Chapter 68: Chapter 68: A chaotic final exam
We had a good lunch and a good dinner, and there was even more food than rice in the bowls of the three of us. There was no way around it: with all the fresh food delivered to the school, you couldn't possibly expect it to last overnight in this weather.
It was probably going to go bad by the time the lights went out in the evening. It wasn't just the three of them; a lot of students were in the same boat. They hadn't gone home yesterday, and they had an exam in a few days. The food delivered to the school, apart from the pickled vegetables, would definitely include a good meal, which was a rare perk before an exam.
So tonight, the situation in the cafeteria is reversed: there are a lot of leftovers and not enough rice. The three chefs are worried about the big pot of food, which will go bad if they don't use it. It seems that the only option is to feed it to the two pigs on campus.
In the last week of the semester, the heavy rain shows no sign of stopping. Fortunately, the exams start on Wednesday, so they can just hang on for a few more days.
On Tuesday morning, the headmaster received the bad news he least wanted to hear: a two to three metre long crack had appeared in the gable of the dormitory where the boys in Grade 1 Class 1 and 2 lived.
The leaders went to see it with grave concern. The big, winding crack looked like an ugly scar on the wall, and it made the leaders' faces as dark as the sky.
The headmaster tried it. At the widest point, his hand could fit in completely.
Without even opening his umbrella, he crossed his arms and looked up at the long crack, letting the rainwater spread wantonly on his face, his cheeks bulging like a toad's.
No one wanted to be the first to go up there and jinx the place, so the two vice-principals huddled together at the back, discussing something in earnest. The teacher who had come with them, Wang Yumin, and the homeroom teacher of Class 2 entered the dormitory, and the other homeroom teachers also went to check on the situation in their own classrooms.
In the end, the director of teaching went up there and used his own umbrella to shield the principal from the rain.
The principal seemed not to have noticed any of this, and remained in that position for a few more minutes, before picking up his own umbrella from the ground and returning to the courtyard without saying a word.
After a while, everyone returned, gathered at the principal's house, none of them looking well.
The principal sat sulking in a chair, smoking fiercely, and when he saw everyone come in, he still didn't say a word.
Although when parents drop their children off at school, they all tell the teachers, 'You can hit and scold as much as you like,' if something really does happen to their child at school, then from the school to the leaders to the teachers, in the local dialect, they absolutely 'cannot get away with it!'
Moreover, it can be imagined that even if parents use extreme measures, they will be supported by public opinion. Whether it's smashing the school or beating the teacher, you can only hold your nose and accept it.
Everyone agrees that it should be these few days, when the floodwaters in the ditch washed away too much sediment, causing the foundation to sink and tear such a large opening in the wall.
So far, only this one has been found, but it is not impossible that more will be found. Moreover, the dormitories are all connected, with two adjacent rooms sharing a wall. If one room has an accident, there is a fear of a chain reaction and accidents in every room.
Wang Yumin, the direct party concerned, is young and female. Without waiting for the homeroom teacher of the second class to speak, she spoke first, her voice a little shrill, 'The dormitory is definitely uninhabitable, and we can't take a vacation. What are we going to do?'
'Move to the classroom,' the principal said in a deep voice.
After waiting for a while, and seeing that he was again buried in his cigarette, Vice-Principal Zhang had to continue, 'All the boys will be arranged to live in the classrooms for the next two days, and they will use the desks as beds and hold out for a few nights. The girls' dormitory on the other side seems to be fine for now, so we won't touch it. The three of us,' he pointed to the other vice-principal and the head of teaching, 'will also take shifts at night. The teachers originally assigned to be on duty will take one out and be responsible for watching each classroom, and we will focus on the dormitories.'
The other vice-principal also said, 'Okay, while we still have the chance, tell them to unload the luggage first.'
When there were only the three vice-principals left, the principal suddenly stood up, slammed the ashtray onto the ground, cursed, and said, 'The town's middle school has built a new dormitory building this year. We, on the other hand, have a dilapidated school, and they say there's no need to repair it, not a penny will be allocated. What the fuck!
The two vice-principals comforted him, 'It's true that the finances are not good, but the salaries have basically been paid regularly in the past year or two, unlike before when they were delayed for half a year.
Vice-principal Zhang said, 'In my opinion, after the summer vacation in a few days, we still have to go and do something. At least we need to get some money to repair all the ditches with cement and reinforce the foundation a bit. I hope this will last for a few more years!'
The three leaders smoked with worried expressions on their faces when the head of the teaching department received another phone call that added to his worries. Because of the heavy rain, many roads had been washed away and several bridges had been flooded. The bus from the county with the exam papers was stuck on the way and couldn't get through. It had to turn back to the county, so the earliest the exam papers could be delivered to the school was tomorrow.
That meant the exams would have to be postponed by at least a day. Now the two vice-principals cursed too!
The students were used to bad news coming one after the other. Led by their stern teachers, they went to the dormitory to move their luggage. Some people thought that the teachers were making a big deal out of nothing, as it was only a small crack.
Many students were actually quite happy to hear that the exam had been postponed by one day. Feng Wen even said, 'If the exam papers can't be delivered, or if the car overturns on the way, does that mean we don't have to take the exam?'
Feng Yiping and Wen Hong gave him a big dirty look at the same time.
After the evening study session, the boys put their desks together to form several large dormitories, on which they put quilts. Many students rolled around on them, rolling from one end to the other.
However, this happiness did not last long. The classroom could not hang mosquito nets, so after going to sleep, everyone was swatting mosquitoes. However, there were just too many mosquitoes, and they were fearless, coming in droves. Everyone was annoyed.
Xiao Zhijie hid under the covers, but after a while he sat up and yelled, 'Damn, this damn mosquito is biting me through the covers.'
Everyone laughed at his misfortune. Xiao Zhijie asked Feng Yiping, 'How did the mosquito find me in such a dark night?'
His son had asked him this question before, so Feng Yiping took the opportunity to show off, 'Our breathing gives off heat, as does our skin. This radiant heat is actually a type of infrared light that is invisible to the naked eye, but it has a significant thermal effect. Many animals can detect this infrared light, and the mosquito's antennae are its infrared detectors, so it can sting you. Because you are relatively fat, you radiate more heat, so you are more popular with mosquitoes.'
After hearing this, many thin people said, 'So, it's better to be skinny like us!'
It was almost eleven o'clock, and many students were still unable to sleep because of the mosquitoes. Someone said, 'Why don't we go back to the dormitory and sleep? I don't think anything will happen.'
Class monitor Zhou Liwei of course refused, and Feng Yiping told him to go find the duty teacher. Zhou Liwei went out for a while, begged for a box of mosquito incense, and then closed the doors and windows tightly. He lit six pieces in the classroom.
Not only were the mosquitoes repelled, but the people in the classroom were also overcome by the smoke. Coupled with the fact that the mosquitoes in the classroom may have had enough blood to feed on, there was no longer any annoying buzzing sound in their ears, and the remaining few were finally able to fall asleep.
Early the next morning, Feng Yiping woke up, awakened by the mosquitoes. The mosquito coils had burned up, and the mosquitoes were back in action. He swatted one, killing it on his arm. It was covered in blood, and he wondered if the mosquito had been unable to fly because it was full of blood.
By noon, Feng Wen's dream had been shattered. A small truck pulled into the school, with people sitting in the cab and the cargo bed. It belonged to the town's education team, and it had come with the test papers.
The person sitting in the cab seemed to be a leader. After getting out of the car, he told everyone to seal the test papers and store them. The headmaster then led him in the direction of the dormitory, where he was sure to air his grievances.
At lunchtime, the smell from the small cafeteria made everyone's mouth water. The tables were set up in the cafeteria, and when a teacher opened the door, Feng Yiping saw the food on the table: fish, meat, and chicken!
On Thursday morning, the day the exams started, the rain miraculously stopped. After the first exam in Chinese, the sun came out, scorching the earth. The day, which had been relatively cool, suddenly became stuffy and hot.
After three days of intense and hectic activity, the exams were finally over. Many people did well in the exams, thinking that the questions were not too difficult. Others were dejected, knowing that they had not done well.
Over the past two days, the water in the river has receded at a rate visible to the naked eye. Fortunately, the situation in the dormitory has not deteriorated. The forecast says that the weather will continue to be sunny in the future, and the teachers' hearts are finally put at ease.
By Saturday afternoon, after the last exam was finished, the homeroom teacher announced that the school was closed, and there was an immediate outpouring of applause in the classroom. After the students left the school happily, the teachers finally relaxed and were finally free from their daily fears!