A gardener with seven flowers

Wang Jianchun

　　If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, it would have been hard to believe that there was only one teacher and seven students on a huge campus the size of four basketball courts and three rows of brick-and-concrete bungalows.

　　What the hell is going on here? Curiosity drove me to find out. The middle-aged man at the school gate looked at me warily, and I simply came forward to say hello. This person's surname is Wu, a handyman hired by the school, because his residence is not far from the school, he is diligent and honest, and he is hired by the school. Master Wu told me that before the district was withdrawn and merged with the town, this was the nine-year school in Liulin Township, and seven or eight years ago it was also a fully established village small school, with more than 200 students and more than 10 teachers. In recent years, due to the relocation of immigrants, peasants entering the city, the integration of resources, and the concentration of schools, the source of small village students has become less and less every year. Some parents hope that their children will become dragons and daughters will become phoenixes, and send their children to schools in the town center, and some will send them to schools in counties and cities.

　　The bell rings, just after class. With Master Wu's permission, I stepped into the school gate. The children rushed to the toilet fifty meters away, and the four men and three women laughed and laughed, like the seven notes on the stave, and the silent campus suddenly came to life. Children always have endless words, endless fun, and endless games. Seven children jumped up and down the forest like a flock of little squirrels, and like birds flying around and chirping, completely unaware that strangers were coming to school.

　　The bell rang again, drowning out the children's playfulness. Boys and girls ran to the classroom, this time not as fast as before, let alone you chasing me. The teacher was already standing at the door of the classroom, waiting for the seventh student to take his seat. "Hello teacher!" The childish child's voice was loud, "Hello students! The teacher's response was kind and warm.

　　I chose a sunny day and interviewed Teacher Qin. She was transferred last year, and she held several positions, and at the same time had to take care of her elderly parents, which was a heavy burden. Fortunately, all seven students are in the first grade, and every Thursday, there are music, physical education, and art teachers who come to class so that she can concentrate on teaching Chinese and math. Teacher Qin told me that Master Wu was responsible for campus cleaning and maintenance on weekdays, and took care of the school on holidays, which made her feel a lot easier. Teacher Qin's teaching time is synchronized with the central school, arriving at school early at 7:30 every morning; leaving school at 12:00 noon, like the children, lunch is sent by the family; in the afternoon, the tutoring is delayed for two hours, and the last one walks out of the campus at 5:30 every day.

　　As soon as he talked about children, Teacher Qin's box opened: "Yi han, lively, diligent, obedient, and appealing; Yingying, the first place in each exam, is a member of the study committee; Bao Jie and Sun Qi, a pair of living treasures, love to play table tennis and love labor; Hong Jian, whose parents are disabled, especially sensible, is a discipline committee member; Mengle, timid and loves to cry, but studies hard; Jin Sheng is the smallest, a little naughty, but the classmates like him." It can be seen that Teacher Qin is very familiar with the situation of the seven children.

　　Teacher Qin also told me that the school dormitory was not idle, the previous poverty alleviation, and now the rural revitalization, the help cadres sent by the organization live here, they come out early and return late, and they have not really met several times. I saw a photo posted on the door of the dormitory, and when I looked closely, there were still words on it: Xiang Xun, the first secretary, and Shen Yicun, the leader of the village-based task force... It turned out that there was more than one gardener and more than seven flowers.

　　I strolled through the empty campus, feeling the coolness of early winter, not worrying about disturbing the children, and enjoying the long-lost campus atmosphere. A gust of wind blew through the treetops, and the leaves rattled and fell all over the ground; picking up one and spinning two fingers on the petiole like a windmill was also quite fun. The fallen leaves on the table tennis table look like rackets from a distance, arousing people's interest in playing, but unfortunately there is no companion. The plane tree by the wall is like an old man, stretching out his loins, nagging about the longevity of the campus...