It's 6am, the sun hasn't yet risen, and the heat from yesterday has completely subsided. This is the coolest time of the day in the middle of summer. The insects outside the window, which have been chirping all night, are probably taking a break, because they aren't making any noise. There's less talking in your sleep and teeth grinding, and even the loud snoring can be ignored at this time... Anyway, this is the time when Feng Yiping sleeps the most soundly.
But good times never last, and the sweetest dreams come to an abrupt end with the ringing of the school bell three times.
There was noise all around, as his classmates urged him to get up, fold his quilt, and then carry the washbasin, which contained a towel, toothpaste and toothbrush, to the water fountain outside the canteen to wash up and use the toilet.
Feng Yiping really wanted to stay in bed, but he thought that since it was the first day, he should not give his classmates, especially those in the same bed, a bad impression. So, with a strong will, he and Xiao Zhijie tidied the bed together and then walked dazedly to the canteen.
There was only one sink and a dozen taps. He squeezed in, filled a basin with water, and walked to the pond to brush his teeth and wash his face.
Over at the pond, in the third-year classroom, some students were blowing out candles and coming out to wash up. This was also a tradition. In third year, after evening study, some students would stay in the classroom to study, and get up early in the morning to study again.
The school does not encourage this behaviour, so the classroom is not lit and the students have to light candles. However, the school does not oppose it either. No matter how late you sleep or how early you get up, no teacher will ever make you leave the classroom.
At a little after 6:00, the students arrived in groups on the playground. The three first grade classes were the most enthusiastic, almost all of them present. The three class teachers stood at the front of the queue and counted them off, all of them satisfied. The two third grade classes were also good, but the two second grade classes were the slowest.
The assembly was at 6:15. The headmaster and a group of leaders stood on the stage, while the teacher on duty led a few student council members to count the number of people present in each class.
At that time, the head of the teaching department came down from the dormitory, followed by four students with their heads down. He didn't bring them here either, but just told the four lucky-minded guys to stand in a row by the playground, then put one hand on his waist, pointed his finger at the big group over here, and walked back and forth while giving a speech.
After the headcount, the leader didn't say a word. Everyone knew that if he spoke any more, it would take time, and there would be more cars and pedestrians on the road, making it inconvenient to run.
Starting with the third grade on the far right, each class followed in turn, turned right and ran along the road to the south, kicking and tapping their way out of the school gates.
The class teachers were stationed next to their classes, and a teacher from the PE department, whistling, ran back and forth. In no time, the sound of the students' footsteps gradually unified.
The group did not run fast. After running for more than two miles, there was a turn, next to which was a small village. They turned back at the entrance of the village and ran back to school. The whole journey was about 3 kilometres. There were still a few girls who fell behind the group. They were protected by the PE teacher and slowly ran behind.
After running back to school, they gathered again. The headmaster gave a speech, which was nothing more than welcoming the new students and encouraging everyone to cherish time and study hard. Afterwards, the director of teaching praised most of the students and criticized the four who were standing in punishment.
After the assembly, there were a few minutes to spare before morning study began at 7 o'clock.
Morning study ended at 7:45, and breakfast was served at 8 o'clock. Classes started at 8:10. There were four lessons in the morning, with a ten-minute break between each. During the break between the second and third lessons, the students gathered on the playground again to practise the seventh set of radio exercises under the guidance of the PE teacher.
After lunch, there is a nap from 12:00 to 13:30, followed by four more classes until 17:30. Dinner is served at 18:15, and then there are two one-hour study sessions with a 15-minute break in between. Lights out is at 20:30, and bedtime is at 21:30.
The days are repetitive and monotonous.
Later, when he was unhappy, at a low ebb, and suffering setbacks, Feng Yiping also lost heart. More than once, he thought, 'If only I were still at school, how good it would be! I would just have to study hard and not worry about all those complicated people and things that give me a headache.'
But when he did go back to the past, to school, and sat down at his desk to study, he once again thought about how good it was to be in society. Yes, there are all kinds of pressures when you enter society, but at least, at least, you can sleep in!
It's always the same.
When we were young, we envied our older siblings when we saw them carrying their school bags to school. When we went to school, we envied the older students who lived in the dorms and didn't have to commute between home and school every day. But when we got to the older grades and also lived in the dorms, we envied our older siblings who had started working. After we started working, we envied those who had started a family. After we had a family...
In the end, when you have become the object of your own envy step by step, you will often long for the old days.
If I were still a child, playing with mud with my friends all day long, how simple and happy it would be; if I were still at school, just studying hard every day, how simple and happy it would be; if I were still single, how carefree and happy it would be; if I were still...!
Most people are like this.
When we are at home, we long for the excitement of being somewhere else; when we are somewhere else, we long for the warmth of home. When we were young, we just wanted to grow up quickly, but when we grew up, we longed for the innocence of our youth.
His head ached a little, so Feng Yiping rubbed his temples. It was nap time, and although he said he wasn't sleepy, the truth was that he couldn't stand the symphony going on in the dormitory, let alone fall asleep to it for just an hour and a half.
A few other classmates were also staying in the classroom, including Huang Jingping, who was next door, reading Chinese. Feng Yiping compared the new textbook he had received from Wen Hong with the old textbook he had borrowed from Feng Haitao, and found that there had been few changes. After a brief overview, he felt that the difficulty level of the courses was not high.
There were now nine subjects in total: Chinese, mathematics, English, physics, chemistry, politics, history, geography and botany.
Feng Yiping's grades were good, especially in the arts, which had always been quite good. He rarely scored below 90 in Chinese, English or ideological and moral education, especially in the latter subject, where the answers to multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions were fixed. For the larger questions at the back, he could get full marks just by stating the main points, so he often got more than 95%.
As for history, geography and botany, these three subjects are still required in the first year, and in the second year they are taken as optional courses. Of course, these three subjects also rely mainly on rote learning, and for him with a good memory, it is no problem.
He has always been good at physics. In junior high school, he represented the school in the Physics Olympiad every year. Not only was he proficient in the knowledge in the books, but he could also come up with some very in-depth questions to test his classmates, which was very much appreciated by the subject teacher. Unfortunately, during the middle school entrance exam, for some reason, he made an unforgivable mistake. On the last day, the final exam had a 15-point question, but he missed it and didn't do it, resulting in a final score of less than 80 points, which was unexpected by everyone.
On the contrary, chemistry, which most people think is easier than physics, was just so-so for him. Strictly speaking, it was not good, it could only be considered bad. Of course, he could not fail, but the number of times he scored above 80 points was limited. At that time, Wang Yumin helped him analyse the situation several times and look for the reasons. You have such a good memory, there is no reason why you can't do well in chemistry. When I was at school, I thought chemistry was the easiest subject. You just have to remember the formulae and then, after a change, the total amount of elements on the left and right sides is equal, so you just have to balance them out. How come you can't do well in it? He couldn't give a reason for this either. Maybe it's just something he's naturally not good at!
What really held him back was mathematics. In the first grade, he was okay at maths, in the second grade, he was also okay, but in the third grade, he really struggled, especially with geometry. The year of the middle school entrance exam, the maths questions were some of the hardest ever, and there were a few people in the whole county who passed.
But now, the mathematics in the first year of junior high school, these simple algebra and equations, are considered simple for him.
He even feels that if he doesn't consider the midterm exams each semester, he can do whatever he wants in class. During the month before the end of the semester, he can study by himself and review his classmates' notes, and his grades shouldn't be worse than before. He even wonders if he could consider skipping directly to the third year.
However, not only would such a move definitely attract attention, it would also save two years and some tuition fees, but he wasn't really sure he could get into the county high school. Besides, if he did that, he would be separated from Xiao Zhijie and Wang Changning, and they might not have the same good relationship as before, and he wouldn't have two rare confidantes and brothers. It seemed that the disadvantages would outweigh the advantages.
The curriculum for the first year is very intensive and fast-paced. It has always been the practice at their school that by the end of the second year, all the courses for the three years of junior high school will be completed, and the entire third year will be used for comprehensive review. The teachers have to catch up, so each class has a lot of content, so most students are under a lot of pressure. This is especially true for the science subjects, which are progressive. If you don't learn well in one class, the next class will be even more difficult, and it is not easy to keep up with the teacher's pace.