Chapter 51 "Teacher Shu? Where did you come from...?"
Shu Ran sat in the empty conference room for a while. The yellow glow of the kerosene lamp cast her shadow on the earthen wall. Outside, she heard a few barks from dogs and the footsteps of people leaving after evening study sessions.
"Agreed in principle, figure it out yourself." This sentence swirled in her mind, carrying a heavy weight. To say there were no results was an oversimplification; the branch had given its approval, making it legitimate. Yet, to say there were results was equally unrealistic; it was essentially a blank sheet of paper.
She turned off the light and walked out in the dark. The company headquarters courtyard was empty, with only a little light still on in the duty room.
Just as I reached the courtyard gate, a deep voice suddenly came from the shadows: "Teacher Shu."
Shu Ran paused, startled, but managed to remain calm, recognizing Chen Yuanjiang. He leaned against the earthen wall in the shadows, almost blending into the night.
"Officer Chen." Shu Ran stopped, wondering why he was waiting there. What follow-up instructions did he have?
Chen Yuanjiang stepped out of the shadows. "Have you all understood the branch's resolution?"
"I understand," Shu Ran replied, trying to keep her tone calm. "Thank you for speaking up for me at the meeting."
“I’m not trying to help you,” Chen Yuanjiang said in a flat tone. “I’m just stating the facts. Safety in production starts with prevention.”
He paused, as if glancing at her, though his expression was obscured in the darkness: "Are you feeling lost and uncertain?"
Shu Ran remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.
“Roads are made by walking.” Chen Yuanjiang’s voice was still cold, but the content of his words made Shu Ran prick up her ears. “The division headquarters has a small special construction subsidy every year. The amount is not large and is specifically for grassroots companies to solve problems like yours that are urgent, difficult and dangerous but do not qualify for large projects. You need to write a detailed application report and compete with other companies in the division. The division headquarters will review it.”
Shu Ran's heart skipped a beat. Subsidy? Competition?
Chen Yuanjiang continued, "Every year when the regimental headquarters' logistics warehouse is cleared out, a batch of old supplies are discarded. These things are not valued by serious projects, but it's a waste to dispose of them as scrap. Old Jiang, who is in charge of the warehouse, is stubborn but sticks to his principles. If you can persuade him, you might be able to get some things out of him."
Shu Ran's eyes lit up.
"And another thing," Chen Yuanjiang added, his gaze seemingly sweeping across the dark pastoral area in the distance, "the people in the pastoral areas have an expectation for knowledge. Old Aken mentioned the knowledge yurts last time. They may not be able to provide bricks, tiles, or timber, but they might be able to contribute wool, manpower, and even insulation and moisture protection after the classrooms are built. How you mobilize them is up to you."
He gave three paths, pointing in a direction for each, but none of them sounded easy.
However, with a specific goal, even if it's difficult, you'll know where to focus your efforts.
"I understand." Shu Ran took a deep breath, the cool night air penetrating her lungs and making her much more awake. "Thank you for your guidance."
"Hmm," Chen Yuanjiang responded, seemingly having no intention of saying anything more, before turning to disappear into the night.
“Officer Chen,” Shu Ran suddenly called out to him, asking a question that had been lingering in her mind for days, “the chalk stubs and plaster powder I found in the classroom a few days ago…”
Chen Yuanjiang stopped in his tracks, not turning around, only his voice coming calmly: "The division's security department was clearing out old and unusable materials, and since they looked usable, they had them brought over. What, they're unusable?"
"...It works. It works very well." Shu Ran looked at his back, her suspicions were put to rest, and some other emotions welled up inside her, which she couldn't quite put her finger on.
"As long as it works." After saying that, he really left this time, his footsteps quickly disappearing into the darkness.
Shu Ran stood there for a while, then slowly walked back. The feeling of powerlessness hadn't completely dissipated, but it had been suppressed by a more urgent sense of calculation and planning. How should she write the subsidy application to impress the reviewers? What are Old Jiang's preferences at the regimental warehouse? How should she approach the pastoral area?
She walked to the vicinity of the tool shed, but instead of returning to her dormitory, she went to the small open space behind the shed that she had already spotted. She took out the half of her treasured chalk from her pocket and, by the dim moonlight, drew a large rectangle on the ground.
That was the size of the classroom in her mind.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Shu Ran got up and went to the open space behind the tool shed.
Stone, Shuanzhu, and two other older children were already waiting there.
"Have you found anything about those old things I asked you to inquire about before?"
"Yes!" Stone eagerly reported, "My dad said there's an old pickaxe at home with a broken handle, and he'll donate it if the school needs it!"
"I have half a broken hemp rope at home!"
"Tiedan's family has an old, broken tin bucket that they no longer need!"
The children chattered amongst themselves, reporting all sorts of rubbish, but Shu Ran listened attentively.
"Okay, put all these things together in the corner behind the shed first." She directed, then took out a small notebook. "Next, we have a new task. Shi Tou, you take two people and go find out in our company if anyone has vegetables they can't finish growing on their private plots, or if they have dried vegetables or eggs they're reluctant to eat and want to exchange them for needles and thread. Don't force them, just ask. Write down what they're willing to exchange and how much they'll exchange for."
Shuanzhu scratched his head: "Teacher Shu, what do we need vegetables for? The school doesn't cook."
“It will be useful.” Shu Ran didn’t explain further, then looked at another older girl, “Chuncao, take a few female classmates and ask the aunts and uncles in each household if they have any scraps of cloth, old yarn, or anyone who knows how to do handicrafts. Write them down.”
Although the children were puzzled, seeing how seriously Teacher Shu was speaking, they all obeyed and went to do so.
Shu Ran went to the tofu shop. Li Xiulan had just finished a round of work and was washing the pots.
"Xiulan, that tofu dregs...?"
Li Xiulan looked around and lowered her voice: "I talked to the master for a long time, and he said that pigs need to eat good food to gain weight... However, he said that he can leave you a small basin of the last bit of food each day, which can't be filtered out completely. Just a small basin!"
“A small pot is enough!” Shu Ran smiled. “Thank you so much, Xiu Lan!”
Li Xiulan smiled and said, "Sister Shuran, I'm happy to be able to help you. I know that these strange and unusual things of yours must be very useful."
After school in the afternoon, Shu Ran didn't leave immediately. She watched as the children piled up the broken pickaxes, scrap iron, rusty sickles, old wooden sticks—and the small basin of tofu dregs—that she had asked them to collect during the day behind the tool shed.
As Sister Wang passed by, she stared in disbelief: "Teacher Shu, what are you doing now? Gathering all this scrap metal and making this smelly tofu dregs?"
Shu Ran rolled up her sleeves and vigorously stirred the tofu dregs with the dug-up soil and chopped wheat straw, without looking up: "Big sister, this is good stuff. When making adobe bricks, adding a little of this increases the stickiness and makes the bricks less prone to cracking. Let me see if I can pick out anything that can be repaired from this scrap metal. It will come in handy when building houses, laying foundations, and mixing mud."
Sister Wang's mouth dropped open, and it took her a while to close it: "Oh my God... you're really something... you can even put tofu dregs to good use!"
Shu Ran straightened up, wiped her sweat, and looked at the pile of things with bright eyes: "There's no other way. The branch said I have to figure it out myself. Aren't these things the solution?"
She picked up the half-rusted pickaxe, weighed it in her hand, and looked at the basin of mud mixed with tofu dregs. She thought to herself: once the tools and equipment for sifting are more complete, we can try to make the first mud brick that belongs to Qiming Primary School on this open space.
For several nights in a row, the kerosene lamp in the classroom stayed on very late. She hunched over the lectern, writing and drawing on the back of a notebook filled with numbers and sketches, as well as several scrap reports she had gotten from Accountant Shi.
Writing a grant application report is difficult. It requires explaining the difficulties without playing the victim; it needs to demonstrate the necessity of the grant without appearing unrealistic; it needs to be detailed without being verbose. She wasted several pages.
On the third night, as she was racking her brains over a description, she heard two soft knocks outside the window.
Shu Ran was startled and asked warily, "Who?"
There was a moment of silence outside, then Chen Yuanjiang's voice came through: "Add 'in response to the superior's call to strengthen the construction of grassroots education facilities' to the beginning of the report."
Shu Ran's heart skipped a beat. She quickly went to the door, opened it which was propped open with a thick wooden stick, and cracked it open a little. It was pitch black outside; she could only see a blurry outline.
“The division’s review team values this.” Chen Yuanjiang’s voice was low and his speech was fast. “The data comes from Appendix 3 of the newly issued ‘Standards for the Simple Construction of Production and Living Facilities in Grassroots Companies of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.’ I’ve put the page number under the brick on the windowsill.”
Shu Ran subconsciously turned her head to look at the windowsill and sure enough, she saw a corner of paper.
"In the section on loss estimation, add 'may affect the steady progress of work on ethnic unity,' and change the ending wording to 'respectfully request the organization to review and approve,' instead of using 'hope.'"
After he finished speaking, he paused for a moment, seemingly listening to the sounds outside, and then the footsteps faded into the distance, so light they were almost inaudible.
Shu Ran leaned against the door, her heart pounding. She slowly walked to the window, pulled out the page, which had a clear page number and a line of standard document citation format. She returned to the table and quickly began revising, based on the points she had just heard.
Before dawn the next day, there were rustling sounds in the dormitory. Sister Wang was the first to get up, and Li Xiulan also sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she started to get dressed.
"Teacher Shu, you stayed up so late again yesterday?" Sister Wang asked in a low voice. "Look at your eyes, they're all bloodshot. What report is so important?"
Shu Ran sat up and put on her old coat: "It's just a report to apply for building classrooms, so we need to come up with a decent plan."
"Sigh, it must be tough on you," Sister Wang sighed. "What's the use of just having rules?"
Li Xiulan leaned closer and whispered, "Teacher Shu, I collected some more tofu dregs yesterday and put them in that broken earthenware pot in the corner. When do you think we should use them?"
"Leave it for now, we'll talk about it when I get back from the regimental headquarters." Shu Ran carefully tucked the stack of reports into her bosom, then picked up a cold steamed bun. "I'm leaving now, big sister, Xiulan."
She had to go to the regimental headquarters to submit a report first, and then try her luck at the logistics warehouse.
She climbed out of the dugout. The sky was overcast, and there were already voices and footsteps in the company. She hurried a few steps to the company gate to wait for the tractor that only ran to the regimental headquarters every three to five days.
The tractor came chugging along, billowing black smoke. Several people were already sitting in the back, all on their way to the regimental headquarters for business or to visit relatives. Shu Ran greeted the driver, laboriously climbed into the back, and found a corner to huddle in.
Upon arriving at the regimental headquarters, she jumped out of the car, brushed off the dirt covering her body, and went straight to the office to submit her report.
The regimental headquarters office was more imposing and had more people than the company headquarters. Submitting the report went smoothly; the person who received it simply said, "Wait for further notice," and then nothing more.
She didn't linger and asked several more people before finally finding the area of the logistics warehouse. It was located at the very edge of the regimental headquarters, a row of adobe warehouses with some miscellaneous items piled up at the entrance.
From afar, she saw a lean old man wearing a faded old military uniform and arm sleeves. He had a serious and focused expression and was taking inventory in a notebook, ignoring Shu Ran.
"Master Jiang?" Shu Ran called out tentatively, forcing a smile. "Hello, I'm Teacher Shu from the Livestock Farm Elementary School..."
Before he could finish speaking, Old Jiang's eyelids drooped: "Get the stuff? A slip of paper!"
"Uh...it's not about receiving anything." Shu Ran tried to sound respectful and sincere. "Master Jiang, our company wants to build a new classroom for the children. The Party branch approved it, but we don't have anything. I heard you have some discarded old materials here, do you think we could..."
"No!" Old Jiang said firmly, slamming the notebook shut. "Neither good nor broken! Where did you hear all this gossip?"
Shu Ran, unwilling to give up, tried to persuade him: "Master Jiang, please, have some compassion and take a look? The shed where the children are having class leaks every time it rains, it's like a waterfall..."
“Which company isn’t struggling? If everyone came to ask for things like you, how am I supposed to manage this warehouse?” Old Jiang waved his hand impatiently. “Go away, don’t delay my work.”
Shu Ran persisted, pestering him, "We don't need anything good, just things you're prepared to dispose of as scrap. Torn tarpaulins, bent rafters, rusty nails—anything will do! We'll pick them up ourselves!"
Old Jiang, unable to bear her pestering him any longer, suddenly stopped and glared at her: "Go away! Young lady, what are you doing, pestering me! I'm doing things by the rules! Without a note, no amount of pleading will work!"
Just as Shu Ran was at her wit's end, a somewhat familiar voice interrupted: "Hey, isn't this Teacher Shu from the Livestock Company? What are you doing here?"
Shu Ran turned around and saw that it was Zhang, the logistics officer of the regiment headquarters, the Shandong man who had received her last time. He was pushing a bicycle over with a net bag hanging on the handlebars, containing a few steamed buns.
"Officer Zhang!" Shu Ran exclaimed as if she had seen a savior, and quickly explained the situation again.
Upon hearing this, Officer Zhang laughed, propped up his bicycle, and patted Old Jiang on the shoulder: "Old Jiang, don't be so rigid! Teacher Shu isn't doing this for herself, but for the children. Those things piled up in the corner that might be useful are good for sheltering the children from the wind and rain! Consider it supporting education! You old revolutionary, you need to catch up with the times!"
Old Jiang wasn't as aggressive towards Zhang, but he still stuck to his neck: "Easy for you to say. If we give them the stuff and something goes wrong, who will be responsible? Rules are rules!"
"What could possibly happen? What could possibly happen with a few old, tattered tarpaulins?" Officer Zhang laughed, then said to Shu Ran, "Teacher Shu, go take a look at that pile of scrap over there. If you see anything you like, tell Old Jiang and register it. Consider it a loan from you both. You can pay it back later if you find something better!" He winked at Shu Ran.
After saying that, he patted Old Jiang on the shoulder: "Old Jiang, can you at least register me? Give me some face!"
Old Jiang grumbled and grumbled, but eventually managed to get the registration book. Shu Ran understood immediately, quickly thanked him, and ran into the area filled with discarded items.
She rummaged through it for a while, picking out everything usable. Her hands and face were covered in black ash. Finally, she found a few rolls of black tarpaulin with damaged edges but still usable in the middle, a dozen or so slightly bent but still sturdy poplar rafters, a large bag of rusty but not completely rotten nails and screws, and even a small half-bag of cement blocks as hard as stone in the corner.
Old Jiang still had a stern face, but he eventually brought out the notebook and reluctantly let her register. As he registered, he grumbled irritably, "Two rolls of tar paper! Fifteen rafters! Five pounds of nails! Cement... Hmph, can this already glued-on lump still be used? Take it away! Remember, these are all borrowed! You have to return them later!"
"Oh! Thank you, Master Jiang!" Shu Ran bowed repeatedly. She decided to deal with the matter at hand first and worry about the future later.
Shu Ran came out of the yard full of scrap materials in the logistics warehouse. Looking at the huge pile of heavy supplies, the excitement from before had passed. The practical problem was how to get them back.
She tried to move the largest roll of tarpaulin, gritting her teeth and straining for a long time, but only managed to move it a little bit. If she were to do it by herself, she probably wouldn't be able to get it to the tractor parking spot until dark.
Old Jiang stood by with his hands in his pockets, snorting under his nose, clearly not intending to interfere.
Zhang, who was still pushing his bicycle, laughed when he saw this: "Teacher Shu, you're doing something like an ant trying to move Mount Tai. Wait, I'll give you a hand."
He propped up his bicycle, walked over, picked up the bundle of rafters, and weighed it in his hand: "Old Jiang, find a sturdier hemp rope!"
Old Jiang grumbled reluctantly, but still managed to pull out a dirty but sturdy-looking thick hemp rope from inside the house.
Officer Zhang deftly joined the tar paper roll and rafters together, securing them tightly with hemp rope in several loops, tying a knot. Then he pushed the bicycle over, adjusted the handlebars so the seat was facing forward.
"Come on, lend a hand and help me put this big guy on my seat," Officer Zhang called to Shu Ran.
It took the two of them some effort to get the bundle of things onto the bicycle seat and rear rack, with Officer Zhang struggling to hold it up with one hand.
"Take this bag of nails and some cement. The rest, come with me!" Officer Zhang held the handlebars with one hand and the heavy load behind him with the other, pushing the bicycle forward. The bicycle creaked under the weight.
Shu Ran quickly picked up the bag of nails and cement blocks, jogging to catch up, feeling both grateful and apologetic: "Officer Zhang, you've gone to so much trouble! This... this is too much of a burden..."
"Oh, it's nothing!" Officer Zhang was a little out of breath as he pushed, but his tone was still quite relaxed. "The Officer Chen who picked you up before specifically mentioned to me when he came to the regimental headquarters for a meeting last time that your primary school has a teacher from Shanghai, which is quite difficult for one person, and he is so devoted to the children. He asked me to take care of her if I had the chance. I'm just following the instructions of the leaders!"
He said it casually, but Shu Ran understood that he meant it. Chen Yuanjiang had made a similar remark to Officer Zhang in private, and she recalled his perpetually expressionless face.
"Officer Chen... he's just strict about his work." Shu Ran didn't know how to respond, so she mumbled something.
"Being strict is good, being strict is good," Officer Zhang chuckled. "But he really cares about your primary school. Hey, watch your step!"
The road was full of potholes, and the fully loaded bicycle bounced violently. Shu Ran almost lost her balance, and the bag of rusty nails nearly slipped from her hands. She hurriedly grabbed it.
Officer Zhang steadied the vehicle. "These things are only acceptable to you guys. They really take up space in the warehouse. Old Jiang is such a stubborn old man, he's just putting on a brave face, but he actually wishes someone would take them away."
The two talked all the way until they finally arrived at the tractor parking spot. The dilapidated tractor was already waiting there, its trailer empty, and the driver was dozing off against the cab.
"Old Wang! Wake up! I need your help!" Officer Zhang shouted.
Driver Lao Wang came over rubbing his eyes, and when he saw the scene, he laughed: "Hey, Officer Zhang, you've switched to collecting scrap?"
"Stop being so glib! This is a treasure that Teacher Lian Shu from the Animal Husbandry Department found for the school! Hurry up and lend a hand to carry it up the truck!" Officer Zhang said with a smile and a scolding tone.
With the combined effort of the three of them, they managed to unload the heavy bundle of tarpaulin and rafters from the vehicle frame and push it into the tractor's bed. Shu Ran then carefully placed the bag of nails and cement blocks in the corner.
After loading the materials, Shu Ran climbed onto the truck bed, supporting the swaying bundle of building materials, and repeatedly thanked Officer Zhang: "Officer Zhang, thank you so much for today! I really don't know what I would have done without you!"
"No need to thank me, it was nothing." Officer Zhang waved his hand, pushing his bicycle. "Go back and tell Special Commissioner Chen that I, Old Zhang, personally helped him load the goods onto the truck. Make sure he remembers my favor! Haha!"
The tractor sputtered to life, billowing thick black smoke. Shu Ran gripped the side railing of the trailer, watching Officer Zhang push his bicycle further and further away, and finally, a huge weight was lifted from her heart.
Almost all the people in the truck bed had arrived. Shu Ran held tightly to her belongings, watching the mud houses of the regiment headquarters gradually disappear from sight. She was already starting to plan how to make use of this hard-won resource.
By the time the tractor chugged back to the livestock farm, the sun was already setting. After everyone had gotten off the truck, only Shu Ran was left; she was practically half-carrying the bundle of tarpaulin and rafters.
The bumpy ride left her feeling like her bones were about to fall apart, and her face and hair were covered in dust.
Driver Lao Wang parked the tractor in the usual spot in front of the company headquarters, leaned out and shouted into the truck bed, "Teacher Shu! We're here! What are you going to do with all this stuff?"
It was the time to finish work, and the workers carrying their farm tools were walking back in twos and threes. Old Wang's loud voice immediately attracted a lot of attention. Everyone stopped in their tracks when they saw the conspicuous pile of things in the truck bed and Shu Ran, who was covered in dust.
Shu Ran quickly stood up from the bumpy truck bed, grabbed the railing, and jumped off, nearly losing her balance. She brushed the dust off her clothes and said repeatedly, "Master Wang, thank you! Please wait a moment, I'll start unloading right away!"
"Teacher Shu? Where did you get all this stuff?" someone asked loudly.
Before Shu Ran could answer, she saw Company Commander Ma and Zhao Weidong coming out of the company headquarters, seemingly to check on the progress of the canal project. They were also drawn to the commotion.
Zhao Weidong immediately noticed the contents of the truck bed, especially the several rolls of tarpaulin with tattered edges and covered in dust. He strode over, full of surprise: "Shu Ran! What are these? Where did you get them?"
Shu Ran quickly explained, "Reporting to Director Zhao, these are used materials that were salvaged from the regimental logistics warehouse for building classrooms. It was specially approved by Master Jiang and Officer Zhang, and registered for borrowing." She specifically emphasized "borrowing" and "special approval."
Driver Lao Wang chimed in, with the familiarity of a seasoned driver and a hint of schadenfreude: "That's right! Director Zhao, you didn't see it, but the way Teacher Shu was digging through that pile of scrap in the regimental logistics warehouse, wow, it was like panning for gold! Officer Zhang even personally helped him tie it up and carried it to the tractor station on his bicycle. That's quite a bit of face!"
Company Commander Ma walked over with his hands behind his back, peeked into the truck bed, and clicked his tongue: "Oh? Old Jiang, that miser, finally agreed to pluck some feathers? Or did Officer Zhang put in a good word for him? These are all... discarded items?" He picked up a bent rafter and weighed it in his hand.
"Yes, they're all old, but they should be usable after some cleaning," Shu Ran quickly added. "The branch told me to figure something out, so I'll give it a try..."
Looking at the pile of things and then at the onlookers, Zhao Weidong raised a question: "Old things are good, they're free! But this dilapidated stuff, can it even be used? What if it falls on someone before the building is even finished?"
Company Commander Ma tried to smooth things over: "Hey, Lao Zhao, something's better than nothing. It's quite an achievement that Teacher Shu managed to get these things. We can't let the kids keep having classes in a leaky shed." He turned to Shu Ran, "Where do you plan to put these things?"
This got to the heart of the matter. Shu Ran had already thought it through: "Company Commander, there's an open space behind the tool shed that the branch has allocated for the classroom. Can we just pile them up there temporarily? I promise they'll be neatly stacked and won't obstruct movement."
Company Commander Ma waved his hand: "Alright, alright, just leave it there for now. Keep an eye on it, don't let the kids touch or crawl around and get their hands pricked."
At this moment, Sister Wang, Li Xiulan, and several other family members, including Zhang Guifen and Wang Cuihua, also arrived after hearing the news. Upon seeing the contents of the truck bed, they all started discussing it animatedly.
"Oh dear! It's really tarpaulin! It's a bit torn, but it'll definitely hold up after some repairs!"
"These rafters are made of poplar wood, they look alright, just straighten them and they'll be ready to be used on the roof!"
"We still have nails! Now we don't have to worry!"
"Teacher Shu, you're amazing! You really managed to find a good opportunity!"
Sister Wang, with her loudest voice, immediately started directing: "Don't just stand there! Gentlemen, lend a hand and help Teacher Shu unload these things! Old Wang, could you please stop for a little while longer?"
Driver Lao Wang chuckled, turned off the engine, jumped out of the car, and stood by with his hands in his pockets, watching the commotion: "It's alright, it'll only take a little while, just hurry up and you'll be fine!"
At Sister Wang's shout, several enthusiastic employees and their families immediately came forward. The men jumped onto the truck bed and handed down the heavy rolls of tarpaulin and rafters, which the women and teenagers below carried, some lifting and some carrying. Shu Ran also busied herself helping to move them to the open space behind the tool shed.
Li Xiulan was too weak to do heavy work, so she ran around with her little notebook, muttering to herself: "Slow down, slow down, don't tear the tar paper... Put the rafters over there, yes, stack them neatly... Nails! Be careful with that bag of nails, don't spill them..."
Accountant Shi strolled over with his hands behind his back. Looking at the lively scene, especially the half-bag of lumpy cement, he pushed up his glasses and said to Shu Ran, "Teacher Shu, these lumps of cement can be broken up with a hammer and sieved when needed, and then they can still be used. It's just a lot of work."
"Oh! Thank you for reminding me, Accountant Shi!" Shu Ran quickly wrote it down.
Zhao Weidong watched for a while, observing the crowd busily yet orderly placing the materials on the open ground, stacking them fairly neatly. He ultimately said nothing more, only telling Company Commander Ma, "I'll go check on the canal," before turning and leaving. Company Commander Ma watched for a while longer, then also strolled away with his hands behind his back.
There wasn't much stuff, but with many people working together, the unloading was completed quickly.
Seeing that most of the items had been unloaded, Old Wang called out to Shu Ran, "Teacher Shu, is everything ready? I'm leaving now!"
"It's all here! Thank you so much, Master Wang!" Shu Ran quickly ran over to express her gratitude, and casually took out a small paper packet from her pocket containing two pieces of fruit candy, which she then stuffed into Old Wang's hand.
Old Wang paused for a moment, then chuckled and took it without any hesitation: "Oh, there's this good stuff! Thanks, Teacher Shu! You can ride in my tractor again next time you go to the regimental headquarters!" After saying that, he started the tractor and drove off amidst a sputtering sound and black smoke.
Behind the tool shed, a pile of old building materials was stacked there like a small hill.
Zhang Guifen wiped her hands on her apron, looked at the pile of things, and sighed, "Now we're finally getting somewhere!"
Wang Cuihua was a little worried: "We have the materials, but making adobe bricks and building houses is a skilled job, and we can't rely on just the people here..."
Shu Ran's face was covered in sweat and dust, but she smiled contentedly: "Take it slow. I'll see if I can ask Master Qian to give me some pointers on the technical skills. I'll learn slowly. In the end, I'll still need everyone's help!"
"no problem!"
"Ready to respond at any time!"
The family members echoed their sentiments, creating a lively atmosphere.
They looked at Shu Ran with more trust and admiration in their eyes. This female teacher from Shanghai looked delicate and frail, but they didn't expect her to have such tenacity, managing to dig out all this stuff.
The next day, Shu Ran didn't rush to start work. Instead, she took a bag of apples she had exchanged with her saved grain coupons and went to the pastoral area again. When she found Old Aken, he was repairing a saddle with Adil. Ayman was lying nearby, writing on the ground with a twig.
Shu Ran didn't sit down, but stood up and explained the situation at the regimental headquarters, emphasizing that the branch had agreed and that they had also obtained some old materials.
"...I just wanted to get the kids a sturdier place so they wouldn't get cold in the winter." She said very frankly, "I know you're busy moving between locations and have a lot of work to do, so I just came to check if there's anything I can do to lend a hand or give you any suggestions."
Old Akhen listened silently, his hands never stopping. After a while, he spoke up: "Turdi is going to the regimental headquarters to pick up feed in a few days. He can help you pick up some things while he's there."
Turdi chimed in from the side, "I still have a few tanned sheepskins at home. We can lay them on the ground for the children to sit on to keep them dry. We also have some wool, not much. You can trade it for whatever you can."
Adil immediately ran into the yurt and dragged out two thick sheepskins, the wool side of which was soft and fluffy.
Adil looked at Old Aken, then at Shu Ran, and finally blurted out, "I can work on building houses too!"
Old Aken glared at his grandson but didn't argue. He simply said to Shu Ran, "Once the migration is over and the able-bodied men have time, they can go and help for a few days. But you'll have to take care of the food; it must be prepared according to our customs."
"Yes! We'll take care of it! Of course we'll!" Shu Ran quickly agreed, handing the fruit to Ayiman, who was watching expectantly. This far exceeded Shu Ran's expectations.
Back at the company, she lifted the curtain and went into the dugout. Sister Wang was just coming out with a basin of water to splash water. When she saw her, she asked, "Ran, what did they say over in the pastoral area?"
Shu Ran smiled and said, "Sister Wang, I just wanted to discuss something with you..." She told her about the pastoral area's promise to provide manpower, and then said, "...Since they're coming to help, we can't skimp on their food. I still have some grain coupons left in my box. Tomorrow I'll exchange them for some grain and cottonseed oil. If I can buy meat, that would be even better. I'd like to ask you to cook something for us all, so they can have enough to eat before they start working, and it'll also be a good opportunity to improve the meals for their families and children."
Upon hearing this, Sister Wang raised her voice: "That's the truth! You can't just make people work without feeding them! Even landlords pay their day laborers! I'll go with the families to ask if we can scrape together some wild vegetables or dried vegetables. Everyone's pretty poor, so I think they'd be willing! It's all for the children!"
As she spoke, she hurriedly turned to make arrangements, but then suddenly remembered something, stopped in her tracks, turned back, and leaned closer to Shu Ran. Her voice was low, filled with doubt and concern: "Hey, wait... Ran-mei, you just said... to exchange for grain coupons? Those grain coupons, and all those rare things from before, were they all brought from Shanghai? Those were your most precious savings! Building classrooms is a public matter, how can we let you subsidize it yourself? This... this doesn't make sense! If you put it all in, what will you do in the future? In this place, how can you survive without some protection?"
Sister Wang disagreed. In her opinion, public affairs should be handled by the public; it didn't make sense for an individual, especially a single woman, to use her own valuables to pay for it, and it was also heartbreaking. She was afraid that Shu Ran had acted impulsively and done something foolish.
Seeing how genuinely worried Sister Wang was for her, Shu Ran felt a warmth in her heart, smiled, and explained, "Sister, don't worry, I'm not that stupid. I didn't put it up for nothing."
She counted on her fingers for Sister Wang: "I brought some national grain coupons and a little candy from Shanghai, but how much is that? We can't just sit around and eat it all up. I exchanged them for candy for the children in the pastoral areas so that they could come to school with peace of mind. That's called investing in education. Now, I'm using candy and odds and ends to exchange for the support of parents, for labor, for materials, and for everyone to work together. That's called getting big results with small investments."
Her eyes were bright: "Think about it, if the classrooms are really built, the children can go to school properly, and I'll save so much trouble. The sooner the literacy campaign is completed, the more rewards I might get from the higher-ups, like a professional title, or some kind of advanced worker or model worker award. Even if that doesn't happen, the reputation I've built by bringing these children out of poverty will be well-deserved. Besides, I can't buy much here by myself anyway, which is much better than letting those little candies and food coupons mold in my hands, right?"
She paused, then her tone became more earnest: "Besides, I didn't contribute everything. The food rations that everyone chipped in were the main source of income, and my little bit was just the starting point, the stepping stone. It made everyone feel that I, as their teacher, wasn't just all talk but also produced something of substance, so they were more willing to put in the effort. That's called... um... give and take."
Sister Wang listened in a daze, carefully pondering Shu Ran's words. The worry on her face slowly turned into an expression of realization and admiration: "Oh my goodness! Your mind is really... so intricate! Much deeper than I thought!"
She slapped her thigh and laughed, "Okay! As long as you know what you're doing! I was worried you'd do something foolish! Now that you mention it, I understand! I'll go tell them right away that Teacher Shu is even willing to share the treasures she brought from Shanghai with us to exchange for strength, so what's there for us to hesitate about contributing our strength and scraping together some food!"
Now that Sister Wang had no more worries, she turned around and left in a hurry, starting to go door to door to persuade them.
Shu Ran watched Sister Wang's retreating figure and let out a soft sigh. She wasn't entirely selfless; every step she took was tinged with survival wisdom and self-interest. But this self-interest didn't prevent her from also wanting to do something for the children. In this harsh land, perhaps only in this way could she gradually accomplish what she wanted to do.
The news spread quickly. The family members all chimed in, one saying how many bowls of bean noodles, another saying two bundles of firewood.
Two days later, there was finally some activity on the vacant lot next to the adobe yard at the west end of the company.
Master Qian was invited by Shu Ran to be her technical advisor. He stood by with his hands behind his back, giving instructions: "The foundation needs to be dug deeper! This place is very alkaline!"
Three or four men who knew a little about masonry, along with two herders who came after hearing the news, began to clear the ground and dig foundation trenches.
The children ran around, helping to pass small items.
Sister Wang and several other women from her family set up a large pot and built a simple stove with adobe bricks in a sheltered spot some distance away. They put the pot on the stove, boiled water, and placed a basket next to it filled with coarse grain cakes that each family had contributed.
Several little children ran around excitedly, only to be scolded by the adults to stay away from the pit.
Li Xiulan sat on a small stool with a table made of old wooden planks in front of her. She was recording who had done the work, how long they had worked, how many old tools they had taken, and how much material they had used—all of this was instructed by Shu Ran, so that if anything happened in the future, it would be clear how to handle it.
Zhao Weidong rode by on his bicycle, slowing down.
He watched for a few minutes, observing the bustling yet somewhat rudimentary and chaotic scene, his brows furrowing habitually, but he said nothing.
After a while, he whispered to the technician Ma who was standing next to him, "Keep an eye on them. If their equipment is broken beyond repair, help them fix it in your spare time so it doesn't interfere with their work. Over at the machine repair team, look in the scrap heap for anything that can be used as a ram or a crowbar, so they can save some effort."
This is practically the biggest support they could offer.
After work ended in the evening, everyone dispersed. Shu Ran was still alone in the open space, checking the adobe bricks drying and the half-dug foundation trench. Suddenly, she noticed that the foundation line had been carefully tamped down with someone's feet at some point, and there were two shovels with new handles next to it.
She looked up and glanced around. A figure on horseback was disappearing into the twilight.
Shu Ran walked over, picked up one of the shovels, its handle smooth and easy to handle. She forcefully thrust it into the soil, easily prying up a large clod of hardened earth.
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