No Need to Depend on Others Anymore
The village chief saw Su Li's pale face and comforted her, "A Li, don't be anxious. Our school has just started, and having over twenty students enrolled is already good. Maybe in the future, when villagers see the benefits of education, they'll be willing to send their children to school. Alas, a lot of this depends on Su Shimao. He's the only scholar in the village, but everyone has seen how he ended up—truly a bad example."
Su Li nodded; indeed, Su Shimao was a terrible example.
The two chatted as they left together, heading towards the school.
Haizi School was built on a large open space beside the village, in a prime location. By now, the buildings were completed. The school was spacious and bright inside, with desks and chairs neatly arranged. Several familiar aunts were cleaning, polishing the furniture until it shone.
Among them was Aunt Zhu. When she saw Su Li and the village chief arrive, she smiled, holding a rag, and said, "Village Chief, A Li is here! Haha, I'm helping with the cleaning too. When school starts, I'll send my boy here. Ah, I never thought my family would have a scholar!"
The other aunts chatted among themselves, all planning to send their children to study. Their words were full of praise for Su Li, grateful beyond measure.
The village chief sighed, "A Li, although few children from our village attend, even if it benefits just one family, it's worth it. Look, these villagers truly thank you from their hearts."
Su Li nodded, watching the busy aunts and hearing their hopeful expectations for their children's education. Her feelings of frustration lessened considerably.
Though many still didn't see the benefits of education, at least over twenty children had come, meaning more than twenty families recognized and appreciated her efforts. That was enough.
After touring the bright and clean classrooms, the village chief took Su Li to see the dormitories.
The dormitories were divided into teacher and student quarters. The teacher dormitory was a separate quadrangle courtyard, housing two teachers per courtyard. Extra rooms could accommodate family members and had their own small kitchens.
The student dormitories were much simpler, meant for students from other villages who couldn't easily go home. The cheapest option was a large communal room, where ten people could sleep on a long kang bed. A better option was a four-person room, each with a small bed and a bookshelf.
Since the school targeted poor students, there were no better single rooms; the best available were the four-person rooms.
The kitchen was also cleaned and ready, with several large stoves polished to a shine. In the future, village women would take turns cooking at the school. The school would provide meals and a small payment as compensation, adding employment and extra income for the village.
Su Li was quite satisfied with the overall school. After touring with the village chief, they headed home. On the way, they talked about the village head's affairs. The village chief smiled and said, "The village head here oversees several villages, and the village chiefs nearby jointly elect the village head. Our Haizi Village used to be the poorest and smallest, so the village head was never chosen from here. But guess what? Because we built the school and accepted students from other villages, those village chiefs agreed to let our village provide the village head! Ah, this school is truly a blessing. Before, village heads from other villages favored their own villages and pushed the hardest and most burdensome duties onto ours. Now it's different; the village head is one of us, and we no longer have to worry about pleasing others."