Chapter 2448: Being Calculative (1)
This child’s pencil was already so short that she couldn’t hold it properly. Even if that was the case, she couldn’t bear to throw it away. No matter how tough it was, she wanted to write a few more words with her short pencil.
“Yes, look. There are even new books. They’re so white. Teacher Zhou, are the books sold outside all like these? They smell good.”
“And these textbooks. These are our new textbooks. The words are so clear and clean. Teacher Zhou, can I write my name on it?”
The children were so happy to receive new school supplies.
They never thought that they could have such nice things one day.
The children couldn’t be blamed for being so agitated. The textbooks that they were using had been around for several years. After the people in this grade finished using them, they left them in school so that the students later could use them.
These were textbooks that were used in daily lessons. They weren’t storybooks where people would borrow them once in a while in the library.
One could imagine how old and tattered these textbooks were.
Even if that was the case, every time a child received a textbook, they had a sacred expression. They flipped the textbook carefully, afraid that if they used more strength, the textbook would be torn. That way, it would be impossible for their younger siblings to use the book when they were their age.
Yes, the books could really be torn that easily.
Upon seeing how the children were still cheris.h.i.+ng the torn textbooks, Qiao Nan felt heartache. She could also understand Teacher Zhou’s thoughts.
This was a bunch of lovely children. The country and society ought to give them a chance to realize their dreams.
“Really?”
Upon hearing the children’s words of joy, Teacher Zhou was extremely happy. “That’s great. You have new pencils, books, and textbooks. You have to study harder in the future. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“We will.”
Teacher Zhou rubbed his eyes. “Not only did Auntie Qiao buy you new books, but she also bought winter wear. Everyone, come and collect one set each. Queue up properly. When collecting the winter wear, remember to help your grandparents at home collect them as well. Understand?”
Actually, there was no need for Teacher Zhou to say this. Once they heard that they were collecting items, the students had already consciously lined up. They didn’t have the intention to s.n.a.t.c.h from one another.
The children thought that their level of happiness was about to hit the sky today. Who knew that good news came one after another?
“Teacher Zhou, is it true? Can we help our grandparents collect them as well?
“That’s great. My grandpa’s clothes are so tattered. I was initially planning to write a letter to my dad to remind him to help my grandpa buy some clothes when he returned later this year.”
If that was really the case, he’d probably have to wait for two to three months before his dad came back with the clothes for his grandpa.
It was great now. His grandpa would have new clothes to wear immediately.
As they entered autumn and the weather turned cooler, both adults and children were worried about autumn rain, as they knew the power of it.
Now, they longer had to worry or be scared as they had new clothes to wear.
When the children received the new and warm clothes, the happy and intoxicated expressions on their faces made people feel sour in their hearts.
Which child outside now wasn’t pampered as they grew up? To them, new clothes weren’t rare. There wasn’t a need to wait for the new year before they could buy new clothes.
Everyone’s living conditions were good and no one was willing to make their child suffer at home. New clothes were bought pretty much on a monthly basis.
It also wasn’t rare to buy new clothes for children once a week if there was a need or they were in a good mood.
Not too long later, every child received new clothes and stationery items in their hands. They looked so happy, like little birds flying with their wings outstretched in the sky. They didn’t know how to express their joy.
“Thank you, Auntie Qiao.”
“Thank you, Auntie Qiao.”
“Thank you, Auntie Qiao.”
…
After all the children received the items, they ran to Qiao Nan and thanked her in a grateful tone. “Auntie Qiao, bring along your children next time. We will definitely play with them well.”
He remembered that they loved to eat chestnuts. This year, he was definitely going to keep the biggest, best-grown, and sweet chestnuts for Auntie Qiao’s sons and daughter.
“Sure. I’ll bring along my children next time and I’ll have to rely on you to bring them out for fun.”
How would Qiao Nan reject the child’s pure and innocent feelings? She agreed happily.
Without this incident, as a native of Ping Cheng, Qiao Nan really didn’t know that there was such a backward place in Ping Cheng and so many children were suffering from not being able to pursue their studies.
It wasn’t only these thirty-odd children. There were some children in the family who were young and hadn’t reached the age of schooling. Their grandparents were currently raising them.
As such, Qiao Nan knew that the decision she had made secretly in her heart was going to become a major project. It was a long-term project that couldn’t be completed in a short period of time.
Even if that was the case, Qiao Nan felt that her perseverance and sacrifice were worth it.
After knowing that her G.o.dfather left everything of the Zhu family to her, she told herself that she would definitely use the inheritance of the Zhu family to do more meaningful things so that the people alive would remember the Zhu family’s existence.
For this purpose, everything that Qiao Nan did was in the name of the Zhu family.
“Auntie Qiao, is the world outside very beautiful? Are the schools there big? I heard that the schools outside are big and have very big playgrounds. The cla.s.srooms are huge too, and there are gla.s.s windows and lights.”
The children were very curious about the world outside the mountain and wanted to find out more.
The children were more eager to know how students outside looked like and if the cla.s.srooms were big and bright.
“Do you want to study at the primary schools outside?” Qiao Nan asked the children.
The children laughed and shook their heads. Then, they nodded. “Auntie Qiao, Teacher Zhou can only teach us primary school knowledge but not junior high school knowledge. Auntie Qiao, I want to study at a university. Teacher Zhou said that we would belong to the outside world in the future. As such, I want to study hard. Once I go to junior high school, I can go to school outside.”
The children knew very clearly about their family situations.
If not for Teacher Zhou, they wouldn’t have the chance to be in primary school, let alone junior high school and senior high school.
Their parents were working hard outside for their school fees. Even if they were in primary school, they had to study hard. After going outside, he wanted to let everyone know that Teacher Zhou was his primary school teacher.