Chapter 39: Chapter 39 End of Term Parent Meeting Chapter 39: Chapter 39 End of Term Parent Meeting “What were you just laughing at?” Li Qiumei’s eyes bore into Shen Mianmian as if trying to gouge holes into her.
The worst student in the class in terms of academic performance, regularly absent or late, deliberately making it hard for her in the office, and even mocking her lectures—Mianmian hit all of Li Qiumei’s most hated buttons.
Such a child would only be wasting her family’s savings by pursuing education; it would be better to drop out early to help with the farm work at home and get married as soon as possible.
If you have the talent, continue with your studies; if not, don’t hold back the class and affect the teacher’s school performance.
Chen Jie, a freshly graduated teacher, thought he was an angel who could truly save all the poor students. He didn’t realize his own limitations. Just wait a few years and see if he still has this enthusiasm.
“I didn’t laugh,” Shen Mianmian shook her head in denial. Only a fool would admit they laughed.
“Teacher, she did laugh. I heard it,” Wang Jingjing reported.
“I heard it too,” Zhao Xinlan added.
“You still say you didn’t laugh?” Li Qiumei glared at her furiously. “Do you think all your classmates are deaf?”
Finding any excuse wouldn’t diminish Li Qiumei’s rage by even a fraction, so Shen Mianmian simply clamped her mouth shut, refusing to say another word.
“Are you deaf when I ask you a question?”
She lowered her head, staring at her toes, stubbornly remaining silent.
Li Qiumei was so angry she could burst, a stifled anger accumulating in her chest. She lifted the teaching stick, ready to strike it down on Shen Mianmian’s arm, feeling as though only by doing so could she alleviate the anger in her heart.
Shen Mianmian suddenly looked up, her gaze meeting Li Qiumei’s directly, without a hint of fear, and asked very calmly, “Teacher, do you want to hit me?”
Such composure was not typical for a child of her age, and it startled Li Qiumei, cooling her down a bit. The hand holding the teaching stick trembled but ultimately did not come down.
Although she liked to hit poor students, she never did so without reason. Even if students complained at home, their parents could not argue in their defense.
With so many students watching, if she hit a student simply for not responding, it would be her at a disadvantage if the matter escalated.
It was truly anger that had driven her to want to hit someone.
But the thought that she had been frightened by her own student made her feel uncomfortable again.
“After the final exams, call your parents to come and pick up the report card together.”
Li Qiumei had already resigned herself to the fact that Shen Mianmian would be ‘first’ in her failure.
Such a student not only fails to perform well themselves but also hinders others; a real nuisance.
“The teacher is hinting at driving your sister away,” Zhao Xinlan whispered triumphantly into Zhou Siyu’s ear.
“My sister really likes to study, she must be very upset this time.”
This Li Qiumei seriously lacked ability. She had raised the stick but didn’t have the courage to bring it down. Fortunately for Li Qiumei, she didn’t disappoint as she decided to persuade Shen Mianmian to leave.
This was truly great news.
“Upset about what?” Zhao Xinlan knew some of the family matters of Zhou Siyu’s household, “If she stops going to school, your aunt and uncle will have more money to invest in you.”
Really, Zhao Xinlan was somewhat envious of Zhou Siyu, being cherished by her aunt and uncle and even able to continue her education. Unlike herself, unsure whether her family would let her continue schooling after junior high.
Most rural families prioritize boys over girls, believing that girls are bound to get married and that educating daughters is not worthwhile, choosing instead to invest heavily in their sons. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦·𝘯𝘦𝘵
Out of the forty-plus students in the class, less than one-third were girls, and the number of girls in high schools and universities was even more pitiful.