Chapter 99: Once a teacher, always a teacher
The morning sun shines on the wheat drying field at the entrance of Chengjiazhuang Brigade, adding a bit of warmth to the bleak winter.
More than half of the people who usually gather at the entrance of the village have disappeared, and those who gather at the entrance of the village at this time are mainly elderly people.
The young man has gone to Cheng Xuyuan's house to help.
I can't help with big things, but I can always help with things like finding a table and a bench.
When working in the early morning, a bowl of stew made from the broth used to cook meat is always a must.
Although the stew is mostly cabbage, there is not much vermicelli.
But there are always a few pieces of fat and some radish balls in it, and more importantly, the broth used to cook the meat is really delicious.
"Fifth Old Master, the stew is almost ready, you should go and have a bowl too!"
"I heard that the meat this time was cooked quite soft."
Someone said to the Fifth Old Master that according to the Fifth Old Master's seniority in the Cheng family, he should eat even if he did nothing.
The fifth old master smiled amiably and said, "I'll go later."
"My teeth are not very good. I can hardly chew the meat. I will go back later and have a bowl of broth."
The person who was speaking laughed and said, "Fifth Old Master, you can't say you can't bite it."
"I heard from Youqing's second uncle that the braised pork this time was so soft and tender that even if you don't bite it, you can swallow it in one gulp."
“It’s so delicious!”
The fifth old master smacked his lips and said, "Then I'll have to try it at noon."
While several people were talking, someone said, "Look, is that Cheng Jiadong and his wife?"
The people sitting at the entrance of the village looked towards the dirt road in front of the village and saw Cheng Jiadong and Li Xiu'e riding a bicycle towards the village entrance.
Li Xiu'e seemed to be holding a package in her hand.
"Jiadong, you're not too late!" A villager who was about the same age as Cheng Jiadong handed Cheng Jiadong a cigarette and said, "We're leaving before dawn, right?"
It takes more than an hour to ride a bike from the county seat to Chengjiazhuang Brigade. Plus, a bike has to carry two people, and the bike can't go fast, so it takes almost two hours.
There is no need to think about it, Cheng Jiadong set out before dawn.
Cheng Jiadong smiled and said, "There's something good happening at home, why don't you come quickly."
"Jiadong, go home quickly and have a bowl of rice to warm yourself up. The stew is delicious."
The fifth old master said to Cheng Jiadong with a smile, his expression full of concern.
Cheng Jiadong smiled and said, "Thank you, Master Wu. I'll go eat right away."
"You can come with me."
The fifth old master waved his hand and said, "I'll go over later."
Cheng Jiadong did not try to persuade him further. He had been traveling all morning and his stomach was rumbling. He greeted everyone and walked towards Cheng Xuyuan's house.
Cheng Xuyuan's family is having a banquet today, so naturally we have to eat at his place.
When we arrived at Cheng Xuyuan's house, we saw a group of people squatting in the corner with big bowls in their hands eating. These people were basically young people from the Cheng family. When they saw Cheng Jiadong, they all stood up.
"Third Uncle!"
"Uncle, aunt, you haven't eaten yet, come here and serve the bowls."
"Jiadong, you've arrived just in time, come over and warm yourself by the fire."
…
At the invitation of everyone, brothers Cheng Jiadong and Cheng Jiaxing sat together and chatted with their bowls, while Li Xiu'e came into the house with a bowl and chatted with Wang Guilan and others.
What Cheng Jiadong and others talked about was today’s arrangements.
But what Li Xiu'e and the others said was about Cheng Xuyuan.
After eating more than half of a bowl of greasy stew, Li Xiu'e said softly to Wang Guilan, "Sister-in-law, what are you going to do about Dayuan's future marriage?"
Wang Guilan, who was originally smiling, frowned slightly when she heard this question and said, "Xiu'e, I don't know what to do either."
"In theory, Dayuan was admitted to Yanjing University and can now make money, so he can be considered worthy of Shen Yumo."
"But from what I heard from Dayuan, it seems like they want to get divorced."
Wang Guilan said this, put down the bowl in her hand and said: "Speaking of which, I don't know what to do now."
"Divorce, that doesn't sound good."
"But this divorce was already agreed upon when Dayuan went to work in Yanjing."
"Let's not divorce. I think Shen Yumo is pretty, but...but if she doesn't love us as much as Dayuan, it would be awkward to live together."
Li Xiu'e said, "Sister-in-law, you don't have to get too angry about this."
"After all, Dayuan still has four years of college to go!"
At this point, she hesitated for a moment and said, "I have a friend whose niece was admitted to Yenching Normal University."
"I let her meet Dayuan during the physical examination."
"People are quite satisfied with Dayuan."
"If they can get in touch with each other, maybe they can succeed in the future."
Wang Guilan had never heard of the name Yenching Normal University, but from the name, she knew that this school should be in Yenching like her son's school.
And she's a college student! It would be a great thing if I could be with my son.
So she said excitedly: "Aunt, you have to pay more attention to this matter."
"If they are interested in Dayuan, let them have more contact with each other."
"It would be great if it could be accomplished. After all, we all know each other well..."
Li Xiu'e said, "Sister-in-law, don't worry about this. Dayuan's matter is between me and his uncle."
…
After breakfast, it’s time to get busy.
In addition to the villagers, Cheng Xuyuan's relatives were also invited this time.
The person in charge of welcoming guests had already filled a dozen borrowed hollow iron thermoses with brown sugar water, so that anyone who came could have a bowl of warm water.
The chef started working after a short rest.
Several people were frying, stir-frying, cooking, deep-frying, and stewing, making the entire yard of Cheng's family full of fragrance.
Cheng Jiaxing, wearing a black woolen coat and holding a cigarette in his hand, kept walking back and forth, smoking and chatting with the relatives who came over, and his voice was much louder than before.
The farmer was proud of his son Dayuan from the bottom of his heart.
His child is sensible and grows up strong. More importantly, after the New Year, he will go to the highest school to study! When he thinks of this, he feels very happy! This is the whole meaning of his life in Chengjiazhuang Village.
This time, when he held a banquet at home, he insisted on not accepting gifts. What was he trying to achieve? Cheng Jiaxing was considered to be a very courageous farmer, and his vision was certainly broader than that of ordinary farmers.
That being said, many of the relatives who came to the banquet brought gifts with them.
For example, Cheng Xuyuan’s three uncles brought six big roosters at once, which added another big dish to the banquet.
Compared with weddings and funerals, this was just a simple banquet, so most people were just chatting.
Of course, all the relatives who came from all directions came to see Cheng Xuyuan after they arrived.
Who made him work in Yenching University and get admitted to it?
Although it was just a simple chat, after half a day, Cheng Xuyuan felt that his cheeks were sore from laughing.
Fortunately, the time soon came to half past eleven, and the banquet would start in half an hour.
As long as the banquet starts, he will have nothing to do if he pours the wine again.
Just when Cheng Xuyuan was full of anticipation, he saw Ma Guangzhong and others walking in. Ma Guangzhong smiled and said to Cheng Xuyuan, "Teacher Cheng, congratulations!"
Cheng Xuyuan smiled and said, "Thank you Guangzhong."
"Come, drink some water and eat some melon seeds."
Ma Guangzhong said: "Teacher Cheng, your melon seeds are full of joy, let us also share in the joy."
As he spoke, he grabbed two melon seeds from the table and ate them. Then he said, "Teacher Cheng, today is a good day for you. We students must give you a gift."
"After everyone's careful preparation, today's gift is finally ready."
"Everyone nominated a few of us to represent you and deliver it to you."
Cheng Xuyuan waved his hand and said, "This time we are setting up a banquet just to make our family happy. What gifts do you want to give?"
"Just think of me."
Liu Jiankai, who was standing next to Ma Guangzhong, said with a smile: "Teacher Cheng, we will certainly not forget you."
"The reason why everyone doesn't dare to come over is because they're afraid that there will be too many of us and we'll eat up all the food in the pot."
At this point, Liu Jiankai and several educated youth behind him all laughed.
The relatives of the Cheng family who were gathered around Cheng Xuyuan also started laughing.
Although they had not come to Chengjiazhuang these days, they had all heard about Cheng Xuyuan's lectures.
At most, there were more than five or six hundred people attending the lectures.
If five or six hundred educated youth come to the banquet, how many tables will we need to prepare?
This time, the Cheng family invited villagers and relatives and friends, so they prepared twelve tables. Basically, every family in the village sent a representative.
"Teacher Cheng, this is a token of love from all of our students. The gift is very small, please don't mind."
As he spoke, Ma Guangzhong took out a soft-cover notebook from his military green bag.
Cheng Xuyuan took the notebook and opened the first page. He saw eight big words written on it with a brush: Once a teacher, always a teacher.
Below the big words is a line of small words: Congratulations to Teacher Cheng Xuyuan for being admitted to Yenching University, presented by all the students.
Looking at these words, Cheng Xuyuan felt a little strange in his heart.
He turned to the second page and saw a densely packed list of names: Ma Guangzhong, Liu Jiankai, Chen Jiang, Chu Xiaohong...
These names are written with different pens, different colors, and even more different fonts.
Obviously, these words were signed by these students themselves.
Looking through the words on it, Cheng Xuyuan couldn't help but say, "Guangzhong, this gift is too precious."
"You...you are taking too much trouble."
"Teacher Cheng, we can only use this small gift to express our gratitude." Ma Guangzhong said: "We will always remember the guidance you have given us these days."
"For many of us, your advice may be enough to change our destiny!"
At this point, he took out a folded red paper from his bag. An educated youth next to Liu Jiankai and Ma Guangzhong quickly opened the red paper and saw the same eight characters written on it: Once a teacher, always a teacher.
The signature below these eight words is from all of Teacher Cheng Xuyuan’s students, congratulating Teacher Cheng on being admitted to Yenching University.
Looking at the unfolded red paper, Cheng Fulai, the head of the brigade who was chatting with his relatives, said with emotion: "These educated youth kids are so thoughtful!"
"Dayuan did the right thing by helping with the tutoring this time."
"Alas, I can't see as far as he can in this matter!"
Cheng Jiadong took the notebook full of signatures and started flipping through it. He looked at the neatly written names in different handwritings and felt that the notebook was a bit heavy.
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