After boarding the tractor, Jiang Tang arrived in town in less than half an hour.
The educated youth driving the tractor needed to mail a letter in town, while the others wanted to do some shopping. They separated upon arriving, agreeing to assemble again an hour later.
With abundant supplies stored inside her portable spatial dimension, Jiang Tang had no urgent need to buy anything in particular. Still, since she was already there, she strolled into the town’s supply and marketing cooperative for a look.
Chang Hong hadn’t originally planned on coming into town, so she naturally followed wherever Jiang Tang went.
The moment she stepped inside the supply and marketing cooperative, Chang Hong set her eyes on the fabrics and soaps displayed on the counter, intending to browse carefully before deciding what to purchase.
Shortly after the two walked in, Zheng Jiahe followed behind them into the store.
Pricking up her ears, Jiang Tang vaguely overheard Zheng Jiahe whispering the words “rat poison” to the clerk.
The clerk asked, “Buying rat poison requires a certificate from your work unit or neighborhood committee. Did you bring one?”
A look of dissatisfaction crossed Zheng Jiahe’s face. Why was buying simple rat poison such a hassle?
Naturally, she couldn’t produce any certificate, so she made an excuse to cancel the purchase and left the store.
Just as she stepped outside, Zheng Jiahe overheard passersby mentioning a trip to the black market.
Her eyes lit up instantly. Asking around for the location of the town’s black market, she planned to head over and try her luck.
Jiang Tang wasn’t sure whether Zheng Jiahe would succeed in buying rat poison this time, but she herself was quite interested in checking out the black market.
Once Chang Hong finished picking out the items she wanted, Jiang Tang accompanied her on a trip to the town’s black market.
The black market was tucked away in a secluded alley, with stallholders scattered here and there.
There were villagers selling home-grown vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat, and other provisions.
Of course, there were also stalls offering antique jewelry, jade, and calligraphy paintings left over from the old era, though these didn’t sell nearly as well as food and clothing.
When Jiang Tang walked over, she happened to catch sight of Zheng Jiahe handing over money at a stall, where the vendor handed her a small paper-wrapped package.
After hiding the package securely on her person, Zheng Jiahe turned on her heel and walked away without looking back.
Jiang Tang withdrew her gaze. She had originally intended to wander around briefly before heading back, but turning her head, she unexpectedly spotted a stall selling high school textbooks.
Jiang Tang actually had high school textbooks back home, but since she didn’t want to expose the existence of her spatial dimension, she hadn’t brought them along, planning to buy a set whenever she encountered one.
She hadn’t expected to find someone selling textbooks at the black market so soon after arriving at the military post.
These textbooks were all secondhand, and a thick stack was selling for a mere fifty cents. Without a second thought, Jiang Tang bought the entire set.
Curious, Chang Hong looked over and asked, “Comrade Jiang Tang, why are you buying so many high school textbooks?”
Chang Hong was unaware that the college entrance examination would soon be restored. To her, high school was a thing of the past once completed, so buying another set of textbooks seemed unnecessary.
Even if it only cost fifty cents, wasn’t it a waste of money if she couldn’t use them?
Jiang Tang offered a casual explanation: “One is never too old to learn. Besides, now that we’re teachers instructing students, learning a bit more can only do us good.”
As for the future restoration of the college entrance examination, Jiang Tang planned to find an opportunity to drop a hint to Chang Hong—provided Chang Hong actually harbored ambitions of attending university.
With Jiang Tang having bought her textbooks and Chang Hong having picked up some daily necessities, the two returned to the meeting point to wait for the other educated youth.
Jiang Tang noticed that Zheng Jiahe was now carrying a paper package of peach pastries in her hand.
Seeing that package of peach pastries, Jiang Tang’s heart skipped a beat.
Zheng Jiahe had bought both the rat poison and the peach pastries—was she planning to make her move today?
Jiang Tang resolved to keep a close eye on Zheng Jiahe; under no circumstances would she give her a chance to harm anyone.
Before long, Jiang Tang and the others rode the tractor back to the military post.
Upon returning to the educated youth post, Zheng Jiahe set down the main package of peach pastries, took out just a few pieces, wrapped them in a handkerchief, and headed out the door.
Jiang Tang could guess that eight or nine times out of ten, Zheng Jiahe was heading to the school, given that Cui Xiangyang was there right now.
Thus, after setting down the textbooks she had bought, Jiang Tang made her way to the school as well.
Returning to the school grounds, Jiang Tang spotted the children from the Yuhong preschool class having training on the playground, with Cui Xiangyang among them.
From a short distance away, Jiang Tang watched as Zheng Jiahe walked over carrying the peach pastries.
As a music teacher at the school who had also taught the Yuhong class, all the children recognized her.
The moment they saw her approach, the children swarmed around her, calling out “Teacher Zheng” one after another.
With a warm smile, Zheng Jiahe asked the children if they had mastered the new song she taught them.
The children immediately raised their voices and began to sing.
Standing straight and proper among them, Cui Xiangyang sang with clear and crisp diction, standing out remarkably among the crowd.
Zheng Jiahe looked on, and once the children finished singing, she praised Cui Xiangyang: “Student Cui sang wonderfully! As it happens, I bought some peach pastries in town today. Here, have a piece!”
Zheng Jiahe pulled out a piece of peach pastry from her handkerchief and held it out to him.
The surrounding children swallowed their saliva as they looked on, completely drawn in by the fragrant aroma of the pastry.
staring at the peach pastry, Cui Xiangyang wrinkled his little face, hesitating to reach out and take it.
He remembered Sister Xiaotang telling him never to eat things given by strangers. Although Teacher Zheng wasn’t exactly a stranger, shouldn’t he still refrain from accepting it?
If this had happened in the past, Cui Xiangyang might not have possessed his current self-control. But having eaten peach pastries frequently as of late, merely seeing one no longer made his mouth water.
“Teacher Zheng, I’ve already eaten peach pastries today. Why don’t you share it with the other classmates instead?”
The moment Cui Xiangyang said this, the surrounding children stared even more eagerly at the pastry in Zheng Jiahe’s hand.
Zheng Jiahe froze in surprise. Logically speaking, didn’t all young children love sweet treats? How could Cui Xiangyang pass it up so easily?
Could it be that this child still held a grudge against her over what happened on the train, which was why he refused to eat what she offered?
Pulling a cold face, Zheng Jiahe said, “A child should obey their teacher. When a teacher offers a reward, you should accept it instead of making excuses.”
Cui Xiangyang blinked, an expression of deep confusion filling his big eyes: “But Teacher Fan taught us that when we have good things, we should share them with those around us. I’ve already eaten peach pastries today, so what’s wrong with sharing it with my classmates?”
Left utterly speechless by his counterquestion, Zheng Jiahe realized she had no way to hand out the spiked pastry today. Feigning anger, she rewrapped the pastry inside her handkerchief.
“Since you don’t want to eat it, then forget it.”
With that, Zheng Jiahe turned to leave, only to be blocked directly by Jiang Tang.
Jiang Tang looked smilingly at the peach pastry in Zheng Jiahe’s hand: “Why is Teacher Zheng getting upset with the children? There’s really no need for that. Since the children don’t appreciate the gesture, why not give that peach pastry to me instead?”
While Zheng Jiahe was displeased with Jiang Tang, she had no intention of doing anything lethal to her, so at this moment, she merely intended to walk away with the pastry rather than hand the poisoned treat to Jiang Tang.
But how could Jiang Tang possibly let Zheng Jiahe walk away so easily?
Zheng Jiahe was attempting poison murder this time—whether she succeeded or not, Jiang Tang was determined to blow this matter wide open.
Otherwise, Jiang Tang could never predict what sinister scheme Zheng Jiahe might resort to next time.
Blocking Zheng Jiahe’s path, Jiang Tang exposed her directly: “It’s not as if there’s poison in this peach pastry, is there? Otherwise, why was Teacher Zheng so insistent on feeding only Cui Xiangyang and no other child?”
The moment Jiang Tang’s words rang out, every teacher and student on the playground turned their eyes straight toward them.