Huayu: Reborn in 97, transferring to the Central Academy of Drama's star-studded class

After sending the students home at noon, Jiang Lai and Lao Zhao started a fire to cook a meal, barely managing to make do. After that, they began installing glass windows in the classroom.

Old Zhao did most of the work, while Jiang Lai helped by handing over tools and giving them a little push.

After the installation was completed, the entire classroom became much brighter.

Old Zhao said he was very grateful to Yate, because without this money, he didn't know when the window would have been installed.

Jiang Lai suddenly realized that although Yate had given him the choice between going to the school in town or coming here, he had already given the money to Lao Zhao before giving him the choice.

Jiang Lai thought to himself, "It seems this burly man with the big beard is a kind-hearted person."

The students didn't come in the afternoon; they went to help with chores at home. Old Zhao said that once this planting season is over, classes can resume normally.

As the days went by, Jiang Lai had completely adapted to life here.

Every morning, he would get up early to fetch water, help Zhang Ziyi cook, and then walk three or four miles of mountain road to school. In the evening, he would come back to prepare lessons. He and Lao Zhao divided the work: he taught Chinese, and Lao Zhao taught math.

Gradually, he found himself starting to enjoy the feeling of standing in that small classroom, watching the five little ones with their bright eyes, repeating the text after him word by word.

It's different from experiencing different lives through filming; that feeling is a sense of inner satisfaction.

That morning, Jiang Lai arrived at the classroom as usual, but he didn't see Sanya.

He found Old Zhao and asked, "Why didn't Sanya come?"

Old Zhao was grading a few students' homework in the room when he looked up at him and said in a flat tone, "Sanya won't be coming anymore."

Jiang Lai was taken aback. "Why?"

Old Zhao lowered his head and continued grading homework. "Her mother won't let her come to school anymore."

"Why?" Jiang Lai asked, getting a little impatient. "This girl loves studying, why can't she attend classes?"

"Her mother said that it's not very useful for girls to study, as long as they can do chores, they'll get married when they grow up."

Jiang Lai lunged forward and grabbed Old Zhao's arm. "San Ya is only seven! Brother Zhao, you're just going to let her go like that?"

Old Zhao reluctantly put down his pen and said slowly, "Xiao Jiang, you don't understand, this is just how it is here."

"What do you mean, 'this' and 'that'?!" Jiang Lai exclaimed emotionally. "San Ya wants to go to school, and she's smart. Why can't she go?"

Old Zhao remained silent. He glanced at the homework on the table. It was a perfect score assignment, with faint marks that couldn't be erased. The students couldn't afford paper, so he had to set questions like this. The students would do it, erase it, and then he would set more questions, repeating the process over and over.

And this perfect score assignment belonged to Sanya.

"Let me tell you a story," Old Zhao suddenly said.

Jiang Lai frowned, but still sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Old Zhao looked around nostalgically, "My dad used to be a teacher, right here, in this very classroom."

Jiang Lai calmed down; he hadn't heard Lao Zhao mention these things before.

"Back then, the house was even more dilapidated than it is now. My dad went up the mountain to cut wood and mix mud to build it up bit by bit."

He taught his whole life, but he didn't actually send many children out of school. His proudest achievement was probably sending me out of this mountain.

I passed the teacher's college entrance exam and went to the city. At that time, I thought I would never have to come back.

I hate this place, I hate this wretched mountain valley, I hate this dilapidated school, I hate this shabby house that will never be finished.

Old Zhao's voice was calm, as if he were telling someone else's story. Even though those few words were annoying, they were calm enough to be suffocating.

"Later, I found a job in the city, met a girl, and prepared to settle down in the city. I felt that I had finally gotten rid of this place in my life, so I prepared to bring him over."

He disagreed, and we had a huge fight. I told him, "You can just stay in your dilapidated house for the rest of your life!"

"And then?" Jiang Lai couldn't help but ask.

"That was it. One winter, my dad went to town to buy materials to repair the house. He suddenly had a heart attack and died. I didn't even get to see him one last time."

I remember before I went to college, he excitedly told me, "If I can send you abroad, I can send many more children abroad."

At this point, Old Zhao's voice finally trembled slightly.

"So I came back. I quit my job and broke up with my girlfriend. I want to take over my father's responsibilities. I want more children to go out and learn. I always thought I could do it."

Old Zhao gave a wry smile and shook his head.

"But in the end, I couldn't change anything. The villagers thought that going to school was useless, and that it was better to work at home or go out to work when I grew up."

I went from house to house, trying to persuade them, but in the end I could only take in five children.

"Xiao Jiang, it's not that I don't want to care, it's that I can't. That's just how it is here, it's always been like this."

Jiang Lai sat motionless for a long time before standing up and walking into the classroom to teach the remaining children.

He was absent-minded all morning, feeling suffocated.

Is this how it's always been, and is this the only way it can be?

Jiang Lai didn't understand.

At noon, Jiang offered to take the children home, and Lao Zhao agreed, his eyes filled with mixed emotions.

After sending the four children home one by one, Jiang Lai walked to the east end of the village, where a similarly dilapidated mud-brick house, surrounded by stones and a fence, was Sanya's home.

Jiang Lai walked into the courtyard, where San Ya was squatting on the ground washing clothes, her little hands rubbing in the basin. When she saw Jiang Lai, her eyes lit up.

"Teacher Jiang!" The little girl wiped the water off her hands on her clothes and ran over.

Jiang Lai squatted down, looked into Sanya's eyes, and asked, "Sanya, do you want to go to school?"

Sanya nodded vigorously, "Yes!"

Jiang Lai smiled, patted Sanya's head, stood up, and went into the house.

The room was a bit dim. Sanya's mother was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) sewing clothes. When she saw Jiang Lai, her expression became somewhat unnatural.

"Teacher Jiang, what brings you here?"

Jiang Lai went straight to the point, saying, "Sanya's mother, Sanya is very smart and learns things very quickly. She should go to school."

Sanya's mother's face darkened. "No means no!"

"Sanya is only seven years old. If she studies hard, she will definitely be able to..."

"What can she do?" Sanya's mother interrupted. "She can get into university? She can go to the city? Teacher Jiang, you're from the city, you don't know how hard life is here. My husband and my two eldest sons have both gone out to work and earn money. I can't do all the housework by myself, can I? Besides, girls will belong to someone else's family sooner or later, why waste money like that!"

"I can..."

"What can you do?" Sanya's mother interrupted again. "Can you give me money? Teacher Jiang, I know you mean well. If you can give me money, I'll let Sanya go to school. If you can't, then don't waste your time here."

Jiang Lai was so angry he laughed.

Okay, okay, you're talking to me about money now, huh?

"Fine, you just wait." Jiang Lai turned and left.

Sanya's mother sneered disdainfully. "A rich person like you coming to a place like this to be a teacher? Do you really think I'm some ignorant country bumpkin?"

When they got into the courtyard, Sanya was still standing there, blinking her big eyes. When Jiang came closer, she whispered, "Teacher Jiang, it's okay. I don't need to go to school."

Jiang Lai smiled and squatted down, casually tidying up the little girl's slightly messy pigtails. He didn't talk to the little girl about money; education shouldn't be measured by money.

He strode out, feeling for the first time that he absolutely had to spend the money.

He ran several kilometers back to his village and found Yate at the village entrance.

"Director Ya, whose tractor did you ride on when you came? Could you borrow it?"

"Now is the time to need it, but people might not be willing to lend it. What's wrong?"

"I can pay!"

Yate was taken aback. "You're going to town? What happened?"

"It's okay, but I have to go!" Jiang Lai said firmly.

Yate didn't ask anything more. "Okay, I'll take you to ask someone from your hometown."

He led Jiang to the family that owned the tractor. The villager saw that they were paid and drove the tractor out without saying a word.

Yate wanted to go with them, but Jiang stopped him, saying it was his private matter, so Yate had no choice but to give up.

Jiang jumped into the truck bed, and the tractor sputtered to life, slowly making its way onto the bumpy dirt road.

Facing the scorching sun and mountain wind, Jiang Lai stood on the truck bed, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

This time, he didn't faint.

He was determined to make sure Sanya could continue her studies.

The fellow villager led Jiang to the only bank in town. He hadn't brought much money with him this time, so he had to go to the bank to withdraw it.

He quickly ran inside, withdrew 50,000 yuan, got a black plastic bag from the bank, put the money in his pocket, ran out, and jumped back onto the tractor.

The villager took out the crank and started it again, and the tractor sputtered back.

After returning to the village, it was already close to evening, and Jiang Lai went straight to Sanya's house in the next village.

Sanya's mother was cooking when she saw Jiang Lai and said impatiently, "Teacher Jiang, why are you here again? I said I'm not going, and that's final!"

Jiang Lai didn't say anything. Seeing that Sanya wasn't around, he took out a wad of money from the plastic bag and slammed it onto the stove.

"Is ten thousand enough?"

Sanya's mother was stunned. She hurriedly threw down the spatula and picked up the money, afraid that even a spark would touch it. She moistened her mouth with saliva and began to count the money. After counting, she found that it really was ten thousand. Her expression immediately became obsequious.

"That's enough! Teacher Jiang, I'm not a greedy person, this is definitely enough, I'll let Sanya go back to school tomorrow! You're truly a saint!"

She kept showering him with flattery, but Jiang Lai ignored her and turned to walk into the twilight.

He went to the homes of the other four children and gave each of them 10,000 yuan, telling their parents that it was not for any other reason than to ensure that the children could continue to go to school.

Each family politely accepted the money, promising to ensure their child studied hard.

When he got home, Zhang Ziyi noticed that he was in a bad mood and asked him with concern what was wrong.

Jiang Lai didn't answer, but simply pulled her into his arms again.

He knew that this was merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause, and he also knew that he couldn't change anything anyway.

But allowing a seven-year-old girl to continue her schooling might be the beginning of change.

The next morning, Lao Zhao stared blankly at Sanya appearing in the classroom.

After hesitating for a long time, he smiled.