Chapter 125: Good News, Good News

Next, Song Yu picked out a table leg, a jewelry box, a few comic books, and even dug out some high school textbooks.

Tang Banxia, feeling flush with cash, bought them all.

After inspecting the books and finding no scent of medicinal herbs—meaning they weren't the medical texts she had hoped for—she gave a wave of her hand and gifted them to Song Yu. The child’s large, round eyes crinkled into thin slits of pure joy.

Just then, Wen Mubai returned, cradling a pile of miscellaneous parts. Tang Banxia glanced at them, unable to recognize any of them. "What are those?"

Wen Mubai offered a sweet, soft smile. "A secret."

After paying, the three left the salvage station and headed toward the county government office, guessing that Song Weimin must have finished his business by now.

However, they hadn't walked far when they heard a faint, intermittent moaning. They stopped in their tracks.

Tang Banxia looked toward the source of the sound. "Should we take a look?"

Song Yu had already scampered off toward it. Wen Mubai and Tang Banxia exchanged a look—well, they had better follow.

Upon arriving at the source, they found an old man collapsed on the ground. He had gray hair, wore a black mandarin jacket, and was clutching his chest against a wall. His lips were a bruised purple, his brows were tightly furrowed, and faint groans escaped his lips.

A quick glance at his appearance gave Tang Banxia a rough idea. After kneeling to check his pulse and pulling back his eyelids, she confirmed it: he was having an asthma attack.

Without her silver needles on hand, she had to search through the old man's pockets. Fortunately, she found his medicine. She quickly shook one out and placed it in his mouth, then pressed firmly on his philtrum. The old man took a long, deep breath and opened his eyes, which were slightly clouded.

The cloudiness lasted only a moment before his gaze sharpened with intelligence. He didn't even wait for the others to explain. "Thank you for saving my life."

In that brief moment, Tang Banxia realized this was no ordinary man. He was far too composed, and his ability to assess the situation so quickly was beyond the reach of an average person.

"Old sir, you're too kind. It was just a small effort," she replied, keeping her thoughts to herself while offering a modest, shy smile. "We were just lucky you had your medicine, otherwise we wouldn't have known what to do."

To her surprise, the old man was terrifyingly sharp. "You knew what my illness was?"

"Yes, I am a barefoot doctor, so I know a little," Tang Banxia explained cautiously. This old man was remarkably perceptive.

The old man’s demeanor softened slightly. "I see. Little comrade, may I ask your name?"

"My surname is Wen," Wen Mubai said, stepping forward. "This is my wife and my niece."

The old man didn't pry further. "My name is Min. I have pressing business to attend to, but if you ever need help in the future, come find me at the county textile mill."

After receiving their replies, he hurried away.

Once he left, the three of them didn't linger; after all, none of them were certain of the old man's identity. Tang Banxia had her suspicions, but they were only suspicions.

If Song Qing had been there, he would have been grinding his teeth in frustration—wasn't that Secretary Min of the textile mill, the very man whom Song Yu had saved? He was the absolute head of the mill.

But since the three of them were unaware of this, they felt no burden and quickly forgot the incident, happily heading off to meet Song Weimin.

After waiting at the county government entrance for a while, a beaming Song Weimin emerged. Seeing them, he broke into a wide smile. "Comrade Tang, Comrade Wen, Li Bao."

"Daddy!" Song Yu ran toward him like a bird returning to its nest.

Song Weimin scooped his daughter up and bounced her twice. "Comrade Tang."

Tang Banxia nodded. "Team Leader, are we heading back?"

"Yes, yes," Song Weimin said, unable to contain his excitement.

It was rare for him to show such emotion. Tang Banxia was curious and asked about it. Song Weimin, however, acted mysterious, saying she would find out once they returned to the village and promising it would be a big surprise.

Tang Banxia: "..." Fine!

Back at the village, Song Weimin rushed into the brigade office with his daughter in his arms, announcing joyfully, "The authorities have approved us to raise pigs! We can go to the commune's agricultural station to pick up piglets after spring arrives. Secretary Yu said we’ll start with five, and if we do well, they’ll give us more."

Even though the villagers had been mentally prepared, they still grinned from ear to ear upon hearing the good news.

"And there's another piece of good news!" As the crowd celebrated, Song Weimin dropped another bombshell: "The leadership said they are going to build a primary school in our village!"

"Say what?" came the shocked voice of Huang Xiaocui.

"Clatter—oops, my hand!" came the sound of Accountant Liu dropping his tea mug.

Seeing their reactions, Song Weimin felt invigorated. "It's true. The county leaders promised it themselves."

Come to think of it, this was all thanks to Comrade Tang’s guidance; her flattery had gone straight to the leaders' hearts. When the leaders were pleased, the benefits rolled in. A school was a rare honor that other model villages didn't even have.

It was no wonder Song Weimin was so happy.

The current political climate was still unsettled, and intellectuals were often disparaged, leading many to believe that education was useless. But anyone with a bit of foresight knew that education was the only way for farm children to get ahead.

One only had to look at the workers in the county and the cadres in the brigade; they were all required to be literate, or else they wouldn't even be able to read official documents, which would be a disgrace.

Not to mention, even the assistant position at Tang Banxia's clinic required literacy.

Therefore, compared to the pig farm, the brigade cadres were even more excited about the school. Once it was built, it would be convenient for the local children to attend. Even if it was just to learn a few characters, it would prevent them from being cheated in the future.

Hearing this, the group immediately pushed the pig farm to the back of their minds and began discussing the school.

The three of them chimed in one after another.

First was Accountant Liu, frantically calculating the remaining funds in the ledger. "The earthwork costs nothing, we can make the desks and chairs ourselves, and straw is everywhere in the village. We just need to buy some roof tiles. We should at least give the children a tiled roof so they don't get rained on."

Tang Banxia added from the side, "It would be best to install glass windows so it’s bright." A dim room was bad for the children's eyesight in the long run.

Her point was sound, so Accountant Liu gritted his teeth and added a budget for glass.

Next was Song Weimin: "There isn't much work in the fields right now, so I'll notify everyone. We can start on the earthwork; it’s best to finish it before the ground thaws so the children can start their studies by next spring."

Huang Xiaocui, the Women's Director, committed herself to protecting the rights of the girls: "When the time comes, the girls must go to school too. We won't have any of that 'valuing boys over girls' nonsense in our village, especially since we just won the model village title."

Song Weimin nodded naturally, already planning to transfer his two sons back from the commune school and send Li Bao as well—with her brothers looking out for her, she wouldn't be bullied.

When Geng Zhengfei returned, he saw everyone deep in a lively discussion. He glanced at Tang Banxia, who was leaning back with a serene, relaxed air.

Geng Zhengfei understood immediately: it was good news.

He didn't dwell on it. He sat in his seat and listened for a while, quickly grasping the situation.

This was a great opportunity!

The higher-ups were fretting over how to place people in the villages. Wasn't this the perfect excuse?

Once the primary school was built, it would need teachers.

If nothing else, he was confident that his own comrades would be perfectly capable of filling those roles.