However, since Zhang Lei was afraid to fight in the past, now that he has the support of internal energy, he has at least overcome his mental hurdle. More importantly, as long as he uses his internal energy to treat the injured and painful areas, the swelling and pain will subside in no time.
In a fight between elementary school students, it's practically impossible to have a completely overwhelming advantage. Even if Zhang Lei suffers some losses, he can at least land a few punches on his opponent. With the support of his internal energy, his strength is still quite decent. Even if his opponent manages to hit Zhang Lei a few more times, he will still feel pain.
It was precisely because Zhang Lei discovered this new effect of internal energy that he became interested in fighting. Anyway, the pain would only last for a short while. However, perhaps because his tear ducts were more developed, Zhang Lei would cry every time he fought, and he would fight while crying, but he would not hold back at all.
Over time, apart from Xiong Yong and Zhang Lei, the two henchmen in their gang, Zhang Lei had basically fought with everyone in the class. The students also began to get used to Zhang Lei's new image, at least knowing that he was no longer someone they could bully at will.
Even Xiong Yong, although he would sometimes grab Zhang Lei by the collar and make him say those "I'm afraid of you" platitudes like before, did it much less frequently now, and he also knew to avoid Zhang Lei when he was clearly in a bad mood.
It's just that this guy might really be Zhang Lei's nemesis. When Zhang Lei sees him, he seems to lose all his courage and still obediently finishes that humiliating set of lines.
Afterwards, Zhang Lei would regret it and resolve to launch a counterattack next time, but when they met again, he would still feel powerless. It was really damn bad; it was probably because it had been too long and had become a habit.
However, apart from Zhang Lei, his performance was still acceptable. Moreover, because of his previous exam results, the elementary school teachers believed more of what Zhang Lei's parents said: that the new homeroom teacher was deliberately targeting Zhang Lei because Zhang Lei had pointed out his mistakes to his face. Many teachers also had opinions about this teacher who had just graduated from a teacher training college.
Zhang Lei felt that he was not only becoming more and more irritable, but also that his heart was becoming more and more wicked...
At lunchtime, several students were playing marbles on the playground. Although it wasn't explicitly forbidden by the school, many parents and teachers still voluntarily prohibited students from playing with them because of the way their hands dragged on the ground. Zhang Lei's homeroom teacher was one of them.
It's a strange coincidence, but Jiang Zhiguo, who usually arrives at school right after dinner, came exceptionally early that day, catching Zhang Lei and several other students red-handed.
There were a few other kids who were supposed to play together, but Jiang Zhiguo just didn't like Zhang Lei. He said a few words to the others and sent them back, leaving Zhang Lei alone to stand on the playground as punishment. He was only allowed to go back when class started.
The saying goes, "The world is not troubled by inequality, but by injustice." Zhang Lei didn't know this saying, but he already harbored feelings of injustice. If everyone were treated equally, Zhang Lei might not have thought of revenge, but now...
Although he lacked experience, Zhang Lei understood that if he retaliated directly at this point, even without evidence, he would be the first suspect. Therefore, Zhang Lei waited a few more days, knowing that new suspects would soon emerge.
Sure enough, a few days later, in a small test, Xiong Yong, Chen Zhiquan, and several other students failed both of their main subjects. Although there was no need to hold a parent-teacher meeting for such a small test, Jiang Zhiguo still called their parents.
Chen Zhiquan's parents didn't care. He was a rural resident anyway, so going to middle school wouldn't be of much use to him. They figured he could just graduate from elementary school and go home to help with chores. But Xiong Yong was different. It's said that he got a good beating from his family. For those few days, when Zhang Lei saw Xiong Yong walking, he really thought of the bears in the zoo.
But that's not all. Zhang Lei still has another scapegoat waiting for him. Although he was a little weak in the knees when he saw Xiong Yong and didn't dare to confront him directly, that doesn't mean Zhang Lei doesn't hate him. Zhang Lei always believed that his campus life would be much more pleasant if Xiong Yong were suddenly killed by someone farting.
Jiang Zhiguo's house was semi-dormitory-like. In a small town, it might not be as good as in big cities in other aspects, but in one thing, housing was not too tight. Even though Jiang Zhiguo had just started working at the school, he was still assigned a bungalow near the school as a dormitory.
Zhang Lei endured another day, and finally Wednesday arrived. This was the day when the parents of Party members would have their Party activities, and they wouldn't be back until after 9 PM. He first went home with a few classmates. Although he really wanted to attract attention on the way home, he restrained himself. If he were too pretentious, it would only arouse suspicion. Anyway, he had these few people as witnesses, which was enough.
"I hope you can't poop!" Zhang Lei parted ways with his students as usual and went home as usual. Everything seemed the same.
However, Zhang Lei took out a bag that he had prepared beforehand, turned around and left the house, stuffing a small water bottle into his pocket before leaving.
Zhang Lei walked along the riverbank. The river was almost thawed. If it were another half month, only half of the plan might be usable. Zhang Lei had been planning to get revenge on Jiang Zhiguo for a long time. This incident was just the fuse. Jiang Zhiguo had been targeting Zhang Lei, and Zhang Lei had long harbored resentment towards this teacher, who was the only one who disliked him since childhood.
In autumn and winter, the ice floes are horizontal. In spring, when the midday temperature is above zero, the ice melts a little, but when the temperature drops below zero at night, it freezes again, and the ice floes become vertical. They look very thick, but it's impossible for a person to stand on them. People can easily sink into the ice in spring. Otherwise, there would be many people skating on this river. Many students also choose this route on their way home, even though it's a bit far, because they can have fun.
However, there were hardly any people on the river surface, which was about to thaw. Zhang Lei was walking along the rocky beach by the river, his steps uneven.
It was a small place, not very big to begin with. Zhang Lei only took half an hour to get to the vicinity of Jiang Zhiguo's house, even though the road was difficult to walk on and he had to avoid people.
Zhang Lei had a scarf wrapped around his face and was wearing clothes he didn't like to wear before. He looked around furtively. In fact, people who didn't know him well probably wouldn't recognize him. Moreover, it was normal to dress like this in the winter in Northeast China, and it wouldn't attract attention.
"Nobody's here!" Zhang Lei muttered to himself, taking out a piece of chewed bubble gum that had turned slightly bitter.
Wednesday isn't just a study day for Party members in middle schools; it's also a day for elementary school students. Although Jiang Zhiguo isn't a Party member, he wants to join, and as an activist, it would be best if they participated in the Party's organizational activities together. Zhang Lei had already found out, so he wasn't worried about Jiang Zhiguo running into him.
Zhang Lei, with his back to the wind, opened the paper package and took out a small wire. Don't get me wrong, Zhang Lei wasn't trying to pick a lock; that's a very difficult skill, and a child wouldn't master such a difficult move without instruction.
Once you've found the keyhole, first insert a small piece of bubble gum, then use a wire to poke around in it. Next, grab some ash from the paper packet and stuff it in, then add more bubble gum, then some more ash, and finally blow a little water into it using a ballpoint pen refill with the ballpoint removed.
Although it took Zhang Lei a good ten minutes, and his back was a little sore from bending over like that the whole time, Zhang Lei felt it was still worth it.
The chewing gum inside won't clump together like this; if you grab a little and pull it out, it's only the outermost bit, the middle part is already separated by dust. Besides, it's already evening, and if there's any water inside, it will freeze solid soon, making it impossible to force the key in.
Zhang Lei wasn't familiar with the lock's construction, nor did he know if forcing the key in would open it. He didn't have any spare automatic locks at home, nor could he remove the one on the door to examine it; Zhang Lei didn't have that skill yet. So, while the water might be an unnecessary addition, he couldn't worry about it now.
"Amen!" Zhang Lei casually mimicked the priest on TV, offering a prayer for Jiang Zhiguo who was about to endure the night wind outside. It was a pity he couldn't stay here and watch, or he would get cold. It was better not to be outside so late at night, and besides, it would be easy to be discovered, wouldn't it?
Having come all this way, Zhang Lei certainly wasn't going to go back so easily. "Luckily, Jiang Zhiguo doesn't have a dog!" Zhang Lei secretly rejoiced. It was a mistake not to investigate whether Jiang Zhiguo had a dog before coming. He only remembered it when he got here. But even if he had known beforehand, Zhang Lei wouldn't have been able to deal with it. After all, the legendary sleeping potion was quite rare.
Anyone who has lived in a bungalow in the north knows that it's impossible to build a toilet inside the house.
Although there are public toilets outside, they are usually quite far away. In the dead of winter, who would want to travel such a long distance to use the toilet? Therefore, in general, one or several families would share a simple outhouse at the entrance of such houses.
These outhouses are usually very simple and drafty. It's a choice between being drafty or smelly; most people choose the drafty option.
The house allocated to Jiang Zhiguo was the same, as it had a relatively large front yard, and his private toilet was located in a corner of the yard. [Silver Fox Bookstore ]
There's no need to worry about the excrement. In the spring, farmers will come to our door to clean the manure pits for free, and they might even give us some money for fertilizer. Of course, none of that concerns Zhang Lei. What he cares about is where he can stand in there.
Zhang Lei pulled two sheets of paper from his pocket. These were torn from Xiong Yong's notebook; they were the last two blank pages. Xiong Yong often just tossed his homework aside after it was handed out. If there were too many mistakes, he would throw it away and then just grab any notebook he had when he ran out of notebooks. He would find an opportunity to tear a couple of pages from Xiong Yong's notebook, and he wouldn't even be caught until the end of the semester.
Tear the paper into several pieces, fold it repeatedly, pass the pins through it, then wet the paper, sprinkle some ash on it so that it looks similar to the base color, and then press it onto the two footboards on both sides of the latrine. In this kind of weather, it won't be long before it freezes onto the wooden boards.
The reason for choosing pins instead of more convenient studs is twofold: firstly, studs are too short and may not be able to penetrate the thick sole; secondly, studs are also a bit too thick and may be easily noticed. In comparison, pins are much thinner, but Zhang Lei was unsure whether they could penetrate the sturdy sole, so he decided to make do with them.
The toilet was dimly lit, especially given the already somewhat yellowish atmosphere outside. However, under this light, the pins emitted a very subtle metallic glint, which could be easily observed with a close look.
I should have soaked it in ink before coming; I wasn't thorough enough. But it's fine this way; let Jiang Zhiguo leave it to fate. Zhang Lei still regretted it a little after he finished. He now didn't know if he really hoped Jiang Zhiguo would step on it.
Just as Zhang Lei finished admiring his work and was about to come out, he heard the sound of running outside. He quickly went back inside and peeked out cautiously.
That's how toilets are structured. You can see clearly from the inside out, but you can't see anything from the outside in. That's to be expected, otherwise everyone who doesn't use the toilet would be gone. Besides, unless there's a special reason, nobody stares at the toilet.
Zhang Lei almost burst out laughing when he saw it. Who else could it be but Xiong Yong outside? He saw Xiong Yong raise his hand, and a stone flew out. In the blink of an eye, "Clang, crash!" The glass inside Jiang Zhiguo's window shattered.
Students hate teachers who snitch on their students, especially a vengeful student like Xiong Yong. The previous homeroom teacher was a veteran with decades of experience; she rarely told parents unless it was something serious, and had a good relationship with her students. Even Xiong Yong and his group liked her. But comparisons are odious. This new, inexperienced young teacher is nowhere near the level of the retired teacher in terms of teaching methods and management style. The bad students don't like him, and the good students don't necessarily like him either. He's truly caught in the middle—unhappy with everyone.
In fact, Zhang Lei's desire for revenge is no less than his. Compared to him, Xiong Yong's panic after smashing two windows seems childish. That's why people are afraid of high-IQ criminals these days. Zhang Lei has had this talent since he was a child.