Work-Study Program

In the evening, Shen Mo returned to the classroom and told Fang Chang'an some news: "Uncle said you don't have to buy buns tomorrow. That Uncle Zhang will bring them over."

"So soon?" Fang Chang'an was a bit surprised.

Shen Mo was just passing on the message, not really understanding the intricacies, but still tried to explain as she understood it: "When I got home tonight, I told Uncle the numbers. Tomorrow, Uncle will go talk to Uncle Zhang."

Fang Chang'an nodded and made a cupped-fist gesture to her. "Thanks, Classmate Shen, much appreciated!"

The little girl knew he was teasing her, so she pouted and gave a soft humph before lowering her head to her homework, ignoring him.

Fang Chang'an sat at his desk, silently pondering for a while. When most of the classmates had arrived, he patted Shen Mo and slipped out from behind her, walking to the podium and knocking on the desk. He said, "Sorry to take up everyone's time."

The chatting students quickly quieted down, and those reading or doing homework also looked up at him.

Fang Chang'an smiled and said, "It's about the buns. Recently, there have been too many, and I can't carry them all myself, nor can one shop handle them all. That's why these past couple of days, I haven't even done morning exercises, rushing off to buy buns instead."

"Because of this, the shop is planning to close and deliver buns exclusively to us. Starting tomorrow, the owner will bring them over. This means the number delivered will change every day, and they won't know how many to make."

"So from today, we'll order a week's worth at a time. Today, we'll order from tomorrow through Friday; from now on, every Sunday we'll order for the week. If this causes any inconvenience, I hope you all understand."

"Alright, that's all. Those who want to order, think it over. You can give your money to Shen Mo now. I have to step out."

With that, Fang Chang'an washed his hands of the matter and left the classroom, planning to find Liu Cheng. As soon as he stepped out, Fang Ying came over from the side.

"Chang'an."

Fang Ying wore a smile as she approached and said quietly, "From now on, you should handle the buns for our class again."

Fang Chang'an knew exactly what she was thinking, but he still put on a puzzled face. "Why?"

That morning, Fang Ying had worried about wasting time, fearing complaints from classmates who had to pay full price for buns and earning nothing for her trouble. She'd been stewing all day before finally calming down.

She had originally decided to stop handling the buns, but then realized if she didn't, the classmates would surely turn to Fang Chang'an anyway. So she decided she'd rather be the generous one and came over to talk to him.

Naturally, she didn't admit the truth, only said, "It's too much trouble. I'll let you make the money instead," as if she were doing him a favor.

Fang Chang'an grinned, "Alright, I'll head to Sixth Class first, then come by your class."

Fang Ying nodded and smiled, "Okay."

Fang Chang'an headed to Sixth Class, called Liu Cheng out, and said with a smile, "Tomorrow, we don't have to pick up the buns anymore; someone will deliver them."

Liu Cheng probably thought the free buns were gone, so he looked a bit disappointed, though he still smiled and nodded, "Alright, I got it."

Fang Chang'an patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "Don't worry, we won't miss out on our buns."

"That's not what I meant," Liu Cheng said a little sheepishly.

Fang Chang'an continued, "They'll just deliver the buns downstairs. We'll still have to carry them up and distribute them to classmates, and keep track of the orders too."

"No problem," Liu Cheng responded.

Fang Chang'an nodded. "Also, since we won't be picking up the buns ourselves, we can't keep changing the numbers every day. From now on, we'll tally up orders every Sunday and reserve a week's worth. Tonight we'll tally for tomorrow through Friday."

Liu Cheng nodded again. Fang Chang'an added, "There will be more and more people ordering buns, and with so many classes, you might not be able to handle it all. Later, if you think someone is reliable, hand off their class's tasks to them. They'll also get free buns every morning."

This was the first time Liu Cheng had been given such authority, and he couldn't help but get a little excited, nodding, "Okay."

He thought for a moment and said, "Let Hou Xiaoyi handle Seventh Class. He's been helping these past couple of days."

In truth, Fang Chang'an preferred to assign such tasks to the more honest students to avoid any unexpected issues, but as long as he was around to oversee things, there shouldn't be any major problems. Besides, Hou Xiaoyi and the others were all local town students, and he might need them later to expand connections to other schools, so it was too soon to cut them off.

Going through official channels was possible, but sometimes the influence of troublemakers could even outweigh that of teachers, depending on how they were guided. At this stage, Fang Chang'an intended to win them over.

"Fifth, seventh, and eighth classes—these past two days, you've been handling them. Assign someone reliable to each class; just one per class, of course. Sun Yanxu from your class has also been a big help. If he's willing to continue, he can have a spot too. We'll all be colleagues in this work-study project."

"Great!" Liu Cheng had been helping out mainly to get closer to Chang'an, thinking of himself as a follower or lackey. But now, being called a colleague in a work-study project sounded so positive and equal, almost like being an exemplary student. He got even more excited. "Thank you, Chang'an!"

"No need for thanks; we're all colleagues," Fang Chang'an chuckled. "Next, we need to inform fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth classes about the new rules. You handle that. Remember, be polite and get the list right."

"Sure, you can count on me," Liu Cheng replied, even using honorifics.

Fang Chang'an laughed, "Why so formal? Can't even talk straight anymore? Enough, I have to go to First Class now."

"Okay, okay, you go ahead," Liu Cheng said quickly, watching Fang Chang'an leave. Then he called Sun Yanxu and Hou Xiaoyi over, explained the rule changes, and said, "Don't say I'm not loyal—Chang'an just handed out a few free bun spots, and I recommended you two first. Chang'an's fair and loyal to us; let's do things properly and not ruin his reputation!"

…

Fang Chang'an arrived at First Class, where students were studying, chatting, or napping. Knowing that Fang Dianqiu probably wouldn't dare address the entire class, he strode straight to the podium, knocked on the desk, and said loudly, "Everyone quiet down, please."

After two or three knocks, the classroom gradually fell silent. All the students, whether sitting, standing, or slumped over desks, looked at him. Many recognized him and wondered why he was there.

"I'm Fang Chang'an, class monitor of Fourth Class. I know many of you have seen me around these past few days bringing in buns."

Some students chuckled. Fang Chang'an also noticed the familiar-looking girl near the south side of the room. She wasn't laughing, but she was so pretty he couldn't help but notice her.

"It's still about the buns. Starting tomorrow, the shop will deliver them directly to our school. They get up early to make them, but I don't have a phone to tell them how many we need each day. So from now on, every Sunday we'll reserve for the week. Today, we'll order from tomorrow through Friday, and you can give your money to Fang Dianqiu."

"That's all. Sorry to take up your time."

Fang Chang'an finished, gave a cupped-fist gesture of apology, and was about to slip away when a disdainful, challenging male voice rang out: "Who are you? What gives you the right to come to our class and knock on our desk?"

The classroom, which had just started murmuring about buns, immediately fell silent again.

Fang Dianqiu was still processing what Fang Chang'an had said. Seeing his classmate confront Fang Chang'an, he became nervous, craning his neck to see.

It had been about ten days since term started, and Fang Dianqiu recognized the boy speaking as Tang Shuai. Several boys in class seemed to listen to him, and he looked like trouble. Many classmates were a bit afraid of him, making Fang Dianqiu even more anxious.

Fang Chang'an glanced at the boy who'd spoken. He was sitting just behind the pretty girl, and had apparently been sleeping on his desk. His expression was defiant, with a challenging, contemptuous gaze.

Fang Chang'an smiled, "I'm Fang Chang'an, from Fourth Class. What's your name? Do you want to order buns?"

"No." Tang Shuai, seeing that the other boy didn't react at all, was a bit surprised and even more scornful. He was about to say more, but Fang Chang'an just nodded, waved dismissively, and said, "Alright then, sorry to bother you."

With that, he walked out of the classroom.

Tang Shuai's mouth was open, but seeing the other boy leave, he was momentarily stunned and had to swallow what he'd been about to say. He looked aggrieved, as if he'd been wronged, but with the other gone, to chase after him would make him look bad. So he forced down the sudden surge of inexplicable anger that came with Fang Chang'an's calm departure and slumped back down over his desk.

The others, seeing there was no real conflict, didn't pay much attention and went to Fang Dianqiu to pay and order buns.

The boys sitting near Tang Shuai, apparently a bit afraid of him, didn't dare walk past him but instead squeezed past three desks on the other side to reach the aisle and find Fang Dianqiu to place their orders.

"Tang Shuai!"

The pretty girl sitting in front of Tang Shuai turned around, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, and whispered, "Don't get into another fight, or this time I'm definitely telling your mom."

Tang Shuai raised his head, looked at the pretty girl in front of him, pouted, and slumped back down, muttering, "When did I start a fight? He woke me up, can't I say a couple words?"

"Don't I know you?"

The pretty girl glared at him and turned back to her book. Her desk mate glanced at the crowd around Fang Dianqiu and whispered, "Liang Jingyu, why don't we order buns too? That way we don't have to run home for lunch every day."

The girl named Liang Jingyu seemed tempted, but after a moment's hesitation, she shook her head. "I have to ask my mom and dad first. If you want them, you can order yourself."

Her desk mate thought it over and said, "Never mind, I'll wait for you to talk to your parents, and we can order together next week."

Liang Jingyu smiled and nodded, "Alright."

Tang Shuai overheard their conversation, picked up a pen, and gently poked Liang Jingyu's back with the blunt end, asking, "Xiaoyu, why wait till next week? If you want buns, we can have them tomorrow."

Liang Jingyu glanced back at him and rolled her eyes. "What's it to you? I'm not eating with you."