1959Siheyuan, a Turnaround

Chapter 367: Taking the Lead in Planting Vegetables

Li Weiguo sat in his seat, writing quickly on the notebook with the pen in his hand. Sometimes he looked up at the blackboard, and sometimes he lowered his head and wrote quickly.

Suddenly, he looked up and saw Teacher Zhang's body shaking.

At that moment, Li Weiguo's heart was in his throat. He didn't have time to think about it. Relying on his body's instinct, he rushed to the podium like a cheetah.

Just when Teacher Zhang's body was about to hit the ground, Li Weiguo arrived in time and held Teacher Zhang steadily.

It all happened so quickly that the students sitting in their seats were stunned at first, then they reacted and gathered around the podium.

"Teacher Zhang, what's wrong with you?"

"Teacher, are you okay?"

The students asked questions one after another, their eyes full of worry.

While supporting Teacher Zhang, Li Weiguo shouted, "Go get some water!" When a classmate next to him heard this, he immediately turned around and ran out of the classroom.

Li Weiguo concentrated and squinted his eyes. In just a moment, all kinds of data about Teacher Zhang's physical condition appeared in his mind.

Teacher Zhang fainted not only because he was hungry, but also because he had symptoms of hypoglycemia.

He calmly reached into his trouser pocket, and a piece of fruit candy bought at the supply and marketing cooperative appeared in his hand.

He gently put the candy into Teacher Zhang's mouth, then raised his head and said to the students who gathered around him, "Don't worry, Teacher Zhang is just hungry and has a little low blood sugar. She will recover after a rest."

When the students heard Li Weiguo's words, they finally felt relieved and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

After a while, the student who fetched water came back panting, holding a worn enamel jar half full of water.

Li Weiguo took the jar, carefully fed the water to Teacher Zhang's mouth, and said softly: "Teacher Zhang, drink some water."

Teacher Zhang drank a few sips of water, and after a few minutes, he woke up slowly.

He slowly opened his eyes, his eyes full of confusion, and asked weakly: "I...what happened to me?"

The students told him the situation one after another: "Teacher, you fainted from hunger."

When Teacher Zhang heard this, his brows furrowed tightly, and a trace of pain and helplessness flashed in his eyes.

He whispered, "My family has been out of food for three days. My family and children are starving along with me. It's not that I don't have money, it's that I can't buy food at all..."

His voice was choked with sobs, reflecting the deep sense of powerlessness a man feels when faced with family difficulties.

Li Weiguo stood quietly by the side. He could keenly feel the sadness in Teacher Zhang's heart at the moment.

He looked at Teacher Zhang's haggard face and sunken eyes, feeling mixed emotions.

He knew that situations like Teacher Zhang's were not isolated cases during this difficult period.

Li Weiguo said to the two students next to him, "Come on, let's help Teacher Zhang to his seat and have a rest."

The two students nodded, and together with Li Weiguo, gently helped Teacher Zhang to his seat at the back of the classroom.

Li Weiguo returned to the podium and looked at the few students left in the class.

Everyone's face showed signs of fatigue and hunger, but there was determination in their eyes.

He frowned secretly. The shortage of supplies was becoming increasingly serious. Every one of the students who insisted on coming to school had great courage.

They are like travelers looking for light in the darkness, and they never give up even if the road ahead is full of thorns.

Li Weiguo felt as if his heart was being pressed down by a huge rock, and he had an indescribable feeling.

He originally just wanted to lead a peaceful and stable life with his family during these turbulent times and did not have any lofty ambitions.

However, he couldn't bear to stand idly by and watch the plight of his classmates and teachers.

He secretly made up his mind: I must find a way to help them.

But how to help? He had no idea yet.

But he believed that as long as he was determined to do it, he would be able to come up with a good idea.

However, there is a prerequisite: he cannot put himself and his family in danger.

He knew that in this special period, every decision might affect the safety of himself and his family.

Li Weiguo looked at his classmates in the classroom and said, "Students, it's not easy for everyone. We have to find a way to get through this difficult time and not let these difficulties defeat us."

Classmate Zhao Baogang smiled bitterly and said, "Weiguo, what can we do? There is no food in the grain station, and food is so hard to buy. Everyone is starving."

Li Weiguo pondered for a while and said, "There will always be a way. Let's all think of a solution together."

The students all nodded. Although everyone knew that it was difficult to find a solution, Li Weiguo's words at this moment were like a ray of light in the darkness, giving them some hope.

Li Weiguo was well aware that the whole of China was facing a food shortage in 1960 and that material supplies were tight.

He decided to use his spare time to organize his classmates to reclaim idle land around the school and grow vegetables.

That day, Li Weiguo stood in front of the classroom and said to his classmates with a serious expression: "Students, we can't just sit there and wait for food. There are some vacant lands near the school that we can use to grow vegetables. Every family is in trouble now, so we have to find a way out ourselves."

The students looked at each other, somewhat hesitant.

Meng Jiaojiao whispered, "Li Weiguo, we have never grown vegetables before, is this possible?"

"Last semester, all the vegetables we planted were eaten by weeds!"

"Yes, I heard that the school cafeteria finally cleared the vegetable fields."

Li Weiguo smiled and encouraged everyone: "If we have never planted anything before, we can learn! I know some methods of planting vegetables. We can plant some vegetables that are easy to grow, such as potatoes and cabbage. Let's gather the seeds together and spend some time after school every day to take care of them. We will definitely get a harvest."

Li Weiguo took a few enthusiastic classmates to turn the soil in the land they had reclaimed.

They first turned the soil with shovels. Although their hands got blisters, no one complained.

Li Weiguo gave instructions while working: "The soil needs to be turned loose so that the vegetable roots can grow well."

"My family has a small vegetable garden, and the vegetables grown there are more than enough for the whole family to eat. I went home and asked my grandmother for some vegetables and seedlings with short growth cycles to plant. As long as you work hard, there will always be rewards!"

"Really?" Zhao Baogang and several other students' eyes lit up when they heard this: "That's great. We are not afraid of working hard now, but we have never grown vegetables before, so we don't know how to grow them."

"Don't worry, everyone! As long as we work hard and persevere, the difficulties before us will not be difficulties!"

"Okay, let's work hard together!"

A few young boys were working hard to turn over the soil of their class's former private plot.

Looking at the fields of other classes around them, they also wanted to plant but were stopped by Li Weiguo.

They didn't hide what they did from others. Other classes would follow suit after knowing it. Why should they make trouble for themselves?