Zhang Hongmei finally finished sewing, and felt quite ashamed looking at her crooked and messy stitches.

"Not bad, it's pretty good for your first time sewing. Okay. Put the buns into the sewn bag and sew this up too. It's not difficult, you just need to practice more." Li Juying wasn't good at speaking nicely, and it wasn't realistic for me to teach her. The two villages were far apart, and it wouldn't be convenient for her to travel back and forth.

This time the sewing was much better than the last one. Although it was still not straight, the stitches were much denser. Zhang Hongmei took everything out of her coat pocket. "Aunt Li, I bought a lot of matches, candles, and soap. I'll give you one of each. Please don't refuse. I've already accepted your help, so please don't be polite with me."

Li Juying was indeed envious of the candles. Her son used a kerosene lamp to do his homework at night, which was choking and made his eyes water. But buying candles required industrial coupons. They carefully used all the household appliances for fear of breaking them and not being able to buy new ones. The two industrial coupons they had were not enough for most things. "Auntie won't be polite with you, but you must take the money. Otherwise, I won't take it no matter what."

Li Juying knew the price of each item. She took out a purse-shaped wallet from her pants pocket, counted out 22 cents, and handed it to Zhang Hongmei. "If you don't want it, Auntie won't take it. But Auntie really needs these things."

Zhang Hongmei took the money and put it in her pocket, knowing that if she didn't accept it, she would have to spend a lot of time persuading the woman. Most people these days are simple and honest, and besides, as a cadre, she wouldn't want to take advantage of an orphan.

"Aunt Li, if you have something to do, go ahead and do it. I can wait outside by myself. I'm wearing a lot of clothes, so I'm not cold."

"It's okay, it's not time to get off work yet. I'll stay here with you and wait. Or should I teach you how to write your name?"

It was like a pillow being delivered just when Zhang Hongmei was worried about how to find an excuse to learn to read. "That would be wonderful! There's an old scholar in our village. I'm always busy trying to make a living. My dad said he'd let me go to school this year, but with this incident, how can I go? If you teach me to read, I can stay home and study instead of going to school. I envy the children who can go to school, but my family's situation doesn't allow it."

Li Juying felt heartbroken upon hearing this, this poor child. "It's alright. When you pass through our village on your way back, I'll give you all the books from my family's primary school. Liu Maocai from your village can read, you can ask him. There are quite a few school children in your village, you can make the most of your time to study. It's best to go to school, and you can also get acquainted with the principal of the township primary school. I'll ask if you can have a student visa in your situation, and study at home during the week, only going to school for exams. But you can't let this go to waste."

This was exactly what Zhang Hongmei wanted. As long as she had a student status at the school, she could skip grades and graduate from high school when the school was closed.

"Aunt Li, what grade are you in elementary school now?"

"Elementary school is grades one through four, and upper elementary school is grades five and six. You can attend these in the township. But for junior high and high school, you have to go to the county. Junior high is two years, and high school is two years." How come this kid doesn't know anything? I must tell my sons when I get back. They really don't know how lucky they are. They don't appreciate the opportunity to study.

Zhang Hongmei did the math. She figured she could just take the entrance exam for upper primary school during the New Year. She'd take the junior high exam the following autumn of 1959, then two years of junior high would be until the autumn of 1961, and another two years of senior high would be until the autumn of 1963. That would be perfect; nothing would be delayed. "Aunt Li, thank you so much. I'm going to your house today to borrow some books. I want to start studying before things get too cold. Could you please ask the school if someone like me can study at home and take the exam?"

“Okay, I’ll go ask for you tonight. You can study at home first. Let me tell you, people need to be educated. If I weren’t literate, how could I have been appointed to the Women’s Federation? Wang Jianguo’s wife is almost envious, but it’s because she can’t read. Her envy is useless.”

It seems Wang Jianguo is truly unpopular. "Aunt Li, whose portrait is hanging on this wall?"

"He's a great man? You've never seen him?"

Zhang Hongmei's heart skipped a beat. This was not the great man from her previous life at all. In fact, she had seen the portrait as soon as she came in, but she thought it was a portrait of a scientist or leader and did not think of it as a great man. Although there were words on it, they looked like cursive script, so she did not go over to take a closer look.

"Aunt Li, what was the great man's name? Nobody has ever told me."

"The great man's name was Zhou Shixiong, he was Chairman Mao, and the Premier's name was Zheng Pu. There were also eight other generals, all of whom fought alongside Chairman Mao in the revolution, and there was even a female general." Looking at Li Juying's proud expression, Zhang Hongmei was in a daze. This really wasn't the world she knew; this must be a parallel universe. She had even secretly fantasized about going back to find her parents.

"Hongmei, what's wrong? I've called you several times."

"It's alright, Aunt Li. I was just momentarily distracted. I wish I knew about the deeds of these great people."

“What’s so difficult about that? I have one at home. But you can’t read yet, you’ll understand when you can read. I’ll lend you this book today too. Oh, the meeting’s finally over. Hongmei, look!” Li Juying pointed outside.

Zhang Hongmei didn't explain that she could read. "Yes, the meeting is finally over. Being the village chief is not easy. Like my third uncle in our village, he has to worry about everything every day. Everyone comes to him when they have problems, and he still has to come over to hold meetings from time to time."

“That’s for sure. Your village has fewer people. Dawan Village has several hundred people. Although their village is wealthy, more people mean more problems. You know, there are bound to be conflicts. Everyone’s always gossiping. Although the village chief has always been a member of the Qian family, not everyone listens to him. Qian Zhiguo is having a much harder time.” The two of them left as they were talking. Liu Maocai and Zhang Hongqi breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Zhang Hongmei coming out of the Women’s Federation.

"Hongmei, when did you get back?"

"Uncle, I got back around 2 o'clock. You and Uncle Zhang haven't eaten yet, have you? I bought some sugar buns from outside. Aunt Li just put them on the stove to toast them. You should eat them quickly."

"Yes, Lao Liu and Lao Zhang, you two come in and have a bite to eat. After you're done, we'll go together. I'll lend Hongmei my eldest son's elementary school textbooks. Lao Liu, you take them back with you."

"Thank you, Comrade Li. Come with us back in the oxcart later." Liu Maocai said before entering the Women's Federation office, with Zhang Hongqi following behind. When they saw the snow-white buns, they were both surprised. The dough was so white! They looked delicious; their stomachs, hungry all day, could finally be satisfied.