Teacher Xu not only gave Su Yu a good review, but also gave her extra help. In her opinion, Su Yu hadn't been to school for so many years, and it would be very difficult for her to catch up with students of other ages at her current age.

But Su Yu's eagerness to learn and her desire to improve, the deep longing in her eyes for learning, made her feel that she had to do something before she retired, to help another hardworking student complete a major transformation in her life.

Knowledge can change destiny. Teacher Xu firmly believes that hardworking people will overcome all difficulties, just as the new China was established after experiencing hardships.

Of course, to her surprise, Su Yu's learning ability was indeed very strong.

She explained things very quickly, and the students understood them immediately. For more difficult concepts, she explained them twice, and the students were generally fine. Therefore, she didn't hesitate to increase Su Yu's study intensity. She felt that at this pace, Su Yu might actually graduate early.

With this level of dedication to learning, Su Yu naturally displayed outstanding academic performance. To others, her progress was phenomenal, dazzling the eyes of the other students in the class.

Who would have thought that while their classmates were barely scratching the surface, these other students had already mastered the basics? The class monitor, in particular, was incredibly hardworking and enthusiastic about helping everyone overcome their learning difficulties. It made it impossible for anyone to even feel jealous; all they felt was admiration and respect.

"Class monitor, how do I do this problem? Oh, class monitor, are you writing a draft?"

Her deskmate, Chen Qiuxiang, came over to ask a question and couldn't help but be surprised to see Su Yu frowning as she wrote.

Su Yu looked up and said, "Yes, since I came to this class, I feel my life has become much more fulfilling. It's like opening a door to a new world, and my life now has its own compass. I'd like to write something and submit it to thank our company." Flattery is always essential. Especially since she'd heard rumors that the factory was starting to recruit, including textile workers and clerical positions in various departments.

She needs to seize the time to gain attention.

Her words drew attention from the others. It seems the class monitor truly cherishes this learning opportunity; she even wrote a special thank-you note.

Thinking back to myself, I was arranged to come here by my family, and I was quite unwilling. After all, most of the people here only graduated from junior high school and didn't finish their studies. They were either working or dropped out of school and ended up here. In short, this place is basically a haven for academic underachievers. As for the top students, they naturally go to regular vocational schools and high schools. Why would they come to night school?

At this moment, the underachieving students felt somewhat ashamed of themselves in the face of Su Yu's performance.

"Class monitor, how did you manage to persevere? I find studying really difficult. If you hadn't helped me ask the teacher, I wouldn't have understood so many things."

Su Yu sighed, "It's just a matter of perseverance. I just want to learn more skills so that I can be true to myself and those who have helped me. At least the knowledge I learn is mine. Life is so long, I'll always find a use for it. A year of hard work now will lead to a lifetime of happiness later."

A year of hard work in exchange for a lifetime of happiness? It seems pretty worthwhile.

"Class monitor, can we learn from you from now on? Don't mind if we learn slowly."

Su Yu nodded, but inwardly she felt disgusted. Not only were they all incapable of studying, but they were also lazy. How could they not be disliked? But what could she do? She was just stuck with these classmates.

Even for her own future, she had to lend a helping hand to these classmates. She didn't want to graduate with a class full of academic failures who accomplished nothing. That would be too embarrassing for her.

Moreover, these classmates were quite helpful to her. For example, Chen Qiuxiang's family owned a coal mine, and they promised to help her buy a used charcoal stove through their organization at the end of the month. They didn't require industrial permits; they just wanted her to get some flawed fabric for her. These things didn't require permits, saving money for both sides.

There's also Zhu Qiangqiang, a classmate from the provincial steel plant; she promised to help her forge a fish trap. In this era of nationwide steelmaking, such a trap is quite valuable. The key is that it doesn't require industrial ration coupons. She can use grain coupons to offset the cost later.

Not to mention those shoe factories, machinery factories, and food factories.

This is one of the advantages of being a factory worker. For example, Su Yu, as a textile worker, basically doesn't need to buy cotton thread for her family. She can just pick out some discarded yarn and that's enough. Sometimes she can even get some surplus defective products from the logistics warehouse. These can all be sold cheaply, much cheaper than at the counters outside.

Su Yu felt that her class, if used well, could practically be considered an invisible department store.

In an era of scarcity, these resources were incredibly precious.

After school that evening, Su Yu secretly made an appointment with Chen Qiuxiang to go to the coal yard to get a coal stove on the weekend.

It's already late September, and the weather is starting to get cooler. The stove came in just in time; having it at home means I can boil a kettle of water anytime. In winter, I can roast some sweet potatoes and peanuts indoors. Just thinking about it makes me happy.

Su Yu told Su Zhi about it on the way, but only told him part of the truth. In her version, the stove was a gift from a classmate. She didn't have to spend any money.

"Sis, your classmate is so nice!" Su Zhi asked in surprise.

He knew that the family had wanted to get a stove for years, but they couldn't afford it. Their industrial ration coupons had been used to buy shoes and clothes for them, especially for the fourth son, who loved fashion and practically spent it all every month. They simply couldn't accumulate enough industrial ration coupons. And even if they had them, without connections, they couldn't get such good stuff. The demand in the entire provincial capital was enormous, plus demand from other provinces; the supply from the coal-fired power plants under the coal mine was simply not enough.

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