The old donkey was hungry.

"First, let me talk about last week's monthly exam. The results have been released, and I believe all the parents here already know about them."

"I have to praise some students here, but I also have to criticize some..."

The female homeroom teacher, Cai Yaxu, paused for a moment before continuing, "First and foremost, I must commend the students: He Weiguang, Chen Qiang, Li Jie, Wu Yihan… These are the students I just mentioned. They have made great progress in this monthly exam, and their grades have improved significantly…"

As soon as Cai Yaxu finished speaking, several parents in the classroom, their faces beaming, took the lead in applauding.

It's easy to guess that the parents who experienced the first malfunction were the parents of the students who had just been praised.

Cai Yaxu nodded in satisfaction, but immediately changed the subject: "Then we need to criticize the students, including Li Xuelan, Yang Yigang, Wu Qiang... They all regressed significantly in this monthly exam; their grades dropped drastically!"

The parents whose names were called out all rubbed their foreheads or shook their heads and sighed, their faces showing extreme embarrassment.

Zhao Dazhu was somewhat bewildered.

Didn't Wang Jiajia say that her grades had dropped drastically and that the teacher would definitely criticize her?

Why wasn't she among the students that Cai Yaxu, the female homeroom teacher, read out as needing criticism?

Could it be that her grades haven't dropped badly enough, and compared to the students who were called out, she's nothing special?

As Zhao Dazhu's mind wandered, he felt relaxed and a slight smile appeared on his face.

It seems there's nothing embarrassing about this parent-teacher meeting; Wang Jiajia is just worrying unnecessarily and overthinking things.

However, at that moment, Cai Yaxu suddenly looked at Zhao Dazhu and said with a gloomy face, "The one whose grades have dropped the most is Wang Jiajia!"

Zhao Dazhu's smile froze instantly.

Cai Yaxu added, "Wang Jiajia's usual performance is alright, but her results in this monthly exam are truly appalling; her ranking in the class has dropped by more than ten places!"

"And you, Wang Jiajia's parent, can still laugh about this?"

As Cai Yaxu spoke, her eyes were fixed on Zhao Dazhu.

Now, Zhao Dazhu became the focus of all the parents in the class, and everyone in the classroom looked at him.

Anyone else would be so embarrassed they wouldn't be able to lift their head, and might even want to crawl into a hole in the floor right now.

However, Zhao Dazhu quickly recovered after a brief moment of surprise and said with a smile, "I know, my granddaughter told me that she just wasn't feeling well during the monthly exam, which is why she didn't perform well. With her normal academic level, her exam scores wouldn't drop this much."

"You make it sound so easy!"

Cai Yaxu snorted coldly and said without any politeness, "Saying she's not feeling well, I think she's just not putting her heart into it! Not only is she not putting her heart into it, but you, as the parent, are not putting your heart into it either!"

"Educating children is not just a matter for our school; it also requires the cooperation of you parents. If you parents don't care about anything and don't care about anything, what can we teachers do?"

Zhao Dazhu frowned and said unhappily, "Teacher Cai, I don't like hearing what you're saying. How do you know that we parents don't care about our children and aren't putting in the effort?"

"Just from what you just said, it's clear you weren't paying attention!" Cai Yaxu said sternly.

Without giving Zhao Dazhu a chance to defend himself, Cai Yaxu sternly reprimanded him, "I'm specifically criticizing Wang Jiajia. As her grandfather, you were just laughing and joking down there. Do you really care about her studies?"

"And when I pointed out her learning problems, you didn't take it seriously and even argued with me. With your uncooperative attitude, it would be a miracle if Wang Jiajia did well in her studies!"

"Her recent drop in grades is a sign of her academic decline. If you continue with this mindset, I'm sure Wang Jiajia's grades will only get worse. She won't even be able to get into a regular high school, let alone a top one. She'll probably end up going to a vocational school after the high school entrance exam!"

Zhao Dazhu was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode. Cai Yaxu's words were far too impolite.

She can even say something like "go to a vocational school," she's clearly looking down on people!

However, with so many parents in front of him, Zhao Dazhu couldn't lose his temper. He could only say, "My granddaughter is already under a lot of pressure, and besides, she usually..."

Before Zhao Dazhu could finish speaking, Cai Yaxu interrupted him rudely: "It's understandable that Wang Jiajia is under a lot of pressure. There are so many students in our class, and she's the only one from the countryside."

"Her family is the worst off. If she wants to change her fate, she can only rely on herself. As her parents, you can't offer her any help. If she doesn't work hard and study relentlessly, what makes her think she can compete with her classmates?"

As soon as Cai Yaxu said this, many parents in the classroom nodded in agreement and even whispered among themselves.

"Teacher Cai is right. If a rural child wants to compete with city kids, how can they do it without working their butt off?"

"That girl named Wang Jiajia shouldn't have come to Hongfeng Middle School at all."

"It's not that I look down on her, it's just a fact that she's not in a good position."

"Don't you have any self-awareness? Being in the same classroom as my child is already a huge advantage for her. How can she not work hard?"

The arrogant woman sitting next to Zhao Dazhu sneered, "Truly befitting a country bumpkin, so clueless and ignorant, just like a country bumpkin!"

Who are you insulting?

Zhao Dazhu could no longer contain himself and turned to angrily berate the woman.

The woman, however, remained unyielding, arrogantly declaring, "I'm insulting you! Sitting next to a country bumpkin like you is utterly shameful!"

Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, a middle-aged woman's voice suddenly came from the classroom doorway.

"Sorry I'm late... Why is it so noisy? Is this still a parent-teacher conference?"

Everyone in the classroom looked towards the classroom door, including Zhao Dazhu.

The next second, Zhao Dazhu showed an expression of disbelief.

Because the woman standing at the classroom door was none other than Qi Gaolan, the female county head of Peach Blossom County!

Now no one cared about Zhao Dazhu, that rustic old country man. The parents in the classroom all cast burning gazes at Qi Gaolan, and many even stood up spontaneously to pay their respects, almost to the point of applause!

The female homeroom teacher, Cai Yaxu, instantly changed her demeanor, greeting him with a beaming smile.

"Chief Qi Gao, you've finally arrived! Come in, please come in."