Rebirth of the Genius Charlatan

Chapter 12 – School Transferring Controversy

Xia GuoXi wanted to transfer Xia Shao to another school, and the story began when she returned from the mountains that day.

When Xia Shao returned home, Professor Zhou had not left yet and was drinking and chatting with Xia GuoXi. Her grandmother Jiang ShuHui and Zhou Wang were accompanying them. When they saw that Old Uncle Wang had returned with Xia Shao, they naturally asked about the trip up the mountain.

Old Uncle Wang bristled and glanced at Xia Shao, the child was so tight-lipped that he had asked so many times on the way but couldn’t find out anything.

“Grandpa Tang said that I looked like his granddaughter and asked me to visit him often in the mountain to chat with him.” Xia Shao concealed the matter of becoming a disciple as she naturally had her considerations.

The profession of Feng Shui masters was deeply misunderstood in the country, and in the eyes of most people, it was a profession of charlatans. If Xia GuoXI found out that she had studied with a Feng Shui master, he might be furious.

She was not in a position to talk about her situation in the family nowadays, let alone voice it out. It was natural that the elders should decide for her what they think was bad or not. If she was, to tell the truth at this point, not only would Xia GuoXi scold her for being unproductive, but her parents would also be blamed, which would be more of a loss. Therefore, Xia Shao planned to muddle through first.

Xia GuoXi, however, still looked so gloomy, and when he spoke, his mouth was full with the smell of alcohol: “Look like his granddaughter? Why didn’t he just bring his own granddaughter over! Letting our grandchildren go up the mountain to accompany him? How dare he? I’m telling you! No more trips to the mountains!”

He had always been a man of his temper, but Xia Shao had no intention of following it. She was trying to think of a way to convince her grandfather when Professor Zhou spoke up instead.

“Younger Brother Xia, I heard that the old man on the mountain had trouble with his legs. Usually, it’s Old Uncle Wang who is delivering things to him. Your granddaughter has filial piety and knows how to respect the elderly, that’s a good thing, so don’t stop her.”

Xia GuoXi waved his hand: “Elder Brother Zhou, it is certainly good for the younger generation to have filial piety, but that is to be for one’s own family. Those who aren’t our relatives, why do we care so much about them for.”

“You can’t say that. As the old saying goes, it’s better to be old than to be old. Everyone understands the moral. But not many people do it.” Professor Zhou was not angry, but spoke in the same gentle and elegant manner: “The child is still young and education is a big deal. Teach her to respect the elderly more now so that when she grows up she will be a person of good character and conduct. It’s only when the future of the country is entrusted to such young people that we, the older generation, will feel more at ease.”

Professor Zhou’s words were so serious that Xia GuoXi didn’t know what had possessed him. Perhaps it was because it was rare to meet someone to chat with over the years, but Xia GuoXi had always been a foul and bad temper person, so he grunted and kept quiet.

“Oh, yes.” Professor Zhou suddenly spoke again and this time he was looking at the village elder, Old Uncle Wang: “Old Village Chief, I came back to our village for retirement but at the same time, I would still like to contribute to my hometown while I am still healthy. I don’t know any other skills but I can teach. There is a primary school in the village where my parents used to teach there and now that I am old, I think it would be good for me to come back and take over their work in improving the education of the children in the village.”

Old Uncle Wang got so excited upon hearing this news: “Professor Zhou, are you being serious? Aiyo! That’s really great! Every family in the village had to thank you! The children go to school and are taught by professors, even the children in the city don’t have this kind of treatment!”

“Hehe, Old Village Chief, I’m already this old, how can I still bluff you? I have already informed the Minister of the City’s Education Department, and they still support my ambitions even when I’m this old!”

“Aiyo! That’s great! That’s just so wonderful.” Old Uncle Wang was so excited that his hands were trembling and he couldn’t even speak properly.

Xia GuoXi, by this time, was a little too drunk, he joined in after hearing the news: “Brother Zhou, I admire people like you who never forget their hometown! Let’s see, what do you think about my granddaughter? Why don’t I ask her to transfer to the village? How about you teach her instead?”

Those words, however, caused the whole room of people to freeze.

“What are you talking about, old man? Your granddaughter is studying well in the city and why are you making her transfer back to the countryside instead? What kind of an idea is that?” Jiang ShuHui hurriedly pinched him and apologies to Professor Zhou again: “Sorry, Professor Zhou. My old man is like this, he doesn’t remember his own surname after drinking just a bit, so just ignore him.”

Xia GuoXi slapped the table: “Why shouldn’t they be willing! I’m not dead yet! What? Can’t I make decisions about my granddaughter? She will be transferred back to the village and be taught by Brother Zhou, and that’s final!”

“What’s final? You didn’t even discuss it with your son and daughter-in-law, how can it be decided like this? You this old man……” Jiang ShuHui tried to stop him urgently.

Xia Shao was standing at the side but joy swept through her eyes. She hadn’t expected things to go this way, but it would undoubtedly be advantageous to her if she transferred to the village for studies!

First, she could go up the mountain daily to study martial arts and Qi with her ShiFu while learning those metaphysics and theories. Secondly, her grades would not be a problem at all, yet returning to study in the East City and her primary school classes would be a complete waste of time for her. Thus, she might as well spend more time learning from her ShiFu.

Thinking of this, Xia Shao decisively interrupted her grandparents’ argument and stated: “I am willing to follow Professor Zhou and study in the village school!”

It was not often that the granddaughter and grandfather agreed on something, but the transfer was an instant success. Yet, this caused quite a stir in the Old Xia Family.

As soon as the whole family learned about this news, they came back the next day. Xia Shao’s parents, her two aunts, and uncles sat across from her grandfather, discussing the matter of her transfer to another school.

“Dad, why did you agree to Professor Zhou without discussing this with us?” Inside the house, Xia Shao’s father, Xia ZhiYuan spoke up first, while Li Juan sat by his side, looking anxiously, tugging onto the corner of her husband’s coat but did not date to speak freely.

She had never had much status in this family, and when she got married, her father-in-law was displeased with her marrying into the family. Her education was not as good as Xia ZhiYuan, and her looks were average, at best considered to be slightly pretty, and her complexion was a little dark.

Xia Shao’s father, Xia ZhiYuan, was known as a handsome young man in these villages and later worked in a factory in the city as a workshop manager. Many girls secretly fell in love with him.

The old man was very proud of his status as a veteran and was determined to find a good daughter-in-law. However, in the old man’s mind, a daughter-in-law like Li Juan was still slightly unworthy of his son. Therefore after they got married, no matter how filial she was, she just couldn’t get the old man’s approval.

Later, when her daughter was born, the old man was even less keen to welcome her. The good thing was that her daughter Xia Shao looks just like her father, with white skin, big eyes, and a round, bun-like face when she was a child. She would definitely be a beautiful girl when she grew up.

This was the only comforting thing for Li Juan, she had put all her hopes on her daughter. Although she had no status in the family, when it came to her daughter, she would fight for it to the end!

“What’s more to discuss! Don’t my words count in this house? Old Brother Zhou is a professor at the Capital University, how many people have failed to invite him? Now, your daughter is going to be his student and you feel that I’ve treated your family unfairly?!” Xia GuoXi roared out at the top of his lungs, the aura of a great elder endeared to him.

“Dad, this is not a matter of unfairness or not. Although the child is now in primary school, it is the most important time to build a good foundation. Professor Zhou, is a professor of Capital University, teaching college students. Xia Shao is still young, who knows what if Professor Zhou teaches might be different from the teaching materials designated by the school? If the foundation is not properly laid, she might not be able to keep up when she goes back to the secondary school in the city?” Xia ZhiYuan explained and Li Juan nodded from the side.

“The teaching materials are designated by the Ministry of Education, how can they be different from the schools in the city? Professor Zhou is a renowned scholar in the country and abroad, and he can teach the university students yet you think he can’t handle your daughter, a primary school student?” Xia GuoXi waved his hand, annoyed: “I tell you, this matter is final! I’ve promised Old Brother Zhou, you want me to back out now?”

“But, Dad……” Li Juan saw that her father-in-law had already made the decision, and in her anxiety, she couldn’t care less about anything else and spoke up to persuade him.

“You shut up! I’m talking to my son, why are you interrupting!” Xia GuoXi was annoyed.

Li Juan’s eyes reddened at once, and Xia Shao frowned as she watched from the side. Although she was willing to study in the village school and knew that her parents would definitely not be at ease, she was still uncomfortable seeing her mother being reprimanded by her grandfather.

“Mom, no matter where I go for school, I’ll definitely study hard, don’t worry.” She walked over to Li Juan and helped to wipe away her tears.

With this wipe, Li Juan tears fall even more fiercely, she thought that her daughter was just being understanding and was comforting her. Her father-in-law had always been a man of his word, but it was tough for her daughter, who had a good primary school in the city and now had to be transferred to the village.

Nowadays, schools were all about being all-round development of morals, intellect, and sports. How can a village school be compared with a city school? What if the child’s future was being delayed due to it?

Watching Xia ZhiYuan’s family’s sad expression, Xia Shao’s aunt, Xia ZhiLan kept silent, she didn’t date to speak up for them. What if the old man turned his focus to her daughter Zhang RuMian too?

The youngest uncle, Xia ZhiTao, and Jiang QiuLin were unconcerned with the matter and just kept quiet and watched the whole scene.

In the end, it was the eldest aunt, Xia ZhiMei who spoke up: “Dad, what are you thinking? These days, it’s always the village kids who are desperately trying to get into the city schools through connections. I’ve never heard of anyone who went to the school in the city and then transferred to the village school instead! Who would believe this? What would other people say behind our back? You don’t have to care about your reputation, but we, your sons and daughters who work in the city, don’t want to be involved in such disgrace!”

“It’s your brother and sister-in-law who would be humiliated, what does it get to do with you! Besides, how is it being a disgrace to have a professor personally tutor for primary school?” Xia GuoXi slammed on the table and stood up.

“It’s just a primary school, why do we need a professor to teach it? That’s too flashy!” Xia ZhiMei frowned as she spoke, but a glint of light flashed across her lowered eyes that had been caught by Xia Shao.

Xia Shao stood beside her mother without saying a word and used her Divine Eyes to look at Xia ZhiMei.

With this check, one could not help but snort coldly in their heart! As expected, under the banner of being concerned and anxious for Xia Shao’s education, she was actually scheming for herself.

Xia Shao sneered and didn’t bother to do anything, as she already knew what Xia ZhiMei was planning to do anyway and already saw the outcome.

Xia GuoXi had always been very proud and since he had already agreed to Professor Zhou’s deal, so how could he back out suddenly? Naturally, he wouldn’t listen to anyone and eventually chased his sons and daughter out, shouting that the matter was settled, and the whole family left with an unhappy disagreement.

Li Juan left the door, tears falling from her eyes, full of grievances: “Why do you think our father is like this? You should go and try to persuade him again.”

Xia ZhiYuan patted his wife’s hand and sighed: “I know what you’re worried about but since Dad had already decided, he’s our elder after all, and he’s so old, we shouldn’t go against him. How about this? Our child is still young anyway, so let her stay in the village for a year or so and see what happens. If she doesn’t do as well as we expected, we can ask her to transfer to another school, and then Dad will have nothing to rebut about. Is that fine?”

This was a compromise. Li Juan was reluctant, but she was always gentle and had no other way to convince her father-in-law so she could only just cry and nod her head in agreement.

The family left in the morning, and Xia ZhiMei returned in the afternoon. This time, she didn’t go back to the old house, but brought the headmaster of the East City Secondary School with her, carrying a large pile of gifts, straight to Professor Zhou’s house.

In Xia ZhiMei’s eyes, it was indeed condescending for a professor from the prestigious Capital University to teach primary school students and it would be better to teach the secondary school in the city.

Firstly, it improves the school’s reputation and competitiveness. Secondly, with Professor Zhou’s reputation and contacts, it would naturally be beneficial when the school was promoted in the future. Lastly, she had done a great job for the school in securing such benefits and it would help her to win the recent competition for the group’s leadership position.

However, Professor Zhou was a very trustworthy person, and it was his wish to teach in the village, so naturally, he didn’t agree and left Xia ZhiMei in a very bad situation.

Yet in the end, he couldn’t resist her persistence in bringing the headmaster to invite him so frequently. Thus, Professor Zhou took a step back and promised to be the honorary teacher of the school. He promised to give a lesson to the students every month and help to fight for the school when there were future lectures or exchange activates such as domestic competitions. Only then did Xia ZhiMei and the headmaster of the secondary school leaving in great joy.

Xia Shao had known that this would be the outcome and since there was no change in her transfer so she didn’t bother with it. Watching her eldest aunt, Xia ZhiMei running around in circle, she couldn’t help but think of how their family would end up in the future and sigh at the impermanence of life. Their family affairs hardly affect her emotions at this point.

What she had to do now was to pave the way for her future.

After this, while it was still the winter break and the school was not yet started, Xia Shao went to the mountains daily. She followed Tang ZongBo in practicing martial arts and cultivating her Qi and studying metaphysical and theory.

This was where the change began……