Chapter 279: What Can Be Done?

"Brother, someone is here." A four-year-old little boy walked over to Xiaozhu's side.

Xiaozhu raised his head and saw Ling Feng and Mou Lili. He hurriedly put down the basket in his hand and ran over.

Xiaozhu was a little embarrassed, bowing his head: "Teachers, why have you come?"

Ling Feng asked: "Why didn't you come to class this afternoon? We taught math this afternoon."

Xiaozhu still felt a bit guilty; he pointed behind him with his finger: "I have to take care of my younger brother and sister."

"Then where is your family?"

"They went to town to move bricks." It was truly moving bricks; moving one cart of bricks earns 10 yuan.

Ling Feng looked at the children in the courtyard, three in total: one over 5, one over 4, and another over 2.

Looking at Xiaozhu's hands again, the little boy of only 7 years old already had hands that had become rough and dry from working.

Ling Feng glanced at Mou Lili, and Mou Lili shrugged slightly; in this situation, she really didn't know what to do.

"Teachers, come in and sit." Xiaozhu was still polite and courteous to others.

Ling Feng and Mou Lili walked in, and Xiaozhu moved two low stools made of bamboo for them.

Ling Feng took a handful of chocolates out of his pocket and asked Xiaozhu to share them with his younger brother and sister.

The children were very happy, biting into the chocolates while looking at Ling Feng with trepidation.

Glancing around this house, before coming here, he couldn't believe that anyone still lived in such a poor environment; this simply had no quality of life to speak of, at most it was just survival.

"Xiaozhu, when will your mom and dad be back?" Mou Lili asked.

"They'll be back when it gets dark." People in the mountains have no concept of time; they all just look at the sky.

"Alright, then we'll wait here for a while; you go ahead and do your work."

Xiaozhu continued to shell beans, and after finishing the beans, he went to cook.

A small body, carrying a large pot to wash rice, burn firewood, and add fuel to the fire.

While cooking, he went to start the pan to stir-fry the beans and greens. Although the cooking was average, he added oil and salt, doing it in a proper manner, and what he cooked was edible.

Ling Feng found it very hard to stomach.

A 7-year-old child in Beishi wouldn't know how to do anything, and would still pester their mom and dad to carry them when walking.

Yet the children in the mountains had already used their tender bodies to shoulder a home.

Ling Feng wanted to help, but he didn't know how to do anything; he had only seen a rural earthen stove for the first time at Jin Shu's house.

Mou Lili went to help with the fire, but that just meant sitting in front of the stove and adding a piece of firewood inside.

When it was almost dark, Xiaozhu's parents indeed returned; they were wearing local attire, their bodies were very dirty, and dust from moving bricks could still be seen on their shoulders.

"Dad, Mom, they are teachers." Xiaozhu came out to introduce them.

Seeing this, Zhubaba and Zhubama hurriedly came in, saying they welcomed the teachers and asked the teachers to sit down.

They said they weren't used to speaking Mandarin, and Ling Feng found it very difficult to listen, but he understood the general meaning.

Ling Feng discussed with Zhubaba: "We came because we want Xiaozhu to continue his schooling. As for this schooling, it's best to be consistent; you can't come one day and not the next, and Xiaozhu likes school too."

Zhubaba was in a difficult position: "But if Xiaozhu goes to school, there is no one to look after the younger ones. In the morning, there was no one to look after them, and one rolled down the mountain."

Zhubaba picked up the little girl who was over two years old: "Look, her head is all bruised."

"Can't you overcome it? Can't an adult watch the children?" Ling Feng asked.

Zhubaba was even more troubled: "We can't. His mother and I both have to go move bricks; if we don't go, we won't have any money."

Mou Lili asked: "What about the grandparents, or the maternal grandparents?"

Zhubaba said: "The grandparents are in the city, enjoying life with my older brother. As for the maternal grandparents, forget it; why would maternal grandparents come over to raise their daughter's children? They don't even carry their surname."

Ling Feng: "..."

Ling Feng couldn't understand, but Mou Lili understood; many places in small areas have this kind of mindset.

Mou Lili asked: "Can you think of any other way? Nowadays, children all over the country don't go without schooling. Only by studying can one change their path, walk out of these big mountains, and let the child have a better future."

Ling Feng nodded: "Let me show you some videos; they are all examples of how studying changes one's path."

He wanted to open his phone, but there was no internet.

Fortunately, he had downloaded some videos onto his phone.

Zhubaba watched with great interest, and after watching, Ling Feng asked: "So what do you think?"

Zhubaba deliberately talked about other things: "This video of yours is very good; I see many people in town also scrolling through videos, but none are as good as yours."

Ling Feng: "..."

Zhubaba and Zhubama very enthusiastically invited Ling Feng and Mou Lili to stay for dinner, but Ling Feng and Mou Lili both politely declined.

Not to mention whether their family's food was enough for so many people to eat, just looking at those dirty pots, Ling Feng couldn't eat a single bite.

When the two went down the mountain, the sky was already completely dark.

The two walked on the mountain road, only feeling that the mountains were too terrifying.

The tree shadows were like ghosts, there was the whistling mountain wind, and the mountain road was narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass.

Ling Feng wanted to hold Mou Lili's hand, but Mou Lili avoided it.

It was true, if they walked hand in hand, they wouldn't know what their status would be.

It was too intimate, and would seem too ambiguous.

Ling Feng handed the other end of the flashlight to Mou Lili: "You hold this end, is that okay?"

Mou Lili held that end and said: "Okay."

"Why do I feel like we are like 'Under the Hawthorn Tree'? Have you seen that movie?" Ling Feng asked.

"Haven't seen it." Mou Lili lied.

"Then there's nothing to talk about; you hold on tight," Ling Feng said.

"Fine." Mou Lili did not bicker with him this time.

Actually, she knew the movie "Under the Hawthorn Tree," and even remembered the female lead was named Jingqiu; she and the male lead were also separated by mountains and rivers of status, yet they still met and fell in love.

But what about her and Ling Feng?

Aside from a fleeting romantic encounter, the two of them were not actually in love.

She was merely a companion for him when he was bored.

Jin Shu's family was waiting for them to eat, and only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw them return.

Jin Shu asked, "Where did you two go?"

Ling Feng said, "Went to Xiaozhu's house; his family is behind the mountain."

"Oh, you mean that Xiaozhu; their family is so poor, is it that his parents won't let Xiaozhu go to school?"

"Yes, they said they want Xiaozhu to stay home and take care of his younger siblings."

Jin Shu shook his head: "Then there is nothing to be done; I talked until I was blue in the face the other day, and only then did they agree to let Xiaozhu sign up."

Ling Feng said: "But this is no solution; Xiaozhu must go to school."

"But his parents won't allow it, what can you do?"

Ling Feng said: "I will think about it some more; there must be a way to figure it out."