Xiaowei finished cleaning and walked out of the campus. In late autumn, everything was golden and the sky was surprisingly blue. On the road, I occasionally saw villagers coming back from the fields, carrying freshly picked corn on their backs. Because they were all elderly people, most of them had a hunched back. , clothes soaked with sweat.
When people passing by saw Xiaowei, they all smiled at her and said in a language she didn't understand, "Teacher, eat!" Some villagers made gestures of eating and pointed to their homes.
"No, no, no!" Xiaowei waved her hands and said.
On the way, I would also meet children from the village. When they saw her, they gathered around her and said, "Teacher, where are you going?"
Xiaowei looked at it and saw that it was Duan Meiling, a student in her class. She had graduated from sixth grade and was going to the town to attend middle school at the beginning of the school year.
"Come out for a walk!" Xiaowei said with a smile.
"Teacher, are you going to climb a mountain?" Duan Meiling said with a smile.
"No, I don't even know the way. I'm afraid I'll get lost, so I just go for a walk down there!" Xiaowei said.
"Teacher, come and sit at my house for a while, and I will take you there! There are a lot of wild fruits in the mountains these days, and you can even pick mushrooms!" Duan Meiling said enthusiastically.
Xiaowei sounded very tempting and couldn't help but walk into Duan Meiling's home.
An old man was sitting next to the fire pit, occasionally getting firewood. There was a pot on the fire, and he seemed to be cooking something.
"Grandma, this is my teacher." Duan Meiling spoke to the old man in their national language. The old man pointed to the stool next to him and motioned for Xiaowei to sit down.
Xiaowei sat down and looked around. The room was dark with no windows and no light could come in. Not far from the fire pit, a cow was tied and grazing.
This is the first time Xiaowei has been to a student's home. Although she has been working for a year, because she is not a class teacher and does not understand the language, another teacher always goes to visit the home.
"Meiling, where did your parents go to work?" Xiaoyan asked.
"Other provinces, I don't know where exactly?" Mei Ling said and started to serve rice to her grandma. Three children ran in and said, "Sister, can we eat?"
"Okay, go wash your hands quickly. This is Teacher Yang, please call me Teacher!" Mei Ling said to her younger siblings.
"Hello, teacher!" The three children looked at her and said, "Teacher, I know you, you are a sixth grade teacher!"
"Yes! What grade are you in?" Xiaowei said with a smile.
"Third grade, they are second grade and first grade!" the little girl said, pointing to the other two children.
Meiling served the food to the three children and said to Xiaowei: "Teacher, let me serve you a bowl too!"
"No, no, no!" Xiaowei waved her hands hurriedly.
Duan Meiling didn't care and handed a bowl of rice to Xiaowei's hand and said, "Teacher, our food is relatively simple, you can eat whatever you want!"
Xiaowei took the rice sheepishly. It was okay not to see the rice, but she felt a little hungry when she saw it. She took a bite, maybe she was hungry, it was quite delicious.
"Meiling, are these your brothers and sisters?" Xiaowei asked.
"This boy is my brother, and the other boy and she are my uncle's children!" She pointed to the little girl who just spoke to me.
"Does grandma usually take care of you?" Xiaowei looked at the old man curiously. The old man was already very old, and the wrinkles on the skin on his face and hands seemed to be invisible.
"Well, grandma is getting older, so I do a lot of the work!" Duan Meiling smiled.
"You are so capable!" Xiaowei didn't know what to say.
After dinner, Duan Meiling washed the dishes and fed the pigs at home, before taking Xiaowei up the mountain.
Perhaps it had been a long time since she had climbed a mountain, and Xiaowei was out of breath after a while.
"Meiling, why are you so powerful? You can climb such a steep mountain without breathing at all." Xiaowei gasped.
"Teacher, it's not that I'm great, it's that you lack exercise!" Mei Ling giggled.
"Yes, teacher, it's been a long time since I climbed a mountain!" Xiaowei smiled awkwardly.
"It's holiday. I have to come here every day to pick up mushrooms and sell them in the town!" Mei Ling said proudly.
"Oh, then you can make a lot of money during a holiday!" Xiaowei said.
"Well, I have saved several hundred yuan," Mei Ling said.
"You have economic acumen at a young age. That's good. Study hard and you will make a big difference in the future!" Xiaowei caught up with her and said.
"Teacher, I may not go to school!" Duan Meiling lowered her head and whispered.
"What did you say?" Xiaowei thought she heard wrongly and asked again.
"Teacher, I may not be able to go to junior high school. My parents asked me to go out to work with them!" Duan Meiling found a stone and sat down and said.
"Ah? Working, how old are you, what kind of job do you do?" Xiaowei said in disbelief.
"I studied late. I am already 15 years old this year. I am not good at studying and I am getting older. My parents said that we should go to work together to reduce the burden on the family." Duan Meiling said, burying her head in her knees and shoulders. Shrugging, as if crying.
Xiaowei sat next to her and said, "Meiling, did your family encounter any difficulties?"
Duan Meiling shook her head and said: "My parents think that studying is useless. They have to work after graduating from junior high school. It is better to go now!"
"How can this be done? Now the country implements nine-year compulsory education. Everyone must receive nine-year compulsory education. It is illegal for your parents not to study for you!" Xiaowei said.
"Teacher, I am already over the age limit. When I was a child, because my family had no money, I postponed my enrollment for three years. Originally, my father did not even let me go to elementary school. He said that his daughter would get married in the future, so it would be better to let me go to school. I am taking care of my brother at home." Duan Meiling said while crying.
"Then why did I send you to study again?" Xiaowei couldn't imagine how luxurious studying was to Duan Meiling.
"Later, the school teachers and the leaders of the village committee talked to my father, and my father sent me there because of pressure!" Duan Meiling said.
"Meiling, do you want to study?" Xiaowei remembered that Meiling's grades were not good.
"Teacher, I want to study, and I also want to learn well, but there is too much work at home. My grandma and younger siblings all need my care!" Duan Meiling said.
Xiaowei hugged Duan Meiling sympathetically and said, "It's okay, let's find a solution together!"
"Teacher, I have saved up enough money by picking up mushrooms for a long time. I want to study, I don't want to be blind!" Duan Meiling cried.
Xiaowei had mixed feelings in her heart. She always thought that she had already suffered enough. Her father had been ill since she was a child, and her mother was the only one who could support the family. However, her parents never told her not to go to school. They always said, As long as she is willing to read, she will have to pay for it even if she sells it.
How to do it? Although she is a teacher, there is nothing she can do. Her own life is a mess, and she cannot control the fate of others.
However, she is a teacher, and she knows about this matter. If she just listens to it as a story, then she feels uneasy about her conscience.
In this poor mountain village, she had already experienced how difficult it was to control students who dropped out of school and get a job in the last school year. The old principal often led teachers to persuade students who dropped out of school, but very few of them came back.
Xiaowei looked at the sensible Meiling and said, "No, I have to find a way to help her. Even if she fails, I can feel at ease."
"Meiling, why don't you call your parents and I'll talk to them!" Xiaowei said.
"Okay, teacher, please lend me your phone!" Meiling had a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
The call was dialed, and a middle-aged man's voice came. Meiling whispered in their ethnic language: "Dad, I am Meiling!"
"What's wrong? Meiling, dad will be back in a few days to take you out to work? Whose phone number are you using?" Meiling's father said.
"Dad, I don't want to go to work. Grandma is old and needs someone to take care of her. My younger brothers and sisters also need someone to take care of them!" Meiling said.
"The girl from your uncle's family has entered the fourth grade at the beginning of school and can help take care of the house." Dad said impatiently.
"Dad, I want to go to middle school!" Mei Ling mustered up the courage to say.
"What kind of middle school are you in? You are already 15 years old and you will get married in two years. You have to go out to work for two years and help the family. Otherwise, what is the use of your parents raising you?" Meiling's father educated Meiling.
Mei Ling's tears fell. Xiao Wei sat beside her and couldn't bear to listen. She answered the phone and said, "Meiling's father, I am Mei Ling's teacher. It is illegal for you to do this. Everyone should receive nine years of compulsory education." !”
Meiling's father was stunned for a moment and said, "Are you her teacher? You have no control over my family's affairs. She has already graduated from elementary school. What kind of teacher are you? Stop encouraging her. Do you give her money to study?"
Xiaowei was choked and couldn't speak, and the other party hung up the phone without waiting for Meiling to answer.
Xiaowei wiped Meiling's tears and said, "Meiling, please stop crying. Let's find a solution together. Let's go to the village director and ask him to tell your father."
"Is this okay? Can my dad listen to the director?" Mei Ling asked doubtfully.
"Never mind him, a dead horse is a living doctor. My father often said, don't treat the village chief as a cadre. It means that the village chief has great power. Your father should be able to listen to what he says!" Xiaowei stood up and pulled Meiling down the mountain. .
The two came to the village committee. There was no one in the village committee. Xiaowei shouted twice at the top of her lungs, and a person came down from the second floor.
"Cowardly teacher, what do you want to do with the village committee?" The person who spoke was Duan Yu, the village official last night.
"Duan...Duan Yu!" Xiaowei said in surprise.
"It's this hero, haha, what's wrong? What's the matter?" Duan Yu said with a smile.
"Why are you here?" Xiaowei asked.
"Teacher Yang, I see that you are not only timid, but also have a poor memory. Didn't I tell you? I am a college student village official here, and my food and accommodation are in the village committee!" Duan Yu came down and knocked her on the head. For a moment, say.
Xiaowei hurriedly avoided it. This Duan Yu had no sense of propriety at all. He hit others on the head so casually. Xiaowei thought: Do I know you very well?
Seeing Xiaowei standing still, Duan Yu laughed again, walked over, approached Xiaowei and said, "What? You're afraid I won't eat you!"
Xiaowei blushed, took a step back, and said, "We...we want to find the director."
"No, I went to the county for a meeting!" Duan Yu said.
"Oh, let's come back another day!" Xiaowei hurriedly pulled Mei Ling to leave.
Duan Yu looked anxious and was about to reach Xiaowei, so he chased after her and said, "What's the matter? You told me the same thing. I'm also a village official. Have you forgotten?"
Xiaowei looked at him, "Young boy, he can't solve this kind of thing, so let's forget it."
"Brother, you are a village official, so can you take care of my dad?" Mei Ling grabbed Duan Yu and asked.
"Your dad? What happened to your dad?" Duan Yu was a little confused.
"My dad won't let me study, can you help me?" Meiling looked at Duan Yu expectantly, and Xiaowei also looked at him.
"This... this issue is a bit complicated. Come in and talk slowly!" Duan Yu said and walked into the room. Meiling saw hope and followed him. Xiaowei had no choice but to follow in.
Duan Yu took out a notebook, wrote down what Xiaowei and Meiling said, and said, "Meiling, this problem is a bit difficult to deal with. If you are still in the compulsory education stage, then we can order your father to send you to school." You are studying, but you are already 15 years old and your father doesn’t let you study, so we can’t force you.”
When Mei Ling heard that there was no hope, she sat aside and started crying. Xiaowei looked at Duan Yu. What he said made sense, "Duan Yu, is there no other way?"
"How is she studying?" Duan Yu asked.
"Generally, it's because her family is too busy and she has almost no time to study!" Xiaowei said.
"Teacher Yang, you should know at school that she is not the only one in this situation, especially girls, you can't control that much!" Duan Yu suddenly said to her seriously.
"But after graduating from elementary school, her knowledge is still so lacking. What will she do when she enters the society?" Xiaowei thought of her younger brother. After graduating from junior high school, he had to work at home and farm.
"You take her back first. I'll talk to the director when he comes back and see if he has any good ideas!" Duan Yu said.
"Okay, I'll tell the principal too!" Xiaowei picked up Meiling and prepared to go back.
"Teacher Yang, can you leave your phone number?" Duan Yu said.
"Huh? Phone number? That's not necessary!" Xiaowei doesn't like giving numbers to unfamiliar people.
"I'll let you know when there's news. If you have anything, you can come to me. I'm at the village committee 24 hours a day!" Duan Yu said.
Xiaowei couldn't find a reason to refuse. After all, he had just helped her last night. She took out her phone, left each other's numbers, and took Mei Ling back.
Back at Meiling's house, Xiaowei felt sorry for not helping her.
"Meiling, don't worry, I will find a way. When your father comes back, I will come and talk to him!" Xiaowei said sheepishly.
"Teacher Yang, thank you. I'm fine. I knew this was impossible." Mei Ling's eyes darkened, and she silently lit a fire and prepared to cook dinner.
Xiaowei didn't know what to say, so she had to go back to school. She originally planned to relax, but she didn't expect that her mood was worse now. Xiaowei felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.
Forget it, her mind has been messed up recently. She straightened her thoughts and planned to cook a meal for herself. The world is big and eating is the biggest.
Xiaowei looked through the dishes she brought from home. It was okay. There were meat and vegetables. In less than an hour, two dishes and one soup were ready. Xiaowei was about to enjoy her delicious meal when she saw someone walking on the playground from a distance. one person.
