Chen Lan saw that everyone was busy in an orderly fashion, and since there was nothing for her to do here, she decided to return to the valley to gather the people who would plant the sugarcane seedlings. Time waited for no one, and hundreds of sugarcane seedlings had been stored in the system for days. It would be safer to plant them in the fields as soon as possible.
She hadn't walked far when she saw a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction. She stopped to get a closer look and recognized it as the new rapeseed planting machine Lin Mai had bought from the system during the spring planting. Chen Lan was delighted.
Mai Zi, that little girl, was amazing! She had just been wondering where Lin Mai was and felt a bit strange, thinking she might have gone to the reading club with Ming Wei. But instead, she was out operating the rapeseed planting machine. Rapeseed and beetroot seeds were about the same size, so this machine should be able to plant beetroot too. That was fantastic!
The remaining task was to discuss with Ming Wei about arranging a labor class for the children from the reading club, so they could all help plant the sugarcane seedlings together and water them thoroughly. This would essentially complete the farming task.
With this thought, when Lin Mai drove the machine up to her, Chen Lan greeted her without waiting for her to get out. After giving Lin Mai a few specific instructions, she didn't linger and continued on her way.
Chen Lan arrived at the entrance of her house and saw the older children playing with various toys. The twins, a boy and a girl, were as usual playing on the seesaw. A large group of children, around three or four years old, were in the playground. Some were playing on the slide, others on the carousel. Mother Liu and Mother Cui were patrolling to prevent any accidents. Her mother and Xiao Shan's mother were looking after the three babies in the cradles, checking if any were spitting up milk or had kicked off their blankets.
Seeing that everything was fine, Chen Lan didn't disturb them and walked directly into the main study.
Chen Lan went to the reading club in the main study. Ming Wei was teaching the children a lesson on ancient poetry appreciation. The poem was "Min Nong" by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Shen.
Chen Lan stood outside the main study and heard Ming Wei explaining to the students:
"Hoeing the fields under the noon sun, sweat drips onto the earth; this means that it describes your mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters working hard in the scorching sun right now. Even with such a strong sun, they are still toiling in the fields, and their sweat drops, large as peas, fall onto the hot earth. What does this illustrate? Zheng Datian, you answer this question."
Zheng Yingzhang's eldest son, Zheng Datian, immediately stood up, stood straight, and replied loudly, "Report, teacher, I know this. I've helped my mother with farm work at home. These two lines mean that adults work very hard. To ensure we have enough to eat, no matter how hard it is, they have to grit their teeth and persist in working in the fields to grow crops. Therefore, we must cherish every grain of rice and every vegetable we eat and not waste it!"
Ming Wei smiled and said, "Please sit down. Zheng Datian, your answer is excellent! That's right, this poem is meant to tell us to cherish food, because a bowl of porridge and a meal are not easily obtained!"
Ming Wei looked at the children who were listening attentively, cleared her throat, and continued explaining:
"Who knows that the food in their bowls, every single grain, is the result of hard work? This means, who can know that the porridge, corn gruel, rice, and millet porridge in our bowls, the steamed buns, flower rolls, and corn buns on our plates, every grain is earned by your parents and older siblings who worked diligently, waking early and going to bed late?"
Chen Lan stood outside the main study, nodding as she listened. Ming Wei, this young girl, had truly grown a lot this year. After undergoing the rigorous trials of last year's autumn harvest and this year's spring planting, she now deeply understood how hard-earned every meal was.
Having experienced the autumn harvest and winter storage, Ming Wei naturally understood the meaning of "planting one grain in spring, reaping ten thousand in autumn" better than most. Such scenes of spring planting and autumn harvest were probably visible to everyone in the valley, but how many truly understood their profound meaning?
Although Ming Wei knew that the situation was not as dire as the poets described, where grand harvests led to the cruel reality of "farmers starving to death," she deeply understood that the poet's ultimate emphasis on "every grain is hard-earned" was the original intent of the poem.
The poem's depiction of farmers toiling under the scorching sun, their sweat flowing profusely, combined with the rhetorical question "Who knows that the food in their bowls, every single grain, is the result of hard work?" made the lesson even more persuasive.
After listening to Ming Wei's explanation at the door of the main study, Chen Lan felt even more satisfied and incredibly relieved. The once pampered girl who was ignorant of the hardships of ordinary people had grown up.
Knowledge was never superficial rhetoric but came from all aspects and details of life. Ming Wei had achieved this, and done it very well!
However, Chen Lan knew why Ming Wei hadn't used the first "Min Nong" poem to teach the children. No matter what kind of poetry it was, it was inevitable that the poet would express and exaggerate the sorrows and injustices of the era in which they lived. Ming Wei knew that expressing such emotions in poetry was too early for children just beginning to engage with ancient poetry. The children might not be able to understand the emotional resonance of the poet's era.
Therefore, Ming Wei chose the second poem to teach the children, starting from a scene of labor that everyone could witness. This demonstrated not only Ming Wei's intelligence but also her newfound ability to adapt her teaching to the actual situation and impart appropriate knowledge to the children at different times.
In this regard, Ming Wei had clearly become a qualified teacher.
When Ming Wei had Wen Qi lead the classmates in reciting the poem, Chen Lan walked to the classroom door and quietly called out to Ming Wei. Seeing Chen Lan, Ming Wei immediately came out of the main study and happily exclaimed, "Sister-in-law, why do you have time to come to the main study today!"
Chen Lan got straight to the point. Ming Wei's eyes lit up as soon as she heard it. "That's great! Sister-in-law, I just finished teaching them a lesson on the ancient poem 'Min Nong' today. If they can now have practical experience in the fields, I believe they will be able to fully understand the true meaning of the poem and deeply appreciate the hardships of life."
With that, she turned back into the main study, her face beaming with excitement.