Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 449 Head of Students (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

In the quiet campus, you can faintly hear the students reading aloud upstairs and the teachers patiently lecturing. Besides that, the most common sound is the rustling of turning pages of test papers; endless papers are a constant theme of high school life.

Lin Ge squatted dejectedly in the aisle of the relaxation corner, a large cleaning glove on his right hand. The old man sat down on a small stool next to him, tore off a leaf from the cabbage and handed it to Lin Ge. Lin Ge used the glove to wipe the water droplets off the leaf.

Rabbits can't drink too much water; even a little too much can cause diarrhea or even death. So, the leaves you feed the rabbits must be wiped dry, but who would have thought this would become Lin Ge's job?

What can we do?

Faced with this shameless old man who threatened to "tell on his parents," and with his imposing manner reminiscent of a head teacher, Lin Ge had no choice but to back down.

He certainly didn't want the old man to actually go to the police station to complain; that would definitely make him a laughingstock among the bastards there. Those scoundrels would never let that opportunity pass; they'd make fun of him about it for days.

So Lin Ge resigned himself to his fate. It was just a matter of wiping the leaves dry; a little fiddling would do the trick. As he worked, Lin Ge vowed to himself that he would never come to Longquan Middle School again! Wherever this old man was, he would avoid him like the plague!
"Damn, that retired head of the teaching department is terrifying! He doesn't even spare a cat, he's ruthless!"

Muttering angrily, Lin Ge flipped the leaf over with his left paw and rubbed it vigorously again as if venting his frustration. But before he could even catch his breath, the old man smiled and placed a second leaf in front of him, as if the work was never-ending!
"Keep going, there's only half left. This cabbage is enough to relieve the psychological pressure of several students. Maybe if they feel better, they can learn more and score two more points on the college entrance exam."

The old man spoke slowly, then tore off a slightly tattered piece and tossed it into the pheasant cage beside him. The pheasants were terrified by Lin Ge's appearance, and none of them dared to come closer to eat it, even after the leaf was thrown in.

Lin Ge ignored this and kept his head down, continuing to work. After spending more than ten minutes finally finishing processing all the vegetable leaves, he hurriedly turned and ran away.

"Mimi, there's something I need your help with."

The old man repeated the same thing from behind, causing Lin Ge to turn around again in exasperation. This old man seemed determined to keep going on and on; was it really necessary to fuss over a cat like this?
"Here's the thing! There are kids at school who, perhaps due to stress or being influenced by bad influences, have picked up a smoking habit. I found cigarette butts at school, which is definitely not allowed here. Could you help me check? Knowing your capabilities, this should be easy, right?"

The old man spoke with a smile, treating Lin Ge as if he were no outsider.

"Smoking..."

Lin Ge thought of the bunch of chain smokers at the Zhanghe Police Station.

Almost all the male police officers at the police station smoke. After all, the pressure of their work and the late nights mean they really need cigarettes to stay awake. But that doesn't mean cigarettes are good; at least for students, smoking is definitely not allowed!
No matter how much pressure you're under, you can't solve it by smoking! Once you're addicted to cigarettes, it's no longer just a way to relieve stress. Its side effects can have lifelong consequences for students.

Moreover, this thing is easy to spread and can become contagious, which will lead more students to imitate it and go astray.

After thinking about it, Lin Ge nodded.

It's just a simple matter of lifting a finger; the smell of smoke is nowhere near his ability to hide. He only needs to walk around each classroom to find out if anyone is smoking inside. Then he can just find him and have the old man tell his parents!

Lin Ge thought gleefully, and came over to the old man's side with his tail wagging.

Led by the old headmaster, Lin Ge slowly walked from the second floor to the seventh floor, quickly visiting all the classrooms. Surprisingly, there were fewer children smoking than expected; there was only one classroom with two people smoking. Lin Ge was a little puzzled that such a small matter was worth the old man making such a fuss about, but he still squatted down at the door of the senior three (8) classroom to take another look at the old man.

The old man immediately understood.

But to Lin Ge's surprise, the old man didn't ask him to directly identify the target. After confirming that the child was in the classroom, he smiled and gestured for Lin Ge to leave with him, without disturbing the teacher's class or making a scene.

"What a formidable cat! When Jiang Yan'er told me, I was a little skeptical. But now, seeing your abilities, I have to admit you've got some tricks up your sleeve. Hmm... very good! I'll come to you again next time I need something, but don't try to make excuses, or I'll end up calling Nie Guoqiang..."

Back in the relaxation corner, the old man's smiling words left Lin Ge speechless.

This old guy... actually knows Jiang Yan and Nie Guoqiang?
Looking closely, his face does indeed bear some resemblance to Jiang Yan. He even bears a slight resemblance to Nie Zhuangzhuang. Hmm… Jiang Yan's father?

Lin Ge tilted his head, somewhat surprised.

"Director Jiang, what brings you here? Oh, how could I let you do such a small thing? You've gone to so much trouble!"

A young teacher suddenly appeared in the distance of the corridor and, seeing the situation, quickly spoke up. He hurried over, looked at the old man and then at the dazed cat beside him, and couldn't help but cough, saying, "Director Jiang, shouldn't we stop bringing animals into the school? To be honest, this kind of relaxation corner is affecting the students' concentration. The children need to focus on their studies, not constantly discussing the rabbits and chickens here! Frankly, Principal Wu has told me several times that it would be better to cancel this relaxation corner. If a child gets hurt or something, it will be troublesome for the school. Or if the rabbit dies from being fed, the students will be sad and it will affect their studies, right?"

The young teacher kept talking, but the old man and Lin Ge looked at him with disdain.

How can setting up a relaxation corner affect students? Students aren't made of steel; how can they be expected to study 24 hours a day? What if their tense moods break down if they don't get some relief?
"The rabbit died, I'll send two more over. As for the issue of it interfering with my studies, let Lao Wu come and talk to me directly! Do you think the school already doesn't care about me anymore, since I've only been retired for a few years?"

The old man spoke calmly, opening the fence and going into the cage. He slowly cleaned up the rabbit droppings while talking to the middle-aged teacher who walked over.

"But... this is really against the rules! Not to mention in Zhang City, no high school outside of Zhang City would keep animals on campus. Or rather, apart from kindergartens, what school keeps animals these days!"

The young teacher stood at a distance and continued to earnestly persuade the old man, but he simply ignored her.

This attitude infuriated him, and he said sternly, "Teacher Jiang, if you really won't listen to my advice, I'll have to have this relaxation corner removed! To be honest, this thing is really useless. In the past few years, I haven't seen it have any positive effect on students' grades. Our school has lost the city's top scorer in the college entrance examination several times in recent years, and this might be related to this relaxation corner!"

"Remove the relaxation corner? Why don't you give it a try?"

The old man swung the broom, which was covered in rabbit droppings, at the man and said coldly, "You all seem to have forgotten what happened six years ago, haven't you? You don't even care about why that child who jumped from the seventh floor broke down, do you? Grades! Grades! All you care about are grades! But what about the children's mental and physical health? What about the children who have exhausted themselves studying for three years of high school? Does graduation mean it's none of your business anymore? Even if it happened again, wouldn't you care at all, as long as you can cover it up?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Ge, who was still guessing the old man's identity, was stunned. Six years ago, a child actually committed suicide by jumping off a building at this school? Was this relaxation corner set up after that? Was its purpose to give students even the slightest chance to laugh?
They really went to great lengths!

Lin Ge looked at Old Man Jiang with admiration, knowing that in a school that was focused on achieving excellent results and determined to keep its school in first place in Zhangzhou, it was already quite remarkable that the old man could do something so unconventional.

As for whether this place will be effective... the child named Gu Peiyao whom I met when I came here before has already proven that students need a place like this, even if it's just for secretly crying and wiping away tears.

"Mimi, you can go back now! I've finished what I needed your help with, so I'll leave the rest to the old man."

Old Jiang spoke expressionlessly, then put the rabbit droppings and pheasant droppings he had swept into the dustpan into a black bag that came with the bamboo basket, tied it tightly, and did not intend to throw them directly into the school.

"Teacher Jiang, please don't take what I said as a joke!"

The young teacher glared at Old Man Jiang, but when Old Man Jiang ignored him, he took out his phone and sent a message.

A few minutes later, three school security guards rushed over.

"Dean of Academic Affairs!"

The security guard bowed to the young teacher, his attitude quite obsequious.

"This guy is also the head of student affairs?"

Lin Ge was stunned for a moment. He looked at the young teacher and then at Old Man Jiang. He had to admit that even though they were both deans of education, their styles of doing things could be vastly different.

"Tear down this shack! Hurry up, why are you making such a mess and distracting thing for the students!" The young head of student affairs gave the order without any politeness.

"Huo Junpeng, how dare you!"

Before the security guards could even make a move, Old Jiang flew into a rage, glaring at them and shouting, "The students need a place like this, or you should come up with another way for them to relax before you demolish it! Otherwise, if all you do is urge them to study, aren't you afraid something might happen?"

"What could happen?"

Huo Junpeng waved his hand dismissively, saying disdainfully, "Teacher Jiang, when you were the dean of studies, weren't you focused solely on student grades? What, you can do what I can't? Longquan Middle School is the best high school in Zhangzhou City; it needs to produce results, not cultivate troublemakers! If any student feels overwhelmed by the academic pressure, they shouldn't come to our school! They can have their own fun at the No. 1 Middle School, No. 2 Middle School, or other high schools! Longquan Middle School needs outstanding students from Tsinghua, Peking University, and other top-tier universities."

"you……"

Old Jiang was so angry he almost vomited blood, his face flushed red. He glared at Huo Junpeng, gritting his teeth, and said, "Students aren't machines. What happened six years ago proved that simply forcing them won't work! Such a big thing happened back then, why didn't you learn anything? What if something else happens? Are you going to retire at your age like me?"

"That has nothing to do with you!"

Huo Junpeng sneered and turned to the three security guards who were watching the commotion, saying, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and tear down this lousy place! Also, don't let the rabbits and chickens escape and cause trouble on campus! Catch them all and return them to Teacher Jiang. Our school doesn't take advantage of retired employees!"

The three security guards glanced at Huo Junpeng, then at Old Man Jiang, and ultimately dared not disobey the official's orders. They gave Old Man Jiang a couple of dry laughs and then made a move to dismantle the rabbit cage.

"Aww! I'll see who dares to do that!"

Lin Ge roared, his voice so piercing that it startled the three security guards and the head of the teaching department. Then they watched as Lin Ge leaped onto the rabbit cage, his two paws extending sharp claws, and forcefully slashed at the cage's wire mesh, producing a screeching sound.

This posture, as if ready to attack at any moment, startled the three security guards, causing them to take a step back. They looked back at Huo Junpeng, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

"Teacher Jiang...is this cat yours too? First it was a bird, then a rabbit, and then a mouse! And now you've brought a cat! Do you really think Longquan Middle School is a zoo? Or are you just throwing all the animals you don't want into the school?"

Huo Junpeng approached Old Man Jiang again with a cold smile.

His words were really harsh, which made Lingo even more irritable.

Lin Ge was about to teach this ungrateful wretch a lesson when Old Man Jiang sighed and waved his hand to stop him.

"Mimi, stop making a fuss! I'm just a retired old man, how can I possibly have the face to make the headmaster listen to me? Forget it! Anyway, it's not my business to worry about, so let it be. Why should a retired old man like me cause trouble and become a nuisance?"

Exhausted, Old Man Jiang decided to give up. Looking at the vegetable leaves that he and Lin Ge had painstakingly cleaned, he suddenly dumped them all into the rabbit cage.

Huo Junpeng was about to explode when Old Man Jiang shakily opened the cage door and went inside. The four rabbits weren't afraid of him at all, happily munching on vegetable leaves. But then, Old Man Jiang grabbed one rabbit by the ear and stuffed them into the pheasant cage next to him.

In no time, all four rabbits had moved into the pheasant's cage. The unfortunate pheasant, already quite frightened by Lin Ge, was now flapping its wings and trying to hide everywhere, now that it was in the same cage as the rabbits. But the cage was only so big, and soon the rabbits had squeezed it into a situation where it had nowhere to escape.

The pheasant cage was movable, and Old Jiang tried to lift it but couldn't. Seeing this, three security guards quickly stepped forward to help, taking over the task from Old Jiang and lifting the cage out of the cage and placing it on the ground.

"It's filthy! It stinks!"

A few rabbit droppings fell to the ground, and Huo Junpeng frowned.

"Your mouth is more foul than mine!"

Lin Ge glared at him fiercely.

Unfortunately, this guy seemed quite bold. The threatening look that usually worked was completely ineffective against this headmaster. He and Old Man Jiang could only stand aside and watch as a security guard solicitously pushed a cart from a distance and loaded the iron cage full of rabbits and pheasants onto it.

"And squirrels!"

Huo Junpeng was still not satisfied.

Old Jiang picked up the cart, sighed, and looked at Huo Junpeng, saying, "There's no need to catch the squirrels. Let them be free! There are plenty of pine trees on campus, which will provide them with a safe living environment. Dean of Students, a few squirrels have wandered into the school. Are they bothering you by staying in the trees?"

"Whatever! They'll probably be gone in a couple of days anyway."

Huo Junpeng grunted, not daring to go too far. He knew that Old Man Jiang actually had considerable influence, and if he really angered him, even a small mistake could cause him a major problem and upset him.

So he directly ordered the security guards to dismantle the pipes through which the squirrels roamed, and coldly watched as the squirrels scattered and fled. He also ordered everything else in the relaxation corner to be thrown into the trash can.

Beforehand, this bastard didn't forget to ask Old Man Jiang, "Do you still want these pieces of trash?"

Old Jiang ignored him and pushed the cart away from the school expressionlessly. Lin Ge quickly followed and saw the four rabbits in the cage still staring blankly at the vegetable leaves, completely unaware that they had been forced to move and would no longer be fed by the students.

"Mimi, I definitely can't just give up like this. I was thinking about it just now, and keeping animals at school really isn't a good idea. Huo Junpeng dared to do this, so the principal must have had his reasons. What do you think about me learning how to make sugar paintings? I could make them for the kids for free at the school gate, since I'm just killing time anyway, right?"

Old Jiang may be old, but he's young at heart and stubborn. Relying on the fact that the school can't really do anything to a retired teacher like him, he insists on causing trouble for the school and putting them in a dilemma.

"Isn't it a bit childish to make sugar paintings for high school students?"

Lin Ge felt that this idea was somewhat unreliable.

Just as I was about to try to persuade him, Old Jiang changed his mind again, saying, "No way! I'm old, my eyesight is failing, and my hands can't hold it steady anymore. What's the point of making sugar paintings? Besides, there are parents at the school gate, and there are some things they don't understand. Sigh! But we can't just ignore it. We can't let what happened six years ago happen again, can we?"

Old Jiang sighed.

Although Lin Ge didn't know exactly what happened six years ago, he knew that Old Man Jiang's ideas and starting point were not wrong. Or rather, even without what happened six years ago, schools shouldn't treat students like learning machines, just to force them to get into a university and to give the school a good reputation.

While this is indeed a win-win situation to some extent, what if a student actually breaks down because of it? What should be done if that happens?
So what's wrong with letting students spend a few minutes each day relaxing? A few rabbits? How could they possibly cause their grades to drop?

It doesn't seem that serious, does it?

Seeing that Old Man Jiang seemed to have no choice but to sigh, Lin Ge's eyes lit up and he decided to take on the task.

Are you relaxed?
It doesn't have to be a rabbit!

A smart, cute, obedient, and affectionate cat can be very useful!

(End of this chapter)