At seven in the morning, Tiantian got up on time and quickly washed up. Just as she was pulling out her suitcase and bedding, she heard Chen Dongyang talking to the boss.
She had told him he didn't need to see her off, yet here he was.
Tiantian placed the four-piece bedding set on the suitcase and struggled downstairs. Chen Dongyang heard the movement, rushed up in three steps, and blocked her way.
"That's heavy. Why didn't you call me? Let go, I'll take it."
Chen Dongyang took the suitcase and went ahead, heading downstairs.
The boss smiled at the two of them. Tiantian handed him the room key, and the boss returned her deposit.
"We welcome you to visit again."
Chen Dongyang put the suitcase in the trunk and came over to greet Tiantian. "Let's grab some breakfast first, we still have plenty of time."
After all, one had to eat to live. Tiantian didn't argue and followed his steps to the establishment across the street.
There were pan-fried dumplings, soy milk, fried dough sticks, and clear noodle soup. Chen Dongyang asked her what she wanted.
Tiantian had no appetite and asked for two pan-fried dumplings. Chen Dongyang thought it was too little and ordered her a bowl of tofu pudding, while he ordered a bowl of clear noodle soup for himself.
They sat facing each other, and the food arrived quickly.
This was Tiantian's first time seeing this kind of breakfast shop, which used plastic bowls.
The bowls were white, with oil stains on the rims, and the plastic spoons were yellowed, having been in the mouths of countless diners.
She felt a wave of nausea.
"Won't eating like this cause infectious diseases? I'm not eating."
At the same time, she was also worried about Chen Dongyang.
"You shouldn't eat either. Even without infectious diseases, you'll get poisoned by the plastic bowls."
To be honest, the hygiene conditions of the street stalls were indeed worrying, especially in small towns.
To save costs, the boss was reluctant to even use disposable containers.
He understood Tiantian's concern but also didn't want to waste the food.
"Alright, after this meal, I won't eat out anymore. I'll cook for myself."
"If you dislike the tofu pudding, just eat the dumplings."
Tiantian wrapped the dumplings in a plastic bag and began to eat them slowly and deliberately.
Chen Dongyang always looked ravenous. He picked up his noodles and shoveled them into his mouth, finishing in less than two minutes.
They drove to the school. Tiantian thought it was far, which was why he insisted on driving her, but it turned out to be less than a five-minute journey.
The school wasn't solemn or majestic. If it weren't for the difference between the large iron gate and the doors of the surrounding residential houses, one wouldn't have noticed it.
On either side of the iron gate hung a white wooden plaque, on which were written in block letters with black paint: Qingshui Town First Hope Primary School.
Tiantian was somewhat surprised. Wasn't this the school built by her parents through charity? Why was the school like this after spending so much money?
There were no security guards at the entrance, and the large iron gate was open. Chen Dongyang drove the car straight in.
Hearing the car, the principal, holding a bowl, came out to greet them.
Upon seeing Chen Dongyang, he immediately beamed, "Xiao Chen, you're here."
Chen Dongyang greeted the principal familiarly and then looked back at Tiantian.
She was dressed even more conservatively than yesterday, in a white T-shirt, loose jeans, and sneakers, with a simple ponytail.
She looked exactly like a college student who had just graduated.
The principal, seeing that she was clearly a volunteer teacher, so beautiful and so young, put his bowl down, wiped his hands on his clothes, and happily reached out towards Tiantian.
"You must be the new teacher, right? I'm the principal of this school, my surname is Zhang. Welcome, welcome."
Principal Zhang was around fifty years old, dressed very simply: a polo shirt, cheap suit pants, and dusty sandals. He looked kind and honest.
He was quite different from the shrewd businessmen she had met yesterday, and Tiantian had a good initial impression of him.
They shook hands politely, exchanged names, and the principal asked if they had eaten, then led them toward the cafeteria.
Tiantian said they had.
"Still, you must go and see what the cafeteria looks like."
Chen Dongyang pushed Tiantian towards the cafeteria. Before they even reached the entrance, they could hear the noisy, childish voices of children from inside.
The students were all eating breakfast here? Tiantian was a little surprised.
While she was still surprised, they had already arrived at the cafeteria entrance.
It was a large, empty room filled with discarded, peeling wooden desks. Boys and girls of all sizes, holding bowls of various shapes, were hunched over the tables, chatting and eating.
The scene was very lively and full of youthful energy.
As Tiantian watched, the principal walked a few steps inside and called out to several adults sitting among the students.
"Teacher Li, Teacher Wang, Teacher Tang, please come here."
The ones called were the three existing female teachers in the school, all dressed similarly to Tiantian.
Plain T-shirts, jeans, and sandals, with simple ponytails.
Two of them were very young, while the other looked to be in her thirties or forties.
The group walked over, and the principal introduced them.
"These are the existing teachers in our school. This is our new Teacher Jiang. You will all be colleagues from now on, so get acquainted and look out for each other."
The two young female teachers were also here for volunteer teaching, but their motivation was different from Tiantian's; they were doing it to improve their job prospects after graduation. The older teacher was a local and had been working for many years.
Originally, everyone's conditions were similar. Suddenly seeing Tiantian, who was as beautiful as a celestial being, with such a young and handsome man beside her, their moods became complicated.
After another round of introductions, Tiantian told them that they were colleagues from now on and asked for their guidance.
Two of the teachers nodded, but the young Teacher Tang's attention was on Chen Dongyang.
"What about him? Isn't he here to be a teacher?"
"Oh, he's not. He's..."
The principal then remembered to ask Chen Dongyang.
"You and Teacher Jiang are...?"
Chen Dongyang didn't know if Tiantian still recognized him and was afraid of upsetting her, so he didn't dare to say anything rashly and looked at Tiantian.
Tiantian thought for a moment. "He'll be leaving in a couple of days."
So that was it. Teacher Tang finally showed a kind smile.
While everyone was introducing themselves, they didn't notice that the previously noisy voices had gradually quieted down.
There weren't many outsiders in the small town, and the arrival of these two outstanding individuals made the children very curious.
As if seeing movie stars, they all stared curiously at Tiantian and Chen Dongyang.
Before they had seen enough, Chen Dongyang called Tiantian to leave.
"I'll take your luggage to the dormitory. You can stay here tonight."
Tiantian said goodbye to everyone and went to settle her luggage first. The principal walked out with them.
"I see, Teacher Jiang. Because our school is really short of teachers, and since you're already here and there's nothing else to do, you can start teaching right after you put your luggage away."
"The first and second grades are difficult to manage, Teacher Wang has more experience, so she'll take them. Teacher Tang and Teacher Zhang will take the third to fifth grades, as they are already familiar with them, so we won't change. You will directly teach the sixth grade."
With Tiantian's qualifications, teaching a mere sixth grade should not be a problem.
However, it was Tiantian's first time teaching, and she hadn't had time to prepare the lessons. She also didn't know where they were in the curriculum, and they were starting already?