NOVPUB
Chapter 620: Chapter 610 The New Semester Begins
With the arrival of March, schools had opened.
Shen Yunfang was pushing her bicycle, with Manman in the front and Pangpang in the rear, and two small backpacks placed on the handlebar.
"Manman, starting from this year, you will be going to kindergarten on your own. Get along well with the other children, and if there’s anything, tell the teacher, okay? Mommy will come pick you up in the evening," Shen Yunfang said as they reached the kindergarten. After dismounting her children from the bike, she took down the small pink pouch from the handlebar, and helped her daughter wear it. Inside were Manman’s favorite little snacks, specially prepared to help her bond with other children.
With her lips pursed, Manman seemed reluctant. She had always been with her brother, and now that they were being separated, the little girl felt a bit scared.
"Sis, don’t be afraid. If someone at the kindergarten bullies you, endure it for one day and then tell me when you get home, and I’ll deal with them," Pangpang, sitting on the rear seat, waved his little fist.
Knowing that she would have to go to the kindergarten even if she cried, Manman eventually nodded her head grievously after hearing her brother’s promise.
The kindergarten had already received some supplies such as the bedding for naptime and cups for drinking water, so now Shen Yunfang only had to hand over Manman to the kindergarten teacher.
After briefly communicating with the kindergarten teacher, she left Manman with them and rode the bike to take Pangpang to school.
The kindergarten and elementary school were not far apart, and within less than two minutes of cycling, she saw the gates of the elementary school.
After parking the bicycle, Shen Yunfang held her child’s hand and walked into the elementary school, made some inquiries, found Pangpang’s classroom for preschool, and saw him sit down and take out his pencil case before leaving.
After sending off the children, it was her turn.
About half an hour of cycling later, Shen Yunfang arrived at Agricultural University in Z Province, just in time for the first staff meeting of the semester. She got to know a few leaders of her new workplace and, through their speeches of varying lengths, got a rough idea of their personalities.
After the two-hour staff meeting ended, there were smaller departmental meetings, mainly to assign teaching tasks.
As a newcomer, Shen Yunfang obviously had no choice in the matter—she would have to accept whatever courses were assigned to her. She listened as the department head read out, "Professor Li’s such-and-such course, eighteen class hours a week; Professor Wang’s such-and-such course, sixteen class hours a week..."
She furrowed her brow, not expecting that being a teacher here involved so many teaching hours. Her name was read last.
"Teacher Shen Yunfang will teach an elective course this semester, six class hours per week."
No sooner had the department head spoken than everyone looked at Shen Yunfang, who also showed an expression of disbelief.
"Ahem, Teacher Shen, since you are newly transferred here, our students have already completed half a year of coursework, and the plan was set last year, so we cannot make major changes now. For this semester, you’ll just have to manage it, and at the start of the next school year, I’ll consider adjusting your hours based on the situation. How about that?" The department head also felt that it might seem a bit unfair to the new colleague, but at this stage, it was difficult to reduce anyone else’s teaching hours, so they would have to wait until the next semester’s planning to rebalance them.
"No need, no need, Director Liu, you are already looking after me well enough. This arrangement is quite fine," Shen Yunfang quickly said after regaining her composure.
She wasn’t shocked by the few class hours; she was astonished by her good fortune at having so few.
Shen Yunfang didn’t know that the president of Agricultural University of Z Province was a person with an open mind and daring attitude. Therefore, under his strong advocacy two years prior, a small change was made to the salary accounting for the university staff. A fixed salary for each teacher was protected, unmodifiable by anyone, but bonuses were distributed as hourly fees for class time, which greatly motivated the university teachers to teach and resulted in intense competition for more class hours every time schedules were arranged.
"Alright, we’ll leave it at that for now. We can discuss this matter privately later," Director Liu felt that some things were better left unsaid in front of so many people, so the topic was closed there.
Afterward, Director Liu mentioned the requirements for the semester and encouraged the teachers of the department before dismissing the meeting.
Shen Yunfang followed Director Liu to his office, where he explained to her in detail the salary system at Agricultural University. He then talked about the difficulties in assigning her teaching hours and hoped she would understand.
Shen Yunfang certainly understood and, in turn, shared her own difficulties with Director Liu, hoping the organization could give her some consideration. Her difficulties lay in living in the military district, as commuting to and from work was inconvenient, and she also needed to care for her two children without the help of grandparents, so too many teaching hours would be overwhelming. She hoped that in the future, Director Liu could take her family’s difficulties into account and assign her fewer classes. Of course, Shen Yunfang was not unenthusiastic, stating that her difficulties were temporary and that once her children were grown, she would be able to fully contribute to the country.
Director Liu now favored such a good comrade. He expressed understanding of the difficulties faced by military wives and emphasized that Agricultural University, as a progressive unit, must support and love the military, assuring her to take care of her family while the school would have other teachers fill in.
When Shen Yunfang left the department head’s office, her eyes were smiling, not expecting her luck to be so good. She was secretly pleased, thinking this might be another aspect of her protagonist’s halo.
Without classes on the first day, Shen Yunfang checked her watch and rode her bike home to pick up her son, Pangpang, from school.
When she arrived at the elementary school, she saw Li Hongjun in military uniform waiting at the school gates.
Li Hongjun also saw his wife and came over to take the bicycle from her hands. "Why are you back? Don’t you have classes today?"
His wife had instructed him in the morning to pick up the child at noon.
"Yes, I only have six classes a week this semester. I asked the leaders to schedule them all on Monday and Tuesday, so I’m free to pick up the children at any time other than Mondays," Shen Yunfang said with a smile.
As they were talking, the school bell rang, signaling the end of class. 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
The two adults soon saw a swarm of children rushing out of the school.
Pangpang was a little slower coming out with two new friends but immediately spotted his parents at the school gate.
"Dad, Mom, you came to pick me up!" Pangpang ran over with a smiling face.
"Yes, say goodbye to your classmates. We’re going home," Li Hongjun said as he noticed two curious children looking at them.
Then, Li Hongjun took his wife and child and headed home.
"Commander Li, leaving work already? Why so late? I saw Commander Zhang had already returned," a neighbor greeted upon seeing them downstairs.
"I went to pick up my child from school, so I’m a bit late," Li Hongjun replied.
The neighbor looked puzzled at the couple. "Isn’t the school right here in our military district? Why do you need to pick up your child?" They were utterly perplexed!
Li Hongjun and his wife gave each other a glance, having forgotten this detail.
"It’s the child’s first day of school, and since we just moved here, we were worried he wouldn’t remember where our home is, so we decided to pick him up for the first few days. Once he’s familiar with the area, we won’t need to anymore," Shen Yunfang explained with a smile.
"That makes sense. The child is unfamiliar with the area, and all our buildings do look quite similar, don’t they?"
