Yan Xiaonan was a little embarrassed because she didn't expect to be so popular with the children, while Ye Chen'er was sad, sighing that she couldn't be a teacher anymore.
Yan Xiaonan knew these kids' nature all too well. She gestured for everyone to quiet down: "Classmates, you have learned a lot from Teacher Ye and heard many interesting stories. Shouldn't you thank Teacher Ye now?"
The children looked around, unsure of what to do. One of the bolder children raised his hand and asked, "Yan Xiaonan, Ye Chen'er is a bad element. Why should we thank her?"
"I am your teacher, so you should call me Teacher Yan. Also, did Teacher Ye teach you to read and learn culture? Did she use storytelling to teach you how to be a person?"
Yan Xiaonan's voice was somewhat cold, and the child felt uneasy, so he quickly lowered his head and sat down.
Yan Xiaonan spoke again: "Everyone, stand up and thank Teacher Ye for his teaching. Clap your hands." She clapped her hands first.
The village chief clapped along, and the children, remembering the inspirational stories Ye Chen'er had told them, stood up and clapped. Teacher Ye was a good teacher.
The clapping grew louder and more synchronized. Ye Chen'er bowed to the children and said, "Thank you, thank you for your affirmation. I will miss you."
The children were surprised that their teacher would bow to them, so they clapped even louder. Teacher Ye is truly a good teacher.
Yan Xiaonan saw Ye Chen'er off at the school, and Ye Chen'er hugged Yan Xiaonan tightly: "Nannan, thank you, thank you for protecting me in front of the children."
Yan Xiaonan smiled: "Sister Ye, when you get back, take some time to study, especially high school books. They will be useful."
Ye Chen'er nodded vigorously. She was going to town to buy high school books. Nan Nan said they would be useful, and they definitely would.
Yan Xiaonan walked into the classroom and wrote three big characters on the blackboard with chalk: Yan Xiaonan.
"Yan Xiaonan, this is my name. From now on, you can call me Teacher Yan. Before class today, I'm going to tell you a story. It's a long story, probably going to take a year and a half. If any of you fail your exam, my story will stop until you pass."
The children immediately sat up straight. This was the same instruction Teacher Ye had given them when telling stories: people must sit up straight, like a pine tree standing upright or a bell sitting upright. Only in this way can one look energetic and vibrant.
Yan Xiaonan wrote the three characters "Journey to the West" on the blackboard again. "The story I'm going to tell today is called Journey to the West. It's about a monkey. Do you all want to listen?"
The story of the monkey excited every child; how fun it must be!
The story begins...
Yan Xiaonan's first lesson won the children's approval. She was a little teacher who could tell stories even better than Teacher Ye. She could even say that a monkey could jump out of a stone. The children collected all the stones in Mushroom Village, hoping that a little monkey would jump out of the stone and play with them.
The adults found it unbelievable when they heard the stories the children told them, but the children's descriptions were quite appealing, mentioning places like Flower Fruit Mountain and Water Curtain Cave, which sounded like wonderful places.
Some children have comic books about Sun Wukong defeating the White Bone Demon at home. All they know is that Sun Wukong killed the White Bone Demon, and they never know that Sun Wukong was born from a stone.
After telling the story, Yan Xiaonan handed out the test papers. It was the result of her and Ye Chen'er's joint efforts. Yan Xiaonan needed to know each child's learning progress in order to prepare lessons and teach well.
Yan Xiaonan became busy preparing lessons, writing stories, grading homework, and making report cards with her own comments so that students could know their strengths and weaknesses.
Grandma Yan and Cuihua were very proud. Their little girl was already a teacher. She was truly a fairy. Look at Wang's eldest daughter, she was almost nineteen or twenty years old, and not only did she not know a single word, she couldn't even find a man.
If Wang Daniu were here, she would definitely argue that it was because Bei Nan from your family went out to learn a trade, otherwise I would have been your wife long ago. Look at Xue Mei, and then look at Tang Xiaoling, and you'll know how happy it would be to be a wife of the Yan family.
Ye Chen'er returned to the cowshed dejectedly. She would be working in the fields starting tomorrow. Working in the fields wasn't a problem, but she just felt uneasy. Ye Huixian took out a pair of pants: "Go, secretly deliver them to the Yan family. Just think about happy things."
Ye Chen'er nodded. Her aunt must have gone through the same thing. When she was unhappy, she would think of happy things. She missed the days when they would have picnics together on the mountain. It was a pity that Yan Ai was not here now. It was so lively when he was here.
Stopping thinking about it, Ye Chen'er composed herself, picked up her pants, and headed towards the Yan family's house. Cuihua was grinding rice into flour. There was just too much white rice at home, but they couldn't take it out, so they had to mix it with bran to feed the chickens and grind it into flour to make rice cakes.
Seeing Ye Chen'er walk in, they quickly invited her into the main room. They knew that Ye Chen'er's current identity was that of a family member of a bad element, so they had to avoid her.
Ye Chen'er smiled gratefully at Cuihua. The villagers, who used to be very polite to her, were now unwilling to talk to her. Only the Yan family treated her well as always, without any change. Ye Chen'er was very touched by this.
She took out two pairs of pants, one newly made and one old. Grandma Yan was shocked when she saw the old pair of pants. The patched pants had obviously been altered. All the messy patches had been removed and replaced, making them look a bit like beggar's clothes nowadays. But they looked much more comfortable.
Then she changed into the newly made pants. The pants were really well made; they were big where they should be big and small where they should be small. The pants fit her perfectly and were very exquisite. Even the seams were bound with the same color trim.
The ugly buttons were also covered with cloth of the same color, giving it a high-end feel. Grandma Yan nodded repeatedly as she looked at it: "Cuihua, I've finally found someone who can make clothes better than you."
Cuihua didn't look at the new pants, but instead examined the old ones. She had always patched them herself, and she noticed that many of the original patches had been removed and replaced with clever stitches that were barely noticeable unless you looked closely.
Even the larger holes were balanced in every way possible, with patterns and colors matched together, making the patches seem fashionable. Cuihua was truly impressed; how did she grow such skillful hands?
"Chen'er, who mended these pants?" Cuihua asked.
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