Free Web NovelChapter 361: Chapter 361: Going to School Again
Family disputes were something even a righteous official couldn’t settle, so as outsiders, they had even less of a right to interfere. Besides, which child didn’t grow up being scolded by their parents? A few harsh words were considered normal. freewebnσvel.cѳm
In a flash, it was the end of May. The weather grew hotter by the day, and the rice in the paddies had begun to head. The villagers had a few days of leisure and didn’t need to report for work every day. However, these peaceful days wouldn’t last long. Come July and August, they would be so busy they’d be worked to the bone.
They would harvest rice in July, then rush to plant new seedlings in August. For a whole month, they wouldn’t get a single day of rest, working day and night. Any delays meant a smaller harvest in the second half of the year. With the whole village’s food supply on the line, no one dared to slack off.
Phoenix Golding was beaten so badly she couldn’t get out of bed, so naturally, she couldn’t go out to seduce men. Goldie Thorne had no choice but to obediently return to work. It looked like Phoenix Golding’s injuries would take a month or so to heal.
Phoebe Huxley, however, was starting to feel some regret. If she had known, she wouldn’t have fanned the flames that night. Far more than seeing Phoenix Golding get whipped, she had wanted to see that vixen caught in the act.
Byron Thorne, however, remained calm. ’You eat a meal one bite at a time, and you take revenge little by little. There’s no rush.’
The news of Phoenix Golding’s beating quickly spread throughout Clearspring Township. Of course, Xavier Village heard about it too. Phoebe Huxley even made a special trip back to her parents’ home to tell the story, adding her own colorful embellishments.
As the story spread, Phoenix Golding became known far and wide. It wasn’t a good kind of fame, however—she was now infamous.
No one likes a petty person who stabs others in the back. Phoenix Golding’s foolish act had completely destroyed the good reputation she had worked so hard to build. Where people once spoke of her with praise, they now spoke with contempt.
Moreover, they told their own children not to play with Ulysses Spann, not just in Millstone Peak but at school as well. Jacqueline Spann wasn’t going to school, leaving Ulysses Spann to go on his own. Isolated and helpless, he was often bullied until he hid in a corner and cried.
As fate would have it, Phoenix Golding’s substitute was none other than Melanie, the teacher who was most at odds with her. Naturally, Melanie paid Ulysses Spann no mind, just as Phoenix Golding had once ignored Tang Xiaonan. To her credit, Melanie was better in one regard: at least she didn’t actively bully the boy herself.
Tang Xiaonan and Amanda Chapman started going to school again. Since Phoenix Golding was no longer there, both Felix Thorne and Phoebe Huxley felt she shouldn’t neglect her studies. Tang Xiaonan protested, but the couple ignored her.
When it came to schooling, Felix Thorne and Phoebe Huxley were on the same page. They both hoped their four children would have promising futures. A parent’s heart is the same everywhere.
Tang Xiaonan unwillingly went to school for a few days. Melanie’s teaching was, of course, much better than Phoenix Golding’s, but Tang Xiaonan still looked down on her. ’I got into a top-tier university, for crying out loud. Melanie’s education level is definitely lower than mine.’ Her Mandarin wasn’t standard, either; she read Pinyin with a thick, local accent. It was a real ball-ache to listen to. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
After three frustrating days of classes, Tang Xiaonan was about to go insane. Her new deskmate was a sloppy boy. His clothes were grimy, and who knew how many days it had been since he’d last changed them. She could tolerate all that, but what she couldn’t tolerate was the little boy’s snot.
She didn’t know if it was rhinitis or what, but from morning till night, she could hear the boy’s SNIFFLING. Greenish-yellow snot would slowly dribble out, and just as it was about to reach his mouth, he’d give a mighty SNIFFLE and suck it back up. But a moment later, it would trickle down again, followed by another SNIFFLE, repeating the cycle over and over.
Tang Xiaonan was genuinely worried the kid would end up eating his own snot, so... she couldn’t help but keep turning her head to peek. It made her sick to her stomach, but she still couldn’t resist looking. It was just like watching a horror movie; even though she was scared to death, she just couldn’t control herself.
