A Mountain Girl Comes of Age

In the 1960s, Lan Huahua was the first highly educated person in the whole village. She returned to the mountains and became the children’s leader, a teacher. In the 1960s, Ma Daqing won Lan Huahua’s hand with nothing but a scarf. There were also ice pops for two cents each, first-grade pork, the fattiest kind, for just 78 cents, third-grade pork, pure lean meat, for only 72 cents, green beans for five cents a bunch, and red hair ribbons for a cent a piece… The children left the mountains in one group after another, going on to vocational school and university. Teacher Lan’s hair turned white, and she retired. She often sat beneath the old locust tree at the village entrance, chatting with people. She remembered every detail: which child had been mischievous from a young age, and which year each one had gotten into vocational school or university. A tribute to my parents’ generation, to all the village teachers who stayed in the mountains and the countryside. You worked so hard! Thank you!