Chapter 4

"Home, we're home."

An hour later, the minivan, loaded with luggage, was driving on the national highway. Huang Jingyao, sitting in the passenger seat, gradually perked up and became more spirited.

Returning to teach in the county town exceeded his expectations, but since his father had already arranged it, he had no choice but to accept it.

Luoquan No. 1 High School wasn't the best, but it was still a path.

The humiliation and ridicule from Li Hui and He Wenjun before he left? That didn't matter much either. This time he was the loser, a mere ant that could be easily trampled and played with, and before he died, he had to be mocked and his defeat admired. But these were mainly issues of teaching quality.

It depended on whether he could achieve various admission rates or how many top students were in his class, and whether the class average was strong or weak.

Because he was a newcomer, and his performance was far worse than He Peijun's, he was treated so badly. Various levels of leadership either actively helped He Peijun create unfairness or turned a blind eye, showing no concern for his departure.

But would he always be like that? Absolutely not.

There was nothing wrong with the county high school; he would work hard.

After another half hour, the minivan arrived at Huangzhuang Village in Luoquan County. As soon as it stopped in front of a farmhouse, a man and a woman, both around fifty years old, walked out. The man was Huang Jingyao's father, Huang Weibing, and the woman was his mother, Li Xiulan.

"Good to be back."

Stepping to the gate, Huang Weibing, who was already half a head shorter than Huang Jingyao, smiled and patted his son, then turned to unload the luggage from the car.

Huang Jingyao opened his mouth but said nothing, blushing slightly as he looked at his father and then started to help with the luggage.

The rest of the time was spent resting and having dinner.

After a peaceful family dinner, Huang Weibing smiled and held a cup of tea, smoking and saying, "Fortunately, my old classmate still gave me some face, otherwise, things wouldn't have been arranged so quickly. You rest well tonight, and I'll take you to No. 1 High School tomorrow."

"I'll go by myself," Huang Jingyao smiled. The village was about twenty kilometers from the county town, and their family only had electric bikes and bicycles. It wasn't the weekend, so he could handle it himself.

"Then you can report to the No. 1 High School office tomorrow. When you get there, see the arrangements. But you'll probably start teaching in the first year, as new teachers usually do. Remember to apply for a dormitory. My old classmate told me that if you don't apply proactively, no one will remind you. They hope to rent the dormitories to wealthy students. A dormitory costs 3,000 yuan per year, which is a lot of money. Our village is so far from the county, so you'll have to live in the county." Huang Weibing looked at Huang Jingyao in surprise but still nodded.

………………

"Almost got lost."

The next morning, Huang Jingyao tidied himself up and headed to the county town. He wasn't handsome but wasn't ugly either, with a clear and refined face and a gentle, scholarly demeanor. After tidying up, he looked quite impressive, a young man with a good first impression.

But he didn't expect to almost get lost in the county town. The Luoquan No. 1 High School had moved, and over five years ago, when Huang Jingyao was still in school, he knew that the school was building a new campus and moving from the old location in the southern part of the old city to the new development area in the north. Over five years had passed, and he had long forgotten about it.

When he arrived, he found that the new campus was already in use, and the old campus had become a "名义上独立" (名义上独立 means "名义上独立" in Chinese, which can be translated as "名义上独立" in English, but in this context, it means "名义上独立") preparatory school.

Arriving at the new campus in the new district, perhaps because it was new, Huang Jingyao was quite interested and had a good impression of the campus. The new 300-acre campus was rectangular, with a wide main road lined with lush trees on both sides. The office building, about 100 meters away, looked beautiful and clean. The teaching and living areas were well-arranged, and he even saw a clear artificial river flowing through the campus, enhancing the scenery.

Entering the office building, he asked for directions and found the school office. Huang Jingyao composed himself and politely knocked on the door.

"Come in." A calm voice came from inside. Huang Jingyao pushed the door open and saw a man in his late forties looking at documents.

Huang Jingyao closed the door and waited quietly.

"Sorry, I was just busy..."

A few minutes later, the man put down the documents, took off his glasses, and smiled at Huang Jingyao.

"No problem," Huang Jingyao smiled and waved, "I'm Huang Jingyao, I called before..."

As he spoke, he handed over his resume.

"Ah, it's Xiao Huang. I remember. Your case, yes, let's go through the employment procedures. Once everything is in order, you can report to the head of the third-year department, Mr. Li, who will give you specific arrangements." The man took the resume, glanced through it, and nodded with a smile, showing a hint of surprise.

Huang Jingyao was also surprised. Third year?

This was really unexpected!

New teachers usually start with the first year. Not only would a new graduate never teach the third year, but even someone with a year of experience like Huang Jingyao would rarely be assigned to the third year.

There was a significant difference.

"Unhappy or lack of confidence?" The man didn't intend to explain further, smiling and looking at Huang Jingyao, who immediately waved his hands, "No, just didn't expect it."

"Let's go through the procedures. After you're employed, you should also listen to some classes and prepare. Even if you come from a prestigious school like Ancheng No. 1 High School, you still lack experience teaching the third year." The man spoke again, and Huang Jingyao nodded calmly.

Although unexpected, the third year was a better opportunity.

After completing the employment procedures and applying for a dormitory, he became a member of Luoquan No. 1 High School. He couldn't immediately start teaching, so he spent time listening to classes, learning, and preparing materials. For about two weeks, Huang Jingyao was busy absorbing knowledge.

Two weeks later, as soon as he arrived at the campus, he was surprised to find that a new piece of information was spreading throughout the school: the old principal had taken up a new position at the education bureau in the neighboring county, and the new principal was not the popular candidate, Mr. Yang, but the former principal of the second high school, while Mr. Yang remained in his original position!

By convention, the principal of No. 1 High School was a full-time section chief and also served as the deputy director of the county education bureau, while the vice-principal was a deputy section chief.

Only the principal and vice-principal had official ranks. The various department heads and other positions were outside the system. At first glance, these matters seemed unrelated to Huang Jingyao, but were they really? Even though he wasn't very skilled in human relations, he had a bad feeling.

For example, he had entered the school through Mr. Yang's connections, but Mr. Yang had failed to become the principal, and the new principal was someone who had blocked Mr. Yang's path.

But after some thought, Huang Jingyao let it go. No matter whether there were conflicts at the upper levels, it didn't matter much to him, and it shouldn't involve him, as he was just an ordinary teacher.

"Whatever happens outside, as long as I perform well and show my capabilities, I can stand firm."

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