Hard work after winning the lottery

The pungent smell of tobacco in the room seemed to freeze in that instant.

Dozens of weathered eyes, like searchlights, focused intently on Hua Yun and the slightly worn notebook in front of her.

On it were her handwriting, densely packed yet clearly organized, written in black ink.

It is the hope for Baixi Village in the next season.

Hua Yun took a deep breath and pushed the notebook forward so that everyone on the table could see it more clearly.

Her fingers, slender yet strong, gently touched the title on the first page.

"Dear uncles and elders, the family trip during the summer vacation was a great success, but that's just the beginning."

"We attract families and sell experiences."

"But if we want to go further, we must upgrade."

Her voice was clear and crisp, every word resonating deeply in the hearts of everyone present.

"I've positioned the fall program as a study tour."

"Study tour?" Secretary Zhang pondered this somewhat unfamiliar term, his brows furrowing again.

"Yes, inquiry-based learning," Hua Yun explained. "It's no longer just about playing; it's about coming with questions and leaving with answers. It's about letting children learn knowledge that they can't learn from books, right here on our land."

She turned to a page with a clear outline diagram.

"We can be more precise in targeting our audience. We can focus on first to third grade students in elementary schools in surrounding cities."

"Children in this age group have the strongest curiosity, their hands-on skills are starting to develop, and schools have strict requirements for their social practice activities."

"In terms of time, I suggest a full one-day plan."

one day?

A slight commotion arose inside the room.

Can you keep people here for even a day?

Hua Yun seemed to see through their doubts and smiled confidently.

"To retain users, you need content that is compelling enough to attract them."

She placed the two hand-drawn sketches side by side in the center of the table.

"I have designed two themed study tour routes for schools and parents to choose from."

Her finger first pointed to the picture on the left depicting golden ears of rice.

"I call the first route 'The Journey of a Grain of Rice'."

"It starts when the children pick up sickles with their own hands, walk into the rice paddies, and experience the hard work of harvesting rice."

"We want them to smell the fragrance of rice straw and feel the plumpness of the grains."

"After harvesting the rice, we take them to the threshing ground and use the most traditional methods—foot-operated threshing machines, or even stone pounding—to let them personally experience the true meaning of 'sweat dripping onto the soil.'"

"Then, we will take them to visit the village's rice mill and see how brown rice is hulled and turned into the glistening white rice in our bowls."

"Finally, and most importantly, they use the new rice they harvested, threshed, and milled themselves to make a steaming hot rice ball by hand."

Hua Yun paused, her gaze sweeping over the crowd.

She saw that Hua Shitangbo's eyes shone with an astonishing light, a kind of simple emotional resonance that old farmers have for grain.

"Only when they eat that rice ball will they truly understand the weight of the saying, 'Every grain of rice and every bowl of porridge should remind us of the hard work involved in its production.'"

No one spoke, only heavy breathing could be heard.

Hua Yun's description seemed to bring everyone to life that scene: a group of children from the city, covered in sweat, yet their faces beaming with an unprecedented joy of accomplishment.

She then moved her finger to the picture on the right, which depicted several lambs.

"The second route is called 'The Sheep's Growth Story'."

"This is not as simple as just feeding sheep."

"We will invite Uncle Huaman to give the children a lesson on sheep science."

"Teach them to recognize the different breeds of our West Goat Farm, which ones produce milk, which ones produce meat, and which ones have the best wool."

"Children will prepare hay for the lambs and clean the sheepfold themselves, experiencing the daily life of a shepherd."

"We will also set up a 'Wool First Experience' session, where they can touch the sheared wool, feel its softness and warmth, and understand what a wool sweater originally looked like."

"Both of these routes involve observation, questioning, hands-on practice, and summarizing."

Hua Yun opened her notebook again; this time, several printed drafts were tucked inside.

"To make the learning process more interesting and more structured, I also designed a 'Study Guide'."

She distributed the sample copies.

The villagers accepted it carefully, as if it were a precious treasure.

It contains learning sheets that children need to fill out, fun and educational task cards, and even interesting quizzes about rice and goats.

It's richly illustrated and designed to be even more beautiful than the most fashionable picture books in the city.

"This...this is just like going to school..." a villager muttered to himself.

After remaining silent for a long time, Uncle Hua Man finally couldn't help but speak.

He took a deep drag on his pipe and then tapped the pipe against the table leg.

"Yun girl, everything you said is good, very good."

His voice was a little hoarse, with a hint of worry.

"But we are just farmers, toiling in the fields, and we don't know many characters."

"Let us farm and raise sheep; that's our livelihood."

"But if we were to go and teach the kids in the city... we're not good with words, we're afraid we won't speak well, and even more afraid we'll say the wrong thing and mislead the children!"

These words instantly cooled the lively atmosphere that had just begun in the room.

Yes, that's the most practical problem.

The villagers can treat guests with their warmth and simplicity, but they lack confidence in the "study" aspect of "study tours".

All eyes turned back to Hua Yun once again.

Hua Yun showed no sign of panic; instead, her smile deepened.

"Uncle Man, you've hit the nail on the head."

"I never thought of having my uncles become teachers."

"We are the guides, the living encyclopedias of the fields and villages."

"You can tell which sheep's temperament with your eyes closed, and your uncle can tell what kind of fertilizer to use just by looking at the land. These are kinds of knowledge that even the most learned professors in the city can't teach."

"As for the issues of scientific validity and educational value..."

Hua Yun took out another red letter of appointment from the cloth bag.

She solemnly placed the letter of appointment on the table and pushed it in front of Zhang, the branch manager.

"I have invited Principal Wang, who is retired from our town, to serve as the curriculum consultant for our Baixi Village study tour program."

Principal Wang?

That old principal who dedicated his life to teaching and nurturing students, with countless talents all over the world?

"Principal Wang said that he would personally review every knowledge point in the 'Student Handbook' for us, and he would also train our reception staff, teaching us how to communicate with the children and how to guide them to ask questions."

"We are responsible for showcasing the most authentic rural life, while Principal Wang is responsible for ensuring the quality of our content."

This completely dispelled the last trace of doubt in the room.

If Huayun's plan was the blueprint, then Principal Wang's involvement laid the most solid foundation for this building.

"It's not over yet."

Hua Yun's speech began to quicken, carrying an undeniable momentum.

"No matter how good the plan is, you still need people to come. I have already made preliminary contact with the heads of the largest travel agency in the county and two study tour organizations in the city, and sent them a brief introduction to our plan."