PCJ – Chapter 382 Where’s the Promised Face-Slapping

“Pei Guixiang’s voice should’ve been used for opera! Once she opened her mouth, there was no need for the backstage gong; her voice could replace it.”

Not only did her voice summon the teachers and their families from the staff dormitory, but even the students from the student dorms rushed over. Upon hearing there was a thief to catch, the young boys charged in as if they’d been injected with adrenaline.

“Alright, alright, Pei Guixiang, let’s see how you end this!” Cai Kaiming, now furious, retorted.

“How will I end it? You should worry about yourself! A school teacher caught stealing someone else’s, then how will you deal with that!” Pei Guixiang coldly scoffed.

“Teacher Wu must’ve been blind to marry a shrew like you!” Cai Kaiming was so enraged that he almost started cursing.

“Angry, are you? Haha, you got away with eating one of my chickens, but you had the nerve to steal another! If you were going to steal, at least steal from another coop. Did you really think I’m easy to bully?” Pei Guixiang sneered.

“It’s a mistake! A misunderstanding!” Wu Guangyuan rushed over, shouting loudly at his wife.

“What are you yelling for? Useless scholar! If you weren’t so weak, who would dare repeatedly steal from us?” Before Wu Guangyuan could finish, Pei Guixiang interrupted, berating him.

“It’s a misunderstanding!” Wu Guangyuan shouted, but he had no chance to speak up in front of his wife.

“Shut up! I want this to blow up. He has the nerve to steal from us, and I can’t expose him?” Pei Guixiang said fiercely.

By now, a crowd of teachers and students had gathered around. Even Principal Wan Youming had been alerted and pushed his way through the crowd.

“What’s going on? What’s all this about? Class teachers, take your students back to the classrooms. This is a school, not a marketplace. Schools are for learning, not for village women to scream and curse!” Wan Youming shouted.

“Principal Wan, I don’t like what you’re saying. What’s this about ‘village women cursing’? Am I cursing? My property was stolen, I caught the thief, and I can’t even say a few words? A teacher colluding with bad students to steal from the staff—does that belong in a school?” Pei Guixiang, feeling justified, pressed her case.

“It’s a misunderstanding, really!” Wu Guangyuan tried pulling his wife back.

Slap! Pei Guixiang slapped Wu Guangyuan, sending him spinning in place and falling to the ground with a thud.

“Wu Guangyuan, you useless man! Our stuff gets stolen, and you don’t even dare to fart. Now that I’ve caught the thief, you’re still opposing me! Shut your mouth, or you’ll see what happens next!”

Wu Guangyuan, now dazed, sat there completely stunned by his wife’s slap.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jiaohua and the others, enjoying the show, leisurely continued eating, undeterred by the chaos. They sat around a small wooden bench, five boys squeezed along the edge of the bed.

“Think Wu Laoshi’s glasses are broken?” Mute Boy muttered.

“Probably. I saw the lenses pop out. Wu Laoshi is pathetic. If that were my wife, I’d have slapped her back.” Zhang Yuanbao said.

“When you get a wife, you’ll probably be even worse than Wu Laoshi.” Zhang Jiaohua said dismissively.

Cai Kaiming, however, wasn’t as relaxed as the boys and scolded them, “Stop talking nonsense. Eat slower! I haven’t even touched my chopsticks yet! No respect for teachers at all.”

Wan Youming, feeling frustrated after his exchange with Pei Guixiang, shouted, “What’s the real story here? Wu Guangyuan, explain!”

He didn’t want to argue with Pei Guixiang, as it was pointless to reason with her. But she didn’t give Wu Guangyuan any chance to speak.

“Principal Wan, you’re the principal. You be the judge! Yesterday, one of my hens went missing—a hen that lays eggs daily without fail. My son loves eating eggs, so I cook him one every day. Yesterday, the hen was stolen, and I didn’t make a fuss because I’m reasonable. I’m a farmer, but I’m fair. Today, another hen was stolen, but this time I caught the thief. Principal Wan, should I hold the thief accountable?” Pei Guixiang’s words were clear and well-organized, proving she had learned something from being married to a language teacher.

Wan Youming, despite disliking Pei Guixiang’s crudeness, couldn’t deny she had a point. If he stopped her, it would look like he was covering for a thief. “Who’s the thief?” he asked.

“It’s him, Cai Kaiming! Don’t be fooled by his glasses and scholarly appearance. These types are all bad!” Pei Guixiang declared, casting a wide net that insulted all the bespectacled teachers. Unfortunately, Principal Wan himself wore glasses, standing right there, essentially being insulted to his face.

Wan Youming’s moustache bristled with anger, but there was no way to direct his frustration at Pei Guixiang. “Cai Kaiming! What’s going on?” he demanded.

Cai Kaiming smiled bitterly, “I don’t even know. I was preparing some wild game with a few students, and before we could start eating, Pei suddenly barged in, accusing me of stealing her chicken. I didn’t steal anything!”

“Principal Wan, you hear that? He stole my chicken and is still denying it! Wild game, he says. Does my hen look like a wild chicken to you?” Pei Guixiang shouted angrily.

“Cai Kaiming!” Principal Wan was furious. If you steal a chicken, fine, but at least don’t get caught! He thought, “You’ve really messed up.”

“I never said I was cooking wild chicken! This is venison! Does one hen fill a whole pot? I haven’t even finished cooking it yet! The deer head isn’t even chopped up! You don’t raise deer, do you?” Cai Kaiming pointed to the half a deer hanging in the kitchen.

“You…” Pei Guixiang’s voice faltered, embarrassed, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“How could I? Did you give me a chance to explain? Wu Laoshi was probably coming to tell you that your hen was found, but you slapped him before he could say a word! Only Wu Laoshi can tolerate you. If it were me, I would’ve divorced you a long time ago!” Cai Kaiming, having endured enough, wasn’t about to let Pei Guixiang off lightly.

“You did this on purpose! You just wanted to embarrass me!” Pei Guixiang shot back, twisting the blame.

“Enough! Everyone, get back to what you were doing. This is ridiculous. You have no evidence and are shouting here like this is your backyard. Teachers, control your families. If this continues, the school will no longer allow families to live on campus. Also, regarding the food you’re selling in the school canteen—I’ve been turning a blind eye because many of you are single-income families. But you should at least make decent food! Both students and staff have been complaining. If this doesn’t improve, I’ll outsource the cafeteria!” Principal Wan was truly furious and stormed off, leaving the crowd in silence.

Pei Guixiang also sold food in the canteen, so if the school outsourced it, her situation would worsen. She earned more from the canteen than Wu Guangyuan did from teaching, and their family lived off leftovers from the school. Her strength at home came from the money she made there.

“This is all your fault!” Wu Guangyuan muttered, humiliated in front of colleagues and students.

Pei Guixiang was initially embarrassed, but soon recovered. Instead of apologizing to Cai Kaiming, she cursed angrily as she stormed away, “That thief will get what’s coming to him! He’ll meet a terrible fate!”

Cai Kaiming stood there, dumbfounded. After being falsely accused all night, the tables had turned, but he couldn’t even enjoy his victory.

“Teacher Cai, you’re too soft. If someone falsely accused me, I’d have slapped them first and talked later.” Zhang Yuanbao said.

Mute Boy sympathized with Cai, “Didn’t you see Wu Laoshi get knocked down by his wife’s slap? Cai Laoshi wouldn’t have fared any better.”

“Good thing Cai Laoshi didn’t fight back, or his glasses would’ve been shattered too.” Qi Xia added.

“Enough! You’re not allowed to eat anymore! The rest of the meat in the pot is mine!” Cai Kaiming, suddenly ravenous, grabbed a big bowl of the venison for himself.

“Why should you get it all? We’re not full yet!” Zhang Yuanbao protested. The rice was theirs, the meat had been caught by Jiaohua, and even the seasoning had been prepared by him. Cai Kaiming only provided the pot. Taking a share was fine, but hogging it all was unreasonable.

“I’m the teacher. You have to listen to me,” Cai Kaiming declared, scooping himself a huge portion.

Zhang Yuanbao, annoyed, jumped off the bed and scooped a big portion for himself, filling his lunch box with venison.

Zhang Jiaohua then lifted the whole pot, saying, “If you keep fighting, I’ll go out hunting and eat by myself next time!”