Chapter 63 I am Brother Yun

After the Little Cold, the weather became increasingly cold.

The heavy snow that started on New Year's Day has been falling intermittently, getting heavier and heavier. The snow on the school road is getting thicker and thicker. If you step on it, it can swallow up your entire shoe.

It was always freezing cold in the classroom. No matter how many clothes you wore, it was of no use. The faucets were often frozen and there was never a hot water supply. There was not much warmth sleeping in the simple dormitory at night. Your feet were often cold and many students had chilblains on their hands. You have to admit that studying was really hard for students of that era.

In this miserable and cold environment, there are only a few students who can study patiently and seriously. Everyone spends days like years in the classroom. Everyone wants to go home early and gather around the coal stove to keep the chickens warm, but the school leaders are cruel and still arrange for students to attend classes as usual.

In such bad weather, not all the regular students came to school for evening self-study. Even the teachers on duty were often absent. It was common to not see anyone halfway through the evening self-study. In Class 168, Chu Jian was the only regular student who came to school for evening self-study as usual every day.

I don't know when it started, but a small homemade stove suddenly became popular in Class 168. This thing is a magical fire-making device, comparable to the hot packs of later generations. It turns out that wisdom is produced under oppression.

It is easy to make a homemade small stove. Just use an iron can, make a dozen small holes at the bottom, tie the two ends with a wire, and then add some firewood and coal stolen from the back of the canteen. After lighting the fire, hold the wire and wave it vigorously. Air will enter from the holes at the bottom of the iron can. After the coal burns, you can make a fire.

This kind of homemade stove was very popular in the era when there were no hot packs and air conditioners. Zhang Yunqi remembered that he also made one when he was a child. He waved it while walking to and from school in winter. It was practical, fun and a good exercise. But when he got older, he was a little scared of this kind of thing. It was swinging around on his head and could hit someone if he wasn't careful. It was a hot stove.

Young people don’t have so many concerns. Every day during evening self-study, many boys in the class bring their homemade small stoves to the classroom.

Of course they didn't dare let the teacher find out, as this thing was flammable and would definitely be confiscated if the teacher found out. So they hid under the desks, and after the teacher left, they carried the homemade small stove and waved it at the back of the classroom and in the corridor, letting the coal inside burn vigorously so that they could keep warm during class.

As for Zhang Yunqi, he would occasionally ask male classmates to borrow his phone. After nearly a semester of getting along with him, most of the boys in the class respected him and got along well with him. They all called him Brother Yun all the time. Even Zou Zheng, who was so arrogant before, didn't dare to mess with him now. He seemed to be becoming the bully of Class 168.

Of course, there is a reason for this.

Zhang Yunqi's mind is much more mature than theirs. He is always more proactive in class matters, has good grades, and is approachable to everyone. Everyone in the class knows that he has money in his pocket. After playing basketball in physical education class, people often joke and ask Zhang Yunqi to treat them. Usually, Zhang Yunqi won't say anything at this time, but will just pass on a 100-yuan bill. Each person gets a bottle of drink and buys the most expensive one.

Zhang Yunqi didn't care about this small amount of money. There was no point in showing off in front of these little fools. He just simply thought that they were all classmates and it was nice to treat these poor kids to a meal.

These guys are not very old, but they are actually very grateful. Zhang Yunqi gets a share of any local specialties brought from home. They also copy homework, help cover up for skipping classes, and introduce pretty girls to him.

Good things should be shared.

Zhang Yunqi borrowed someone else's homemade small stove and often took it to Chu Jian to ask English questions, and then warmed himself by the fire with her.

Chu Jian wore a very old black cotton coat every day, which looked very thin. Zhang Yunqi didn't know how this little girl could endure such cold weather.

Of course, he wouldn't ask.

One time during evening self-study, he carried a small stove and warmed himself with Chu Jian. He saw that her fingers were covered with chilblains, and some of them were oozing pus. In his memory, three months ago, these hands were slender, white, and round, like white jade.

On the evening of January 13, when the evening self-study class was halfway through, the school suddenly lost power. The students who were studying immediately became noisy. The boys carried their homemade small stoves and waved them at the back of the classroom like they were performing acrobatics.

The person on duty tonight was their math teacher Lin Cong. He disappeared less than half an hour into the evening study session. Zhang Yunqi guessed that he had gone to the dormitory to tutor a certain girl individually.

Some time ago, he heard from Wang Xiaokai gossip that Lin Cong seemed to be having an affair with a girl in school. Wang Xiaokai saw it with his own eyes once after evening self-study, but it was too dark at the time and the girl didn't recognize him.

Zhang Yunqi was very envious after hearing this, but it was a pity that he was not charming enough and could not go back to bed to continue tutoring after tutoring in the classroom.

If he had a good relationship with Lin Cong, he could ask him for some advice on picking up girls, but Lin Cong had some conflicts with him and didn't like him, and this was because they just met for the first time.

During an evening study session, Lin Cong went to talk to Chu Jian. He said that Chu Jian still had room for improvement in math and that if he had any questions, he could go to his office to ask. One-on-one tutoring would be more effective. Zhang Yunqi, who was sitting in the back, heard this and said to Lin Cong, "Teacher Lin, there's no need to bother. I'm good at math and Chu Jian will ask me if he doesn't understand something. Chu Jian, right?"

Chu Jian hummed softly and said, "Yes."

Lin Cong's face turned red and white at that time.

From then on, Zhang Yunqi had a hard time in math class. Lin Cong often had to keep an eye on him to see if he was distracted. It was also common for him to be called up to answer questions, but he always answered the questions accurately, and Lin Cong never had a chance to feed him shit.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yunqi looked up at Chu Jian in front of him. Seeing that she had no intention of packing her bag and going home, he poked her back with a pen and said, "The power is out, you still want to read?"

Chu Jian pursed his lips and said, "The phone should ring soon. I still have a question to finish."

Zhang Yunqi said: "Then I'll go to the store and buy some candles."

Leaving the classroom, Zhang Yunqi walked down the stairs. The students were noisy all the way. Children like to create chaos. Of course, some classes maintained order very well, lighting candles and singing together in the classroom.

After buying a dozen candles at the store, Zhang Yunqi was about to leave when he saw gloves for sale on the counter. After thinking for a while, he asked the owner, "How much is a pair of these gloves?"

The boss said 3 yuan.

Zhang Yunqi paid for a pair of white plush gloves.

When Zhang Yunqi returned to Class 168, he saw a lot of lights in the classroom from afar before he even entered the door. He originally thought it was the light from a small stove, but after walking a few meters, he found that the classroom was full of flames and choking smoke was coming out. The girls' screams echoed in the classroom.

Zhang Yunqi was stunned for a moment, but it was only for a moment. He immediately turned around and found Chu Jian. He saw sparks and smoke coming out of Chu Jian's black cotton coat.

Without thinking, Zhang Yunqi threw away the candle and rushed over, unzipped Chu Jian's cotton coat, threw the coat out of the window, and then pulled her out of the classroom.

"Stand away and don't go over there."

Zhang Yunqi didn't have time to talk nonsense. He took off his cotton jacket and put it on Chu Jian. Just as he turned around and was about to leave, Chu Jian grabbed his hand tightly.

Zhang Yunqi asked, "Do you have anything else to do?"

Chu Jian pursed his lips and said, "Be careful."

Zhang Yunqi said, “I know.”

Chu Jian let go of his hand and Zhang Yunqi ran into the classroom.

At this time, the fire in the classroom was already quite big, mainly because the wind outside was very strong and the classroom was full of books and wooden desks, which were things that could easily burn.

When Zhang Yunqi ran to the classroom door, the thick smoke choked him so much that he couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't see the figures swaying around at all. He could only hear the girls' screams of fear and the boys' shouts to put out the fire.

He could only yell: "Everyone be quiet, listen to me first, come out first, come out!"

After shouting three or four times, not many people seemed to respond, so he got angry and yelled, "Did you hear what I said? I am Brother Yun! Zhang Yunqi, Brother Yun! Get the hell out of here! Listen to my command!"

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(End of this chapter)