Feng Yiping knew what was going on in his mind. 'Renting a place to live outside is not for fun. We can cook for ourselves, so we don't have to eat pickles every meal, and we can get our nutrition up to scratch. The main thing is that if the three of us live together, we have to work hard together, help each other improve, and try to get into County No. 1 High School. If you think that living outside will give you freedom, that you can play whenever you want and watch TV whenever you want, then I might as well live on my own, rather than having my parents scold me when the time comes.'
Xiao Zhijie said with a sneer, 'That's for sure. Now is not the time to play. I want to be able to live on my own if the conditions are right and I have free time. Then my grades will definitely improve, otherwise I won't be able to explain it to anyone.'
'However, I think there may still be some trouble. Not only do I have to get past my parents, but also my teachers. The key is my parents. If they don't agree, it's useless even if the teachers agree,' Feng Yiping said.
Of the three, Feng Yiping is the youngest but currently has the best grades. At their age, what do they talk about? They talk about their grades. Good grades give their words more weight in the eyes of parents and teachers. That's why Feng Yiping was able to get his parents' consent and wasn't worried that his homeroom teacher Wang Yumin would say no. But it seems that Xiao Zhijie and Wang Changning won't have it so easy.
Family members know their own affairs, and Xiao Zhijie and Wang Changning also understand that it is not so easy to get their parents' permission to live outside the school. Wang Changning is lucky. If his parents also go to the provincial capital after the chestnuts are harvested, his request to live outside with Feng Yiping should be approved.
Xiao Zhijie is different. His parents have three daughters but only one precious son. He has been cherished since childhood, and now that both parents are at home, it seems that it will not be so easy for him to live somewhere where he is not subject to the control of teachers or parents.
'Changning, I don't think there will be any problem with you coming out to live together in the second half of the year, but Comrade Xiao, you may have some trouble.
Upon hearing Feng Yiping's words, Xiao Zhijie's face fell. 'So what do you guys think, what should I do?'
Feng Yiping and Wang Changning looked at each other, and Feng Yiping said, 'Well, I don't think there's any good solution. At least for the second half of this year, you shouldn't even think about it!'
Wang Changning saw that Xiao Zhijie was really anxious, and he didn't tease him anymore. "I don't think there's no solution.'
'Oh, then you tell me, you tell me quickly.'
'For us, what is the most convincing?" Wang Changning asked him.
'What is the most convincing? What do you mean?'
'Why was Yiping able to convince his parents? It was mainly because he was doing well at school. Now, in front of his parents and teachers, grades are the most convincing thing. If you get good grades, then everything else will be fine, don't you agree?' Wang Changning said.
'Oh, I understand, grades, right? No problem, next I will study like crazy and get my grades up, and then talk to them again.' These words successfully aroused Xiao Zhijie's fighting spirit.
Feng Yiping still gave him a word of warning, 'You still have to be prepared to not be able to come out to live for at least the second half of the year.'
'Hmph, I'll let my grades speak for themselves,' Xiao Zhijie clenched his fists.
In the evening, Feng Yiping had another opportunity to improve his diet. After hearing about the incident, his aunt and uncle asked Lin Hui to invite him to dinner.
It was still the first month of the lunar year, and there was still plenty of food available, so the dinner was of course very hearty. Knowing that Feng Yiping liked mushrooms, not only did they make mushroom soup, but they also fried some with lean meat. Feng Yiping was also very polite, devouring most of the mushrooms, plus three bowls of rice.
His uncle, who was drinking a little wine, asked him in detail about the two articles. Feng Yiping told them about them one by one, and said that he would bring the two books over to show them next week.
'You know the situation at home, so I just wanted to do something to help. I can't do anything else, so I tried writing something. I didn't expect it to be published, but it was luck.'
Auntie was moved by these words. 'Qiuping is lucky to have a child like you.'
'It's nothing, Auntie. As children, it's only right to be filial to our parents and help out at home.'
Uncle pointed at Lin Hui and Lin Rui with his chopsticks, 'Look, you should learn from Yiping. Not only do you study hard, you also try to help the family in every way you can. You should think about it too.'
Lin Hui, unusually, did not retort. Her family was well-off. As long as she could remember, she had always had better food, clothes and things to use than most people her age. She had had pocket money every week since she was in third grade, and she had never worried about money. Now that she thought about it, Feng Yiping, who was a year younger than her, really wasn't having an easy time.
Lin Rui, on the other hand, hadn't thought about it so much. His compositions were rarely praised as good by his teachers, so he felt that Feng Yiping was really amazing to be able to publish an article in a magazine.
There was another thing this week: the class officers had to be re-elected.
Everyone had already got to know each other over the past semester, so Wang Yumin decided not to appoint anyone but let the class elect their own officers.
The election was a simple affair, even a bit crude, with no campaign speeches and no votes being counted out loud.
It was during Thursday's study period at noon. After Wang Yumin had announced the news, she stood at the front of the classroom and asked, 'Does anyone want to volunteer to be a class officer?'
At this time, probably not many people wanted to be an official and serve the class. Those who did, like Feng Yiping, knew that Xiao Zhijie definitely wanted to be the monitor, and there were probably some other students like him. But overall, everyone was still innocent children, and they were a little embarrassed to volunteer to be an official. At the same time, they felt that their grades were average and they didn't have any outstanding talents. If they volunteered to be the monitor, it would just be a source of ridicule.
So although there were some private ups and downs in the classroom, on the surface it was very calm, and everyone kept quiet. Wang Yumin scanned the room and, seeing that no one was speaking, asked, 'So Tang Shaokang will be the monitor, does anyone have any objections?'
There was an immediate buzz from the floor below. Tang Shaokang, on the other hand, was reading with complete indifference, but in fact he was quite nervous. No matter how composed he was, he was still just a 13-year-old kid. If he hadn't been the monitor before, he wouldn't have cared, but if his classmates voted him down, how could he feel good about it?
At that moment, a classmate in the back row spoke up, 'I vote for Zhou Liwei.'
Zhou Liwei was the former life committee member, the tallest in the class. Although he was tall, he was very honest and unlike the other class committee members, the life committee member really had to help everyone do things, so his work last semester was recognised by some people.
Moreover, unlike Tang Shaokang from the town, who was always arrogant and self-satisfied, Zhou Liwei was also born into an authentic peasant family and had a natural affinity with most of the students in the class. He never did and would never put on airs.
After that student had spoken, other students also recommended Zhou Liwei, one after the other. Wang Yumin asked everyone, 'Do we all agree with Zhou Liwei?'
The voices of the students all chimed in, "Agreed.'
Feng Yiping glanced over and saw that Zhou Liwei was a little excited, his face turning red.
Tang Shaokang, on the other hand, couldn't even lift his head, and he also said "Agreed,' but he clutched the book in his hands even tighter, and accidentally used too much force, tearing a page out of the book.
Feng Yiping felt that if Tang Shaokang could nominate himself, then out of politeness, no one would be the first to object to the face, and everyone would acquiesce. He should still be the monitor. Or Tang Shaokang could find a classmate with whom he usually gets along well, take the lead and call out his name, and many classmates who follow the middle way will echo him, and it is estimated that he will still be the monitor.
But Wang Yumin's appointment-like statement that Tang Shaokang would remain class monitor was definitely counterproductive. Although at this time, they had not yet learned about the rights and obligations of citizens in political science class, and no one was clear about the right to vote and the right to stand for election, after all these years of studying, they had more or less developed such an awareness, and they all had a rebellious streak against such power as the class monitor's appointment.
Wang Yumin turned around and wrote Zhou Liwei's name in the class monitor column on the blackboard. Feng Yiping watched all this with a detached mind. It really was a simple and harmonious time! You have to understand that later on, even the election of the first-year primary school monitor was much more intense than this, with parents even helping to canvass votes outside the school, using every means possible.
Who knew that the next thing to come his way would be this.
After the monitor, the election of the learning committee member followed, and of course there was no self-nomination. This time, Wang Yumin did not say that Zhang Qiuling, the original learning committee member, would continue to be elected, but instead asked everyone who to elect.
As soon as she asked, a female classmate at the bottom said, 'Feng Yiping.'
Feng Yiping looked in the direction of the sound, a little amused. Huang Jingping and Wang Jinju were like two quails, hunched over their desks, heads close together, hiding their faces with their textbooks, thinking that no one would know it was them who had shouted.
You're just looking for trouble! Feng Yiping thought to himself.
Wang Yumin didn't say anything, but one after the other, other students shouted, 'Feng Yiping!'
Wang Yumin picked up the chalk and asked everyone, 'Do we all agree on Feng Yiping?'
Of course no one disagreed. How could they? Feng Yiping had the best grades. Although he wasn't very outgoing and didn't usually say much, he always smiled at every student. He was never impatient with students who came to him with questions. He was very kind, polite, considerate and thorough. He was a natural choice for class monitor.
So everyone said, 'Agreed.'
Feng Yiping actually really didn't want to be an official, but if he declined at this time, he would definitely let down the two girls. Huang Jingping and Wang Jinju took the lead in electing him, and they had also put in a lot of effort.
Besides, now everyone has elected him, and if he declines, it would be a bit of a disgrace, and he wouldn't know how to show his appreciation. Not only would it make Huang Jingping and Wang Jinju feel a bit embarrassed, it would also upset the classmates who agreed with him.
Of course, he couldn't do anything that would upset everyone. Besides, the learning committee member's job was actually just to collect and distribute homework, which wouldn't take up too much time.
So Feng Yiping stood up and bowed, 'Thank you, Mr Wang, and thank you all,' and Wang Yumin didn't hurry to write his name on the blackboard. Together with the other students, he watched Feng Yiping, who was giving his first vote of thanks speech, and then added with all seriousness, 'I will definitely become the servant of my classmates, and work tirelessly for you until the day I die.'
'Puff,' Wang Yumin on the podium led the way in laughter, and the students all laughed heartily. The original tension and slight anxiety in the classroom had dissipated a lot.
The same method was used for the following elections, and once again no one volunteered. The students all recommended each other, and then everyone voted. The elected students, following Feng Yiping's example, stood up and thanked everyone. Few people could say anything eloquent, and most just said, 'Thank you, Mr Wang, and thank you all.'
In the end, Zhang Qiuling, the former learning committee member, was elected as the literary and art committee member. A student who made a fool of himself by shouting 'spread your legs and run' during morning exercise last semester was elected as the sports committee member. Tang Shaokang was elected as the labour committee member, and Wen Hong, the former literary and art committee member, was completely defeated.
Feng Wen thought he had found an opportunity and went to comfort Wen Hong. All along, Wen Hong knew exactly what he was thinking, and at this time, she was in no mood to listen to his nagging. She snapped at him, 'None of your business!'