From a county-level lecture hall to a nationally renowned teacher

一

Spring came exceptionally early in 2001.

Just after the Lantern Festival, the temperature soared to over ten degrees Celsius. The row of sycamore trees along the playground sprouted tender buds, a vibrant green that looked as if they had just been painted. In the open space behind the canteen, someone had planted a few rapeseed flowers, a bright yellow expanse that attracted many bees.

Lin Zhiyuan stood at the dormitory entrance brushing his teeth. Looking at the scene before him, he felt that even the toothpaste foam carried the scent of spring.

On the first day of the new semester, he specially changed into a light blue shirt—which his mother had taken him to the department store in the county town to buy during the Spring Festival. It cost more than sixty yuan, enough for his food expenses for more than half a month.

"Zhiyuan!" Wang Jianguo poked his head out from the next dormitory, holding an enamel basin with several pieces of clothing soaking in it. "It's the first day of school, why are you dressed so formally? It's not like you're going on a blind date."

"New semester, new look." Lin Zhiyuan stuck his toothbrush into the cup.

"Come on, students don't care what you wear. Last year I wore a new outfit to class, and guess what? A student said, 'Teacher Wang, did you borrow someone else's clothes?' I was so angry that I couldn't recover for three days."

Lin Zhiyuan smiled.

He went to the office to get his lesson plan and arrived at the classroom ten minutes early. There were already seven or eight students in the classroom, chattering about their winter break. Sun Xiaolei sat in the first row, a winter break homework book spread out in front of her, writing furiously—clearly the kind of thing she only started rushing to finish the day before school started.

"Sun Xiaolei, haven't you finished your winter break homework yet?"

Sun Xiaolei looked up, her face flushing red. "Teacher Lin, I... I was so close."

Which subject?

"math."

"That's not my responsibility." Lin Zhiyuan smiled, walked up to the podium, and began writing the topic of the lesson on the blackboard.

Sun Xiaolei breathed a sigh of relief and continued to bury herself in her writing.

When the bell rang, the classroom was already full. Lin Zhiyuan glanced around and saw Zhou Haitao sitting in his usual spot—the last row by the window. He seemed to have lost a little weight, but his eyes were still bright. Liu Qiang was also there, not slumped over sleeping like he had last semester, but sitting upright with his textbook in front of him.

Hello, students.

"Hello, teacher—" The voices were uneven and drawn out.

"The first class of the new semester won't be a lecture. Let's talk about the winter break."

A commotion broke out below. A boy shouted, "Teacher Lin, I went to Xiamen during winter break!" Another girl said, "I didn't go anywhere, I just stayed home and watched TV."

Lin Zhiyuan waited until they quieted down and said, "I'm not talking about where you went. I want you to tell me, is there anything that left a deep impression on you this winter break? Just one sentence is enough. Let's start from the first row."

The students took turns speaking. Some said, "My mom took away my New Year's money," some said, "My grandma told me stories about her when she was young," some said, "I learned to play chess," and some said, "I watched a rerun of 'Princess Pearl'."

When it was Zhou Haitao's turn, he hesitated for a moment and said, "I read a book."

"What book?"

"Ordinary World. Recommended by Teacher Lin last semester."

"Finished reading?"

"I've finished reading it."

"How do you feel?"

Zhou Haitao thought for a moment and said, "I think Sun Shaoping is me."

The classroom fell silent for a moment. Lin Zhiyuan looked at him. This thin boy sat in the corner and said, "Sun Shaoping is me," in a tone as calm as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.

"That's right," Lin Zhiyuan said. "That's why we need to study. We don't study for exams, we study to find ourselves in books."

two

During the first week of school, Lin Zhiyuan did something—he hung the literary society's sign on the door of an empty classroom.

He made the sign himself. He found a piece of plywood, cut it into a rectangle, wrote "Chenfan Literary Society" in red paint, and nailed it above the door frame. The handwriting wasn't very good, but from a distance it looked quite decent.

Chen Yutong was the first to arrive. She stood at the door, looking up at the sign. After a long while, she said, "Teacher Lin, you wrote the stroke of the character '帆' (fan) crooked."

Lin Zhiyuan looked up and said, "It's alright."

"It's crooked, it's crooked." Chen Yutong walked into the classroom, found a seat by the window, and sat down. "But it doesn't matter, no one's looking closely anyway."

Several new faces joined the literary society this semester. One of them was a boy named Li Siyuan, from Class 5 of Grade 11. He wore round-framed glasses and spoke in a refined manner, clearly indicating that he had read a lot of books. He showed Lin Zhiyuan a novel he had written during the winter break. It was about a teenager running away from home. His writing was immature, but he had a lot of drive.

There was another girl named Wu Tingting, from Class 2 of Grade 1, who had beautiful handwriting. She volunteered to be in charge of the literary society's bulletin board and handwritten newspaper, which Lin Zhiyuan was eager to do.

In the first activity, Lin Zhiyuan let the students decide on their own plans for the semester.

"I was the one lecturing last semester, but this semester you'll be the ones lecturing." He wrote a few large characters on the blackboard: Chenfan - My Voice.

After a few seconds of silence, Li Siyuan raised his hand.

"Teacher Lin, I'd like to talk about 'Fortress Besieged'."

"OK."

"I want to talk about it too," Chen Yutong said lazily, sprawled on the table. "I want to talk about... *Dream of the Red Chamber*."

Which episode are you referring to?

"I don't know. Whatever."

"Anything will do," Lin Zhiyuan said. "Here's the arrangement: those who want to speak, sign up this week, decide on your topic, and go back to prepare. Starting next Saturday, each person will speak for forty minutes at a time. After each presentation, we'll have a discussion."

"Forty minutes?" Chen Yutong looked up. "I'll run out of things to say after ten minutes."

"Then you can speak for ten minutes. The key is to say what you want to say."

After the meeting, Zhou Haitao stayed behind to help Lin Zhiyuan tidy up the tables and chairs. He carefully stacked the chairs one by one, moving very gently, afraid of making a sound.

"Teacher Lin."

"Um?"

"I'd like to speak too."

"What are you going to say?"

"Speak of... Wang Zengqi." Zhou Haitao's voice was soft, but very certain.

Lin Zhiyuan recalled the book of Wang Zengqi's essays he had lent him last semester, and the two-thousand-word reflection he had written afterward. He nodded: "Okay. When would you like to talk about it?"

"Either is fine. When I'm not nervous."

"That might take a long time," Lin Zhiyuan laughed. "If you're nervous, then so be it. Who isn't nervous? I even talked about 'the same ball' in my first class."

Zhou Haitao also smiled, a faint but genuine smile.

three

In mid-March, something unexpected happened to Lin Zhiyuan.

That afternoon, he was grading papers in his office when Chen Mingyuan came over and placed an envelope on his desk.

"For you."

Lin Zhiyuan opened the envelope; inside was a red invitation. He paused, surprised—he didn't know many people in this county; who would send him an invitation?

Upon opening it, it read:

"We cordially invite Mr. Lin Zhiyuan to attend the 18th birthday banquet of Ms. Zhao Xiaoman at Anyuan Hotel at 12:00 noon on Sunday, March 18, 2001."

Zhao Xiaoman.

He remembered. She was a student in his class, sitting in the third row from the middle, with long hair and big eyes. She didn't talk much in class, but her homework was always neatly handed in. That was all he remembered about her.

"A student invites the teacher to their birthday party?" Lin Zhiyuan asked Chen Mingyuan.

"Zhao Xiaoman? Her father is Deputy Director Zhao of the county, right?" Chen Mingyuan pushed up his glasses. "You'd better go and see him. Director Zhao has influence in the county; the school sometimes needs to ask him for favors."

Lin Zhiyuan was reluctant to go. He wasn't used to this kind of occasion, and he felt it was a bit strange for a student to invite their teacher to their birthday party.

But the next day, Zhao Xiaoman came to his office in person.

"Teacher Lin, you must come to my birthday party on Sunday." She spoke with a smile, but there was something in her tone that left no room for refusal, as if she had grown up in an environment where "everyone had to listen to me."

"I might have something to do that day..."

"What could it be?" Zhao Xiaoman tilted her head to look at him. "There are no classes on Sunday."

Lin Zhiyuan was speechless.

"Come on, Teacher Lin, I've invited several teachers, and Teacher Chen will come too." Zhao Xiaoman said and ran off, not giving him a chance to refuse.

On Sunday, Lin Zhiyuan still went. He wore a clean white shirt, rode his bicycle for twenty minutes, and arrived at the best hotel in the county town—Anyuan Hotel.

The banquet hall was decorated grandly, with balloons, ribbons, flowers, and a three-tiered cake. Many people came, including Zhao Xiaoman's classmates and relatives, as well as some middle-aged men in shirts and ties, who were clearly Director Zhao's colleagues or friends.

Lin Zhiyuan found a corner to sit down, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Chen Mingyuan also arrived, chatting with a middle-aged man while holding a teacup. Wang Jianguo wasn't there; he said, "Inviting teachers to their birthday parties is just adding trouble for the teachers."

Zhao Xiaoman wore a red dress, her hair down, and light makeup, looking completely different from how she appeared at school. She flitted around the room, greeting this person and chatting and laughing with that person, like a socialite.

Lin Zhiyuan sat in the corner, watching all this, feeling somewhat dazed. This was his student. In the classroom, she was a student; outside the school gates, she had her own world, a world he knew nothing about.

Director Zhao came over to offer a toast. He was in his early forties, his hair was neatly combed, his belly was slightly protruding, and he spoke in a loud voice: "Teacher Lin, Xiaoman often mentions you. She says you teach Chinese very well, and it's particularly interesting."

"Director Zhao, you're too kind. Xiaoman studies very hard."

"What's there to be serious about?" Director Zhao laughed. "Her Chinese is alright, but her math is a complete mess. Teacher Lin, could you keep a close eye on her for me? Give her some pointers if she needs it, and discipline her if necessary. We won't cover for her."

"Don't worry, Director Zhao, I will."

Director Zhao patted him on the shoulder and turned to greet other guests.

Lin Zhiyuan sat for a while, preparing to leave early. As he reached the door, Zhao Xiaoman chased after him.

"Teacher Lin, why are you leaving? We haven't cut the cake yet."

"I have other things to do."

Zhao Xiaoman looked at him and suddenly said, "Teacher Lin, don't you find this boring?"

Lin Zhiyuan was taken aback. He hadn't expected Zhao Xiaoman to be so direct.

"It's not that it's boring," he said, carefully choosing his words, "it's just... in your kind of setting, with your teacher present, you all feel a bit awkward."

Zhao Xiaoman smiled, her smile revealing a maturity beyond her years: "Teacher Lin, you really know how to talk."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Actually, my dad asked me to invite you. He said that having a good relationship with the teacher is good for your studies."

Lin Zhiyuan didn't know how to respond to that.

"But," Zhao Xiaoman's voice lowered, "I also want to ask you. You are the only teacher... who doesn't treat me like Director Zhao's daughter."

After saying that, she turned and ran back to the banquet hall.

Lin Zhiyuan stood at the doorway, a spring breeze carrying the scent of flowers. He got on his bicycle and slowly rode back. Zhao Xiaoman's last words kept replaying in his mind.

"They don't treat me like Director Zhao's daughter's teacher."

He reflected that in the past six months, he realized he hadn't really paid attention to his students' family backgrounds. He hadn't cared much about whose father was a bureau chief, whose mother was a teacher, or whose family lived in the countryside. What he cared about was whether their essays contained truth, whether they were paying attention in class, and whether students like Zhou Haitao had enough to eat.

Is this considered a dereliction of duty? He couldn't say for sure.

But he felt that this was probably how a teacher should be.

four

In early April, the school organized a spring outing.

It was called a spring outing, but it was really just the whole school hiking up a mountain east of the county town for some group activities. They ate the dry food they brought with them for lunch and returned in the afternoon. In this year of increasing exam pressure, such activities are rare. The principal decided, "Once a year, the children need to get some fresh air."

Lin Zhiyuan led the students of Class 3, Grade 1, in the middle of the line.

The mountain path wasn't steep, but it was quite long; it took more than an hour to reach the summit. At the top, there was a flat area offering views of the entire county town, the winding river, the densely packed houses, and the distant, rolling green hills.

"Teacher Lin, look, that's our school!" Sun Xiaolei shouted, pointing down the mountain.

Looking over, Lin Zhiyuan could only see a blur of gray buildings, unable to distinguish one from another.

The students dispersed; some ate snacks, some played cards, and some lay on the grass sunbathing. Lin Zhiyuan found a rock to sit on, took out his water bottle, and drank some water.

Zhou Haitao walked over and sat down next to him.

"Teacher Lin, what's outside the county town?"

"Outside the county town is the city. Outside the city is the provincial capital. Outside the provincial capital is the outside world."

"I mean," Zhou Haitao said, gazing into the distance, ""somewhere even further away."

Lin Zhiyuan thought for a moment: "Before I went to university, I had never left the county. Later, when I went to the provincial capital, I realized how big the world is."

Is the provincial capital big?

"It's huge. So big you'll get lost."

Zhou Haitao was silent for a moment, then said, "I want to go to university in the provincial capital."

"Then go," Lin Zhiyuan said. "Your grades aren't bad, so if you work a little harder, you have a chance."

"My English is not good."

"Then improve your English. There are still more than two years left, it's not too late."

Zhou Haitao nodded and said nothing more. The mountain wind blew, making his hair a mess. He squinted, looking into the distance, as if he were looking at a place he couldn't yet see.

Liu Qiang approached us at some point, holding a bag of spicy strips, his mouth red from chewing.

"Teacher Lin, do you think I'll be able to get into university?"

What was your class ranking in the final exams last semester?

"More than a hundred, I guess."

"So, do you think you can?"

Liu Qiang thought for a moment and said, "I don't know either."

"Then don't worry about whether you can or not. Think about how to learn first," Lin Zhiyuan said. "You focus on improving your math and English, and I'll take care of your Chinese. Don't let the other subjects drag you down. When you choose your major in the second year of high school, will you choose humanities or science?"

"Humanities, I guess. I'm not good at science."

"That's perfect, since Chinese language accounts for a large portion of the score in the humanities." Lin Zhiyuan stood up, brushed the dirt off his pants, and said, "Liu Qiang, let me tell you, you're not stupid, you just don't put in the effort. If you put your heart into it, you're no worse than anyone else."

Liu Qiang stuffed the last spicy strip into his mouth and mumbled, "I'll give it a try."

五

After returning from the spring outing, Lin Zhiyuan noticed some changes in the class.

First up is Zhou Haitao. He never used to raise his hand to answer questions, but this week he raised his hand twice. Although his voice was still not loud, at least he dared to.

Next was Liu Qiang. He finally started handing in his homework, although his handwriting still looked like a crab's crawl, at least he did it. Lin Zhiyuan praised him in class, and he blushed, lying on his desk pretending not to hear.

Then there was Zhao Xiaoman. She still didn't talk much in class, but Lin Zhiyuan noticed that she had started taking notes. Her textbooks, which used to be spotless, were now covered with dense writing.

The biggest change happened to Chen Yutong.

She took the initiative to approach Lin Zhiyuan and said that she no longer wanted to talk about "Dream of the Red Chamber" and wanted to change the topic.

"What are you going to say?"

"Talking about Sanmao."

Why?

"Because... Sanmao's writings made me feel that people don't have to live such an abnormal life."

Lin Zhiyuan looked at her. The girl still looked listless, but there was something new in her eyes. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but at that moment he made a decision.

"Okay. You'll talk about Sanmao. Get ready."

"I will." Chen Yutong was unusually serious for once.

The midterm exams are at the end of April.

The two classes Lin Zhiyuan taught ranked third and fourth in the grade in Chinese language this time, a slight improvement from last semester. Chen Mingyuan looked at the report card and nodded: "Not bad. Lin, you're getting better and better at teaching."

But what made Lin Zhiyuan happiest was not the improvement in his average score.

Zhou Haitao scored 86 points in Chinese, ranking third in the class.

Liu Qiang's Chinese score improved from 62 points last semester to 71 points.

It was Chen Yutong's essay, about a spring outing. It was nearly two thousand words long, describing the mountains, the wind, the distant county town, and her loneliness. Lin Zhiyuan gave her a high score, with only one comment: "You've finally started writing about yourself."

He carefully put away the report card and walked out of the office. On the playground, the setting sun shone brightly on the treetops of the sycamore trees, as if gilding each leaf with gold.

He stood under the sycamore tree for a while, then walked back to his dormitory.

I ran into Wang Jianguo on the way. He was carrying a bag of vegetables and looked like he was coming back from the market.

"Zhiyuan, I want to ask you something."

"What is it?"

Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?

Lin Zhiyuan was taken aback for a moment: "No. What's wrong?"

"My wife's colleague's younger sister is a doctor at the county hospital. She's a year younger than you, good-looking, and well-off. Would you like to meet her?"

Lin Zhiyuan recalled his mother's words during the New Year, and then thought about his own age of twenty-three. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll meet her."

"Then it's settled." Wang Jianguo patted him on the shoulder. "My wife will make the arrangements this weekend."

Lin Zhiyuan returned to his dormitory and sat down at his desk. Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened, and in the distance, frogs croaked, one call after another, as if calling his name.

He opened his lesson plan book, preparing for tomorrow's lesson. But he sat there for a long time without writing a single word.

He was thinking that Chen Yutong would be talking about Sanmao next Saturday.

He was also thinking about meeting a girl, a doctor, this weekend.

Spring has truly arrived.