Chapter 73: Entering Official Employment
A treasure chest that was flashing with silvery light dropped down right before him.
Sun Mo wanted to open it up immediately, but considering how there’d be a high chance of him wasting this treasure chest given his unlucky physique, he could only suppress the urge.
He’d better open it after patting the papaya girl to increase his luck.
“Here are two sets of teacher attire. If they are torn, you can go to the logistics department to get new ones.”
An Xinhui handed a stack of folded clothes to Sun Mo.
The sky blue material didn’t look extravagant, but it had a special meaning. Moreover, the school emblem on the left side of his chest represented the Central Province Academy’s recognition of his status as a teacher.
Right now, the Central Province Academy was in decline and the teachers’ reputation also dropped a little. More than ten years ago, the Central Province Academy’s teachers would be able to get their bills waived when they went out to eat or to buy things while wearing their uniforms.
Of course, the teachers weren’t short of this bit of money. It was just that this was a representation of their status and identity. It showed that they were respected and adored.
“How’s the salary?”
Sun Mo recalled his pathetic salary back in No.2 High School. He wasn’t even able to afford the down payment for a house. That was why he hadn’t managed to get a girlfriend until now.
He had no choice. Without a house, who’d want to be in a relationship with him?
An Xinhui didn’t expect that Sun Mo would ask this so blatantly, and she was a little stunned. Zhou Lin, who was at the side, had her eyes and mouth wide open.
(You are a teacher and should have your priorities on teaching and nurturing. You should be shy when talking about money. How can you take the initiative to ask about your salary? You were still saying earlier that you were going to prove yourself. How come you’ve become so mercenary now?)
If it wasn’t because An Xinhui had glared at her, Zhou Lin would have wanted to speak sarcastically toward him.
“100 taels per month!”
An Xinhui replied.
“Are there any other benefits?”
Sun Mo was very satisfied. To a teacher who was just converted into a permanent position, this salary wasn’t considered low. An ordinary family of three would only spend over 100 taels in a year.
“Food in the canteen and the residence is free. Moreover, there were the heatstroke prevention fee and warmth fee in summer and winter, as well as the gifts every festive. All of these add up to a lot of money.”
Zhou Lin spoke up quickly, her tone filled with a sense of superiority.
It was because she was very proud of this. After all, their school’s benefits weren’t bad compared to the Myriad Daos Academy.
“It seems that a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. The Central Province Academy doesn’t seem to be as dilapidated and poor as the rumors make it out to be?”
Sun Mo immediately retorted.
“You...”
Zhou Lin was so angry that she wanted to spew out blood. Could they have an enjoyable talk?
“Even if I have to have it hard, the teachers’ benefits won’t be reduced.”
An Xinhui explained. This was how she had been doing this. Over the past two years, the Central Province Academy’s funds had been reaching its end, but she had never reduced all these expenses.
The scholarships were also given out as usual. It was because some poor students had to rely on scholarships to be able to continue their studies.
Sun Mo looked at An Xinhui, not knowing what to say. Although her moon-white long robe had been washed cleanly, it was apparent that she had been wearing it for a few years based on the degree it was wearing out.
To a 3-star great teacher, such clothes were too shabby.
“Is that so? Then I’ll rest at ease and eat braised meat every meal. It’s free anyway!” After saying that, Sun Mo patted his clothes. “Is there anything else? If not, then I’ll be leaving!”
“That’s all!”
An Xinhui instructed, “Zhou Lin, bring Sun Mo to take a look at the office and to familiarize with the other teachers.”
“Let’s go!”
Zhou Lin had a strong urge to strangle Sun Mo to death. Eat meat for every meal? Eldest Miss hadn’t eaten any meat for very long. The meals she had every day were all very simple.
After Sun Mo left, An Xinhui had just sat down when she heard his voice ringing out from outside.
“Which date is the salary paid out? There won’t be any delays, right?”
“If I bring students to the canteen for meals, can their meals be waived? No? Then what about half price?”
“The free food can’t be of a limited quantity, right?”
Sun Mo’s voice was very pleasant, sounding warm as if sunlight was shining down on one’s body, giving off a sense of security. However, the things he was saying now were deserving of a beating.
An Xinhui could imagine how angry Zhou Lin would be.
“I didn’t expect that Sun Mo would change so much after a few years. He has such a sharp tongue now!”
An Xinhui couldn’t help but smile. Even the fatigue she had been feeling over the past few days had suddenly lightened by a lot. She recalled the scene she saw the other day where the 4-star great teacher Yue Rongbo was trying to fight for Sun Mo.
“It seems that you’re something, to be able to recruit five students. Will you let me see you in a different light one more time?”
An Xinhui mumbled then went back to her work. There were only six months left.
The Central Province Academy’s situation was very bad and they couldn’t afford to lose anymore. If they still didn’t manage to get a good ranking in this year’s league tournament, they’d be removed from their title as a famous school.
If that were to happen, they wouldn’t be able to get back up again.
...
The Central Province Academy hoped that the teachers could have exchanges and learn from each other, helping each other to improve. Therefore, they had a big office concept.
Within an office, there’d be great teachers of different levels, ranging from 2-star great teachers to newly employed teachers.
Of course, great teachers who were 3-star or above wouldn’t be included. All of them had their own private offices.
“It’s over here. The table on the left is yours. If you have any problems, you can ask the other teachers.”
After saying that, Zhou Lin quickly left. She was afraid that if she continued to stay here, she wouldn’t be able to hold back and want to beat up Sun Mo. This guy’s tongue was too sharp.
The teachers knew that there’d be a new guy joining today. So when they heard sounds, they couldn’t help but look up.
At the instant Sun Mo entered, he revealed his eight teeth and switched to his amicable mode, greeting everyone, “Hello teachers. Please give me your guidance.”
Sun Mo had used a ruler to measure how many teeth would be shown according to the degree he smiled. He continued to practice every day for a few years when he brushed his teeth every morning and night.
There were a total of ten desks in the office, with them being grouped in sets of two. Therefore, the teachers were all seated in a way where every two of them would be facing each other.
Sun Mo immediately saw Lian Zheng, who had a rough face. The two of them had a quarrel before over Jiang Leng, so their relationship was a little sour.
Lian Zheng was looking straight at Sun Mo with a head-strong disposition.
Other than him, there were six other teachers present. An old man and a woman with short hair nodded at him. The other four teachers either threw a glance at him and went back to their work or were expressionless.
“The workforce isn’t easy!”
Sun Mo exclaimed in his heart. But getting him to lower his stance and currying up to others just to improve his relationship with other colleagues? That was impossible. Therefore, he walked straight to his desk after greeting them.
“I thought that Teacher Gu would be the one assigned here!”
Jiang Yongnian stroked his chin, looking disappointed. Although he didn’t harbor any thoughts toward Gu Xiuxun, one’s mood would be better to be able to work alongside a beautiful colleague.
When a young man who was in his twenties and had a light birthmark on the corner of his forehead heard this, his expression became a lot more displeased when he looked at Sun Mo.
“You are...”
The white-haired old man took the initiative to ask.
“Sun Mo!”
Sun Mo replied.
“Hmm?”
The old man’s smile suddenly stiffened up and he looked around. It was easy to tell what his expression was saying. (Did I hear wrongly? Or were the school’s leaders mistaken?)
(Sun Mo? Isn’t he the one who sponges off a woman?)
“Teacher Pan, you’ve gone back home to see your grandson during the past few days so you might not be aware of this. There were only four intern teachers who had managed to recruit five students this time around.”
Zhou Shanyi smiled and replied, making it very clear that Sun Mo had passed the test.
“Four?”
Pan Yi counted with his fingers. “That isn’t right. I remember that other than Gu Xiuxun, whom Headmaster An had headhunted from the Myriad Daos Academy, there are three other graduates from the Nine Greats, right?”
Pan Yi then turned to take a glance at Sun Mo. There was no way this guy was able to get into the Nine Greats.
“Qin Fen quit!”
Jiang Yongnian had always been up to date with the latest news.
“Huh? Why? I remember that he had been headhunted by Headmaster An personally. Were there any accidents?”
Pan Yi was very surprised.
There were three factions in the school, led by the two vice-headmasters—Zhang Hanfu and Wang Su, as well as the headmaster An Xinhui. An Xinhui’s faction was the weakest amongst the three. That was why she had gone out personally to headhunt people, wanting to increase her faction’s forces. He didn’t expect that Qin Fen had quitted.
“He lost in a competition and was too ashamed to stay on!”
Jiang Yongnian was a talkative person.
“Who did he lose to?”
Pan Yi was very curious. It was normal for there to be contradictions between teachers. So what could they do? They could just compete and not scold each other like shrews. That’d be lacking class. What the teachers loved to do the most was to crush their opponents with their strength.
“There, the person is right in front of you!”
Jiang Yongnian teased.
Pan Yi looked toward Sun Mo and couldn’t help but cry out, “Huh? Is that for real?”
To speak the truth, his words were a little rude. However, Pan Yi was a 1-star great teacher so there was no way that he’d care about what a newly employed teacher would think.
Sun Mo had just found out that Qin Fen had quitted and was a little surprised.
The lips of Yi Jiamin, who had a faint birthmark on his forehead, twitched when he heard this. Such trashy achievements were worth boasting about?
“Sun Mo, your seat is over here!” The short-haired woman who was in her thirties smiled and called out to Sun Mo. “If there’s anything you don’t know or aren’t sure of, you can ask me!”
“Thank you, sister!”
Sun Mo had just wanted to ask for her name when the short-haired woman said it.
“I’m called Xia Yuan. You can call me Sister Sia or Teacher Sia. Either is fine.”
Xia Yuan had a friendly attitude.
“Sister Xia!”
In such times, this address was a lot more cordial. Sun Mo had just come to this place and didn’t know about the complicated relationship between the different factions in the school. However, by the looks of it, Xia Yuan should belong to An Xinhui’s faction.
Sun Mo’s guess was right. An Xinhui had specially picked out an office for him where the colleagues had a pretty amicable relationship. Also, she had instructed Xia Yuan to help him out more.
After staying in the office for ten or more minutes and familiarizing himself with the environment, Sun Mo left.
It wasn’t a pleasant first meeting with his colleagues, but Sun Mo didn’t mind that.
This place was Middle-Earth’s nine provinces. If the teachers wished to get other people’s respect, what they relied on was how many great teacher halos they grasped, their own level, as well as how many students under them were able to get onto the Greencloud Rankings.
If ordinary teachers were unable to pass the Saint Gate’s great teacher test and get ‘stars’, they wouldn’t get recognition and respect from other teachers with ‘stars’ even if they were able to do wonders with their teachings.
“You don’t seem to be angry even though you’ve been treated so coldly?”
The system was surprised.
“Respect is earned through one’s capabilities and not begged for. Don’t worry, I’ll let them see me in a different light sooner or later.”
Sun Mo’s mind was on that silver treasure chest, and thus he went to look for Lu Zhiruo to increase his luck. He wondered what good item he’d be able to get.