Chen Lan wasted no time and turned to leave the grand study, heading back as she quickly opened the system with her mind and placed an order for fifty-five straw hats and thirty small shovels.
Not long after, Ming Wei had organized the students into a line and led them out of the grand study.
Chen Lan had only been in the valley for a short while when Ming Wei and Ming Zhe, along with Wen Kai and Wen Qi, led forty to fifty primary school students aged five to twelve, walking in a long procession and singing loudly along the way. The song was called "Labor is Glorious" and its lyrics were:
"The sun shines bright and golden, the rooster sings its song;
The flowers wake up, the birds busily preen;
The little magpies build new homes, the little bees collect honey;
Where does a happy life come from? It comes from labor and creation..." Su Dan Novel Network
As time was tight and seeing that all the classmates had arrived, Chen Lan didn't say much and cut to the chase. First, she distributed a straw hat to each of the primary school students, then had them stand in a circle. She then directly explained and demonstrated the specific process of planting sugarcane seedlings to the children: positioning, digging, placing the seedlings, backfilling, and watering.
Next, Wen Kai and Wen Qi, along with Ming Zhe, took turns holding shovels and demonstrating again for the classmates. After that, it was time for the children to personally operate and experience it themselves.
Ming Wei divided the work among the classmates. The older students were responsible for holding the shovels to position and dig holes, while the younger students were responsible for placing the sugarcane seedlings and backfilling. The teachers would be responsible for watering.
The older students quickly dug holes in the front. The younger students, rarely having the chance to work in the fields, diligently followed the method Chen Lan had guided, carefully planting the sugarcane seedlings in the holes and backfilling the soil around them, making sure the little sugarcane seedlings stood firmly in the pits. The young teachers immediately followed by watering, allowing the little sugarcane seedlings to thoroughly absorb the meticulously irrigated clear water.
Initially, the children working in the fields were immensely happy, each chirping and bustling like excited little birds in spring!
Before long, the sun began to beat down fiercely, as if the sun were a burning fire. Soon after, the children's small faces started to turn red, flushed and covered with fine beads of sweat. At this point, some students began to repeatedly cry out that they were tired, lamenting the hardship of farming.
Ming Wei wiped the sweat from the children's faces while encouraging them. The only sounds in the fields, besides the roar of machinery, were Ming Wei's encouraging voices to the students: "Little Tian, you're doing great, planting the sugarcane seedlings so quickly and straight; Little Rong, you're also doing very well, digging holes quickly and neatly, and keeping them in a line; Gang Dan, you've also performed excellently, immediately helping a classmate who fell, showing unity and friendship by helping others."
Chen Lan did not tell the students to stop and rest. Only by gritting their teeth and persevering could they deeply understand the hardships of adults and truly grasp the real meaning of "every grain is hard-earned."
This time, Chen Lan truly experienced the benefit of having many people to contribute. In less than two hours, the sugarcane seedlings in the two mu of land were all planted. The students' small hands were covered in mud, their faces and clothes were also splattered with dirt, and they were all sun-baked, parched, and drenched in sweat! Yet, not a single one was dispirited or dejected!
Chen Lan thought, surely by now they would have a deep understanding of the hardships of labor? And fully appreciate the difficulties faced by adults?
Chen Lan had them line up to wash their hands and faces in the watering buckets, then handed each of them a bottle of sour plum juice that had been purchased from the system and kept ice-cold in a large barrel nearby.
The students gulped down the sour plum juice, and the heat on their bodies instantly disappeared, their strength returning.
The significance of this labor class was to allow the children to deeply experience the hardships of labor, feel the difficulty of obtaining food, and at the same time, experience the joy of labor!
Chen Lan and Ming Wei each praised the students for their excellent performance today!
Chen Lan announced loudly: "Students, although the weather was hot today and everyone worked hard, you all acted swiftly and cooperated seamlessly, persevering to complete the task. You are all excellent, possessing the fine qualities of being willing to bear hardships and not fearing difficulty or fatigue."
Looking back at the fruits of their labor, and then receiving praise from their teachers and Chen Lan, the students couldn't help but feel a sense of self-satisfaction and joy, all their fatigue and hard work swept away. At the same time, their earlier lethargy vanished, and they immediately became lively and energetic again.
This was the first time they had brought the children for a labor practical class. Seeing the smiles on the children's faces, Ming Wei and Chen Lan exchanged glances, feeling that this decision was absolutely correct.
While it is said that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles, Chen Lan, who came from the 21st century, knew that children were the future of the world. Knowledge needed to be learned, practiced, and explored, but practice allowed them to feel the land they lived on with their feet on the ground.
This was what Chen Lan hoped they would understand: to be grounded, not to forget their roots or their origins.
Ming Wei looked at the smile on Chen Lan's face and smiled along: "Sister-in-law, these children are much more sensible now than before."
"Yes," Chen Lan nodded, but seemed lost in thought, "I'm thinking, since practical classes can help them understand knowledge faster, should we also arrange handicraft classes or practical classes in the future?"
Ming Wei's eyes lit up at Chen Lan's words, and she quickly nodded and said, "That's a great idea! No matter how much you learn, hands-on practice is essential! But it seems we don't have enough people to spare to be teachers for practical classes now, do we?"
Ming Wei had hit the nail on the head. Everyone in the valley was so busy they were almost running off their feet, whether it was building houses, raising livestock, or tending to crops. It was difficult to figure out who to select as a teacher to lead the children in practical classes at this time.
Although Ming Wei had attended Western-style schools, Chen Lan estimated her practical skills were only adequate. Moreover, as a young girl, she couldn't spend every day squatting in the mud leading the children in practice. Besides, practical work required a certain level of craftsmanship. Ming Wei was still too young to have these foundations. However, practical classes shouldn't be too dull and boring, after all, children are full of enthusiasm for new things, and the knowledge they learn out of curiosity, they remember particularly clearly.
Therefore, the selection of personnel was something Chen Lan needed to consider carefully.
"We'll take our time with this. It's just the beginning, no need to rush. Let the students participate in labor practice first, and we'll gradually introduce other practical activities later."
Chen Lan patted Ming Wei's hand, comforting her, "You are teaching very well now. Everything should be done step by step. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
"Mm-hmm, I understand, Sister-in-law. Don't worry," Ming Wei squeezed Chen Lan's hand back and replied with a smile.