The temperature is quite nice at midday, but it drops significantly in the mornings and evenings. Autumn is coming. And with that comes the autumn conscription season.

In the original book, Wei Aiguo didn't join the army because of his mother's leg. Now, his mother's leg is recovering well, and she has her own care. She'll be able to stand and walk again soon. His enlistment shouldn't be delayed.

What happens next in the original story? During the recent heavy rains, the houses at the educated youth settlement started leaking. Those houses were quite old. If nothing unexpected happened this winter, they would have to move into the empty houses next to their own homes. The thought of He Jianian coming to be their neighbor made Song Yan somewhat unhappy.

Wei Aiguo: "Why do you keep looking at the empty houses next door?"

Song Yan: "Could Lao Han and the others move into this empty house during the winter?"

Wei Aiguo: "Last winter, we just found them a dilapidated house to make do. This year, the houses at the educated youth settlement are leaking, and the brigade leader has no intention of fixing them. I'm afraid the educated youth will have to move here, and Lao Han and the others will have to move to the educated youth settlement."

Song Yan: "I don't want to be neighbors with He Jianian. If that happens, we'll bring in another troublesome woman like Wu Meili, it'll be so annoying."

Wei Aiguo: "You should know that there are six empty rooms in three courtyards on the left and right. Even if they all move in, it will be enough."

Song Yan scratched his head in annoyance. How annoying.

Song Yan still had to cut grass for the cattle every day, and she, without fail, went into her spatial dimension to exercise every single day. On her way back, she ran into Ren Quan's eldest daughter, who was probably eight or nine years old. These days, education is generally not valued, and girls are even less so. Families usually don't send them to school.

There are many children like this in the village. Song Yan wondered if he could make a move on them. With this idea in mind, Song Yan pulled Wei Aiguo aside to discuss it.

Wei Aiguo asked, "You want the brigade leader to organize a children's literacy class?"

Song Yan: "Yes! Every family is struggling to make ends meet. Every family has several children, and it's impossible to afford to send them all to school. Even if they could, they would prioritize the boys. Girls don't have the opportunity to go to school, and they're not even as good as their mothers' generation! Those women all attended literacy classes."

Wei Aiguo: "If we want to run a literacy class, we first need to hire teachers and pay them work points. Textbooks, desks and chairs all cost money, and the village may not be able to afford that."

"I'm happy to be a teacher! It's free. The children can just bring a stool from home. There's plenty of wood in the mountains, so making a blackboard isn't difficult. We don't need a textbook for each child. The main goal is to teach the children to read. Everything else is secondary."

"I'll talk to the captain, but whether he agrees or not is uncertain."...

I don't know what Wei Aiguo and Captain Wu said. Wei Aiguo provided accommodation for Lao Han and the others while also having the children attend literacy classes.

Wei Aiguo was very enthusiastic about this. It was a good thing that his wife didn't want to talk to He Jianian! The brigade leader was also willing to make this happen. He planned to have the educated youth move in, but he was also worried about his daughter's occasional tantrums. If Song Yan was surrounded by a group of children all the time, maybe his silly daughter would behave a little better.

After the brigade leader agreed, he organized people to build a heated wall and a blackboard inside the house. Within a few days, the villagers knew that a literacy class for children, especially girls, would be held in the village during the winter. Everyone had plenty of time indoors in the winter, and most families didn't require girls to do chores, so they were happy to let them go. However, some families thought, "What's the point of girls learning to read? They'd be better off staying home to help with childcare and cooking," and they absolutely refused to let them go.

News has already spread about the autumn conscription. Because of Wei Aiguo's own qualifications and the recommendation of the battalion commander, he has been accepted into the army.

Wei Aiguo had always wanted to join the army, and he was overjoyed to have passed the physical examination. However, he felt a little reluctant to leave his family. He usually just kissed and hugged Song Yan, and never got too close to her at night. But today, he hugged her especially tightly.

“You have family visit leave, so you can come back to see us when you arrive.”

Will you come to see me at the military base?

"If you want me to go, I'll go."

I want you to go!

"Okay, I'll definitely go. I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow and see if I can buy you some things you need."

"No need, the army has everything." As he spoke, Wei Aiguo's hands began to wander.

Song Yan felt that she and Wei Aiguo were dating. As lovers, some intimate gestures were normal, so she went along with it. It was Wei Aiguo who was suffering and had to let go…

The army issues many things, but things like socks and toothbrushes, right? So Song Yan wanted to prepare some for Wei Aiguo. He certainly wouldn't miss out on the black market during his trip to the commune!

Song Yan headed towards a secluded spot to change his clothes. It was truly a case of bad luck; the saying "enemies always meet on a narrow road" was absolutely true. Four people approached him, led by Mao Xuebin, followed by four others who had all been to the Qingshan Brigade. Without considering whether it was too late to turn back, Song Yan turned and walked away.

"Don't go! What's the rush?" The man who jumped up and blocked Song Yan's way was the same man who had spoken rudely that day.

Song Yan wasn't afraid of them at all. She'd been learning from Lao Du and the others for so long, but hadn't had a chance to test her skills yet. Besides, she had a spatial dimension filled with knives, arrows, and even bricks if she wanted. What was there to be afraid of? Song Yan stopped and looked at the four of them.

"Brother Mao, isn't Wei Aiguo a big shot? Today we'll have a taste of his woman." The lewd man said as he reached out and touched Song Yan's face.

Before Song Yan could back away, Mao Xuebin grabbed the man's hand. "I've done plenty of fighting and framing people. But I never lay a hand on women. And she's Wei Aiguo's woman. I think you're asking for trouble."

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