Norman Bethune was a Canadian surgeon who volunteered to help the People’s Liberation Army in the 1930s. Mao held him up as a model for emulation. See an animated storybook of Norman Bethune here and another collection of storybook pages here.
The young girl is stopping to pick up grains before heading on to school. She has a book bag, bedding, and copies of Mao’s works. The man is wearing a Mao button.