Chapter 65: They are both students and eager to...
The sun gradually rose, illuminating the classroom.
The students learned the big characters from "one" to "ten" very quickly. Some of them had already learned them in the literacy classes in the commune.
Jiang Xueyi simply taught them some advanced common Chinese characters. She picked up the chalk and wrote the character "米" on the blackboard, asking, "Does anyone know how to pronounce this character?"
Someone immediately raised his hand: "Teacher, I know, this word is pronounced mi!"
Jiang Xueyi praised: "Not bad."
She added the character 'liang' next to 'mi': "Can anyone tell me how to pronounce this character?"
Everyone looked at each other, no one knew him.
Only someone whispered, "It seems to be pronounced liang... I've seen it in the work points book." "No, no, it's also pronounced mi."
Jiang Xueyi smiled and confirmed the first person's answer. "That's right. This word is pronounced 'liang,' the same as 'grain.' Remember, it's 'mi' on the left and 'liang' on the right. Liang means good. Only good rice can be called grain. Isn't that much easier to remember?" She added, "If you really can't remember, just remember 'good rice produces good grain.'"
Everyone silently chanted: "Good rice produces good grain." "Good rice produces good grain."
Jiang Xueyi distributed paper and pens for everyone to practice.
When they had practiced enough, she started teaching the next character.
"Now let's learn the character '马'. This one is even easier to remember. Look at this character '马'. Doesn't it look like a galloping pony?"
Seeing that everyone had listened, Jiang Xueyi nodded and said, "Try to write it down on paper."
She walked over to Mrs. Liang and saw her draw a circle around the word "horse." She couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Did you draw a circle around a horse?"
"What do you know?" Mrs. Liang said with her neck stiff, "This is our horse, so it must be kept in a pen."
Jiang Xueyi was amused: "Yes, your family has horses, but there are also wild horses on the grassland, and wild horses will not be penned in."
Mrs. Liang thought about it and took the initiative to use an eraser to erase the circle outside the word "马".
Jiang Xueyi recalled that the jingle she made up during her last popular science lecture on menstruation was very effective.
He simply wrote the word "think" on the blackboard and recited the rhyme: "Everyone, repeat after me, this is the word 'think', which means thinking well in the heart."
Kill three birds with one stone, teach the three words "田", "心" and "思" at once.
Everyone below started chanting: "Tian has good thoughts in his heart." "Tian has good thoughts in his heart."
Listening to the sound of reading aloud coming from the classroom, Director Xie stood outside the window, smiled and nodded.
The study time passed by in a flash, and at 11:30, it was time for dinner.
Some students who couldn't sit still frequently turned their heads to look out the window.
Jiang Xueyi smiled knowingly and announced the end of get out of class.
Everyone cheered and poured out of the classroom.
Xu Shanshan and the others had already prepared meals in another empty classroom. The students definitely could not eat in the Women's Federation cafeteria because the Women's Federation shared a cafeteria with the town committee. With sixty students, there would be no place left.
There weren't many dishes on the plate, only scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried bean sprouts with vermicelli, and stir-fried young pumpkin, but the portions were generous and the aroma of the food was mouth-watering.
Xu Shanshan, wearing a white apron, served food to everyone: "One dish per person, two taels of rice or a steamed bun. Line up in an orderly manner and don't rush, otherwise you won't be able to eat later."
Some people who were eager to cut in line became quiet after hearing this.
Everyone lined up in order and went to get their food.
The waiting process was boring, and everyone couldn't help but talk about the morning classes.
"Teacher Jiang's teachings were excellent. I still remember those two lines of the rhyme: 'The field is in my heart, and I think well.' For us country folk, what we care about most is the little bit of food."
"In the past, when I attended literacy classes, I was so sleepy that I almost dozed off. But strangely, today I'm not sleepy at all. I even think this class is quite interesting."
"Yeah, learning to read isn't that difficult."
"Teacher Jiang!"
Some sharp-eyed classmates noticed that Jiang Xueyi was also holding a tray and standing in line behind them, so they shouted.
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "Just talk about yourselves, don't bother me."
Huang Xiuhua: "Teacher Jiang, why are you here to get food?"
"I'm having dinner with you and chatting with you at the same time." Jiang Xueyi said with a smile.
She wanted to hear everyone's opinions on the literacy class in the morning and see if there was anything that needed improvement.
Unexpectedly, all she heard were compliments, which made all the fatigue she had felt from preparing lessons until late at night for several days in a row disappear.
Chen Cui quickly made room for him: "Teacher Jiang, come, stand next to me, and get your meal first."
"No." Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "Everyone line up in order. There are no teachers or students here. Everyone is treated equally."
Seeing her insistence, Chen Cui and the others felt a little embarrassed, but seeing Jiang Xueyi's frank attitude, they stopped trying to persuade her.
After lunch, everyone put a few empty desks together and used them as a dining table.
Zhang Guixiang took a bite of the steamed bread and then a chopstick of stir-fried tender pumpkin. Her eyes narrowed as she ate. "Oh my god, this food is so delicious." She added, "Take this tender pumpkin for example. It tastes so special. If we had such tender pumpkins at home, we wouldn't be willing to pick them to cook."
Seeing that the steamed bread in her hand was not like the ones they usually ate at home, Chen Cui couldn't help but ask, "Is your steamed bread made of cornmeal?"
Zhang Guixiang took another bite of the steamed bread. "Hey, it's made of cornmeal, and it seems they use fine flour. It tastes really good and doesn't make your throat sore at all."
She let out a long sigh: "When my husband asked me to sign up, I was not happy. If you knew the food here was so delicious, I would have been the first to sign up."
Xu Shanshan came over with a tray and sat down. "At the beginning, we decided not to provide lunch. It was Xiao Jiang who specifically requested it from Director Xie, so we were able to have this lunch for you today."
Everyone was stunned and looked at Jiang Xueyi.
Huang Xiuhua clutched the corner of her clothes embarrassedly: "Teacher Jiang, this..."
Chen Cui's eyes were slightly red: "Teacher Jiang, you are such a nice person."
Jiang Xueyi smiled and joked, "I can't let you go back hungry." She added, "Besides, if you don't eat, how will you have the energy to attend the skills training class in the afternoon, and how will you have the energy to listen to the skills training class well? The skills training class is different from the literacy class in the morning. It requires hands-on work. If you don't have something to eat, how can you sustain it?"
Huang Xiuhua wiped her mouth and said, "No matter what, Teacher Jiang, don't worry. After eating your Women's Federation's food, we will definitely study hard and listen carefully to the lectures!"
"Don't," Jiang Xueyi said with a smile. "If you only study hard after you've eaten, then that goes against the original idea of running this class. Ultimately, our Women's Federation runs this literacy and skills training class because we hope you can learn a few more words, master some skills, and truly achieve 'learning to read and earning money', truly standing up on your own feet. That's our original intention."
Chen Cui had been hearing Jiang Xueyi say that she could make money, and couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Jiang, can you really make money?"
"Why not?" Jiang Xueyi said, "As a human being, if you can work, you can earn money."
She kept it a secret: "You'll find out after the skills training class this afternoon."
There is not much rest time at noon. Some women who come to class live in remote communes with inconvenient transportation. Ending school early allows them to go home earlier.
So, the class started at one o'clock in the afternoon.
It was the first time for Section Chief You to teach such a large group of people. Looking at the classroom full of people, her calves were shaking. She couldn't help but say to Jiang Xueyi, "Xiao Jiang, why don't you come?"
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "I can do it, but my handicrafts are not as good as yours. If I mess it up and ruin the reputation of our Women's Federation class, it will not be my fault."
Section Chief You gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, I'll do it." He added, "But, Xiao Jiang, you have to help me. If I make a mistake or get stuck, you have to help me straighten things out."
Jiang Xueyi smiled and replied, "Okay, okay." She pushed Section Chief You inside and said, "The students are waiting for you, Teacher You, please go in quickly."
Section Chief You gave himself several ideological preparations before he could stand on the podium.
But when she faced so many pairs of eyes below, she became nervous again and couldn't even speak.
Jiang Xueyi sighed and whispered in her ear, "Sister You, don't be nervous." She added, "There are so many people here. Some of them came all the way from Liangjiatun Commune, 50 kilometers away, getting up early and working late. Others worked day and night to finish their farm work and nurse their children, only to find time to attend class."
"Their purpose in attending classes is nothing more than learning to read and write, acquiring skills, and changing their fate. Or, to put it simply, it's to make money and be able to hold their heads high at home."
Jiang Xueyi looked at Section Chief You, her eyes sparkling. "They are not only a group of students, but also a group of women eager to help."
Section Chief You let out a long sigh: "Xiao Jiang, I understand."
She is so much older than Xiao Jiangchi and holds a higher position than her, but she still doesn't see things as clearly as she does.
Everyone who comes here is in need of help, and she is the one who provides help.
What she holds in her hands is the way to make money and the key to changing their destiny.
When you think about it this way, what is there to be nervous about?
She wished she could teach them everything she knew right now.
Section Chief You's expression changed, and he placed a stack of cardboard boxes on the podium. "In this class, I'm going to teach you how to paste matchboxes. These matchboxes are all from the match factory. This job doesn't pay much, but it's steady. If you're quick, you can earn 8 or 10 cents a day. Plus, you can do this anytime. After a day of farm work, you can go home and do it in the evening. Or you can do it while nursing your child and watching him sleep."
Everyone was shocked.
Huang Xiuhua stood up and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Teacher, can I really earn eight cents or even ten cents a day?"
This is much more than what she earns from sewing shoe soles.
Sometimes she couldn't finish sewing a pair of shoe soles even in three or four days. And when she took them to the market to sell, there were many people who could sew better than her. She could only sell a pair of soles for a cent, or even couldn't sell them at all.
Huang Xiuhua glanced at the cardboard boxes on the podium. Now Section Chief You told her that she could earn 8.1 cents a night from those cardboard boxes. How could she not be excited?
There were many people as excited as Huang Xiuhua. Everyone was talking at once and the classroom suddenly became noisy.
Chief You quickly raised his voice: "Quiet!"
Everyone fell silent instantly, staring at Section Chief You eagerly without blinking, fearing that she would stop teaching them this way of making money if they were not satisfied.
Chief You was also surprised when he saw so many pairs of eager eyes in the audience.
She originally thought that most people knew how to make matchboxes, and even thought that no one would want to learn it from her, but instead wanted to learn some paper-cutting or embroidery skills.
When I think about it carefully, it doesn’t seem strange anymore.
Those who could take odd jobs like making matchboxes back home to do the work were generally workers in the match factory, or relatives and friends of the workers. In short, they were all city dwellers, or at the very least, people from the town.
Eighty percent of the participants in the literacy and skills training classes were women from the communes below. Naturally, most of them did not know that they could make money by pasting matchboxes.
This is a lack of information.
Seeing everyone so excited, Section Chief You couldn't help but get excited too. With slightly trembling hands, he picked up the cardboard and introduced it to them: "This is called a 'big sheet'. It's a whole sheet of printed and pressed matchboxes, with dozens of matches connected together. You have to tear it apart when you use it. Remember, don't tear it, otherwise the whole matchbox will be unusable."
Section Chief You paused, then continued, "This is called 'wooden paper strips'. They're used to paste the inner box of the matchbox, and then the base." He added, "All we need to prepare is a bowl of paste. The rest can be obtained at the match factory."
After hearing this, everyone could hardly sit still.
They thought that they needed to prepare a lot of things to make the matchbox, but they didn't expect that they only needed to bring their own glue, and the rest could be obtained at the match factory.
Who doesn’t have paste? It’s so convenient.
Section Chief You continued teaching. She arranged the torn pieces in a staggered manner, leaving about one centimeter of each piece exposed. She applied paste evenly with a brush, bent the matchbox along the creases, glued it in place, and then let it dry.
Next, brush a stack of two-finger-wide paper pieces with paste, place a one-finger-wide wooden strip on top, and use a mold to paste the small bottom. Finally, put a piece of paper at the bottom of the box and assemble it. A matchbox is ready.
After she finished teaching, she distributed the materials for making matchboxes and asked everyone to follow the steps she demonstrated.
"first step……"
Knowing that these small pieces of paper in our hands can make money, everyone can't help but treat them more seriously.
But no matter how careful we were, some people still made mistakes, after all, it was their first time.
When Chief You went down to check, he found that someone had pasted the cardboard box upside down, and the small box could not be pushed in at all.
She put her hands behind her back and shook her head, saying, "No, the people at the match factory won't accept this."
She raised her voice and said, "Everyone, please pay attention. If the paste is rough, the edges are not aligned, the paste has stained the shell, and the bundling direction is inconsistent or the bundling is too loose, these problems will require rework."
After hearing this, some people who were not serious at first also started to take it seriously.
After all, it is a job that makes money, and redoing the work means not making any money.
There are always people who can't learn, so teachers like Section Chief Han and Xu Shanshan appear at the right time and teach them how to make matchboxes step by step.
Even the dumbest person, after being taught three to five times, or seven to eight times, will learn it through muscle memory.
Before school was over at four o'clock in the afternoon, some people had already managed to paste five matchboxes in a decent manner.
Section Chief You was very satisfied and praised: "Not bad, after all, you are just starting out and your hands are not very good. Once you become proficient, your movements will only be faster. It will be no problem for you to make 70 or 80 in one night."
She put the five matchboxes away again and said, "I'll keep these for you. When you have a sufficient number, I'll take them to the match factory and sell them. I'll then give you the money I earn." She then raised her voice, "The same goes for the others. The number of matches they make is counted."
Someone couldn't wait to ask, "Teacher You, can I take some matchboxes home to make? I'll bring the pasted matchboxes to you next Saturday."
When the others heard this, they quickly said, "I want one too." "I want one too." "I've finished my work in the fields and have nothing to do tonight, so this is perfect for me."
Section Chief You glanced at them calmly and said, "Next class, after you take the quiz to test your matchbox-making skills, you can take the matchboxes home to make them."
Everyone was in an uproar. Zhang Guixiang couldn't help but say, "Teacher You, why is this so? If we take the homework home, isn't it just like we finish the class and then go home to review it ourselves? What a great thing! Why don't you agree?"
"That's right, it's just a matchbox, what's so difficult about it?" The man who had made five said eagerly, rubbing his hands. "I can already make five. Give me one night and I can make a hundred. I can earn 8.1 cents and buy candy for my waiter."
Jiang Xueyi raised her hand and pressed it down: "Everyone, be quiet."
When everyone heard her speak, they fell silent.
Jiang Xueyi smiled and continued, "We understand that everyone wants to make money by pasting matchboxes, but we need to take this batch of matchboxes to the match factory for inspection. If the quality doesn't pass, it will affect their impression of us, and they might not agree to cooperate with us."
"So, just like Teacher You said, let's take another class and then the test to consolidate our knowledge and become more proficient at our work. This way, the finished product will be better." Jiang Xueyi smiled. "Why worry that the match factory won't give us work in the future?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, saying, "Teacher Jiang is right." "Then let's take another class. I also think I need another class before I can make a matchbox worth money."
Section Chief You breathed a sigh of relief and gave Jiang Xueyi a look: "You still have a way."
On another Saturday, the students finished the literacy class in the morning and attended the skills training class in the afternoon.
Section Chief You trained them again on how to paste matchboxes, and then asked Xu Shanshan to test them.
Most of the students passed the exam, and only a small number failed.
It doesn’t matter if you didn’t pass. Just go home and continue studying, and then take the make-up exam next week.
Students who passed the exam successfully received matchboxes.
Depending on the test scores, the first place winner will receive materials for making 100 matchboxes, the second place winner will receive 95... and so on.
Some people worked day and night, and finally finished pasting all the matchboxes they received before the third skills training class.
In accordance with the agreement, Section Chief You handed over the first batch of pasted matchboxes to the match factory.
Each matchbox has been inspected and the quality is guaranteed. It is much better than those made by those who make matchboxes for odd jobs.
The factory manager was so happy that he signed a large order directly with the Women's Federation. For a period of time afterwards, the students who came to participate in the literacy and skills training classes would never have to worry about not having work to paste matchboxes.
The first literacy and skills training class was a great success.
Some people learned knowledge and, through self-study, were admitted to the factory and became formal female workers. They wore blue work clothes and received a salary of 18 yuan a month.
Some people learned a craft and took matchboxes home every week to paste them. Not only did they paste them themselves, but they also encouraged their entire family to do the same.
After finishing the farm work, the family lit the oil lamp and started pasting matchboxes around the table.
The money earned was used to buy meat, candy for the children, and cloth to make clothes to improve life.
When the course ended, everyone was reluctant to leave.
Holding Jiang Xueyi and Section Chief You's hands, he said, "Teacher Jiang, Teacher You, can I still come to see you in the future?"
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "The Women's Federation is your mother's home. You are welcome to come home at any time."
Section Chief You had no idea that her initial plan was just to teach a few classes, but now she and several students have become good friends who can talk and talk. "That's right, come back often to visit."
Zhang Guixiang smiled and waved: "I will miss you."
Chen Cui laughed and scolded: "You miss the food here, right?"
Zhang Guixiang laughed and said, "I want both, both."
Director Xie saw everything and was filled with emotion.
At the same time, the reputation and word of mouth of the literacy and skills training class spread from one student to ten, and from ten to a hundred.
Under the big banyan tree at the entrance of the village, Zhang Guixiang put her hands on her hips and spit flew as she said, "Yes, that's right. It's the literacy and skills training class run by the town Women's Federation. It's great. We learn to read in the morning, and at noon we get a meal. There's two taels of rice or cornmeal steamed buns, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried bean sprouts with vermicelli, and stir-fried young pumpkin. Everyone gets a serving of these dishes, and the portions are plenty. After lunch, we take a short nap, and then in the afternoon we continue learning to make matchboxes with the teacher. It's easy. We can make fifty in an afternoon, and exchange them for five cents. In an afternoon, we can earn five cents. It's much better than working in the fields."
"Yes, that's right. It's not over once you've finished your studies. With the certificate from the literacy and skills training class, you can continue to get a job pasting matchboxes at the match factory. My husband and I, along with our two children, work by the oil lamp every night. Look at us, we're eating meat now, and our two little ones are wearing new clothes."
Wu Ling returned home wearing a blue work suit and holding several books in her hands.
Her father was shocked: "Ling'er, didn't you never like studying before?"
Wu Ling said with a firm face, "Teacher Jiang is right. Knowledge changes destiny. I must study hard. Just treat everything I said before as bullshit."
Huang Xiuhua's husband pushed her and cursed, "Silly woman, you've grown up! I asked you to pour me some water to wash my feet, but you're still complaining. Don't you want to live like this anymore?"
Huang Xiuhua put down the matchbox in her hand, her eyes red, and cursed with her hands on her hips: "It's okay, but I can make money by making matchboxes. Even if I leave you, I can still live a good life."
More and more people come to the Women's Federation to ask when this literacy and skills training class will be held again.
This made Director Xie think about whether to organize a second class.
At this time, Jiang Xueyi was worried about another thing: the little boy was going to nursery.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
