I am a Big Player
Chapter 268 - 266, Lesson One (Sixth Update)_1

Chapter 268: 266, Lesson One (Sixth Update)_1

The journey back was even slower for the two of them; For Ren He, it didn’t matter much. He maintained the same pace heading back as he had when they arrived. However, Jiang Haoyang was starting to struggle, "Wait for me!"

Ren He had been pushing them to build up their bodies for some time now. Over the past few months, Jiang Haoyang had slimmed down by more than 20 jin, transforming from a plump hopeful to genuinely handsome. However, their exercise regimen still wasn’t enough. Ren He had no intention of making them muscle-bound; he only wanted them to strengthen their bodies and achieve a basic level of physical fitness.

But hiking ten kilometers of mountain road and then having to carry two buckets of water back - even if they were only a quarter full, that still added up to nearly twenty jin. Perhaps if Jiang Haoyang kept at it for another six months, he wouldn’t find it so challenging.

But right now, his training was insufficient.

Jiang Haoyang took the carrying pole off his shoulders, looking at the spots that were rubbed red from the weight. His delicate skin just couldn’t endure this kind of torment, but when he turned to look at Ren He, he saw that after carrying two full buckets of water for five kilometers, Ren He looked unbothered!

He had to admire that. When someone’s physical fitness reached that level, it was truly enviable. Jiang Haoyang never felt such an acute desire for a strong body before.

But what he knew was, no matter how hard he trained, he couldn’t match Ren He. On Ren He’s shoulders where the carrying pole rested, the skin was only slightly red with no sign of pain!

Ren He laughed and said, "I’ve been telling you to exercise, and all of you keep haggling with me. If I dumped you here, you’d all die of thirst with no water to drink!"

In this mountain village, if a widow couldn’t fetch water by herself, she could either rely on the kindness of others, pay some small amount of money, or find a man to lean on.

These were harsh realities because the people here were still struggling for survival rather than living their lives.

Tomorrow was the day Elder Zhou had notified the villagers that lessons would resume. Because classes had been suspended for three months, they would try to make up as much as they could, so they needed a good night’s rest tonight.

But by the time they fetched the water, it was already past 8 o’clock. When would they manage to eat? As he walked, Jiang Haoyang felt his front sticking to his back, hoping that when they got back, everyone would have already started a fire and be preparing to cook.

Fetching water was such an ordeal!

However, when he finally dragged himself back to the schoolhouse, he was shocked to see billowing white smoke coming from the kitchen area, looking like a fire had broken out!

"Damn, you’re kidding me, right? The newly built school is burning down?!"

Ren He and Jiang Haoyang set the water buckets down and ran towards the schoolhouse. When they entered from the front, they found Liu Bing, Li Yifan, and Liu Jiamin standing at the kitchen door, wiping away tears. But it didn’t seem like there was a fire because the three of them were not in a hurry...

Ren He rushed over and asked, "What’s going on? Why are you crying?"

The three of them, while wiping their eyes, said, "We’re not crying, it’s the smoke!"

Liu Jiamin explained, "I don’t know what happened with the firewood they brought back, but after lighting it, the smoke was incredibly thick. They kept stuffing more in, saying the more you add, the bigger the fire gets and that they wanted to make charcoal for warmth at night."

"Got it," Ren He figured out the problem. He grimaced in annoyance, "You didn’t pick dry firewood; this is what happens with firewood that hasn’t been dried out... Don’t you guys even have this basic common sense?"

"We didn’t know..." Liu Bing and the others felt a bit aggrieved. They had assured Ren He everything would be fine, but now, after he had fetched the water, they had caused a mess.

Looking at the kitchen with smoke that wouldn’t clear out for a while, they realized there would be no dinner preparation...

Ren He went to retrieve the two buckets of water he had left behind in his rush to come back.

When he returned, Liu Bing and the others asked quietly, "What do we do now?"

Ren He couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing this. The proud elite students, usually with booming voices, were now deflated?

He responded with a laugh, "What else can we do? We starve, of course. We’ll wait for the smoke to clear before cooking."

The five of them sat at the schoolhouse entrance, battling hunger and cold. Jiang Haoyang looked helplessly at Ren He, his eyes brimming with lament, "Boss, I’m so hungry..."

Ren He said, "Me too..."

Everyone fell silent.

Ren He simply got up, gathered a large stack of firewood, dragged out the big pot from inside, and lit up the still-damp wood. Everyone sat upwind to avoid the white smoke.

The fire slowly grew stronger, at least ensuring that everyone was only hungry, not cold.

The orange flames flickered in the darkness, everyone looking especially serene, lost in their thoughts.

The small schoolyard was enclosed by walls, and these volunteer teachers—whose competence was yet to be determined—sat around the brazier with their eyes wide open, staring at each other.

They were the pride of the Capital, the cream of the crop at No.4 Middle School. Now, mention the Qinghe Club at No.4 Middle School—who wouldn’t call it awesome?

Yet here were these elites, looking like idiots.

What had happened to them? They lacked even the most basic survival skills.

They had rarely been away from their parents, who always said in Chinese fashion: "Just focus on your studies."

But it turned out that being good in studies was far from enough.

Liu Bing snuffled quietly, showing signs of wanting to cry—partly homesickness, partly shock at her own helplessness.

Ren He, on the other hand, found it amusing: "Do you understand why I brought you here? Look at these kids, how resilient they are. Even in such conditions, they find their own happiness, while you are reduced to tears by your own stupidity. Let me ask, are we really elites?"

"No," whispered Jiang Haoyang, but in his heart, he added, only you are. Ren He’s adaptability seemed so strong, as if nothing could faze him.

Ren He continued, "What defines an elite? Wisdom? Extreme intelligence? High-status individuals? I don’t think so. To me, a true elite must first have a thorough understanding of society. Before we came here, could any of you believe that there were places this poor in China? No electricity, water fetched from ten kilometers away—it’s horrifying. I would go mad living here for five years, yet there is a group of people rooted in these mountains, teaching for over a decade! I’m ashamed, I don’t have that kind of sentiment, and neither do you. You don’t have to be like them, but you must be aware of their existence, understand their hardships and sorrows—that’s the very least respect they deserve."

Ren He looked around at everyone, "These 15 days are the most important lesson I’m giving you. I hope you’ll learn something."

Everyone sank into silence.

By this time, the smoke in the kitchen had lessened. Ren He left them and went into the kitchen alone, fired up the stove, and cooked the rice until it was fragrant. He smashed the cooked rice with a spatula, scooped it out, and set it aside.

He added some cooking oil to the pot to heat it, then put the rice back in for stir-frying, with salt and soy sauce—just a simple pot of soy sauce fried rice.

Each grain of rice was coated with the color of the soy sauce, and the aroma wafted out of the kitchen, making everyone unconsciously swallow their saliva.

"Come get your food," Ren He called out.

Liu Bing and the others could wait no longer. They surrounded the brazier with big bowls of soy sauce fried rice and devoured it as if they had never imagined something as simple as rice with a bit of soy sauce could taste so good.

It wasn’t that the meal was delicious, they were just starving.

As they ate, some began to shed tears. Who would have thought that their first day as volunteer teachers would be spent this way?

...

For the Silver Alliance Sea Spirit Garment surplus Chapters. That’s all for today. I’ve been bursting out these past days, a bit dazed, good night, everyone.