I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel

Chapter 421 - 360: Principal Yang

Shu Wenquan thought he misheard, "What, what did you say?"

Jiang Mingyue raised an eyebrow and repeated, "Didn’t Mr. Yang tell you? You teachers shouldn’t feel burdened; the future tasks won’t be easy. I had previously planned to leave room for literacy classes, and by then you will be responsible for teaching people in the village to read. This won’t be easy to teach.

Furthermore, the elementary school in town has been closed for nearly a year. Parents who are eager for their children to attend school have been paying attention. If they find out that Qingshan Village now has a school, they will definitely come here for education. If people from nearby villages also come, you will be very busy, and at that time, there might not even be enough teachers!"

"Really?" Shu Wenquan was overjoyed, the gloom of the past few days swept away, and he felt revitalized.

"Of course it’s true. Do you know where Mr. Yang is? I just happened to come to see him."

"Wait, I’ll check the backyard." The office was definitely empty, as Mr. Yang had been busy outside lately.

Seeing Shu Wenquan dash off, Jiang Mingyue continued to tour the new school with Xiao Ran.

Truth be told, she felt quite proud; after all, she designed it by herself.

The campus is spacious enough, and the red brick walls ensure the children’s safety and provide a peaceful isolation from the outside world. Besides the teaching building, there is a row of low houses on the easternmost side for the teachers to live in, with a large empty space in front where they can grow some vegetables for self-sufficiency.

Then there’s the wide playground. For now, it’s just compressed and leveled soil, but it’s already impressive. In the future, they can apply for cement from the cement factory to lay down, but for now, this is the best they can do; they can’t accomplish everything at once.

Additionally, the school has two rows of neatly transplanted greenery. When summer arrives, it will become a shady avenue, attracting students to seek solace from the heat while reading and studying, forming another kind of scenery.

Jiang Mingyue was quite satisfied, but before she could express it, the little kid, who had kept quiet all along, suddenly burst into wild joy like a young calf, expressing his happiness.

Thus, it’s evident that children still yearn for their own world.

"Xiao Ran, Xiao Ran..."

A group of more or less same-aged kids ran down from the hillside, some holding flowers, others carrying sickles, and some with wild vegetables, but all of them had joy on their faces, as cheerful as if it were New Year, softening one’s heart.

"Oh! Ms. Ming Yue is back too!"

"Ms. Ming Yue, are you here to teach us?"

"Ms. Ming Yue isn’t going to be our teacher; she has a job catching bad guys, also contributing to the country, though it’s more dangerous."

"Hua Hua, how do you know?"

"Hmph! I just know! My uncle is very familiar with Brother An."

A group of kids chattered away, leaving no room for the adults.

Jiang Mingyue spread her hands: "..."

Jiang Mingyue stepped back, giving space to the kids.

This immediately became Xiao Ran’s territory.

His sister had filled his pockets, winning over hearts—no, it was a moment of unity, love, and helpfulness.

"Don’t rush! Don’t rush! Everyone gets some."

Xiao Meng: "Thank you"

Xiao Ran gave Xiao Meng another piece, "Sister said, when you get something, you should say thank you. Xiao Meng did very well."

The implied meaning was that Xiao Meng was the most polite.

"Thank you!" Instantly, a bunch of kids scrambled to say thank you.

Jiang Mingyue, already walking away, shook her head and smiled. The world of children is enviably pure.

"Ming Yue, over here, the teacher is here." Shu Wenquan didn’t find the teacher in the teaching building, so he ran to the back hill, and sure enough, he saw the teacher’s hunched figure working.

"Mr. Yang, Ming Yue is here to see you."

The words were carried by the wind, reaching Yang Jinglun’s ears clearly. He casually tossed the seed basket aside, dusted off his hands, and hurried over.

"Where? Where?"

"At the playground, let’s go..." The next second, Shu Wenquan stopped, "No need."

On the hillside, a girl in a floral dress slowly approached. Wasn’t it his childhood friend?

"Mr. Yang, I came to see you." The girl’s smile was as beautiful as a blooming flower, her sincerity shining.

Yang Jinglun finally revealed a long-missing smile. Don’t think he didn’t know; if it weren’t for this student of his, he’d probably still be carrying dung in Liu Village instead of being the principal here.

"Good, good! Come, I’ll take you all to my dormitory. Just the right timing, the old hen laid two eggs, I’ll fry them for you all to eat later."

Jiang Mingyue, with her back to them, took a marinated chicken and a jar of wine from the basket she had covered.

"I’ll contribute a dish too!"

This made the eyes of the two grown men sparkle a bit, as they hadn’t had meat in a long time. In the village, during non-festival times, no one would kill pigs, and the supply and marketing co-op only provided three ounces of pork per person per month, and you needed a ticket to line up for it. They could hardly compete with the locals who started waiting with small stools the night before.

Indeed, eating meat was harder than ascending to the heavens.

Jiang Mingyue didn’t know that for the last two months, even at the state-owned restaurant, you needed to book three days in advance to get meat, as the demand was exceptionally high.

And this jar of wine, so big that it must hold at least ten pounds, would allow them to drink freely for quite some time. Yang Jinglun was genuinely happy; Shu Wenquan was honestly envious, contemplating that he must often come to the teacher here to enjoy the sagebrush.

But still, he couldn’t help but tease, "You, a girl, brought such heavy things? Don’t do this in the future, just come yourself."

Despite the words, his cheerful expression didn’t fade for a moment.

"Is Xiao Ran here too? Wenquan, go call Xiao Ran, let’s all have a good meal together as teachers and students."

Meanwhile, seeing Mr. Yang rolling up his sleeves to wash rice and cook, Jiang Mingyue helped to tend the fire. Unfamiliar with his household items, she thought it best not to move them.

"Mr. Yang, is there anything you need me to do?"

Yang Jinglun waved his hand, "Just help me tend the fire. You can’t do much else."

During the meal, Jiang Mingyue brought up Xiao Ran’s situation. Yang Jinglun readily agreed to do his best to teach the child, while Jiang Mingyue also mentioned Yun Di, which Yang Jinglun agreed to as well. However, Jiang Mingyue hadn’t informed Yun Di yet, intending to do so when she returned home.

After dinner, returning home, Jiang Mingyue joined the busy household chores.

"Mom, you don’t need to prepare food for Xiao Ran and me. We ate at Mr. Yang’s."

"You child, why not come home to eat? You must have stretched Mr. Yang’s resources thin."

"Because it was hard to refuse the generous hospitality!"

The mother and daughter chatted, then the conversation shifted to Jiang Zhenmei.

"I feel relieved now. You don’t know, that girl seems taken with that educated youth. To me, he’s just a flashy piece of cloth, neither edible nor wearable. What’s the use of a pretty face? He’s been in Qingshan Village for half a year, but look at what proper work he’s done? He lets others cover for him at work. A grown man lazying around, not doing anything."

"Mom, he brings a tractor to the countryside, and he’s the only one who knows how to drive it. Isn’t he the one doing deliveries and reimbursements?"

"That’s true, but I just don’t like the look of the boy. Didn’t you notice your third sister didn’t eat or drink for a while? Looks like she was blinded by him.

You all are easily deceived by superficial things. He doesn’t seem responsible to me. The last time there was a scandal at the educated youth’s courtyard about Li Zhiqing being pregnant, the courtyard was in an uproar. Li Zhiqing hasn’t named the father despite being talked to, but I believe it’s Zhai Hanjin. I’ve seen them sneak into the woods together several times.

Adding that during Li Zhiqing’s public denunciation, she kept sneaking glances at Zhai Hanjin, I’m convinced it’s him. But the man never stepped forward to say a word, leaving Li Zhiqing to be paraded with signs and sent to the commune, ruining her life."

Pregnant?

Jiang Mingyue was quite shocked, unsure if the male protagonist of the matter was Zhai Hanjin, that’d indeed be scummy.

During family dinner, Jiang Mingyue went to find Yun Di, only to find the teenager already lingering outside her yard.

"Yun Di, why not come in if you’re here?"

Jiang Mingyue hurriedly explained about the school, "You need a fixed teacher to guide you. From now on, you’ll follow Mr. Yang. Is that okay?"

Yun Di was very excited, "Thank you!" Self-study was one thing, but having a teacher would make it much easier.