Chapter 45: Though Man Has Not Returned, His Name Remains

  Harvesting wheat is the most laborious farming season of the year. For the villagers of Jiamachi who are used to a leisurely life, this harvest work is even more important than the Spring Festival. The typical arrangement is that the parents cut the wheat in front, the older children tie and bundle it, the younger ones follow behind to pick up the scattered grains, and the whole family works together regardless of age or sex. Even the elderly with walking sticks take on the task of delivering meals to the fields for the whole family.

  Harvesting wheat is the beginning, drying is the most troublesome, threshing is the most tiring, and winnowing is the most lively. After a few days, piles of wheat straw two or three stories high can be seen everywhere in the village. Half of it serves as dry fodder for livestock to chew on during winter when grass is scarce. The other half is used as material for mixing mud and pounding earth in the village, and also provides a fun place for those wild kids to play. When teachers from the city who came to practice teaching in rural areas returned to school after their summer break, only half of the first-year students showed up. Single Changgen led the teachers to call back about half of them from each household, while the other half were dragged back by parents and teachers from all corners of the village.

  The class started again, except that the students had a darker tan after the holiday, nothing else changed. However, there was a change in the teacher's group chat - Lei Dapeng was missing and still hospitalized. After being discharged from the hospital, he would definitely need to rest for several days. The internship period is only two months, and there are not many days left. It's uncertain whether he will be able to return or not. Without him, the class is much quieter, but also a bit lonely. Class monitor Ding Yizhi doesn't talk much, Wang Huating and Liu Cuicui are a bit spoiled, and Si Muxian is busy with his graduation thesis on Lei Dapeng's computer. The heavy responsibility of taking care of this group of people's lives has fallen solely on Shan Yong's shoulders.

  The class continued as usual, nothing new, let alone Shanyong felt uninteresting, even the students seemed to have learned nothing.

  This is not, Shanyong was talking about the unified exam paper, listening to one of the questions: The major decision-making of the municipal party committee and government to solve the urgent problems reflected by the masses is: Answer A, building a safe and charming city, creating a harmonious society; Answer B, thinking more about society, taking on more social responsibility; Answer C, starting to alleviate the difficulty of traveling in the central urban area... This question is not just for students, even Shanyong may not be able to do it, it's really a headache.

  For these similar questions, students gave many annoying answers. For example, the classical Chinese text is an excerpt from Pu Songling's "Liaozhai Zhiyi" called "Wolf", and the question asks why the author evaluates it as "only increasing laughter". The student's answer is that the wolf is stupid, there's only bones in the basket without meat, and it still robs! ... Accumulated application questions: "The mountains and rivers change with each generation of talented people, each leading for several hundred years", this refers to... Students filled in: broken shoes!

  Even if Lei Dapeng didn't mislead the students, their answers would still be enough to shock people. In one question, Shuang Yong stumbled over his words, and when he got to the part about "buying official positions", a student who had bought his way into office wrote: "Because I'm afraid of this, so I do that, but I still want to do this, why bother with this?" When Lei Dapeng read this, he suddenly had an epiphany as he looked at the students around him.

  I don't like this at all, why bother? But being tied down by school and family, I still have to do this. It's better to be like Lei Dapeng, doing whatever he wants without pretending to be serious or solemn on the podium, speaking to these students who are "preparing for the working class" with a straight face and against my will, saying "Our city attaches great importance to fundamentally solving the employment and living problems of vulnerable groups..."

  "Alright, that's all for now. The exam results weren't very ideal this time, but mainly because the questions were problematic, many of which exceeded our learning scope, even the teachers wouldn't know... Next time we'll do better, it's not important to study well, what's important is living well... Everyone take a look at your own compositions and just correct the typos..."

  When Shuang Yong's Ling Guang appeared, a relaxation came, and the whole body relaxed, no longer entangled. Suddenly, a group of sheep-like voices rose up, as if they were liberated. I didn't expect it to be so simple to pass. Looking at Teacher Shuang's eyes, there was also a few points of fondness.

  "Teacher..." someone raised their hand and shouted.

  "What's wrong, Shuixing." Danyong recognized this mischievous kid.

  "Where is Teacher Lei?" asked Niu Shuisheng. As soon as he asked, dozens of pairs of eyes eagerly turned to Shan Yong. Shan Yong's smile faltered for a moment, but then he said with a chuckle: "Teacher Lei is sick and hospitalized, so I'm temporarily taking over his class."

  "Is he coming back?"

  "Can we go see him?"

  "Shall we go together?"

  "Teacher Song, is Lucheng far from here?"

  “…………”

  It's done, one grasp and it's dead, one let go and it's chaotic. Mentioning Teacher Lei, the students who had been holding back for several days suddenly erupted. You said a sentence, I said a sentence, asking Dan Yong, this group of emotions was called "chicken movement", shocking Dan Yong to stare at these rural students who usually seemed not to understand things, but didn't know when the teacher-student relationship had become so deep. Suddenly, Dan Yong slapped the lectern and shouted: "Quiet... class time, what's all the commotion!?"

  Suddenly, the children were frightened. Shanyong's heart was both surprised and jealous. He had been teaching diligently, but it seemed that Shaolei was misleading the children here. He thought of scolding them in a teacher-like manner, but looking at their eager, timid, and suspicious eyes, Shanyong couldn't bear to do so. He smiled and lowered his voice, saying: "Wanting to see Teacher Lei is not possible for now, but I have a way... How about you talk to him? Come on, Shengsheng..."

  One shout and the bald little guy rushed up, leaving his seat, and the whole class was envious. Shan Yong touched his phone and dialed Lei Dapeng's number, which connected immediately. He said that the student wanted to talk to him, and Lei Dapeng on the other end also burst out laughing. Niu Shuisheng happily took the phone to his mouth, and the first sentence was: "Lei Ge, why are you in the hospital? If you don't come, no one will take us out to play... My family's sheep have given birth to two lambs, my mom said she'll squeeze some sheep milk for you to drink."

  "I said I said..." Another one with a flat head rushed up.

  "Don't rush, don't rush...... Ah, Lei Ge, you've recovered from your illness, come quickly, we'll play mahjong for you."

  "Teacher Lei, my mom also said to invite you to our home for dinner."

  Boys and girls, with Niu Shui Sheng as the center, squeezed together in a heap. Shan Yong's mobile phone was unlucky, being snatched by this one and pulled by that one, while chatting with Lei Da Peng on the phone, Shan Yong couldn't help but laugh and cry. Now he knows why Lei Da Peng has such a good foundation among the masses - he doesn't put himself above as a teacher, but treats his students like brothers. Calling each other "brothers" naturally makes their brotherly affection deep.

  Without disturbing the students' enthusiasm, Shanyou stood at the classroom door, seemingly gazing at the setting sun over Xishan, but actually keeping watch on the entrance, fearing that Principal Shan would discover his teaching method was trending towards Lei Dapeng's style. After a while, someone tugged at his sleeve, and a timid voice sounded: "Teacher, your kitchen is emitting smoke."

  Turning back, it was the little girl Jing Yanyan in the class. She was startled and turned her head again, and indeed, smoke was coming out of the school kitchen. This scare made Shanyong forget to put up a sentry post, and he rushed towards the kitchen, running just a few steps before seeing Liu Cuicui and Wang Huating rush out of the kitchen, coughing and choking with tears streaming from their eyes. Shanyong angrily shouted: "Hey, what's going on? You were told to start a fire, but you've set the whole place ablaze!"

  "It didn't light up, just smoke." Liu Cuicloud coughed and wiped away tears.

  "What's going on? How can there be smoke without fire?" Wang Hua-ting was also confused, wiping away tears.

  Shan Yong covered his nose and entered the kitchen, first looking at the stove, splashing some cold water on it, then checking the chimney, understanding that the smoke vent was not open and the straw used to start the fire had become damp. He quickly opened the lid, cleaned up the stove a bit, and also opened the window. Rushing out, he grabbed some dry straw and waited for a while until the smoke dissipated before re-entering the kitchen. Not long after, when he managed to restart the fire, those two quietly slipped in from outside, their faces blackened with soot, looking embarrassed as they went to wash their faces.

  Before, every time Lei Dapeng made fire and cooked, the smoke was big and he was slow. Now I understand that this is not easy at all. At least a few people are not as good as Lei Dapeng. Shanyong looked back, sighed, and didn't say a word. He scooped water, rinsed rice, cut sweet potato and radish, and asked Liu Cuicui to assign homework to the students in the class. He decided to prepare dinner himself. Wang Huating watched Shanyong busily, not only did she not help, but also made some mistakes, feeling very regretful, and followed Liu Cuicui away.

  School's out, and the students cheered and rushed out of the school gate in groups of three or five. Another day has passed, and the end of the internship is getting closer and closer. Si Mu Xian and Ding Yi Zhi arrived at the kitchen first, followed by Liu Cui Yun and Wang Hua Ting. They didn't dare mention what had happened not long ago. Dinner was already ready, with steamed red potatoes accompanied by radish strips, a typical rural flavor. The soft and sticky potatoes paired well with the crunchy sound of the radish strips, which was quite flavorful.

  However, with only this sound, Lei Dapeng is not around, and these days have been much quieter. Simu Xian asked why the smoke was so big when making fire just now, Liu Cuicui said awkwardly that she had passed by, Wang Huating smiled and said: "I didn't find out before, Lei Dapeng isn't useless after all."

  "That's right, Le Ge has a big lung capacity, blowing cowhide and fire are all unique, and burning charcoal only needs one match, which is higher than the professional barbecue level." Si Mu Xian said with a smile. Several people laughed, but only Class Leader looked at Wang Hua Ting talking about that good-for-nothing with such enthusiasm, slightly displeased, and interjected: "What's the use of just eating?"

  "Heh heh, even if you eat continuously, it's still not good. What use are you, anyway?" Dan Yong retorted.

  Ding Yizhi usually doesn't argue with people, but today he was like a different person, speaking directly: "In the seventh grade unified county exam, Shouma Township ranked last in the whole county. If the school uses this as a typical example for evaluation later on, it will be quite something to see."

  This remark made everyone feel even more embarrassed and ruined the atmosphere. Although Leigong was not a bad person, that teacher was really unbearable. If this got out in school, it would be another beautiful story to tell. Shanyong was stunned by these words, lowered his head and thought about something, without making a sound. This expression made Ding Yizhi misunderstand, thinking that he had really touched Shanyong's sore spot, and said with some concern: "Time is running out, I think we should strengthen the seventh grade final exam practice, after all, Huating and I are in this group, otherwise we won't even be better than other groups."

  It was as if a thorn had pierced into Dan Yong's buttocks, making him restless. He glared at the class leader with a hint of anger and said, "Is this what you're concerned about? This isn't even an issue! You can count the 8th and 9th grades as one group, and I'll be in another group with Da Peng. Don't try to frame our class leader!"

  "That's not what I meant," Ding Yizhi emphasized.

  "What do you mean, are you dissatisfied with Da Peng or me?" Dan Yong said.

  "I'm saying, we as a collective should..."

  "What's going on? When did we become a group? I came here by myself, and I'm not even part of your team. Lei Dapeng quit halfway through, you can't count him either..."

  The two of them got into a dispute, Ding Yizhi's face turned pale, knowing that the classmate in front of him was not someone to be trifled with, either verbally or physically. He looked on awkwardly, originally having good intentions, but unexpectedly provoking the other person's anger. Instead, it was Wang Huating who mediated, giving each of them a stern warning: "Why discuss this during mealtime? It's meaningless, just arguing over useless things. You two are not even as good as Da Peng winning at drinking games."

  At this, Si Mu Xian and Liu Cui Yun couldn't help but laugh again, the unpleasantness was resolved, but the resentment could not be resolved. They hastily finished eating, Shan Yong left first, Ding Yi Zhi followed, Si Mu Xian wanted to wash the dishes, but was preempted by Liu Cui Yun, knowing he was preparing his thesis, she gave him more time. When Wang Hua Ting helped Liu Cui Yun finish washing up and came out of the kitchen, she saw Shan Yong busy with new things again.

  What's going on, she doesn't know yet, a square table is being built on the basketball frame, the bricks are picked up from the village, and the mud is carried by herself, mixed with fine wheat straw, this thing is said to be more solid than lime sand, walking closer, Wang Huating squatted down and asked: "What's going on again?"

  "Build a ping-pong table." said Dan Yong.

  "This can play table tennis." Wang Hua-ting was skeptical, the table was very narrow, and the mud bricks piled up were not a flat surface.

  "You're stupid, just put a concrete precast slab on top, it's just a simple table." said Shuang Yong.

  Wang Hua-ting said disdainfully: "What's the point of putting in so much effort? Just pool your money and buy one, isn't that enough?"

  "How much money do you have? Can you make everyone here rich?" Dan Yong provoked again. This time, Wang Hua Ting was really unhappy, and when Dan Yong turned his head back, Wang Hua Ting was staring at him with a look that seemed to be ready to grab a brick and hit someone at any moment. Dan Yong smiled and explained: "Money can't solve all problems, nor is it necessary to use money to solve every problem... Do you think charity and donations are good things? You try raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for the village, and within two years, you'll be breeding a group of lazy people. The walls, playgrounds, toilets, and basketball hoops here weren't all built by us ourselves? Why do we need to use money to deprive everyone of their ability to learn how to do things themselves in the future?"

  "Hmm, that's interesting," Wang Huating thought for a moment. Indeed, it was true that in this countryside, the several Hope Primary Schools that were donated before were either abandoned or turned into pigsties and cowsheds. It seemed like it wasn't targeting herself, so she felt a bit relieved from her pent-up anger. As she watched Dan Yong busy at work, she got up to leave but stopped in her tracks again.

  It was the meticulous and dedicated work of Danrong that attracted her, as if she were not building a simple ball court in the countryside, but constructing a magnificent mansion. So she squatted down again, wanting to help, but didn't know how to get involved, and after a long time, only managed to pick up a few broken bricks and stuff them into the gaps, hehe, smiling foolishly, this thing was much harder for her than writing a few papers.

  This time, Shan Yong looked at Wang Huating's eyes and found them softer than before. He didn't notice the black and white of the branch book, but there was such a lovely side to her. He simply took Wang Huating's hand and taught her how to lay two bricks. The bricks weren't laid flat, and he accidentally smeared mud on his hand. This was good, as it made him laugh. Only these two were busy laying bricks, mixing mud, and piling up bricks, while others were busy with their own affairs. As the sky gradually darkened, Shan Yong carried a bucket to the river to wash up, and Wang Huating stretched her tired waist and didn't follow him, but instead returned to the dormitory.

  These days are busy, Simu Xian and Liu Cuiyun are busy with their thesis together, the two of them are using Le Ge's gaming computer, this thing is finally being put to good use. Class monitor Ding Yizhi also returned to the dormitory very late, he was in the office pouring his heart out preparing lessons, writing papers, or still thinking about how to quickly improve the grades that were pulled down by Lei Dapeng for the seventh grade.

  After walking around in a circle, Wang Huating felt a bit bored and missed the lazy life at home. She wanted to go online, watch TV, or stroll through the night market with friends. But this poor and remote place had no entertainment at all. Waiting for Dan Yong on the building, she just wanted to find someone to chat with. Since that night in the kitchen when she ambiguously expressed her liking, every time she saw Dan Yong, she felt a little nervous and excited, like having a rabbit jumping in her heart.

  Do you really like it?

  Perhaps, Wang Huating thought that this one month was more wonderful than her four years of university life. It wasn't just joyful to the point of forgetting everything, but also shocking and touching people's hearts. And it seemed that she had never experienced such a colorful life with these foodies before. Even Wang Huating couldn't tell whether she was too used to being stereotypical and liked this lifestyle, or if she had started falling in love with that person.

  Don't you like it?

  It seems that's not the case, this handsome and wild boy with a bit of rascal charm is like a magnet attracting her, going to great lengths to come here for an internship. And then going to great pains to get close to him. Even sometimes still trying to figure out his thoughts... But everything seems to be in vain, getting closer only to find that he's not as mysterious and complex as before, the reason he came to Duoma Village is because it's easy-going and no one bothers him. Always thinking of new ways to have fun, whether it's eating or playing, even going overboard at the donkey farm, also belongs to the category of having fun and eating, and taking it to the extreme. Only during the holidays did Wang Huating find out that the dish she had tried that day was called "Red Soup Abalone Stew with Golden Money", which can only be found in places where Dezhou donkeys are abundant, and not just anyone can make it.

  After all, it's just a foodie player, Wang Huating defined, with a smile on her face, thinking of Shanyong, Leidapeng, and Simu Xian, the three of them made her laugh so hard that even if a human tragedy happened among them, there would still be a strong comedic tone, like Leidapeng, who played hero so tragically just to win a donkey back.

  She smiled and didn't think much of it. When Shanyu hadn't returned for a long time, she went downstairs alone, out of the school gate, and walked along the village road to find him by the river...