An 80s female translator was spoiled rotten by a rough and jealous man.

Chapter 324 "It's a Pearl"

There weren't many completely empty shelves on the bookshelf, and after a lot of work, the two of them still couldn't fit more than half a box of new books. Meng Youyou and Teacher Miao had no choice but to roll up their sleeves and start sorting the old books again, reclassifying and rearranging them to make room for the extra shelves.

The two had a clear division of labor, with each person responsible for one bookshelf. When Meng Youyou was tidying up the third row, her fingertips were running along the spines of the books to check them one by one when her gaze suddenly stopped on the label on the spine of a book. The white label was damp and wrinkled, and the water-based pen writing on it had smudged into a blotch of light blue ink. The first letter of the section looked like a C or an O, and the numbers that followed were even worse, completely swallowed by the ink stains, leaving only an uneven patch of blue that was impossible to identify.

After a pause, Meng Youyou inserted her fingertips into the gap and precisely pulled out the book. Holding it in her hand, the first thing that caught her eye was the vibrant colors and eye-catching content on the cover—two contrasting color blocks were laid out on the top and bottom of the cover, creating a strong visual impact: the lower half was a somber ochre yellow, covered with cracked lines and the granular texture of soil; a girl's hand emerged from the ground, her slender fingers supporting fine soil particles, her wrist thin but taut in an arc, her knuckles white as she clenched her fist.

Her palm gripped a silver portable tape recorder tightly; its cool, metallic sheen pierced the dullness of the ochre-yellow hue, the only bright spot in the picture. The veins on the back of the girl's hand bulged like tenacious vines, conveying a sense of desperate, all-or-nothing resolve.

The upper half of the image is a thick, indistinct dark blue, like surging mist enveloping dark clouds, which condenses from top to bottom into a huge, invisible hand—its outline is blurred but it is as heavy as a rock, with a rough texture like mountain rocks, pressing down heavily, forming an extremely tense confrontation with the fist breaking through the ground and rising upwards.

Meng Youyou stared intently at the few words on the cover—the title: "Is a Pearl," written by Pearl.

This is a personal autobiography.

I am the author, Pearl.

The autobiography in her hand almost instantly piqued Meng Youyou's intense interest. She carefully picked up the corner of the book and gently opened it to read.

The book was clearly old; the binding was worn and brittle. As soon as she turned the pages, the glue on the spine peeled off in a few rustling sounds. One of the inner pages lost its balance and slid down the curve of the page to the ground. Meng Youyou quickly bent down and picked it up.

The page number in the lower right corner was rather large. Meng Youyou lowered her eyes to carefully read the text on the page—"As I mentioned earlier, I was fortunate to meet two benefactors in my life. One of them gave me my first tape recorder. This machine accompanied me through the long early years of my career as a journalist, and at a crucial juncture in my life, it helped me successfully defend my rights."

This is why, when the editor sent me the initial draft of the book's cover design, I suggested replacing the book the girl was holding with a small, old-fashioned tape recorder.

I completely understand the publisher's original design intention; they wanted to convey the core message that "knowledge changes destiny" to their readers. As a writer, it seems reasonable to say that I make a living through "knowledge."

However, as someone who personally experienced that era… to be honest, I've never wanted to assume the role of someone who's been there and impart so-called "wise words" to young people. But this time, I really want to express that in our time, changing one's destiny through knowledge was truly not an easy thing. If I were to convey such a concept to the public solely based on my personal experience, I feel it would be somewhat irresponsible.

I've seen too many people around me spend their entire lives trying to figure out how to achieve these six simple words. Therefore, I often feel lucky, that I'm one of those lucky ones among so many hardworking people.

Having said all that, as I draw to a close, I suddenly recall a quote from my mentor and friend who gifted me the tape recorder. Over the years, through both good and bad times, I have used it to remind and motivate myself, giving me inexhaustible strength. Now, I would like to share it with you all in this postscript:

"True clarity is not about letting hesitation hold you back, but about having the ability to observe, think, and continuously strengthen yourself as you move forward."

I offer these words as encouragement to all of you.

Pearl. September 28, 2007

Meng Youyou gently and carefully put the fallen page back in its original place according to the page number. Then she closed the book, walked around the bookshelf, and said as she walked, "Teacher Miao, I have an autobiographical book here. I don't know who put it in the natural sciences section?"

Just then, the bell rang, and the two girls, one standing and one squatting, glanced at each other across the bookshelf frame, then smiled helplessly at each other. Their tidying progress hadn't met expectations, but they couldn't afford to miss class, so they had to continue in the next period.

On the way to the teaching building, Meng Youyou thought of something and asked, "Teacher Miao, doesn't the Principal Pearl you mentioned usually stay at the school?"

"Yes, she's here most of the time, shuttling between the primary and junior high schools. She lives in the county, and she hasn't been at school lately because she recently released a new book, and the publisher organized several book signings and lectures at universities across the country. She's flying all over China right now."

As they were going upstairs, several students skipped and hopped down the stairs. Teacher Miao immediately called out to them, "You lot, don't play around on the stairs, it's too dangerous! Hurry back to the classroom, class is about to start!" The students immediately quieted down, replied in unison, "Okay," and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Teacher Miao took out her phone from her coat pocket, looked down at it, and then continued what she hadn't finished saying: "Last time I contacted her on WeChat, she seemed to say... she should be back around next week."

...

Meng Youyou was woken up early in the morning by the school's loudspeaker. She had started her period late last night and felt a bit uncomfortable. She had arranged with her roommate, Teacher Miao, to switch her class to an earlier one, so she simply set her alarm an hour later and stayed in bed a little longer.

Now that she was awake and the discomfort in her abdomen had lessened, Meng Youyou decided to get up. After quickly washing up, she went to the window to open it for ventilation.

The staff dormitory of Hope Primary School is located on the second floor of a two-story building next to the playground, with the student canteen downstairs.

At this moment, the students on the playground were doing morning exercises to the broadcast. As soon as the window was opened, the music poured into the room with even more impunity.

Meng Youyou leaned against the windowsill, looking down at the sea of ​​young heads. Her gaze involuntarily settled on the figure leading the exercises at the front of the playground—a woman whose age was difficult to discern from a distance. She had her hair tied in a high ponytail, a slender yet upright figure, and her movements were graceful and powerful. Wearing a long, off-white tracksuit, she raised her arms, stretched her legs, and turned, each movement exuding a relaxed familiarity, performed with effortless ease, as if it were an everyday occurrence.

On her first day at Hope Primary School, Meng Youyou noticed that the morning exercises the students did every day were quite different from ordinary broadcast gymnastics.

Teacher Miao told her that this was a set of self-created gymnastics that had been passed down in the school for many years, incorporating some moves from self-defense and military boxing, combining strength and flexibility. Furthermore, Principal Pearl would carefully improve it every few years, and the set she saw now was the eleventh generation of gymnastics at Youyou Hope Primary School.

So, who is the lady currently standing on the playground leading the students in exercises? The answer is obvious.

The moment she confirmed the other person's identity, Meng Youyou suddenly remembered the autobiography. Later, when she was in the library, she inexplicably walked to one of the bookshelves, found the book titled "Is a Pearl," and borrowed it. The book wasn't thick; she finished it in one night. Meng Youyou remembered a passage that read:

Many people have asked me, "Why did you start a girls' school?"

In many previous interviews, I have often been asked this question. I believe that when many people hear about this kind of "good deed," a very common and universal assumption will automatically pop into their minds, such as having received kindness from others during a low period, and then giving back to society after gaining a certain level of ability.

Like most writers, after listing the most commonplace conventions, they usually like to add a "but" to make the narrative logic seem unconventional. But... this time there is no "but." Just as everyone guessed, I did receive help from some people when I was young, so I want to pass on that warmth.

Secondly, I would like to clarify a common misconception about this primary school—although I am the principal of Youyou Hope Primary School, strictly speaking, I am not the one who originally founded this Hope Primary School.

Furthermore, the second most frequently asked question during the interview was, "Why was the school named Youyou Hope Primary School? Is there any special meaning behind it?"

My answer to this question is, "I don't know either." After all, as I just mentioned, I wasn't the original founder of this school. As for the special meaning behind the name, I only have a vague understanding of it.

……

In addition, many people have asked me: "Why teach students military boxing and self-defense techniques? Especially for elementary school students, given their current physique and strength, it seems that practicing these doesn't have any practical use?"

The reason is simple. I hope that our girls' school can teach the children not only book knowledge, but also the ability and practical skills to protect themselves in all aspects, such as a strong physique, an independent personality, and the idea of ​​"I should strive to be strong" from an early age.

Speaking of which, I'd like to quote a friend who taught me self-defense: "When a girl is out and about, having a strong fist is always beneficial!"

Of course, I hope my students will never need these techniques after leaving school, but if that day ever comes, the skills they've honed since childhood are always better than having never practiced them at all.