Chapter 175 Class Committee Members

Listening with a smile as Gong Xing delivered her speech to compete for the position of Arts and Culture Commissar, Zhong Xiuxiu noted that this particular role did not require overly strict criteria. The key was for the candidate to possess genuine artistic talent, a sharp creative mind, and familiarity with various art forms. Gong Xing's maternal grandparents had formerly served as household slaves for a wealthy family.

Her maternal grandmother had learned music, chess, calligraphy, and painting from the young mistress of the house. However, with the onset of the turbulent years, the wealthy family emigrated abroad, and the servants were granted their freedom. After gaining her liberty, Gong Xing's grandmother married, and decades later, Gong Xing grew up learning the full repertoire of arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—directly from her.

During her self-introduction, Zhong Xiuxiu was pleasantly surprised to discover that the young woman was also skilled in embroidery. And not just ordinary embroidery, but genuine double-sided embroidery, an art form that was scarce in both ancient and modern times. Based solely on this craft alone, Gong Xing's future prospects were bound to be bright.

"Student Gong Xing gave a wonderful speech and clearly possesses exceptional artistic talents. Why don't we ask Gong Xing to give us a short demonstration? Let's skip the dancing and go with drawing—specifically, drawing with chalk right here on the blackboard. What do you all say?" Zhong Xiuxiu took the lead in applauding, secretly wishing to test Gong Xing's actual capabilities.

"Agreed."

Amidst continuous applause, Gong Xing smiled and nodded. "Then I will make a fool of myself."

Holding a piece of chalk, Gong Xing sketched a graceful composition of white plum blossoms and magpies with fluid, effortless lines. Since the chalk was white, red plum blossoms were out of the question, leaving only the white variant.

"Not bad," Zhong Xiuxiu praised with a smile. "It seems our class is truly full of hidden talents. Student Gong Xing has impressive drawing skills, utilizing the flowing-cloud technique. This method places extremely high demands on wrist strength, showing that it can only be mastered through years of rigorous, painstaking practice. To have the dedication and patience to internalize it and make it your own craft—you are exceptionally talented in this field."

Gong Xing's eyes widened in pleasant surprise as she looked back at Zhong Xiuxiu. "Professor Zhong, do you also study painting techniques?"

"I studied them in the past, but I no longer have the inclination for it. You may step down now and let the other students come up to give their speeches." Zhong Xiuxiu's eyes curved with a smile. In ancient times, for a young lady of a prominent family, poetry, books, rites, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting were compulsory subjects. While other young ladies pursued these arts to showcase their talents and secure a good marriage, she had studied them for self-cultivation and to pass the time. Over the years, mastery had simply come naturally.

Gong Xing remained slightly skeptical; anyone capable of articulating the very essence of the flowing-cloud technique must have studied it far beyond ordinary levels. Nevertheless, she stepped down from the podium. Time during evening self-study was limited; only two students had presented their speeches, and the rest were still waiting.

There was no telling how many others were vying for positions.

"Very well, please let the next student come up."

The atmosphere in the classroom was lively, with nearly half the class stepping up to compete. They understood that securing a position as a class cadre served as valuable training over their five years of study, naturally granting them priority when job assignments were distributed later on. Class cadres had more frequent interactions with professors, and with good academic records, the professors would naturally think of them first when placements were decided.

Driven by various motives—ambition, a sense of responsibility, and personal aspirations—anyone with drive wanted to seize the opportunity and compete.

The bell for the end of the second evening study session rang, but after consulting with the class, Zhong Xiuxiu decided not to dismiss them just yet. Utilizing the remaining break time, they continued until the third session was nearly over, at which point all the speeches concluded.

"Are there any other students who wish to compete?" Zhong Xiuxiu asked.

"No."

"I am not running."

"Professor Zhong, can we start voting now?"

Zhong Xiuxiu nodded. "Yes. We will use an anonymous ballot system; simply write the name of the person you are voting for. Remember to write the desired position in front of their name. Very well, you may begin."

The students eagerly tore off strips of paper and wrote down the names of their preferred candidates. Those who had participated in the speeches were also allowed to vote, with no restrictions against voting for themselves.

One by one, they placed the folded slips of paper onto the podium and returned to their seats. Zhong Xiuxiu picked them up one by one, reading them aloud and tallying the results on the blackboard.

Class Monitor: Chen Yuzhu, eight votes; Yan Yunxi, four votes; Yan Xiangguo, four votes.
Deputy Class Monitor: Tian Lingling, three votes.
Study Commissar: Feng Luoyun, two votes.
League Branch Secretary...
Arts and Culture Commissar: Gong Xing, six votes.
...

There were thirty-five students present in the classroom. Those with the most compelling speeches received the highest number of votes, while others generally secured only one or two. Rather than implementing individual runoff rounds, she opted for a collective tally to expedite the process and avoid wasting time.

Even if certain contested positions ended up with candidates receiving zero votes, she retained the prerogative to make direct appointments.

Naturally, the outcomes of the election were immediately apparent. Chen Yuzhu secured a solid eight votes, successfully claiming the position of class monitor. For other roles with active competition, the winner was determined by vote count, while positions without contenders were automatically awarded to the individuals who had given speeches for them.

As the final school bell rang, the class cadres were officially finalized.

"Very well, the class cadres have been decided. Class monitor, please organize a group to collect the textbooks tomorrow. There is one student in our class who has not yet arrived; remember to collect her textbooks as well. There are thirty-six sets of textbooks in total."

The matter regarding Fu Hongxia required thorough investigation. Zhong Xiuxiu had privately reviewed Fu Hongxia's entrance examination scores—just over three hundred eighty points, which was considered quite high given the admission standards at the time. Precisely because of this, she grew even more suspicious of the authenticity of Fu Hongxia's scores.

Her doubts were not entirely groundless. Fu Hongxia had blindly followed her mother in making scenes; anyone with common sense would have known how to let matters rest. Yet, upon arriving at school, she immediately stirred up trouble, alienating everyone in her dormitory and offending several professors. Would a truly intelligent person behave this way?

She was closer to being intellectually disabled.

Stepping out of the classroom after resolving the class affairs, Zhong Xiuxiu let out a sigh of relief. She returned to her office, packed her belongings, and left. Upon exiting the school gates, Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo walked over to meet her.

"Comrade Zhong, are you ready to head home?"

"Yes, let's go home. With the cold wind blowing and light snow falling, the road back won't be easy to walk." The snowy ground was slick and treacherous, and nobody cleared the paths in the middle of the night.

The cleaning crew cleared the snow only at dawn or during the day; no one tended to it at night.

Hao Nan nodded. "Alright. When we get back, we'll have Goudan brew a bowl of brown sugar and ginger tea for you to ward off the cold."

"There's no need, I'm not very cold." With her mental energy abilities, how cold could she possibly get? At most, the facial skin felt stimulated by the chill.

"You should still drink a bowl to expel the cold; the night air is bitter. With the northern wind and falling snow, dampness and cold accumulate in the body and will eventually lead to illness. Your health is of the utmost importance." Without a nanny to supervise, and with Li Yun having received her sentencing, there was no longer anyone around to look after her. Being men, it was ultimately inconvenient for them to attend to Comrade Zhong Xiuxiu's personal needs. "Shall we have the authorities assign a nanny who specializes in health maintenance to come over?"

Zhong Xiuxiu turned back to look at them and resolutely shook her head. "No need. The people we currently have at home are quite enough. Anything that needs to be done, Goudan can handle. Goudan's cooking is no worse than anyone else's; it knows how to make nourishing soups and all sorts of dishes. Its brain's storage capacity exceeds that of a human brain."

A regular nanny wouldn't even compare to Goudan, so what use would one be?

"What you say is true, but neither Comrade Tian nor I know how to properly look after your physical well-being." Naturally, they wouldn't know what kind of nourishing soups to instruct Goudan to make.

Zhong Xiuxiu replied, "I will speak with Goudan about it. You don't need to worry."

"Very well then. If you feel any discomfort at all, you must let us know immediately, or go to the hospital for a check-up. Whatever regimen is needed, you must discuss it with Goudan." Hao Nan paused before adding, "Otherwise, we'll just have the higher-ups dispatch someone over."