Lanpu

Chapitre 1

Chapter One: Autumn Outing

On Monday, I went back to class. Although I had rested for two days, my whole body was still sore, but not as so as my heart ached because I had to leave Xiaoyue temporarily.

Of course, I never imagined that I would fall in love with a girl I had only known for three days. This speed is even faster than the female protagonist in the movie "My Left Eye Meets Ghosts" falling in love with a boy in seven days.

This must be what they call fate. I wonder if I should ask Fang Long, that jinxed fortune teller who's wrong nine times out of ten, to do a divination for me, to find out what my relationship with Xiaoyue was in a past life. But does that matter? For me right now, memorizing more love poems and writing more love letters is the most important thing. Women, you know, need to be coaxed; sweet talk is all you need.

My online relationship with Yu'er lasted for several years, which was a kind of learning process. I came to understand "what love is, that it can make one willing to die for it," although the price was heavy, it made me more mature. Therefore, I felt more confident in dealing with Xiaoyue.

※ ※ ※

"Attend class!"

"stand up!"

Hello, classmate!

Hello, teacher!

"Now, please open your textbooks and begin with Chapter 4, Section 7..."

My daily routine of teaching has begun again. When I'm lecturing with great enthusiasm, the class is filled with yawns; when I'm yawning, the class is playing with great enthusiasm.

What an enviable student life! Looking back on those days, I can't help but sigh: Being a teacher is truly a tough life!

However—I will not yield. Students are the rising sun, sparrows. I can no longer be like other teachers who are afraid of things going wrong, forcing them to do this and that, locking them up, just because I am old (although that was my image before). No, I will never be such an irresponsible teacher. I want to give students a completely new space of freedom, so that they can grow up healthily into good children of the times under my bright smile!

I used to avoid them, but now that I have found my true love, I want to spend more of my free time communicating with them, giving them a happy teacher, and fully enjoying my student life.

As a revolutionary predecessor once said, "If you study, study hard; if you play, play hard."

※ ※ ※

Starting from late October, I took advantage of my position as the homeroom teacher to organize five activities in just over a month, four of which were sightseeing trips, like autumn outings!

I looked back to see if the principal was there. No one was there. I patted my chest, thank goodness.

On three separate occasions, I took my students on adventures in undeveloped mountains and forests. These were real mountain climbing and wading trips with no safety measures in place. On one occasion, we even camped on a mountaintop, with a roaring bonfire, and watched the Leonid meteor shower while having a barbecue. Twenty students were innocently counting the meteors, while I was longing for my "moon."

While I was at it, I checked the feng shui to see if there were any places where spirits were bound or where yin energy gathered, and if there were any ghosts to capture. Leaving Gantian Village, I realized my experience in exorcising spirits was extremely poor. Unfortunately, the evil spirits of the turbulent era have mostly been sealed away, and the vengeful spirits created during that time have been largely eliminated after nearly thirty years of covert cleansing and deliverance efforts by both Buddhist and Taoist sects. I, a sorcerer, am practically defunct, almost unemployed.

Yeah, after much painful reflection, like the protagonist in all novels, I'm now starting to level up—online.

Let me tell you all, the author (is that me?) is very interested in the two online games, "Destiny" and "Qin's Legacy," especially the latter. There was a free test for over a month, and I took advantage of it. I often played it all night long, and ended up writing the novel half-heartedly, which drew a lot of criticism from everyone.

Therefore, if you see a wizard named Ximen Zhenzi in the Shanghai region of "Qin Shang", or a wandering knight named Wenshan Jushi in the Beijing region, that is me. You can either "K" him hard or flatter him gently.

The author currently has four copies of the Book of Songs and doesn't know what to do with them. I really can't bear to sell them cheaply to that damned grocer, so I'd rather give them away to a friend for free and do him a favor.

※ ※ ※

"Ring ring..." The bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class.

Xiaoling and the others called me to the banyan tree on the west side of the playground.

"I'm so bored, teacher. Where should we go this weekend?" Pearl said.

"Have you finished your homework, Xiaoling? Before you leave tomorrow, please make sure to check your homework carefully. Only those who have finished their homework can go on the autumn outing. Also, you need their parents' signatures to participate in extracurricular activities."

"Hey!" Xiaoling nodded lightly, sticking out her tongue and smiling mischievously. She knew that last time we went camping, three students were afraid that their parents would disagree, so they didn't tell them what the activities were about. They deliberately lied, which resulted in their parents coming to the school and me staying at the principal's house overnight. The next day, the principal gave me a severe scolding.

Fortunately, I organized many activities, which just completed the tasks assigned by my superiors regarding quality education. As a result, my superiors turned a blind eye and did not investigate further.

Xiaoling and Zhu'er sat on the aerial roots hanging from the tree, tied together to swing on a swing, which was their favorite place. Zhu'er hugged an aerial root and swayed back and forth, bending over and taking three deep breaths, saying, "I'm suffocating! You know what? Yu Laohu stared at me with lecherous eyes for the whole class period, and I was so embarrassed."

Just then, Jing'er and Xiao Hui walked over. Jing'er was Xiao Ling's deskmate and also the class monitor. She was Xiao Ling's right-hand woman. She was tall and fat, even stronger than the PE teacher, and didn't look like a second-year junior high student at all.

Xiao Hui is the class's sports and arts representative, a basketball prodigy recognized throughout the school, and tall and handsome. It is said that he has been the object of many girls' secret crushes since elementary school. However, his best friend is Zhu'er. Other girls would only blush and say strange things when they saw him, but Zhu'er dared to joke with him and treated him like a buddy.

Xiao Hui asked Zhu'er casually, "Did you throw that piece of paper? How dare you throw a piece of paper under Teacher Yu's nose? Don't you want to die? If he gets angry, he'll eat people!"

After he finished speaking, Jing'er immediately stretched out her hands, making a tiger claw shape with her five fingers, imitating the appearance of the history teacher Lao Yu, and reached out to grab Zhu'er.

"Throwing paper balls, hmm, that's not good. Xiaoling, both of you will get a minor demerit." I said. In my new class rules, besides not completing homework, anyone who gets five major demerits or fifteen minor demerits will be disqualified from participating in extracurricular activities unless they make a major breakthrough in their grades or class honors.

"No, teacher, please! Didn't I just bring glory to our class in the school basketball tournament? To make amends, just remember Zhu'er's mistake; she framed me."

Pearl flew into a rage and immediately retorted, "I wanted to ask you, did you take my comic book without saying a word...?"

I knew that once Zhu'er started talking, she wouldn't stop until dark, so I quickly interrupted her, saying, "Comrades, comrades, let's unite, let's unite! Tomorrow we're going to Jianqi Valley, a place called Taoyuan Village, which is seventeen miles outside the city."

Then, I discussed with them some arrangements for the trip, such as buying food, picnic equipment, and safety measures. While having fun is important, safety must come first and everything must be in place.

Modified on: 2003-12-29 18:31:24

---janeadam

Reply [3]: The weather was fine and sunny. Early in the morning, I took twenty-five students on the bus and got off at the Taoyuan intersection. There was a fork in the road at that intersection, with a cement bridge over it that led to Taoyuan Village. After that, there was a three-section farm road made of earth and stone. There was a clear stream by the roadside called Peach Blossom Stream, which flowed slowly towards the big river next to the national highway. The banks of the stream were covered with green grass and swaying bamboo. Although it was late autumn, the mountains and forests in the south were still lush and green.

"Let's go!" I looked at the group of people fully equipped and waved proudly.

Pearl walked at the front with her head held high. She coughed a few times, wanting to sing the Young Pioneers' anthem to boost morale and prestige. But after only one verse, some people objected: "Little pig, how old are you? Big breasts but no brains, still so childish!"

I had no choice but to give up and sing "Love You Ten Thousand Years" instead.

Actually, I had another purpose for this trip.

I read about Jianqi Valley in the county annals. It is said that this place was originally the settlement of the Yang family. Have you heard of the idiom "Cheng Men Li Xue" (Standing in the Snow at Cheng's Door)? They are the descendants of Yang Shi, the protagonist of the idiom. They built a beautiful home here, with pavilions, towers, bridges and streams, and the whole valley is planted with peach blossoms.

A county magistrate who loved to play the charlatan was invited to visit. He was amazed by the beautiful scenery and thought it was a paradise. Upon returning, he wrote a poem, which became a popular story at the time.