It seems her surname is Mi, but what Mi exactly? The person from the next dorm told her once, but Su Xiaocai was not interested at the time, so she didnât remember.
Itâs been so long since the incident when she refused to lend the machine, yet the other person still holds a grudge. What a petty mind.
As soon as the class bell rang, the professor began the lecture. He wrote his surname Li on the blackboard, "You can call me Mr. Li or Professor Li."
He took out a box of beetle larvae. "When we study how to cultivate crops, apart from understanding the crops, we also need to observe their growth environment carefully... especially their natural enemies, which is the subject weâll talk about today."
Professor Li handed the box of larvae to the student in the front row on the left and asked them to pass it along, requiring them to identify what kind of insect it was.
On the electronic desktop screen, a fill-in-the-blank question appeared promptly.
Those students only glanced at it twice and immediately, fearfully passed the box down.
When it reached Su Xiaocai, she looked at the larvae in the boxâwhite and plump, of large size, wriggling around.
It was indeed disgusting.
However, it still looked better and cuter than the Insect Man, and most importantly, it couldnât bite her.
Su Xiaocai finished looking, passed it to the next person, and wrote down the answer in her mind on the fill-in-the-blank question.
Midway through the class, while the professor was discussing insect habits, a scream suddenly sounded from the back row.
Professor Li, engrossed in his lecture, was momentarily bewildered by the interruption. "What happened?"
The classmates whispered amongst themselves, and Su Xiaocai looked back to see the insects and the box accidentally knocked to the floor, falling in the aisle.
Professor Li looked at the insects on the ground, lamenting, "The bugs we see now are the most common. As students of the Agricultural Research Institute, if youâre afraid of insects, why come here at all?"
A student responded, "We could use robots. Weâre researchers, not farmers. Itâs unnecessary to deal with these things."
The girl with the Mi surname chimed in support, "If we had a choice, we wouldnât have come to the Agricultural Research Institute. We stayed because we couldnât transfer. Who knows if these bugs have allergens? My hand itches already."
Someone else added, "Professor, please continue with the lecture. Whatâs so great about flaunting a hobby of raising bugs? Weâll look at pictures and videos on our own."
The students who came for military training are top-tier talents from various places, very proud.
They believe they can grow crops well just by reading books and discussing theories without seeing the real thing.
After all, their crops in the field have germinated normally; itâs still far from maturity, but they donât find it difficult.
Outside, they are geniuses, but in military training, they seem so ordinary.
There are also several students who have suffered setbacks in agriculture, and now faced with the professorâs "reprimand" in the first lesson, they naturally want to vent their discontent.
Professor Li is not good at arguing, "Since you donât like the Agricultural Research Institute, just stop attending classes."
"Weâve already said thereâs no choice. Our goal is to pass the exams and earn credits. Why take it so seriously, professor? Those who study agriculture become nothing but farmers; itâs a field with no future. Itâs good enough that anyone still wants to study it."
Many students looked over; since they chose the Agricultural Research Institute, they should study well. Whatâs the point of only aiming for a diploma?
And the scorn in her wordsâwas she trying to elevate herself or belittle herself?
Professor Li looked at Mijiali, too angry to speak.
The scene fell into extreme silence.
Suddenly, someone in the front row tapped the table with the tip of a pen and stood up, calmly saying, "Are you done talking? Do you want to show how smart you are, or just highlight your mediocrity?"
Su Xiaocai walked towards the back row, squatted down, picked up the professorâs insects, confirmed they were still alive, and put them back in the box.
While walking to the back, she said, "If you donât want to look, donât look. Close the lid and pass it to the next person."
Su Xiaocaiâs voice was steady and powerful. As she spoke, she handed the box to a student in another seat, "If you donât want to learn, donât hinder others. At least, I want to learn. I aspire to be a pioneer in the field of agriculture."
As Su Xiaocai passed by Mijiali, she paused for a moment, then walked to the front row, turned to face the entire class. "I have ambitions, aspirations, intelligence, and I am willing to work hard. Among those who reach the peak, there will definitely be me, while those who muddle along will always look up to me."
"Am I right, professor?" She smiled at the professor, not needing a reply. "Professor, please continue with the lecture."
The professor nodded kindly. Having a student passionate about agriculture is a blessing for this class.
The students present had just been affected by the negativity of a few, feeling somewhat dispirited.