CHAPTER 996: CHAPTER 574: SHIFTING THE CALAMITY ELSEWHERE

The street outside the Fourth Middle School extends a long way, with many snack vendors and street stalls, bustling with crowds.

Nowadays, Yu Zhou Fourth Middle School has seen tremendous profits following the rise of the Evergreen Liquid Company. Both student enrollment and teacher numbers have increased significantly, which in turn has greatly thrived this accompanying street.

Dan Kaiquan walked down the street, taking in the vibrant scene around him, and remarked, "Our town’s high school has one less class in the first year this year."

Guo Kunnan could understand, "In the future, there will be fewer and fewer people in town. When I was in third grade, there were 10 classes in the first year of junior high in our town, and by the time I got to the first year, there were only 7 classes."

"Yeah, everyone goes to the county town or the urban area for school," Dan Kaiquan sighed, "Many people from our village who work have gone to the county town and bought houses there."

Unlike schools in remote areas, Yu Zhou Fourth Middle School keeps progressing and is full of vitality.

"Brother Nan, there’s a stall selling thermos liners over there. Do you want to ask about the price?" Dan Kaiquan suggested.

Guo Kunnan looked over and indeed saw an aunt selling daily necessities at a mixed goods stall.

"How much is the liner?" Guo Kunnan asked the price.

"Seven yuan."

It was quite cheap, and Guo Kunnan decided, "Alright, I’ll take one, and I’ll check out other things too."

He bought a towel, a shoe brush, and various other bits and bobs from the stall, all at reasonable prices, and ended up eyeing a pair of cotton shoes.

Now it’s November, the weather is starting to get cold, winter is coming, and the Fourth Middle School hasn’t installed air conditioning yet. In Yuzhou, winter can be several degrees below zero, and it’s really cold on the feet in the classroom.

Getting a pair of cotton shoes in advance can help fend off the cold, "How much are they?"

"Twenty-five yuan," the stall owner aunty said.

Guo Kunnan knew that at these small stalls, you could often haggle over the price. Haggling could save you two or three yuan, which would buy an extra chicken fillet with your evening pancake!

He haggled, "I’ve bought so many things, give me a better price, how about twenty?"

The aunty quickly shook her head, "No way, I bought them for twenty-four yuan, selling them to you for twenty means I’m losing money."

Guo Kunnan didn’t believe it, persisting, "I’ve bought quite a bit, you must be making a good profit, how about twenty?"

The two of them continued to haggle over the price.

Zhang Chi was absent-mindedly surveying the surrounding stalls and was attracted by a ring-toss stall not far away where some students were playing and winning a toy. Watching them made Zhang Chi itch to have a go.

Suddenly, the voices around him grew louder, and Guo Kunnan took out some money and said, "Sister, this is all the money I have. If you agree, I’ll buy it right away!"

The aunty was a bit swayed, after all, this purchase included the thermos liner and various other items plus the cotton shoes, totaling more than forty yuan, still a decent profit.

But before agreeing, she still tried to reason with him, "At this price, I’m not making any money."

Guo Kunnan said, "I’m out of money!"

The aunty looked towards his companion, urging, "You can borrow some from your classmate if you’re short."

Guo Kunnan patted Zhang Chi on the shoulder and complained to the aunty, "Look at him, he can hardly afford to eat, it’s a miracle if he has money!"

Zhang Chi, still focused on the ring-toss stall far away, was suddenly dragged in and disparaged, making him feel his dignity was severely insulted, is that how you see me?

Zhang Chi, with his neck stiffened, retorted indignantly, "Bullshit, who says I don’t have money!?"

Guo Kunnan and the vendor fell silent after hearing this.

Guo Kunnan said nothing, preparing to quietly pay up.

Zhang Chi suddenly remembered that Guo Kunnan was haggling, and his face remained defiant as he rummaged through his pockets, only to curse:

"Damn, I really don’t have money!"

...

The first session of the evening self-study.

Chemistry teacher Guo Ran’s class, she really liked jeans, and tonight she wore a pair of dark jeans that hugged her rounded legs, stretching all the way up and stopping at her waist.

Her slender waist and full hip curves made her walk gracefully, extremely pleasing to the eye.

As Guo Ran entered Class 8, her gaze sought out Jiang Ning first, before skimming over the other students in the class.

Even though Guo Ran was very beautiful, she wasn’t strict, so her intimidating power was far less than that of teachers like Gao Heshuai.

When it was time for chemistry class, everyone was always very relaxed.

Some daring students, like Duan Shigang, had planned with Deng Xiang and Shen Xu that night to eat barbecue and drink, so he was directly sleeping to conserve energy.

Not everyone had the privilege of Xue Yuantong, the Fourth Middle School now was not the Fourth Middle School of the past, the principal repeatedly emphasized in meetings to maintain good grades and not ruin the school’s reputation.

Therefore, when Guo Ran saw students sleeping, she couldn’t just ignore it.

If the grade level inspector outside found out, she would surely be criticized.

After explaining a problem, Guo Ran indicated Zhang Chi to pat his deskmate.

Zhang Chi straightened his posture, raised his palm, lined up the shot, and slapped it across Gangzi’s head, waking him up.

Duan Shigang, startled from his sleep, frantically asked, "What’s happening? What’s happening?"

Zhang Chi gestured to the teacher on the podium, Guo Ran.

Guo Ran said in a deliberately stern tone:

"Duan Shigang, I won’t say anything about you sleeping in this class, but with the strict environment at the Fourth Middle School, if you sleep again, I’ll have to make you stand up and listen to the lesson."

Even though she was stern, her appearance lacked any real menace, making her seem very beautiful and approachable.

Duan Shigang, already a seasoned individual from societal experiences, a bit of a slick character, replied with a big grin:

"Teacher, I wasn’t sleeping! You saw wrong!"

After saying this, he wanted to see Guo Ran’s slightly angry expression.

Beautiful women are even more beautiful when they are angry, which is why people can’t help but provoke them.