Chapter 34 Her Name From now on, she will never have to be anyone's wife again...
Wen Yu couldn't help but ask, "What does this 'basic teaching' mean?"
The system carefully explains: [Literally, it means introducing students to subjects like politics, history, geography, physics, chemistry, and biology, which are typically taught in junior high school.]
...It turns out that the purpose was to have the child in the family learn junior high school courses.
Seriously? You really want her to go into education? She didn't study to be a teacher.
I struggled with all of this when I was learning it, and now I'm supposed to be in charge of teaching it?
Wen Yu blushed with embarrassment: "I didn't take the teacher qualification exam."
As if sensing her helplessness, the system added: [Host, there's no need to worry excessively.]
[When the academy was built, the library was automatically equipped with introductory textbooks for the corresponding subjects, as well as illustrated encyclopedias for beginners. The host can guide students with existing reading abilities to browse and learn independently.]
Oh, so they can still learn on their own.
Wen Yu breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his brow.
Fortunately, the children in the family are all sensible and ambitious, especially Qing Shi, who is quick to learn and has a high level of comprehension. Letting her tackle these tough challenges first will allow her to inspire the other children in the future.
As for that 15% literacy rate... we have to take it one step at a time; it can't be achieved overnight.
Wen Yu could only secretly hope that more people would volunteer to attend classes at the academy tomorrow.
She washed the bowl in her hand, and seeing that the sky was gradually getting dark, she walked to the window in a few steps and glanced at the fields that had just been harvested not far away.
Now that the land is available, we can consider planting something else.
Now that the academy's plans were nearly complete, Wen Yu decided to also put the task of adding five more crops on the agenda.
She opened the online store, switched to the "Crop Seeds" section, browsed the dazzling array of varieties on the shelves, and on a whim added some new plant varieties to her shopping cart.
Sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, rice...
Thinking of the new variety planting task given by the system, she simply bought a bag of each type of seed and added some soil nutrients.
She plans to try growing them herself first to find out which products are best suited to the local climate and soil.
Once she successfully grows the seedlings, she can then encourage everyone in the village to plant them together.
Since the children are all going to the academy for classes tomorrow, she has some free time and can go to the fields to put her farming career into practice.
This was her first task upon returning home, and she absolutely couldn't let it go to waste.
----
On the first day of classes at the academy, the classrooms were much more lively than Wen Yu had expected.
The classroom was not only filled with the original students, but also with many villagers.
Some of them were simply curious, wanting to see how classes would be conducted in this impressive new school, while others genuinely wanted to learn something and change their illiterate state.
Ning Shengan did not delve into the purpose of each person's visit, but simply asked everyone to find a seat and remain quiet.
Wen Yu also arrived, but only glanced through the window. Seeing that the classroom was orderly and there shouldn't be any trouble, she left silently.
At present, the academy is still small and has not yet divided into classes. Whether it is six-year-old Tao Ning or teenagers like Wen Qingshi, they are all arranged to listen to the lessons in the same classroom.
The three new girls also reported to Ning Shengan, and three more names appeared in the sign-in book: Du Ran, Xin Bai, and Fan Yizhen.
Although they can write their own names and recognize a few words, they have never received a systematic education.
If you ask them to read and write on their own, they will find it quite difficult.
After a moment's consideration, Ning Shengan decided to arrange for them to sit next to Tao Ning.
Tao Ning is in the early stages of learning, still learning to read and do basic arithmetic, so we can teach her together with them.
Three girls aged thirteen or fourteen and six-year-old Tao Ning sat together, initially feeling somewhat embarrassed and shy.
“We’re all so old, yet we know fewer words than Ningning…” Fan Yizhen muttered softly, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Tao Ning looked up at her with a serious expression: "You older sisters are amazing! To study and learn to read, you dared to leave your mother and father and travel such a long way to come here. If it were me, I would definitely miss home and cry."
"You're still young..." The girls were a little embarrassed by her straightforward praise, but most of their shyness quietly dissipated.
Yes, they traveled such a long way, leaving their families to come here, just like those men, to sit upright in the school, hold books, and learn to read and write.
What is the difference between what they are doing now and the legendary stories told by storytellers, and the poor students who travel thousands of miles to the capital to study?
Once this thought arose, everything became clear.
In fact, they are even more capable than those men!
Their path to education may have been difficult, but it was legitimate in the eyes of the world. They had overcome countless obstacles to get to where they are today.
How can such determination and courage not be something to be proud of?
“Actually, whether you can study well has nothing to do with age,” Tao Ning leaned closer, as if she was about to share some incredible secret.
She lowered her voice and said, "My father used to teach the sons of wealthy families in the city. They were much older than my sisters! But some of them couldn't sit still for even fifteen minutes before making a scene. They would threaten to die if the teacher said a few words to them."
"There was also a young master who was quite the sight when he rode his horse through the streets! But when he was in school, his teacher hit his palms a few times with a ruler, and he howled like a pig being slaughtered. It was so embarrassing..."
The girls exchanged glances and couldn't help but chuckle, asking curiously, "Really? Aren't they from wealthy families?"
In their minds, wealthy young men were always dressed in fine clothes and riding horses, living a life of endless glory. How could they possibly look so disheveled?
Isn't that just... a good-for-nothing?
Tao Ning nodded vigorously: "Of course it's true! I also know..."
After all, the oldest among them was only fourteen years old, and they were still children. As they chatted, the initial awkwardness disappeared, and the girls quickly became acquainted.
Even when Ning Shengan went to instruct Lin Lan and others, Tao Ning would act like a little teacher, teaching the newly acquainted sisters the basic strokes in a very professional manner.
Fan Yizhen has a round face. When she writes, she is very focused and unconsciously puffs out her cheeks.
She sighed as she looked at her name on the paper.
"Sigh, why does my name have so many strokes?" She looked at Xin Bai and Du Ran next to her and said enviously, "I really envy your names because they are so easy to write."
Xin Bai, whose hair was tied in a neat ponytail, turned around upon hearing this and said cheerfully, "I envy your name; it sounds scholarly. My name is too ordinary."
The slightly older Du Ran seemed more open-minded, simply smiling and saying, "A name is just an external thing; as long as you can write it, that's enough."
She pointed to the other side of the classroom: "Look, there are so many people over there still learning to write their names—"
The girls looked in the direction she pointed and saw Wen Qingshi holding Wang Da Niang's hand, patiently guiding her to write three characters on the paper, stroke by stroke.
Wang Xiufen.
Wang Xiufen stared at the three ink characters that had fallen onto the paper, her hand holding the pen trembling uncontrollably.
She has seen her own name three times in her life.
The first time was on the family register, as my parents' daughter.
The second time was on her marriage certificate when she was eighteen, as her husband's bride.
The third time was on the cold, hard tombstones of her husband and son, as a widow.
She had seen the name before and it seemed familiar, but she still didn't know how to spell it.
She only knew these few unfamiliar words, which, like an invisible frame, defined her life as a daughter, wife, and mother.
Just now, Ning Shengan gave everyone who came to the class a notebook and asked them to write their names on it to avoid getting confused with others.
Wang Xiufen stood in front of the table, pen in hand, looking bewildered and helpless.
She can't write; she doesn't even know how to write her own name.
Wen Qingshi, who was serving as a teaching assistant, noticed her embarrassment and walked over to her, asking softly, "Auntie, what's your name?"
“Xiufen,” Wang Xiufen murmured, “the Xiu of excellence, the Fen of fragrance.”
Actually, she didn't know how to write "excellent" or "fragrant"; she had just heard someone explain it that way.
After all these years of ups and downs, everyone says that she is just a woman who doesn't pursue officialdom. She should just be a good wife and a good mother. What use is literacy?
But now, her husband is gone, and her son is gone too.
She is no longer anyone's wife, nor anyone's mother.
Then who is she?
Wen Qingshi placed his hand on the back of her hand, guiding her as she steadily made the first stroke, the second, the third...
"Auntie, your name should be written like this—"
"Xiu is composed of 'grain' above and 'nai' below, and Fen is composed of 'grass' above and 'fen' below..."
Wang, Xiu, Fen.
"Alright," Wen Qingshi released her hand, gently pushed the notebook in front of her, and smiled warmly, "You can write it a few more times yourself. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me anytime."
After saying that, she turned to answer questions from the other villagers who had gathered around.
The leader's figure was quickly swallowed up by the crowd.
“Qingya…” Wang Xiufen turned around, wanting to say something, but seeing Wen Qingshi busy, her words were choked back.
She lowered her head and gripped the pen tightly again.
Strangely enough, when she was young, she carried a hoe to do farm work and also wielded a heavy wood-chopping knife.
Hands that have done many farm jobs never complain about the weight of farm tools, but at this moment, a small pen in their hands feels as heavy as a thousand pounds.
She took a deep breath and, following the path Wen Qingshi had led her to write, tried to put the first stroke on the paper.
Then came the second stroke, the third stroke...
She suddenly realized that her name was quite interesting.
The character “秀” has a small, vibrant rice seedling on top of it.
The character “芬” has a small, graceful blade of grass on top.
It's quite a coincidence that these plants, which grow quietly and vigorously overnight after a rain during the Qingming Festival, make the entire mountainside lush and green.
Wildfires cannot burn them out, nor can famine years extinguish them; with just a spring rain, they will sprout and grow wildly.
Like her life, which has endured countless hardships but has never been defeated.
Xiufen.
Wang Xiufen looked at the words she had written. Although they were still a bit crooked due to her lack of experience, they were still legible.
She had only ever seen others write it before, but never imagined that one day she would be able to pick up a pen and write this name herself.
She couldn't help but pick up her pen again and write it over and over again.
These are no longer words defined by others, but the earliest words she truly knew and wrote herself in her life.
Her name.
Wang Xiufen suddenly smiled.
For the rest of her life, she no longer needs to be anyone's wife or anyone's mother.
She just needs to be herself.
Be Wang Xiufen.
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Author's note: Congratulations to Ms. Wang Xiufen for learning to write her own name! [Sprinkling flowers]
Some random thoughts, feel free to skip:
I've recently received some comments that think what I wrote is too unrealistic.
This is my first time writing a full-length novel. I hurriedly wrote 10,000 words and was surprised that it was approved. When I started writing, I only had a 300-word outline. The rest of the plot was all made up on the spot while I was rushing to update every day.
With the mindset of "I'd rather write something out than stop updating," I wrote 100,000 words.
Thank you so much to everyone who has read this far; I couldn't have kept going without you all.
I used to almost never read farming novels, and I was quite idealistic about this type of world. I wanted to build my own Shangri-La, undisturbed by the world. So I wanted to write about many, many good people, and how we could all work together to build a beautiful home.
Is the world really that wonderful? Actually, no.
Over the years, I've met all sorts of people, some very bad, and some unconditionally kind to me.
I'd rather record the beautiful moments than suffer. I want to see stories where good people are rewarded and bad people are punished, not stories that are just for the sake of being cruel, melodramatic, and where everyone is an oddball to highlight the protagonist's purity.
What I want to say in this story is that the world can be changed.
But destiny is in our own hands.
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