A group of people, without making a sound, casually passed meat to the children and elderly people next to them during the intervals of their conversation. The children's eyes lit up, but they dared not eat it, while the elderly people simply pushed it back.
Meng Wan sat at the very end of the table, seemingly inconspicuous, yet she had a perfect view of the entire scene at the table.
"Eat more so you'll have the strength to help me carry my schoolbag later."
"Eat, eat more, eat your fill." Li Susu swallowed and pushed the bowl back.
"Meat is placed on the table for us to eat. No one should eat more or less."
Li Susu blinked and saw Meng Wan push the bowl back.
Even though my younger sister is with my parents and gets to eat many things she's never tried before, she still tries to snatch snacks from them when my parents first bring them to her.
Whenever she cries, even if she hasn't eaten any herself, her mother will say: "You're the older sister, can't you give in to your younger sister? How can you be so inconsiderate! You're the older sister, eating a little less won't hurt you, why are you so greedy! How can you be so selfish, don't you know how to share?"
"Yes, thank you." Li Susu lowered her head, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, drowned out by the bustling crowd, but it did not escape Meng Wan's ears.
"You should thank the people who produce the food and the people who cook this meal, not me."
Meng Wan made a "one" gesture with her fingers. "This is the first lesson: enjoy food with gratitude, not with a guilty conscience. Food will be sad too."
Despite being the first lesson, there was absolutely no preachy atmosphere.
Li Susu nodded, her eyes crinkling with a smile, no longer hesitant as she looked at the meat in the bowl, and started eating.
At the lively long table, the two quietly finished their dinner.
After they had almost finished eating, the young people were quite efficient and quickly cleaned up the dishes and the mess. The older generation tried to help, but the young people easily persuaded them to stay.
Meng Wan has never done housework since childhood, but she is very good at adapting to local customs and has no trace of the spoiled nature that a young lady should have. On the contrary, she is very efficient when it comes to work, and does not seem like someone who has never done housework before.
After the welcoming feast ended, the group of people followed the villagers back to their assigned homes.
Li Susu was being led by Meng Wan, who was carrying Meng Wan's small schoolbag on her back. Li Susu was raised by her grandmother, and she walked unsteadily behind them.
She could tell that her granddaughter really liked the teacher. Even though she didn't sit with her granddaughter during the meal, she kept an eye on her. Seeing her so happy was rare, and Grandma Li was very pleased.
"Grandma Li, I'll be troubling you for the next three months."
The three walked side by side, and before they knew it, they were walking side by side. The other two stood on either side of Grandma Li, keeping pace with her steps.
There were other people traveling the same way around. The path, which had no streetlights, was only illuminated by the white light from flashlights and the flashlights built into mobile phones.
"There's no trouble at all. It's Susu who needs your help. She's a very attentive student in class. She always gets excellent grades on the assignments given by Teacher Wang, and she always gets full marks on tests. She's also very diligent in her studies."
When talking about her granddaughter, Grandma Li's tone was full of pride.
“I’ve already talked to his parents. When Su Su reaches high school age, we’ll take her to the city to study. In my opinion, there’s no reason why girls can’t go to school.”
Li Susu listened without saying a word. She was raised by her grandmother since she was a child. She studied hard so that she could leave the mountains, get a good education, and earn money to bring her grandmother to the city to enjoy a better life.
She knew that the only person in the world who would unconditionally be good to her was her grandmother.
Following up on the question, Meng Wan quickly learned the general situation of the village.
Most households here consist of elderly people living alone and children left behind by their parents. In a few households, the women stay at home to take care of the children while the men go out to earn money. The young men who stay in the village are mostly disabled and are responsible for growing vegetables and selling them at the market.
In previous years, college students have come to the village to teach, but they usually only stay for a month and then leave. It is rare to see someone like them who stay for half a year.
I heard it was the result of communication between the village chief and the government. If this goes well, teachers will be sent here regularly to teach students, and new educational resources and road construction funds will be invested. When the hometown develops, it will be beneficial to future generations.
This is why the whole village attaches such importance to this teaching assistant team.
They had simple ideas; they believed that only by leaving the mountains could they find hope.
That's true. Although they have no diplomas or academic qualifications, they can only find the most menial manual labor jobs.
Li Susu's family is considered one of the better-off families in the village, having even renovated their house. Despite this, they still can't afford to support their two children in a big city.
Nevertheless, the money earned was still more than one could earn in a lifetime living in the mountains.
More and more young people are leaving their hometowns, and what's worse, once they leave, they don't want to come back.
The elderly and children left behind in the mountains become lonely elderly and left-behind children. With insufficient educational resources, what awaits them is becoming parents and becoming the next wave of migrant workers.
If this cooperation goes smoothly and educational resources keep up, children will have more opportunities. With government support and encouragement for young people to return, their hometowns will develop, and young people will naturally stop thinking about going to big cities to make a living and instead use what they have learned to help their hometowns become better.
Wang Dexiang thoroughly analyzed the pros and cons, and poured the key points into their minds.
Everyone here is putting in a lot of effort, hoping to successfully reach a cooperation agreement and make their hometown a better place.
If you tell them what benefits they might receive, the elderly might not listen, but if you tell them what benefits their children and grandchildren might receive, they will definitely listen.
"Wanwan, this is your room. It's a bit simple, but the blankets and pillows are new and I've aired them out. You can use them without worry."
Li Susu's house isn't big; the entire house combined might not even be as big as one of the Meng family's living rooms. The rooms are also small, with a 1.2-meter bed, a cabinet, and a desk, which is basically enough to fill the space.
The old man said this was the house where Li Susu's parents stayed when they came back, but they hadn't been back for the past two years, so the room had been empty. This time, they simply cleaned it up and gave it to Meng Wan to live in.
Meng Wan thanked him, but before she could take another look, Li Susu pulled her to tour her room.
The room was even smaller than Meng Wan's, without even a wardrobe. The bed and desk were arranged in a straight line, leaving only a narrow passage. But Li Susu was still very happy. She said that her parents had bought her the desk three years ago; it was a pink princess desk that was very popular at the time.
It's clear that Li Susu cherishes it very much; it doesn't look like it's been used for three years at all. It's very new, with several books with curled edges and two thin picture books on it.
Even so, Li Susu's family is still considered one of the best in the village.
Although she had prepared herself mentally from the beginning, Meng Wan was still somewhat moved after seeing and learning about their lives firsthand.
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