The memorial service was very grand, at least for Dapu County. All the standing committee members of the county came to participate in the memorial ceremony. The main leaders of other towns also came. For a time, Niujiao Village seemed to be the place where all the leaders of Dapu County It was the same gathering place. Large cars and small cars came and went. This was also the first time that the villagers here saw so many big figures appearing. They couldn't help but panic.
The old man's children arrived in the afternoon. After receiving Yu Fan's instructions, Huang Lin, the mayor of Yeshan Township, discussed it with Bi Jun, the deputy mayor. In Yeshan Township, the old man's address in the provincial capital and Only Bi Jun knew the contact information. Before this incident happened, who would pay attention to an ordinary old man.
The county TV station and newspapers reported this incident extensively. For a time, the incident caused a stir in the entire county. Many people spontaneously came to Niujiao Village to see the old man off out of gratitude. Among them were A group of people arrived that even Yu Fan had not expected. He was greatly moved.
The old man had a son and a daughter. After receiving the notice from Yeshan Township, he rushed back to Central South Province from other places overnight. Finally, he arrived at Yeshan Township in the afternoon of the next day. At the memorial service, he saw the portrait of the old man. The two of them burst into tears. Their grief made the villagers nearby also shed tears.
Taking the leaders of the county, Yu Fan walked over and held their hands. He said gratefully: "I am Yu Fan, secretary of the county party committee. I would like to express my condolences to you on behalf of the four million people in the county. Mr. Xu The spirit of dedication and sacrifice for education will always be remembered by the people of Dapu County. His figure will always live in the hearts of all our Dapu people."
In fact, when the old man's son and daughter came to Niujiao Village, they were also shocked by the backwardness of the place. They didn't expect that their father had been working in a place like this. And his father never told them every time they met. What happened here is that they all got married and started businesses in other places. They rarely returned to Central South Province. Especially after the death of his mother. His son Xu Ming once wanted to take the old man to his city to enjoy his old age. However, he was taken away by the old man. Rejected.
It wasn't until they received a call from Yeshan Township and learned about it along the way that they realized that their father had been teaching in this backward place for the past three years. The word "supporting teaching" is not familiar to people living in the city. Strange. It seems that such things always belong to some young people with ideals and passion. They have nothing to do with a retired old man. But my father actually taught here for three years. This They had to be shocked.
As the son of an old man, Xu Ming was actually very ashamed after hearing what Yu Fan said. He shook Yu Fan's hand and shook his head with tears: "Secretary Yu, thank you for everything you have done for my father. On behalf of his old man, Xu Ming ..." At this point, Xu Ming couldn't say any more. But the sister on the side was even more sad. She hugged Xu Ming and burst into tears.
That's how people are. When the old man is around, they will say that they are busy and don't have time to go back and see them. When their parents really pass away, they will feel that they are sorry for them and did not take care of the old man. Let the old man be like this in Dapu County They stayed in this place for three years, and the news of his death was notified by others, which made their hearts intertwined with grief and shame. Their temporary mood was indeed not understandable to outsiders.
When the mood of the two of them improved a little, Yu Fan also took the things from Bi Jun's hands. He looked at them and said: "Because the old man fell into the mountain stream, it is very difficult to find the body. We have sent several A group of people went down, but they never found it. This is the relic left by Mr. Xu in the village. Now it will be returned to you. If you have any requirements, you can put them forward to us. We will try our best to satisfy you."
Taking the things from Yu Fan's hand, Xu Ming couldn't help but feel sad. He shook his head and said: "Secretary Yu, we don't have any requirements. Father can choose the job he likes at the last moment. This is his own. My wish. As a son, I am not qualified to make any demands. Instead, I want to thank you. Thank you for making his old man prosperous..." At the end of the words, he was already a little choked with tears. Yu Fan comforted him. He patted his shoulder and sighed.
In fact, Yu Fan was not very satisfied with today's memorial service. Yesterday, he had instructed the Propaganda Department of the County Party Committee to vigorously publicize this matter. And he also hoped to report this matter to the Municipal Party Committee as a way to support the promotion of rural education. A benchmark. It can make more people care about these children living in the mountains. But until now, the city has not given him a clear answer on this matter. This makes Yu Fan very dissatisfied.
The behavior of the old man is a kind of praiseworthy spirit for Yu Fan. An old man who could have enjoyed his old age in a big city has been educating a group of mountain children in this valley for three years. Is this kind of spirit possible? Isn’t it worthy of our publicity and appreciation? When many people enjoy flowers and birds, when they encounter a little setback in life and commit suicide, they will never think that an old man over seventy years old is still there. Shannai uses his own residual energy. Compared with those teachers who despise and abuse students because of their naughty students and poor academic performance, only the elderly can be called true role models.
Yu Fan didn't understand what the leader of the municipal party committee thought. But he couldn't care about it. You don't publicize it. I will publicize it. At least in Dapu County, the old man's deeds must be vigorously publicized.
The entire memorial service seemed sad and solemn. Everyone present bowed to the portrait of the old man. As family members, the two brothers and sisters Xu Ming also returned gifts to everyone. On the other side of the bridge, all the villagers also paid tribute to the old man in another way. They mourned and mournful songs echoed in the mountains.
At this moment, a group of old people also came from a distance. Yu Fan, who had received the news a long time ago, also came forward to greet them. He held the hand of the leading old man and said gratefully: "Old county magistrate and old leaders, thank you for coming. "
The old county magistrate also sighed lightly and said solemnly: "We must come. When we heard about Teacher Xu, we old guys felt ashamed. He is a role model for us old guys. Compared with him Get up. We people feel inferior. Let’s go. Let’s go and give Brother Xu a final sendoff.” After that, he led the group of old people to the portrait and saluted Teacher Xu.
After learning that the Xu Ming brothers and sisters were relatives of Teacher Xu, the old county magistrate held their hands and sighed: "Your father is a good and respectable father. We people will never forget him."
Since the old man's body was not found in the end, some of the old man's relics could only be buried on the peak of Niujiao Mountain. The scenery there is pleasant. You can see the iron suspension bridge on the mountain side from a distance. This allows the old man to be here. Silently paying attention to the children he taught. The most important thing is that the old man's wife is also buried here. This also brings the two old people who were in love with each other back together after death.
People cannot be resurrected. Life must continue. Looking at the crowd gradually dispersing, Yu Fan also felt infinite emotion in his heart. After the memorial service, the old man's son and daughter had already left with the old man's belongings. Before leaving, .They once again expressed their gratitude to the Dapu County Party Committee for the arrangements. From the first moment they arrived here, they could feel the respect the people here had for their father. The sadness on their faces was no greater than theirs. There are few immediate relatives, which makes them feel sad and proud of their father.
Watching them leave, Yu Fan also understood in his heart that they would appear here every Qingming Festival from now on. Maybe not just the two of them. They would also bring their sons and daughters, as well as their wives and Husband, because two of their relatives are buried on this land. But at that time every year, it is not just their two families who appear here. There are also thousands of villagers here, and those who were taught by the old man. Children who have passed.
Returning to the county committee, Yu Fan also took a deep breath. He has been in Yeshan Township for the past two days. It was as if he had received a baptism in his soul. He could not describe this feeling. He was full of respect and nostalgia. With guilt comes a kind of responsibility. Yu Fan has never seen such an old man before. This has to be said to be a regret. And this regret gave him a solemn sense of responsibility.
He is the secretary of the county party committee of this county. He is responsible for the people here. This is no longer a verbal slogan in the officialdom. It is actually placed in Yu Fan's heart. The old man's affairs have given Yu Fan a lot. It was a shock. But it was more of a reflection on my work. This incident also made Yu Fan feel that he was slowly becoming mature.
After listening to the report on the road construction project, Yu Fan also specially called Wang Wenhan, director of the County Education Bureau, and Lu Mingxia, the newly appointed finance director, in order to further implement the construction of a school in Niujiao Village.
Wang Wenhan was also very unlucky recently. Yu Fan called him over and gave him a lecture. He was asked to build a school on the other side of the mountain in the shortest possible time. This matter was easy to handle with the financial allocation from the County Finance Bureau. But The school is easy to build, but it is difficult to find teachers. "Secretary Yu, we are already making preparations for the school. But it is really difficult to find teachers. There are very few teachers in the county schools, and they are all I don’t want to go down there. Some people would rather quit than go down there.”
In response to Director Wang's complaint, Yu Fan shook his hand and said: "I don't care about this. This is your education system's own business. You can solve it yourself. In addition, I want to know the current education situation in the county. How many schools are there? How many schools are in a situation like Niujiao Village? Make a budget and see how we can solve these problems. How much funding gap do we have?" This incident made Yu Fan completely determined to solve the education problem.