Chapter 56: Three Months of New Recruit Training p2
When Ding Yanhua came back, she was still wearing the same pants. She sat down and was about to return the school uniform to Zhou Wanfeng.
“No need. You can just wear it for now. What are you going to do if you have to go to the restroom in the afternoon?” Zhou Wanfeng also knew that the student dorms were closed during the day, and you couldn’t get in.
Ding Yanhua had no change of pants.
She was wearing her school uniform outside, but the thought of the clothes she was wearing underneath made her not have the courage to take it off.
The red sweater she was wearing inside was a hand-me-down from her cousin.
The sweater had a hole under the armpit and at the stomach, and it was not a good fit. It was tight. The thermal underwear she was wearing inside was her mother’s old one, and the sleeves were a lot longer than the sweater. If she took off her school uniform, it would be like stripping herself bare.
Ding Yanhua did not have that courage.
She continued to wear Zhou Wanfeng’s school uniform around her waist, thinking that she would wash it with soap and return it to her when she got home at night.
The two people Ding Yanhua admired most in First Year, Class Three were Yun Jingya and Zhou Wanfeng.
But Yun Jingya was like a cloud in the sky. She could only look up at her. She was beautiful and elegant, with an endless supply of beautiful clothes and shoes. She was graceful and could talk to anyone. When she passed by, you could even smell a floral fragrance.
Yun Jingya’s family had a black luxury sedan to pick her up from school.
And she had to transfer buses twice. And when she got to the town, in order to save money, she would choose to walk for nearly an hour to get home.
She would occasionally envy other people’s wealthy lives, but her grades also made her proud.
During the military training, she had seen Zhou Wanfeng. In Ding Yanhua’s eyes and heart, she was shocked. So there was such a person among the girls.
To be able to beat an instructor, that was really amazing.
Zhou Wanfeng was not talkative and did not interact with the class, but there were always people who would take the initiative to go up to her. She was calm and strong.
Ding Yanhua also wanted to be like Zhou Wanfeng.
When they had rehearsed the New Year’s Day program together, the joy in Ding Yanhua’s heart was indescribable. Her movements were not as sharp and powerful as the others’, but Zhou Wanfeng had said that hers were the most standard.
During the winter vacation, she had gone back and performed for her mother, brother, and sister. They had all said it was very good, and her brother and sister had clamored to learn.
She had wondered if she would be as formidable as Zhou Wanfeng if she practiced seriously every day.
When Jiang Chen and Zhou Wanfeng were discussing a problem, Ding Yanhua would intentionally listen in. If she knew how to do it, she would quietly turn around and whisper, “I can do it. It’s like this…”
Ding Yanhua was very smart and hardworking. The people in the class also knew that her family’s economic situation was probably not good. Everyone would not openly discuss such things. They were high school students, and they cared more about their grades.
Zhou Wanfeng herself could also feel that Ding Yanhua was cautiously approaching her.
Like a small squirrel coming down from a tree, slowly approaching a human. Any slight movement could scare her and make her run back up the tree.
A diligent and hardworking girl was worthy of being liked.
It was Friday after school again, a day when the students could go home. The homeroom teacher, Xu Lei, had repeatedly told the students who had not brought their tuition fees, “Those who didn’t bring it at the beginning of the school year must bring it this time. If you’ve forgotten, you have to call your family and have them come and pay.”
The homeroom teacher, Xu Lei, knew that there were a few students in the class whose families were in a difficult situation. The school also had a corresponding economic compensation quota for each class. But there were all attached conditions, such as single-parent families, disabled families, low-income households, and so on. The tuition fee was not completely waived, but a large portion could be deducted.
Ding Yanhua’s family’s economic situation was very bad, but her family did not meet any of the conditions for the compensation quota. The quota that the school had given was really not much, and the other students were more in line with the above conditions.
So, after Xu Lei had finished speaking and let them go, he had specifically kept Ding Yanhua behind. “Have your family think of a way. If not, you can borrow some from your relatives first. I’ll help you report it to the school.”
Xu Lei sighed. Ding Yanhua’s grades were in the top three in the class in the final exam. Her grades were really good. All the subject teachers had praised her. She was down-to-earth and willing to learn, and her foundation was solid.
Ding Yanhua forced a smile. “Teacher Xu, my mom said she would help me get the tuition fee together when I go back this time. Don’t worry,” she said. The pig that the family was raising was going to be sold to get her tuition fee. The family’s corn and grain were also sold to pay for her brother and sister’s tuition fees.
“That’s good. Hurry home. Don’t be late.”
But when she returned to school on Sunday, Ding Yanhua was not there.
The homeroom teacher, Xu Lei, called her home and found out that the phone number was for a neighbor’s neighbor. The family said to have the teacher call back in a while, and he would go and get her.
After waiting for ten minutes, Xu Lei called again.
When Ding Yanhua answered the phone, she first apologized, then explained to Xu Lei that she had something at home. Her mother had a fever, and her brother and sister were too young for her to leave. She also said that she would go to school the next morning.
Xu Lei was relieved.
On Monday morning, Ding Yanhua came to school.
Her situation was not as good as she had said on the phone. There were bruises on her face, and the area around her left eye was red, swollen, and bloodshot. The moment Wang Feili saw her, she covered her mouth and asked in surprise what had happened.
Someone next to her also saw it and cried out in alarm.
Many people went over to look and came up to show their concern for her injuries.
“My home is quite far. I fell on the way home on Friday because it was dark and the road was slippery,” Ding Yanhua said, covering her injured left face, and she was a little evasive with the classmates who had gathered around.
The commotion quickly subsided.
Jiang Chen muttered, “That looks so painful. How hard must she have fallen?”
Only Zhou Wanfeng’s hand, which was holding a pen, was clenched tightly. She looked at Ding Yanhua with a deep and cold gaze. No one knew better than her how such an injury had come about.
In her past life, when she had come home from school, she had often seen such a face.
It was not from a fall, nor from a bump. It was from being grabbed by the hair and beaten.
Zhou Wanfeng’s mind was in a mess.
The numbers on the test paper in her hand flew away. She looked at Ding Yanhua from behind, but what appeared in her mind was a scene of a fight.
“Zhou Wanfeng, you try this problem. The teacher who made this problem is really amazing,” Jiang Chen said excitedly, pointing at a problem on the test paper. He had just solved it and was eager to show off. He wanted Zhou Wanfeng to do it. If she couldn’t, he could show off.
“Alright, let me see.”
The homeroom teacher, Xu Lei, was the only one who could see the injury on Ding Yanhua’s face. When Ding Yanhua handed the tuition fee to Xu Lei, Xu Lei didn’t know how to ask.
He just let her go back.
The tuition fee had just been paid in the morning, and in the afternoon, someone had broken into the school.
The person was a little drunk. His eyelids were drooping, and he had even pushed down the guard at the gate and broken into the school. The moment someone touched him, he would immediately lie on the ground and wail that his leg was broken, his arm was broken.
He was extremely unreasonable. His back was hunched, and his clothes were dirty and torn. His hair looked like it hadn’t been washed all winter. He was drunk and shouting, “I’m looking for my big daughter! Why are you stopping me?”
Someone asked him which class his daughter was in, and what grade.
“Hey, hey, what’s my daughter’s name again? Oh, oh, her name is Yanhua. It was originally Yanhua, but her mother thought it didn’t sound good, so she changed it to Yanhua when she registered her. Ding Yanhua. She’s in the first year. Class Three or Class Four, I can’t remember. I have to find my daughter,” he said, and then he swayed and walked in.
One of the guards reported to the school, and the other followed behind, trying to stop him.
But Ding Daqiang was strong and a scoundrel. The guard couldn’t do anything about him.
During the break, a student was going to the restroom.
Ding Daqiang stopped him and asked where the first-year classrooms were.
And so, he found his way to the first-year teaching building.
First Year, Class Four said that Ding Yanhua was in Class Three.
Ding Yanhua was in the classroom. A student from the neighboring Class Four suddenly ran over and poked his head in at the front door. “Ding Yanhua, your dad is here to see you.”
The voice of the Class Four student was not loud, but everyone in Class Three heard it. And then they saw Ding Yanhua become flustered. When she stood up, her eyes were filled with panic and helplessness. It was the sound of hope shattering, and of self-esteem collapsing.
Before she could do anything, she could already hear the drunken voice from outside, dragging out the words, “Daughter, Ding Yanhua…”
Ding Yanhua stood there like a wooden block. When she saw Ding Daqiang, she couldn’t help but tremble.
Her eyes were filled with a dead gray.
“Oh, thank you. I see my daughter. Yanhua,” Ding Daqiang said, his back hunched. He waved at the student who had kindly brought him over, and then walked towards Ding Yanhua.
“What are you doing here?” Ding Yanhua’s voice was so cold that the classmates in the class were all taken aback.
But only Zhou Wanfeng in the back saw that Ding Yanhua’s hands were trembling.
Ding Daqiang’s shabby appearance was like that of an old man in his fifties. His beard was unkempt, and the clothes he was wearing, you couldn’t tell their original color. It was obvious that they didn’t fit, and the collar and the front were shiny with grease.
Many of the classmates were frowning, and even more were looking at Ding Yanhua with sympathy and pity.
“What am I doing here? I’m here to get money from you! Where’s my money? Where did you put it? Hurry up and take it out,” Ding Daqiang said, stumbling and reaching out to Ding Yanhua.
But Ding Yanhua grabbed Ding Daqiang’s hand and dragged him out of the classroom.
“I don’t have any money! You go home!”
“Don’t push me! Where’s my money? Hurry up and give it back to me!” Ding Daqiang said, pushing Ding Yanhua away. He tilted his head and looked at her seat, then pointed and chuckled. “It’s hidden in her seat,” he said, and then went over to rummage.
Seeing him come over, Wang Feili was so scared that she stepped on Jiang Chen’s desk and ran to the back row.
Ding Daqiang made a mess of Ding Yanhua’s seat, throwing all her books on the floor.
The classmates in the class were all watching, and even a layer of students from Class Four had gathered outside the classroom.
Ding Yanhua’s eyes were filled with tears. She pretended to be strong and went to pull Ding Daqiang. “What are you doing? You go home! I didn’t take your money! I didn’t!”
“Nonsense! My money is gone! You must have taken it!” Ding Daqiang was anxious that he couldn’t find it. His eyes suddenly became fierce, and his voice rose.
Ding Yanhua was pulling on Ding Daqiang’s clothes, and with a rip, the sleeve was torn.
Hearing the sound of the clothes tearing, Ding Daqiang grabbed Ding Yanhua’s hair, his expression ferocious. “You bastard! Where’s my money?”
“Uncle, uncle, don’t be in a hurry! Let go of Ding Yanhua first! Look, so many of your classmates are watching! What are you doing? If the money is lost, we can look for it again,” Wu Junfeng said, as the class president, he went up to pull them apart.
Jiang Chen was also saying nice things on the side. “Uncle, don’t be in a hurry. Let’s look for it again.”
Ding Yanhua was holding it in. She finally started to sob softly.
“Get lost, you little rascals! She’s the one who took it! I’ve searched the whole house! Hurry up and give it back to me!” Ding Daqiang said, pulling on Ding Yanhua’s hair, pulling hard. When his eyes turned red with anger, he slapped her on the head twice with his other hand.
It was as heavy as hitting a rubber ball.
The timid female students all closed their eyes and cried out.
The pen in Zhou Wanfeng’s hand had been broken in two at some point. Seeing the man slap Ding Yanhua, she threw the pen in her hand and shouted at the stunned Yun Jingya, “Do you have any money?”
Yun Jingya quickly threw her wallet to Zhou Wanfeng.
Zhou Wanfeng took out the largest denomination from it.
Wu Junfeng was trying to stop Ding Daqiang. Ding Yanhua broke down and cried out, “Yes, I took the money! But you’re too late! I already used it to pay the tuition fee this morning! You can’t get it back!”
“You stole my money! I’ll kill you!”
“What your money? That’s the money my mom got from selling the pig! You’re a useless bum! You can’t even earn a single cent! What right do you have to say that’s your money?” Ding Yanhua’s voice was trembling. She didn’t even dare to look up at the people around her. She could almost imagine the look in their eyes.
Suddenly, a cold voice came. “Is this your money?”
Ding Daqiang’s clenched fist paused. His eyes widened. When he saw the banknote, his eyes went straight. A smile appeared on his lips, and he gradually let go of Ding Yanhua, reaching for the money.
Zhou Wanfeng took a step back.
She retreated step by step to the outside of the classroom.
Ding Daqiang had drunk some white wine before he came. His vision was blurry and his body was swaying. He was so anxious to get the money that he was cursing.
Ding Yanhua was slumped on the ground, crying with her face in her hands. The bruises on her left face were particularly obvious.
Yun Jingya went up and pulled her up, trying to hug her. “Ding Yanhua, it’s okay. Don’t cry. You have to be strong.”
Wang Feili went to the other side and supported her other arm, her eyes red. “That’s right. Don’t cry.”
Ding Daqiang cursed and went out of the classroom. All he could see was the money. He lunged forward and missed.
Zhou Wanfeng put the money in her pocket with a cold face, her gaze icy and ruthless. “Come and get it. If you get it, it’s yours.”
“F*ck your mother’s XX!” Ding Daqiang said, standing up, his face ferocious. “Give me the money!” He staggered forward. The students of Class Three and Class Four all came out.
The people on the first-year teaching building were craning their necks to look down.