Fu Wenwen and the village chief watched the educated youths intently that day, observing their attempts to curry favor with the villagers. The villagers, bewildered by the sudden warmth from the educated youths, had no idea what they were up to.
Seeing the scene unfold, the two exchanged a knowing glance and a silent smile.
The village chief returned home with his hands behind his back, his accomplishment a well-kept secret.
"What? Literacy class? No, no! We're already exhausted from working, why would we want to study after work? No, no."
"Literacy class? What's that? Studying? No! I'm already old, what's the point of learning?"
"Studying? What good does it do? Does it give us work points? No work points? No, thank you."
"Oh, what's the use of knowing a few characters? It's a waste of time, no!"
"..."
The villagers' answers were all different, but the outcome was the same.
There were no work points awarded for attending literacy class, and they were expected to work during the day and study at night? Absolutely not!
Liu Zihua returned to the educated youth point with a dejected expression. The other educated youths looked equally glum, slumped on their beds.
"These villagers are too difficult! How can we get over half of them to agree in two days? It has to be for three months, and then they have to graduate!" Zhong Aiguo sighed heavily. He had approached every villager he was on good terms with that day, but even the closest ones just shook their heads, advised him to give up, and called his efforts futile.
"How many people did you get?" Zhong Aiguo looked at Liu Zihua, who was well-respected in the village and should have been able to persuade a few.
Liu Zihua shook his head with a grim expression. After much persuasion, he had only managed to convince two people, and that too with money.
Without personal gain, they simply wouldn't cooperate. No matter how eloquently you spoke, they would only shake their heads.
"It's over, even Liu Zihua couldn't get anyone! How are we going to run this literacy class..." Zhong Aiguo lamented.
"The chance of success is not high!"
"It's too difficult!"
"They just won't be persuaded!"
The other educated youths also sighed heavily.
In two days, all the educated youths had given their best effort, but in the end, they hadn't even reached a third of the required number.
When the village chief arrived at the educated youth point, all the educated youths were hanging their heads, convinced that the literacy class was doomed.
"How is it? Did you manage it?" The village chief walked in slowly, hands behind his back, and asked them.
"Village Chief, this is too difficult!" Zhong Aiguo said dejectedly, looking down.
"And you all?" The village chief nodded and looked at the others.
"Village Chief, we didn't get many people..." Liu Zihua said helplessly.
"Oh, so Liu Ziqing managed to get twenty people. That's not bad, at least there are twenty. Tell me, how did you manage it?" The village chief looked at Liu Zihua. After a moment of silence, under the village chief's gaze and with the other educated youths watching, Liu Zihua finally answered.
"I promised them five yuan each if they graduated." Liu Zihua's words made the other educated youths turn to look at him in surprise.
They hadn't expected Liu Zihua to go to such lengths. Five yuan per person, and he had convinced twenty people, that was a hundred yuan!
"Liu Zihua, what are you trying to achieve?" Ma Tian asked speechlessly. At this rate, it was no wonder they couldn't get anyone.
Wasn't this going a bit too far?
"I couldn't help it, we had to try something!" Liu Zihua said helplessly.
The village chief glanced at them indifferently. "I'm just telling you, the literacy class is scheduled to start tomorrow..."