San Leizi was already at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. After all, he was an outsider in this class, and even if he wanted to win over the other outsiders, it was unlikely that he could do so with the few new people from the neighboring villages.
Because when Zhang Lei's father went to that village for a meeting during his winter vacation, he discovered something very interesting.
Zhang Lei's grandfather had a younger sister who married into this village. Although she had passed away and they hadn't been in contact for a long time, her seniority still mattered. Most middle-aged and even elderly people in the village called Zhang Lei's father "uncle"...
In rural areas, everyone is basically related by marriage or kinship. Therefore, all the new rural students in Zhang Lei's class, except for one, should call Zhang Lei "uncle." That one exception should be called "Grandpa Zhang Lei."
In the North, seniority is highly valued. If a junior speaks even slightly louder to an elder, they'll get a beating from their own family when they get home, let alone arguing or fighting with them. Everyone knows what happened between San Lei and Zhang Lei. Even without other reasons, these people would never have associated with San Lei.
In fact, every time the three students who repeated a grade usually went through such a struggle for hegemony, it was just that they had never encountered a situation like this where they couldn't recruit anyone. Moreover, the previous classes did not have any particularly ruthless characters, unlike this class, where Zhao Luwei and Leng Weifeng were enough to keep him in check.
Xiong Yong and his group only realized after they found out that they really couldn't be completely intimidated by someone's reputation. Sometimes, meeting someone is not as good as hearing about them. If it weren't for the popularity of one-on-one duels here, Lei Xiaofeng would have given up long ago.
Teacher Cui once talked to Zhang Lei about the conflict between him and Lei Xiaofeng, suggesting that they not change his or Lei Xiaofeng's positions and separate the two.
“Teacher Cui, it is our responsibility as good students to help struggling students. Although Lei Xiaofeng is unruly, I believe that after we provide the right guidance and set a good example, he will be able to see the error of his ways. We cannot condemn him outright; we should give him a chance!” This was Zhang Lei’s answer.
Zhang Lei, of course, refused. "Where were you all this time? You didn't show up when San Leizi bullied us, but now that it's time for revenge, you've finally come out." Zhang Lei also knew that his family had probably gotten wind of this, and the homeroom teacher was just putting on an act because of the public pressure created by Zhang Lei's parents. Otherwise, would a homeroom teacher need to consult students before changing seats?
Actually, Teacher Cui had no other choice. If she didn't take any action, it would be tantamount to confirming that she was using the child to retaliate against the adults, and no teacher could bear that kind of reputation. She thought she had Zhang Lei figured out. The child was always embarrassed, or rather, afraid of being said to rely on his parents. After asking Zhang Lei, she could say, "Look, I asked him. The child didn't want to do it. Many adults don't understand things about children."
Although Lei Xiaofeng was busy fighting openly and covertly with Xiong Yong and the others, his nature was what it was, and it was impossible for him to swallow his anger towards anyone. If he could change his bad habits, he wouldn't have become the way he is now.
Zhang Lei had been his deskmate for half a year, so he knew all about his bad habits perfectly well.
Especially his habit of interrupting the teacher during class. Zhang Lei knew that sometimes he was completely unaware of it, because Zhang Lei had even seen this guy suddenly chime in while he was sleeping.
In fact, many students have this habit in class: when they are listening attentively, they often treat the teacher's statements as questions and then repeat the answers along with the teacher.
This isn't necessarily a bad habit entirely; the problem is that some teachers can accept it, while others can't. They might accept students giving the same correct answer, but not necessarily one that sounds like a joke. This inevitably leads to favoritism towards high-achieving students. They might accept this habit of good students, but deeply resent it from less successful ones. There's no way around it; it's easier to accept the same voice, especially since Lei Xiaofeng's answers have always been laughable.
Lei Xiaofeng has been trying to behave himself in class these past two days, especially in Chinese class. The day before yesterday, he couldn't help but tease Yang, the Chinese teacher's son, a little. It wasn't too bad, just enough to make him cry. Unfortunately, a few teachers passing by saw him. There's an unspoken rule among students that they don't like to tattle, but teachers obviously don't have to follow that rule.
As Chinese is a core subject, there are classes every day, and not just one. Lei Xiaofeng has been very careful these past two days, and he can also sense the anger in Teacher Yang's eyes as she looks at him.
Zhang Lei, being right next to him, could certainly sense that the matter had already spread among the teachers. Zhang Lei's parents had also mentioned it in casual conversations at home. However, Zhang Lei was not going to let him have his way. He could be as obedient as he wanted. Did he think he was Jesus? Even if he was, Zhang Lei was not.
On this day, the students of Huyang were to leave early. Their village chief's leave slips had already been submitted to the academic affairs office in the morning. In the countryside, the beginning of rice planting is also a festival, and all children over ten years old have to go to the fields to help, even if it's just to make an appearance. This means that the child will be a hardworking and good child throughout the year.
As a small town surrounded by rural areas, the school naturally wouldn't refuse such a request unreasonably. However, Zhang Lei's father happened to be the director of academic affairs, and Zhang Lei happened to see the leave slip stamped with the official seal when he went to his father's place for lunch.
"Hehe, these people have kept it very well secret. But keeping it a secret is good, keeping it a secret is good!" A shrewd glint flashed in Zhang Lei's eyes. Haha, at least that's what Zhang Lei thought. As for whether others could see it, he didn't know.
After lunch, Zhang Lei didn't take advantage of knowing Teacher Tang from the library to go to the library to read books as usual. Instead, he arrived at the classroom early today.
Because lunchtime is quite rushed, except for families that live very close to the school and have a full-time housewife to cook, other children bring their own lunchboxes to school. This is especially true for students in Huyang (that village). There aren't many restaurants in the town, and eating at restaurants is expensive and doesn't provide good food. This might seem strange to city students who are used to nutritious lunches.
Lei Xiaofeng found it strange that Zhang Lei had been acting suspiciously with Hu Yang's students all day, whispering to each other about something that was probably related to him. As Zhang Lei spoke, his eyes would occasionally glance in his direction, and if their eyes met, he would immediately look away, clearly indicating that he had something to hide.
You have to keep your word!
"Don't worry, it's not like I'm ruining my reputation as an elder if I don't have the final say. As long as you help me with this, you don't need to call me Uncle Zhang in class anymore, just call me Zhang Lei!" As he spoke, Zhang Lei seemed to glance at Lei Xiaofeng again, his eyes clearly flashing with a fierce light.
Ever since Zhang Lei and Hu Yang's group became related as uncle and nephew, Lei Xiaofeng had been on guard. Although Lei Xiaofeng had been careful not to provoke Zhang Lei during this time, the old grudge between the two was not so much that it was impossible to wash away, but it was certainly not something that could be easily forgotten.
"Let's go, let's go play ball!" Zhang Lei seemed to have never been in such a good mood before, going out to play ball at noon.
Actually, Zhang Lei's body can no longer withstand such strenuous exercise for extended periods. Recently, Zhang Lei has been somewhat impatient for quick results, focusing only on strengthening his muscles and bones. However, he has forgotten, or rather, doesn't understand, that the internal organs are the foundation of the body. Just like without the lungs providing oxygen, even slightly strenuous exercise will cause severe oxygen deficiency in the body, resulting in significantly less energy from anaerobic combustion. Consequently, the heart's pumping ability will be impaired, and athletic performance will naturally decline.
Seeing Zhang Lei's unusually cheerful mood, it was impossible for Lei Xiaofeng to believe that he had no ulterior motives. However, as the saying goes, the more you are on guard, the easier it is to fall into a trap. This was the real trap.
Zhang Lei fell for his trick last time, not because he was less intelligent, but because he wasn't on guard. He was caught off guard by the man's calculated attack. Now that both sides are on guard, it's a true test of opportunity and intelligence. Zhang Lei simply cannot believe his intelligence is lower than a monkey's.
There were two Chinese language classes in the afternoon. The students from Huyang left after attending one class. They could rush back at that time and get to the fields just in time to finish work. They only needed to symbolically plant a couple of seeds. Hehe, it was similar to handing over grain to the state, since it was all part of the grain system anyway.
Zhang Lei deliberately exchanged glances with a few people. They couldn't see clearly from a distance, but Lei Xiaofeng was right next to him, so how could he not know? Lei Xiaofeng became even more wary. In his opinion, these people were probably lying in ambush to intercept him. Lei Xiaofeng made up his mind that he couldn't leave early today no matter what. It would be best to leave with the teachers who were leaving get off work, and stay in the classroom until then.
Students in Huyang don't receive as many preferential treatments as children of power plant workers. It's not a big deal for children of power plant workers to fight at school, but if students in Huyang cause trouble at school, they'll be kicked out without a word. They're only nominally students on temporary assignment, and the school won't show any leniency. As long as they're in the classroom, there's nothing to be afraid of.
Rural students usually start school later because they have to walk a long way, and it's not safe for them to be too young. In addition, rural primary schools often only have one class every two or three years. Plus, rural children often help with farm work. Regardless of their fighting skills, their strength alone is not to be underestimated. Lei Xiaofeng, who used to frequently recruit rural students to support him, was well aware of this.
During Ms. Yang's lesson, she noticed that Zhang Lei would often echo her words, but what he said was always just right, like an actor being applauded. This actually enlivened the classroom atmosphere considerably. Perhaps it was because Ms. Yang's lesson was so good that the child was captivated by it.
Unfortunately, at this moment, a rotten apple flew in. Unlike Zhang Lei, this rotten apple's voice was not only unpleasant, but it was also wrong every time it made a mistake. It was as if it was contradicting him. If Zhang Lei's response was a cheer, then this guy's was clearly a boo.
This is exactly the kind of thing Teacher Yang hates most, especially since the one who spoke up was that rotten apple, the one who bullied her child just the day before yesterday. "Lei Xiaofeng, you stand up!"
Lei Xiaofeng originally didn't intend to interrupt; he had decided to behave himself for a few days. However, listening to Zhang Lei's smug remarks and head-shaking, he felt like he had seven or eight kittens frantically waving their claws inside him, and he simply couldn't resist.
Some habits are like smoking. People with a smoking addiction sometimes don't think about smoking all day, but if they see someone smoking next to them, once they remember, it's hard to resist.
At first, Lei Xiaofeng spoke softly, almost inaudibly, but later, if he wasn't careful, his voice grew louder. After all, it's not so easy to correct a person's habits.
"Huh? Huh?" Lei Xiaofeng didn't react at first. Forty-five minutes is neither a long nor a short time. Students who don't pay attention at all have their own tricks to get through these forty-five minutes. Lei Xiaofeng was sitting in the first row. He could only stare blankly when he was sleeping. The sound he made just now was purely unconscious when he was staring blankly. Many of them were deliberately whispered to him by Zhang Lei.
Of course, the teachers would not, would not, and could not accept such absurd claims. In the eyes of all the teachers, Lei Xiaofeng was an incorrigible student. Without special circumstances, he would never graduate. If it weren't for the affiliated middle school, he would have been expelled dozens of times by now if he were in any other school.
"What? Don't play dumb. Are you that dissatisfied with my lecture? Do you like interrupting so much? If the teacher's lecture is bad, then you come up and teach! Come up here!" Teacher Yang got angrier and angrier as she spoke. She was talking about interrupting, but Zhang Lei knew that it was mainly because of what Lei Xiaofeng had done to her child a few days ago.
Lei Xiaofeng desperately shrank his body downwards. Usually, letting this crazy woman vent for a while would be enough, since the teachers all knew there was nothing they could do about him. But today, he wondered if she would give up so easily.
"I told you to stand up, didn't you hear me? Or do you think what the teacher says is worthless in front of you!" She was angry inside, so she didn't hold back. The Chinese teacher's dissatisfaction with Lei Xiaofeng was not something that had just started a day or two ago. In fact, even if she scolded him, it wouldn't do any good, so most of the time she would just say a few words and let it go.
Today is different. The anger from when my child was bullied the day before yesterday is still simmering inside, and it seems from the child's questioning that this happened more than once.
If something goes unnoticed, it may not be noticed. But once it is discovered, it is impossible for a child to completely hide it from their parents' questioning. The difference in experience between the two is too great. Many times, parents are just pretending not to have noticed to save face for their children.
"...%￥&￥&" Teacher Yang's words were getting harsher and harsher. Although there wasn't a single swear word in them, if a teacher doesn't know how to discipline students, then she's a useless teacher. Teacher Yang was clearly not that kind of useless person.