Chapter 40 Zhou Yimin's Proposal When everyone present heard Zhou Yimin shout "Come here", they guessed what would happen next. Even the little guy understood and looked up at his mother. "Go! Uncle Sixteen is calling you." the woman said gently. The little guy came to Zhou Yimin nervously, his eyes full of anticipation. Zhou Yimin did not disappoint people. He always had candies in his trouser pockets. Don't ask, he has a golden finger. He took out a handful of White Rabbit candies: "Take them with both hands and share them with your brothers and sisters." The little guy was very happy and nodded like a chick catching millet. "Yimin, this is White Rabbit Milk Candy. It's too expensive and you gave me too much!" Zhou Zhigao is no worldly-wise man. As a teacher, he knows how precious White Rabbit Milk Candy is. Even for children in the city, it is difficult to eat. The captain had naturally seen it before and wanted to ask for two for his own children, but was too embarrassed to ask. Everyone was moved, he was indeed Yimin! He was generous, no wonder all the children in the village liked him, calling him Uncle Sixteen all the time.
"Haha! Really? A friend gave it to me. I'm not sure." Zhou Yimin said with a smile. The others were speechless, no one believed this bullshit. As someone who grew up in Beijing, how could you not know how precious White Rabbit Milk Candy is? The little guy held a handful of White Rabbit milk candies in both hands, came to his older brothers and sisters, and started to share them one by one, which was quite fair. The old branch secretary quickly changed the subject: "Zhigao, I heard someone came to propose marriage?" Zhou Zhigao suddenly felt embarrassed. It is true. Xiaolan's family is in financial difficulty, and getting married means, on the one hand, one less mouth to feed, and on the other hand, she can get some dowry money to subsidize the family. It can be said that she kills two birds with one stone. But the family who came to propose marriage was a bit bullying, and was only willing to give two yuan as a dowry. Even a good-tempered person like Zhou Zhigao became unhappy on the spot. "It didn't work." Zhou Zhigao didn't say why. The old branch secretary and others did not ask any further questions. One look at his expression told them that the conversation was not very pleasant. "Well! It doesn't matter if it didn't work. Yimin mentioned the school to us today. The captain and I think it's time for the children in the village to go back to school. What do you think? What else could you think? Zhou Zhigao must be very happy! Teaching is what he is good at. If he is asked to carry water and plant crops, he really can't compare with others, and he will earn less work points. "That's great! I'm fine. I can resume the class at any time." Zhou Zhigao said quickly. The old branch secretary nodded slightly and looked at Xiaolan: "I remember that Xiaolan used to have good academic performance. When I came to your house, I talked to Yimin. Yimin suggested that Xiaolan should also go to school to teach as a substitute teacher, and the village would give her work points. Zhou Zhigao's family became excited upon hearing this. This is also a surprise! In this way, Xiaolan can not only solve her own food problem, but also earn some money for her family.
Xiaolan herself is also happy to be a teacher. After all, being a teacher is not as tiring as doing hard labor, it may just be more mentally taxing. Under the same work points conditions, she would definitely prefer to be a teacher! Besides, she didn't have to get married so quickly. To be honest, she was a little hesitant when someone proposed marriage to her. In this era, if you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, you follow the dog. If you don't marry well, it will be a lifelong thing. "No problem! Thank you, Party Secretary..." Zhou Zhigao thanked several people in a row. "No need to thank me. This suggestion was made by Yimin and it is for the good of the children in the village. There is no reason for us not to support it." said the old branch secretary. Zhou Zhigao thanked Zhou Yimin again and also brought his daughter Xiaolan to thank him together. Zhou Yimin shook his head slightly: "We in Zhoujia Village should thank you. No matter how poor we are, we cannot be poor in education. Reading and learning to read are always good things. Brother Zhigao, is there anything the school needs? I might be able to help." Knowing that Zhou Yimin was capable, Zhou Zhigao was not polite: "If possible, please get me some chalk, pencils, and study books." You know, some families can’t afford to buy study books or something like that.” "Okay! I understand. Leave it to me. By the way, how many school-age children are there in our village? Let's send them all to school as much as possible!" Even the old branch secretary was a little embarrassed. Although the tuition is not high, some families are poor and have many children, so how can they send all of them to school? Although the children are not very capable, it is not a problem for them to help with some housework. Sending children to school not only costs money, but also results in a loss of labor. Some families are not willing to do this. "This may be a bit difficult!" said the captain. In fact, Zhou Yimin guessed the reason without anyone explaining it. "Old Party Secretary, do you think this is possible?" Everyone's attention then shifted to Zhou Yimin. "The main reason why some families are reluctant to let their children go to school is the expense of their children's schooling. What if this is solved by the village?" This is the idea of some places in later generations, and Zhou Yimin plans to learn from it. It is equivalent to the village paying for education, and the villagers only need to send their children to school. Children who study well can even get money. In fact, isn’t this also the case with universities nowadays? Not only do you not have to spend money, you can also take subsidies home. The old branch secretary and others were shocked. Will the village solve it? Tuition? Food? Or all of them? I'm afraid Zhoujiazhuang doesn't have the strength to do this! They would like to, but their strength doesn't allow it. If you hadn't helped to bring back some sweet potatoes and potatoes, the village collective wouldn't even be able to solve the problem of food. The captain smiled bitterly: "How can our Zhoujiazhuang be so powerful?" This is no small burden. "So, the village has to generate some extra income, do you understand?" Zhou Yimin said. After all, it's all because of poverty. Nowadays, it is difficult for individuals to generate income, as they may easily be involved in speculation, but what about collectives? In fact, the current rural areas are a microcosm of the collective economy, and some things can be done. Zhou Yimin could easily pay for the school's expenses himself.
But it is not necessary and it is best not to do so. Dragging the entire village into the water is the correct approach, and it is much less risky. "To generate income?" "It's not a good idea. The fields in the village are all planned." The team leader reminded Zhou Yimin. You can't even grow crops randomly. If your superiors tell you to grow wheat, you can't grow rice. "I don't plan to touch the fields in the village." Thinking of taking over the farmland is a bit suicidal. "Then our village doesn't have any extra land to generate income!" The team leader was a little overwhelmed. You can't just do it in the little vegetable garden at home, right? It doesn't seem to make any sense to do it on a small scale. The old branch secretary knew that Zhou Yimin must have an idea, so he said, "Yimin, what do you think? Tell us so that we can refer to it." (End of this chapter)