"Okay, just let her co find in the next few days, I’ll tidy things up for her."
The Li Family Brothers both laughed. "Is Teacher Jiang planning to start a proper learning class?"
Jiang Xinyu frowned, "It’s not easy. The children are of very different ages, and there is a big gap in their educational levels. I can’t handle teaching them alone."
Li Yungui thought of his two nephews. They’re both in school, but given the lack of environnt, boys aren’t as steady as girls; he hasn’t really seen them studying. What can be done?
His own son studying with Teacher Jiang is fine, but not for them; he really fears they might be delayed in their learning.
This needs to be told to the elder brother as soon as possible; it’s a big responsibility.
Li Yungui ca ho to find his niece reading. "Xue’er, Teacher Jiang said you can go see her in the next two days."
"Okay. Thank you, Second Uncle."
"It’s nothing, but Red Army and Hongling can’t be like you. Teacher Jiang doesn’t have enough ti for everyone."
"Don’t worry, Second Uncle, I’ll teach those two myself."
"That could work, but you’d better inform your dad as soon as possible."
"Second Uncle, my eldest sister-in-law is due in two months, so I’ll stay here to study until then."
"Alright."
Li Yungui, at dinner, spoke to his two nephews, "You two should focus on your studies. Teacher Jiang doesn’t have ti, so you’ll need to follow your sister’s lead."
The two boys had been playing crazily, as there isn’t much work in the village. They spent their days running wild and, if not for Li Yungui’s constant warnings not to climb the hills, they would likely spend every day up there.
When they heard they must study, both slumped their heads.
Seeing their expressions made Li Yungui angry enough to want to smack them. Yet he reminded himself, these are nephews, not sons, he couldn’t hit them.
Cheng Lin, while eating, looked at his two older brothers with sympathy, so he quickly changed the subject, "Dad, where have Second Brother and the others reached?"
Li Yungui shook his head, "I don’t know. Do you all want to go see them?"
The four boys nodded, of course they did.
"But without education, why would Master Wei take you along? Chaoyang and Xiang Dong caught Master Wei’s eye because they were diligent and eager to learn. You should study well, too, so you might have a chance to go out in the future.
Red Army, aren’t you envious of Chaoyang and the others learning to drive tractors? That was at Master Wei’s request."
Li Yungui wasn’t sure if this approach would work, but he needed to say it to them anyway.
Red Army nodded, "Second Uncle, I’ll study hard. I too want to see the world with Master Wei. I heard they’re going to J Province, which is thousands of kiloters from here. I’m really envious of Chaoyang and Xiang Dong."
"Then study hard and let Master Wei notice you. Who knows, soday Master Wei might go even further to better places."
The four boys nodded. This is an opportunity, currently the only chance to go out.
The next morning, all the committee mbers in the village were on duty at the warehouse. Today was grain distribution day. Although Li Cunshan had already tidied things with others in prior days, things needed to be organized again.
Everyone was lining up, each household pushing a cart. Sister-in-law Liu was no exception. She earned work points, but there wasn’t any grain for her; however, the Wei Family did have a share.
Jiang Xinyu was at ho watching the children. She ca to help with the grain distribution; in truth, she couldn’t carry it all back alone. But there would surely be soone to help, since the n at ho weren’t there.
Sister-in-law Liu was positioned in the middle of the line. Distributing grain wasn’t a fast process; every family’s different types of grain needed to be sumd up and weighed, which was quite tedious.
People in the village knew Sister-in-law Liu, so everyone chatted together.
"Sister from the Liu Family, when is Teacher Jiang starting classes? The kids are always running wild, and we’re worried they’ll head to the river."
"Teacher Jiang said once the Chinese cabbages are harvested, classes will begin."
"So, it will be in a few days?"
"Yes, that’s right."
"With Master Wei not around, if there’s work at your place and Teacher Jiang doesn’t have ti, just find us. Any one of us can lend a hand."
"Alright, I won’t hesitate to rely on everyone when needed."
Jiang Xinyu was at ho explaining things to Li Xue that she didn’t understand.
For Li Xue, having Teacher Jiang explain things was like poking through a window paper, everything suddenly beca clear.
She finished both the second half of grade one and the first half of grade two in just two hours.
"Well done, you have a good grasp. Keep pushing forward. My nephew and niece will be coming soon; I’ll be reviewing grade two knowledge with them. You’re welco to listen in, but since they’ve finished grade two, if you want to keep up, you’ll need to finish reading the second half of grade two textbooks in the next few days."
Li Xue looked at Jiang Xinyu with excitent, "Thank you, Teacher Jiang, I definitely will."
Jiang Xinyu watched the young girl happily take her books and leave, heading ho to study.
This is the kind of study attitude one should have. Only then can one truly learn sothing.
Shi Xian wasn’t sleeping today, but he wasn’t causing a fuss either, just rolling around on the kang bed by himself. Every so often, he’d kick Tingting or roll over onto the little girl.
Jiang Xinyu didn’t mind him, as long he didn’t cry.
I wonder where they are now? They must be on the train, right? Jiang Xinyu was really fed up with train rides. She didn’t know if the three kids were adapting.
Seeing it was already past ten o’clock, with just the two of them to eat, they decided to make rice for lunch today. Craving hot and sour shredded potatoes, and that would do for lunch.
By lunchti, it was finally Sister-in-law Liu’s turn, and by then, Li Xiaoshuang, along with several young n, were already waiting with a cart on the side.
Jiang Xinyu and Wei Kaiyun both had full work points, so they received the most grain.
The family’s grain totaled 1920 pounds, not counting Sister-in-law Liu’s share. The young n managed to transport it all in one trip.
By the ti they reached ho, Jiang Xinyu had already finished cooking. She directed the young n to place the grain in big jars in the side room.
The rats were really troubleso now; corn and sorghum were stored in ten large jars, while peanuts, soybeans, and adzuki beans were hung from the roof beams.
Jiang Xinyu thanked them with a smile, and the young n shyly ran off.
"Xiao Jiang, they were all asking when you’ll start classes. I told them you’d said once the cabbages are harvested, they’d begin."
They also said if there’s work to be done, just find them."
"Hmm, there’s not much work left for us. Once we’ve stored the cabbages in the cellar, it’ll just be pickling sauerkraut. It’s not heavy work; we can do it at a slow pace."
"When are we going to harvest the cabbages and radishes from our plot? Should I go this afternoon? You can stay ho and watch the children."
"That’s fine. Sister Du, take your ti, there’s no rush."
"I know, this isn’t heavy work either."
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