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Chapter 553: 543
The next day, Shen Yunfang had the first two periods, and after sending her child to the nursery, she headed to the school.
"Xiaoshen, you really have good fortune. Relatives from your hometown are here, and you don’t even have to fuss about it—the school has sorted it all out for you," Teacher Yu couldn’t hold back her desire to needle Shen Yunfang when she saw her early in the morning.
Shen Yunfang frowned, both at Teacher Yu’s attitude and the issue she mentioned.
"Oh, right, you weren’t here yesterday afternoon, so you probably don’t know. Let me tell you, your mother-in-law, whom you’ve been ignoring, was taken under the wing by a few female students from our school," and then Teacher Yu started to ramble on about what had happened the previous afternoon.
In reality, it wasn’t anything significant. It was just those few girls who had stopped her yesterday at noon; they spontaneously organized a donation drive in the afternoon with the title "Donations for an Elderly Widow Without Support."
At the time, those girls made an appeal before the afternoon class at the entrance of the teaching building. Certainly, many people gathered around to watch, but most people had a rough idea of who these girls were referring to, and regarding the matter they mentioned, most people were pretty clear-headed. Everyone spectated for fun and dispersed when the bell rang for class.
The few girls made a fuss for the whole afternoon and barely collected any money; someone even gave them a few meal tickets. The girls counted them up, amounting to a little more than one yuan.
Xiaoqin wasn’t deterred by the lack of funds nor disheartened. She didn’t attend class but went from classroom to classroom with the donation box, not caring whether there was a class in session or not. Initially, they actually did receive some donations; with the donation box pushed under their noses, many students felt embarrassed and reluctantly contributed five or ten cents.
"I was really startled by these girls during my class yesterday afternoon, but thinking that they meant well, I, as a teacher, had to support them. So, I also donated a yuan," Teacher Yu naturally wanted to publicize her good deed for everyone to know; otherwise, wouldn’t her yuan have been donated in vain?
Shen Yunfang gave her a look and actually praised her, "Teacher Yu, you really are wealthy, giving money away to even strangers you don’t know. Such a noble character is indeed admirable."
"Heh, Xiaoshen, you must be joking. There are so many beggars on the streets; I can’t feel pity for them all. I gave because those people are related to you," Teacher Yu had given the money and wanted to make the most of this act of kindness. Even though she looked down on Shen Yunfang, she wanted to both reproach her and remind her of her own generosity.
"Yo, Teacher Yu, you shouldn’t say that. I’ve already made it clear that those people are not related to me. They’re four able-bodied adults; if they had the money to come to the Capital, they would find a way to return home. But I suppose they didn’t expect you all to be so enthusiastic, allowing them to have a free trip to the Capital. If they have any conscience, they will surely write you a thank-you letter once they get back," Shen Yunfang said sincerely, as those who voluntarily gave away money to others truly deserved admiration.
Listening to this, Teacher Yu’s expression turned sour, as regret started to surface in her heart. Maybe giving that one yuan was a bit impulsive—after all, if Shen Yunfang didn’t care about those people, why should she get involved? Now thinking it over, those individuals, from their clothes to their demeanor, might look destitute, but none seemed like beggars. Just as Shen Yunfang said, if they had the money to come to the Capital, how could they lack funds for food or to return home? It was obviously an act, and she had believed it so readily; she began to mourn the loss of her yuan.
But the money was already given, and under the current circumstances, she could only put on a brave face.
"Heh, there’s no need for that. I just thought that when someone is in trouble, if you can lend a hand, you should. It wasn’t a lot of money; I’ll just think of it as a good deed," Teacher Yu’s smile was somewhat strained.
Shen Yunfang gave Teacher Yu a thumbs-up, "That’s truly benevolent of you, Teacher Yu. I wouldn’t want to delay your good deeds any longer. It’s time for class, I should be going." After speaking, she picked up her bag and books and followed behind Teacher Cai as she left.
By the time she got to the lab building, she noted the entrance and saw no sign of the situation Teacher Yu had mentioned.
"Those nonsensical girls, they were scolded away by me yesterday afternoon," Teacher Cai said, as if seeing Shen Yunfang’s action, casually throwing out the statement.
Turned out, yesterday, those few female students had gone into various classrooms to fundraise. In the beginning, neither teachers nor students, out of respect for the pretense they held, had the heart to call them out, allowing them to roam freely through several classrooms. They actually did collect some donations. However, once they were spotted by Teacher Cai, she flew into a rage and drove the girls out, berating them for not focusing on their studies during precious times, engaging in crooked paths, letting down the expectations of their parents, the school’s efforts, and the country’s cultivation.
Those girls, with thin skins, were scolded away by Teacher Cai, making the fundraising event start big but fizzle out. Up to now, those girls hadn’t dared show up within the vicinity of the lab building again.
"Teacher Cai, you’re so awesome," Shen Yunfang praised Teacher Cai.
"Hmph, no need for your flattery; I just can’t stand seeing students not doing the right things," Teacher Cai, somewhat flattered by her student’s admiration, said with a bit of haughtiness. "That includes you. Don’t let yourself be fooled by those with ulterior motives. Just stay true to your original intentions and do what you should do."
Shen Yunfang was touched—this must be the first person in the school to express support for her.
During the break, Shen Yunfang heard more about those people from other students.
It turned out they had been staying in the student dormitories for the past two days, arranged by Vice Principal Tao, living together with the dorm supervisors.
There were two bunk beds in the dorm supervisor’s room—one for the supervisor on duty, and the remaining spots were just enough for Qiu Shuping and the other two girls.
Li Hongqi, being a man, had gone to live in the male dormitory supervisor’s room.
As for meals, the first day was arranged by Vice Principal Tao. After failing to get a meal ticket from Shen Yunfang yesterday morning, he had no choice but to lead them back to his office again. But he was firmly against letting these people go to the cafeteria for free meals. He couldn’t possibly pay out of his own pocket to support them.
It’s said that it’s easy to invite a deity but difficult to send one away. Now that he wanted to wash his hands off them, could Qiu Shuping and Li Hongqi allow it? Therefore, after Qiu Shuping’s crying, causing scenes, and threatening to hang herself, Vice Principal Tao shamelessly fled, peeing his pants, and didn’t dare to return to his office until after work. His idea was that if he couldn’t provoke them, he could at least avoid them.
If you don’t have food, in the end, you’d definitely flee from hunger.
Yet, before the evening came, those few were taken under the wing of some other female students. Vice Principal Tao wiped the cold sweat from his brow in hiding, thinking the situation would go bad in his hands. He was overjoyed to have others take over and would have sent them off with both arms and legs waving goodbye.
As for those girls, by the afternoon, they had collected a total of three yuan and fifty cents in donations, and seven yuan, six jiao, and three fen in meal tickets. Although the young ladies were scolded, they felt happy to be able to help others. After tidying up the money and meal tickets, they handed them all to Li Hongqi, received a barrage of compliments, and strode off with their heads high.
