family would be grateful to you!"

  "You can't drink anymore! You're able to donate for education, it's a huge help to me, Feng Huang. I heard you've gone through the retirement procedures and the neighborhood committee gave you a one-time subsidy of almost 10,000 yuan." Feng Huang wants to put down the wine bottle, throw it away!

  "Bring me the wine that Long Dahai hasn't given birth to yet! Take it down for me!" Long Dahai said, walking back to find the wine that Geng Fenghuang had thrown into the grass.

  "How can you say she and I wear the same pants when she's the mayor of the town!" Longshan followed closely behind.

  Long Dahai was like a wild dog with a keen sense of smell, sniffing out the bottle of wine from the grass. A snake lay in the grass, swaying its body like a drunkard. "You dare to compete with me in drinking? Screw your mother's leg!" Long Dahai cursed, grabbing the bottle from beside the snake and pouring the last few drops of white wine into his parched throat, then covering his mouth with his hand as if afraid the wine would spill out. After a moment of silence, he said: "I'm almost 70 years old, I have no regrets towards the government or the school. This morning the village reception committee took away another 500 yuan, and my partner spent 200 yuan on repairing the ancestral temple... So many leeches sucking my blood, even if I were fat, I'd be drained dry!" A cloud of smoke mixed with wine fumes wafted over the banks of the Xiao Long River.

  Geng Fenghua admired Long Dahai's weathered face, and her heart couldn't calm down for a long time. Behind the nominal "township entrepreneur" and "peasant educator", a large amount of expenses flowed out like the water in the small Long River, never to return. However, there was no deadline for paying the contracted fee, building the teaching building's fundraising fee, and he had participated in the private teacher rights protection group multiple times. The town government decided that Long Dahai would be permanently removed from the private teacher file, meaning he lost his qualifications for formal employment and retirement.

  "Now, look at them, once they become officials, they're no longer human. They have houses, cars, and mistresses... But you, Fenghuang, are different. Earlier, I was talking about fundraising and donations, let's discuss it further at my place tonight. Tonight, the master will host a dinner to welcome you!" Long Dahai's attitude towards Fenghuang suddenly took a 90-degree turn, leaving them bewildered.

  PT program

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