Hard work after winning the lottery

In the following days, the threshing ground became the liveliest place in the whole village.

Everyone is practicing how to use the simplest and most interesting language to tell their own little story.

Aunt Li, who is in charge of "The Journey of a Grain of Rice", no longer gives a dry introduction to the growth cycle of rice.

She found a large winnowing basket from somewhere, and inside it, everything from a shriveled seed, to a tender sprout breaking through the soil, to a verdant seedling, to a heading rice stalk, and finally to golden grains and snow-white rice grains, was arranged neatly.

She encouraged everyone to reach out and touch the rice, to feel its different textures, and to tell the story of the cycle of life of a grain of rice in the most intuitive way.

Uncle Hua Man also completely let loose. He even learned to use exaggerated body language to imitate the way rams fight, making everyone laugh so hard they were doubled over.

The aunties in charge of the hands-on experience also followed Hua Yun's advice.

They abandoned the original intricate and elaborate grasshopper design and created a grass ring that children can easily learn to make.

We also prepared many different leaves and petals, as well as the simplest white canvas bags, so that children could freely make plant prints and create unique works.

Don't pursue a perfect result, just enjoy the process.

The entire Baixi Village was immersed in this positive yet clumsy transformation.

As night falls and the villagers return home to practice and refine their skills, Hua Yun's "second classroom" is just beginning.

Under the living room light, three identical little heads huddled together, playing with building blocks.

Hua Yun came out of the shower, holding several newly drawn sketches in her hand, and cleared her throat.

"My darlings, Mommy is going to play the role of a study tour teacher and give you a lesson about lambs. Would you like to be my students?"

The three little ones immediately perked up, sat up straight, and looked at her with bright eyes.

Hua Yun took a deep breath and vividly recounted the training content from the daytime in her own way.

She talked about everything from the sheep's eyes to its horns, from what sheep like to eat to how they sleep.

She tried her best to make her voice sound childlike and added cute gestures.

But as she continued talking, she realized something was wrong.

Sile's head was bobbing up and down like a chick pecking at rice, and she was about to fall asleep.

The younger son, Sitao, began to fidget, fidgeting with his fingers and scratching at his older brother's ears.

Only Si'an was still looking at her politely, but his gaze was clearly starting to wander.

Hua Yun stopped and looked at them with some frustration.

"How was it? Did Mom say something nice?"

Si Le jolted awake, rubbed her eyes, and gave her a scathing critique.

"Mom, you've been talking for too long, I'm getting sleepy."

Hit the nail on the head.

Hua Yun's heart sank. Sure enough, even the optimized content was still easy to be long-winded from an adult's perspective.

Just as she was about to reflect, her youngest son, Sitao, raised his hand and asked his question with a serious expression.

"Mom, you said sheep sleep standing up, so...do sheep dream when they sleep?"

This question struck Hua Yun's mind like a bolt of lightning.

She was stunned.

Do you dream?

She had consulted so much scientific information about sheep, from species classification to physiological structure, but she had never paid attention to such a... childlike and imaginative question.

"Will it dream of green grass, or will it dream of a big bad wolf?" Si Tao kept asking, her eyes full of curiosity.

Hua Yun looked into her son's clear eyes and suddenly smiled.

She went over and kissed each of the three children on the forehead.

"Thank you, my little teachers."

Hua Yun didn't sleep that night.

She reopened her notebook and carefully wrote a line in red pen next to the page titled "Sheep's Growth Diary":

"Always stand in the child's shoes, protect and stimulate their curiosity, rather than filling their brains."

She started searching online for information—"Animal Sleep Research," "Dreaming Phenomena in Ruminants," and so on.

She discovered that the scientific community generally believes that most mammals, including sheep, have a REM sleep stage similar to that of humans, which is considered the basis for dreaming.

The next day, when she told the villagers about this new knowledge using the story of "The Little Sheep's Dream Adventure," everyone was captivated.

The thick "Study Tour Handbook" was revised to be thinner and thinner under the challenge of the three little ones, with all the hard-to-understand knowledge points being deleted.

But it has also become more and more substantial, because it is filled with countless whimsical ideas like "Do sheep dream?" that can light up children's eyes.

The day when travel agencies and study tour organizations come to inspect the site is getting closer and closer.

Every person in Baixi Village is like an arrow fully drawn, full of power, waiting for the command to rush towards that hopeful future.

On a clear morning in mid-October, that taut string was finally plucked.

In the distance, a cloud of dust rose.

Two bright yellow school buses, like two docile beetles, slowly drove into view of Baixi Village.

Hua Yun stood under the old locust tree at the village entrance, her palms damp with a thin layer of sweat.

Behind her were Party Secretary Zhang, Uncle Huaman, Aunt Li... and the earnest expectations of the entire Baixi Village.

The entire village of Baixi seemed to hold its breath.

The car door opened with a "whoosh".

Young, curious faces, like fledglings peeking out of their nests, peered out of the car windows.

The uniform blue school uniforms and bright red hats, under the autumn sun, formed a vibrant sea.

More than fifty first-grade students, led by two young teachers and three outdoor instructors, lined up neatly in four rows without a sound or chaos.

Their eyes, like the purest obsidian, sparkled with boundless curiosity about this unfamiliar village.

Hua Yun went to greet her, her face bearing the gentlest smile she had practiced countless times.

"Hello children, welcome to Baixi Village."

After a brief introduction, the children were quickly divided into two groups, A and B.

Group A, led by Aunt Li and several villagers, headed to the golden rice paddy in the east of the village to begin "A Journey Through a Grain of Rice".

Group B followed Hua Yun and Uncle Hua Man towards the sheep farm at the foot of West Mountain to explore the secrets of "The Sheep's Growth Story".

The two groups of people, like two colorful streams, flowed merrily into the depths of the village.

The autumn wind whips up waves of rice, golden ripples surging between the paddy fields.

The children, who grew up in the city, had never seen such a sight before. As soon as they stepped onto the ridges of the fields, they exclaimed in amazement.

"Wow--"

"So much rice!"

Aunt Li stood by the field, holding a small but sharp sickle in her hand—a safety model specially prepared for the children.

She didn't preach any grand principles; she simply bent down, grasped a small handful of rice stalks with her left hand, and deftly hooked her right wrist.

With a "snap," a heavy bundle of rice fell into her hand.

"Children, look at your auntie's hand gestures," her voice was simple and clear, "bent over, doesn't she look like a big shrimp? The sickle should be close to the ground, so that it cuts cleanly."

The children followed suit, picking up small sickles and carefully walking down into the rice paddies.

The soft mud enveloped their brand-new sneakers, and an unprecedented sensation came from the soles of their feet.