C8 Class

Min Jie hugged Gu Min Qian and sat at the back of the classroom with Pan Meiyun as they chatted in low voices. They were all told stories about girls, such as who was good and who was bad.

Most of them were young people, but there were a few slightly older people. Most of them wanted to learn how to read, and at this time, they were able to study for two years and understand a few words. Although they couldn't learn how to read, like Gu Min Jie Pan Meiyun, there were still a lot of people studying in the junior high school. Chen Yan, who just came over, was standing on the podium, fiddling with the gas lamp on the table.

After she had added kerosene, she had studied this type of gas lamp. After adding kerosene, she had needed to pump the kerosene into the oil pot on the base, creating a certain amount of pressure, so that the kerosene could be sprayed out from the mouth of the lamp on the top of the oil jug. Furthermore, the gas lamp didn't have a wick, its cap was made of asbestos, and the top of the gas lamp had a hood that resembled a straw hat.

In the past few days, Gu Min Qianqian had been brought out of the village several times, but she didn't see any mountains as far as she could see. It should have been a flat area, but when she was in university, she had a classmate from D Province who spoke in a very low voice. Gu Min felt that this should be the D Province.

After Chen Yan had cleaned up the gas lamp on the podium, he used a black board to lightly knocked on the podium and said in standard Mandarin, "Fellow villagers, fellow comrades, it's time. Next, we will study today's class, and this class will be taught in the Red Treasure Book. Everyone, take out the book, I will ask a comrade to recite it once, then we will properly recognize every word.

Chen Yan's Mandarin was very standard. His tone was slightly deep and slow, which sounded very interesting. Gu Min Qianqian leaned against Min Jie's chest and perked up her ears to listen to Chen Yan's lecture.

Chen Yan had a young man in the front row stand up and read over the contents of a certain page of the Red Book that everyone was carrying. Now that every household had a Red Book, it just so happened that they could use it as a teaching material for their literacy. The young man used the local dialect, and Chen Yan did not object. After the young man finished reciting, Chen Yan recited it again in Mandarin before starting to recite it word for word.

Chen Yan announced that class was over. Everyone was going out for a smoke, while some were just chatting in the classroom. After resting for fifteen minutes, when Chen Yan turned on the gas again and the lights in the classroom turned on, everyone would consciously return to the classroom for class.

During the break, Min He ran over from the entrance. Without any hesitation, he ran over to where his sister and sister were sitting. Min Jia rubbed Min He's head and asked, "What are you doing? Why are you sweating all over?"

Min He said, "I went to fetch water with my brother. Brother Shen was there too. Sister, we met Secretary Liu. Secretary Liu also said that our brother was not bad and did not stop to fetch water for the seniors all these years. After Secretary Liu left, Brother Shen even secretly told our brother that the sun had risen from the west and Secretary Liu was behaving so well today." Min He said in a very low voice, and it was also heard by Pan Meiyun, who was sitting beside Min Min Min.

Pan Meiyun used the index finger of her right hand to lightly tap Min He's forehead and said, "You little child, why are you saying everything? Can these words even be spoken by you?"

Min He looked around and said, "Mei Yun jie, I'm just talking to you and my sister. I'm not going to tell them when they tell me. Oh, and I saw Wen Lan, her sister was talking to Brother Shen at the cow shed when we went there. She left after seeing me with her brother."

When Minjie heard this, he said, "Don't tell anyone else about this."

Min He said, "Big sister, you're looking down on me. I know what to say and shouldn't say. Our brother already told me, so I'll just ignore it. Isn't it just that big sister Wen Lan likes Big brother Shen? What's the big deal?"

Minjie and Pan Meiyun looked at each other. The kids nowadays are already so mature, they already know what they like when they're only a few years old, and this isn't a few decades from now, the kindergarten would already be able to pull the little girl and call her "daughter-in-law". At this time, people are really conservative, even if the couple went shopping on the streets together, they would still need to put down a fist between the two of them, this is the safe distance.

Min Jia pulled Min He's ear and whispered, "Speak, who told you this? You are a child who should be taught a lesson. How dare you tell others? Don't you know that disaster comes from the mouth?"

Min He quickly pulled Min Jie's hand and said, "Aiya, Sis, Sis. You are lighter, lighter. It hurts."

Min Jie said, "Don't say such words in the future. Did you hear it? If people knew about it, they would think that you heard me blabbering at home."

Min He said, "Fine fine fine, I know, I know, isn't it fine? Seriously, I can't tell them what they can do."

Chen Yan was already being suppressed by the gas lamp on the podium. Min He saw it and quickly said, "Sis, I'm going out. Our brother said he will wait for you at the school gate with me." After saying that, he quickly ran outside. Min Jie said helplessly, "This child, how can he be so thick-skinned."

Pan Meiyun said, "I think it's pretty good. Can a boy be called a boy if he's a bit unhealthy?"

Min Jie said, "That's true. But Min He is only five years old, not even six years old yet. Look, she knows everything and even what it means to like something." On the podium, Chen Yan was already explaining the basic principles of calculation. Pan Meiyun and Minjie were still talking to each other in a low voice, and not just the two of them, Gu Min Qianqian could tell that there weren't many in the class who were really serious about listening to the lecture.

Gu Min Qian was still carried by Min Jie in a daze. After the end of the class, a young man sitting in the front row said, "Chen Yan, tell us what your place looks like."

Hearing that, Chen Yan was slightly shocked, "My hometown? "Well, if you want to hear it, I'll tell you."

Chen Yan came here from the city on the east side to cut in line as a youth. The Zhou family had a total of six young people, four men and two women, of whom Chen Yan and Jiang Weidong and two other young women, Zhou Yanyi, came from the city called Q City, while Shen Feiyang and the other young man, Red Flag, came from the provincial capital. Q City was a place on the map of China for Gu Min Qianqian, because she had no money, Gu Qianqian had never left the third-tier city she stayed in, and after graduating from university she was also looking for a job.

Chen Yan's deep voice recounted the appearance of his hometown, including the beach, the jetty, various monuments, as well as the times when he went to the seaside with his classmates to catch up with the sea. He picked up a lot of seafood, and the wind of his hometown brought along the intoxicating smell of the ocean.

As Chen Yan laid out his plans bit by bit, a magnificent picture scroll unfolded in front of everyone. The blue ocean, the pure white sand beach, the soaring seagulls, and the fishing boat that returned home late. Gu Min Qian thought Chen Yan was a very good descriptor, so she didn't see that even Min Jie and Pan Meiyun who never stopped talking were attentively listening to him.

The gas lamp was already very dim, and Gu Min Shan could no longer see Chen Yan's expression. Chen Yan said, "My hometown is just like this. I haven't been back for a long time, and I don't know what kind of change has happened. Fellow villagers and comrades, I hope that everyone can come to my hometown in the future to see the sea and experience the charm of the ocean."

A few people below the stage said in an aggrieved tone, "It's so difficult to go out now. How can we go?"

The other person said, "That's right. We should still talk to Chen Yan. We should just think about it ourselves."

Gu Min Qian thought that in about ten years time, everyone would be able to go to Q City for a look. At that time, it would be rare for them to travel, but when they had time, they would think of a place to go. Not only did this satisfy everyone's mental needs, but more importantly, it would also boost the local economy.

After Chen Yan announced the end of class, everyone took advantage of the already dim light from the gas lamps to walk outside. Min Jie carried Gu Min Qian and left the classroom with Pan Meiyun. They saw Min Jing and a tall and straight young man standing in front of the school gate.

Min Jie walked over with Pan Meiyun. Min Jing took Gu Min Qianqian from her arms and said, "Class is over, let's take Meiyun home first."

Pan Meiyun said, "Aiya, no need. I'm only a few steps away."

Min He said, "Sister Meiyun, the alley is pitch black. It's so scary. We have many people. We'll send you back first, then we'll go home."

Min Jing said to the young man, "Feiyang, we're leaving. You should go back and rest as well. You still have to go back to work tomorrow." This was the guy Minjie told Pan Meiyun about, the guy that Liu Wenlan really liked, Shen Feiyang.

Shen Feiyang nodded his head and said, "Min Jing, I told you to reconsider. I really treated you as a friend and wanted to tell you this."

Min Jing said, "Alright then. I'll go back and plan things out. If necessary, I'll talk to you. Alright, it's getting late. Let's go."

Minjie and Pan Meiyun were holding hands. The group of five walked south along the main street to the west of the village, until they came to a small river. After walking for a distance, Gu Min was very allergic to them and had a flashlight in her hand. They saw houses on both sides of the river, Pan Meiyun's house was in the third alley on the south bank of the river, and in front of them was a field.

After Pan Meiyun entered the house, the four siblings walked towards home. They crossed the small bridge and turned east, arriving at the north and south streets on the east side of the village. If they went further north, they would reach the alley where the Gu family lived.