I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 540 - 540 539. Rural Teacher_1

Chapter 540: 539. Rural Teacher_1 Chapter 540: 539. Rural Teacher_1 New Year’s Day had begun, and just as the weather forecast had predicted, the snow was even heavier.

Lu Ban rose from the sofa and opened the curtains. He could see the thick snow that had submerged the roads and flowerbeds, piling up massively and causing many trees to bend and break. Looking farther away, the whole world was engulfed in a vast expanse of white.

Jiangcheng did not have central heating. There was only an air conditioner in the living room, which was starting to feel a bit chilly. Lu Ban glanced at the external unit of the air conditioner outside the window, covered with a thick layer of snow, and opened the window.

Woosh—

The cold wind immediately poured into the room, and from the bedroom came a wail; Lu Ban ignored it and shook the air conditioner’s external unit, causing the accumulated snow to fall off.

After closing the window, Lu Ban felt a bit warmer.

He had no idea how much longer this snowstorm would last, and it seemed even heavier than the previous night.

For the first time, people hoped that the weather forecast would be wrong, as it often was in the past.

Turning on the TV, Lu Ban switched to the news channel.

A journalist braving the snow reported that, in places further north, the snow was already hindering traffic and power facilities; some remote mountain villages had lost electricity and heating and were awaiting rescue.

“… The power department is working on emergency repairs to ensure the public’s domestic use of electricity and heating…”

Hearing the journalist, Lu Ban even wondered if this was the doing of a “Chosen by Gods” from some Foreign Domain.

Such an abnormal climate seemed like something only the Indescribable Evil Gods could conjure.

“I can’t reach Feng Yu either. I don’t know if she’s having major problems.”

Lu Ban was still inclined to believe in Feng Yu.

“Waking up this early, don’t you ever think of sleeping in?”

Qin Tiantian’s voice came from behind him, wrapped in Lu Ban’s blanket.

Last night, with the snowstorm raging, Qin Tiantian had ended up staying over at Lu Ban’s place. It took her less than three minutes to fall asleep in Lu Ban’s bed, snuggling with Laika and even gathering a tuft of hair.

Lu Ban had lain on his own sofa for a while last night. At his level, sleep had become a luxury rather than a necessity. Basking in the sunshine was enough to replenish his energy.

“You can go back and continue sleeping.”

Lu Ban said and glanced at his WeChat, which was bombarded with a plethora of messages. The company group chat was particularly explosive, discussing the new movie.

He calmed everyone in the group, mainly assuring them that salaries, bonuses, and holidays were still assured; the group then flooded the chat with praises, exclaiming “boss is mighty.”

There were also other acquaintances asking him, and he replied to each, recommending that they watch it tonight on their televisions or computers.

He searched further and found some were planning offline viewings, but most cinemas probably wouldn’t be open. In this heavy snowfall, likely only the wealthy were inviting friends over to their spacious living rooms to watch together.

Lu Ban also read some comments saying that due to the heavy snow, they were spared from visiting relatives, enjoying a peaceful new year.

In the face of disaster, people reacted differently.

“I’m not going back to sleep, I’m hungry. Is there anything to eat?”

Qin Tiantian went into the kitchen to rummage through the fridge. Unfortunately, apart from yesterday’s leftovers, there wasn’t much in the fridge that could be eaten directly – Lu Ban usually didn’t keep snacks as he didn’t have the habit of eating them.

“Just reheat it in the microwave.”

She took a plate of leftovers, covered it with cling film, and threw it into the microwave. While waiting for her meal to heat, she picked up her phone.

“… What the hell???”

Qin Tiantian ran into the living room.

“The snow disaster is this serious?”

She shook her phone, which displayed news about the snow disaster.

“Yeah,” Lu Ban nodded.

“Then how are you going to the premiere today?”

Qin Tiantian asked again.

“?”

Lu Ban was momentarily stunned.

“There’s no premiere today.”

“Oh, it’s been cancelled, eh? Well, that’s perfect, let’s have hotpot at home. I remember buying some hotpot ingredients before, I’ve really been craving a spicy hotpot.”

Qin Tiantian swayed back into the kitchen.

It wasn’t until the microwave dinged and she took out the steaming dish to eat a few bites that she realized something.

“What the fuck???”

She came into the living room.

“The premiere was cancelled today?”

“Let’s just have hotpot.”

After replying on WeChat, Lu Ban looked up.

…

Nighttime.

In a small northern village.

The rural schoolteacher Yang Yiwu was anxious.

He was in a small town at the edge of a vast forest, where the junior high school only had fifteen students.

This Spring Festival, he hadn’t gone home because the parents of five students hadn’t been able to return in time due to the snowstorm. Therefore, these kids had no choice but to stay at school, under Yang Yiwu’s care.

Since they were boarders on normal days, the children were quite well-behaved. They got up early, studied, did exercises, cooked lunch together, took a nap, played in the afternoon, and watched movies on the computer with Yang Yiwu in the evening.

Yang Yiwu himself came from a small southern town and grew up running barefoot through fields. He was acutely aware that knowledge could change one’s fate. That’s why, after graduating from teacher’s college, he came here to become a rural schoolteacher, hoping to change the fate of some children as well.

Although education had become more widespread, with most parents willing to let their children study, remote and underdeveloped areas still suffered from inadequate educational resources. Many kids still thought about working early to earn money for their families, leaving educational levels wanting.

It was supposed to be an ordinary New Year. On New Year’s Eve, Yang Yiwu had even video-called with his parents back home.

But the next morning, he discovered there was a problem.

The heavy snow had already covered the roads, cutting off transportation, but thankfully there was still food in the refrigerator.

However, perhaps due to the heavy snow causing a fault in the lines, Yang Yiwu found that the power was out in the morning.

Along with the power outage came the failure of the heating system.

In the north, a power outage was not so terrible, but losing heating was a real disaster.

Now with temperatures outside below minus twenty degrees, without heating, these children and Yang Yiwu could freeze into blocks of ice within minutes.

Luckily, the communication was still decent.

Yang Yiwu immediately made phone calls to inquire about the situation and learned that the blizzard had caused it. The power and heating crews were working on repairs, and someone would be sent over for maintenance. This gave him some relief.

However, the problems with transportation were slowing down the repair efforts, and even after dinner, no one had been able to come.

Conserving battery life, Yang Yiwu used WeChat for communications. Accompanied by the howling wind and snowstorm outside, the water temperature in the heaters cooled down after a day’s loss, making the surroundings exceptionally cold.

He gathered the students into his room, lit a charcoal brazier, had them wrap themselves in blankets, and sit together.

He took out his laptop, considering what to play to distract everyone.

He saw that the class group was discussing a movie, apparently some big blockbuster that was supposed to premiere in theatres. But because of the snowstorm, it was now available for free. It would be a waste not to watch it.

Thinking it would be good for the students to experience something new, Yang Yiwu opened the video website.

“‘Doomsday’… doesn’t sound very auspicious, does it?”

Yang Yiwu hesitated about whether to play it, but seeing that the students were all looking forward to it, he clicked play.