The literacy classes of the Li Family Village Production Team and the Jishui Production Team had been going on for over a month. Li Xianglu had sneaked in for the first time, listening briefly at the entrance of the cave dwelling. It started with learning characters, twenty each day, followed by sentence making. Of course, the sentences were made from phrases in the Little Red Book and some poetry by great men. Then, it was time for mathematics.
After buying a notebook, she could come to class openly and aboveboard. Now that farming was winding down and there was no work to do, rural people mostly ate two meals a day, skipping dinner, so the literacy class began promptly at five o'clock in the afternoon.
The teachers were educated youths sent down to the countryside. Their educational levels ranged from high school to middle school, which was sufficient for literacy classes.
Most of the students attending the classes were thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen years old, as well as some seventeen or eighteen-year-old youths. Naturally, there were also a few cadres in their forties or fifties from the production team on duty, keeping an eye on the youngsters to prevent any mishaps.
With two production teams gathered together, the place became lively all at once. Laughter and chatter filled the air before class even started. Some seventeen or eighteen-year-old lads were staring at the girls. Li Xianglu frowned upon seeing this. This was hardly the behavior of students coming to learn; it was clear they were here to eye each other up. But the girls being stared at seemed unembarrassed and instead gazed back coquettishly, prompting a wry smile from Li Xianglu. It seemed these people really treated the place like a venue for sizing up potential partners.
Li Xianglu and Li Jianqing each carried their own small stool and found a spot to sit down in the middle of the room. Suddenly, the bustling cave dwelling quieted down.
Li Xianglu looked up to see a man in his twenties appearing on the podium, wearing a blue cotton coat with a clean white collar poking out. The man looked exceptionally refined. However, Li Xianglu couldn't help but notice a hint of disdain in his eyes, clearly looking down on the rural folks attending the literacy class.
But none of that mattered. For Li Xianglu, her mission was simply to gild herself by shedding the label of illiteracy. With this in mind, she recalled her past life where many went abroad to enhance their prestige, while she had come to a literacy class for the same purpose—a truly shameless race to the bottom!
Li Jianqing's face was tight with tension from the moment he entered, greeting his friends with a stern expression. Li Xianglu knew he felt embarrassed and was trying to hide it.
The young man standing in front of the dilapidated desk coughed, glanced at his wristwatch with a frown, then cleared his throat and said, "Alright, everyone quiet down, we are about to start the lesson."
Li Xianglu noticed the wristwatch on the young man's wrist, although she couldn't see the brand. Nonetheless, being able to afford a watch at this time meant one came from a family with decent conditions. Even the cheapest watches cost three or four tens of yuan, equivalent to more than a month's salary for an ordinary worker.
The area quickly became quiet. The once noisy cave was now silent. The young man seemed very pleased with the situation and nodded, saying, "First, let's review some questions from yesterday, and then we'll move on to the new lesson."
The man looked around and then, with an imperceptible smile, said to someone seated on the west side, "Would student Qin Miao please stand up and recite the poem by the great leader that we learned yesterday?"
All eyes turned to the west side, where a graceful figure stood up, stepped forward, and with a voice like a tinkling spring captured everyone's attention: "... To count the men of valor, look to this present age!"
The poem was recited with such fervor that it made the listeners' blood boil, and they all excitedly watched the silhouette in dark blue attire. The figure turned slightly, looked at everyone with a shy expression, and then bowed slightly before returning to their seat.
Li Xianglu looked on in astonishment, then felt a burning gaze directed towards her. She couldn't help but look towards the east, and as she quickly turned her head, she saw a figure squeezing out of the cave dwelling. That familiar silhouette, could it be Qin Xiaopang's demon brother?
Li Xianglu's thoughts drifted for a moment—Qin Miao? Qin Xi? Qin Zhen? Were they all from the same family?
Before Li Xianglu could ponder further, she heard the sound of applause. She saw the young man at the podium start to write on the small blackboard behind him, listing all twenty characters that needed to be remembered for the day, then began explaining the meaning of each character.
Li Xianglu didn't take many notes, just wrote down the characters mechanically, and then listened absently.
Li Jianqing, on the other hand, listened to the lesson with utmost seriousness, scribbling on his knee from time to time, as if eager to memorize everything in an instant.
Half an hour for teaching new characters, twenty minutes for teaching sentences, and then it was time for math. Since classes had been in session for over half a month, they were already discussing addition and subtraction of double-digit numbers.
The class that lasted over an hour finally came to an end. Li Xianglu was about to leave with her stool when she saw her brother Li Jianqing and many other boys and girls rush up to the podium with their notebooks to ask questions.
Li Xianglu felt a bit embarrassed; her attitude hadn't been serious at all. Look at her third brother, so earnest in his studies, even asking questions after class.
However, Li Xianglu waited at the door without any pressure, holding two small stools and then found a spot to wait for her brother to come out.
She saw the girl who had recited before class standing at the end of a line of people, but towards the back, just shyly watching everyone question the young teacher, her eyes carrying a hint of timidity and indulgence?
Indulgence? What kind of look was that?
Li Xianglu was puzzled. Perhaps feeling Li Xianglu's gaze, the girl turned her head and looked straight at Li Xianglu. The dim light from the kerosene lamp in the cave made the girl's gaze appear unusually clear and cold, causing Li Xianglu to be slightly surprised, and then she smiled shyly with squinted eyes.
The girl slightly raised her eyebrows and then looked over with a smile that seemed kind and yet carried a hint of provocation?
Provocation?
Li Xianglu was confused—who was this girl? According to the original host's memory, she should not be acquainted with this girl in front of her. Why then, the challenging gaze?
At this time, Li Jianqing had gotten his question answered and excitedly squeezed his way out of the crowd. Spotting his sister standing at the entrance, he happily ran over, helped her carry a stool, and then they both left.
As Li Xianglu exited the cave, she glanced back and saw the girl's gaze return to the young man. At that moment, as if feeling the girl's gaze, they exchanged smiles with tacit understanding.
Frowning slightly, Li Xianglu heard Li Jianqing complaining: "He explained too fast, I didn't understand the meaning of a few phrases."
Li Xianglu's mind was still preoccupied with the peculiar girl and she asked nonchalantly, "What phrases?"
Li Jianqing replied, "'过甚其词,' I went to ask the teacher, and it means..."
Li Xianglu interrupted casually, "Oh, it means the words spoken are excessive and not in accord with the actual situation."
Li Jianqing was left staring in astonishment... Well, okay.