Chapter 30 (1/2)
None of the three were born in wealthy family, and none of them would like to
Waste any foods, especially for Li Datian. He had been accustomed to the frugality lifestyle. So, he insisted that they could have the dinner together with the rest of foods. He washed the dishes and packed the rest of foods to take back dormitory.
Badou nearly couldn’t contain his disgusts, while he said nothing when he thought about the tasteless dinner offered by the canteen.
When they returned dormitory, Chen Jian was still reading. At this moment, it occurred to Xue that Chen Jian seemed hadn’t show up in canteen.
However, since he was still unfamiliar with Chen, he didn’t want to ask more boldly.
The three of them went to the Boiler Room and got their faces washed. Then they turned back to have an afternoon nap.
About an hour, they got up only to found Chen Jian reading as the same.
At this time, Xue Tingxiang had some basic understanding of Chen anyway. No matter how the others commented on Chen, he was reading hard working. Perhaps he studied so hard because of his poverty-stricken family?
Xue wondered, and somehow he recalled what he used to be in the dream.
In the afternoon, all of the students were called to gather in the Big Hall.
The Big Hall was actually big, including two big rooms at the right and left in respective. There were windows on three of the walls of the Big Hall. The rostrum was at the rest of the wall without window.
There were no desks nor chairs. Everyone was sitting on the floor, and each of them had a low table in front. Owing to the windows around the Big Wall, the lighting condition was really good.
More than twenty students were allocated in class B, occupying up to 70% of the total students in QingYuan school. As for the other 10 students, they were in the class A beside the class B with no doubt.
Behind the rostrum standing an over fifty-year-old elder. Thin and tall, with grey hair, looked strict and serious. He left soon with concise order for students that they should claim their books by themselves.
The responsible persons to distribute books were two students as well, while they seemed to have been here for a long period of the time. And they were pretty familiar with the many other students.
However, these books should be returned to school at the end of each school year and could not be brought back home.
These books were gained by the elder teacher. Because many books had been used by students, the students still claimed the former ones respectively.
When it was the freshmen’s turn, the brand books had been selected. The rest of the books were worn and shabby. The freshmen had no choice. And Xue was at the end of the queue.
Both Badou and Li had gotten their books already. When they saw the broken and worn books allocated to Xue, they felt a little agitated.
Badou could not help complaining, “these are really not very good. Could you please change for some books better?”
The responsible person, the senior student, refused with an air of righteousness, “you are not new here, and you must clearly know the rules. There is no new for change. These are all.”
Badou stared at him with angry, “He Ming, you must have allocated these books to Tingxing out of the dislike of me. You cannot be like this. I can see there are books better in the case.”
“Out of the dislike of you?”He Ming sat around and repeated what Badou said again.
He pretended to have no interest in such stupid behaviors and he said with uncontainable despise, “Why should I ever care about that? You’ve been here for three years, and haven’t been able to pass the imperial examination even for once. Ha. Non sense.”
The other students at present had tried their best to make Badou less embarrassed, while there was someone who could not help breaking out into laughter. Badou’s face flashed at once.
“I have been decent with integrity. The books in the case have been claimed by him.” He Ming said, pointing at a direction.
Everyone was looking to the pointed direction, and finally saw Chen Jian, who had stood behind and kept silence from the beginning.
Wearing a grey-brown worn out blouse with a lot of patches with faint faces, Chen Jian was really not very eye-catching.
To be honest, he was not just not VERY eye-catching. His clothes were dirty grey, and he was always avoiding the eyesight of the others. All of these had discomforted the others.
At this moment, Chen Jian had no choice but to elevate his head.
There were not special features on his face, and people might even not be able to figure him out in the crowds. However, his eyes were slanted, darkened, and radiant, with secrets contained inside.
“Chen Jian have been here for a long period of the time. He of course should be placed at the priority. That is the rule. You remember?”
Hearing He Ming’s words, all of the students understood him. There indeed existed such unspoken rule in Qing Yuan School.
In fact, since Qing Yuan School was on the declination and the accessible resources became fewer and fewer, the only way to maintain the operational activities was to recruit more students to support the school financially.
However, the owner of the school was kind and merciful, and would not like to increase the tuition fees, which might account for the lack of economic resources of Qing Yuan School.
When Qing Yuan School was at its peak, the books allocated for students were printed, while now the most of allocated books were copy versions.
Even so, these books were worn out after the recycling consumption year by year.
Therefore, with so many students, the books were far from enough. Under such condition, an unspoken rule was formed. The new books would be allocated to the students in class A, and then would be for students in class B. The seniors could use the new books, and the freshmen could only use the old ones.
Chen Jian had been disliked by the others in Qing Yuan School, no matter why he was so disgusted by the others. Even though he had been here for a long period of the time, he was never regarded as the senior student.
This time, he was promoted and was even included into the senior students by He Ming!
However, with the words said by Badou taken into account, such promotion was not out of no reasons. Perhaps He Ming was actually taking his revenge on Badou in this way? Nevertheless, He Ming had provided strong reasons to cover his revenge anyway.
Badou was straight and just, and planned to argue with He Ming. However, he was stopped by Xue. “It’s OK to have book. It’s nothing to be bothered by this.” Said Xue.
He packed these books with bags well, then leave with Badou. Li followed them later.
It was not until they had got out the Big Hall that Badou asked Xue, “Ting Xing, why you stopped me just now? He Ming was obviously using excuses to take his revenge. Chen Jian was merely utilized by him to alienate our relationships inside our dormitory.”
“You see, you clearly understand these all. Then there is no need to argue with him. Besides, the excuse he has used is the rule of this school. If you argue with him, you may take an unfavorable position.”
“But Chen Jian has being using the shabbiest and worn books!”
“Then why should Chen be treated so? There is no one deserve such treatment.” Even though he smiled, Xue seemed to have revealed his strong emotions in his tone and voices.
Xue recalled the dream, in which he was the outsider and underdog when he studied in Qing He School.
At that time, Zhao’er had run out all of the money to support him to study in the School. There was no money more for him to buy new clothes and schoolbags.
Due to that, he was regarded as the outsider at the first day.
Then, he could not afford even a dish, and ate the cheapest buns and rice. Thereupon, more and more his fellows started to look down upon him.
In spite of his poverty, Xue Jun was one of the reasons why he should have suffered all of those.
His anecdotes about his child bride, Zhao’er and his unfiliality to have annoyed his grandparents all had been told by Xue Jun to the others. Unfortunately, Xue Jun came to Qing He School earlier than him, and even had a lot of friends.
Even though Xue Tingxiang was not short of money anymore owing to Zhao’er’s success in business, and had performed pretty good through hard work, his situation had been improved until he left Qing He School.
It occurred to Xue Tingxiang that he was comparing the situations between himself and Chen Jian. He just could not move his eyes from Chen Jian since he met with Chen at the first time.
It was at this moment that Xue understood why he should have been so concerned of Chen Jian. Chen Jian was just the same like himself in the dream, the same gloomy, silent, conservative, even under-esteemed.
“You say so because you don’t what have happened. You…” Badou suddenly stopped talking as he saw Chen Jian was coming near with a pill of books in his hands.
Chen Jian’s head remained half-lowered, while he looked up at Xue when he passed by them.