Chapter 253: Chapter 253: Safety Awareness

That afternoon, during registration, there were still a few kids who wanted to put off paying their tuition, but Gu Qinghuan had already learned to take it in stride.

Lin Muyang said that every semester there were always some kids like this. He was long used to it—some really did come from struggling families.

Take Wang Qingchuan from this morning, for example. He only has a mother at home, no father. His mother works herself to the bone just to scrape by. They really are poor, but the child is also truly hardworking.

Other kids, though, have parents who are reluctant to pay, always wanting to put it off as long as possible. The children themselves have no say in the matter, but they want to go to school, so they can only ask to pay later.

The school tacitly allows this as long as the tuition is paid up by the end of the semester.

As a teacher, the best way Lin Muyang could show respect to these kids was to pretend not to know and treat everyone equally.

Gu Qinghuan found herself looking at this seemingly ordinary Teacher Lin with newfound respect.

If he had been born decades later, he would surely have become a great educator.

Many of his ideas and perspectives were actually quite progressive for this era.

Great people are great because they stick to what they believe is right, discovering new paths instead of blindly following the crowd.

Gu Qinghuan thought that if Teacher Lin hadn’t been born in this time, he would have achieved even more.

Of course, he was already excellent now, but his abilities and vision were still underutilized—he could have been even better.

She didn’t realize that her own words and actions were also leaving a deep impression on others. Although Lin Muyang hadn’t known her long, he could tell from her behavior that her thinking was highly aligned with his own. Especially when it came to education, she seemed to shine from within.

Regardless of gender or background, they both had rich and beautiful inner worlds, like the legendary friendship of Boya and Ziqi—meeting late, but instantly understanding each other.

The two of them walked home after work, chatting and laughing along the way.

Gu Qinghuan’s first day at work had gone very well.

When she got home, the two children had already made a pot of cornmeal porridge. Since Lin Xiaomeng was home that afternoon, she hadn’t locked them in.

The kids were so sensible it was impressive. Even Lin Xiaomeng, after looking at the two of them and then at her own clueless son, couldn’t help but say, “Comparisons really are odious.”

It felt wonderful to come home to a hot meal, but Gu Qinghuan still took the opportunity to remind them about safety.

“When you use the stove, you must stay close and be careful not to start a fire. More importantly, don’t burn yourselves.

You’re both still young, so it’s fine to make simple things like porridge, noodles, boil dumplings, or heat up leftovers.

But if there are no adults around, don’t touch oil, don’t try to stir-fry, and don’t do anything beyond your abilities. This is no joke.

Mom can eat later, or even skip a meal, but I can’t bear to see you get hurt.”

When Gu Qinghuan was little, she had a classmate whose entire face was burned by hot oil. He looked like a monster and was always teased by the other kids.

She often wondered how much it must have hurt in that moment.

Later, she learned it happened because his parents weren’t careful while cooking. They left a bowl of boiling oil on the edge of the stove, and when the child reached for it, the whole bowl tipped over onto his face.

That classmate’s life was almost ruined by that bowl of hot oil—he suffered all kinds of physical and emotional pain.

Ever since then, Gu Qinghuan had always been extra cautious about such things.

Whenever she cooked with these two little ones around, she never let them near the stove when frying or using hot oil, just in case.

Raising a child safely takes more than just this—every aspect needs attention. Being a parent is a huge responsibility!

The kids had heard her say these things before and knew how much she cared about safety.

Dabao immediately promised, “Mom, I know. I definitely won’t try to act tough, and I’ll keep an eye on my sister.”

“Mom, I’ll be good too,” Beibei quickly chimed in, smiling sweetly.

Gu Qinghuan couldn’t help but laugh at her adorable expression and pinched her little cheeks—they were just too cute.

After dinner, it was still early. Lin Xiaomeng took her to see Uncle Wang from the logistics department to apply for a small plot of land. Lin Xiaomeng’s plot had already been assigned—a tenth of a mu, not big, but enough.

Since they were bothering Uncle Wang outside of work hours, Gu Qinghuan had thoughtfully brought a handful of fruit candies.

Uncle Wang, seeing the candies, took his bowl of rice and enthusiastically led her to check out the available plots. There wasn’t much to choose from.

All the plots were side by side, all uncultivated wasteland that would need to be cleared before planting.

Gu Qinghuan picked the spot right next to Lin Xiaomeng’s. A tenth of a mu was just enough to plant some garlic, scallions, and a few seasonal vegetables—plenty for a small family.

Gu Qinghuan never intended to rely on this plot for their livelihood, so it didn’t matter much. It was just an excuse to have a steady supply of fresh vegetables and fruit.

With spring coming, it would soon be time to plant.

On the way back, it wasn’t dark yet. At the entrance to the staff dorms, a few families and teachers were gathered, chatting.

When they saw Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng approach, they all greeted them.

“Oh, it’s the new teachers, Ms. Gu and Ms. Lin!”

“Look at these two, young and pretty as girls, and yet they already have such big kids.”

“That’s right. If you two weren’t already married, the young men at our school would be in luck!”

“Especially Mr. Fang—haha! He loves women just like you two.”

…

Everyone was joking and teasing.

Gu Qinghuan frowned slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable. She didn’t like being the butt of such jokes.

But since they were only joking, she couldn’t react as harshly as she had with Wan Rong. She just pretended not to hear, replied politely, and left.

Lin Xiaomeng was uncomfortable too.

“These old biddies are no different from the gossipy villagers—nothing better to do than talk about others. No class!”

Gu Qinghuan nodded. “Exactly. No matter where you are or when, people’s character varies. All we can do is stick to our own principles.”

“Yeah, stick to our own principles.” Lin Xiaomeng was deeply moved by this.

If she had stuck to her principles back then, maybe things would have turned out differently.

But maybe this is the best outcome. She cherished her life now.

That morning, Gu Qinghuan had already asked Lin Xiaomeng to register the two children for school. Both were starting first grade, which was cheaper than the upper grades—just four yuan for both.

Beibei was a little younger, but she knew enough to start first grade and didn’t need to go to kindergarten.

Dabao was learning quickly—first-grade work might not even challenge him anymore.

Gu Qinghuan planned to let him try it out first, and if it really wasn’t suitable, she’d consider moving him up a grade."