<p class="ql-block">On November 1st, 2024, a social practice event was initiated and organized by Yinchuan Tanglai Middle school for its Senior 2 students. Fond memories were created and significant extracurricular knowledge was obtained.</p><p class="ql-block">The meticulously planned event kicked off at 7:30 am with an opening ceremony at the school playground, where the headmaster as well as the director of discipline delivered an motivational speech. After that, students together with the teaching staff boarded the shuttle buses bounded for Yongning, a small county roughly 30 kilometers south of Yinchuan. Within about half an hour or so, the bus ride came to an end and everybody got off the bus in an orderly manner. And soon enough, under the guidance of respective headteachers and veteran instructors, students of 16 classes lined up and assembled at the designated spot, holding their breath for tasks and instructions to be assigned and given. Once clear about their mission, we students immediately set out to work in the farm land. With sleeves rolled back high and gloves neatly worn on both hands, we enthusiastically engaged ourselves in break off corn cobs. For many of us, this was a totally brand new experience, so it was both exhilarating and refreshing. Though the tangled corn stalks made it hard for us to walk steadily, and I myself even tripped a few times, still, the novelty of the farm work kept us spellbound and all of us seemed to have an inexhaustible reserve of strength! Before long, every single corn cob from our share of farmland was carefully harvested and bagged. Seeing those golden corn cobs piling up like a gold mountain just filled our hearts with indescribable joy and pride. </p> <p class="ql-block">Having completed the corn harvesting task, we entertained ourselves a little and began to have fun. Girls were enraptured with taking gorgeous pictures with their besties with the rustic charm of the countryside as their backdrop, while boys, well, boys will always be boys, they wielded their swords made out of corn stalks and pretended to be sword masters parring with each other. What was even more hilarious was that our head teacher Miss Yang, she meticulously selected a corn stalk which was almost as straight as an arrow and claimed it her “Jingubang”. How laughable was that! When asked what design she had for this “Jingubang” of hers, she schooled her expression and feigned seriousness, then replied that she would use it as a lecture cane should we disbehave. LOL. We knew she was kidding, but seeing her exchanging jests with us like that just somehow helped me come to the realization that may be that’s who she really is, maybe deep down in her heart, she never liked to put on a serious face and lecture people. Oh, right, there’s a secret I don’t mind let in on, that is, if you are thirsty working in the corn field, and water is just not within your grasp, then go look for some tender corn stalks. Peel off the hard out skin, have a bite and chew on it. It may be no match in sweetness when compared with a sugar cane, but it sure taste like one.</p> <p class="ql-block">Lunch was more like a picnic. We took out what we had brough from home and huddled together in sixes and sevens, sharing each other’s food and snacks. I think it was a great opportunity for us to bond with each other as classmates or friends, after all, it wasn’t long since we came together as a class or as a team and there’s still so much we didn’t know about each other. With this chance, I’m sure we will see some progress in this department.</p><p class="ql-block"> What came next after the lunch break was both entertaining and appealing. We were encouraged to make some artworks out of the corn cobs we kept for ourselves. The host displayed a model for us to have some ideas, which was a corn made doll. To be fair, it was quite cute. Though, at the very beginning, I grimaced at the thought of DIY, because I never was much of an inventor, still after some random thinking, an inspiration struck me and I ended up with a lovely corn doll with two beautiful braids and a lovely smile in my hand. Ha! Wasn’t I amazing! So were my classmates! Though some of them were just like koalas sleeping on their side, perhaps conserving their strength and energy in their beautiful day dreams, still, many others were delightedly absorbed in this and gave full play to their creativity and imagination. To name a few, Shan Baicheng made a pair of glasses using the corn stalk and Ma Yufeng made a bow! Given him an arrow, maybe he could really shoot it! And don’t forget about our headteacher, she made a lamp. It’s a pity there wasn’t any red cloth or paper, or it would certainly look like a lamp we usually hang up in lantern festival.</p><p class="ql-block"> </p> <p class="ql-block">As the sun began to slowly slip to the west horizon, we were called up and directed to assemble at an empty farm land, where we, over 800 students would together pose for a picture in the shape of our national flag—the Five-Starred Red Flag. Each one of us was a tiny part that made up the flag, which was quite inconspicuous. Yet, on the other hand, each one of us was also an indispensable part in hold up our national flag. To be honest, while at it, it was quite dull, because except standing in our respective position like a tree stump, there wasn’t much we were allowed to do. However, when I saw the picture taken by the drone, a picture of the Five-Starred Red Flag made of about 800 students, I was struck with awe and overcome with pride and happiness, because from that picture I feel power, I feel strength and I feel the unique romanticism of we Chinese people--- we all love our country.</p> <p class="ql-block">The day wrapped up soon after that when we returned to the school. Our headteacher made a brief summary and applauded us for the excellent performance and the active participation in each activity. I think it was definitely a day worth remembering.</p>