Chapter 123 - Worse Than a Beast

Yuan Ziguang knew that the recent propaganda theme was related to the “Engine Operation.” The propaganda department was preparing public opinion. His gaze fell on the propaganda posters and slogans pasted on the classroom walls—all recently replaced. The posters and slogans were printed with woodblock carvings. The theme of the posters was a series of “pictures of refugees”: “natural and man-made disasters,” “displaced,” “selling children,” and “the road is lined with the starved.” The figures’ expressions and actions were rich—although they were just line drawings in monochrome, they were very vivid. He didn’t know if they were from an art-student Elder or, more likely, from a comic book in the Great Library.

Finally, there was a slogan: “Don’t forget the millions of suffering people of the Ming Dynasty!”

Yuan Ziguang felt that Dingding would definitely be satisfied with this arrangement. He cleared his throat and began his lecture in an orderly manner.

Before D-Day, Yuan Ziguang was a genuine junior high school math teacher, a graduate of a regular normal university. Both his parents were alive, and his family was well-off. His father was an air force pilot, and his mother was a primary school teacher. Except for the temporary lack of a younger sister, he didn’t seem like someone who would be determined to transmigrate.

However, Yuan Ziguang had a reason he had to transmigrate: he had pushed down his student, and it was a forced push. Although the matter was not exposed, Yuan Ziguang also knew that he would not have a good end once it was. So he resolutely chose to leave the old world and start over in a new one.

Of course, he had never revealed this past event to the “organization.” He was well aware that although half of this group of Elders claimed to be lolicons, once this kind of thing was known, he would definitely be extremely despised. He would have a handle on him, and of course, he wouldn’t be “heavily used.”

Because he had a teacher’s qualification certificate, Yuan Ziguang was favored by the head of the education department, Hu Qingbai. Many people wanted to be teachers, especially Elders who wanted to be teachers in the simple normal school class, but most of them were not from a teaching background and had no teaching experience. It was rare to have a few certified teachers, so as soon as he arrived at Fangcaodi, he was appointed as the head of the mathematics teaching and research group of the National School. The Fangcaodi National School was in its initial stage, and the teachers were not clearly divided into lower primary, upper primary, and middle school departments. They were only scheduled according to the subjects taught throughout the school system. So a math teacher might be teaching the multiplication table to the lower primary department in the first and second periods of the morning, and plane geometry to the upper primary department in the third and fourth periods. There were no middle school students at present.

Besides teaching, Yuan Ziguang also personally participated in the compilation of various textbooks. Because he was a teacher of Elder origin, he was also responsible for the daily education of the Elders’ children.

Compared to 21st-century China, the students of Fangcaodi were much harder-working. They not only had to be responsible for general affairs such as cleaning, cooking, and washing within the school according to the “self-governance,” “self-support,” and “self-study” principles of the People’s Committee of Education, but they also had to spend some of their spare time working in shifts in the school’s vegetable garden, breeding farm, and planting sheds. The curriculum was also a high-intensity eight periods a day. The school’s rules and regulations, and even etiquette, were very strict. Although the National School was essentially promoting popular education among the Guihua, in its operation, it was a model of an elite school, emphasizing that every action and movement should be standardized.

“The knowledge and ideas they learn are destined to make them the elite of future society. We don’t need to be secretive about this. We must let the students develop a sense of superiority so that the general public will form the habit of entering new-style schools,” Hu Qingbai replied to some Elder teachers who questioned the excessive etiquette and regulations in the National School at a teaching and research meeting.

“Class, please turn your textbooks to page eighty…” Yuan Ziguang said slowly, looking at the students.

For the students of Fangcaodi, mathematics was probably the most boring subject. There were no experiments, no extracurricular practice, and no fun teaching aids, except for learning to tell time and recognize money in the first semester of math class. Fortunately, the teacher’s teaching level was high, so the students could still listen. Of course, it was inevitable that some students would be distracted, but Yuan Ziguang’s skill in flicking chalk, which was superior to other teachers, would promptly remind the distracted students.

The 40-minute class was over soon. Yuan Ziguang assigned today’s homework and review points. In the afternoon, there was an applied mathematics class, which taught practical mathematics: measuring and calculating the dimensions of fields and canals, simple geometry, commercial calculations for business, and abacus… This course was mainly practical and more interesting than the purely theoretical math class in the morning.

The high-pitched music of the “Athletes’ March” began to play from the loudspeakers outside. This was the signal for the start of the recess exercises. Like soldiers hearing a bugle call, all the students immediately stood up. The class monitor came out and trotted to the side of the podium, facing everyone and shouting, “First group, fall out!”

Yuan Ziguang picked up his lecture notes and walked out of the teacher’s office. At this time, the whole teaching building was filled with the rising and falling shouts of “Group X, fall out!” Some classes were already lining up in the corridor, “marching in place.” Yuan Ziguang knew that as soon as the second playing of the “Athletes’ March” was over and changed to the “Fubo Army March,” the classes would line up in a pre-arranged order and march out of the teaching building to the playground.

Yuan Ziguang took two steps at a time and returned to his office—the Fangcaodi National School office was located in a three-story Baroque-style building overlooking the entire playground. The high roof ridge was built of stone, with red plain brick walls. The triangular roof was covered with tiles. A few days ago, there had been a light rain, which had washed the tiles clean, and they were shining in the sun. In the center of the building was a clock tower, which was originally intended to be fitted with a large clock—one of the many large clocks promised by Dr. Zhong, which was, of course, still in the “research and development” stage. For the time being, an iron bell salvaged from the ruins of some abandoned temple was hung there. At Fangcaodi, the teachers and students followed the ringing of this large bell for classes and rest.

The Guihua teachers’ offices on the first and second floors were very lively. In the large office that occupied almost the entire floor, neat desks were arranged in rows, looking much like a classroom. There was also a podium and a blackboard at the top. To make up for the lack of knowledge of the Guihua teachers, Hu Qingbai specially spent one day a week having Elders teach the Guihua teachers, conducting “on-the-job training.” It could also be used for staff meetings.

The so-called Guihua teachers were mostly female students who had just graduated from the first batch of simple normal schools a few months ago. Most of them were fifteen or sixteen years old, with a few being eighteen or nineteen. The Council of Elders held a deep distrust of the traditional “scholars,” so very few of the Guihua who were child students or scholars entered the education system.

Some of them had received some traditional education before and knew some characters, but most were illiterate. After about a year and a half of targeted intensive education, most of the first-grade courses at Fangcaodi were now taught by them. They were also responsible for the literacy education in the night school.

The young Guihua teachers were chatting and laughing in groups. Some were drinking water, and some were flipping through the Lin’gao Times and the Gewu Pictorial—this was a lithographed pictorial mainly for popular science, published monthly by the Propaganda Department, which had recently started publication.

For the Guihua teachers, who had heavy teaching tasks and had to continue their own studies, the recess exercise time was one of the few free moments in their day.

Seeing the Elder head of the teaching and research group pass by, the young girls all fell silent and looked at Yuan Ziguang. From everyone’s eyes, there were looks of worship, admiration, envy, fear, and reserve… all kinds of emotions were projected onto Yuan Ziguang at the same time, which made him feel a little hot in the face, in addition to being proud.

These teachers had been his students not long ago. Legally speaking, they were still slaves of the Council of Elders, and every Elder had absolute power over them. Although Yuan Ziguang had initially transmigrated because of an “inappropriate push-down,” after arriving in the new era and having ample resources and the power to do whatever he wanted, he had been worse than a beast. No matter how hot the girls’ gazes were, no matter how much they admired him, this group of girls with dark skin and thin chests and buttocks really couldn’t arouse much of his interest.

He walked to the third floor—this was the Elders’ office. At this time, the third floor was always empty. There were not many full-time Elder teachers in the National School. The part-time Elder teachers generally only came when it was time for class.

Since most of the Elder teachers were part-time, they did not have individual offices at Fangcaodi. There was only one large open-plan office with rows of glass windows on the north and south sides, providing ample light. Standing in front of the south-facing windows, one could overlook the main playground below.

Now, at the best viewing position, three Elders were leaning against the window, looking out. Behind them stood several female secretaries and the like.

Although the Elders’ clothes were almost identical, Yuan Ziguang immediately recognized one of them as Hu Qingbai from their back and height. Another was Wu De, who rarely came to Fangcaodi. As the president of the Planning Department, Wu De spent most of his time on paperwork and in meetings. Even when he went for “on-site office work,” he rarely came to the education system—the executive committee member who came to the education system the most was Xiao Zishan. The last one was wearing the uniform of the Fubo Army’s land force, whom he did not recognize.

He took a few steps forward and was about to greet them, but Hu Qingbai motioned for him not to speak. The few of them were concentrating on the playground below.

Although the playground was simply equipped, its dimensions were built according to the standards of a sports stadium from the old world, and its area was vast. In front of the building, there was a flagpole platform with a ten-meter-high wooden flagpole.

When the “Athletes’ March” switched to the “Fubo Army March,” students marching in double columns appeared from the entrance of each teaching building. One class was one column, like long dragons, rolling towards the center of the playground.