Chapter 42: Teachers [VIP]
In the afternoon, Huang Dongsheng returned home with two pieces of good news.
Firstly, after his unremitting efforts in sales during this period, he finally reached a cooperation agreement with two breakfast shops in the city. Although the amount of tofu they needed was not much, he would not have to worry about selling it in the future.
Secondly, his cousin asked him to pay attention to the hot drinks at Zhiweilou. As his cousin said, the hot drinks became a hot seller in the city as soon as they were launched.
Manager Ren asked him to tell his cousin to go over tomorrow, saying that there was something important to discuss.
These two pieces of good news made everyone very happy.
"Ayao, what about school tomorrow?" Yang Wenying held the needle and thread in her hand, tightening the last stitch on the cotton trousers.
A pair of maroon cotton trousers with an apricot blossom embroidered on each cuff.
Tian Baozhu sat by and saw her finish the embroidery. She took it in her hands and stroked it carefully. The apricot blossoms looked lifelike and there seemed to be a fragrance of flowers. So she stood up, took the coat and handed it to Huang Xing.
"Aunt, please try it on and see if it fits you."
They were all made carefully by the children, how could they not fit?
After putting on the new clothes, Huang Xing's sickly face looked a little rosy.
"It's so warm and beautiful. Thank you for your hard work." Huang Xing touched the flowers on her sleeves and couldn't let go. She thanked the children.
After Shen Qingshan turned around and took out a pair of cattail sandals and handed them over, Huang Xing was moved to tears again.
"Mom, don't cry. Dad made a pair of these shoes for all of us." Chen Yao took out her own cattail sandals from behind her back like a magic trick.
The shoes are stuffed with reed fluff and have wooden clogs on the soles, making them much warmer than straw sandals.
These shoes were made secretly without anyone knowing when his father had difficulty walking.
Huang Xing wiped away her tears and happily took off her clothes, carefully placing them in the camphorwood box. "Mom didn't cry. When are you going to the city tomorrow? Bring me a chicken. We'll have chicken stewed with Gastrodia elata on the Winter Solstice. We must all nourish ourselves."
"I'll go after I've sorted out the school affairs, Mom. As for the new coat, just wear it now. Why keep it? Everyone will have one in the future." Among this group of people, her mother was the weakest.
Huang Mei and Miao also persuaded her to put it on, saying that it was the child's intention and she couldn't just leave it unworn.
Huang Xing was so coaxed by everyone that she couldn't stop smiling. "I'll wear it tomorrow. It's just in time for the Winter Solstice, so I'll shamelessly put it on to bring some joy to everyone!"
In the evening, everyone gathered at the dinner table and discussed celebrating the Winter Solstice Festival tomorrow and taking a day off, which was passed unanimously.
In Shen Yao's memory, every winter solstice, she would return home from school and eat a bowl of dumplings freshly made by her family.
In the past, she felt that for this bowl of dumplings, she would get up early and leave school, return home in the afternoon, and then ask her family to drive her back to school at night after eating the dumplings.
Both sides were exhausted that day, it was not worth it.
But now she understands why people eat dumplings during the winter solstice.
This bowl of dumplings can bring together family members who are rarely together, and can ease the longing for each other without saying a word.
Chen Yao looked at everyone at the table, her thoughts drifting away. She wondered if her parents would still make dumplings during the Winter Solstice this year?
At night, Chen Yao rarely suffered from insomnia.
Yang Wenying couldn't sleep either. She was thinking about her deceased parents and her brother who would spend the holiday alone at the quarry the next day. She couldn't help but choke up.
"Wenying, you haven't slept yet?" Chen Yao turned over and held her hand in the quilt.
Yang Wenying stopped crying, her voice a little hoarse: "I miss my family."
Every festive season makes people miss their families, and she misses them too!
But if they both shed tears, their parents would probably notice it tomorrow morning, so Chen Yao asked her, "How did you celebrate the Winter Solstice at home in the past? Did you also eat Winter Solstice dumplings?"
People in Xiahe Village do not eat dumplings during the Winter Solstice. Because they cannot afford flour, each household can only grind rice flour to make dumplings. The dumplings are filled with cabbage and shredded radish. These dumplings are also called Winter Solstice dumplings.
The prepared winter solstice dumplings must first be offered to the family ancestors and the kitchen god before the whole family gathers together to eat them.
Chen Yao learned from Yang Wenying that during the Winter Solstice people not only eat dumplings and make a Winter Solstice group to worship their ancestors, but also eat mutton and drink winter wine. Yang Jizong will also draw a Jiujiu Xiaohan Diagram for her.
They, brothers and sisters, would also give clothes and shoes to their elders in the family to wish them longevity.
Students have to visit their teachers with gifts on this day.
On this day, the subjects had to follow the emperor to offer sacrifices to heaven.
There was a lot of red tape, and Chen Yao fell asleep after listening to only half of it.
Before daybreak, Chen Yao and Yang Wenying had already gotten up with their parents to pound rice to make winter solstice dumplings. Incense was placed on the table in the main house. This year, the family offered sacrifices to more ancestors, so they made more winter solstice dumplings than in previous years.
In the kitchen, as Huang Xing lifted the wooden lid from the pot, the steaming hot air filled the room, and they could no longer see each other's faces.
Chen Yao and Yang Wenying brought the steamed dumplings into the main room and placed them on the table for worship.
Yang Wenying looked at the pair of newly carved tablets, picked up the incense and lit it, praying to her parents in her heart, asking them to bless everyone with peace and prosperity in the future and for all their wishes to come true.
After breakfast, Chen Yao and Yang Wenying went to the headman’s house to look for Zhao Xiaofu.
As soon as they met, Zhao Xiaofu threw a big problem at them.
"How do you plan to teach these children in the village? Do they have writing brushes, inkstones, and paper?"
Chen Yao and Yang Wenying looked at each other.
"Let's use the sand table to learn the characters first. I'll trouble you and Wenying to teach the children first. I'll prepare the ink, paper and inkstone later." Chen Yao said as she handed over the pen. "I'll give this pen to you as a gift for the children to become your teacher."
Zhao Xiaofu took it in his hand and took a closer look, and knew that it was not bought: "Where did you get it?"
“It’s my brother.
Chen Yao was slightly relieved when she saw Zhao Xiaofu put away the brush, so she continued the lesson with him.
During the two classes in the morning, Yang Wenying taught the students in the Little Sun class, and Zhao Xiaofu taught the students who entered the school later. Each class lasted half an hour. They started with "Three Character Classic" and "Hundred Family Names" and taught them to the children in the village.
After class, the children can move freely, go home to help with chores, or stay in school to review their lessons.
There are also two classes in the afternoon, one is a math class taught by Shen Yao, which also lasts half an hour, and the other is a self-study class, in which the children discuss with each other and consolidate what they have learned that day.
After Chen Yao finished speaking, she asked Zhao Xiaofu if there was anything he didn't understand and whether he could accept this arrangement.
Zhao Xiaofu nodded, indicating that he could accept it. He originally thought that he would have to spend the whole day there, but he didn't expect that it would only take half an hour a day.
But I am also a little worried that the children in the village will not be able to learn in such a short time. What if they are too stupid?
"Then let me switch with you. You can teach the students in the Little Sun class. They already know some words and are very serious." Yang Wenying doesn't care about the students' qualifications. On the contrary, she is happy to teach the children.
She feels happy and satisfied especially when the children can write their own names.
Seeing that Zhao Xiaofu had no other objections, the three of them went to the school together.
At the hour of Chen, the children lined up in front of the school gate in order of height, while their parents stood by with their sleeves tucked in.
Almost everyone in the village came to the opening ceremony of the school in Xiahe Village, including Tanaka Masaru's family from Shanghe Village.
After Chen Yao and Yang Wenying arrived, the children, led by Shitou and Luo Dunzi, shouted in unison: "Teacher Shen, Teacher Yang, good morning!"
The noise scared all the villagers, except for the Shen family members who were used to it.
"Good morning, everyone!" Chen Yao stood at the front, carrying a basket. Looking at the children, whose faces were flushed by the cold wind and all looked energetic, she said with a smile, "Today is the first day of school. This is Teacher Zhao. From now on, when we study together, we must help each other and respect each other. Do you understand?"
"I understand!" Except for the students in the Little Sun Class who responded in unison, the rest of the students reacted a beat slower, and their responses sounded a little disjointed.
But none of this matters.
Chen Yao took out the incense from the basket, took out the winter solstice balls to offer to the tablet of the ancestor, and asked the children to pay their respects to the ancestor together. She then took out red paper, dipped it in water, wiped it with her fingers, and tapped it on the children's foreheads, as a ceremony to enlighten them.
"Thank you, Teacher Shen!" Luo Dunzi was given a red dot and excitedly bowed to Chen Yao, putting his knowledge into practice.
The other children followed suit.
"Now let's go into the classroom. The students in the Little Sun class will sit on my left, and you will sit on my right. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" The children entered the classroom in an orderly manner and waited quietly.
After Chen Yao handed the remaining brushes to Yang Wenying, she encouraged her: "Go, you will teach the children in the first class."
Yang Wenying took a deep breath, walked into the classroom holding the brush, put her hands on the desk, looked at the rows of eager students below, and officially taught them the first lesson in their lives.
Teach them how to write the character for “人” (person).
The simple sandbox carries knowledge and is passed on to the next student again and again until the word "man" is written in everyone's sandbox.
Yang Wenying then continued to tell the children about the class times in the future, the disciplines to be observed in the classroom, and that there would be an exam at the end of each month. The person who got the first place in the exam would get the brush in her hand.
How could the children bear this? This is a real brush, the kind used by scholars!
Now I have to study hard no matter what I say.
The parents who were peeking in through the windows outside had tears in their eyes. They were all holding their breath and had to find a way to make money, if for nothing else, just so that their children could have a set of writing brushes, inkstones, and paper of their own.
Seeing that Yang Wenying's class was gradually getting on track, Chen Yao didn't stay any longer. She waved to her father and took her half basket of edamame into the city.
As soon as she moved, Zhao Xiaofu followed.
"Where are you going?" they both asked at the same time.
"My math class is in the afternoon, and I have to go to the city with my father. If you don't study with Teacher Yang, where are you going?" Chen Yao took the initiative this time.
Zhao Xiaofu said frankly, "I'm going home to get the books, so you won't think I don't care about my students."
Don't think he doesn't know how Chen Yao and Yang Wenying plotted against him in private.
Regarding the village building a school and asking him to teach, he really just wanted to go through the motions at first, but today when he saw Yang Wenying teaching the children, he decided to give it a try.
Perhaps one day, he will be able to meet a noble person who can help him and free him from slavery, just like these children.
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