David Clark’s words were upright and well-reasoned. Although someone pointed out that Edward Brooks hadn’t been working for long and was too young, David Clark shut them down with a single sentence: the central government is advocating for younger cadres, so is our school going to go against the trend?

This move by David Clark was crystal clear to Edward Brooks—it was meant to silence him. This promotion had nothing to do with his academic background or achievements, so he might as well accept it. Edward Brooks could also see that what was going on between David Clark and Grace Howard was entirely consensual. Since they didn’t care about their own reputations, why should he bother meddling in their business?

Half a month later, Edward Brooks’s Party membership application was also approved. He didn’t know what strings David Clark had pulled, but this time the process was handled with exceptional speed. Edward Brooks had actually written Party applications every year in college, but never succeeded. He hadn’t expected that just a single shout this time would not only get him promoted but also accepted into the Party. It seemed that sometimes, a well-timed secret was more effective than years of hard work.

Although this promotion and Party admission were somewhat dishonorable, Edward Brooks felt no psychological burden afterward. David Clark talked a good game and had praised him since he first joined the school, but never promoted him. Now, just because he knew about David Clark and Grace Howard’s affair, he was suddenly promoted and admitted to the Party. He realized how naïve he’d been before.

Chapter 13 Home Visit

It had been almost a semester since arriving at Shumuling Middle School, but Edward Brooks had yet to make a single home visit—not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t want to disturb his students’ families. Edward Brooks himself came from a farming family and knew exactly what a teacher’s home visit meant. Regardless of whether a student’s grades were good or bad, parents would always feel some pressure.

Many of his students’ parents were farmers working at home—very simple people, but not very articulate. Edward Brooks had heard other teachers say that when they visited students’ homes, the parents would stammer and barely get a word out. He’d experienced this himself: when his own teacher visited, his parents were so nervous they could hardly speak, afraid of saying the wrong thing. So Edward Brooks usually wrote letters for students to take home, asking their parents to read and sign or stamp them before bringing them back.

The letters were always concise, avoiding rare characters and written in standard script, since most parents hadn’t had much schooling. As long as they could understand his meaning, that was enough.

Actually, there was another reason Edward Brooks was reluctant to do home visits: a teacher’s visit would burden the student’s family. Rural people are very hospitable, especially when it’s their child’s teacher visiting. If you go for a home visit, you’re expected to stay for a meal; refusing would be seen as disrespectful. To treat the teacher well, they’d kill a laying hen without hesitation or slaughter a fish they’d been raising to sell. Edward Brooks knew he couldn’t stomach such meals, so unless there was a special reason, he never did home visits. Even if he absolutely had to, he’d choose to go in the evening, at least to avoid being treated to a meal.

But this time was different. Early in the morning, Matthew Hall came to his office to tell Edward Brooks that his father, Andrew Hall, had invited Teacher Brooks to their home for a visit and insisted he stay for dinner.

It’s hard to refuse a home visit when a student’s parent invites you directly. Edward Brooks kept Matthew Hall behind to ask about his family. It turned out that Matthew Hall’s father, Andrew Hall, was the deputy director of the Shumuling Township police station, and his mother, Emily Yates, worked for the township family planning committee. The reason for the invitation was that recently, Matthew Hall’s academic performance and attitude had both improved significantly. Although his grades were still at the bottom of the class, at least now he was passing every subject, which was already quite an achievement for him.

Because Edward Brooks was coming for a home visit, both Andrew Hall and Emily Yates came home early that day. Of course, Emily Yates had bought plenty of groceries, and after greeting Edward Brooks when he arrived, she stayed busy in the kitchen.

Andrew Hall was a retired soldier who had worked at the Yumuling Township police station for over a decade, only becoming deputy director five years ago. Even after so many years, he still maintained a soldier’s style—straightforward and direct. Although Edward Brooks had been working for less than half a year, after chatting with him, he could sense why Andrew Hall had stayed at the police station for so long. That kind of personality was suited for being a soldier, not a commander.

Since it was a home visit, the focus was naturally on Matthew Hall. With both parents at home, Matthew Hall behaved like a little kitten. After leading Edward Brooks into the house, he hid in his room under the pretense of doing homework, only coming out when it was time to eat.