Rebirth begins with an arranged marriage

Chapter 12 Teacher Chen from the County High School

Tang Huaiyi entered the county town and headed east, where the streets were all dusty and grimy.

The town center is nothing more than a potholed asphalt road, with low brick and tile bungalows on both sides, the peeling paint revealing mottled yellowish-brown walls.

Early in the morning, there were many pedestrians on the street. Men wearing blue-gray polyester shirts hurried by on their bicycles, old women carried bamboo baskets to sell vegetables, and old men squatted by the roadside smoking pipes. Occasionally, a horse-drawn carriage or tractor would pass by, raising a cloud of dust, which would cause the old women and men to turn away to avoid it.

A brand-new slogan on the utility pole at the entrance of the alley reads "Basic National Policy," while a faded slogan on the wall reads "Publicly-run, Privately-run."

Before the supply and marketing cooperative even opened, the newly opened individual tailor shop had already opened for business. The sewing machines were clattering, and bell-bottoms and floral shirts were hanging at the door, attracting occasional glances from young people passing by.

Dressed in old clothes and carrying grain, Tang Huaiyi hurriedly walked through this new and old street scene.

"Buying mooncakes! Red bean paste ones are 80 cents a pound, mixed nuts ones are one dollar!"

Mid-Autumn Festival is not yet here, but mooncakes are already being sold on the streets.

Tang Huaiyi immediately recalled this kind of sweet and cloying snack, which he didn't particularly like in his previous life. But for him, who ate coarse grain buns and corn porridge, this oily and sugary food was now a luxurious delicacy.

During this pause, Tang Huaiyi also remembered something—he hadn't yet carefully examined the things the crow had brought last night.

Last night it was dark and everyone in the house was asleep, so he couldn't turn on the light to see.

I came to school early this morning. On the way, I rode in Song Siyuan's parents' vegetable cart and ran into Uncle Tang Zhengcai, but I didn't have a chance to see him.

Now I can finally take a look.

Inside the pocket was a round, smooth glass ball; there wasn't much to see there.

In the other pocket was a round piece. Tang Huaiyi frowned slightly when he took it out and looked at it.

One side is inscribed with the words "Guangxu Yuanbao, made in Beiyang" and also has Manchu script.

Behind it is a dragon with its claws outstretched, bearing the English word "peiyang".

There was no damage, but Tang Huaiyi was not an expert in this field and did not know how much this "Guangxu Yuanbao" was worth. He had heard of Yuan Shikai silver dollars, which could sell for about ten yuan in the 1970s and 1980s, and could sell for hundreds or thousands of yuan in a few decades.

If it were worth ten yuan, it could be a great help to Tang Huaiyi.

He had to go to school today, so time was tight. But with Tang Zhengcai's "sponsorship" and the food at home, he wouldn't have to worry about food and drink for the next week. He could leisurely stroll around the county town on Saturday afternoon before heading home.

Tang Huaiyi had made up his mind and wasn't in a hurry. He put the "Guangxu Yuanbao" back into his pocket and continued walking.

Just as he could see the school gate, he spotted two figures walking towards him from the other side.

One was his classmate Li Xiujuan, and the other was Li Xiujuan's older sister, Li Xiufang.

They also saw Tang Huaiyi.

Li Xiujuan, carrying a schoolbag and a bag of grain, raised her hand to greet Tang Huaiyi, but Li Xiufang, carrying a bundle, quickly approached and called out, "Tang Huaiyi!"

Tang Huaiyi was a little unsure how to address her.

Calling her "Big Sister" is inappropriate, and calling her "Big Girl" is even more inappropriate.

Li Xiufang said with a smile, "My name is Li Xiufang. You don't know my name yet, do you? Just call me by my name."

Tang Huaiyi nodded and greeted her, "Hello, Sister Xiufang. Are you taking Li Xiujuan to school?"

"Yes, I was taking her to school when I ran into you." Li Xiufang noticed that Tang Huaiyi hadn't brought anything else and asked in confusion, "You don't live at school? Why didn't you bring bedding? There are evening self-study sessions and morning reading sessions every day. It's more than ten miles away; you can't make it in time."

Tang Huaiyi explained, "I don't need to bring it. Teacher Chen visited my home before and knew that my family was struggling financially, so he gave me a set. When I finished my second year of high school, he specifically went back to wash and dry it."

"Your teacher is really a good person. What grade did he teach you?"

"He taught me in my first year of high school, but he stopped teaching me in my second and third years," Tang Huaiyi said. "Teacher Chen helped me a lot, otherwise I would have had to drop out of high school in my first year."

Li Xiufang nodded, then glanced at the grain Tang Huaiyi was carrying: "Is your grain heavy? Shall I help you carry it?"

"It's not heavy, besides, we're already at the school gate..."

"You're a student, you should be knowledgeable and cultured, you shouldn't be doing any physical labor... Come on, let me help you! I'm used to doing manual labor!" Li Xiufang said as she stepped forward to take the sack of grain from Tang Huaiyi's hands.

Tang Huaiyi wasn't some frail little girl, and besides, they were already at the school gate; how could she trouble them? She quickly shook her head and politely declined.

When Li Xiufang saw that he disagreed, her bright and energetic eyes dimmed slightly, and she didn't say much.

Only then did Li Xiujuan greet and speak to Tang Huaiyi.

The three of them then arrived at the school gate, where the sound of students reading aloud could already be heard from inside the campus. The gatekeeper asked them a few questions and then let the two of them in.

Since they had already been assigned to senior high school classes yesterday, Tang Huaiyi and Li Xiujuan were both delayed by their families' arranged marriages and couldn't go to their classrooms, so they went to the teachers' office instead.

The office was a red brick building, the classrooms were also red brick buildings, and the canteen and dormitory were also red brick buildings.

If I hadn't known beforehand, I would have had to wander around these red brick buildings for quite a while before finding the teachers' office.

Between the red brick and tile houses, there are single and double bars, where clothes and bedding are currently being dried; there are pool tables, where some green vegetables are placed, and some corn cobs are placed.

In the larger space, there is a basketball court. If the bumpy dirt ground outside the basketball court can be called a playground and a football field, then it is a "three-in-one" stadium, and that's about it.

There is a small flower bed in front of the principal's office. Passing through the principal's office, you will find the teachers' offices for each grade.

Before Tang Huaiyi could even go to his high school homeroom teacher to ask about his class assignment in the third year of high school, a male teacher in his forties came out of the first-year teachers' office and beckoned to Tang Huaiyi: "Tang Huaiyi, come here."

"What's going on? School started yesterday, why are you only coming today?"

Upon seeing that it was Chen Dahe, a first-year high school teacher, Tang Huaiyi immediately stood up straight: "Teacher Chen!"

This teacher once rode his old bicycle to visit the Tang family in Tangmaji Village to persuade them to support Tang Huaiyi's schooling; he also once offered Tang Huaiyi a set of bedding, because the Tang family's bedding was patched and worn out.

After learning about Teacher Chen, who was like a guiding light, from his memories, Tang Huaiyi always held him in high esteem.

"Teacher Chen, something came up at home and I had to be late."

"What's bothering you? Do you not want to let you go to school again?" Chen Dahe frowned, looking a bit intimidating, enough to scare away any disobedient student.

"Well, a little, but I've convinced my family," Tang Huaiyi said. "Everything's fine now."

"Oh, that's good."

Chen Dahe nodded with satisfaction: "Your class is Class 1 of Senior Three. Just go to the Senior Three office and find Teacher Tian; he's your homeroom teacher!"

"Okay, Ms. Chen, thank you!"

"Don't mention it! Go ahead, and don't forget to come to my house to get your bedding!"

Teacher Chen explained with a smile.