The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 822 - 791: Swarming Up, Appraisal

Chapter 822: Chapter 791: Swarming Up, Appraisal

Yuan Hua’s eyes lit up upon hearing the news.

"The pen name is very nice," Yuan Hua said with a smile. "Did you come up with it yourself?"

"No, Teacher He helped me choose it," Tang Ping’an replied with a light laugh. "I also really like this pen name."

Yuan Hua was envious but not jealous. She said, "Yes, it’s very good, so I’m going to start reading now."

The text was all in traditional characters, which Yuan Hua could read but not write.

Since it was a serial, she finished it in less than an hour.

Yuan Hua asked, "Tang Ping’an, do you also submit your work in traditional characters?"

"Yes!" Tang Ping’an replied. "In Xiangjiang and Taiwan, they all use traditional characters. They wouldn’t understand if we wrote in simplified Chinese."

"Oh." Yuan Hua felt somewhat disappointed; she had wanted to submit her work too.

Tang Ping’an admired Yuan Hua for her straightforwardness and academic performance. A poem published in the class was Yuan Hua’s, and he suggested, "Yuan Hua, if you have any ideas, talk to Teacher He. Maybe she can help you with your confusion."

A spark of interest lit up Yuan Hua’s eyes, but then she said bashfully, "I’m afraid I’ll disturb Teacher He."

"Hehe, hasn’t Teacher He said it? If you have any issues, you can go to her, especially about wanting to write," Tang Ping’an said. "Right now, we’re just students and cannot yet repay the teachers’ kindness, but we will keep it in our hearts and repay them in the future."

After thinking it over, Yuan Hua nodded and said, "Okay, I’ll organize my poems and talk to Teacher He about them."

Tang Ping’an’s two magazines were circulated among the class, and not only did students read the martial arts stories he wrote, but also other stories, poems, and so on featured in the magazines.

Though it was just two simple magazines, they greatly broadened their horizons.

Some students began writing in secret and then turned to He Tiantian for guidance.

After looking through all the submissions, He Tiantian shook her head and chuckled.

"Teacher He, what are you laughing at?" Teacher Wu asked, especially noticing the large number of manuscripts in front of He Tiantian. "Hehe, are there more submissions?"

He Tiantian chuckled and said, "The students are very enthusiastic."

"Are there any that are written very well?" Teacher Wu asked. "Right now, Class 1 of the Chinese Department at your school is the talk of the town! Not only is the discipline and academic performance good, but also there’s so much talent."

"You flatter me," He Tiantian said with a smile. "I just fear dampening their enthusiasm. There are many here who aren’t cut out for writing martial arts, but they try because they see others doing it and getting published. Some aren’t suited for writing fiction at all, yet they follow suit. I just don’t know what to say to them."

"Hehe, just tell them the truth," Teacher Wu said, laughing and sipping her tea.

In the teachers’ office, He Tiantian was the only one constantly busy, while the others had plenty of free time—once lessons were taught and homework graded, they had nothing else to do and didn’t want to bother with messy tasks.

"No way!" He Tiantian shook her head. "These kids are talented—it’s not like they could get into our school without it. They’re just young, and their knowledge, imagination, and cognitive abilities haven’t reached a certain height yet, so they can’t produce anything too profound for now. But it’s a process that doesn’t happen overnight. It needs guidance and effort. Being overly dismissive and peremptory would be wrong."

The other teachers in the office nodded in agreement with He Tiantian’s words.

Teacher Wu added, "Aren’t you tired of reading so much every day? It’s quite nice for us, drinking tea and reading the newspaper, right?"

"Hehe, not tired at all," He Tiantian replied with a smile. "I consider it recreation. Time passes whether I drink tea and read newspapers or review these writings. When the students bring their work, I must look over it seriously—after all, I am their teacher!"

"Ah, I have to admire you, you’re so well-suited to be a teacher," Teacher Wu laughed. "Compared to you, we seem rather negligent."

He Tiantian chuckled and said, "Not at all! You’ve already done your responsibilities. This is just a hobby of mine, unrelated to work!"

Indeed, the school would not give He Tiantian a higher salary just because she helped cultivate a few students who got published.

He Tiantian was simply following her heart, not wanting to waste or disappoint the students’ efforts.

It took He Tiantian a week to finish reading all the manuscripts.

Then, she took the manuscripts to the class.

After class, He Tiantian stood at the lectern and said, "Classmates, your passion for writing pleases me, but there are two things I want to say: First, it must not affect your grades—if it does and you can’t graduate, don’t come to me. I’m willing to help you with anything, but I will not falsify your grades. Second, the reason Tang Ping’an’s martial arts novels got published isn’t just because they’re well-written; it’s also because he excels at this genre, which doesn’t mean everyone else does."

Upon hearing He Tiantian’s words, the students bowed their heads, with many having followed Tang Ping’an’s lead, though most weren’t cut out for it.

"I’m not saying this to discourage you, but rather to make you understand. Writing is a very serious matter. What I want to write, what I can write, whether people will read what I write, and what messages and emotions these books will convey to readers..." He Tiantian didn’t say much, but her words gave the students much to think about.

"Alright, I have eighteen manuscripts here, and I’ve read them all," He Tiantian stated. "I want to ask if you’d like to share them for everyone to evaluate together, or if you’d prefer to discuss them with me privately?"

Many were embarrassed at the idea of having their work publicly evaluated by He Tiantian.

Yuan Hua chuckled and said, "Teacher, everyone is a bit embarrassed. Let’s do private evaluations one by one."

"Yes, Teacher," the others agreed.

Considering some students’ ideas were rather good, it seemed inappropriate to publicly scrutinize the manuscripts.

He Tiantian said with a smile, "Alright, this time I’ll do the evaluations privately. Then, based on the dates the manuscripts were submitted to me, I’ll call you to the office. Please come by after lunch."

"Thank you, Teacher He," Yuan Hua said as she stood up and bowed to He Tiantian.

At noon, Yuan Hua came by.

"Yuan Hua, there are still forty minutes until your next class, so let’s use these forty minutes to discuss your poetry," He Tiantian said as she picked up Yuan Hua’s stack of manuscripts and stepped out.

Curious, Yuan Hua asked, "Teacher He, it’s so cold outside, why are we going out?"

"There are other teachers resting in the office, and our discussion might disturb them," He Tiantian explained. "Come, let’s go to the classroom. It’s cold there too but better than outside."

"Alright, thank you, Teacher He," Yuan Hua said gratefully. Just like Tang Ping’an had said, Teacher He used her spare time to help them.