When Sun Shouyi and Zhu Youliang arrived, they saw Liang Yuan explaining a question to Shousheng.
After she finished speaking, Sun Shouyi asked her, "Where is your aunt?"
"He went to pick vegetables and said he wanted to keep us here for dinner." Liang Yuan handed the notebook in his hand to Shousheng.
Sun Shouyi nodded and looked at Wang Shousheng again, "Why did you come early today?"
Wang Shousheng looked at Zhu Youliang, then at Liang Yuan, and suddenly knelt down.
Sun Shouyi saw this, but didn't know what he was going to do, so he immediately scolded him, "Stupid!"
Zhu Youliang and Liang Yuan were completely confused. After exchanging a glance, Liang Yuan finally said, "Shousheng, get up quickly. What are you doing?"
Sun Shouyi snorted coldly, "I want you to pay for his tuition. He's a good kid, but he has a foolish mother."
Zhu Youliang did not agree immediately but said, "Get up first and tell us what happened."
"I want to study," Shousheng said, and then he started to cry. But he still had some dignity, so he didn't burst into tears. Instead, he turned his face away and sobbed softly. He didn't want to do this, but his mother said that if he didn't, he wouldn't achieve anything by studying on his own. If he really wanted to study, he might as well put down his dignity and ask for permission. Maybe he could get into school. He wanted to study, because studying was the only way to succeed, but his family couldn't even afford to eat, so how could they afford to send him to school?
Zhu Youliang squatted down, looked him straight in the eye, and said, "There's nothing wrong with wanting to study, but your method is wrong. It disgusts me. If you kneel down, I won't pay for your education. You don't know, although your aunt and I are both working, we have parents and children to support at home, and we have to pay for the tuition of more than a dozen girls every year. The burden is heavy on us."
"I was wrong, I'm sorry." Wang Shousheng lowered his head and the expectation in his eyes disappeared little by little.
Seeing that his attitude was quite good, Zhu Youliang couldn't help but ask, "Why do you want to study?"
Wang Shousheng didn't answer, but looked at Liang Yuan. Zhu Youliang seemed to be thinking, "You were there when we were giving the speech earlier, right?"
Wang Shousheng nodded and murmured, "I, I just want to have enough to eat every day." There were too many children in his family. It had been better when they lived with their grandparents. Now that the family had split up, even though his parents wanted to live in the fields every day, after paying the levy, it still wasn't enough to eat.
Zhu Youliang patted his head and said, "Go back first. I'll discuss with your aunt and see if we can help you as well."
Wang Shousheng's eyes lit up for a moment, but soon dimmed again. He couldn't help but say, "Forget it. I'll just study with Teacher Sun like I am now. It's not easy for you either."
"Good boy, go ahead." Zhu Youliang stood up and said.
After Wang Shousheng left, he asked Sun Shouyi again: "Which village is he from? Why haven't I seen him before?"
"The one across the bay has many children, and they are all small. The family split up, his father has a lame leg, and his mother is weak. They can't even get enough to eat, let alone money to go to school. Last year, he was listening to classes in the classroom behind the school. After I found him a few times, I gave him a set of old books and told him to ask me if he didn't understand. The child is a good child, much more diligent than you were before. Even the notebook in his hand was earned by fishing and shrimping everywhere. However, don't think about taking on too much. Do things according to your ability. There are many people like him in the village, and you can't help them all." Sun Shouyi said as he took a sip of tea.
Liang Yuan said, "I thought everyone's life had gotten better these past two years, but it turns out there are still many struggling. Didn't two girls drop out earlier? Let Shousheng take one of the places." Liang Yuan felt frustrated when she mentioned this. Tuition had increased slightly over the past two years, but they still insisted on providing financial support. It was the parents who were reluctant. As the children grew older, they asked the parents to take care of the younger children or do farm work, but nothing they could say was effective. Changing this situation would take time. Of the first group of children we sponsored, only seven remain in school. Although a few children from neighboring Bay were added later, there are still only ten girls. Each child costs 15 yuan per semester, so ten would come to 150 yuan. Adding Shousheng would bring the total to 165 yuan, which they could afford. However, the cost of junior high school would be much higher, so they didn't dare sponsor too many.
Sun Shouyi nodded and said, "You guys can do whatever you want. Just don't try to be too arrogant."
Zhu Youliang smiled and said, "Don't worry, Teacher Sun. We definitely won't. But relying solely on Yuanyuan and I for financial support won't solve the problem. After all, our abilities are limited. The key is to make everyone rich. With money, everyone will definitely be willing to send their children to school."
"You are not talking nonsense!" Teacher Sun rolled his eyes.
Zhu Youliang said, "When I get home, I'll think about what we can do in the village. We can't stay poor like this forever."
Sun Shouyi subconsciously wanted to refute, but he took the words back. This student's brain had become more and more flexible in recent years, as if he had been enlightened. Maybe he could really come up with a solution, so he changed the subject and said, "Then you have to think about it carefully."
Liang Yuan said from the side, "I do have an idea. Most of the aunts know how to sew, and some can even embroider. If we can organize everyone and go wholesale some rubber bands and clips, and then go to the textile factory to buy some scraps of cloth, decorate them, and make some hair ornaments and hairpins or something like that, that would be great. But the style needs to be novel and beautiful to sell. We can ask the aunts to design some classical and elegant ones. I've seen a bit of the world, so I can help think of some new and fashionable styles. What do you think?"
At this moment, Wan Fang walked in and said, "I think this is a good idea. You're the only one working in the factory? I'm old, so who should take charge?"
Liang Yuan said, "Why not let my mother come? She's good at sewing and can convince people. Why not let her do it?"
"I think it's okay, but how will we sell it when the time comes?" Wan Fang said, lowering her head. She had never done business before, and most of the people in the village were farmers, so she was afraid she would be nervous when the time came.
"Just find some sisters-in-law like my eldest sister-in-law, and test the waters in front of the textile factory first. If the sales are good, then increase the production and sell to more distant places."
"This is a good idea. It won't delay farming." Sun Shouyi nodded.
Zhu Youliang nodded. "I think it's a good idea too. The cost is low, so even if we lose money, it's limited. I'll try making it at home first. I remember that my eldest and third sisters-in-law are both good at making it, so let them make it and sell it first. If it really becomes popular, they don't have to come to my house to make it. They can take the materials home, make it at home, and then send it back. I can pay them by the piece, and it will save factory space this way. I have nothing to do at home tomorrow, so I'll go look for Wu Dahai. His father is at the textile factory, and I'll bring back some crispy cloth scraps."
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