The rest of the days passed in an orderly fashion. Wei Aiguo sent letters and money back home. He received a monthly allowance of 28 yuan, kept 3 yuan for personal expenses, and sent the remaining 25 yuan back home. Song Yan gave her mother-in-law 10 yuan and kept 15 yuan for herself.

Captain Wu officially named the literacy class the "Junior Literacy Class," enrolling children aged 6 to 14. More than 60 children came from the village. They started teaching from first-grade material. The older children, with better memories and faster learning, were placed in the second-grade group after passing the exam. This tiered system helped to motivate the children. But it couldn't just be academic; Song Yan also introduced music and physical education classes, and sometimes taught them simple drawing…

When selecting women for the weaving group, they first chose families where children, especially girls, were sent to school—families with such members were more likely to be educated. Adding the female educated youth would be enough. The women were willing to participate, but not particularly enthusiastic. They were first sent home to practice basic techniques by picking corn husks. The first batch the supply and marketing cooperative needed were cushions. Li Yuanzhao and Song Yan went to deliver the goods, giving Li Yuanzhao a chance to meet Director Liu. The delivery went smoothly, and they also brought back dye and the next purchase agreement.

The women in the village knew that selling the cushions meant they could make money. Their enthusiasm was at an all-time high. Those who hadn't made it into the weaving group were frantic, like ants on a hot plate. It was only then that Li Yuanzhao understood why Song Yan only wanted to teach the craft! These women were such a hassle, but thankfully Wang Wenjuan was there to handle most of it.

Song Yan herself had also reaped a considerable harvest. Boss Qin had really prepared plenty of large basins for her. Those plump, live fish finally had a place to sell! He'd also prepared plenty of cages; she could return the cages in her own space to the brigade. Song Yan kept saying she wanted to pay Boss Qin for the cages. Actually, he didn't hear her at all; he was just happy looking at the cages full of chickens and rabbits! With an income of over five hundred this time, Song Yan was delighted!

Wei Ping and Wei An were anxious when they saw the children had all started class. The children's literacy class had been unusually given two extra five-year-olds. And they were the prettiest little ones in the class. Song Yan bought fabric and asked her mother-in-law to make new clothes for the two children. These days, few children don't wear patched clothes, but these two had brand new ones. Each of them carried a small schoolbag. Inside, besides notebooks and pens, were candy, steamed rice cakes, mung bean cakes—plenty of delicious treats. Each of them held a colorful ball, making all the other children in the village extremely envious. Their second uncle had a stipend, and their aunt could earn money; even children with parents couldn't compare.

Now, not only do the children fawn over Wei Ping and Wei An, but even the adults praise them. Because of Song Zhiqing's influence, no one dares to give the children a hard time. Those cattails and corn husks, usually discarded, are transformed in Song Zhiqing's hands into beautiful items that can be sold for money. The team leader and Group Leader Li said they'd be paid out before the New Year.

There are people in and around the village who know how to weave. Now, they want to learn how to weave and start making things themselves. But they've realized it's too late to collect corn husks. The corn husks on the stalks are all half-eaten and barely usable. The cattails are past their drying season and are no longer useful. All that cattail and corn husks was gathered by Song Zhiqing himself. Everyone felt a little guilty using what was readily available. So when the brigade leader said he would give Song Zhiqing a full year's worth of work points, no one objected.

Widow Wang and Wu Meili were green with envy. Especially Widow Wang—how many work points did she earn in a year? The same as the brigade leader, no, more. They heard that the brigade leader had increased Song, the educated youth,'s work points for cutting grass to eight. She even got ten work points a day for guiding the weaving group! The children's literacy class needed her to teach—how could she not get work points? She alone earned more work points than Song's entire family.

Others' envy was irrelevant to Song Yan; she was happy. Last time, Old Zeng's men not only delivered guns but also money and ration coupons. Whatever they wanted, they just had to tell Song Yan, and she would quietly bring it back. Especially for those living next door to Song Yan, everything was so much more convenient. Song Yan made something delicious and knocked on the wall. They knocked back to show they heard her. Song Yan went out and placed the food on this side of the wall. The wall wasn't high; they could easily reach over and take the food over.

Every year around this time, gambling breaks out in the village, and couples fight. Frankly, it's all because they're bored! But Qingshan Brigade doesn't have this problem. They're not allowed to take the weaving materials home; everyone works together on straw weaving. Actually, everyone prefers to come early and leave late to get more work done! They're paid by piecework, so the more they do, the more money they get! Every day, someone comes early to light the stove, and by the time everyone starts working, the house is already warm and cozy. At this time, the men stay home, but the women can earn money. Which man wouldn't want to pamper his wife when she earns money? The women who come to work are especially happy; when they get home, their husbands have already prepared dinner, and their mothers-in-law's attitude is different than before. How could they not be happy? Especially after the last time they sold goods at the supply and marketing cooperative, Team Leader Li suggested giving everyone a paycheck. Everyone got about ten yuan, even the lowest was over nine yuan. Everyone, whether from their own village or other villages, was incredibly envious.

The women in the village all envied her, but they expressed it in different ways!

Like Wei Erzhuang's wife, who was able to join the weaving group, she sent her daughter to a literacy class. She had a decent reputation in the village, and she was one of the few in the weaving group. She was clumsy with her hands. She was the one who earned the least. But she was willing to work hard, especially when she realized how much she was lacking when it came time to pay. She asked her husband to cut some cattails. Although the cattails weren't very good right now, they could at least practice weaving mats at home!

Many young women and wives in the village have good relationships with the weaving group. When they're at home, they ask the weaving group to teach them weaving skills, practicing on broken corn husks and cattail reeds. Group leader Li said the weaving group will expand.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!