At first, only one parent came to the proposal. But as time passed, the idea caught on with all the parents of the students involved. They decided to each give Teacher Xu "Mama Xu" two hundred dollars a month. Although this was a substantial amount, in comparison to their children's future prospects, it was a small price. These parents had previously exhausted their resources and money, and even swallowed their pride, to send their children to Grade 5 school. In this context, two hundred dollars per month was minimal. This was just for the children's meals, and didn't even include any tuition fees.
If they offered more, Mama Xu would refuse, as she wasn't doing this work to make money.
Following their agreement, Mama Xu started earning three thousand dollars each month. That amount was a lot more than Papa Xu's monthly salary of a thousand dollars.
