"Yeah, Guoan, you take care of Miaomiao. It's just a meal. We are not picky. Why are you preparing so many dishes? You still have to live your life. Save the good things for later."
Old man Li also said that he knew his daughter's heart and was afraid that Pei Guoan would have a grudge against her because of this. These days, there are many people who have to eat coarse food. Let alone have a full meal, it is good enough to be able to fill the stomach. But his own daughter is so extravagant.
Not only did she send so many things back to her parents' home before, but she also spent so much money today. Her son-in-law must think that his daughter is a spendthrift.
"Dad, today is the first year of our separation. It's a rare opportunity to invite you all to have a New Year's dinner. If Miaomiao doesn't want to go, I won't be happy about it. Don't worry, Miaomiao and I are both leaders of the company now, so we can afford a good meal."
What Old Man Li wanted was Pei Guoan's attitude. After hearing what his son-in-law said, he felt very comfortable and was completely relieved about his daughter.
"Yes, Dad, Big Brother, you have all given me a lot of money over the years, and I'm also grateful to my sisters-in-law for their tolerance. I was so naive in the past, but they didn't hold it against me. It's just a meal, how can I afford it? Just eat. My cooking skills are much better than before, and I guarantee you will be satisfied."
"My aunt's cooking is delicious, even better than grandma's."
"You little bastard."
There was wine and food, and the atmosphere was great. Everyone had a great time enjoying the New Year's dinner.
"Don't mention it, Miaomiao's cooking skills have really improved. It's even better than what they cook in the big canteens in the city."
After dinner, everyone gathered together for a while in the afternoon before dispersing.
When she returned to the room, Li Miaomiao looked at the bags of things on the ground and opened them.
"By treating them to a meal, they actually subsidize me."
Li Miaomiao's family had always been generous to her. Now that she had split up, even if they sent something over, it wouldn't be cheap for others. Moreover, because of the food they had sent before, their third and fourth sisters-in-law were grateful to them, so they were especially generous this time. There were even fresh apples and malted milk, a few canned meats, and a box of chocolates.
"Your father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brothers have always loved you. We must remember this friendship."
Li Miaomiao nodded. Of course she would remember it. She would accept these things and food for the time being. Thinking about the situation next year, she would first collect these food for her family and send them back when food was scarce.
Time flies, and the Lantern Festival is almost here. Everyone's life is gradually returning to normal.
Apart from the soap factory, the most important thing in the village is the school. The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the first day of school, and they have to make preparations before that. These days, Li Yanan and the teachers in the school have been very busy.
"Village head, I heard that Zhaojia Village will start school on the 14th day of the first lunar month, a day earlier than us, and their tuition is lower than ours. Our school charges four yuan, and they only charge three yuan."
Accountant Wu also received the news at this time.
"The people of Zhaojia Village just love to compete with ours. I heard that Zhao Qingming even guaranteed in front of the Party Secretary and the County Head that the school would be better than ours."
Although Pei Guoan had found a way to help Zhaojia Village overcome the difficulties of the previous incident, otherwise Zhaojia Village would not have been able to celebrate the New Year without so many bricks and tiles being sold. However, even after the incident, the people of Zhaojia Village still liked to compete with Fanglin Village.
"Village Chief, what should we do? Why don't we start school a day earlier and lower the tuition? Our village doesn't need the tuition anyway."
Now that the village has a soap factory, the villagers are more confident and don’t want to be outdone by the people in Zhaojia Village.
"No need. Let's do our own thing. Why bother competing with the people in Zhaojia Village? We run the school for the children in the village. Anyway, the children in our village will not go to Zhaojia Village. Besides, the conditions in our village cannot be compared with those in Zhaojia Village. Zhaojia Village does not have learning materials obtained from the provincial capital. All the facilities in our village school are brand new."
"Uncle Degen is right. Even if we have to compare, we should compare the children's academic performance. The number of students in the school is not a big deal. Our village built its own school. Unlike Zhaojia Village, it uses public funds and doesn't have to answer to anyone. What we really need to do is to let the children study hard and use their achievements to slap Zhaojia Village in the face."
Li Miaomiao walked in from outside with Li Yanan
"Miaomiao said it very well, that's exactly it! We shouldn't compete on these things, but on the quality of teaching and ensuring that the children in our village truly learn something. This is more important than anything that attracts attention."
"That's very well said. You should also remember that our village runs a school to help the children succeed, not to show off. Only when the children succeed will our village have hope and our lives will truly get better and better."
Accountant Wu nodded in agreement. "The village chief is right. We shouldn't follow the example of Zhaojia Village. Living a good life is the real thing. There's no need to argue over trivial matters."
Just like that, everyone reached a consensus and did not change the previously decided things, but they were still holding back some anger and still wanted to surpass Zhaojia Village.
Zhaojia Village directly reduced the tuition fee by one yuan, which still has some impact.
After all, one dollar is a lot of money in the countryside, and it doesn't matter where your children go to school. Many people who originally planned to send their children to study in Fanglin Village decided to go to Zhaojia Village on the spur of the moment.
"How is it, are there many people signing up today?"
Zhao Qingmin asked the principal, but the principal frowned, thinking that Zhao Qingmin was interfering too much in school affairs.
Since the school in Zhaojia Village was commissioned by the county, the principal was also transferred from above and was not on the same page as Zhao Qingmin.
The principal was an old man who was somewhat aloof. Originally, he respected Zhao Qingmin because he was the captain of Zhaojia Village. But Zhao Qingmin interfered too much in school affairs, and the principal was unhappy.
"For a rural area, it's quite good to have so many people signing up for school. Captain Zhao, if you don't understand school affairs, don't ask too many questions."
"Principal Su, this is Zhaojia Village. All of Zhaojia Village's affairs are under my jurisdiction. Besides, I've already made a promise to the secretary and the county magistrate to run the school well. How can I not be involved in the school's affairs?"
Principal Su's face turned a little ugly when he heard this. He was not happy to come to such a rural place in the first place. If it were not for the sake of looking good on his resume, he would not have come at all if the word "deputy" was missing in front of the title.
Principal Su was also aware of what Zhao Qingmin had promised the secretary and county magistrate, and he felt that Zhao Qingmin was being overly nervous. "I heard that the principal of Fanglin Village is a young educated youth with no previous teaching experience. Captain Zhao, what exactly are you worried about? Am I really inferior to a female comrade who knows nothing?"
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