Unfortunately, neither of the two women showed much interest; they were devotedly burying watermelon rinds in the fertilizer field.
Sacred Heart Middle School’s opening day was one day earlier than that of other middle schools—on August 31st, all new and returning students were required to report to the school.
Their luggage had just been brought to the school entrance when Zhuo Feng and his wife were stopped. On such a major school opening day, the main gate was actually closed, and a side door was opened instead. Students were entering one after another, but each student who entered did so without the accompaniment of their parents.
Other new students’ parents, who were also held up at the door, were discontentedly questioning the security guard.
Eventually, the security guard, annoyed by the questioning, pointed through the iron bars of the school gate towards a Han white jade stele near the main entrance. It had six characters inscribed: "Self-Improvement, Diligence, Progress."
The motto of Sacred Heart Middle School had always been as such. Whether old students or new, the procedure for starting school must be completed independently by the students, thus adhering to the spirit of that stone stele.
Xiao Xian, standing by, watched the bustle. There were two types of students entering through the small side door: one type looked more experienced and were likely returning students, while the other type was like the little girl behind her.
"Dad, I told you not to bring so much canned energy drink and pork jerky. You also packed my luggage so big, how am I supposed to carry it inside?" said a tall female student with twin braids. The parents accompanying her, in the sweltering heat, couldn’t stop wiping sweat; their luggage was indeed very bulky, and this was just summer, with nothing but summer clothes—how could the luggage be so large?
Comparing with her own luggage, Xiao Xian took a look; it was a small and neat suitcase that Zhuo Feng had recently bought.
The female student’s father, huffing and puffing, squeezed out of the crowd and nonchalantly fished out US$100, stuffing it into the security guard’s hand: "Comrade, take this money to buy yourself some cigarettes to smoke, and please help me get my daughter’s luggage inside."
The female student’s face turned red. She left behind her dad and the full bag of snacks, and, dragging the suitcase, walked inside.
"Daughter, call home when you have time."
"All parents, please wait, don’t push. The teachers from the finance department will come over shortly to collect tuition fees in one go. Once your child’s name is called, you can come forward and pay," the security guard returned the money to her and gestured for Xiao Xian to hurry inside.
Zhuo Feng watched from the side, lips pursed in a smile. Really, what a shortsighted father and daughter—why bring so much junk food inside? She was smarter; she had concealed US$500 in Xiao Xian’s suitcase. Since the meal cost was included in the tuition fee, she wasn’t worried Xiao Xian would suffer inside without money.
"Big brother, don’t keep looking inside. I see your kid looks robust; he will be fine," Feng Xing stood at the gate, opening the zipper of his handbag, ready to take out money to pay the fees. To his surprise, there was an extra envelope inside. Upon opening and counting it, he found the $500 previously given to Xiao Xian—all were there.
"Yeah, we came all the way from Tianjin. I say, young man, why do you look so ill? You’re not suffering from heatstroke, are you? Come, come, sit in the shade," Feng Xing was pulled aside and began sharing his experiences as a parent. Zhuo Feng shook his head and looked inside the school gate, where the lush tree-lined path had already swallowed up Xiao Xian’s figure. The kid was indeed sensible. (To be continued. If you work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to hold a recommendation ticket, monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)