C27 It's This Path It's That Mountain

After the closing of the festival, the days in Dai Village became more peaceful. For the people who lived in the mountains. . . The day before, today, and tomorrow. . . There was no essential distinction. Time flowed like a stream outside the village. No one cared where it flowed to. What kind of ripples appeared along the way. People only knew that it would never stop flowing, nor would it dry up. An endless stream of bright silver light drew out from outside the tea village.

As for the small village that was surrounded by mountains and water, it was as if it had been sealed away in an unworldly land that was isolated from the world. Time seemed to have frozen at a certain moment.

Clouds flowed, the sun rose, the sun set, and the shadows alternated. In this village panoramic view that went against the city's fireworks, It was as if someone had used it. The time-reducing technique captured the scene here, and the frame after frame quickly flashed past. In the blink of an eye, the entire season had passed.

When Elder Lee was cutting wild vegetables at the foot of Big Tea Mountain, he could not help but sigh - life was really fast! When he walked down the hill, He knocked on his waist and calf, and his body was the most honest. The only thing he could feel was the passing of time. It was all reflected in his body, which was gradually losing its weight. He was getting older and older. He knew the condition of his body. Sometimes, he thought for a long time. He went back to the hill and cut some wild vegetables.

Everyone's life would shrink into a spot of light. On the film of shrinking time, there would be a faint glimmer. During this period, of course, there were also Dao Xiaotong's memories. She was still persisting in her dreams.

Tao Huizhen was also in the unsurprising video. Her life became simpler and more realistic in the years without any waves. Like a pebble thrown into the sea. Her life was small and silent. On the scale line of the passing of time, she did not leave behind any traces. Da Tea Village Primary School's dormitory and Little Hang's bamboo building. They had become her everything for a long period of time. She also added some classes to the children, so she became exceptionally busy. Her hair grew longer and longer. It stuck close to her back. The tip of her hair was even more yellow.

Some people said that Tao Huizhen looked no different from a woman from Dai Village. She had the atmosphere of the Da Tea Village woman on her. The Da Tea Village people were used to her, so they ignored her.

Some people also said that Tao Huizhen was still the same Tao Huizhen. She still had the same gaze as when she first came to the Dai Village. She would forever be different from the people of the Dai Village. However, she was too busy. There was more time for silence.

Some people said so too. Tao Huizhen's negative words. Tao Huizhen didn't seem to notice. Just like in the past, she spent half a fall between the school dormitory and the hanging bamboo building.

During this period of time, a lot of things happened in Dai Village. There were old people who passed away, and there were babies born. A child from Tea Village Primary School had left the school. Some of them left with their parents and went somewhere else. Some of them left for other reasons. In short, they could not come back to study. In the meantime, Tao Huizhen tried to persuade him to stay, but she also cried silently.

She saw that the child that she had taught for more than a year did not appear in the classroom as promised. The child's table and chairs were empty. Tao Huizhen felt something disappear from her body. The air carried the scent of autumn leaves. She felt that her body was light and her stomach was empty.

She could not stop her, and her fingers sank into her flesh. The things that should have slipped away also slipped through the gaps of her fingers. She knew that there was no such thing as an eternal banquet in the world. There were still not many things that she could change.

After putting away her thoughts, she returned to the classroom and stepped onto the three-foot-long podium.

During that period of time. Tao Huizhen had completely settled down. Her angular appearance made her appear especially magnanimous. She only had one thought in her mind, and that was to pass on knowledge. She would do her best to let more children learn knowledge. This was the same as her wish when she first came to Dai Village.

On a Monday morning in August, after the flag raising ceremony at Da Tea Village Primary School ended. The youngest child in the class indicated that Teacher Tao hadn't bought them any wahaha or prawns for a long time.

"Teacher doesn't have any money. " A student said.

"Teacher Tao's subsidy is very little. She still needs to buy daily necessities. We can't spend Teacher Tao's money anymore. Don't forget, we're here to study. We can't always think about things other than studying. "

"I'm not eating. I want to save Teacher Tao's money and do something meaningful. " The red scarf around the children's collars was surprisingly bright. The dirty cheeks were dyed red by the flowing five-star red flag above their heads. Their round eyes were like black cat-eye gems. As they spoke, they surrounded Tao Huizhen.

Tao Huizhen did not know why, but she felt her entire body falling. She squatted down half way to the ground to offset the sudden gravitational pull. She held the children who were walking over with both hands, her nose sour.

In fact, she heard the children talking at the same time. Tao Huizhen already didn't know what to do. She thought of the words Wen Xiu had once said. The general meaning was - Wenxiu had said that she was like a stove that could inadvertently warm others. The children in the mountain village were very dependent. After a long time, they would not be able to leave her. Wen Xiu was worried that Tao Hui Zhen would not be able to leave when she wanted to.

At that time, Tao Hui Zhen replied to Wen Xiu and said contentedly, If all the students she teaches can't leave her, then it's something to be happy about.

After more than a year, Tao Huizhen went to recall these words again. She already had a different understanding. As time went on, the situation also changed. A child left this place. The radical emotions of the past were now in a calm state. Tao Huizhen could always remember this conversation. It had to be said that Wenxiu's thinking was very forward-looking. She remembered the scene when the two of them talked. It was most likely when she looked back at the journey of her heart for the past year. Of course, she was also looking back at the past ten years on the bamboo bed. Or even her entire life. However, she realized that the words that she had replied to Wen Xiu back then. . . Were now. . . They could still guide her forward.

"Teacher Tao, let's not buy Wahaha anymore in the future. You earned so little money, so you have to spend it for yourself. Look, you have already lost weight. "

A hint of bitterness flashed across Tao Huizhen's lips. A bubble appeared on her lips. The words of the children caused the silent atmosphere that had remained undispersed for a long time to shake once again. As she looked at her students beside her, the flames of hope once again burned in her eyes.

"Teacher is rich. As long as you are obedient, you will still have Wahaha and your own shrimp to eat. " Tao Huizhen said in an exceptionally firm manner.

Tao Huizhen went back to the small bamboo house and took out the wallet that was under the pillow. She looked inside and put it back. She showed an expression as if she had expected it.

She had been in Dai Village for a long time. She had a new understanding of thrifty. Not a single cent here would be extra. The income was accurate to a millimeter. She had no choice but to worry about how she would be able to get a sum of money. She had also developed a habit of taking out her wallet every time as if she was carrying out some sort of ritual.

This was the last bit of money.

It was the only ticket left.

When she was spending money, she couldn't help but think this way.

When she thought of those children, she stepped out of the bamboo house. She decided to go to the county town and call her parents to borrow some money.

In mid-August, Dai Village entered the hottest season of the year. A group of investigation teams from the lower villages of Kenna State greeted the local situation when they passed by Dai Village.

Poor!

An old man sighed.

A year ago, the government had been working on the poverty alleviation plan. The Great Tea Village had been listed as the main target of poverty alleviation. Including the surrounding ten or so villages, they had also received the same treatment. Mengla County was indeed lagging behind. The investigators looked at the mountains, their foreheads dripping with sweat. They resolutely refused to enter the bamboo building and take a sip of water, feeling the same as the locals.

Poor.

But why was he poor? What was the reason for being poor?

In order to govern poverty, one first had to know the root cause of poverty.

The investigator retracted his gaze, exchanged a look with his peers, and once again shifted his gaze to those villagers. Under the sunlight, their faces were oily. The wrinkles on the faces of the elders seemed to be embedded with mud.

The investigators indicated that tea farmers had planted tea in the tea village. They also planted self-sufficient glutinous rice and potatoes. Some residents raised poultry and pigs. This is the same as the farmers we imagined. He asked a villager, Big Tea Village is no different from other villages, and there is no distinction between their living habits. Why is it that they are particularly poor?

The villager shook his head. Poverty was a fact in front of them. They did not know the reason when they asked.

"It's this road, it's that mountain, it's caused by the environment. " Tao Huizhen led a child from a big tea village to the front of the investigators. She voiced her opinion.

The winding mountain road leading to the county town would take three hours. This road could not be used by bus. It blocked the trade between the village and the county town. In comparison, it was much easier for other villages to go to the county. This was the difference between the tea village and other villages. As for Dai Village, which was surrounded by mountains, It also made the entire county a place of its own. In terms of the nature of poverty, It was probably because the environment was greater.

Hearing Tao Huizhen's words, the investigator nodded slightly. His gaze swept across Tao Huizhen's body and he wrote down a few things in his notebook with a pen.

The villagers examined Tao Huizhen's appearance. They thought about Tao Huizhen's words in their hearts. It was this path. It was that mountain. . . They had lived here for decades, but they had never heard of such an excuse. Teacher Tao had already lived in Da Tea Village for more than a year. They understood that Tao Huizhen's thoughts were different from the rest of the villagers. Or perhaps it was the opposite. However, did they believe in Tao Huizhen? They often had doubts about Tao Huizhen's thoughts.

"Is she a volunteer who came to Mengla to support education?" A man with a rearview mirror on his nose bridge. He withdrew his line of sight from the antenna and asked earnestly.

Someone revealed Teacher Tao's name and identity.

The man in the rearview mirror seemed to be thinking about how to open his mouth. After a while, he said in a rather emotional tone, "Lu. . . And the language is what humans face. The two biggest obstacles. My personal opinion is, since when are there no obstacles in front of us. . . We are all roads, and we want to go anywhere without any restrictions. At the same time, Between man and man, between race and race. . . They could communicate with each other without any obstacles. Then, this world is the ideal world. The road and mountain that Teacher Tao talked about, It's the limitation of the tea village. Poverty and environment were absolutely inseparable. You understand it very well. Your insight is very unique. "

" If you want the world to become the ideal world, the prerequisite is still education. Only education and thinking can change people. People can change the world]"

Tao Huizhen lowered her head and hugged the child in her arms. She turned her body sideways.

The man in the rearview mirror seemed to be deep in thought. He pushed up his glasses, and a blue light flashed on the edge of his glasses. He asked in a good mood: "Then, Teacher Tao, do you think that it was education that changed one's thoughts, or that one's thoughts changed one's education?"

Tao Huizhen shook her head and walked towards Da Tea Village Primary School with the child in her arms.

Her thoughts facilitated the goal of education. Education consolidated her thoughts. The two complemented each other, and the cycle progressed gradually. It was education that supported one's thoughts, and it also consolidated one's thoughts. But in the end, Tao Huizhen believed that education still had the upper hand.

For Tao Huizhen, this autumn was a troubled period.

The situation of the children skipping classes was getting more and more serious. Only a few students were left. It was very rare for everyone to be present. She recalled that last year at the same time, the students in the class did not have such a huge fluctuation. Elder Lee and Dao Xiaotong would also help her to visit the parents of the students who did not come to school. However, at the same time this year. Elder Li and Dao Xiaotong. . . They were often absent from Tao Huizhen's field of vision. She had a feeling that she was the only one left.

Tao Huizhen stepped onto the road of home visits. She didn't know why some children didn't come to class. She needed to listen and tell them.

In this scorching autumn, Tao Huizhen didn't know whether she should be happy or bitter. She walked through every road in the tea village. It was the first time she stepped into the children's home. She faced the parents of the children. In this way.

From this day on, Tao Huizhen's home visit never stopped.