At around five or six o'clock, I met a lot of children on the road. They were carrying heavy schoolbags and rushing to school in groups of two or three in the dim light of the sky.

When Xu Qingzhi was in primary school, he went to Daji Village from grade one to grade four. It was closer to Taoshui Village and could be reached in just over ten minutes on foot.

At that time, many places were not fully accessible, and children from far away had to cross mountains and rivers to go to school.

Later, when she was in fifth and sixth grade, she had to go to Qingquan Village Primary School, which was a little further away. She originally rode a bicycle to school, but later she fell downhill because the brakes broke, so she had to live in the school dormitory in sixth grade.

Now when I see these children rushing to school, I always have a special sense of time traveling.

There were a few brave kids on the road who took the initiative to greet Xu Qingzhi in dialect: "Sister, are you going to school too?"

Xu Qingzhi shook his head and said, "I have already graduated and I am running to keep fit."

"You don't study but get up so early. My brother sleeps until noon every day at home. He is such a lazy pig." Another child started to complain about his brother with a look of disgust.

Children's emotions are always shown on their faces. Even an expression of disgust makes them seem innocent and vivid.

Xu Qingzhi smiled.

From a distance, there were some dog barking sounds.

The three children immediately held each other's hands.

"It must be that family's dog again!"

"I'm so scared. What should I do? I don't dare to go over there."

"The last time I passed by, this dog chased me and scared me to tears."

The children started chatting with each other, and even their steps began to slow down hesitantly.

Xu Qingzhi looked forward and saw a big dog standing at the intersection of the small branch road leading to a house and the main road.

There was a dim light on in the house at the end of the road. The dog must be a watchdog, and it rushed over when it saw someone.

Xu Qingzhi stood in front of the children. The faint light from the sky cast her shadow diagonally, covering the children.

She said gently, "Don't be afraid, I'll take you there."

The next second, her left hand was timidly pulled up by a small hand, and Xu Qingzhi's palm felt warm.

"Sister, that dog is very fierce and will bite people." The child's eyes became timid, and he also passed on the secrets taught by his parents: "My parents said that when you pass by a dog, don't look at it. If you look at the dog, the dog will bite you."

The children followed Xu Qingzhi in fear.

The big dog was barking vigorously one second ago, but the next second Xu Qingzhi glanced at it and the sound turned into a whimper halfway through the barking. It went back home in shame with its tail between its legs.

Xu Qingzhi was also very afraid of dogs when she was a child. Many dogs in the village were not on leashes. When she was riding her bicycle to school and passed by someone's house, the dog pounced directly at her, scaring her so much that she almost fell off the curb.

Later, every time she passed by that house, she would always be worried and think, I hope the dog is not there, and then she would speed up the pace of pedaling her bike.

If unfortunately the dog was there, it would always chase her for dozens of meters without giving up, as if it was very happy to hear her crying out of fear.

Because once she looked back with tears in her eyes, and the stinky dog ​​was standing there, smiling at her back and wagging its propeller-like tail excitedly.

Xu Qingzhi looked at the children in front of him and took out a few candies from his pocket.

"Here, let me give you something delicious to calm you down."

This is candy made with honey from space, and it tastes much better than the various candies with messy additives on the market.

Xu Qingzhi doesn’t eat it often, only occasionally.

The children had no guard against strangers at all. They happily took the gifts and said thank you to the sister.

Xu Qingzhi was strolling at the time, so he simply followed them all the way to school. They passed by Daji Primary School and the children still walked without stopping.

She asked them curiously, "Aren't you going to school? Isn't it over there?"

A child looked in the direction Xu Qingzhi pointed and said, "The school over there closed down a few years ago. We all have to go to the primary school in town."

Xu Qingzhi's eyes darkened.

Town, that's so far.

She never went to town to study, but she rode a tricycle to pick up express deliveries, and it took her dozens of minutes just to ride the tricycle.

I'm afraid I'll have to walk until dawn before I can get to school.

Xu Qingzhi accompanied them all the way to the school. There were many students at the school gate, and many of their parents sent their children there on motorcycles.

As the times progress, more and more young people go to cities to develop, and they bring their children with them.

There are not as many children in the village as when Xu Qingzhi was a child, and there are no schools anymore. The few left-behind children who are forced to stay at home have to go to schools farther away in order to study.

Caring parents will send their children there, but if the family is only staffed by grandparents and has no means of transportation, it will be impossible for them to send their children there at all.

Xu Qingzhi recalled the countless times when she was a child and was afraid of encountering dogs. She went home crying and told her parents that she had encountered that dog again.

Perhaps, she can do something meaningful in her retirement life.