Summer smiled again and said, "From now on, don't call us volunteers anymore. My last name is Tang..."
She pointed to Logan, "His last name is Lin. From now on, call us Teacher Tang and Teacher Lin."
The children eagerly responded in unison, "Okay! Teacher Tang! Teacher Lin!"
The kids, unable to stay still for long, played in the classroom for a bit before running off again.
Summer and Logan stayed behind, carefully adjusting the desks and benches, ensuring everything was neatly arranged and as close to the blackboard as possible.
Once they were satisfied with the setup, they left the classroom and bumped into Leonardo again.
Leonardo was carrying a black pendulum clock and approached Summer and Logan, saying, "I found the clock, but it's not working. Winding it didn't help."
Logan reached out to take it, "Let me take a look."
Leonardo handed him a small bottle the size of a fingertip, "This is some watch oil I borrowed from the secretary's house. Use it sparingly, we can't afford to waste it. If you can't fix it, I'll find someone to take it to the county for repairs. We don't have a clockmaker here."
Logan nodded as he accepted the oil, "Got it, Captain Leonardo. I'll give it a try."
Leonardo continued, "If you need any tools, check at the village office. We might have something useful. This thing is quite complex, and I don't understand it."
Logan nodded again, "Sure."
Leonardo then said, "Don't rush to fix the clock. First, put it in the office. Then, both of you come with me. We've allocated a piece of private land for you. I'll show you."
Logan quickly took the clock back to the office, then he and Summer grabbed their bags and followed Leonardo out of the school.
Leonardo didn't take them straight to the land. The land was divided among all twelve volunteers, so they had to gather everyone first.
On the way to the volunteer camp, Leonardo explained to Summer and Logan, "The private plots are allocated per person. Our village allocates one plot per person, so you twelve get 1.2 acres in total. Since you arrived later, we didn't have any good farmland left for you. The land that the villagers have already cultivated won't be given up. You'll need to put in more effort to clear the weeds and stones, dig deep when tilling the soil to make it loose and airy, then level it with fertilizer. You can plant seasonal crops without much problem. The experts just explained how to plant and how deep to sow the seeds. I won't repeat it."
Summer and Logan listened carefully, making mental notes of Leonardo's advice.
When they reached the volunteer camp, Leonardo didn't bother with Henry and the others' activities, nor did he care about their attitude. He simply shouted, "Everyone, come out!"
The ten volunteers were in the boys' dormitory. Hearing his call, they all came out together.
Grace voiced her frustration, "Captain Leonardo, what do you want from us now?"
Leonardo ignored her impatience and said directly, "The experts just taught you how to plant and manage side businesses. The village has allocated private plots for you, and I'm taking you to see them. These plots are for you to manage on your own. Whether you plant anything or not, and what you plant, is up to you."
Land meant a lot to farmers. They would fight fiercely over boundaries, but for these city-born young volunteers, getting land didn't excite them. They didn't care about the quantity either.
With a nonchalant attitude, they followed Leonardo to the land.
The plot was in poor condition, located on a riverside slope, with withered and new weeds covering it.
The group stood by the river, looking at the sloping, barren land.
Lily frowned and said, "Captain Leonardo, are you kidding us? Can anything grow here?"
Leonardo turned to her, "As long as it's land, you can grow something. There's no other idle land in the village to allocate. This is all that's left."
Without giving them a chance to complain further, Leonardo started measuring the land with a rope.
He measured 22 yards from the riverside, then along the riverbank, 33 yards per plot, totaling 132 yards for twelve people.
Once the land was measured, he marked the boundaries.
Leonardo added, "This is a total of 1.2 acres. You can decide whether to work together or separately. It's up to you."
Before anyone else could speak, Summer said decisively, "I want the easternmost plot. I'll work on it alone."
Logan immediately followed, "I'll take the plot next to Summer's."
The others glanced at Summer and Logan but said nothing.
Leonardo didn't interfere further and said, "Alright, that's settled. From now on, do whatever you need to do. If you don't understand something, ask around."
With that, Leonardo turned and left to attend to other village matters.
Since there were other things to handle at the school, Logan didn't linger by the river.
Without greeting anyone, he turned and walked away.
Seeing him leave, Summer quickly followed, walking side by side with him.
The other ten volunteers watched Logan and Summer leave together.
Grace muttered, "She's really become Logan's shadow, hasn't she?"
Henry watched them walk away, his eyes darkening. Feeling stifled, he didn't retract his gaze as the two disappeared from view.