Ensuring his younger sister wasn’t angry with her, Jiang Sijie felt a weight lift off his chest.
Even so, he remained deeply worried about how she would fare coming here: would she struggle to adapt to the surrounding environment? Would she find the food and living conditions hard to get used to? Would anyone bully her?
As Jiang Sijie voiced his worries, Jiang Tang looked at the brother who cared for her so deeply, her tears almost spilling over.
“Brother, I’m fine. Everyone here is very nice, and no one is going to bully me. Besides, I can take good care of myself, so you don’t need to worry about me.”
Hearing his sister say this didn’t entirely set Jiang Sijie’s mind at ease, so he instructed her once more to come find him if she ever ran into a problem she couldn’t solve on her own, rather than trying to shoulder everything by herself.
As for the items Jiang Sijie had carried over for her, Jiang Tang didn’t need most of them right now, so she left them with him for the time being, planning to use them after they moved into the family quarters following her wedding.
That evening, however, Jiang Sijie still delivered a large batch of supplies to Jiang Tang: a thermos flask, an aluminum lunch box, an enamel water cup, an enamel washbasin, a military canteen, Lao Dong laundry soap, Seagull shampoo, Baiyu toothpaste…
And even before Jiang Sijie arrived with those items, Xiao Xun had already sent over white sugar, brown sugar, White Rabbit creamy candies, egg cakes, malted milk extract, canned fruit, along with a thick stack of grain coupons, oil coupons, cloth coupons, meat coupons, sugar coupons, and industrial coupons.
The educated youth dormitory was nearly filled to capacity with all of Jiang Tang’s belongings.
Taking advantage of the time spent organizing her things, Jiang Tang tucked all the small, inconspicuous cash and ration coupons away into her spatial dimension, leaving only the items meant for public view out in the open.
While she trusted the people at the educated youth post, it never hurt to take precautions. Plus, keeping her money and coupons on hand would make them much easier to use when needed.
Looking at Jiang Tang’s mountain of belongings, Chang Hong said with a face full of envy, “Comrade Jiang Tang, your brother and your fiancé are both so good to you.”
Generously, Jiang Tang shared her egg cakes with the other female educated youth.
Since they were already getting along harmoniously, partaking in Jiang Tang’s shared treats only made their impression of her even better.
One after another, they chimed in: “If you ever need any help, just say the word.”
Pulling Jiang Tang aside with a hint of bashfulness, Chang Hong asked, “Does your brother have a partner? If not, what do you think of me?”
Before Jiang Tang could even reply, the other female educated youth joined in the teasing chorus.
“That’s right, does he have a partner?”
“He doesn’t look very old, so he probably doesn’t have one yet, right?”
With a smile, Jiang Tang shook her head: “Not yet.”
“What kind of female comrade does your brother like?”
Caught off guard by the question, Jiang Tang realized she genuinely had no idea.
In her past life, her brother had been framed and killed before he ever had the chance to date anyone, so how could she possibly know what kind of woman he preferred?
“The next time I see my brother, I’ll ask him.”
Amidst the cheerful laughter of the group, time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the next day arrived.
The newly arrived educated youth headed to the dependents’ school, where the principal and school leadership evaluated them and assigned them suitable positions.
Zheng Jiahe became a music teacher, while Chang Hong was assigned as an art teacher.
Having achieved strong grades across all subjects in high school, Jiang Tang felt confident that she could teach practically anything.
Upon discovering that Jiang Tang knew English, the director of the academic affairs office clapped her hands in pleasant surprise: “Comrade Jiang Tang, you probably don’t know this, but we don’t have a single teacher here who can teach English, and the children haven’t been exposed to it at all. Since you know English, how about teaching English?”
Naturally, Jiang Tang had no reason to refuse. Whatever they asked her to teach, she would take it on and give it her utmost effort.
The dependents’ school included both primary and middle school divisions. Jiang Tang was scheduled to teach one English class per week to the fifth-grade primary students, and two classes per week to the middle school students.
Fearing that the children might show resistance since they had never been exposed to English before, the academic affairs director privately pulled Jiang Tang aside to offer some words of caution, advising her to be patient and to come straight to her if she ran into any difficulties.
Noticing the look of amusement in Zheng Jiahe’s eyes—as if waiting for her to make a fool of herself—Jiang Tang simply let it slide without taking it to heart.
At this point, Jiang Tang felt brimming with confidence toward everything ahead and believed in her ability to do a stellar job.
Teaching English? Even though she had never done it before, as long as she put her heart into it, she could handle it.
The school published the teaching schedules for the new instructors and provided them with preparation time.
Jiang Tang’s very first class was for the third-year middle school students.
At fourteen or fifteen years of age, they were neither fully grown nor toddlers anymore, and they had all developed independent viewpoints of their own.
Stepping into the classroom wearing a red plaid shirt, Jiang Tang could instantly sense the bright, curious gazes fixed upon her by the students inside.
Upon hearing her introduce herself as the English teacher, well over half of the students instantly slumped in disappointment.
Jiang Tang could even read a clear expression of “what a waste” in their eyes.
The classroom atmosphere turned out much more lively than Jiang Tang had anticipated. Before she could even prompt further discussion, a student raised their hand and asked, “Teacher, what’s the use of learning the language of imperialists?”
Jiang Tang answered, “That’s a fantastic question from this classmate. I’m sure quite a few of you share the same thought, believing that learning English is useless. Today, I’m going to show everyone what learning English is actually good for.”
In the short term, it was for examinations.
Jiang Tang knew that, according to the trajectory of the book, the college entrance examination would be restored in two years. If these students went on to high school, they would eventually have to sit for the exams.
Since English was a mandatory tested subject on the exam, it would prove invaluable to them.
In the long run, it allowed one to read and understand imperialist literature and data; mastering it would grant a much better understanding of the wider world outside.
Hearing Jiang Tang’s explanation, many of the students felt genuinely encouraged.
Someone raised their hand to speak: “My dad said learning English is crucial. Right now, many scientific research units need people who understand English, otherwise they can’t make sense of those foreign documents. It’s just a pity the school didn’t have any English teachers before, so I never had the chance to learn.”
Seeing that the students harbored no deep-seated aversion to English after hearing her brief remarks, Jiang Tang began teaching them right away.
Starting with the alphabet, she taught them a self-composed alphabet song during her very first lesson.
With a clear, melodious voice, Jiang Tang captivated the students, quickly drawing them in with her catchy alphabet song.
Before they had even mastered all the individual letters, they had already memorized the entire song.
For a time, both the school grounds and the family quarters at the military post echoed with the alphabet song taught by Jiang Tang.
Zheng Jiahe had originally waited around to watch Jiang Tang make a fool of herself, only to find Jiang Tang winning the students’ profound respect instead. Even during her own music classes, the students kept humming Jiang Tang’s alphabet song.
Yet there was nothing Zheng Jiahe could do about it, leaving her with no choice but to swallow her anger.
As Zheng Jiahe fumed in frustration, she spotted Lin Xue at the school to pick up her child, chatting and laughing merrily with Jiang Tang.
Now aware of Lin Xue’s background, Zheng Jiahe still harbored contempt for her deep down, but she no longer dared to openly find fault with Lin Xue like she used to.
Even so, in Zheng Jiahe’s mind, Lin Xue was utterly unworthy of Regiment Commander Cui.
Catching Zheng Jiahe’s gaze, Jiang Tang looked back over at her.
As their eyes met, Zheng Jiahe hastily averted her gaze in a panic.
That brief eye contact suddenly reminded Jiang Tang of a specific detail mentioned in the original novel.