Shen Linghua’s sister-in-law, Meng Xia, originally planned to go to the primary school to find Lin Qiuman and threaten her a little.
But when she saw Lin Qiuman heading toward the foot of the mountain, she followed her to this deserted place.
When Lin Qiuman suddenly heard someone call “Teacher Lin,” she thought it was a villager greeting her. She turned around with a smile, only to see Meng Xia’s face—a face she could never forget.
Whether in her previous life or this one, Meng Xia had always bullied and ordered Kang Kang around while scheming against Shen Linghua.
And now she had come to find her. Did she think Lin Qiuman wanted to marry Shen Linghua and had come early to sabotage his marriage prospects?
“Who are you?” Lin Qiuman wiped the smile from her face and asked coldly. “Are you here to teach me what to do?”
Meng Xia knew Lin Qiuman was currently the village chief’s favored person, so she didn’t dare speak too harshly. But this little girl showed no respect at all and even spoke to her arrogantly.
Her temper flared immediately.
“That’s right—calling you ‘Teacher Lin’ is already giving you face. You’re just a refugee from the famine. Xiwan Village gives you food to eat, so you should behave yourself.
“You give Kang Kang a pencil and even cut his hair. You’re clearly up to no good.”
Meng Xia kept repeating “Kang Kang” and never once mentioned her own son, Shen Zhichun. She deliberately wanted Lin Qiuman to direct all her resentment toward Shen Lingkang so she could vent her anger on him.
“Shen Linghua is already twenty-three and still unmarried. Even the old village chief is worried about it. As his sister-in-law, what exactly are you trying to do? Do you want Shen Linghua to remain a bachelor his whole life?”
Lin Qiuman looked coldly at the hypocritical Meng Xia before her. She didn’t even bother pretending to be polite.
In the countryside, engagements were usually arranged around eighteen, and weddings happened in the early twenties.
Someone like Shen Linghua, who was already twenty-three and had never even been engaged, was considered an older unmarried youth.
If he delayed another couple of years, he might not even be able to marry a young unmarried girl.
Some people would rather stay single than settle, and eventually remain bachelors even into their forties.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Of course I want my brother-in-law to get married soon. But a refugee woman like you is completely unworthy of him.”
Meng Xia, having had her thoughts exposed, shouted guiltily, “Just give up on that idea. Our Shen family will never accept someone like you as a daughter-in-law.”
“Oh really? What if I say I refuse to marry anyone but Shen Linghua?” Lin Qiuman curled her lips and looked at Meng Xia with a provocative expression.
“You’re shameless!” Meng Xia was furious at Lin Qiuman’s audacity. Normally, whenever girls in the village showed interest in Shen Linghua, they would back off as soon as she intervened.
She hadn’t expected Lin Qiuman, a refugee girl, to actually have come here with a purpose.
Could it be she knew Shen Linghua earned a good income?
…
“Who cut your hair?”
Shen Linghua walked into the house covered in grease and saw a familiar yet unfamiliar figure from behind. Only when he stepped in front did he realize that the energetic young man was actually Shen Lingkang.
“Teacher Lin.” When Shen Lingkang mentioned those three words, he couldn’t help smiling.
Just now, when Shen Zhichun saw his new hairstyle, he surprisingly didn’t grab and tear at his hair like usual. Teacher Lin’s words really worked. Shen Zhichun wanted to be a “model student” now and wouldn’t bully him anymore.
“Teacher Lin again? She gives you pencils and cuts your hair…”
Shen Linghua frowned thoughtfully. That little girl wasn’t simple.
Her approach was fast, precise, and ruthless—she went straight to Kang Kang. Was she trying to bypass him and become Kang Kang’s sister-in-law first?
“You guys eat first. I’ll go take a look.”
Thinking of those tear-filled eyes like pear blossoms in the rain, Shen Linghua suddenly felt an itch in his heart.
He didn’t even know what he intended to do by going to see her—he simply went.
When he arrived at the primary school entrance and saw the tightly closed door, his first instinct was to head toward the foot of the mountain.
After all, the girl had just arrived. She didn’t even have proper cooking utensils, let alone enough food.
But as soon as he reached the mountain’s base, he heard her sweet voice declaring her determination with complete conviction.
His ears instantly grew hot. He turned and ran away quickly, afraid Lin Qiuman might see him.
What kind of outrageous things was that girl saying?
Her intentions toward him were far too obvious.
If he actually married her, wouldn’t she turn the household upside down?
Refuse to marry anyone but Shen Linghua.
Those words kept echoing in his mind, scratching at his heart.
…
After Meng Xia stormed away in embarrassment and anger, Lin Qiuman hummed a tune while collecting saltpeter by the stream. If she wanted all the students to eat ice treats, relying solely on saltpeter wouldn’t be enough.
Time was limited, so she entered her space and added some sugar to bottled water. Then she took a few ice molds from the shelves and filled them.
She didn’t dare set the freezer temperature too low. If they started freezing now, by the time the students brought their wooden sticks, the contents would have turned into icy slush.
At that moment, they could insert the sticks, and it wouldn’t take long for them to freeze solid.
Originally she wanted to dig up some soil from the mountain and renovate the seventh and eighth floors a little. But the past few days had been too exhausting.
To preserve her life, she decided to go back and take a short nap.
Classes began at three in the afternoon. She woke up at two-thirty to prepare her lessons. Hearing the noisy chatter outside, she walked out and saw several parents carrying small stools and leading their children over.
“Teacher Lin, we’ve brought you some students.”
Several women pushed their children forward with smiles and explained, “These few are the same age—ten years old. They only attended school for two days before and have been playing at home ever since. Is it too late for them to start school now?”
“It’s fine. Being a little older means they’ll learn faster. Study hard and try to skip grades so you can join classes with others your age,” Lin Qiuman said with a smile to her three new students. “Go to the self-study room over there and find a seat.”
“Teacher Lin, we’ll be relying on you from now on.”
“It’s my responsibility.” Lin Qiuman smiled. “They’ve been playing at home all this time—what suddenly made them want to come to school?”
“Well… to be honest,” one of the women said with an embarrassed laugh, “they heard that Teacher Lin would be making ice treats this afternoon, so they insisted on coming to school.”
The women shook their heads helplessly.
“Teacher Lin, we all want them to study for at least a few years, but we just couldn’t get them into school. Your words seem to work—please help persuade them and make sure they stick with it.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll try my best to make them like school.”
In her previous life, Lin Qiuman had spent her days in confusion and regret. In this life, she wanted to compensate the Shen brothers and also find her own value.
She loved teaching and wanted to shine along this path.
Having been reborn from the future, she understood even more clearly how important education was. Children in this era who didn’t study or learn to read would grow up and, like her in her previous life, spend their entire lives doing manual labor and eventually end up working as cleaners…
After class started that afternoon, Lin Qiuman held a small welcome ceremony for the three new students.
Seeing the shy yet delighted smiles on their faces, she was certain that—even if there were no ice treats tomorrow—they would still come to school just to feel that sense of belonging.
“Students,” she said with a smile, “the moment to witness a miracle has arrived.”