Chapter 412: The Mastermind—Zhang Ergou

Zhu Yanyi tilted her head, thinking for a moment. "Although my grades are good, I started school a bit early, so I am younger. I might not be able to take care of everything. How about this? I will be the vice monitor, and let Brother Cheng Chen be the monitor. She was also third in the city of Yong." Zhu Yanyi recommended her directly.

Cheng Chen’s grades were indeed excellent. She had ranked third in the city of Yong for the transition from primary to middle school. The second place belonged to a student from another primary school in Yong. Originally, Cheng Chen should not have been assigned to Class (1). However, she had attended primary school in Yao City, which counted as a local enrollment. Therefore, her class had been arranged earlier. Zhu Yanyi, being a special recruit, had her class assigned last. This was why the two ended up in the same class.

"Very well. Then let Student Cheng Chen be the monitor, and Student Zhu Yanyi be the vice monitor. I hope we can cooperate well over the next three years," Teacher Gao said. She had originally intended to make Cheng Chen the monitor. However, seeing Zhu Yanyi’s outstanding grades and meeting her in person, she had considered making her the monitor. The final outcome was satisfactory; having Zhu Yanyi as vice monitor was also good.

"Then, Teacher Gao, since that is settled, what procedures do we need to complete for the children now?" Cheng Baokun asked.

Teacher Gao, pleased with their agreement, explained the next steps. "Today is mainly for registration and dormitory arrangement. You can pay the registration fees to me. The tuition is five yuan, and the book fee is three yuan, totaling eight yuan. Additionally, there is a one-yuan class committee fee for future student activities. So, each person pays nine yuan in total. You will receive the books tomorrow. Are you planning to stay in the dormitories?"

Cheng Baokun and Zhu Shun Yao nodded. Teacher Gao continued, "Then you need to go to the Academic Affairs practice chamber on the second floor of the building next door to pay the dormitory fees. The dormitory fee is two yuan per semester, and the steamed rice fee is one yuan per semester. For other items like buying vegetables or breakfast, you will need to purchase meal tickets, which are also available at the Academic Affairs practice chamber."

"Thank you, Teacher," Cheng Baokun said gratefully. He and Zhu Shun Yao then paid the miscellaneous school fees and class committee fees for Cheng Chen and Zhu Yanyi. They carefully kept the receipts and went to the Academic Affairs practice chamber nearby. There, they paid the fees, collected the keys, and bought ten yuan worth of meal tickets for each child. Although living standards had improved, a teacher’s monthly salary was only forty-five yuan. Consumption at school was not high; a bowl of vegetables cost only one or two jiao. Therefore, ten yuan was a significant amount. The teacher collecting the money even took a special look at Zhu Yanyi and Cheng Chen.

The dormitories were not far, located in two buildings behind the Academic Affairs practice chamber. The middle building was for boys, and the last building was for girls. Thus, after picking up their luggage, they had to separate. Chen Ailian and Cheng Baokun accompanied Cheng Chen to the boys’ dormitory, while Zhu Shun Yao and Zhu Yanli accompanied Zhu Yanyi to the girls’ dormitory.

The conditions in the girls’ dormitory were average. Each dormitory room was a long, straight corridor-style space. There were no private bathrooms; students had to use the public restrooms on the first floor. The girls’ dormitory building had three floors. The ground floor had entrances on the east, south, west, and north sides. Usually, only one door was open, while the others remained closed. However, during registration, all doors were opened. The center of the ground floor was a corridor, with dormitories on both sides for student accommodation. The room numbers on the ground floor started with 1, and those on the second floor started with 2. Zhu Yanyi’s dormitory was 306, located on the third floor, so they had to take the central staircase to reach it.