Free Web NovelChapter 102: Chapter 102: Farewell
"Su Li, you have to say yes! Being a teacher is a hundred, even a thousand times better than that other job you mentioned."
Mrs. Tang rattled on, but Su Li showed little reaction, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
This made Mrs. Tang even more anxious. "Su Li, please just say yes. From now on, I won’t make you handle any of the housework if I can help it. I’ll do everything I can. You just focus on teaching."
Su Li raised an eyebrow and finally spoke. "What about the cattle? They have to be taken out to pasture every day, and you can’t do it."
The two oxen were Mrs. Tang’s pride and joy. She would rather go hungry herself than let them starve. But if Su Li was going to be a teacher, Mrs. Tang couldn’t take them out to graze...
Only then did Mrs. Tang remember the two oxen. "That’s right, there are the cattle!"
Hesitation and conflict flickered across her face. "Never mind the cattle. We’ll figure that out later. The most important thing is to accept the teaching job first."
"Hurry and tell the principal yes before he changes his mind. Just teach well and try to make it a stable position. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could keep teaching permanently!"
Having a daughter-in-law who was a teacher—what a proud thing that would be.
Mrs. Tang was being especially forward-thinking this time. She didn’t just want Su Li to agree; she was already thinking about the future.
"If you can keep teaching and earning a salary, even as a substitute, you’ll be living on the state’s money. It’s so respectable! A hundred times better than toiling in the fields every day!"
To Mrs. Tang, this was like a pie falling from the sky.
Thinking of the wonderful future, she waved her hand and declared,
"Compared to this, what are two oxen? Don’t you worry about them. I’ll solve it. Becoming a respectable teacher is what’s important!"
Her son, Tangyuan, worked in the city, and her daughter-in-law was a teacher. The whole family would be successful and respected. This was the kind of good fortune others couldn’t hope for in several lifetimes!
Su Li finally replied, "I understand."
Overall, the pros of being a substitute teacher outweighed the cons.
Su Li went to find the principal directly.
"Principal, if I take the substitute teaching position, I was wondering if I could make a small request?"
The principal was surprised. "What is it?"
Su Li answered, "I’d like to bring Little Mo to school with me. He’s not old enough yet, so he wouldn’t be officially enrolled. I just want him to follow along and learn."
The principal was a bit taken aback by this request. He mulled it over for a moment. "That should be fine, but you have to guarantee he won’t disrupt the class."
Su Li immediately replied,
"Don’t worry, that absolutely won’t happen. If he becomes a distraction, you won’t even have to say anything. I’ll stop bringing him myself."
The principal knew of Little Tang Mo and knew he was a well-behaved child, so he nodded. "Then there’s no problem."
"Thank you, Principal." And just like that, Su Li’s substitute teaching job was settled.
The principal was also very happy about this.
"Good, very good. Su Li, I have high hopes for you. Work hard and strive for the future."
His indirect meaning was similar to Mrs. Tang’s: he wanted her to strive for a permanent position.
Even if it was just an empty promise, the principal had given it to Su Li.
Su Li smiled but didn’t say that she wasn’t interested in ’striving’ for it.
And so, Su Li’s job as a substitute teacher was set.
With a few days left before school started in March, Su Li went to the elementary school twice and picked up the first-grade textbooks: one for language arts and one for math.
That’s right, Su Li would be teaching first grade, acting as the homeroom teacher, and teaching both math and language arts.
In other words... Su Li had the entire first grade covered.
Su Li’s personality was such that if she did something, she did it well. Having agreed to teach, she would naturally do so conscientiously and responsibly.
As soon as she got the textbooks, she began preparing her lessons.
She also went to herd the cattle one last time. After Su Li agreed to be a substitute teacher, Mrs. Tang had actually solved the cattle problem.
She had loaned the cattle to someone else to raise.
"...That old friend of mine is still in good shape; she can manage the cattle. I made a deal with her to lend her our cattle to keep in her pen."
As Mrs. Tang said this, a trace of reluctance was visible in her eyes.
In the countryside, besides plowing fields, cattle were mostly raised for their farm manure.
Pigsties, sheepfolds, and cattle pens were precious because each one produced farm manure. With manure, the crops in the fields grew well. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
It was no wonder that families who could afford to raise pigs, cattle, and sheep saw their lives get better and better.
This was also why villagers who couldn’t afford livestock would pick up any cow or horse dung they saw and take it back to their own fields.
That old friend of Mrs. Tang’s was more than happy to borrow the Tang Family’s cattle to raise for farm manure.
Su Li had no objection to Mrs. Tang’s solution. She went to herd the cattle on the last day before school started, also hoping she might run into Wu Sheng and return his watch.
Su Li drove the cattle up the mountain to their usual spot.
Although the grazing hill was large, the place where Su Li usually spent her time was fixed.
When she arrived at this regular spot, she didn’t notice anything amiss at first. But after a while, she finally spotted something strange.
The large rock that Wu Sheng had moved to serve as her desk... was back in its original place.
’Wu Sheng was here?’ That was Su Li’s first thought.
After all, the only person with so much strength they’d use it to move rocks... was Wu Sheng.
With this in mind, Su Li looked around. She scanned the area but didn’t find anyone. The mountains were quiet, with only her and the two oxen.
If Wu Sheng didn’t show himself, there was no way for Su Li to find him.
So Su Li reviewed her lessons while she waited for Wu Sheng.
The sun began to set, and it was time for Su Li to go home, but Wu Sheng still hadn’t appeared.
’Looks like he already left...’ Su Li thought, lying down and giving a couple of satisfying stretches.
After rolling around a bit, Su Li sat up and began to pack her things, ready to head back.
As she was packing, she suddenly noticed something unusual under her foot.
She had just kicked her foot a couple of times and had actually kicked up a piece of paper!
Su Li picked up the paper, which had been buried in the dirt, and couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter when she saw it.
On the paper, which was folded into a palm-sized square, was a round, black blob. A small arrow pointed to it with a note.
"My head."
Beneath what was supposedly Wu Sheng’s head, a line of text was written.
"Fulfilling your wish, I’ve popped up from under the ground!"
"Pfft... HAHAHA..."
Su Li couldn’t stop laughing.
In two lifetimes, Su Li had never met anyone as funny as Wu Sheng, nor had she ever laughed so heartily. She laughed so hard that tears started to form in her eyes.
After finally managing to stop laughing, Su Li unfolded the paper.
"Ta-da... Uncle Wu has arrived!"
Perhaps afraid someone else might see it, there was no salutation on the note, just a few sentences.
"If you can see this note... I have to give you a big thumbs-up."
"But I don’t think there’s a high chance you’ll see this, so to prevent myself from writing a bunch for nothing, I’ll keep it to a couple of lines."
"First: I’m gone. You can’t find me to pay me back anymore, hahaha..." freewēbnoveℓ.com
"Second: Goodbye."
It was a farewell letter from Wu Sheng.
’How can there be such a funny young man in this world...’ Su Li mused, looking at the note.
As she was musing, Su Li folded the note back up. As she did, she let out another snort of laughter.
On the other side of the note was a crude map, with the words "Treasure Map" written on it.
To the left was a line of text: "Whoever obtains this map will rule the world!"
"Pfft... a treasure map... pfft..."
Su Li laughed so hard she sat right down on the ground. "’Whoever obtains this map will rule the world’? It’s not the Dragon-Slaying Saber!"
She had truly never met someone with such a whimsical imagination.
On her way back that day, Su Li laughed the entire way.
Unfortunately, by the time she reached the Tang Family home, her laughter had turned into a cold smile.
