Without university, the state won’t assign you a job, and high school is not like junior high. High school is in the county, and the tuition is higher. You have to pay for your own living expenses every month, and it really costs a good deal of money over a year.
The family isn’t very affluent, and honestly, they can’t afford to support two students. At this point, having Shen Mianmian drop out seems like the best option.
Shen Jianhua believed that even if Shen Mianmian couldn’t understand now, in a few years, when she became a mother and knew the difficulties of managing household necessities, she would gradually understand.
"Who says high school is useless if it doesn’t lead to a job assignment?" Shen Mianmian calmly cited an example, "My first-grade teacher in elementary was able to teach after just junior high, and they were on the state’s payroll too."
Shen Mianmian had attended elementary school in the neighboring village, where they only had preschool to first grade, with roughly two hundred to three hundred students and seven or eight teachers.
The teacher for the first grade had only completed junior high.
In their era, there were even fewer educated people than now, so junior high graduates were considered relatively well-educated. Plus, that teacher’s father was also a teacher. After his father retired, he took over his position.
The only difference was that he wasn’t made permanent; he was a substitute teacher and wouldn’t have a pension when he retired.
There are many such teachers in the countryside, so when they are about to retire, they choose to hide their age. That way, they can teach a few more years and earn a few more years’ salary.
"If a junior high graduate can teach, you’re in junior high too. If you’re capable, why don’t you go?" Zhou Lanfang scoffed, "With your attitude, if you went to teach, it’d be a miracle if they didn’t beat you to death."
The words were harsh but not without reason; although Shen Jianhua found Zhou Lanfang’s words somewhat unpleasant to hear, the reality was indeed such. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩
He sighed and said, "That person had connections, which is why they could teach. Our family doesn’t have any relatives who have a say in schools."
"I know," Shen Mianmian replied calmly, "I was just giving an example. I don’t actually plan on teaching. I know my own abilities."
Zhou Lanfang snorted, put a chopstick-full of food onto Zhou Siyu’s plate, and urged her to eat up. There was a test tomorrow, so she needed to eat well today.
Shen Jianhua nodded, "What I mean is, if you don’t do well on the test, I’ll help you look around to see if there’s any craft suitable for a girl to learn. It’s better for you to learn a skill than to continue schooling."
Nowadays, having a job or a skill is prized. Anyway, young men with skills have an easier time finding a spouse, and it’s even more unquestionable for girls.
Shen Mianmian isn’t bad-looking, and if she learns a skill, she’ll have her pick when it comes to finding a partner.
When Zhou Lanfang and I get older, we can count on her. If she is skilled at nothing and can’t make money, relying solely on someone else over time may inevitably lead to family conflicts.
If she can earn money with a skill, she’ll have more say at home. When Zhou Lanfang and I get to our seventies and eighties, life will be a bit more comfortable.
Before Shen Mianmian could make a sound, Zhou Lanfang chimed in, "I heard from Liu Dajie that she’s planning to have Xiaocui learn tailoring; she might as well follow her next year. She can help with the farming when it’s busy, and learn the trade when it’s not."
That would spare us from having her underfoot at home.
Being a seamstress is indeed a good line of work for a girl; she might even open her own small shop someday. Shen Jianhua was intrigued, "Mianmian, what do you think?"