Chapter 60: Chinese Toon

Liu Changquan was highly efficient. The next day, he arranged for twenty people to start building the classroom.

Setting up a school in the village was a big deal, and most of the villagers were quite happy about it.

When Jiang Cuihua found out that her daughter was going to be a teacher in the village, she was so shocked that she almost dropped the bowl she was holding.

That morning, Jiang Cuihua didn’t go to work and instead came over to chat with Liu Yinyin.

“You, teaching? You weren’t even a good student yourself! Back then, you barely said a word even after getting hit three times. Are you sure you can teach?”

Jiang Cuihua wasn’t exactly unhappy, but… if her daughter wasn’t capable enough, it would be an embarrassment.

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in her daughter, but she knew that teaching wasn’t an easy job.

Jiang Cuihua was quite a talker herself. She could chat endlessly with anyone in the village for three days and nights without stopping.

But if she had to stand in front of a group of people and speak, her legs would surely turn to jelly!

Liu Yinyin felt a bit embarrassed. “It should be fine. I had no trouble teaching Zhizhi.”

In reality, she had no doubts about her abilities. Teaching a dozen or twenty kids was nothing compared to the much larger crowds she had faced in her past life.

“Don’t worry, Mom. I can handle it.” Liu Yinyin quickly changed the subject. “You’re not going to work today?”

“No, I have the day off,” Jiang Cuihua replied. Now that she was older, she didn’t work as hard as she did in her youth. It was time for her to enjoy life a little.

Liu Yinyin immediately perked up. “Then can you help me watch Yanyan? I want to go up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables.”

Jiang Cuihua: “…”

Did she come here just to babysit?

Before she could refuse, Liu Yinyin grabbed a basket and a small hoe, preparing to leave. As she stepped out, she called back, “There’s milk powder on the table. If Yanyan gets hungry, just make some for him. Mom, I’ll be back before noon to cook lunch. Stay and eat with us, okay?”

A few days ago, Gu Cheng had traded with one of his comrades for several bags of milk powder. With that, Liu Yinyin didn’t have to worry about rushing home to feed the baby.

“Hey, you—” Jiang Cuihua started, but her daughter was already far away.

It was bamboo shoot season again. As soon as Liu Yinyin reached the mountain, she went straight to search for fresh spring bamboo shoots.

However, it was still early in the season, and the shoots had only just started to sprout. Plus, many villagers had been coming up to the mountain to gather wild vegetables recently.

Her harvest wasn’t great—she only managed to find about seven or eight pounds of bamboo fungus in total.

But she did find a lot of Chinese toon!

Since bamboo shoots were scarce, she switched to looking for toon leaves and wild vegetables instead.

Digging for wild vegetables was strangely addictive. By the time she reluctantly decided to stop, the sun was already high in the sky.

She sold most of the wild vegetables to the system, keeping only about a pound of Chinese toon for herself. The rest went to the system as well.

As for the bamboo shoots and bamboo fungus, she kept them. Now that her household was in a better position, she wasn’t going to scrimp on good food just to make extra money.

Bamboo shoots were delicious stir-fried with meat or pickled, and bamboo fungus made a great soup. Liu Yinyin decided to keep them all for her family to enjoy.

As she made her way down the mountain, she ran into Yang Guizhi, who had also finished gathering wild vegetables. She was carrying her youngest daughter on her back.

Yang Guizhi looked thinner than before.

“Guizhi-jie,” Liu Yinyin greeted.

“Yinyin, you went up the mountain to gather wild vegetables too?” Yang Guizhi asked, looking surprised.

Liu Yinyin was puzzled. Was it that strange for her to go foraging?

Yang Guizhi chuckled awkwardly. “Well, I just thought you’d be too busy taking care of your child to go up the mountain.”

Comparing people could really make one feel frustrated.

Yang Guizhi’s mother-in-law refused to help with childcare, so she had to bring her child along while working.

Unlike Liu Yinyin, whose husband was capable and provided well for her. She could stay home and focus entirely on raising her son.

Liu Yinyin simply smiled. “I happened to have some free time today.”

Maybe she was overthinking it, but Liu Yinyin was always cautious about insects and ants on the mountain. Since Gu Yanyan was still small, she didn’t dare to bring him along.

Other village women, however, didn’t have such concerns. Kids were raised roughly in these times.

Coming from a more modern era, Liu Yinyin inevitably acted more cautiously. To others, she probably seemed like she was spoiling her child.

After a moment of thought, Yang Guizhi asked, “I heard the village is building classrooms. Are you really going to be a teacher?”

This kind of news had spread through the village early on.

Liu Yinyin nodded. “Some families want their children to learn a few things.”

Yang Guizhi had never been to school, but she knew that studying was a good thing.

If she had the chance, she would love to send her children to school too.

The commune school was expensive, costing one yuan per semester. Yang Guizhi’s mother-in-law, who favored boys over girls, would definitely not be willing to pay for her granddaughter’s education.

But now that an elementary school was being set up in the village…

If the tuition wasn’t too high, she had some private savings tucked away.

Yang Guizhi hurriedly asked Liu Yinyin, “Is the tuition expensive?”

Liu Yinyin answered truthfully, “Not at all. I told the village chief that anyone who wants to send their child to school just needs to bring me a basket of wild vegetables each day as tuition.”

“What? You’re only asking for wild vegetables?” Yang Guizhi was pleasantly surprised. “Then can I send my eldest daughter too?”

Liu Yinyin’s mouth twitched. “Your eldest daughter is only four years old?”

She was probably still counting by traditional age reckoning!

A child that young wouldn’t understand much in school and might not even be able to climb onto a chair.

Yang Guizhi quickly added, “Yes, she’s only four, but she’s very well-behaved! She even helps out with chores at home.”

Liu Yinyin politely declined, “Four is really too young. The village chief also said that children must be at least six years old to enroll. Guizhi-jie, your eldest daughter will have to wait another two years.”

Liu Yinyin wasn’t going to compromise on a matter of principle. If a four-year-old was allowed, then what about a three-year-old? Or even a two-year-old?

This was a school, not a daycare.

Yang Guizhi was a little disappointed but didn’t show any signs of displeasure. She simply said, “Waiting two more years is fine.”

As long as the tuition didn’t increase by then, there wouldn’t be a problem.

After descending the mountain, the two parted ways.

Liu Yinyin carried her basket home. On her way past the village’s private farming plots, she noticed that the school’s framework was already taking shape.

The efficiency was truly impressive.

It even looked like they were building four classrooms. Liu Changquan was clearly serious about establishing the school—he was fully committed to making it happen.

Liu Yinyin suddenly felt a bit of regret. She had never planned on teaching permanently. If they found another suitable teacher in the future, she might step away from the role.

But with the school built right next to her house, wouldn’t it be noisy all the time?

Sigh!

If she had known earlier, she wouldn’t have let Liu Changquan build the school here.

But it was too late for regrets now.

When she got home, Gu Yanyan was napping, and Liu Zhizhi had gone to the canteen to fetch food.

Liu Yinyin quickly started cooking. Jiang Cuihua helped out beside her and once again brought up the topic of her teaching at the school.

There were three grandchildren in the family. The eldest granddaughter, Liu Zhizhi, was eight years old, making her eligible for school.

The eldest grandson, Liu Qingwen, was six—just the right age to start school as well.

But the youngest granddaughter was only four years old. Would she be allowed to attend…?