Although it was out of duty for the person in charge of the educated youth settlement to take care of him, judging by the actions rather than the intentions, he had indeed received a favor from the other party.

At that time, Liu Yihong always appeared as a peacemaker, with a gentle smile on his face, but his eyes were filled with confusion, helplessness, and fear.

He was always kind to everyone at the educated youth settlement, and he always tried to do his best in everything he did, as if that gave him some confidence.

It seems more like they're trying to prove something!

Although it's unclear what he went through, his condition was clearly not right.

But when I saw him at the thank-you banquet today, I noticed that the confusion and fear in his eyes had lessened, and he seemed more relaxed. It seems that his teachers helped him a lot in getting into university, which is great.

Xie Yan sighed. In truth, wasn't he the same?

At that time, he had more than 500 yuan on him, which seemed like a lot, but how much of it would actually be used?

Even if he has planned countless ways out for himself, so what?

He was also fearful and uneasy in the face of the unknown.

With this job, I not only have food but also income. Although it's not much, as long as I have income instead of just expenses, I won't panic!

A small alarm clock on the table rang, interrupting Xie Yan's thoughts. "Oh dear, it's nine o'clock. It's time for class. My class is the first one. I have to go now."

After saying that, Xie Yan took the alarm clock and textbooks and went to the classroom.

Contrary to expectations of a noisy classroom, Xie Yan peeked through the window and saw that everyone was sitting upright.

All the little faces were tense, and no one even whispered to each other.

Each of them cherished this hard-won opportunity.

Xie Yan coughed lightly and entered the classroom.

Standing on the three-foot-high platform, Xie Yan felt the reality of being a teacher for the first time, looking at the serious-looking little students below, some of whom he knew and some of whom he didn't.

But most of them were boys, and there were only three girls out of twenty-five students!

There are about ten villages of varying sizes in the vicinity, which together make up twenty-five children.

None of the twenty-five children could afford new textbooks; they all borrowed old books from various places, and some even had to collect a set from several families.

Both of them had textbooks, but only a handful.

Xie Yan sighed inwardly, "Studying is really difficult in this era!"

A while ago, someone came to borrow Yu Yuehui's first-grade textbook. At that time, the old lady was already very old and her hair was all white. She stood anxiously in the yard, and it really made people feel sorry for her.

After borrowing the book, I took it with both hands and held it to my chest.

Before leaving, he repeatedly assured me that he wouldn't wrinkle the book and would return it intact after he was done using it.

Even their textbooks were obtained by the brigade leader after several trips to the commune, and they weren't new books, but rather books that other teachers had used.

Xie Yan composed herself and said with a smile, "Today is our first day of class, but I believe many of you are familiar with me. Of course, there are also some who don't know me at all, but don't worry, I'll introduce myself now."

Xie Yan took out the chalk from the table and wrote her name.

Looking at the two magnificent characters "Thank You Banquet" on the blackboard, he nodded with a smug expression and great satisfaction. Not bad! As expected of him, his writing is beautiful. It was worth the secret practice he had beforehand.

Turning around, his expression softened, "Does anyone recognize these two characters?"

The little kids below all shook their heads and answered in unison, "No!"

Xie Yan smiled and said, "Then let me tell you, this is my name, Xie Yan. You can call me Teacher Xie from now on."

"As for your names, I won't ask you one by one. I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities to get to know each other in the future. Now, everyone, turn to your textbooks, first page. Do you recognize the character '1'?"

Xie Yan turned around and wrote on the blackboard.

"For students who don't have books, you can read them together with your deskmate. Put the books in the middle and read them together."

"Today we're learning Pinyin, which is the most important thing in all our learning. Everyone must listen carefully! Once you learn it, you won't encounter any unfamiliar characters anymore. Isn't that amazing?"

The children below looked on in amazement, their eyes sparkling with a thirst for knowledge, shaking their heads and shouting in unison, "Amazing!"

Some students couldn't help but shout, "Teacher, please tell us!"

Xie Yan glanced at the big guy and thought, "Very good, young man, I'll remember you. You've caught my attention!"

From now on, you'll be the first person I ask a question in class!

"Since everyone's in such a hurry, let's get to know them..."

After a class, Xie Yan was parched, but he couldn't leave yet. He took out the materials he had carefully prepared: a blank sheet of paper.

"Come on, students, look at me. Did you all buy the blank paper I asked you to buy before?"

"Take it out now!"

Seeing that every student had taken out their work, Xie Yan continued, "Like me, align the two corners like this. Make sure they are aligned! Look carefully, then place it on the table and lay it flat. Check if there are any two corners that are not aligned."

"After that, fold it in half again like this. Make sure you follow my steps exactly; don't just do it randomly because you think you know how!..."

"Alright, this size is just right. From now on, you can't move it around by yourself anymore. When you get home, find your parents and ask them to trim these two sides for you. Find some rope to sew the top side up. Have your mother use the strength she uses to sew the soles of shoes to make sure it's sewn up."

"It doesn't matter what kind of thread it is, as long as it's sturdy. We'll write on the back after we finish this side, so it can't just crack later, you know?"

Little Radish Head: "Okay!"

"After you finish your notebooks, you need to write your names on the cover. Write 'Chinese' on top and your name on the bottom. You can write it at home or bring it home, and I'll write it for you this afternoon. Okay, get out of class dismissed!"

"As for the other sheet of paper, that's a math notebook. The steps are the same. Don't worry if you don't remember them. The math teacher will teach you again later."

It's not that I have to make such a big deal out of this small matter as the thank-you banquet; it's just that my throat is really sore!

He felt like his throat was on fire and all he wanted was to get back to his office as soon as possible.

I secretly made up my mind that I must bring my cup to class next time.

I used to think that teachers who brought their thermos cups to class were all old, but now it seems that teachers and thermos cups are inseparable!

Xie Yan, who had taken a few steps, turned back. "Oh, right, now put all the notebooks you just folded into your schoolbags and keep them safe. Don't leave them on the table, or they'll get dirty when you're playing around."

Seeing that they had all put them away, Xie Yan walked out of the classroom without looking back.

He's exhausted; his throat is practically burning from shouting all day.

We desperately need to replenish the water of life!