Chapter 18: I’ll Do Everything p1
At South Lake Mansion, Yang Yijun was personally repotting her clivia, trimming its roots. Wearing gloves and holding a small pair of scissors, she carefully snipped off the blackened, old roots. After trimming, she handed the rest of the work to Auntie Zhang, instructing her carefully, “Remember to remind Old Dong to mix the soil according to the ratio I gave him. It needs to be loose and breathable.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll watch him do it. I’ll make sure it’s done right,” Auntie Zhang promised obsequiously.
Yang Yijun took off her gloves and asked, “What time is it?”
“It’s ten-fifteen,” Auntie Zhang said, carefully cleaning up the debris on the table with both hands to prevent it from falling on the floor.
“I need to call Jiawen,” Yang Yijun murmured. She washed her hands and sat back down on the sofa to make the call.
Ring, ring, ring. Ring, ring, ring. Click. “Hello, Auntie.”
Lin Jiawen’s voice came through the phone. Yang Yijun shifted into a more comfortable position. “Jiawen, have you heard anything about what I asked you to look into yesterday? How is Jingya’s homeroom teacher? Of the four key classes at the experimental middle school, which one is better in terms of overall strength?”
Lin Jiawen laughed. “Don’t worry, Auntie. Jingya’s homeroom teacher, Tian Youye, is very good. I’ve asked a few friends privately. He’s an old teacher who is very strict about grades. Before he took over Jingya’s class, he had just graduated a class. In the high school entrance exam, 70% of his students passed the admission line for key high schools, and ten students from his class alone were admitted to Yunhai City No. 1 High School this year. He’s also some kind of outstanding teacher. There’s nothing to worry about. A strict teacher is always better than a lax and irresponsible one.”
Hearing this, Yang Yijun’s face showed a hint of satisfaction. “Then, is there a big difference between the teachers for each subject?”
“Oh, my dear Auntie, the experimental middle school is a key municipal junior high. There are only four key classes in total, and they all rely on these four classes to get good grades. How could they be biased? They always give the best teaching resources to these four classes first. Don’t overthink it. Besides, Jingya is so smart, diligent, and self-disciplined. Even without a good teacher, her grades wouldn’t be affected.”
Hearing others praise Jingya, Yang Yijun was happy, but she said, “Yun Lan is so thoughtless. She lives like a child herself. How can I not be concerned about Jingya’s affairs? Besides, there are dozens of students in a class, and only one teacher. How can he pay attention to everyone? I was thinking of giving her homeroom teacher something for Teachers’ Day. But after hearing what you said, I suddenly feel that anything I give would be superfluous.”
An outstanding old teacher at a key junior high, who had taught so many students, must have received many gifts from parents. He had probably seen it all.
Yang Yijun frowned slightly and suddenly said, “Jiawen, can you do me another favor? Can you help me find out some information about Jingya’s homeroom teacher’s family? For example, how old his children are, whether they’re working or in school, what his wife does, and where she works. As detailed as possible.”
“Auntie, what are you trying to do? It’s like a background check,” Lin Jiawen said, feeling that something was not right. She quickly interrupted, “If I ask my friends like this, they’ll think I’m up to something.”
“I didn’t ask you to ask directly, child. Can’t you think of a way yourself? My idea is, isn’t Teachers’ Day coming up? I don’t want to give him tea or ginseng. I just want to see if his family needs anything practical,” Yang Yijun explained in detail.
“For example, if his son has graduated and can’t find a job, or if his wife’s job is not good, then we can find him a decent, good job. That way, he’ll remember our kindness, and won’t he be more attentive to Jingya?”
“Oh, my dear Auntie, you have too many ideas. If everyone were like you…” Lin Jiawen herself felt that her aunt was being too meddlesome.
But Yang Yijun didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. “Jiawen, although you work at a school, a school is also a place where human relationships matter. When the number of ‘three-good student’ awards is limited, the gifts you gave in the past will show their value. Remember, teachers are people too.”
“Yes, yes, teachers are people too. Alright, Auntie, I’m busy now. I’ll call you back after I’ve asked,” Lin Jiawen said, preparing to hang up.
Yang Yijun nodded, but then suddenly remembered something. “Wait, wait a minute. How is Zhou Wanfeng’s class? I heard her homeroom teacher is a young female teacher?”
At the mention of First Grade, Class Nine at Shuangshu Model Middle School this year, Lin Jiawen on the other end of the line fell silent for a moment.
“Yes, a young teacher newly recruited this summer vacation. Originally, a male teacher was supposed to be the homeroom teacher, but after several meetings, no one took the job. The plan was to break up this class and distribute the students to the other classes, but this year the school wants to focus on grades, so they didn’t break it up.” Lin Jiawen actually felt a little guilty. She had met Zhou Wanfeng. The child had a very upright look in her eyes. You could feel her desire to study hard.
“Auntie, why don’t I find someone to move her to a regular class? If we leave her in that class, she might be buried. She seems like a smart child,” Lin Jiawen asked tentatively.
But before she could get an answer, she heard a click. The other end had hung up.
Yang Yijun hung up the phone, her hand propping up her chin. At first, she was angry, but then a slow smile spread across her face.
At Shuangshu Model Middle School, the bell for the morning exercises had rung. But since it was the beginning of the school year, and the first-grade students hadn’t learned the new broadcast exercises yet, this short period became a break time.
Fortunately, First Grade, Class Nine was on the first floor, so most of the other classes didn’t know what had happened during the first period of Chinese class. But at this moment, the students in Class Nine were discussing it like crazy.
Zhao Shenyu and Zhou Wanfeng’s seats were still empty. They hadn’t returned since they left during Chinese class. At this moment, Zhu Junling in the class was pulling Chen Yisen and constantly imitating how Zhou Wanfeng had dragged Zhao Shenyu, pulled and twisted his elbow, slapped him, and pushed him to the back wall of the classroom for a knee strike.
“Zhu Junling, stop it. That’s not how it was at all.”
“Zhao Shenyu was stumbling the whole time, his center of gravity was unstable. Zhou Wanfeng’s movements were so fast, the combo just sounded like a series of cracks. Zhao Shenyu was completely dazed. It wasn’t like your one punch, one kick. If he had that much time, he would have fought back.”
Zhu Junling also felt that something was not right. He went back to his seat and pondered. “Fighting on the first day of school. They’ll probably deal with it seriously tomorrow. But at most, it’s just disrupting class order. Why have they been gone for so long? I’ve hit a teacher in class before, and I was just called in for questioning. Why are they taking so long?”
“If they don’t call their parents, they should be back after they’ve been questioned. I guess they called their parents. Maybe the parents are having a meeting right now.”
The students in the classroom were not wrong in their guesses.
Sun Mulan had notified both their parents.