Sorry, My Beloved Is The Motherland - Chapter 20.2 - To Dedicate One's Self To The Country

After the New Year, Ning Fu’s return to the city has been put on the agenda.

The distance to the livestock farm was too far for back-and-forth trips, so she stayed at the station. Her work over the past few days mainly included helping the villagers dry animal hides, taking care of the pregnant livestock, and saying goodbye.

Ning Fu prepared gifts for everyone.

What she gave Du Qingquan was two newly copied chemistry textbooks—her original textbooks had gotten dirty when she rescued Xu Cuicui from the water, so in addition to the copied textbooks, she also included the exam syllabus that she bought from a bookstore in City B. This kind of thing was simply unavailable in the small county town, and even in the big city, one had to wait in long lines to buy it.

Du Qingquan didn’t pass the exam this year; he said that he would try again next year.

What she gave Xu Cuicui was a box of new snow flower cream, packaged in a delicate small round tin, with an osmanthus scent that was incredibly fragrant.

Xu Cuicui’s lips were curled up in disdain, and she kept spouting complaints, like ‘After accepting re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants for so long, still did not change petit bourgeois habits,’ or ‘A pretty face can’t produce rice*,’ or ‘I want to maintain a hard and simple style and will not be eroded by sugar-coated bullets’…

T/N: *The phrase is a commentary on importance of substance over superficiality; suggests that physical beauty alone is not enough to accomplish practical or meaningful tasks—like producing food or providing for oneself.

But Ning Fu noticed that she was very carefully squashed the small round tin under her bedding, wrapping it tightly in her cleanest and prettiest handkerchief (which was also a prize she received when she was recognized as an advanced producer), and after a while, her hand would unconsciously reach over to touch that place on the bedding.

There is also a gift for Tulaga banner.

Handed over to Secretary Tugu Li.

The middle-aged Mongolian man held the small notebook in his hand, very carefully and with great care, but also with a look of confusion, and asked, “This… I can’t understand ah…”

Ning Fu: ……

“Aren’t you higher primary?”

By the fifth or sixth grade of elementary school, as long as there are no particularly difficult or obscure characters, basic reading should be no problem, right?

She had already tried to simplify it as much as possible while copying.

Tugu Li said embarrassedly, “Actually, what I studied was Mongolian education…”

Mongolian language instruction, Mongolian language writing.

Ning Fu took a deep breath and said, “How many Mongolian-speaking fellow villagers are there in the village?”

Tugu Li thought for a moment and said, “About more than half.” He proudly patted his chest and added, “But they all stopped studying after second or third grade; Compared to me, still far behind!”

If it weren’t for his father being seriously ill and the family lacking a pillar of support, he would have graduated from elementary school!

This is why he can be the secretary!

Ning Fu stared at the small booklet of agricultural knowledge that she copied down during the last moments of the golden finger and felt for the first time what it meant to be ‘at a loss.’

Tugu Li also felt that the atmosphere had become a bit heavy. He looked at Ning Fu hesitantly, not understanding why she seemed to be impacted.

But Ning Fu quickly smiled, which made Secretary Tugu Li breathe a sigh of relief.

This sigh was only half released.

Because he then heard Ning Fu say, “How about this, Secretary, why don’t we set up a literacy class for Chinese characters?”

*

Ever since she learned that Ning Fu had become the top scorer in the college entrance examination and would soon be returning to the city, Xu Cuicui had been feeling quite sentimental for a few days. She made sure to leave Ning Fu the sweetest roasted sweet potatoes every night and worried about her getting heaty, so she cooked cooling tea for her every day. — She also temporarily didn’t return to the livestock station because Ning Fu warmly invited her to serve as the ‘teaching assistant’ for the literacy class in Chinese characters.

One day passed, and Ning Fu hasn’t left.

Another day passed, and Ning Fu hasn’t left.

As the days went by, Xu Cuicui was about to explode from being that ridiculous ‘teaching assistant,’ and her lingering feelings of reluctance toward Ning Fu were rapidly diminishing.

The reason is simple—Ning Fu told all the villagers who were willing to join the literacy class to ask Xu Cuicui if they had any questions!

Comrade Cuicui was called ‘teacher’ for the first time and was quite flattered and surprised for a few days, but then she couldn’t take it anymore! There were many things she hadn’t even learned and memorized herself yet!

But when the villagers came to ask her, she could only awkwardly dodge the questions, turn around and run to Ning Fu to find the answers, carefully engrave them in her mind, and then turn back to explain the answers to those ‘classmates’ who looked at her with admiration and appreciation.

Finally, Xu Cuicui couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“When are you leaving?”

Ning Fu was writing lesson plans when she heard this and looked up, saying, “I’ll leave once you’ve taught everyone.”

Xu Cuicui was so angry that she hit the bed, and accidentally struck the snow flower cream she had hidden away, almost making her heart leap. She carefully took out the small round tin box and looked at it repeatedly, and seeing that there were no dents, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Why aren’t you using it?” Ning Fu asked.

Xu Cuicui was stubborn and unwilling to admit that she couldn’t bear to part with it. Gritting her teeth, she said, “I’ll use it today!”

For the ‘sacred moment’ of applying snow flower cream for the first time in her life, Xu Cuicui slapped the table and said, “I’m going to take a shower!”

There is a public bathhouse at the livestock station.