"That's all for today's class. After class, when you get home, besides helping with chores, try to study as much as possible, okay?"
As the teacher finished speaking, the students responded in unison, "Thank you, teacher. Goodbye, teacher."
Song Meili smiled and said to the students, "Goodbye, students."
After checking the office doors and windows one last time and inspecting the classrooms, Song Meili left the school with her keys and textbooks.
She was located in the southwest region, in a place called Xialin County.
This small county is located in a remote area and is one of the ten poorest counties in the province.
After the reform and opening up, most of the local residents went out to find a way out, and many went to work in the south, so most of those left behind were the elderly and children.
There is only one primary school here, located in Xialin County, called Xialin Primary School.
With very few teachers at the school, Song Meili has to teach Chinese, English, and music, as well as be the homeroom teacher for grades three through six.
However, because the local population is small and there is only one class per grade in the school, Song Meili's work is not too heavy.
Soon it was the weekend again. She walked home with her books in her arms, planning what to do for dinner.
Before she even reached her doorstep, her neighbor, Grandma Li, greeted her warmly: "Teacher Song is back!"
Grandma Li is also a left-behind elderly person. She has a grandson named Li Yan. After graduating from elementary school last year, with the help of Song Meili and Zhou Huanan, he went to boarding school in the city.
Grandma Li was very grateful to the couple, so she was very welcoming when she saw them.
Song Meili asked her with a smile, "Grandma Li, is Li Yan coming back this weekend?"
Grandma Li smiled, her face crinkling: "Yes, his dad went to pick him up."
"Li Yan's dad is back?" Song Meili was a little surprised, then she remembered, "Is he coming back to work?"
Grandma Li patted her hand and said, "Yes, it's all thanks to you two. The factory was hiring, so I let him come back."
Song Meili blinked and smiled, "Then you'll have someone to keep you company from now on, that's wonderful."
Grandma Li was overjoyed and said to her, "Don't you like my chicken soup? I've already put it at your house. County Chief Zhou is here. Go back and eat it."
When Song Meili heard that Zhou Huanan had returned, her eyes lit up. She told Grandma Li and went home.
Hearing the door open, Zhou Huanan stood in the doorway and opened his arms: "Beautiful."
Song Meili ran towards him like a swallow returning to its nest, hugged his waist and said, "Have you lost weight again?"
Zhou Huanan looked very tired, and Song Meili touched his face, saying, "You've worked hard."
In the three years since he came to Xialin County, Zhou Huanan has never relaxed for a moment.
First, they helped her send all her school-age children to middle school, and then they helped her find solutions in various parts of the county.
Because of their experience at the Qingshan Food Factory, Zhou Huanan and Song Meili decided to start a business using local specialty foods as soon as they arrived.
The Southwest region has a unique environment, and its most famous specialty is its local mushrooms. There are many kinds of mushrooms that outsiders have never heard of, and they have a unique taste.
There are also many mountains here, and there are many precious Chinese medicinal herbs on the mountains.
However, mushrooms are difficult to preserve and transport, and many local residents are illiterate and do not understand medicinal herbs. Therefore, while guarding these treasures, the manpower has flowed to the industrial areas in the south.
Zhou Huanan first applied for funding from higher authorities, starting small and finding experts to train residents in the preparation and processing of medicinal materials.
Then, leverage the connections in the northern part of the city to sell the medicinal herbs.
Within just six months, the medicinal herb company generated over 100,000 yuan in revenue for the local area.
Zhou Huanan then invested the money in a food factory, found suitable mushrooms for drying, packaged them, and sold them.
He partnered with Lin Shan of Qingshan Food Company for this project.
Through connections with food companies, dried mushrooms were sold all over the country.
Today, the medicinal herb factory and the mushroom factory have been successfully established, with a total of thousands of workers in the two factories.
Zhou Huanan did not stop there; he began to utilize the local environment to cultivate medicinal herbs and mushrooms.
It provided a continuous supply of raw materials to both factories.
This year marks their third year in Xialin County, and the two factories are about to expand further.
The local population is gradually returning.
Grandma Li next door saw that many people who had gone out were returning to work, so she quickly called her son back.
Zhou Huanan was happy to hear this: "It would be best if they could all come back to work. There are too many left-behind children and elderly people here, which makes me very worried."
Song Meili helped him lie down on the sofa and massaged his temples: "You've done very well, but you should also take better care of your health..."
Zhou Huanan took her hand and kissed it: "Meili, I'm so glad I met you."
He chose to be transferred because he wanted to be with Song Meili without any obstacles.
It was here that he truly felt the meaning of life and realized his value.
This was a feeling he never had the chance to experience while living in an ivory tower.
Song Meili smiled and said, "Thank you too. I feel very happy living here."
She used to want a wealthy and stable life, but after coming here, she realized that the grievances she had suffered were actually very small things.
The people here face hardship from a young age, yet each of them possesses a vibrant vitality.
She loves the innocent smiles of children, and she enjoys seeing the feedback from their efforts.
Song Meili used all her savings to buy books so that every child here could have access to reading.
This year, the county got electricity, and she even bought a television set at her own expense so that her children could see the world.
She also tried her best to get all the children into middle school and high school...
She hopes that one day, the children she taught will be able to go to university and explore a wider world.
The two looked at each other, both understanding each other's feelings.
Zhou Huanan smiled at her: "Dad even called to ask when I'm coming back."
Song Meili knew his answer, but still asked, "Then what do you say?"
He said, "Let's wait another two years."
Song Meili nodded: "Yes, me too."
Two years later, Xiaolin County shed its status as an impoverished county, and its fiscal revenue ranked among the top three in the province.
Zhou Huanan was promoted to mayor of Changhe City.
Changhe City is close to Beicheng, only a three-hour drive away.
He remains focused on people's livelihoods, striving to discover industries that can be developed and expanded locally, and helping local residents to live more prosperous lives.
Song Meili has also returned to Beicheng and is now a teacher at a middle school.
She bought a house, and every year the children who come to Beicheng from Xiaolin County to study will gather at her house.
She felt gratified to see her former students getting into university one by one.
As the children grow up, they understand even better what Song Meili said before.
She said she wanted to study hard and go out to see the world. She said the best place to go was the north of the city, to see our capital.
Later, when one of her children got the opportunity to study abroad, he sent Song Meili a postcard from across the ocean.
The scenery in this exotic land is beautiful.
It said "Thank you" on it.
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