Chapter 8

The female teacher from the Electric Power and Hydraulic Engineering College was stung by Teacher He’s words. Her face burned, and she was left with a lump in her chest, unable to catch her breath.

She said, “Our school also has teachers who can assemble radios. If it’s just about taking apart a radio and reassembling the parts to make it look like one, that’s nothing impressive. The real skill comes from understanding the principles behind it.”

Yes, in her view, Su Ye was merely using some trick to deceive people. Perhaps Su Ye had bought an expensive radio, dismantled it, and brought it to school just to save face.

However, her words were quickly drowned out by an even more enthusiastic round of applause from the classroom.

The radio Su Ye made not only received signals, but it also picked up broadcasts from the harbor radio station. When the sounds from across the strait came through the radio, the classroom atmosphere reached its peak. The students clapped wildly, eager to clap their hands to the point of exhaustion.

Su Ye thought to herself that, at the very least, she had to live up to that two kilograms of pork reward. She had to finish with a flourish, a good teacher must start and end well.

Su Ye asked them, “Do you want to know how the radio is made?”

The children all shouted in unison, “Yes!”

So, under the burning gazes of everyone, Su Ye picked up the chalk and drew a simple circuit diagram of the radio, outlining the circuit board and listing all the basic concepts involved. The dense principles and formulas filled an entire chapter on the blackboard.

After briefly explaining the physical concepts on the board, Su Ye said to the students,

“This is the entire principle of the radio. Electricity, current, circuits—these are the topics you are learning now. Electromagnetic fields and electromagnetic waves are things you will study in vocational school, high school, and even university. It’s okay if you don’t understand them now. As long as you work hard from this point on, the knowledge you will master will only grow. It will all become second nature.”

At this point, Su Ye looked at the exceptionally eager eyes in the classroom, and the thought of “sustainable development” flashed through her mind. What if she could earn even more fatty pork?

Strike while the iron is hot!

She then changed the tone of her speech and said, “Students who have extra time and energy can continue to research this topic. I’m free during the breaks and welcome any questions you have. Although I can’t guarantee that everyone will get into vocational school or university, I promise that by the time you graduate from middle school, each of you will have made your own radio.”

Su Ye was so moved by her own words that she even felt willing to sacrifice her own break time. She was truly a selfless and dedicated teacher, an inspiration to everyone!

‘^[1]“Striking while the iron is hot” is an idiomatic expression that means taking advantage of an opportunity at the right moment, or acting decisively when conditions are favorable.Striking while the iron is hot… oh no, I mean, fostering the future pillars of the nation,’ she thought.

The children happily took out their notebooks and carefully copied down everything from the blackboard. The serious expressions on their young faces seemed as though they were not copying formulas, but writing down their dreams.

In this era of limited resources and a severe shortage of talent, the quality of the teaching staff varied greatly. Many teachers had not even graduated from high school themselves but were teaching at that level. Forget about being able to clarify students’ doubts, it was a rare thing for them to avoid corporal punishment. Meeting a good teacher was a stroke of luck.

Outside the classroom, Teacher He had listened to the entire lesson and couldn’t help but be moved. The new Teacher Su not only had good skills, but she was also diligent.

He watched the students earnestly taking notes, nodding with satisfaction. He glanced disdainfully at the stubborn teacher who had been so dismissive earlier, saying nothing, with his hands behind his back. He turned and walked away without a word.

Teacher Fang’s impolite behavior made the two women’s faces turn pale. Especially Gao Anna, who felt the shame on her own and realized that her cousin’s information had been completely unreliable!

Gao Anna blushed and apologized profusely to the teacher as she escorted her out of the school.

After class, Fang Zhou and Liu Qiu quickly went to find Gao Anna. With righteous indignation, they said, “Anna, let’s go to the principal and report this!”

Having seen Su Ye’s formulas filling the blackboard, Gao Anna understood that Su Ye was indeed competent. With that, she completely gave up on going to the principal. But, having been humiliated by Teacher He, Gao Anna’s rejection now had a strange taste.

“Forget it, don’t make a scene. I’m already a teacher at the No. 5 School, and we’re in the same line of work. We’ll see each other every day. If we make a scene now, it’ll be embarrassing for both of us,” Gao Anna said, and then left the school.

Fang Zhou and Liu Qiu’s impression of the other new science teacher, Su Ye, dropped to the lowest point.

After school, in the office.

During the lunch break, the other teachers had already gone to eat. Su Ye’s desk, however, was crowded with several students. She patiently explained things to them one by one until they all left. However, three stubborn ones remained like little tails, unwilling to leave and persistently attempting to tie her up with awkward questions.

She glanced at them and knew right away—these were likely the contributors to the two kilograms of pork belly. When it came to those who contributed to the “grain,” Su Ye unusually had a great deal of patience.

The questions they racked their brains to come up with may have seemed silly to other teachers, but to Su Ye, they weren’t dry, boring, or childish questions. This was clearly a great opportunity to earn rewards! Su Ye would never give up on any student.

Su Ye patiently and sincerely used the gentlest tone to teach them how to draw circuits, one stroke at a time, until they were finally satisfied and left the office on their own.

The teachers in the office, seeing this, couldn’t help but tease, “Teacher Su Ye is really dedicated.”

Su Ye smiled. Her class was the last one of the afternoon, and she began to pack up, preparing to go home and collect her reward.

Two kilograms of pork belly—what a wonderful thing…

On the way home, Su Ye passed by the bamboo pole in the yard where dried meat was hanging. In the soft sunlight, the dried meat, which had been drying for several days, had gradually become air-dried, its edges sharp after the moisture evaporated.

This time, Su Ye didn’t have to watch others swallow their saliva. She went inside, took out a clean bowl, and used it to prepare the pork belly.

She made a deal with the system in the live streaming room. Wait a minute—she couldn’t just eat pork! She also missed the taste of fish, beef, chicken, duck, and goose…

After counting up the food she might be able to get, the more she thought about it, the better it seemed. After saying it out loud, a pound of pork belly appeared in her bowl. The pork belly was just as good as always, fresh, plump, and glistening white under the sunlight, with the fatty meat shining brightly.

Su Ye was so hungry that she almost wanted to devour the pork belly raw. She cleaned the newly bought knife, cut the pork into chunks, and marinated it with a mix of pepper, star anise, mace, and cloves. Finally, she threaded the pork belly through some twine.

Humming happily, Su Ye hung the pork belly near the window. This spot would get sunlight every day, and the ventilation was good.

Su Ye didn’t dare to make a big deal of drying the cured meat out in the yard. She decided to quietly enjoy the meat herself. How could someone like her, a “poor person,” afford to buy meat? This was a question that couldn’t be explained, so she simply chose not to explain it.

As Su Ye sniffed the rich, savory aroma of the cured meat, her mind was filled with images of enjoying cured meat during the New Year.

The well-cured meat had a crystal-clear shine on the fatty parts, while the lean parts were fresh and chewy. When you cooked it, the fat would drip into the rice, making it even more delicious. Living like this was something to look forward to.

Su Ye swallowed, made herself a bowl of spicy oil noodles, and happily took a nap afterward.

—

On the weekend, in the family compound.

Su Ye didn’t have to teach, and He Meimei came to find her to go foraging for wild ^[2]Fish mint (Houttuynia cordata) is a perennial herb native to Southeast Asia and parts of China. It is also known by other names such as chameleon plant and heartleaf. The plant gets its name … Continue readingfish mints and fishing, to improve their food supplies. He Meimei probably thought that Su Ye had eaten up all her rations and hadn’t been paid, so she was likely to starve to death. Out of kindness, she invited her along.

Su Ye wasn’t too interested, but seeing a whole group of people all carrying baskets and waiting for her, she had no choice but to go with them.

A woman with a “pot lid” hairstyle warmly grabbed Su Ye’s hand. “Hey, don’t be shy! I know you educated folks, you’re too reserved. But we’re just going to do some work and improve our lives.”

During the social event last weekend, everyone knew Su Ye had landed a teaching job at the high school. However, the women most eager to offer Su Ye a helping hand were mostly military wives from the countryside. And, as expected, they were also quite poor.

As the year drew to a close, food became scarcer, and saving up for some good food to eat during the New Year was very difficult. Many people, including the military wives, turned their attention to wild fish mints in the fields and fish in the rivers, hoping to supplement their food supplies.

Su Ye was stunned and realized just how generous it was for the Women’s Federation director to have shared two kilograms of pork for everyone to make dumplings.

Seeing how difficult life was for everyone, Su Ye even felt a little ashamed for shamelessly eating one of the dumplings that was meant for the director.

The women, singing folk songs, walked to the riverbank on the outskirts. They bent down and turned over the dry grass on the ground to find a wild fish mint that was hard to spot.

An experienced military wife told Su Ye, “Use the hoe to dig down—there’s the root of the ‘folded ear root’ in the soil. It’s frost-resistant and its roots grow deep in the dirt. It’s crispy and perfect for pickling vegetables. If you haven’t lived in the countryside, you wouldn’t know where it grows!”

They had also brought simple fishing gear—just a rod with a fishing line made from old, torn fishing nets.

However, some military families in the compound had better living conditions.

For instance, the military wives with a more bourgeois flair, who came from the cities, would spend their weekends watching movies, enjoying plays, or even going to the countryside to fish.

For example, Li Hongli, Gao Anna, and the woman from the Li family, who was drying cured meat in the yard and dressed in a style reminiscent of Soviet fashion.

Su Ye rolled up her sleeves to dig for wild fish mints and, with a keen eye, noticed that those women were fishing by the river. It seemed like they had arrived early and had already caught some fish.

The rural wives suddenly felt embarrassed. Normally, their husbands held similar positions, so none of them were better than the others. But their living conditions were still a notch lower, and secretly foraging for wild fish mints on weekends to improve their food situation would be seen as shameful if it got out.

Some women, feeling awkward, pretended not to notice and continued digging, but subtly hid the ‘folded ear root’ they had dug up behind their backs. Others, with a bold face, walked up to offer their wild fish mints.

However, Li Hongli looked down on these wild fish mints. “These taste weird. I don’t like them. You all can keep them for yourselves.”

Since Li Hongli had learned how Su Ye had pushed her cousin out of the way for the job, she no longer liked Su Ye. In fact, she found her even more annoying now.

Li Hongli disliked Su Ye, and by extension, the group of poor military wives also took a dislike to her. Li Hongli didn’t say a word, and the rural military wife, who had been chatting non-stop, suddenly felt extremely awkward.

The military wife, blushing, said, “Am I being too annoying? You keep fishing, I’ll go dig for wild fish mints.”

Gao Anna also didn’t like Su Ye. In her eyes, Su Ye had taken the spot that rightfully belonged to her. She looked at the group of people holding their broken fishing rods, with one lonely rod without even a bobber, and thought they looked terribly poor. She greeted them and said,

“Teacher Su, your fishing rod is too worn out. The fishing line isn’t even one whole piece. How are you supposed to catch any fish with that? Would you like us to lend you one?”

“I apologize on behalf of Hongli,” she continued, “She’s never eaten these kinds of smelly things since she was a child. She’d rather starve than eat them. Thanks for your kindness.”

With her constant suggestions of lending a fishing rod and apologizing, the tone of her disdain was unmistakable. The other poor military wives turned red with embarrassment, muttering to themselves and preparing to find another spot to dig for wild fish mints.

Su Ye took back the ‘folded ear root’ that had been rejected and patted her worn fishing rod.

‘We’re all here to improve our lives, who’s better than who?’ Su Ye thought. She saw they were fishing, so she knew they were also lacking food and were probably trying to catch something for a meal.

Suddenly, Su Ye remembered that she still had some fish left to exchange in the live stream. She tried to contact the live stream and then, smiling, sat down on Gao Anna’s bench, holding her fishing rod.

Su Ye patted her fishing rod and said, “No, thank you. This fishing rod is perfectly fine. I’m catching fish without any trouble.”

Su Ye glanced at the small fish in Li Hongli’s bucket—only two, about two inches long. It seemed like a decent catch, but compared to hers… it was still a little lacking.

Leisurely, Su Ye cast her old fishing line. After a short while, her fishing rod shook. He Meimei, surprised, urged Su Ye to reel it in. “Quick, quick, there’s a fish!”

So quickly, she had caught a fish. Su Ye’s luck was enough to make people take a second look. Li Hongli and the others had been squatting by the river for almost the entire morning, and the three of them had only caught two fish.

Su Ye pulled up a medium-sized fish and casually cast her line again.

A minute later, another military wife excitedly shouted, “It’s another one! Su Ye, quick, pull it up and see!”

Under everyone’s gaze, Su Ye caught another fish, and this one weighed about half a kilogram. It looked plump and juicy.

“Ahh, Su Ye, is there a fish again?”

—

“Again! It’s another one!”

The military wives screamed hoarsely, their throats dry from shouting. Bringing Su Ye to fish had definitely been the right choice! It seemed like she was born to fish—fish just seemed to swim straight into her rod.

He Meimei and the others had lost their minds, watching Su Ye with envy, jealousy, and admiration. Every time she sat down with her fishing rod, it seemed like it never stopped working—almost like every fish in the river was caught on her line.

Su Ye fished for an hour and ended up with a bucket full of about ten or so fish. By market standards, one kilogram of pork roughly equals three kilograms of fish. The fish in the bucket probably weighed around three kilograms. Though not much, considering the small size of the fish, there were still about ten of them.

With everyone’s astonished gazes upon her, Su Ye gently released the tiny fish, no longer than her thumb, back into the river. Then she handed the bucket to her companions, saying, “Let’s divide these fish among everyone.”

The other military wives, in shock, amazement, and admiration, began showering her with praise, their compliments flowing like a river. The flattery made Su Ye almost blush from embarrassment.

Su Ye carefully adjusted her worn-out fishing rod and, with a calm smile, said, “Oh, it’s nothing. It’s all thanks to this great rod. The moment I hold it, I just know it’s perfect.”