Chapter 20 of 100

Chapter 20: Another Promotion

17 min read4,143 words

The coup went exceptionally smoothly. Since spies had been sent out long ago, Liu Tao and Hu Lihua were caught in bed. Zhu Daodong did not enter the room; he could imagine what the usually arrogant Liu Tao looked like at that moment. The only one Zhu Daodong felt a bit sorry for was Hu Lihua. Although she could be considered to have fallen willingly, Zhu Daodong still felt a twinge of pity.

Liu Tao narrowly avoided legal trouble. If it weren't for his strong connections and his willingness to spend money at such a critical moment, he might have ended up in prison. In the end, he barely retained his public position and was transferred to another place as a regular teacher, reportedly at an elementary school. As for Hu Lihua, she naturally could not stay at the middle school. There were many rumors about where she went, but no one knew her true destination.

Zhang Zhichun finally secured his position smoothly, transitioning from acting principal to the official principal after half a month. Those who had followed him all benefited to some extent. For example, the original head of the teaching department, Xu Zhengwu, was appointed as vice-principal. This was public knowledge, but what other benefits they received in secret, Zhu Daodong did not know.

This time, Zhu Daodong also gained something. In addition to retaining his position as deputy head of the teaching department, he was also appointed as the secretary of the Youth League branch. Although he did not truly get a promotion, having an additional position was still considered a step up. Compared to the ordinary teachers who held no positions, Zhu Daodong was now a prominent figure at the school.

Both of these positions were due to Liu Tao. The first time, he was promoted for discovering his relationship with Hu Lihua, and this time, it was because their relationship was discovered again. Thinking about this, Zhu Daodong felt somewhat ashamed. He had worked so hard and only received empty promises, but once he caught someone's weakness, the position was automatically given to him, and he couldn't even refuse it.

In recent days, Long Yiping and Fan Mingfeng looked at him with a different gaze, full of admiration. They had entered the school at the same time as Zhu Daodong. Now, Zhu Daodong held the positions of deputy head of the teaching department and secretary of the Youth League branch, while they were still ordinary teachers. Most importantly, when Liu Tao was the principal, he favored Zhu Daodong. Now that Zhang Zhichun was the principal, he also favored him. Everyone at the school knew that Zhang Zhichun had brought down Liu Tao, and these two should be rivals. However, Zhu Daodong was consistently favored, which made them admire and respect him even more.

The final exams were approaching, and Zhu Daodong was exceptionally busy. He now held two positions and was also a homeroom teacher, with endless tasks every day. He visited the Sanqing Taoist Temple less frequently, carrying two boxes of Laobai liquor to the temple and leaving some money for the old Taoist, promising to drink with him several times after the school break.

Fortunately, the discipline in his class remained as good as ever. Besides regular classes, he also had to frequently visit the township government. The school's Youth League branch was under the leadership of the township Youth League committee, and the township often needed help with writing materials. As a bachelor's graduate in Chinese literature who had won awards in the city, Zhu Daodong was required to write the most materials.

After writing a lot of government materials, he gradually figured out a pattern. They were all official documents, mostly copied with minor changes. The most troublesome were the speeches of the secretaries and mayors, which required understanding each person's word choice. For example, the speech of the township party secretary, Chen Shuli, had to be simple and straightforward. He was a former military officer with limited education, so there could be no obscure words, and if necessary, they had to be annotated with pinyin. On the other hand, the speech of the township mayor, Yuan Ping, had to be more refined, with occasional idioms and allusions to make him happy.

After the school's final exams, Zhu Daodong entered his busiest period. He spent several days grading papers at the school, then tallying the scores. His class's performance was quite good, maintaining the top overall and average scores, with four students in the top ten of the grade.

Next, he had to write student evaluations, which took him two full days to complete. Zhu Daodong took the evaluations seriously, trying to highlight each student's strengths and praise them extensively. Considering the parents' educational levels, he had to choose his words carefully. Therefore, what other homeroom teachers could finish in a day, he spent two days on.

Once all the notifications were sent out, the school went on break. Zhu Daodong was exhausted during this period. He went to Haozailai, ordered a few dishes that the nameless Taoist liked, packed them up, and carried a box of Laobai liquor to the Sanqing Taoist Temple. Since the school was on break, Zhu Daodong had to return home for the New Year. He wanted to prepare some New Year's goods for the old Taoist before leaving, as he felt it would be inconsiderate to let the old Taoist use the Turtle Breath technique to get through the New Year.

"Is the school on break?" The nameless Taoist grabbed a greasy braised lion's head and stuffed it into his mouth, sucking the oil off his fingers. This action, which he had demonstrated at Haozailai before, almost made Liang Qiao vomit her last night's dinner. After that, Liang Qiao never dared to stay in the private room again.

"Yep." Zhu Daodong also took a breath. The temperature was now only a few degrees, and the Sanqing Taoist Temple, built on a mountain, was even colder. He needed to drink some wine to warm up.

"When are you going back?"

"In a few days. Do you need anything else here? I can buy it for you when I go back." Zhu Daodong asked. After entering winter, he had wanted to buy a quilt and a cotton jacket for the old Taoist, but the old Taoist refused and asked Zhu Daodong to convert everything into wine and send it to the temple.

"I don't need anything. The New Year is approaching, and the incense offerings here are getting busier." The nameless Taoist's eyes showed a hint of warmth. Others treated him well out of pity, but Zhu Daodong treated him like a true elder, even inviting him to spend the New Year in Furong County, though the old Taoist did not agree.

"Alright, I'll bring two more boxes of wine tomorrow. You can go down to buy whatever you want to eat." Zhu Daodong thought that perhaps the old Taoist did not need anything besides wine.

"Okay." The old Taoist did not refuse. He was always content with whatever he had, and with the Turtle Breath technique, he did not need to worry about food and drink.

The next day, Zhu Daodong came again, carrying two more boxes of Laobai liquor and buying twenty pounds of flatbread, which could be stored for a long time. The old Taoist could eat it whenever he was hungry. He also bought some preserved tofu, peanuts, braised pig's head, and pig's trotters. Although these items could be stored for a while in the current weather, Zhu Daodong was still a bit worried. What if the old Taoist ate something that had gone bad? Therefore, he did not buy too much.

On the third day, just as Zhu Daodong was about to go to the temple one last time to bring more wine and food, Zhang Zhichun suddenly found him and gave him a task. The township government was planning an exhibition at the end of the year, and since Zhu Daodong had excellent handwriting and a trusted writing style, he was specifically asked to help.

---