Chapter 14

During the school summer vacation in mid-July, the children fished, touched shrimp, caught cicadas, and caught sparrows. Except for dinner time, you couldn’t even see their shadows. Within a few days of playing under the sun, they become darker.

This morning, while the sun was not scorching hot. Dong Jiahui wore a straw hat and squatted in a wooden basin and went down to the river, to pick water chestnut. The water chestnut was sweet and refreshing to eat raw, soft and delicate to cook, and could also fry vegetables or soup. It can be said to be a food that has many uses.

Dong Jiahui just picked half a basin of water chestnut and landed. When he was worried about how to transport the water chestnut and the wooden basin home, Zhao Donglin’s bike stopped in front of her

“Secretary Zhao?”

Dong Jiahui had a deep impression of Zhao Donglin after meeting him once in town. He is a tough-looking, sturdy village secretary in a green military uniform.

“What are you doing in our village?”

Today, Dong Jiahui was wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt with simple black pants on her lower body. This kind of dress is common in rural areas. However, the style of clothes Dong Jiahui wears is made by herself and combined with her own aesthetics. If someone wore it, no one could tell the difference. Anyway, it comes down to her unique temperament.

After a few months of boredom at home, without going to work in the fields, Dong Jiahui insisted on washing her face with rice water every day and cutting half a cucumber to put on her face before going to bed at night, the original owner’s previously tanned and coarse skin turned back to half of her original skin type. Although she was not that fair and translucent, in the countryside she was already quite white.

The blue clotheslined her with freshness and cleanliness. When Zhao Donglin looked at her, he felt like she was a clear spring in the mountains flowing by, tingling and jumping.

“I went to the town today and brought some materials to Secretary Dong.”

In fact, he didn’t have to bring this material himself, but when Secretary Zhong casually mentioned Dayu Village, Zhao Donglin volunteered to say he would send it over on his way home.

Zhao Donglin took the document away before the secretary could react. The Dayu Village and Shanghe Village were in different directions, one in the east and one in the south. Geographically speaking, it was not in his direction.

This idea flashed in Secretary Zhong’s mind for just a short while, but as it was not a big deal, Secretary Zhong quickly dropped it.

“In that case, brother Haotian’s family lives across the river.”

Dong Jiahui smiled and pointed to a home across the river, hidden behind a bamboo forest.

Zhao Donglin followed Dong Jiahui’s hand and quickly turned his head again, casting his eyes on Dong Jiahui.

“This is too heavy. You certainly can not move. I’ll help you.”

Just now, when she raised her hand, Zhao Donglin noticed that her arms were slender and her wrists were not as thick as the sugar cane. Such a large pot of water chestnut, if she was to move it back by herself, it would take a lot of effort.

Today, he came here and thought about whether he could meet her by chance. He didn’t expect to be so lucky. He met her just at the entrance of the village.

If Zhao Donglin had asked “do you need help”, Dong Jiahui might have been polite, but he omitted the phrase and went straight to work, and Dong Jiahui would not have been so pretentious as to say no.

Zhao Donglin gave his bicycle to Dong Jiahui and followed him into the Dong house with the wooden basin.

“Secretary Zhao, thank you so much, sit down and have a glass of water.”

At this time, the rest of the Dong family had gone to work. In the summer heat, the production team had changed the time of work, which used to be from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon, but now it was from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, and the time of work in the afternoon had also been postponed to avoid the hottest period of the sun.

Zhao Donglin surveyed the Dong family’s yard, a common mudhouse in rural areas, clean and tidy, the corner of the chicken pen and vegetable patch, piles of thatch and dry twigs, fruit trees tied to a simple swing set, a wooden board with nylon rope hanging, should be for the family’s children to play.

Almost all yards in rural areas are like this, but the Dong family’s yard still looks neater.

“Auntie, we’ve finished our homework, can we go out and play?”

Hearing the commotion in the yard, several nephews who were detained by Dong Jiahui to do their homework at home lifted the curtain and came out.

Seeing a stranger they hadn’t seen before in the yard, the three little men’s eyes curiously surveyed Zhao Donglin.

“Children should know how to be polite and take the initiative to greet and call their elders and uncles when they see them.”

“Uncle.”

Three people shouted in unison, Zhao Donglin touched his pockets, and they were empty, not even a candy bar.

“Uncle didn’t bring any candy today. I’ll make it up next time I see you.”

“Secretary Zhao, it’s okay, where can you see someone who brings candy everywhere?”

Dong Jiahui thought Zhao Donglin was saying polite words. There are indeed people who act more elaborately and are embarrassed to see their juniors without taking something out.

“Aunt, I have not seen this uncle.”

Chuizi was not afraid of life. Although Zhao Donglin was strong, he looked very kind with a smile on his face.

Dong Jiahui reached out and patted Chuizi’s head, “It’s normal that you haven’t seen him. It’s not like you have to know everyone in the world. “

Dong Jiahui spread out her palm and motioned to her nephew to show her his homework.

“I’m telling you, your homework is not finished until you pass the test. If you don’t pass the test, you have to rewrite it.”

“Aiya aunt, we can just write. Look who does homework in our village. You force us to do homework every day.”

The others didn’t say anything, but Chuizi talked a lot, and Dong Jiahui ignored him and looked down at their homework.

Huzi was in the fourth grade, Chuizi was in the second grade, and Liangzi had just started in the first grade. After checking, Huzi barely passed his homework. Liangzi’s homework was the simplest. He made two miscalculations. Dong Jiahui circled it for him to modify. Finally, there was only a Chuizi left.

“I don’t need to tell you, You know the number in your heart, right? Who do you deal with when your homework is done like this?”

Chuizi was obviously not very convinced. Of course, this can not be blamed on Chuizi. Nowadays, most parents in rural areas feel that it does not matter how well their children can learn. Anyway, they go home to the farm after learning more and less, and they can read a few words so as not to be illiterate.

But Dong Jiahui was a time traveller, knowing that in a few years, the country would be holding the first college entrance examination. Rural children can realize their self-worth and change their original social class only through learning and passing the college entrance examination.

Education is the stepping stone to success. Learning well and learning more will never be wrong.

Chuizi is a smart kid, witty, smart enough but not calm enough. Such a child can definitely become a big person after good guidance.

“I manage your study for your own good. Your parents authorized me. Think about it. If you are the first in your class or even the first in grade every time, even if you are more playful, will the teacher often visit our house?”

Just a few months after Dong Jiahui came, Chuizi’s teacher has already made three home visits, with poor test scores, fights with male classmates, and once grabbing a sh*t to scare the female students in the class, which scared several girls in the class into tears.

“It’s not that I don’t want you to play, but I want you to spend one-third of your time on your study. If you don’t work hard when you are young, you will be sad when you are old. Do you know what this means? That is to say, most children who didn’t study hard when they were young will regret it. If others eat meat, you can only eat wild vegetables. “

Dong Jiahui did not expect to be able to persuade Chuizi to study properly, but Chuizi did not talk back this time. He took back his own workbook and went back to the house to rewrite it.

“Well, you two are doing well today. You can go out to play, but you are not allowed to go down the river or up the mountain. If you want to go, you have to be accompanied by adults. Huzi, you are the older brother. Pay attention to your little brothers.”

Huzi nodded hurriedly and ran out of the yard with Liangzi.

Zhao Donglin sat and watched Dong Jiahui show her nephews their homework, explaining to them carefully what they had done wrong, especially what she said to Chuizi, which simply made his eyes light up.

Notlucia: I think I need to have proper schedule. How about Every Friday, Monday and Wednesday?