Yang Xiaole followed the crowd to the riverside, greeted Luo Jinping on the street, and then left.

He had to find someone to help pass on a message.

On this side of the street, most of the shops were closed.

Gao Danian's breakfast shop was naturally closed as well.

Yang Xiaole shook his head. The current theme was all about smoking, smoking, and more smoking. Apart from that, there didn't seem to be much else going on.

Unable to find anyone he knew, he could only quickly run back.

Back at the riverside, hundreds of people from the entire school were working by the river, not just students, but also many villagers nearby.

The students were divided into shallow water and deep water areas according to their grades, with the older students naturally in the deep water area.

It was called the deep water area, but it was just like that.

The nearby teachers were constantly monitoring the students' movements, afraid that something might happen to the children.

Yang Xiaole also saw Xi Zi and Xiaoli, happily following the teacher's instructions.

Xiaoli's mouth was full of missing teeth.

One smile, and a mouthful of missing teeth.

Seeing this, Yang Xiaole smiled. Children always liked to play!

Near the farmland, hidden by the cornfields, smoke was billowing everywhere, making it very lively.

Luo Jinping looked at the chaotic scene and decided to divide the people into small groups of four.

The group that did the most work by the end of the month would be commended.

Everyone laughed at the words. They couldn't be commended during class, so they definitely had to do it this time, so they could show off when they went back.

"Hey, Xiaole, let's work together! With your small build, you might collapse from exhaustion later."

Yang Wendong and Gao Danian walked over with smiles, ready to team up with three people, after all, they were from the same village.

Zhang Liu'er also came over.

With a smile, she said, "Take me with you!"

Yang Xiaole looked at the group of people and nodded with a smile, "Okay, but don't blame me for slowing you down! We might not be able to get into the advanced group later!"

In fact, he wouldn't be working here for long.

But he appreciated the good intentions of the few people.

As the saying goes, men and women working together won't be tired, and the group of people got busy.

Yang Xiaole thought about the practice he had done before, wondering if adjusting his breathing rhythm alone would be useful.

Thinking about it, he adjusted his breathing rhythm according to what was written in the book while working.

Before long, he started to feel hot all over.

It worked.

Zhang Liu'er, who was working, saw his condition and felt strange, "Xiaole, are you okay? What's wrong with you?"

Naturally, Yang Xiaole couldn't say that he was practicing martial arts!

Actually, he felt fine.

He shook his head blankly, "I'm not sure! Maybe my body is too weak."

Hearing this, Zhang Liu'er nodded gently and looked at Luo Jinping not far away, "Teacher, Teacher Luo, Yang Xiaole isn't feeling well!"

Luo Jinping walked over strangely.

Looking at the sweating Yang Xiaole, he hurriedly stopped him, "Xiaole, come here, go to the shore and rest for a while."

It was hot now, but the river water was cold.

Plus, they had just started working, so he shouldn't be sweating so much!

It must be a problem with his body from before.

"It's okay! Teacher Luo, I'm fine."

This time, he was telling the truth, but no one believed him!

Luo Jinping shook his head, "No, come up first. Look at how much you're sweating. If you want to contribute, you have to do it within your limits!"

He pulled him to the shore.

Yang Xiaole was speechless for a while.

Without forcing him, he followed to the shore.

After arriving, Luo Jinping instructed him, "You stay here. When you feel better, come back down. The school's publicity board is lacking articles. When you're okay, stay here and think of a good essay for our activity."

Yang Xiaole was speechless for a while.

But this was good enough.

So he nodded in agreement.

"By the way, Teacher Luo, I'll go to the street later. I have something to do with my dad!"

"Okay, I got it. Hurry back."

After Luo Jinping finished speaking, he continued to supervise. The students couldn't have any accidents!

After he left, Yang Xiaole began to summarize what had just happened.

Damn, why did it feel like he was losing weight?

Consuming the body's energy.

In his thoughts, a person walked over from across the river.

It was Yang Qinghu.

He was smoking and smiling as he took off his shoes and felt the water to come over.

Seeing Yang Xiaole sitting there, he teased, "Ouch, Xiaole, what are you doing? Tired? I'm telling you, this won't do. Without a good body, you won't be able to find a wife in the future!"

After saying that, he didn't care and put on his shoes and left.

Watching the figure leave, Yang Xiaole cursed silently: What a lunatic!

At this time, Er Hu was definitely not going to the commune to see Sun Xiaoyue, and he didn't know where he was going to hang out.

Then he got up and walked towards the street of the commune.

When he arrived, there were already many people working to transport coal, and some people were walking towards the distance.

After waiting for a while, he didn't see Dad's figure.

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"Second Grandpa!"

In his thoughts, Yang Qingwu pulled the cart and walked over.

Seeing him, Yang Qingwu stopped, "Xiaole, what are you doing? Looking for your dad?"

Yang Xiaole looked back, "Yeah, where is he? Is he behind?"

Yang Qingwu took a puff of dried tobacco and nodded gently, "No, he's not here. They carried the load and left. I was delayed by something just now. Why, do you need him for something?"

Hearing this, Yang Xiaole felt disappointed for a moment. Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long!

Then he hurriedly said to him, "Second Grandpa, tell my dad that something big has happened at home, and you must make sure he comes back today."

Yang Qingwu asked strangely, "What happened? What's the big deal?"

"Second Grandpa, when the time comes, let my dad tell you. I can't confirm it for now!"Seeing that he didn't speak, Yang Qingwu didn't ask further, "Alright, I got it. I'll go back to the mine later and talk to him."

"Thanks a lot, Grandpa!"

"Hey, no need to thank me! Alright, I'm off, still got things to do!"

With that, he drove the ox cart away.

Yang Xiaole watched him leave, knowing that Dad would soon get the message and they could discuss it when he returned.

He went back to the riverside and sat quietly, watching everyone work and occasionally lending a hand.

By noon, everyone had returned to the school to have lunch.

The food was actually quite good, with shredded meat included.

Yang Xiaole didn't join them for lunch, instead, he went to check on the two Little Kids, as it was their first time eating at school and he wanted to make sure they were adjusting well.

Seeing the two Little Kids happily playing with their classmates, he felt relieved.

Holding his Lunchbox and eating as he walked, he returned to his own class area.

Since his Lunchbox contained Braised pork, and since they had shredded meat for lunch, he wasn't worried about the smell attracting attention.

As for the two Little Kids, it was better not to take the risk with so many prying eyes.

There would be other opportunities in the future.

After finishing his meal, Zhang Liu'er washed his dishes and then came over to ask for help with her homework.

"Hey, we had a deal! I wash the dishes, and you help me with my homework!"

Seeing Yang Xiaole lying there asleep, Zhang Liu'er nudged him but then asked, "Are you feeling unwell? If you're not feeling good, let's forget it."

Yang Xiaole wasn't feeling unwell; he was just extremely sleepy.

He had returned late the previous night and had even gotten up in the middle of the night, so now he was struggling to stay awake.

Still, he nodded groggily, "Yeah, a little."

Seeing his expression, Zhang Liu'er didn't insist further, "Alright then, you sleep. I'll go play with the others for a while!"

Yang Xiaole waved his hand from where he lay, "Go ahead."

The noisy sounds in the room didn't disturb his rest, and he soon fell asleep.

He faintly heard Luo Jinping talking with someone.

When he woke up, Yang Xiaole frowned because his legs had gone numb from sleeping too long.

After waking up, he saw Luo Jinping leading the students in pasting up propaganda posters.

He heard someone laughing, "It's only missing a nose, otherwise it would be an elephant."

Yang Xiaole glanced over and saw a colorful painting of a group of children riding on the back of a sow, making the children look like little dolls.

Thinking of his own numb legs, Yang Xiaole frowned and approached Luo Jinping.

Seeing him up, Luo Jinping, while brushing on the paste, asked with a smile, "How are you feeling? Better? Zhang Liu'er said you were unwell."

"Oh, better now."

Yang Xiaole glanced at the propaganda booklet, then lost interest.

He asked, "Teacher Luo, how are we going to sleep tonight? Even if we push the desks together, they won't be big enough for everyone, right?"

Two people per desk, and they were so small that even one person could hardly fit, let alone two.

Luo Jinping sighed, "There's no helping it right now, the preparations weren't sufficient. Tonight, we'll clear out the next room, lay down some cornstalks, spread the quilts on top, and everyone can share the quilts. The desks in the classroom will be pushed together for the girls to sleep on. That's the best we can do for now."

Yang Xiaole nodded.

That was the only option.

Everyone worked together to post the propaganda posters, and in the afternoon, they went back to work by the river.

By nightfall, as they finished work and returned, Yang Xiaole didn't see his father, Yang Guangzhi, come to find him.

This struck Yang Xiaole as odd.

He wondered if his father hadn't returned yet.

In the afternoon, the sky looked ominous, dark and heavy as if a torrential downpour was imminent.

After dinner, everyone sat in the classroom for lessons as the rain began to pour outside.

Yang Xiaole looked out the window, his brow furrowed.

At this time, he guessed that the coal haulers were probably getting drenched in the rain.

Bringing his thoughts back, he quietly read a book titled "Russian Love History."

Gou Sheng listened attentively to the lesson, but Yang Wendong and Gao Xinbao couldn't help but feel curious as they watched him.

"Hey, Xiaole, let me see! What is that?"

Yang Xiaole glanced at him and ignored the request, "It's just one book. I'll give it to you after I'm done. What's a Little Kid like you doing reading this?"

He had already torn off the book cover.

Seeing this, Yang Wendong coaxed him, "Why don't you tear off the parts you've read and let me have a look?"

After thinking it over, Yang Xiaole finally nodded; after all, there was no harm in reading the book now.

And so, a book was torn apart.

Under the dim light of the Kerosene Lamp, a group of children watched the teacher lecture from the podium, with several student-squeezed kerosene lamps placed beside the blackboard.

From six to nine o'clock, three hours, they had classes in history, geography, and nature, and also covered one other subject.

After class, which ended after nine o'clock, everyone began to arrange the desks and chairs, pushing the desks together.

Because of the rain, there was no straw.

After some discussion, they decided to lay some quilts on the ground and cover themselves with the rest, planning to wash them when they had time.

And so, everyone began their first night.