Chapter 222: Study Tour ③
Zhao Bao Cui hesitated for a moment, then stood up, “Although I think Shuanglonggou Reservoir is very good, Zhang Haiyang, you also said that we need to study somewhere tonight. Even if we set up tents by the reservoir, it will be very cold.”
“I’ve thought about that. Don’t they always have bonfires on the grasslands? We can have a bonfire party tonight too,” Zhang Haiyang said with a smile. “I told everyone about this study tour right after the exam. Have you all talked to your parents? If you have, we can start forming groups.”
Actually, many people told their parents about the study tour after the exam, but most parents disagreed. It was fine for boys, but parents wouldn’t feel at ease with girls staying out overnight. But now it’s different. Even if they disagreed before, if they bring back good grades to make their parents happy, maybe they’ll agree?
Thinking this, all the classmates agreed to Zhang Haiyang’s proposal, smiling and saying they would agree to form groups.
Zhang Haiyang said with a smile, “Seven people per group, free to team up. You can team up with people you get along well with. Of course, it’s not mandatory to have exactly seven people per group, but each group must have at least four people and no more than ten. After forming your groups, decide among yourselves what things to bring. Of course, since this is our first study tour, we definitely need to bring books, pens, and notebooks. Everyone must bring their first-semester textbooks for junior high first grade. If you’ve sold your first-grade books, go ask people you know in other classes to borrow them. Got it?”
“Got it!” All the classmates in the class said in unison, extremely excited.
“Everyone gather at the school gate before 7:30 tomorrow morning. The bus will be waiting here,” Li Kai stood up. “If you don’t have money on you now, you don’t have to pay immediately; I’ll cover it, and you can give it back to me tomorrow. If you have money now, form your groups first. After the group members collect the money, hand it all over to me.”
They had participated in spring and autumn outings many times in their lives, not to mention school events, even the Children’s Palace had spring and autumn outings. But this was their first winter outing, and they were all extremely excited.
As soon as Li Kai finished speaking, everyone stood up and started forming groups with classmates they were close to.
Nie Qiu stood on the lectern and wrote “Group 1, Group 2, Group 3,” etc., on the blackboard, then said, “Those who have formed groups can report your names, and I will write down the group members’ names.”
A few boys finished forming their groups and quickly told Nie Qiu their names. Nie Qiu smiled and wrote their names under Group 1. Soon, everyone had formed their groups. In the last group’s empty space, Nie Qiu wrote Huang Yan, Peng Yu Yang, and her own name. Li Kai and Zhang Haiyang also wrote their names, and naturally, Luo Xu and Bai Ya did too. Ma Xin and Wang Chao Lei also went to the lectern and wrote their names in the last group, making their group a total of nine people.
After forming the groups, each group began to discuss what to bring and who would be responsible for what. In the end, Nie Qiu’s group decided that Nie Qiu would bring the dishes, and Li Kai would also bring dishes with Nie Qiu. Zhang Haiyang would bring the grill net and charcoal fire, as he thought, “What’s a study tour in the wild without a barbecue?” Luo Xu and Bai Ya were originally going to bring seasonings like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, but later Peng Yu Yang said his family owned a restaurant and had all the seasonings, so he would be responsible for bringing the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. The remaining people would be responsible for bringing pots and pans, and of course, the tablecloths to spread on the ground.
Everyone had to bring their own tent. Since they were all children from big cities and most had participated in Children’s Palace activities or spring and autumn outings when they were younger, they all had tents. Although they didn’t have the habit of staying overnight at the places they visited, most of them had tents because tents were essential for their families. The only one without a tent was Nie Qiu.
However, she had already thought about it; since they were going out to play, she would naturally buy a tent and a sleeping bag.
After everyone had discussed the study tour, they all started the thorough cleaning. This was something they had to do after every semester. Each class was assigned a construction site to clean, in addition to their classroom and the corridor outside their classroom. Class 10 was no exception. This year, their assigned areas were the toilets on this floor and a section of the sports field.
However, because the holiday was approaching and the school had hired cleaners for the sports field, their cleaning areas were limited to the classroom and the toilets.
Originally, the teacher had already assigned people to do the thorough cleaning, but because they had to discuss the study tour, all forty-nine students stayed behind. Driven by excitement and righteousness, they decided to do the cleaning together.
The life committee member, also known as the labor committee member, stepped forward and assigned the previously designated people to clean the toilets: ten boys and ten girls. The cleaning of the classroom was left to the remaining twenty-nine people.
Normally, for daily cleaning, they only needed to sweep the floor, but thorough cleaning was different. They had to wipe tables, windows, doors, and frames, and sprinkle water, sweep, and mop every corner. But because there were so many people, Class 10 finished all the work in less than an hour. This goes to show that men and women working together makes the work less tiring, and that many hands make light work.
Their class had also discussed the study tour for over half an hour, and their departure time from school was not much different from other classes. The twenty people assigned to cleaning were naturally happy. After cleaning the toilets, they pooled money and bought fifty cups of milk tea outside the school to treat the entire class before their classmates left.
Those who helped naturally didn’t stand on ceremony. After finishing their work, they locked the classroom door, and the entire class left the classroom and the school, chatting and laughing. They said goodbye at the school gate and then went their separate ways.
Everyone was happy. Even though they had worked, they had achieved good grades. While they might not compare to Class 1, it exceeded their imagination. They were happy! They were also happy about the study tour. Although people flock together, so everyone has a few good friends, but… today felt different, as if… as if all their classmates were friends!
Very happy, very pleased. Many students wrote about everything that happened that day in their diaries after going home, because it was the first time their efforts had paid off, and because it was the first time they felt that… they could have so many friends.
Walking with everyone, An Su looked at Peng Yu Yang’s back, hesitated for a moment, then rushed forward and patted Peng Yu Yang’s shoulder. Seeing Peng Yu Yang turn around, she smiled and said to him, “Peng Yu Yang, treat me to a meal!”
Peng Yu Yang was stunned. He wasn’t very familiar with An Su, but they had been classmates for three years. Since a classmate had asked, he couldn’t refuse, so he nodded and said, “Okay. There’s a restaurant at the school gate, let’s go there to eat!”
“I heard your family owns a restaurant. Can we eat at your place?” An Su asked with a smile.
Peng Yu Yang was stunned again and nodded, “Alright!”
An Su smiled and took Peng Yu Yang’s arm, then said to the other classmates with a smile, “Peng Yu Yang and I are leaving first, bye.” With that, she waved to Nie Qiu and pulled Peng Yu Yang away.
An Su pulled Peng Yu Yang, causing him to stumble, but seeing Nie Qiu and Li Kai holding hands, he followed An Su and left.
Watching their classmates leave one by one with smiles on their faces, Nie Qiu also waved goodbye to the departing students with a smile. Li Kai stood beside Nie Qiu, holding her hand and smiling as they said goodbye to their classmates, naturally accompanied by Zhang Haiyang and Huang Yan, Luo Xu and Bai Ya, Ma Xin and Wang Chao Lei, and others.
The two flag-raising ceremonies in the morning, distributing report cards, and cleaning had all passed, and it was already past lunchtime.
