During the day, the weaving team worked as enthusiastically as before.

Now that there are many people, they are divided into two groups. One group is in the original weaving group, and the other group is in the newly built house.

The children have been singing every day for the past few days, and everyone is crowding into the old house. Isn't it because it's closer to the students, so we can hear them singing?

The recitation was read by Wei Aiguo, whose deep, resonant male voice was particularly powerful.

This was the task assigned to Wei Aiguo by the brigade leader.

Li Yuanzhao asked Cheng Wenkai to lend her an accordion, and she played it quite well.

Accompanied by music, the vibrant singing brought out the women's passion. They hummed along softly.

It seemed like the whole brigade was singing.

In the afternoon, Chang Xiaohu returned. Everyone heard that Bai Shuang was getting better. He came back to get some food rations.

Early in the morning, Chang Xiaohu rode off on his bicycle. On the back of his bicycle were two baskets, one on each side. Inside were not only grains, but also mung bean sprouts that Song Yan had prepared.

With such good food and supplies at home and such high expenses, we need to find an extra way to make money.

Wei Aiguo did not object.

However, it was very unsafe for Song Yan to sprout beans on the kang (a heated brick bed). Anyone could see it through the window. There were always several large baskets on the kang, so it was impossible to hide. Their family always cooked in her mother-in-law's room. Song Yan's kitchen was rarely used.

Wei Aiguo suggested building a fire wall in the kitchen; once it's lit, it will naturally generate heat. The bean sprout baskets would be placed in the kitchen, out of sight unless someone went inside, making them inconspicuous…

For the past year, or even before, Song Yan has relied on herself for her livelihood. She is always taking care of others without even realizing it.

It's really nice to suddenly realize that someone cares about you.

For example, the poisoning was entrusted to Wei Aiguo, and this firewall...

Five days passed quickly. The children in the literacy class all wore their newest clothes. Captain Wu led the team to the commune for the competition.

Seeing the children leave in the carriage, many women lost their will to work. They kept worrying about whether their own children would be scared, or if they wouldn't be able to sing properly.

Song Yan didn't go; she wanted to stay and look after the house.

In the afternoon, Song Yan and the others were in the knitting group when they heard a commotion outside. It was undoubtedly the kids returning.

Women whose children were in literacy classes rushed out in droves.

Captain Wu, Wei Aiguo, and Li Yuanzhao were all smiling.

Jiang Xiaoxiao opened a certificate of merit to show everyone.

The child found his mother and said, "Mom, we won first place!"

"Mom, aren't I amazing!"

"Mom, I sang really well!"...

"Alright, alright, everyone quiet down." Captain Wu was about to speak. "Today, our team's kids have brought us glory! We got first place."

"The choirs of all the production brigades, plus the primary schools in some brigades, the commune middle school, the high school, and other units like the grain station and the post office, couldn't beat ours."

Song Yan wanted to laugh when he heard this; it was a mixed bag of competitions.

“Every child worked hard. Their prize was a notebook for each of them.”

I've decided, our brigade will give another reward, two cents per child. And you mothers, let me tell you, this money is for the children, you're not allowed to take it.”

The literacy class now has more than 40 children. When they heard that they could get two cents, they cheered.

Captain Wu was also happy, since their brigade was well-off. So, they could reward them as they pleased.

Captain Wu then said some encouraging words to the children.

Today, almost all of these children's families had a more lavish dinner than usual.

Song Yan's family naturally had to cook delicious food as well.

We're having vegetable buns today.

Actually, there's nothing unusual about eating vegetable buns. But the ingredients are good. The roe deer meat is fried into a fragrant meat sauce! The cabbage leaves are crisp and fresh, the scallions are fresh and lively, and the stir-fried potato shreds are so delicious that Wei Aiguo didn't want to put down his chopsticks after just one bite.

Everyone at the table ate to their heart's content.

Aunt Wei was worried that Xiao Hu had come. "I wonder how many days it will be before the child comes back. Is he eating well while he's away?"

Song Yan thought to himself, "It certainly can't be as good as what I eat at home."

Wei Aiguo: "Soon, I should be back in a few days."

Song Yan looked up at Wei Aiguo, "Are you so sure?"

The first thing Song Yan did upon returning to the room was to question Wei Aiguo…

Qingshan Brigade and Tugang Village are adjacent to each other, and the two villages have fought many times over land boundaries.

Song Yan knew this; didn't that guy named Mao Xuebin try to extort money from him back then?

The two village chiefs had both served in their respective brigades for over ten years, so while they appeared to be on good terms, they were actually at odds behind the scenes.

Today, Captain Wu led these children to the competition, while Captain Mao from Tugang Village also led his team. The two teams met, and at first, everyone was smiling and laughing. But when the competition actually started, it was a different story.

The children from Qingshan Brigade who went to participate in the competition varied greatly in size and stature, quite different from the adults who were all around the same height.

Captain Mao's words were not pleasant: "Are all the people in Qingshan Brigade only concerned with making money? Is there no one to compete? They're sending this little brat to fill in."