After a simple rebirth

Everything was over just in time for dinner, which was actually a bit awkward for them. They went back without eating and everyone was hungry. It was almost dawn when they got back to Gumang and there was nothing to eat, but it would not be good to tell anyone about it.

After we finish our meal we will go back and start a night drive. It's not like we were in a rush to compete like we did yesterday, so safety is definitely our priority.

Finally, Teacher Li and Director Chen discussed it, and Director Chen decided to stay one more night and contact the school to inform them to go back after lunch the next morning.

Fu Ying and her schoolmate got into the car obediently and went out to eat.

We went to a restaurant diagonally opposite the No. 1 Middle School. Looking out from the private room, we could clearly see the imposing school gate of the No. 1 Middle School and the large open space.

Fu Ying thought to herself, wow, the director really didn't do it on purpose? Even though the competition is over, it's still okay to run to the food stall in front of someone else's door to eat.

There was a large table in the box that could seat about twelve people. Fu Ying felt that Director Chen must have other purposes, but she didn't know who else he had invited to dine with them.

After sitting for a while, five people came in one after another. After listening to their introductions, I found out that they were all teachers. Only one of them was a county leader who transferred from a teaching position to the Education Bureau, while the other four were teachers in the city’s high schools.

Fu Ying understood, and recalled the rumor that Teacher Tan Hao was poaching people everywhere. Director Chen must be responsible for Director Tan's poaching mission during this business trip!

Instead of inviting the school leaders to dinner, they invited the teachers. I think everyone can feel it.

Director Chen, isn’t he afraid of being scolded to death by the teachers at No. 1 Middle School, nor is he afraid of being scolded by the city leaders?

Fu Ying understood, but pretended not to know.

The junior was nervous in front of so many teachers, so she would occasionally talk to her and hand her tissues, but she was always listening to the teachers' conversation.

Although she is not a person with high emotional intelligence, she can still roughly understand what everyone is trying to express from the conversation.

The director has been promoting Gumang's bright future, and the county leaders are also helping to speak up, from salary to living conditions to promotion opportunities. This is the first time Fu Ying knows that Director Chen is so good at boasting.

Occasionally when she mentioned students' performance, she would not forget to bring up Fu Ying. When Fu Ying heard her name, she nodded quickly and said nice things about her.

The meal took quite a long time. Fu Ying glanced at her watch and saw that it had been an hour and a half.

Seeing that it was almost time, Director Chen asked Teacher Li to take the two of them for a walk, but not too far, as he would pick them up and take them back to the hotel later.

Fu Ying knew that Director Chen was going to use his big move, but it was not suitable for the students to hear.

Maybe these teachers will not be easily tempted, nor will they immediately agree to teach at Gumang, but being able to plant a seed in their hearts and promote Gumang among this wave of experienced teachers is the first step to success for the newly started Gumang High School Department.

Fu Ying and the other two were just wandering around the area. The area near the key high school was relatively quiet. There were school district houses all around, and all of the residents were students’ families, with generally better quality.

Fu Ying thought they could just walk down the street to talk to Director Chen, but they ended up walking to a memorial archway.

At first, Fu Ying thought it was just the memorial archway at the entrance of the village or town, but when she heard Teacher Li say that this seemed to be an ancient city, Fu Ying remembered that there was a large and famous ancient city in the city. She had never been there and had no intention of visiting it on purpose. Unexpectedly, she found herself at the entrance of the ancient city after taking a few turns.

Looking at the No. 1 Middle School of the city not far away, it is true that the heritage of this century-old school is still different. Being built next to the famous ancient city, it must be a school with a long history, many talented people, and highly respected.

The schoolgirl took the lead and walked into the tall archway with great interest. Under the archway was a road paved with smooth stone slabs. The archway was a renovated shop, which looked more like a Hui-style building, but also mixed with French-style arcade-style buildings.

But no matter what kind of building it is, big red lanterns are hung high. There are three diamond-shaped lanterns standing in a row, which makes it possible to see the road clearly and adds to the ancient charm.

When she reached the crossroads, there was a monument and a display board. Fu Ying realized that since Wumeng is located on a plateau, many people came here to mine and develop. People who came here to do business during the Ming and Qing dynasties built guild halls of local chambers of commerce, and gradually formed this ancient city.

The ancient city was not lively at night, with only a few shops open. The three of them walked slowly.

There were a few old ladies sitting at the doorstep enjoying the cool air. You could tell at a glance that they were from ethnic minorities. Their hair and foreheads were wrapped in black cloth, and they were wearing blue clothes with black edges. There was also an old lady wearing black and white clothes with a white background.

The three of them didn't walk too far as they were afraid of getting lost, so they walked along one street and returned when they reached almost the end.

Teacher Li was just about to ask Director Chen how long it would take when a call came in. After the communication, Director Chen quickly came over to pick them up and take them back to the hotel.

Fu Ying slept much better tonight.

The next day, after breakfast and checking out, there was one more person returning to the city, the county leader who had dinner with me the night before.

The three girls sat in the back and let their leader sit in the passenger seat.

The return journey was smooth. After dropping off their leaders in the county, they returned to Gumang. Director Chen sent them home very kindly. They first went to their schoolmate's home, then to Fu Ying's home, and finally Director Chen and Teacher Li returned to the teachers' dormitory of Gumang Middle School.

Fu Ying came into the house, hugging the child who greeted her. Fu Yu looked at her face and thought the result should not be bad news, so he asked her about the result of the competition. Fu Ying simply said that she won first place and said nothing more.

She still doesn't like to over-publicize her achievements. She is very happy to get first place, and her family is happy too. As for whether it is difficult or stressful, she has passed it.

During the flag-raising ceremony on Monday, the school teacher read out her results. When she went on stage to receive her award again, Fu Ying immediately felt the attention of many eyes.

Most of these looks were filled with admiration for the top student.

If Fu Ying had won first place consecutively in the past, everyone thought she was amazing, but at the same time, they also felt a little bit unconvinced, thinking that she was only amazing at school, and that she got first place because there weren't so many people in her second year of high school.

This competition clearly showed the gap between Fu Ying and them. Even though the teacher may have exaggerated the number of participating schools and students, it is a fact that Fu Ying defeated the old key high schools such as No. 1 Middle School. They were people who could not even get into No. 1 Middle School, but Fu Ying was able to defeat the students of No. 1 Middle School.

This sudden and unreachable huge gap made them truly feel how powerful Fu Ying was, and their jealousy turned into conviction. It also included a sense of pride in getting first place in the school. Although they were not first, they were students from the same school who got first place.

Fu Ying didn't care too much about these things. Perhaps it would be more fun to have someone accompany her on the road to study, but the most important thing must be her own independent growth.

After the flag-raising ceremony, she was called over by her class teacher.

"Fu Ying, your performance in this competition really gave me a big surprise. You have brought great honor to the school and the county, and set a very good example for your classmates."

Fu Ying is still modest.

"Teacher, it just happened. The competition was a bit rushed and many students were not well prepared. I was lucky enough to get first place. I'm not that good."

"No matter what, it is a fact that you got first place, and the school is proud of you!

This time I came to talk to you mainly about the prize money for your competition. I have already secured the extra scholarship I told you about before I left. In addition, the first prize in the city is 1000, and the first prize in the county is 800. I will give them all to you at the end of the semester. Are you satisfied with this result?"

Fu Ying felt like a pie was thrown on her face again. Why was this surprise so big?

"Teacher, is this true? This competition isn't very prestigious, so how come there's so much prize money?"

Teacher Tan replied with a smile,

“It’s not easy for the city to hold a competition. You know that it was very troublesome for the schools in the towns and villages in the past. It’s good enough that we can finish the competition in one day this time, so the prize money will be higher.

As for the bonus from the county, it is because although our county has a large population and many schools, its overall performance is not impressive and is often inferior to the counties around the city. Therefore, it is rare for the county to give so much this time.

The town didn’t give it to us because we are the only high school in the town and all the resources are tilted towards us, so the town’s awards are represented by the school, which means your final scholarship is set in stone.”

Fu Ying suddenly realized that it was just a coincidence.

After a few years, when Gumang Middle School has developed and achieved good results in various competitions, the prize money may not be so high. She just happened to have achieved good results in the initial stage.

"I understand. Thank you, teacher, and thank you, school."

"Fu Ying, there is one more thing. I heard from Director Chen and Teacher Li that you paid great attention to your manners during the competition. The judges recognized your performance and gave you high scores. The school and I are curious, how did you know all this?"

Fu Ying couldn't say that she had learned this knowledge and had competition experience in her previous life. She could only have seen it on the computer. Fortunately, there was a computer at home.

"This started when I performed at the last school anniversary celebration. I discovered that good manners can make people feel very comfortable. During the winter vacation and weekends, when I had free time, I watched some videos on modern business etiquette and adjusted my behavior based on what the teachers said. In particular, a few days before the competition, I focused on practicing my smile and way of speaking. I think I learned well, so the performance was also good."

"That's good, your idea is right, the school didn't pay much attention to this before.

Teacher Li said she is also very interested. You can share the video you watched with her. She plans to open a separate etiquette course in the next semester after school to guide students.

So next time the school has a competition, Teacher Li will probably still lead the team, and you can also give guidance to the students participating in the competition when you are free and convenient."

Fu Ying nodded. Teacher Li was considered to have been promoted. He was responsible for leading the team in more competitions. He would probably become a director in the future.

After saying goodbye to her head teacher, Fu Ying walked towards the classroom. She would sort out the videos when she got back and then give them to the teacher. She didn’t know which videos she could find yet!

The classmates in the class were more excited about the results of the competition than she was. They pulled her aside to talk about the competition. Fu Ying had no choice but to talk about the thrilling and interesting things.

The turmoil over the city competition didn't last long. The classmates' attention was diverted by new things, and Fu Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want to repeat the same thing too many times. Others might not be annoyed, but she was getting annoyed to death.