tenth year of teaching

Chapter 37 Communication
Zhang Yan was always absent-minded when returning to class again. Sun Xiaolei couldn't coax her well this time, and she always liked to ignore her, which made her very superior.

He doesn't like to talk to people about his family affairs casually, including Li Hai, who he has been playing with for a long time.So when Sun Xiaolei complained to Li Hai, he shrugged and expressed his helplessness.

Zhang Yan couldn't help but feel irritated when he thought about his father's lost look.Mom would definitely not accept Dad coming home. In fact, he knew in his heart that he was still in contact with Lao Zhang, whom his mother had met outside in the past two years.The family of three would never be able to return to their original state no matter what. He agreed to the move. He had been living at home before, thinking that at least the family would still be there when his parents came back. After moving away, he also gave up. Who would have thought? Dad came here at this time.

He hated him, but he couldn't ignore him. After all, this was the father who raised him.How could it be possible to just erase so many memories?At this time, he couldn't focus on school anymore. He just came over and nodded every day to make his mother feel at ease.

In Chinese class, Li Yue never cared about what the students were doing.Zhang Yan lay on the table and unconsciously scribbled on the textbook one by one. He remembered that the coffee shop owner who worked during the holidays promised that he could go back to help at any time.He planned his future casually. Studying was not interesting anyway, so he might as well go out to work and help his mother reduce some of the burden. The most important thing was to have more freedom and do whatever he wanted.

Chu Xia stood at the back door of the classroom and looked at the listless Zhang Yan, recalling in her mind what Wang Shaohua said during her previous home visit.We have to talk about it, we can't just let it go, she thought, and slowly got an idea.

During evening self-study, Zhang Yan was called to the Xinyu Pavilion in the office building by his class teacher.Xinyu Pavilion is located in the innermost corner of the first floor of the office building opposite the general affairs director's office. It is the only coffee shop in the school. It sounds fancy, but in fact it is just a circle of sofas and a glass coffee table, and there is an instant coffee machine connected to it. bookshelf.Students are generally not allowed to enter. Only teachers come here in small groups to chat during their spare time, grab coffee and rush off to class.

At night, it's even quieter here.Zhang Yan knocked on the door, but no one answered. He reached out and tried to push the door open.The door was unlocked, so I entered the house and touched the switch to turn on the light. In the dim light, the cabin looked even more shabby.He casually sat on the sofa facing the door, took a Youth Digest that someone had forgotten from the coffee table next to him, and flipped through it casually.I couldn't read the magazine, but I thought of the cafe where I worked. Judging from the decoration alone, it was so much higher grade than here.What's the good thing about being a teacher? You pretend to be bad and scold the students every day, and you become disgraced every day for a few decimal points. Graduating from college is just that. The No. [-] Affiliated Middle School is still the third key middle school in the district. It's a new school, and building a coffee shop is so tacky.

Just as she was thinking, the door opened and Chu Xia walked in.Zhang Yan looked at the class leader, sat upright and nodded as a greeting.Chu Xia came over and sat next to him and handed him a box. "I just picked up my things, so I'm late."

Zhang Yan looked at her hesitantly, "What?"

"Open it and see for yourself." Chu Xia handed it forward again.

Zhang Yan opened it and found a photo album. He looked at the class leader strangely.There is a sentence written on the title page of the photo album: "What happened in the past will never be forgotten, but I can't remember it for the time being." ’ He stared at this sentence and pondered for a few minutes, then turned it over.

There are many photos, and most of the protagonists are him. He was the one laughing and joking at the New Year's party, playing basketball together, being covered in sweat during military training, being praised for the only time he answered a question in an open class...

As he flipped through the pages, he recalled the stories in each photo, and his chest was filled with memories.When he turned to the back, there was a photo of him and Li Hai shirtless and throwing water at each other in the dormitory. He laughed and scolded: "This grandson, do you still have this?"

Chu Xia looked at him smiling, and her heart gradually became more at ease.

Zhang Yan turned to the last page, and there was a group photo in it. The man had a square face and thick eyebrows, and the woman had an oval face and thin eyebrows, smiling happily.There was a chubby little boy sitting between the two of them, with a reluctant expression on his face.He touched the photo, which was taken when he was 5 years old. His mother washed it and hung it on the wall until she came back this time.He lowered his head, feeling the joy of being with his classmates, the sadness, anger, and helplessness caused by his parents' divorce all mixed together in his heart.He grabbed the clothes on his chest, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and closed the album with a snap.

"Zhang Yan, it's impossible to treat many things as if they didn't exist. You have to taste ups and downs for a lifetime." Chu Xia said slowly. "I don't want to preach. Even your parents have their happiest moments. Remember the happy ones, forget the unhappy ones, and only by moving forward can you see better things."

"I'll be honest with you. I was so annoyed by them that I couldn't attend class at all. When I went to bed at night, all I could think about was their fight. This time my dad's company was also ruined. My mom came back this time to take over her job. She quit her job and is now working part-time jobs. She doesn’t earn much. The money she saved by changing her house is actually saving for my college tuition. I know all this. My dad still has a lot of debt. No matter what the two of them say. They are my biological father and mother, and I don’t want to see them in such difficulty.” He looked straight at the corner, and finally mustered up the courage to say it all in one breath: “I want to drop out of school and go out to work to help them, but it’s okay. They don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

"Where are you going to work?" Chu Xia didn't rush to refute, but just followed his words.

"Shangdao Coffee, I worked part-time during the holidays before, and I am familiar with the boss."

"You like this job?"

"I can't say, but after working for a while, I understand a little bit about it. Handmade coffee starts with understanding coffee beans. Arabica beans are relatively small, have lower caffeine content, and are more expensive. Robusta beans are larger, and have about the same amount of caffeine. Twice as high, the price is lower. According to American requirements, coffee beans are roasted in several stages from light to dark. Generally, the deeper the degree of roasting, the stronger the bitterness, and the lower the degree of roasting, the stronger the sourness." He glanced at Chu Xia, As if to prove himself, he said some professional knowledge. "I plan to become a barista in the future so I can earn more."

"I don't quite understand what you're talking about." Chu Xia thought for a while and then continued: "But how many coffee shops do we have in Yuyang District? Is our demand high? It's not as good as in the city. If you want to be a professional, right? Should I go to a big city and see it?"

Zhang Yan was noncommittal and nodded in agreement with the suggestion.

"Then if you go to a big city, before you make money, will you need a lot of money for food and accommodation? Then your family will still need to support you, which seems to be contrary to your original intention?!" Chu Xia said slowly.

Zhang Yan frowned and thought, twisting his hands together unconsciously.

"Actually, I still recommend that you go to college and go to the city you want to go to. You can study and work part-time at the same time. Food and housing are no longer a problem. You should basically accumulate capital in four years of college, such as various professional certificates, saving some capital, and accumulating capital. Isn't it a good choice to have some relevant connections and start as soon as you graduate? Besides, if you go to a big city, although the academic qualifications themselves are not necessarily necessary, wouldn't there be more opportunities if you start from a higher starting point?" Chu Xia Yi Speak out your thoughts little by little.

Zhang Yan still didn't speak, but his expression seemed to be more complicated.Chu Xia looked at him, took out the photo album, opened the page where she was laughing happily with her classmates, and gently put it back on his lap. "You leave now, are you leaving these friends who are good to you? Besides, do you want to stay in Yuyang forever? Wait until they are admitted to college and come back to your place to drink coffee and tell a little waiter about their interesting stories outside. Will you still be able to talk about the current things together in three years? So in five years and ten years, will you still understand what they say? Will you still have a common language? Don’t you want to go out with them to see them? A more exciting place?”

"I came back because I like Yuyang. But I have seen what college is like. The four years I was in college were the happiest four years for me. I also traveled to many places when I was in college, so I thought I You should come back. If I haven't gone out to see him, I won't stay here willingly. I will expect to go out and see him every day, and then live my life hesitantly every day." Chu Xia looked at him and said seriously. "I feel very at ease now, and I also like this kind of life. Only after seeing it can you know what is best. You are too young, so you must go out and see it. Think about it again, okay?"

Chu Xia patted his shoulder gently, stood up, closed the door and left, leaving Zhang Yan alone and thoughtful.

(End of this chapter)