When Gu Qing gave her lecture in the evening, due to the strict requirements of the village party secretary, those who had previously been absent without purpose—three or five at a time—were all present tonight.
Old Mrs. Wu was also sitting inside, looking at Gu Qing on the stage.
Having experienced the trials of the past few days, Gu Qing was now as calm and composed as ever as before as she stood on the stage.
"Boom boom boom..."
"Everyone, be quiet! Be quiet!"
Gu Qing's voice was gentle and calm, but it was instantly drowned out by the rising and falling noise.
The village secretary and Gou Cuifen and her husband exchanged a glance, a hint of helplessness flashing in their eyes as they looked at the scene before them.
Gu Qing opened her mouth, wanting to shout for quiet, but the laughter from the crowd only grew louder. Some even mocked her, saying, "Young educated youth, your voice is so soft, like a mosquito's buzz. We can't hear you at all. Why don't you speak louder?"
"Yeah, hahaha, even a three-year-old's howls are louder than this."
Gu Qing gripped the chalk tightly, her face expressionless, but her eyes involuntarily drifted into the crowd. Just as she saw Huang Xiaoqiang about to get up, she suddenly took a step forward.
Seeing her move, Huang Xiaoqiang was stunned as he got up.
"Did you hear me?!"
Gu Qing immediately shouted at the top of her lungs, completely drowning out the laughter that had just been playing around.
Looking at Gu Qing on the stage, her face flushed and her neck thick with anger, someone tugged at the mouth that was about to open its mouth to make sarcastic remarks, "That's enough, it's a little girl."
The person who wanted to say something more scoffed, "What's wrong with a girl? Isn't she a sent-down youth anymore?"
"If it weren't for these educated youth causing trouble, would my wife have been taken away by the police?"
That's a bit of a sophistry. Although others didn't have a good impression of the educated youth either, those who were taken away by the police were doing it all because of their own fault. If they hadn't kept their mouths shut and had been talking nonsense, would they have ended up in jail?
The man tried to pull off the sleeve that was being held, and opened his mouth to speak, but a loud female voice suddenly drowned out the sound he had just made.
"Gu Zhiqing, your voice is just right, let's begin the lesson."
When everyone turned their heads, they found that it was Old Lady Wu speaking. They fell silent instantly, their eyes darting back and forth between Gu Qing and her.
Seeing that things had finally quieted down, Gu Qing looked at Grandma Wu gratefully and began to teach the characters that needed to be learned today.
With Grandma Wu standing in the crowd, today's class went very smoothly.
Although I don't know if the villagers remember, the quietness was something that hadn't happened a few days ago.
After Gu Qing announced that today's lesson was over, the villagers all breathed a sigh of relief. Just as they were about to pick up their stools and leave, they heard Old Lady Wu announce that starting tomorrow, she would be the one to teach the literacy class.
The villagers' faces froze. They glanced at the village secretary and his wife, and before anyone could object, Old Lady Wu counted on her fingers, "Tomorrow, some comrades from Shanyao Village will be back, so they can attend the class together. Remember not to miss it."
The villagers stared at Old Lady Wu in disbelief. What did she mean by that?
Openly... threatening everyone?
Seeing their incredulous expressions and visible anger, Old Mrs. Wu waved her hand helplessly, "Please don't misunderstand, I didn't mean that."
"Here's the thing: in less than a month, the higher-ups will be coming down to inspect everyone's learning outcomes from the literacy classes."
Grandma Wu paused for a moment, then said, “It’s not just our Shanyao Village, but also Xiayao Village and Hongshan Village. Every village will have to test the learning outcomes. This shows the township leaders’ serious attitude towards everyone’s learning. So this matter is not ambiguous, and we can’t let our Shanyao Village lose face.”
"These are the faces of all the villagers in Shanyao Village. Do you think we can let Shanyao Village be outdone by other villages?"
A hesitant voice suddenly rang out from the crowd, "Of course not! Our Shanyao Village is no worse than anyone else's!"
"that is!"
Grandma Wu nodded seriously, "You're right, I think Shanyao Village is better than other villages in every way."
While speaking, he glanced at the village party secretary and his wife, "There's one more thing. The village party secretary said that if the township leaders are satisfied with the inspection results, they can slaughter an extra pig during the Spring Festival to celebrate with everyone."
'Wow!!!'
The smile on the village party secretary's face froze instantly.
He didn't say anything. He turned to look at Gou Cuifen beside him, his eyes full of doubt. "You did say something?"
Gou Cuifen looked completely bewildered and didn't say anything.
While the couple was still in a daze, everyone else happily left with their little stools.
After everyone left, before the village secretary could speak, Old Lady Wu took the initiative to explain, "Please don't blame me, I had no choice."
"Although the villagers are afraid that I can bring the police, if I want them to learn to read properly, fear alone is not enough; there has to be a carrot in front of them."
"The pig is that carrot."
When Grandma Wu told the village secretary that the sow was pregnant again, he had no more objections.
"Alright then, let's do as you say."
On the way home, the four Huang brothers looked on with admiration. Their mother was truly resourceful and capable.
Old Mrs. Wu shook her head inwardly. "A fool wouldn't take advantage of a good deal. What good is this nonsense that everyone is talking about compared to real benefits?"
Sure enough, when Grandma Wu stood on the stage the next day, the faces of the people below were full of longing for pork, as if the words on the blackboard, "one ounce or one pound of pork," were waving at them.
Without much effort from Mr. Wu, everyone focused intently on the blackboard.
The village secretary nodded in approval. After listening to Grandma Wu's lecture, he couldn't contain his joy. It seemed that the test a month later was going to be a sure thing.
Grandma Wu's lectures were not as rigid as Gu Qing's. She broke down each character, explaining its origin, story, and evolution, transforming the rigid characters into stories that penetrated into everyone's minds.
The teaching results are remarkable.
Some quick-thinking adults even went back and told their children the stories that Grandma Wu had told in class, and the children listened with great interest.
Some of them even stay up all night to pester their parents to tell them stories.
For a time, the learning atmosphere in the entire Shanyao Village was exceptionally strong. Even during the day, the village secretary could hear them discussing the evening's lessons in the fields—what they were talking about, how many people they had met, and how many people she had met.
Some people even compare who knows more or fewer characters.
"Ming Xia still has a solution."
Gou Cuifen attended the classes for a few days and looked forward to the evenings every day.
The villagers have a lot of entertainment. At night, they go to bed and sleep. Now, every night, everyone gathers together to listen to Grandma Wu tell all sorts of stories and learn to read along the way.
"If this continues, our Shanyao Village will be able to slaughter one more pig for the Spring Festival this year, so that everyone can have a good time."
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