Chapter 51: People's physical constitution cannot be generalized
While the boys and girls in Class 2 were running on the simple track and field, Teacher Niu was idle.
He stood leisurely under the shade of the tree, his arms folded across his chest, watching each of them running and giving instructions from time to time.
"Swing your arms!"
"Lift your legs higher!"
"Focus on running, don't look around!"
Niu Wengang has been working as a physical education teacher at Baitan Middle School on the island for seven or eight years. Including him, there are only two physical education teachers in the school. Occasionally, when the courses are scheduled together, it is normal for him to teach physical education to two classes at once.
He still remembers that when he just graduated from the sports school, many of his classmates were worried about their future career development. After all, it was just an ordinary sports school, not even an undergraduate school. Nowadays, people with a sports background have only two professional-related paths to choose from: either become a teacher or apply to be a coach.
As for becoming a professional athlete or something like that, people with this talent would not study in the same physical school as him. That is another dimension, two different worlds from his.
Niu Wengang had poor academic performance when he was young. Most of his classmates in the sports school were forced to take the path of sports because they had poor academic performance but some athletic talent.
Looking back on his life, Niu Wengang feels that he is probably one of those people who is neither high nor low. Even though he is a teacher now, as a physical education teacher, he is the most easily forgotten one among the teachers, and even his classroom is easily "borrowed" by other teachers to teach.
He also thought about going to a big city after graduation like other classmates, but he had no qualifications and no skills, so he had to return to his hometown of Baitan Island, and used his connections to enter Baitan Middle School, where he became a physical education teacher.
Dreams and career pursuits seemed to be something very far away from him. Like most teachers in the school, Niu Wengang was unwilling to think about these illusory things.
People are always like this. If they don't think about it, they will feel at ease. If they think about it but have the ability to do it, it will only increase their distress.
It would be nice to be able to spend every day leisurely at school, teach these little brats PE classes, and earn a stable salary that is neither too high nor too low, and hold this iron rice bowl until retirement...
As to whether he has this thought deep down in his heart, probably only he himself knows.
Every time I meet with distant relatives or friends I haven't contacted for a long time, they ask me, "What do you do now?" I say, "Teacher." "Teacher! That's great! The job is stable and there are many holidays. What do you teach?" "Physical education." "Oh...Physical education teacher...That's good too, I have a lot of free time!"
Most of what he heard were nice words, but the subtle changes in the other person's facial expression still made Niu Wengang somewhat uncomfortable.
But I am just a lousy physical education coach, what else can I do?
The school will continue to operate even without him.
If physical education classes are not taking up time in the curriculum, students may have more time to study, and the school’s high school entrance examination results may be better!
——Most teachers think so, even parents and some students.
However, in the past two years, the situation of physical education for students in primary and secondary schools seems to have changed. It has become much more important than before. Generally, other teachers will not easily occupy physical education classes. Even if they need to use them, they can only adjust the classes.
The country has also submitted an application to host the Olympics again this year, but it is not known whether it will be successful.
Niu Wengang naturally hopes to succeed. Perhaps only in this way, next time when he tells others that he is a physical education teacher, he might be able to see a little respect in their eyes...
……
At the beginning of each physical education class, Niu Wengang would ask students to run laps, usually four laps, but for the first class it was six laps. It was a show of strength and also a test of their physical fitness. If there was nothing else to do, he would let everyone do whatever they wanted after the run.
——Being a physical education teacher is so leisurely and dispensable.
For him, 1,200 meters is not much, and it can only be regarded as a warm-up before exercise;
But for this group of students aged twelve or thirteen, running 1,200 meters is still quite strenuous. Even though they all come from rural areas and do a lot of farm work at home, farm work and systematic exercise are two different things.
After running the 1,200 meters, the girls were all exhausted. The boys were not much better. After all, most of them had not started to develop yet, and their current physical fitness was not much better than that of girls of the same age.
Soon, the group of boys and girls on the loess track of the athletic field also completed the six laps he required, which was 1,200 meters.
They were like wells that had been drained of water, some shaking their heads, some pinching their abdomens, some sweating all over, some bending over and holding their knees, panting...
Niu Wengang had long anticipated these behaviors of the students.
Of course, the performance of some of these students also surprised him -
In the team, the first to finish the race were Fang Wei and Xu Cailing, one was the class monitor and the other was the physical education committee member.
Perhaps if the two positions were swapped, Niu Wengang would find it easier to accept, with Xu Cailing being the class monitor and Fang Wei being the sports committee member... something like that.
But in fact, this cute little girl who looks delicate and adorable is his sports committee member.
Niu Wengang had been observing and he saw clearly that Xu Cailing and Fang Wei had been running at a constant speed at the front of the team. At the beginning, everyone was at a similar level, but as the number of laps increased, the gap in physical fitness widened significantly.
Xu Cailing and Fang Wei did not speed up or race against each other. They just kept running at a constant speed. From the fourth lap on, most of the students could not keep up with them. By the time they were almost finished, they were already half a lap ahead of the other students.
It would be fine if Fang Wei was a boy, but Xu Cailing is a girl!
At first Niu Wengang thought it was just the stubborn temper of a little girl, who was unwilling to fall too far behind as the sports committee member, so she gritted her teeth and persevered. But after observation, it turned out that it was not the case at all!
This girl's running posture is natural. Every time her slender legs touch the ground of the loess track, they bounce up easily like flexible and powerful springs. Even when she ran the sixth lap, her state did not change at all. She ran as leisurely as if she was running the first lap.
It was not until Xu Cailing and Fang Wei stood in front of him that Niu Wen felt the gap more obviously.
The boy was sweating profusely, and his breathing was somewhat heavy; while the girl's forehead was only lightly sweated, and her breathing was still steady. It didn't look like she had just finished running 1,200 meters, but simply basked in the sun for three to five minutes...
This little girl!!
No wonder she dared to run for the sports committee member, no wonder everyone chose her as the sports committee member, we were wrong, there really is something up her!
Niu Wengang was somewhat surprised. A simple running test seemed to give her a chance to prove herself.
"Beep--"
Niu Wengang blew the whistle hanging around his neck and said, "Don't sit down right after running! Come over to the shade of the tree and take a rest!"
The young boys and girls, feeling dizzy after exercise, came over with heavy steps. No one wanted to line up anymore, they just wanted to lie down on the grass and be done with it.
"Zhiyi, are you okay? You look very pale..."
Realizing that something was wrong, Xu Cailing hurried to Liu Zhiyi.
Due to the scorching sun and intense exercise, the girl's fair skin was dyed pink, but her face was turning pale, sweat kept coming out of her forehead, the air seemed to be thin, and she was gasping for breath.
Seeing Xu Cailing who looked fine, Liu Zhiyi almost fainted from the shock. Am I really too squeamish? Cailing is fine, but I am the only one who is squeamish...
Liu Zhiyi was speechless. Her pale face just shook her head, and her two little hands pinched the sides of her lower abdomen.
"What's wrong? Do you have a stomachache?"
"Well, a bit..."
Xu Cailing had never experienced lower abdominal pain while running, and she didn't know what to do for a while, so she asked Niu Wengang:
"Teacher Niu, Zhiyi has a stomachache, what should we do?"
"Did you eat something bad?"
"It's not that kind of pain..."
"That should be running out of breath. I don't breathe regularly when running, which causes the diaphragm to spasm and cause this pain."
After all, Niu Wengang studied sports, and this kind of thing is very common.
He took a quick look and asked Liu Zhiyi, "You seldom exercise, do you?"
"Hmm..." "If you exercise more, you won't be able to do that. You probably didn't do a good job of warming up just now. It's okay. Just find a cool place to rest for a while."
"it is good……"
Liu Zhiyi felt very embarrassed, her pretty face turned red, and she felt that the whole class was looking at her.
Fortunately, Xu Cailing was with her. The girl took her arm and took her to a stone bench under the shade of a tree to sit and rest for a while. Soon, the abdominal cramping feeling was much better.
Seeing that she was sweating profusely, Xu Cailing fanned her with her little hands, which made Liu Zhiyi feel touched, want to laugh, but also embarrassed.
"Thank you, Cailing."
"Oh, there you go again! Are you feeling better now?"
"Much better. It should be like what the teacher said. I haven't exercised for too long..."
"Your health is worse than Fang Wei's. Hasn't he been running recently? Although his running is just so-so, he still seems to be making progress. Zhiyi, you can also run with him."
"Forehead……"
Liu Zhiyi's face, which had just looked better, turned pale again when she heard the word "running".
"You don't like running?"
"dislike……"
"So what kind of sports do you like? Can you swim? I'll take you surfing!"
"No, I can't swim..."
"..."
Xu Cailing looked at her in shock, and Liu Zhiyi buried her head even deeper...
For people who live by the sea, not being able to swim is probably as strange as not being able to use chopsticks to eat, right?
"It's okay. I'll teach you when I'm free on the weekend! Swimming is fun, especially in such hot weather. It's super comfortable to soak in the water!"
A girl's mind is innocent and cute. She is always keen to share with her friends the things she likes and thinks are good, instead of weighing the pros and cons or thinking about whether the other party needs or likes it like an adult.
Liu Zhiyi naturally understood her feelings and did not refuse. He smiled and nodded in agreement.
……
When the two girls were chatting, they suddenly felt the sky darken.
When I looked up, I saw Teacher Niu, who was as big as a buffalo, standing in front of me.
"Are you okay?"
When talking to these little girls, Niu Wengang deliberately lowered his voice, but even so, it sounded as terrifying as thunder in the ears of the girls.
"No, it's okay..."
Liu Zhiyi was terrified, fearing that this terrible physical education teacher would blame her for delaying the class progress.
But such worries seemed unnecessary. She had always been a popular figure in the eyes of the teachers, but now she could not attract much attention in the eyes of Teacher Niu. The topic was skipped and Teacher Niu asked Xu Cailing who was standing beside him:
"Xu Cailing, have you ever learned to run before?"
"Ah? No..."
“Do you like sports?”
"I like it. Otherwise, why would I run for sports committee member?"
"What sports are you good at?"
“Well, a lot of them do!”
"You have good physical strength, have you exercised often before?"
"Uh, it's okay. I usually help dry salted fish at home!"
"..."
Teacher Niu hesitated to speak, and asked curiously, "What does your family do?"
"It was a small seafood processing workshop. My father and his colleagues were responsible for killing the fish, cleaning, pickling or steaming, shelling, cutting and so on. I was then responsible for drying the salted fish."
Xu Cailing is a simple-minded person. She just answers whatever the teacher asks.
Niu Wengang nodded and had a general understanding of her family situation, which was neither better than others nor worse than others.
Perhaps when he saw the athletic talent displayed by the girl, he had some unrealistic thoughts, but in the end, he dismissed the idea before he could even say it out loud.
Persuading a first-year junior high school girl from an ordinary family to try a career in sports... is really too outrageous. In this age where studying is the only way out, he, an insignificant physical education teacher, has neither the confidence nor the nerve to joke about other people's future.
Maybe the little girl herself doesn't have any idea - isn't a career in sports something that only people with nowhere else would choose?
Indeed, there are many well-known athletes who have not only achieved success, fame, but also wealth.
But, who can guarantee that they are blessed by God?
When Niu Wengang was young, he thought that his athletic talent was unmatched. But when he went to a sports school, even that unknown third-rate school, he discovered that the talent he once was proud of was nothing in front of a true genius. He thought that was already the pinnacle, but he didn't expect it was just the threshold to meet others.
Of course, having said that, Niu Wengang was quite satisfied with the little girl's role as the sports committee member, and he expressed his approval without hesitation:
"Xu Cailing, your performance is outstanding. I will tell your class teacher that I am very satisfied with you as the sports committee member!"
"Eh? Really?"
"Don't worry, it's covered."
"Thank you, Teacher Niu!"
After hearing what he said, Xu Cailing's face immediately showed excitement. She had disliked Teacher Niu a little just now, but now she felt that this big and straightforward guy was quite cute.
"Okay, we've almost had enough rest, go organize the team."
"it is good!"
The girl sitting on the stone pier stood up suddenly like a spring and went to organize the team.
Liu Zhiyi standing by also stood up.
broken……
I stood up too hard and my eyes went black...
It turns out that people’s physiques cannot be generalized!
(End of this chapter)
