After the Lantern Festival, the school gates opened once again, and the spring semester was about to begin.
The children of Baijia Village were all preparing to go back to school, especially the mischievous boys of the Fang family, who had been cooped up at home for far too long and could hardly wait to get back.
Having experienced the ups and downs of life firsthand, Fang Yi had begun to form a new understanding and yearning for it. He realized that misfortune and fortune could befall anyone at any moment, and that neither wealth nor poverty was permanent. Changes, whether bringing sorrow or joy, were bound to occur, which meant one had to strive to adapt while patiently waiting.
Two things weighed heavily on Fang Yi's mind nowadays: first, that Zhang Sheng had already returned to Jiangnan, yet the true arsonist had still not been caught and brought to justice; and second, that Aunt Huizi was actually in Jiangnan as well, though her exact whereabouts remained unknown. He had no idea where Jiangnan was or what it looked like, only sensing that it was a place of distant mountains and winding roads, somewhere you could not simply visit on a whim. How wonderful it would be if he ever got the chance to go there one day! he often thought to himself.
The first day of school arrived. Because there were so many children in the Fang family, the school granted them special treatment: full tuition exemption!
Fang Yi and Qiao Xue were classmates, studying at the town's only junior high school. Meanwhile, Fang Rong, Fang Hua, Fang Fu, Fang Gui, and Fang Ju attended the village primary school.
Unlike the other children, Fang Yi and Qiao Xue dedicated all their energy to their studies once they entered school. As a result, they were renowned throughout the school as top students, earning repeated praise from the school leadership and teachers while becoming role models for their peers. Fang Yi was even frequently called upon by teachers to take the stage and lead lessons, making him a well-known little teacher in the eyes of his classmates.
Among all the teachers, the physical education teacher held the highest hopes for Fang Yi, constantly praising his exceptional athletic talent and encouraging him to pursue that path in the future, suggesting he could at least become a physical education teacher himself one day. This left Fang Yi pleasantly surprised; he had never dreamed that he could someday become a lofty teacher, so he simply assumed the teacher was joking with him and dared not take it seriously.
In the third month of spring, a gentle breeze brushed past, flowers bloomed in brilliant competition, a riot of vibrant colors filled the air, and bees and butterflies swarmed in a dance.
The junior high school campus was lined with orderly trees, awash in lush greenery and clusters of blooming flowers that released wave after wave of fragrance—truly a splendid time to sit quietly by the window and study earnestly.
That afternoon, the graduating class had a labor class. The head teacher led the students to a corner on the east side of the campus, pointed at a pitch-black, muddy pond, and announced, "Students, today we have a very important task: to dig up all the mud from this school pond and haul it ashore. This year, the school is going to transform this mud pond into a beautiful pond surrounded by green trees."
Though the students said nothing out loud, a chorus of silent groans echoed in their hearts. Who knew how many years this mud pond had been abandoned, yet now they suddenly decided to clean it up—what a wonderful chore indeed!
Even though everyone felt the work was grueling, they were students in the graduating class, which meant they had to lead by example in everything. Holding the senior position meant enduring a bit more of the senior hardship.
No sooner said than done. The male students took the lead, rolling up their sleeves, taking off their shoes and socks, grabbing their tools, and jumping straight into the stinking mud pond. Their job was to dig out the mud and throw it onto the bank, while the female students were responsible for packing the mud thrown ashore, making it broader and firmer to prepare for planting flowers and trees along the bank in the future.
Fang Yi was physically strong, so this level of labor was no hardship for him. He swung his arms and threw himself into the work, getting it done both quickly and well. From time to time, he cast a concerned glance at Qiao Xue on the bank, feeling a fresh surge of admiration as he watched her face and clothes covered in mud yet her expression remaining completely composed. Meanwhile, a few girls who couldn't stand the stench of the mud burst into tears in front of everyone, creating quite a few comical scenes.
After about an hour, the mud pond still seemed bottomless, with no end in sight, causing some of the boys to grow restless.
Fatty Liu, usually the laziest student in the class, could finally take no more. He crept over to Fang Yi's side and whispered, "Fang Yi, you've got the most strength in the whole class. How about you do my share of the work along with yours?"
Fang Yi wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied with a smile, "All right, but you know the old rule—we need an exchange. What are you going to offer this time?"
Fatty Liu rolled his sharp little eyes, a cunning scheme forming in his mind. "If you help me out, I'll go home and bring you three *sheng* of rice. Doesn't your family have a lot of kids and a shortage of food? Do we have a deal?"
After thinking it over for a moment, Fang Yi nodded in agreement. Fatty Liu happily climbed up the bank to rest.
The mud pond had been divided into eighteen small plots, with each boy occupying one. Whoever struck the yellow clay first would finish his task and go ashore to rest. With thoughts of Fatty Liu's three *sheng* of rice in mind, Fang Yi worked with even greater vigor. In less than half an hour, his plot was the first to reveal yellow clay. Slinging his shovel over his shoulder, he marched straight over to Fatty Liu's plot.
Sitting under a tree on the bank watching Fang Yi do his work, Fatty Liu felt thoroughly pleased with himself, yet his tongue remained as sharp as ever. "So willing to break your back just for three *sheng* of rice—what a cheap life you've got!"
Qiao Xue happened to be working not far from Fatty Liu and overheard his insults. She stood up to take a look, realizing immediately that Fatty Liu was mocking Fang Yi, and felt a wave of profound displeasure. Yet she knew that once again, the two of them must have struck some unspeakable bargain.
Although the spring afternoon sun was warm, it was clearly heating up the mud pond. The boys worked and wiped away their sweat, most of them already panting heavily with exhaustion. Aside from Fang Yi, who had finished ahead of time, the rest had yet to hit the yellow clay and were still struggling away in the pitch-black muck.
Just as Fang Yi was putting his back into digging out Fatty Liu's plot, his shovel suddenly struck something submerged in the mud with a crisp, metallic clink. He carefully continued digging, sensing something as hard as stone buried in the muck. At first, he assumed it was just a rock, but as he dug further, he discovered it was actually a heavy, large iron ball.
"A shot put! A shot put! Fang Yi found a shot put!" someone with sharp eyes cried out upon seeing Fang Yi pull a large iron ball from the mud, drawing other students running over to crowd around and take a look.
The school physical education class happened to be short on shot puts. Finding one was no small achievement and would surely earn Fang Yi a reward from the school. This panicked Fatty Liu, who was resting on the bank. Shouting at the top of his lungs, "That shot put is mine! Nobody touch it!" he scrambled down into the mud pond and rushed over to fight Fang Yi for the ball. Fang Yi refused to yield, clutching the shot put and dodging left and right as the two of them scrambled and stumbled through the mud, turning the place upside down in total chaos.
Upon learning of the commotion, the head teacher hurried over to restore order and barked an order for all the boys to climb ashore and line up immediately.
Yet Fatty Liu refused to back down. Unfazed, he clambered ashore, quietly picked up a broken brick, and crept up behind Fang Yi, smashing it fiercely against the back of his head before he could react. In an instant, Fang Yi was bleeding profusely as he groaned and collapsed onto the ground. The shot put slipped from his grasp and rolled back down into the mud pond. Unwilling to give up, Fatty Liu immediately jumped back into the pond to grab the ball. But tragically, his bare foot landed on a sharp piece of broken bowl hidden in the mud, and he let out a miserable shriek, crashing down into the pond with blood pouring from his foot.
The surrounding students were struck dumb with shock, entirely at a loss for what to do. Even the head teacher panicked, spinning around in frantic anxiety.
Only Qiao Xue, upon seeing Fang Yi bleeding from the head, turned pale with terror at first but quickly regained her composure. She urged several boys to quickly carry Fang Yi to the nearby hospital for emergency treatment, and she herself sprinted out of the school gates right behind them.
Only then did the head teacher snap back to reality, hurriedly calling on the other boys to haul Fatty Liu out of the mud pond and rushing him off to the hospital for treatment as well.
What should have been a simple labor class had turned into a disaster. The graduating students were all gripped by panic, terrified that the school would hold them accountable and make them pay dearly, so they threw themselves into their work with all their might and successfully completed the labor task before nightfall, presenting the large shot put to the principal in the name of the entire class.