Chapter 36 p1: Victory
Mi Yang had originally thought that the tutoring would end after one or two sessions, but he was surprised when even more people came on the third day.
Besides the little fatty, this time even the class monitor came. She was too embarrassed to come alone and had dragged Yu Tian along. The little class monitor stood outside Mi Yang’s gate, stood on her tiptoes, and looked in. “Mi Yang, do you want to review with us?”
Mi Yang looked at her strangely. The little class monitor herself was a little embarrassed. She rubbed the tip of her nose. “Well, a lot of us didn’t go to Teacher Wang’s tutoring, right? But we’re worried we’ll do poorly on the placement test after school starts, so we’re getting together to review.”
Mi Yang let them in. After the few children came in, they chattered for a while and explained the situation. Their review was quite targeted. After the little fatty and the others had finished their tutoring at Teacher Wang’s, they immediately brought the problems they had done for the other students to see. Everyone discussed and did the problems a few more times to practice.
But this time, the good students had held their breath and not gone to Teacher Wang’s. The ones who went were the students like the little fatty and Sun Qian, who were usually at the bottom of the class. They had worked hard to copy the problems, but when they came back, they couldn’t explain them clearly to everyone.
The little class monitor was anxious. Seeing the little fatty suddenly seem to have a breakthrough yesterday, she immediately found hope. When she saw Mi Yang again, it was like finding a guiding light. Her little face was full of expectation, but she didn’t dare to make a loud request, only tentatively asking in a low voice, “Um, can you review with us?”
The little fatty also whispered from the side, “Last time, a girl in our class was scolded to tears by Old Lady Wang. She just asked a couple more times…”
Mi Yang nodded. “Okay, I’ll tutor everyone.”
The little class monitor was overjoyed. She arranged a time with Mi Yang and then left.
Cheng Qing would usually take Mi Yang to school when she had time. He was young, and as a mother, she was worried about him. Now that he had to go to school again, Cheng Qing was reluctant. She asked him, “Yangyang, why don’t you let the other children come to our house to study? It’s still cold at school, and it’s not close for you all to go there.”
“There are a lot of people. There might not be enough room at home.” Mi Yang thought for a moment. “I’ll go with Bai Luochuan. He’s moving up to the third grade next year, so he can get to know everyone in advance.”
Cheng Qing watched as he called Bai Luochuan. The two children discussed it for a while, looking very serious, and then found a place.
The old Mr. Bai had found a conference room for them to review in. There was even a small blackboard they could use. There was a stove in the room, so it would be warmer. Mi Yang told the little class monitor, and the little class monitor patted her chest and promised to get the word out. Mi Yang hadn’t expected that this “getting the word out” would basically include all the students in the class.
A group of children sat on small stools, holding their books, their eyes all fixed on him as he pushed the door open. Mi Yang was startled by their eager gazes for knowledge. “What, you all came?”
The little class monitor stood up to maintain order. “Today, classmate Mi Yang will be helping everyone with their review. Let’s give him a round of applause!”
A group of children clapped, and then looked at him like little birds waiting to be fed.
Because it was a holiday, Mi Yang wasn’t wearing his school uniform. He was bundled up very thickly, with a scarf and gloves. His hat was a fluffy knitted one that covered his ears, with a blue pom-pom on top that swayed as he walked. He walked to the front, took off his gloves, and picked up a piece of chalk. On the other side, the little fatty also handed him a test paper. Mi Yang stood on his tiptoes and explained the problem on the small blackboard.
It was unclear whether it was the chalk dust or the cold weather, but Mi Yang sneezed several times after talking for half an hour.
Some of the problems above were relatively simple, but more of them required a review of the basics. Just being able to solve a few problems was not enough. After explaining two problems, Mi Yang discovered the problem. He beckoned for the little class monitor and Bai Luochuan to come over, had them explain a few simple problems to everyone, and then went to the side to prepare a new lesson, planning to consolidate the knowledge points for everyone.
Mi Yang had done this kind of work before when he was a volunteer teacher. At that time, there were few people who went to the mountainous areas to teach, so he had to teach a little of every subject. Seeing the children sitting there obediently with their hands folded, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of affection and wanted to teach them more of what he knew.
The children of the first class of the third grade were also just as well-behaved. Mi Yang lay on the side, preparing a new lesson while watching the little class monitor and Bai Luochuan explain the problems to everyone, paying attention to any mistakes they made.
After a few days of classes like this, Bai Luochuan’s role slowly became apparent.
The way Wei Xian taught him was obviously much better, especially when it came to the basics. He was even better than Mi Yang. When someone asked, he didn’t hide anything and said directly, “I have a teacher at home who has been teaching me. After school starts, I’m going to skip a grade and go to your class.”
He said it with certainty, as if he had already passed the grade-skipping exam.
The little fatty said with envy, “That’s amazing. Who got a higher score, you or Mi Yang?”
Bai Luochuan said, “I did better last time, two points higher than Mi Yang.”
The little fatty said, “Only two points…”
Bai Luochuan immediately said, “Two points is still higher.” He said it a little too quickly and frowned as he looked at Mi Yang, wanting to get a compliment from him.
Mi Yang saw right through him and played along, coaxing him, “That’s right, he did better than me last time. I have to keep studying too.”
Bai Luochuan immediately raised his eyebrows and looked at the little fatty, with an “I told you so” expression, looking very proud.
With Mi Yang’s words, the children of the first class of the third grade had a new understanding of Bai Luochuan. This was someone who was even better than the first-place Mi Yang. The little fatty looked at him with admiration. “You must be the first in the whole school. That’s so cool.”
Bai Luochuan lifted his chin and said modestly, “It’s alright. I’ve only beaten him this once. I still have to work hard at other times.”
The little class monitor beside him said with empathy, “Hey, it must be very tiring for you to study at home. I understand the feeling of catching up. It’s very hard.”
The tips of Bai Luochuan’s ears turned red, and he snorted. “I’ll catch up. Soon.”
They continued to review together until it was almost the New Year. The little class monitor was the last to leave. She had even made an attendance sheet for everyone and reminded those who came less often to look at more exercises. It could be said that she was very serious.
Bai Luochuan stayed here to celebrate the festival with the old Mr. Bai. On the second day of the new year, he went to Shanghai with Mrs. Bai and would be staying for a while before coming back.
Mi Yang had a rare moment of peace and quiet, but he also felt that he was not used to it. It was too quiet around him, which was a little awkward.
He saw some primary school math Olympiad test papers on his desk and picked them up to do. The first-grade math teacher had asked Bai Luochuan to bring them to him before. There had been several of them. That female teacher was very nice and had never forgotten him. Although Mi Yang didn’t really want to skip another grade, he could do them to pass the time.
Mi Zehai and Cheng Qing didn’t take him back to their hometown at the end of the year. The two of them had discussed it in a low voice several times, always hiding from Mi Yang.
Mi Yang occasionally overheard a little. It was about money.
“…Let’s mail a little more to the family back home. If it wasn’t urgent, they wouldn’t have sent a telegram to ask for money.” Mi Zehai’s voice was a little troubled, but he still said it.
Cheng Qing said, “I’ve prepared one thousand five hundred. Should I try to scrape together a little more?”
Mi Zehai whispered a number, and Cheng Qing also became troubled. “No, Yangyang still has to pay the temporary student fee when school starts. It’s 600 yuan!”
Mi Zehai was silent.
Cheng Qing sighed. “I’ll try to borrow some more. I know, I’ll send a telegram to my younger sisters… I won’t borrow from the Bai family. Don’t worry, I won’t add any burden to your work. Fortunately, my family has many relatives.” She even chuckled as she said it.
Mi Zehai was both guilty and heartbroken. He said to her, “Wifey, I, I’ll be good to you for the rest of my life.”
Cheng Qing pinched him. “Of course. Who else do you want to be good to?”
Mi Zehai said, “I’ll be good to Yangyang. I’ll take care of you and Yangyang for the rest of my life and shelter you from the wind and rain.”
…
Mi Yang listened. He had no impression of this remittance, but he remembered some of the “relatives from back home.”
It was only in middle school that he learned that his father had been adopted. His original family was relatively poor and had many children, so they had given Mi Zehai to a distant relative to raise in Shanhai Town. Although he grew up in Shanhai Town, Mi Zehai also thought of his former relatives. He was five or six when he left and could already remember things. Later, after he started working, he slowly got in touch with his family back home. Knowing that his relatives were still poor, he would help out from time to time.
Cheng Qing had grown up with him as a childhood sweetheart. Others might not understand, but she did. So, although their small family’s income was not much, she was willing to help whenever she could.
In Cheng Qing’s words, she had fallen for Mi Zehai’s filial piety in the first place. She had chosen him herself and would not regret it.
They had supported them for more than ten years, and the children there were also promising and had all become successful.
One year, Mi Zehai was in a car accident and injured his leg. It was inconvenient for Mi Yang to take care of him at work, so these cousins from his hometown had silently helped to take care of him for three months. If they could carry him, they would never let this uncle take a single step, for fear of affecting his injury.
Mi Yang had a very good impression of them. His family had no extravagant hobbies and were content with a simple life. Besides, this was his parents’ money, and Mi Yang would support them in helping whomever they wanted.
During the Spring Festival of 1996, although Mi Zehai and Cheng Qing were scraping by, they didn’t show it in front of their child. They were still smiling. They didn’t get any new clothes for the New Year, only buying a set for Mi Yang, from head to toe. Even the little socks were a brand-new white pair.
Mi Yang saw this and didn’t ask much. His parents were smiling, so he also curved his eyes. No matter how hard life was, it was always more comfortable to get through it with a smile.
After school started, the first thing Mi Yang’s class did was a placement test.
Teacher Wang was furious. She was angry that so many people in the class hadn’t gone to the tutoring. She handed out the test papers and walked around the class, closely watching the students as they wrote. But after one round, her face became even uglier. The few examples she had wanted to make, this time they had all performed exceptionally well, even better than on the final exam. They had even solved an advanced problem that she had taught in the winter break tutoring class.
Her expression was ugly. After the math class representative collected the test papers, she had them take out their winter break homework and checked them one by one.
In previous years, the winter break homework was only spot-checked, and some students would get by with sloppy work. But when the children of the first class of the third grade had Mi Yang for tutoring, Mi Yang, in order to have them do more practice, had them find many problems in their winter break homework. So, everyone’s winter break homework was written neatly and properly.
After casually looking at a few people’s, Teacher Wang walked over to Mi Yang’s desk and focused on his. Her finger suddenly stopped on one of the pages. “These few problems only have the answers, not the process. Do you know that this is suspected of plagiarism? And without the process, you only get points for the answer. Just because you got first place once, you want to be lazy?”
Mi Yang said, “No, I know how to do all of these. I can write them out for you to see now. And this is an optional problem…”
Teacher Wang said, “So you chose not to do it? You’re really something!”
She flipped through a few pages and suddenly saw a stack of test papers under a workbook. She took them out and saw that they were primary school math Olympiad problems. She adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on her nose and said to Mi Yang with dissatisfaction, “You have time to do these things, but you don’t do your own homework properly. You’re too ambitious… You tell me, what’s the point of you doing so many math Olympiad problems?!”
As if she had caught him in the act, she immediately took the wooden ruler from the podium and said to Mi Yang, “Hold out your hand!”
Mi Yang explained, “Teacher, the first-grade math teacher gave me these. What’s wrong with doing extra practice now?”
Teacher Wang didn’t listen at all. She reached out to grab Mi Yang’s arm. Mi Yang pursed his lips and didn’t say anything, but he also stubbornly stared at her, refusing to hold out his hand. He was going to stand his ground with this old lady today. Getting hit for doing extra problems was too much of a loss!
“I’m going to let you know today what it means to study diligently. You must have played a lot during the winter break and just used a little trick to write down the answers at the last minute…”
The little fatty suddenly shouted, “Report!” He was the first to stand up, his eyes red as he stared at Teacher Wang. “Teacher, you can hit me. Even if Mi Yang didn’t have time to write those few problems, it was because he was tutoring me!”
Tang Xiao also stood up, looking at her with a silent, sullen face.
The little class monitor also stood up in a flash. The two little pigtails she had tied trembled from the sudden movement. She said bravely, “Teacher Wang, Mi Yang’s studies are good, and he also helps the other students to improve. He, he’s really very good! You can’t hit him!”
Following that, Yu Tian, who was usually silent, also stood up. Although the little girl was timid, she also tried her best to stand up straight and express her thoughts.
One by one, the children all stood up.
The whole class was very quiet, with only the slight sound of the students standing up and their desks and chairs moving.
All 40 students in the class stood up.
Teacher Wang’s scalp tingled from their stares. She let go of Mi Yang’s arm and put on an angry expression. “I can’t control you all anymore, can I?!”
She raised the ruler, this time not at Mi Yang’s palm, but at his cheek. Mi Yang turned his head to dodge, reached out and grabbed the ruler, holding on with all his might. When he looked up, there were little flames dancing in his eyes. He said, word by word, “Teacher Wang, if you think I did something wrong, you can call my parents. If I did something wrong, I will correct it. But hitting people is wrong. Hitting someone in the face is even more insulting. I believe my mother will not allow this to happen.”
Teacher Wang had never encountered such a tough nut to crack, especially with the whole class protesting. She was trembling with anger and pointed at Mi Yang. “Good, I’ll call your parents right now! You, get out too!”
Mi Yang got up to get his down jacket from the back row. Teacher Wang said angrily, “Don’t take it. Leave the classroom right now!”
Mi Yang glanced at her, then turned and walked out of the classroom.
Teacher Wang walked to the office with a dark face. She was an adult and walked much faster than a child like Mi Yang. She entered the office first and closed the door, as if to punish Mi Yang by making him stand in the hallway. Teacher Wang’s chest still ached with anger as she thought about it. She flipped through the contact list, found Mi Yang’s home phone number, and dialed it. After calling his parents, she deliberately left Mi Yang outside in the cold for a while. After drinking a cup of hot tea to cool down, she finally opened the office door, intending to call him in for a scolding.
The office door opened, and the hallway was empty.
Teacher Wang was taken aback. Only then did she realize that Mi Yang had left long ago. She was so angry she almost fainted.
On the other side, Mi Yang had already slipped downstairs to find Bai Luochuan.
The young master Bai’s class had PE this period. Only one or two students were left in the classroom to work on the blackboard newspaper. The rest had all gone to the playground. Mi Yang, familiar with the way, found Bai Luochuan’s down jacket, wrapped himself in it to get warm, and then said with a smile to a student in the class, “Hey, classmate, can I trouble you with something? Can you help me call Bai Luochuan from your class back? Just say it’s urgent.”
The classmate said, “Our class monitor? Sure, wait a moment.”
Mi Yang, wrapped in the down jacket, shrunk into Bai Luochuan’s seat, his little face half-hidden inside, but he still sneezed. He rubbed the tip of his nose. It was unclear whether he had been feeling a little unwell before or if he had caught a chill in the hallway just now, but he was not feeling well all over.
Especially his palm. Although he had grabbed Teacher Wang’s ruler just now, he was still a child, and his palm was too tender. Now, it was red and burning with pain. Mi Yang felt something in Bai Luochuan’s pocket, took it out, and it was a fist-sized orange. The peel was cold, so he held the orange in his palm and felt a little better.
His hand felt better, but his body started to feel cold again. Mi Yang, wrapped in the down jacket, lay on the desk, wanting to rest for a bit. Just as he closed his eyes, he drowsily fell asleep, not even letting go of the orange in his hand.
