Rebirth 1989: My Unlucky Career

So, a group of people, led by Village Chief Ma, arrived at a house in the center of the village.

To say it is a house is actually a bit inappropriate.

Because the building in front of me was in disrepair at first glance. Even the door was in tatters and could not be closed. It could only be erected sideways.

After entering the gate, the building directly opposite is a classroom with more than a dozen students sitting inside.

There are two relatively low buildings next to it, one can be seen as the teacher's office, and the other looks like a kitchen.

Seeing this, Zhao Zhuo looked at Village Chief Ma and asked:

"Our school looks quite old, doesn't it?"

Village Chief Ma gave a wry smile:

"Not only is it not short, it can be said to be very long!

This was originally the ancestral hall of our village, and it must have a history of nearly a hundred years.

When we first set up the school, we really couldn't find a suitable place and didn't have the money to build a new house, so we arranged it here."

Sun Xiaoyu couldn't help but frowned when he heard this:

"Nearly a hundred years? Then this place is now considered a dilapidated building!

Can children’s safety be guaranteed when they attend classes here?”

Village Chief Ma sighed helplessly:

"Well, I can only pay attention to safety as much as possible. Usually when it rains and winds, the school will be closed to avoid accidents. Generally speaking, it's okay."

Listening to Village Chief Ma's helpless words, Zhao Zhuo and Sun Xiaoyu had mixed feelings in their hearts.

Zhao Zhuo suddenly asked:

"Mr. Ma, can we go into the classroom and have a look?"

Village Chief Ma nodded:

"No problem. Come on, I'll take you in and have a look."

With that said, the three of them walked in.

The classroom is not small, but there are only a dozen students and one teacher inside.

What's even more surprising is that these dozen students appear to be of varying ages.

The older one is obviously in his late teens, while the younger one is only seven or eight years old.

Zhao Zhuo couldn't help but ask:

"Village Chief Ma, the age of the students is so high, how come they are in class together?"

Before Village Chief Ma spoke, the teacher on the side noticed Zhao Zhuo and Sun Xiaoyu, walked over and replied:

“We roughly divide the students into different age groups and then conduct classes separately.

For example, I just taught mathematics to these three students in sixth grade. After finishing the lecture, I assigned exercises and then taught the text to the first and second graders next to me."

After the teacher answered Zhao Zhuo's doubts, Village Chief Ma introduced:

"This is the only teacher in our school—Teacher Qi."

After hearing Teacher Qi's introduction, Sun Xiaoyu asked slightly surprised:

"You mean you are the only teacher in our school?"

Teacher Qi nodded helplessly:

"Yes, I have been teaching here alone for several years.

Because village-run primary schools like ours are not recognized, there are no wages, and very few people can persist."

It turns out that Teacher Qi’s classes were voluntary labor and he had no money at all!

Hearing this, Sun Xiaoyu frowned:

"Then why not let the children go to schools in the town? I remember that every town in Zhushan County has a primary school and a junior high school."

When Teacher Qi heard this question, he subconsciously looked outside, and then said with a wry smile:

"Our Huaping Village is too remote. Even if the children go to the nearest town, they have to walk a three-hour mountain road, which is simply unrealistic.

Taking classes here, on the one hand, it is close to home, and on the other hand, I can also cook a meal at noon, which reduces the burden on the children's families."

It turns out that the kitchen next to the classroom is where Teacher Qi used to cook for the children.

What Teacher Qi said is not an exaggeration at all.

After all, having one less mouth to eat at home can save a lot of food.

When Zhao Zhuo heard this, he couldn't help but ask:

"Teacher Qi, what is your usual source of income?"

Teacher Qi replied calmly:

"In addition to classes, I still have a few acres of land of my own, where I can grow a lot of food. Coupled with the vegetable garden next to the classroom, as well as some subsidies from the village and donations from the villagers, I can almost survive anyway."

Village Chief Ma sighed and added:

"Teacher Qi has been so worried about the children in our village that he is now almost forty years old and can't even find a wife."

Teacher Qi waved his hand after hearing this:

"My own problems are all okay. The main reason is that the school conditions are too difficult, and many families do not send their children to study in order to have more workers.

Look, there are only a dozen or so people sitting in such a big classroom.

If we added up all the school-age students in our village, there would be thirty or forty people!

In other words, at least two-thirds of students have no chance to study at all."

The more Teacher Qi talked, the more excited he became, and he even danced a little.

In fact, this is a true portrayal of many poor areas.

The poorer the place, the less attention is paid to education.

On the other hand, the less attention is paid to education, the poorer the country will become. This is an unsolvable cycle.

The reason why Teacher Qi was so excited was because he saw this truth. He was not doing it for himself at all, but all for the children of Huaping Village.

Listening to the descriptions of Teacher Qi and Village Chief Ma, Zhao Zhuo and Sun Xiaoyu could not help but fall into silence.

Zhao Zhuo had never known anything like this before, so he was a little shocked.

Although Sun Xiaoyu had come into contact with many poor villages before, she rarely encountered one as difficult as Huaping Village.

Therefore, when the two of them looked at this scene, they couldn't help but think silently.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Zhuo suddenly raised his head:

"Teacher Qi, what do you have for lunch today?"

Hearing this, Teacher Qi was slightly startled, as if he did not expect Zhao Zhuo to ask such a question.

Then, he replied:

"Just the same as usual, potatoes and pickles."

Huaping Village is located deep in the mountains, and potatoes are the main crop and the staple food that people here eat every meal.

Zhao Zhuo nodded:

“We brought a lot of food with us when we came, so I asked someone to share a portion with the children, and we stopped cooking at noon.

Let’s find a place to sit down and have a good chat to see how to solve the various problems facing the school.”

Sun Xiaoyu also nodded and agreed:

"Yes, we must at least provide a better learning environment for the children. We cannot continue to attend classes in such a place where there are safety risks. Also, we must let those children who work at home return to the classroom.

If Huaping Village continues like this, the children's education will not be able to keep up, and poverty will only continue."

Upon hearing these two words, Teacher Qi and Village Chief Ma looked at each other, and both saw huge surprises in each other's eyes.