During her stay in Yuancheng, Zhao Huanhuan did nothing but cook for her parents, read books, or go out for a stroll with her cousin. She also went out with her cousin to meet her boyfriend, her future brother-in-law.

It's clear that my future cousin's husband is a down-to-earth and shy person. He seems to care a lot about my cousin, and it's obvious that he has her in his heart.

Zhao Huanhuan had no memory of the original owner's classmates, so she didn't invite them when she returned here to hold her wedding banquet.

In the past few days, she hasn't gone out much. She has been diligently reading through the original owner's life and some of the things the original owner wrote, and has come to understand a kind-hearted girl.

What made Zhao Huanhuan feel gratified was that the original owner of this body had a personality somewhat similar to hers when she was in school.

She was also sorting through the newspapers of the time, reading them all to better understand the world.

As for the black market that she was curious about, she ultimately didn't go there to find out, fearing she would cause trouble for her parents.

A week after returning to Yuancheng, she said goodbye to her parents and went back to Taojia Village to begin her life in her husband's family home after getting married.

***

The educated youth settlement in Taojia Village was completely cleaned up by mid-May.

The educated youth have been moving here in batches over the past few days.

A kitchen and dining room were set up in the back row. The brigade leader arranged for a couple surnamed Tao, who were around fifty years old and had no children, to work here every day, cooking and washing dishes for the educated youth.

In this way, the educated youth will no longer have to cook and wash dishes themselves.

A group of educated youth were very happy and have been busy helping Uncle Tao and his wife clean up the kitchen and dining room these past few days!

They sent all their pots, pans, and utensils to the kitchen for Uncle Tao and the others to use.

In addition, their grain rations will be handed over directly to the kitchen, where Uncle Tao and Aunt Tao will arrange their meals.

Uncle Tao and Aunt Tao also worked here, their jobs covering only a few centimeters, until the brigade distributed grain together in the fall.

Wenyan hasn't moved in yet; she plans to stay with Huanhuan for a few days before moving.

After Zhao Huanhuan returned to the Lin family, sometimes Wenyan would come over to stay with her, and sometimes she would go to their old little house to stay with Wenyan.

The two of them also used the textbooks that Aunt Chu had found for Lin Yuan from his old school days to review their elementary and junior high school knowledge in preparation for Qiu Yi's exam.

Qiu Yi's application to establish Taojia Village Primary School was answered on the second day after her marriage to Lin Yuan. The educated youth could help the village rebuild the primary school.

However, the education department is currently short of teachers who have graduated from regular normal universities, and there are no teachers from secondary normal schools either. They can't find experienced teachers to fill all the positions. Seeing that Qiu Yi's degree is from a normal university, they told Qiu Yi to find a suitable teacher himself. If he can pass the assessment, he can be registered as a private school teacher and receive a salary.

Teaching materials will also be provided.

The result was basically the same as what Qiu Yi had expected.

Qiu Yi has also been making preparations in advance, such as choosing the school's address and planning to tidy up the school.

Actually, Taojia Village did have a primary school in the 1960s, but due to famine, people stopped sending their children to school, and the primary school collapsed. The teachers who used to teach in the village also left.

The old primary school address is still there. It's actually right next to the brigade, in a small courtyard with a row of houses, including seven or eight single rooms. The doors and windows are all broken now, and some nearby residents keep firewood and other things in the houses.

After Qiu Yi decided to continue using the place as a primary school, he contacted the brigade leader and had everyone clear out all the belongings and vacate the space.

However, it's too dilapidated. The doors and windows need to be replaced, glass installed, and the roof needs to be repainted, otherwise it will leak when it rains. All of this will cost money and require hiring people to do it.

Qiu Yi found the captain.

The team leader thought for a moment, "I'll arrange for people from the village to do the carpentry work, and they can be recorded as work points. We'll see how much glass and other doors and windows we need, and then we'll ask around to see how much it will cost. I'll arrange for the villagers to help with plastering the roof."

"Okay, thank you, Captain. I noticed that all the tables, chairs, and benches from before are gone. Did the villagers take them all home?" After the people moved the firewood away, Qiu Yi discovered that there wasn't a single table or chair left.

"Yes, they've all been taken by each family. Some of the broken ones were just used as firewood. I'll find a carpenter to remake them. Do you want a double table and stool or a single table and stool?" the team leader replied.

Fortunately, there were still a few carpenters in the village.

"Two teachers, that would save on timber. In a few days, I'll start by organizing qualification exams for the educated youth to select teachers. Does the brigade leader have anyone in the village who has attended high school or junior high school to recommend as teachers?"

“If so, you can arrange for someone to come see me. I will guide them to review their lessons in advance, and then they will take a unified exam with the educated youth.”

The captain thought for a moment and nodded, "There really are two people who graduated from high school and junior high school respectively. I'll go ask them."

After communicating well with the captain, Qiu Yi felt much more confident.

After returning to the educated youth team, he went to find Gu Yifeng and told him about his desire to select teachers from among the educated youth.

Gu Yifeng frowned upon hearing this. If he had already chosen all the people, who would he, as the team leader, be responsible for?

Qiu Yi stared at him, and asked in surprise, "Is there a problem?"

"How many teachers do you need?" Gu Yifeng asked.

Qiu Yi thought for a moment, "We need to recruit at least five or six. The brigade leader said there are a few high school and junior high school students in the village, and he will recommend them. I will arrange for them to take the exam with the educated youth and select the five or six most suitable people to stay!"

Gu Yifeng breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, not all the educated youth were poached to the school at once.

"Qiu Yi, have you ever thought about going back to the city or possibly going back to university someday? If you become a teacher here, the chances of you leaving in the future are slim."

Gu Yifeng gave him a strange look. What's so good about the countryside? Going back to the city and working in a factory is the right way to go, isn't it?

Does someone who grew up in the city really want to stay here and live as a rural person?

Even if he manages to become a teacher after all this trouble, he will be a privately-run teacher. He won't have a teacher's college diploma, he won't be a formally employed teacher, and he won't have a secure job.

Qiu Yi understood what he was thinking. He smiled faintly and said, "Let's take it one step at a time. It's all up to us. Besides, we are registered in this village, so we are Taojia Village people. We have a responsibility for the future of the children in the village. At least we are more educated than most people in the village."

"If you don't plan to become a teacher, you don't need to take the exam. By the way, do you think there were some educated youth who didn't want to become teachers?" Qiu Yi suddenly thought of this question.

Originally, he thought that every educated youth knew how to choose between doing farm work and becoming a teacher.

However, after Gu Yifeng finished speaking, Qiu Yi felt that maybe that wasn't the case, or maybe he was overthinking it.