Chapter 30: Confronting Xu Linlin

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“What am I supposed to do?” Fu Xiaoxiao looked at the aunties and blinked innocently.

“One thing is obvious,” one of the aunties said with a smile. “Go find Educated Youth Xiao! Once you tell him what happened, those girls will definitely stop causing trouble.”

“Educated Youth Xiao?” Fu Xiaoxiao blinked. She had no idea who that was.

“He’s a tall, exceptionally handsome young man. Every unmarried girl in the village has her eye on him, but he doesn’t care for any of them.” The auntie winked at Fu Xiaoxiao.

“You’re not wrong—the boy really is handsome! If I were twenty years younger, I’d throw myself at him too!”

“Oh, give it a rest. With the way you looked when you were young—dark and plump—do you really think he would have noticed you?”

“Tsk! As if you were any better than me!”

“Hey, you old hag! Who are you talking about?”

“What’s wrong? Am I not allowed to tell the truth now? You think I’m afraid of you? Come on, then! If you dare grab me, I dare scratch you!”

Seeing that the two aunties were suddenly about to start fighting, Fu Xiaoxiao quickly took two steps back and stood with the other two aunties to watch the spectacle. She even pulled out a handful of sunflower seeds and began cracking them.

She had never seen the village aunties fight before! This was a rare sight that could never be found on television.

The two aunties claimed they were going to fight, yet neither took a single step forward. They merely pointed and gestured at empty air, throwing out dramatic moves.

It was quite entertaining.

“May I ask how I should address you two?” Fu Xiaoxiao asked the other two aunties while watching the pair spar with the air.

“Just call me Auntie Li. This one lives next door—call her Granny Wang,” Auntie Li said with a laugh.

“Granny Wang? You should call me Auntie Wang.” Auntie Wang shot Auntie Li an aggrieved look.

“Have you no shame? You want that young girl to call you ‘Auntie’? Do you know what your seniority is in this village? Even Seventh Granduncle would have to call you Auntie.” Auntie Li complained helplessly.

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“She isn’t from our village. Besides, don’t I look younger than those two?” Auntie Wang was completely unconcerned. She held a senior position in the village, and Fu Xiaoxiao was not from there.

Seeing the stubborn look in Auntie Wang’s eyes, Fu Xiaoxiao smiled softly. “Auntie, you don’t look old at all.”

Delighted that Fu Xiaoxiao had taken her side, Auntie Wang said with a grin, “Those two have always been bickering sweethearts. Don’t mind them. They won’t actually fight—they’re just putting on a show.”

“Just call me Second Auntie Li,” Second Auntie Li said, taking a moment to answer Fu Xiaoxiao.

“Call me Third Auntie Li,” Third Auntie Li said with a snort while continuing her mock battle.

“You’re sisters-in-law?” Fu Xiaoxiao finally understood.

“Yes.” Auntie Li nodded with a smile. “I married the eldest brother. They’re married to the second and third.”

“You all get along so well!” This was the first time Fu Xiaoxiao had seen such harmonious relations between sisters-in-law, especially among women married to three brothers.

“That’s because our mother-in-law was fair. She treated everyone equally and never favored one daughter-in-law over another, so naturally there was no need for us to fight over anything.” Second Auntie Li explained with a smile. Teasing one another was their only regular form of entertainment.

“Xiaoxiao, come on! We’ll take you to find Educated Youth Xiao. I’m telling you, once you tell him what happened, you won’t even need to do anything yourself. Educated Youth Xu will be in trouble.” Auntie Wang smiled at Fu Xiaoxiao.

Fu Xiaoxiao was only half convinced, but she followed Auntie Wang toward the educated youth settlement.

The settlement was essentially a row of single-story houses. Dark gray roof tiles covered the tops, while the walls were built of rammed earth, with several visible patches where repairs had been made.

Fu Xiaoxiao glanced inside. A battered wooden table stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by benches of varying lengths. Several simple wooden cabinets stood against the walls, which were decorated with quotations from Chairman Mao and propaganda posters from the era. The space was cramped and dim.

Each room appeared to house several people. Wooden bunks stretched in a line along the walls, with quilts and blankets of different colors casually stacked upon them. Some of the quilts were covered in patches, yet they had been folded into neat, square bundles.

“Aunties, what brings you here? Whom are you looking for?” The educated youths had been gathered around a makeshift long table eating lunch. When they saw the aunties, they hurriedly stood up.

Standing behind the aunties, Fu Xiaoxiao went unnoticed.

“We’re not the ones looking for someone. This is Comrade Fu. She has something to discuss with Educated Youth Xiao.” Auntie Wang and the others parted, revealing Fu Xiaoxiao behind them.

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Zhao Qing, who was eating, looked up at those words. When he saw Fu Xiaoxiao, he rose in surprise.

“Educated Youth Xiao, someone is looking for you.” Once they heard that the visitor had come for Xiao Heng, the educated youths showed no surprise. They assumed she was yet another admirer of his.

“Hello. I’m Xiao Heng. You were looking for me?” Xiao Heng rose with a frown and came over to Fu Xiaoxiao. When he saw her lovely face, he paused in surprise. He had not expected there to be such a beautiful young woman in the village.

“It’s like this. Today was my son’s first day enrolling in school. When I brought him lunch at noon, I heard some children say that Teacher Xu Linlin had labeled my son an idiot and forbidden them from becoming friends with him. I’d like to ask: just because you’ve studied for a few years, does that give you the right to look down on a child who has only just started school?”

Fu Xiaoxiao spoke loudly and directly, showing Xu Linlin no consideration whatsoever.

“You’re talking nonsense! I never said that!” Xu Linlin had been eating when she suddenly heard Fu Xiaoxiao’s accusation. She sprang to her feet, flushed with embarrassment and anger, and protested.

“Then may I ask what exactly you did say?” Fu Xiaoxiao’s cold, distant gaze shifted toward Xu Linlin. “Today was my son’s very first day in your class. Does failing to answer a question make him an idiot? What, did you become learned and accomplished on your very first day of school?”

Fu Xiaoxiao’s questions struck Xu Linlin across the face like a series of hard slaps, all the more humiliating because so many educated youths were present.

“As a teacher, is this how you conduct yourself as an educator serving the people? I think you should stop teaching. You’ll only mislead the students.”

Fu Xiaoxiao swept a cold gaze over Xu Linlin, who stood red-faced and struggled to come up with a retort. Then she turned back to Xiao Heng.

Xiao Heng watched as Fu Xiaoxiao silenced Xu Linlin with a few sharp words. He turned toward Xu Linlin.

“You begged us to give this position to you, and this is how you teach?” Xiao Heng’s words made every educated youth’s expression darken. Xu Linlin had caused no end of trouble back then in order to obtain the opportunity.

After everything finally erupted, she had knelt and begged everyone to give the position to her. In the end, Xiao Heng had made the decision and handed the opportunity over to her.

“I didn’t! She’s slandering me! Her son really is stupid. I only asked him to work out some simple addition, and he couldn’t even answer that! I was against Zhao Qing accepting another student in the first place. He can’t keep up with our pace, so won’t that drag down the progress of our lessons?” Xu Linlin said through clenched teeth, belittling Lu Lin.

“First of all, my son was attending school for the very first time today. You hadn’t taught him anything yet, so how could you expect him to answer immediately?” Fu Xiaoxiao was so furious that she laughed. Her sharp eyes fixed on Xu Linlin.

“Second, whether the school accepts new students is the school’s decision. I have never heard of a school refusing a child who wants to study. So in what capacity are you forbidding my son from attending school here? As an educated youth? Or do you think that because there are only two teachers, the two of you can make decisions on behalf of the school? Then I’ll have to ask the production brigade whether a teacher serving the people truly has that much authority!” Fu Xiaoxiao retorted without the slightest courtesy.

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