Chapter 3: The Ear Cannot Find Peace (Part 1)

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Zhu Daodong was woken up by the loud snoring of the two teachers in the dormitory. The noise was unbearable, like thunder in his ears. He knew there was no way he could go back to sleep. Zhu Daodong found it strange that he had been sharing a room with them for over half a month, yet he had never noticed their snoring to be so loud before.

However, despite his curiosity, Zhu Daodong had no intention of waking them to ask what was going on. He knew from his school days that disturbing someone's sleep could be more hateful than insulting them for an hour. Since he couldn't fall back asleep, he decided to get dressed, put on his running shoes, and go for a few laps around the playground.

The playground was empty in the early morning, with only the occasional chirping of birds breaking the silence. However, once Zhu Daodong started running, he realized that his ears were far from peaceful. The school had only three buildings: the teaching building, the student dormitory, and the faculty dormitory. The teaching building and the student dormitory were separated by the playground, with the faculty dormitory behind the teaching building.

Now, as Zhu Daodong ran on the playground, he could hear all sorts of sounds from the student dormitory: breathing, snoring, murmuring in sleep, and the whispers of early-rising students.

What was going on? The student dormitory was nearly a hundred meters away, and the doors and windows were all closed. Could the soundproofing of the school's doors and windows really be that poor?

Never mind, let a thousand sounds be, and I will remain steadfast. Although these sounds made Zhu Daodong somewhat irritable, he tried to focus his mind on the track in front of him. After breaking a sweat, he felt much better.

Just as he was about to go back to take a shower, he heard footsteps approaching. Looking up, he saw that it was Principal Liu Tao, who was slowly walking toward the playground with his hands behind his back.

"Good morning, Principal Liu." Since coming to the school, Zhu Daodong had always been grateful for Liu Tao's favor and respect. He would always be ready to help with any tasks at school or at Liu Tao's home whenever asked.

"Teacher Zhu, it's rare to see you up so early. Young people should go to bed early and get up early, exercise more, so that when they are old, they won't be full of ailments. I, for one, can't even run anymore," Liu Tao said with a chuckle.

Liu Tao was in his forties, not tall, slightly bald, a bit overweight, and had a small belly. By today's standards, he had the classic look of an official.

"Today I couldn't sleep. I used to exercise regularly at school, but I've become lazy since starting work," Zhu Daodong said with a sheepish smile.

"Consistency is easy to talk about but hard to do. It's good that you can still stick to it. Keep it up," Liu Tao nodded and smiled. After that, he continued walking with his hands behind his back toward the vegetable patch in the southeast corner of the playground. This was the school's vegetable supply base, which Liu Tao had set up himself. However, it was now autumn, and only a few eggplants and peppers were still "holding on."

It was Liu Tao's habit to walk around the vegetable patch every morning. Seeing the vegetables he had planted himself gave him a great sense of accomplishment. Besides, it was also a form of exercise, and if done consistently, it was very beneficial to his health.

Since the principal had told him to keep exercising, Zhu Daodong had no choice but to run two more laps. If he were still in college, he wouldn't have done this, but after coming to Shulinling Middle School, he had learned to adapt and understand. Since the leader had spoken, he had to persist and implement it. If he had gone back to take a shower, Liu Tao wouldn't have said anything, but he would have formed a negative impression of Zhu Daodong for not following his instructions. Zhu Daodong would not do anything to bring trouble upon himself. Running a few more laps would only make him more tired, but he wouldn't lose anything. If he didn't run, and the principal decided to make things difficult for him, he would be in a bind.

Don't underestimate Shulinling Middle School, which has only thirty teachers. Even though it's small, it has all the necessary organizational structures. Zhu Daodong had once seen his dorm mate, Long Yiping, a new teacher, complain about the head of the teaching department, Xu Zhengwu, for changing his schedule. When Xu Zhengwu heard about it, Long Yiping was soon given an additional class to teach. His salary didn't increase, but his workload did. This was the price of not following instructions. From then on, Long Yiping's lesson plans and lecture notes were frequently inspected by Xu Zhengwu. If anything was found to be wrong, he would be scolded harshly.

Zhu Daodong, who had passed the entrance exam for the provincial normal university, was not lacking in intelligence. He had learned about natural selection and survival of the fittest in high school biology. Now, he realized that this was indeed the natural law of human evolution. If offending the head of the teaching department had such consequences, what about offending the principal?

"Wasn't Zhu Daodong back last night? Why can't I see him?"

Zhu Daodong had just reached the teaching building when he heard someone talking about him. He looked around but couldn't find the source of the voice.

"Who cares if he's back or not? I have to get up and grade homework. I have six classes today. Xu Zhengwu, that bastard, now treats me like a thorn in his side. I'll make him pay one day!"

This was Long Yiping's voice, which Zhu Daodong immediately recognized. Long Yiping was known for his sharp and hurtful words, and he had offended so many people in the short time he had been at the school that he couldn't even count them on both hands. Many of these incidents were over small matters, sometimes due to his inappropriate choice of words, which unknowingly offended others.

For example, in the teachers' office, Long Yiping had just gone out and realized he had forgotten his lesson plan. His desk was in the corner, so he had to walk around to get it. He said to the teacher sitting opposite him, "Give me my lesson plan!" in a condescending tone. Although the teacher eventually gave him the lesson plan, he soon requested to change his desk and no longer wanted to sit opposite Long Yiping.

"Teacher Long, you should watch your mouth. Don't say whatever comes to mind, or you'll suffer later," said Fan Mingfeng, another new teacher who had come with Long Yiping. It was this person who had asked Zhu Daodong about the meaning of "wine sack and food bag," so Zhu Daodong remembered his voice well.

"Teacher Fan, I'm a straightforward person. It's in my nature, and I can't change it. Xu Zhengwu can't be the head of the teaching department forever. If he goes too far, I'll report him to the education bureau!" Long Yiping said angrily. It was just a matter of calling Xu Zhengwu "Xu the Madman." Was it really necessary to hold a grudge over that?

"Ha ha," Long Yiping pulled out a chair from his desk and started grading homework with a grim face.

The voices quickly faded, but Zhu Daodong's heart was still racing, unable to calm down. What was happening? He was standing on the playground in front of the teaching building, yet he could hear the conversation from his dormitory behind the teaching building!

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(End of Chapter 3, Part 1)