Chapter 188 The Benefactor of Dahe Village
On the ridge of the field.
Countless people flocked to the scene.
In that shallow layer of water, there were green rice stalks, with long, slender leaves growing out, and green ears of grain in the middle.
These ears of grain brought tears to the eyes of countless farmers standing on the edge of the fields, their throats choked with emotion.
If only I had known earlier... if only I had known that leaving rice stubble would allow rice to grow, then last year, we wouldn't have gone hungry, and no one in my family would have starved to death.
Some people cried, some were excited, and some even knelt down on the edge of the field.
Grain is always the most important thing to farmers, surpassing everything else in the world.
Although the autumn harvest has just begun, this year's harvest was less than expected. The harvested grain will need to be sold to buy oil, salt, winter clothes, and medicine. The family's food reserves may not last until next year.
Now that another round of grain has been harvested, we won't have to worry about food for at least six months.
Although the villagers were illiterate, they were not ignorant fools. Even the most sarcastic and mean-spirited people looked at Cheng Wanwan with gratitude in their eyes.
"Oh God..."
"Grandma Dashan, you are the benefactor of our Dahe Village!"
"If it weren't for you, who would have thought that rice could grow back in the field? You deserve my bow!"
Old Mrs. Zhu knelt down on the ground, insisting on kowtowing to Cheng Wanwan.
Cheng Wanwan dared not accept such a grand gesture, and she quickly helped the old man up.
She looked at everyone present and said, "I only put forward an idea. It was because all of you were willing to believe in me that we had a second harvest. This is not my achievement alone..."
The village head trembled as he looked at the thousands of acres of farmland, his heart surging with excitement.
He turned to look at Cheng Wanwan, thinking about all the things that had happened during this time. If Dashanniang wasn't a woman, how could he possibly be sitting in this position? He silently made a decision in his heart: from now on, no matter what Dashanniang says, he will obey her unconditionally, without asking why, and just do it.
The village head stood on the edge of the field and shouted, "After the harvest, every household must send ten catties of rice to Grandma Dashan. Does anyone have any objections to this?"
The rest of the village had already discussed this matter, and most people had no objections.
Although a small number of people were reluctant to give up ten kilograms of grain, they knew in their hearts that if they dared to oppose it, they would be despised by the whole village.
Dahe Village is a unified entity; everyone works together and faces challenges together. Being ostracized leads to being marginalized, and no one wants to be the one who is marginalized.
Therefore, this point was unanimously approved by everyone in the village.
"And another matter, the construction of the school," the village headman continued. "Our village now has nearly two hundred households. If each household contributes four hours of labor, that is, if each household sends one person to work half a day, we will try to build the school within three to five days. Some people may say that they don't have children to study and are unwilling to contribute labor. That's fine too. But if your son has a grandson who is gifted in education, don't send him here. Without someone contributing labor, no descendant of that lineage is allowed to study at the school!"
Everything around them quieted down.
There are currently more than 70 children in the village attending school, which means that about one-third of the households send their children to school.
The remaining two-thirds of the households are not unwilling to let their children go to school, but are poor, lack suitable children in their families, or lack the awareness to do so.
But can poverty last forever?
If there are no suitable students, then will there be no suitable children for education for generations to come?
Previously, no one in Dahe Village went to school, and the villagers were indeed unaware of this. However, recently everyone has noticed that all the children who come to school seem to have a hint of Cheng Zhao's qualities. If their own children could be as outstanding as Cheng Zhao, everyone would sell their possessions to send their children to school.
"Uncle Village Head, my family is sending two people to do the work!"
“My eldest grandson is two years old now. He will be able to start school in another year. We will also build a school.”
"We'll all go!"
The men in the village responded enthusiastically and worked with great energy.
Li Zheng announced on the spot that construction would begin first thing tomorrow morning and that they would strive to complete the project within three days.
The villagers dispersed, and the village head walked up to Cheng Wanwan and said, "Auntie Dashan, you go to town a lot and know a lot of people. Do you think you can ask someone to help introduce someone to teach in our village? It doesn't have to be a scholar; an old scholar is fine too. Our village will provide food and lodging."
Since we're going to build houses anyway, it won't be a problem to build an extra room for the teachers.
Furthermore, there are many children in the village now that they are in school. With enough food, each household can squeeze out some money. Each child receives several dozen copper coins a month for tuition, which adds up to quite a bit. If that's not enough, the village can take some more from its public account to give the teacher two taels of silver, which shouldn't be too stingy.
Hearing this, Cheng Zhao walked over and asked, "Village head, is there something I haven't done well enough?"
“How could you have such thoughts, child?” the village head said kindly. “It’s because you’re too good that you’re being asked to teach the children to read. It’s such a waste of your time. The provincial examination is in March or sometime next year, and it’s not long now. How can you spend every day with these good-for-nothings? You should spend all your time studying hard and try to pass the exam so that we people in Dahe Village can be proud.”
Although this child wasn't from Dahe Village and didn't have the surname Zhao, he had lived in Dahe Village for several months and had long regarded Cheng Zhao as one of the village's children.
Several villagers passing by chimed in.
"Yes, Cheng Tongsheng, you should study hard. We can't let these rascals in our village stop you from passing the imperial examination."
"With more and more children, you're getting more and more stressed. How can you let this delay your bright future?"
"We are still counting on you to become an official and bring benefits to the people in our village."
Cheng Wanwan said, "Uncle Lizheng is right. You should focus more on your studies."
Cheng Zhao pursed his lips and said, "I will return all the tuition fees from before to everyone."
"No need for that," the village head said with a smile. "Old scholars aren't that easy to find. You should finish teaching this month first, and keep what's rightfully yours. Although we villagers are poor, we won't be stingy with this little bit of food."
The village head left after speaking, in a very good mood.
Cheng Zhao's feelings were complicated. He stayed in Dahe Village to teach, but now that the village head didn't need him anymore, did he have to leave?
This wasn't his home, but he felt a pang of reluctance to leave.
"Second Aunt, I'm going back to read now."
Cheng Zhao returned to the new house with mixed feelings. There was a room that belonged to him, a large bedroom with a desk facing the window, which was very bright and the sunlight illuminated the books on the desk.
He looked out the window and saw Shen Zheng in the courtyard.
Shen Zheng and Zhao Sidan were playing with Xiaodian, throwing something out of their hands and having Xiaodian fetch it back, having a great time.
For some reason, he called out, "Shen Zheng, come here for a moment."
Shen Zheng patted Xiao Dian's head, then leaned against the window without going inside, and asked with a slight smile, "What's up?"
Cheng Zhao asked him seriously, "Your father said he would take you back to Dahe Village after ten or fifteen days, why haven't you left yet?"
"What do you mean? You want to kick me out? I'm not leaving!" Shen Zheng raised his chin. "Aunt Zhao said she wants to adopt me as her godson. I can stay as long as I want. Once I become her godson or stepson... cough cough, even if you and Aunt Zhao are related by blood, you can't compare to me, hmph!"
He swaggered away.
As Cheng Zhao watched his retreating figure, a sudden sense of enlightenment washed over him.
No one was driving him away, and no one wanted him to leave, so why did he start imagining parting in his mind so quickly?
It's not time to leave yet.
Let's wait a little longer.
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