??Chapter 30: Go to the supply and marketing cooperative
Chapter 30: Go to the supply and marketing cooperative
At last, Lin Tang left the Qin’s house with a book in hand.
Feeling inconvenienced by carrying the book, she found a secluded corner and stored the book in her system space.
There are two decent high schools in the entire county.
Lin Tang attended ‘Deqing High School,’ which boasted a high rate of students advancing to further education and was in the opposite direction from the local Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
It would be a bit of a rush to go to school and then to the cooperative.
Without much thought, Lin Tang decided to go to school first.
Twenty minutes later, she arrived at the school gate.
The sign ‘Deqing High School’ hung at the entrance.
Inward, a sports field ca into view, with rows of classrooms to the right.
The school buildings exuded an era’s simplicity, flanked by lush trees along the paths.
The leadership and teachers’ offices were in the innermost building.
From the teaching buildings ca the lodious sound of students reading aloud, while occasionally a few teachers walked outside.
Just as Lin Tang reached the office building, she encountered a man.
“Mr. Guo…”
Guo Jianshe turned his head and saw the student he once took pride in.
It seed like an instant.
That incident flashed through his mind, his pupils dilating suddenly, as if thunder struck right by his ear.
It made him feel dizzy.
“…Oh, it’s Lin Tang. Why have you co?” Guo Jianshe forced a smile.
His face wore an unknowingly stiff expression.
“I should have made this trip long ago,” Lin Tang said as she noticed the horoom teacher’s strange deanor, her eyebrows slightly furrowing.
Was that… guilt? Or panic?
Guo Jianshe forced a smile, trying to invite Lin Tang to his office without changing his expression.
“…Heh, we haven’t seen each other in a while as teacher and student. Why don’t you co and sit in my office?”
Lin Tang didn’t respond.
Her crystal-clear eyes t the man’s shifting gaze, frosting over inch by inch.
She had never thought that the matter would involve her greatly respected horoom teacher.
Honestly, she was very disappointed.
“No need, I would like to see the principal,” Lin Tang said.
Guo Jianshe forced a smile, “The principal has gone to another province for training; he’s not in school.”
A tense string in his heart slightly relaxed.
With that said, Lin Tang realized she probably wouldn’t be able to see the principal today.
“Oh, then forget it,” she remarked.
Speaking, she bowed to Guo Jianshe.
“…Thank you for your teachings and care in the past,” she said.
Compared to other students, her gratitude ca much later.
They had agreed to thank their teachers together once the admission notices had arrived.
It was a pity she missed that chance.
At this mont, Lin Tang thought, no matter how much the truth she sought was connected to the man in front of her,
the current gratitude was for that diligent teacher who had once guided them through difficulties on their life paths.
Guo Jianshe looked at Lin Tang, who had always shown him much respect, and felt complicated.
It was as if an invisible net had ensnared him,
growing tighter and tighter.
It left him feeling as if he were drowning.
For a mont, the teaching plan in his hand seed to transform into a monstrous mouth, gaping wide, taunting him with ‘you don’t deserve it’…
His hand trembled, and a bead of sweat ford on his forehead.
“…You want to ask…” He started to speak, then halted.
Lin Tang watched him quietly, waiting for an answer.
Guo Jianshe hesitated.
He opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn’t speak.
He even averted his gaze and stopped looking at her.
Lin Tang’s expression remained unchanged, she didn’t inquire further, saying, “Since the principal isn’t here, I’ll head back first. You’re busy, I understand.”
The reason she didn’t ask was that she knew even if she did, he wouldn’t tell her.
Thus, she left the school without looking back.
Guo Jianshe’s gaze followed her departing figure, his fingers almost punching a hole through the teaching plan.
He felt both guilty and cowardly…
A flood of emotions converged at this mont.
He was unworthy of a child’s sincere gratitude.
He didn’t deserve it!
Even if that incident didn’t have much to do with him, he… had turned a blind eye to it.
After leaving the school, Lin Tang looked back at the ‘Deqing High School’ sign over the gate, her smiling lips cooling.
Morality! Clarity!
She had always known that there are no fish where the water is too clear, yet she had never imagined that even this place of education would be tainted with darkness.
She wondered who had the audacity to cover the sky with one hand, silently snatching away her achievents.
Regardless, she was determined to expose the truth.
Around the corner—
A middle-aged man watched Lin Tang disappear, a glint of light flashing in the depths of his eyes.
It was that clever child.
Things were about to get interesting.
Perhaps they could even work together…
–
After leaving the school, Lin Tang collected her emotions and headed for the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
The facade was made of red bricks.
Two steel gates stood stout and sturdy, a rare sight in the county.
The large courtyard of the cooperative occupied a significant area, consisting of three large buildings that appeared very imposing.
At the mont, there weren’t many people in the cooperative.
Lin Tang imdiately spotted the girl swiftly knitting a sweater at the counter.
Upon her entry, the three counter clerks didn’t even lift their eyelids,
a testant to their haughty coldness.
It wasn’t difficult to understand, since in that era, commodities were tightly controlled by state-run entities.
Working as a clerk at a cooperative was a position of great honor.
Of course, whoever had it had reason to be proud.
“Xiaoyun!” Lin Tang greeted with a smile.
Fang Xiaoyun heard the familiar voice, her nimble fingers coming to a halt.
Looking up, she saw her good friend had arrived.
“…Tangtang?”
She said, setting down her knitting and waving Lin Tang over.
“Tangtang, you’re back! I haven’t seen you for ages. How are you?
You didn’t even write
a letter. I thought you had forgotten about this friend of yours!”
Her heart had truly ached for several days.
“How could I ever forget you? Sothing ca up, and I haven’t been able to get in touch,” Lin Tang replied with a smile.
Fang Xiaoyun cared a lot about her friendship with Lin Tang.
Upon hearing her explanation, the estrangent and loss she felt quickly dissipated.
Fang Xiaoyun’s eyes filled with concern, “How about now? Is the problem resolved?”
Lin Tang nodded, “Almost, don’t worry about it.”
“And you? How’s work going? I see you’ve got quite the worker’s presence now, quite different from when you were studying,” Lin Tang observed.
Fang Xiaoyun blushed.
She gently slapped her friend’s arm, a wave of embarrassnt washing over her.
With a sigh, she said, “Don’t tease
like that, I owe much of my success to you.
If you hadn’t tutored , I wouldn’t have even completed middle school, let alone have what I have today…”
Rembering the nights in the dormitory when Tangtang tutored her, Fang Xiaoyun felt a warmness in her heart.
The lamp, that silhouette, and the gentle voice had ward her heart for a long ti.
Lin Tang didn’t realize how much her kind intentions had helped Fang Xiaoyun.
Fang Xiaoyun indeed was a city resident, but that was only on the surface.
Her mother valued boys over girls and didn’t take her education seriously.
If not for her father’s firm support for her education, she might have been married off by now.
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