In mid-March, major newspapers in the north published numerous reports on the news that Einstein had become an honorary member of the Beijing Research Institute. People were excited about this, as if with Einstein joining, China's scientific research would take off.
In fact?
The entire Institute of Physics only has a few simple bungalows, and even some basic scientific research equipment is not complete.
After all, Li Shizeng was just a scholar. He took the lead in founding the Peking Research Institute and established major research institutes. He could only be responsible for the general direction, and specific work must be completed by professionals.
After Einstein accepted the appointment at Beijing Research Institute, he went to Nankai University in Tianjin to stay for one day, and then took a boat south to Tianjin.
Corbusier went to Shandong. He wanted to conduct an on-site inspection of the hometown of the Chinese workers who aided France. He had to observe everything from labor tools to food, clothing, housing and transportation, and even the facial features of the Shandong people. All of this was in preparation for the creation of sculptures of Chinese workers.
Zhou Hexuan's brother-in-law, Zhang Yuandong, has also taken a boat to go north. He is Corbusier's Chinese assistant, and the two made an appointment to meet in Qingdao.
Zhou Hexuan did not get involved. He stayed in Peking and discussed with the presidents of ten national universities (including Tsinghua University) about the creation of a study abroad fund.
The preliminary plan is as follows. Zhou Hexuan donates 50,000 silver dollars every year to fund 10 outstanding students (from the northern region) to study in Europe and the United States. In addition, he will donate another 10,000 silver dollars to fund 30 outstanding students (from the northern region) to study abroad for work-study studies. Through Wuzhou Hongmen and Li Shizeng
Through our connections, we help international students find jobs in countries such as Britain, France, and the United States.
Tsinghua University’s preparatory classes for studying abroad were discontinued due to the exhaustion of funds for studying abroad in the United States. Now they have been reactivated to provide assistance specifically for Zhou Hexuan’s study abroad fund. International students who are not qualified in foreign languages must take preparatory classes in advance.
Similarly, Zhou Hexuan also donates 60,000 yuan in the southern region every year to support 40 outstanding students studying in Europe and the United States. 10 of them are fully funded and even receive a small living allowance every month; the other 30 are work-study students, only responsible for the round-trip ticket and travel expenses.
For two months’ living expenses, the rest must be supported by the students’ own work.
Cai Yuanpei is in charge of overseas study enrollment in the southern region, and the preparatory class for studying abroad is located in Shanghai.
In principle, anyone from China, regardless of age or age, can apply. An exam is held in early May every year. The 20 students with the best scores receive full funding, and the 60 students with lower scores receive work-study qualifications.
In other words, Zhou Hexuan spends 120,000 silver dollars every year to support 80 students from all over the country to study abroad.
After the study abroad fund plan was finalized, major newspapers published news one after another, especially reminding students in remote areas to prepare in advance, because only Shanghai and Peking will have exam centers in May.
As soon as this news came out, the whole country was shocked.
120,000 silver dollars per year, this is a large amount of money.
Take Shanghai, where prices are the highest today, for example, 1 silver dollar can buy 16 pounds of rice, 5 pounds of pork, and 6 feet of cotton. In terms of purchasing power, 120,000 silver dollars at this time is at least equivalent to 7 million in 2017
to RMB 10 million.
Regardless of whether you are willing to part with it or not, it is unimaginable to be able to spend so much money every year.
Many people don't believe it and think this is fake news. Because even some big bosses find it difficult to come up with 120,000 yuan in cash at once. They need to spend time raising money. Where does Zhou Hexuan find so much money every year?
Even though Zhou Hexuan made a lot of money selling underwear, and he also earned a lot of money from running newspapers and writing articles, he couldn't afford such expenses. His money could only last two or three years at most.
Newspapers and magazines don’t care, they just keep praising it.
"Shenbao" praised Zhou Hexuan as "a model of celebrities", and "News" said Zhou Hexuan was a "great patriotic educator".
Even Lu Xun, who always loved to scold others, praised Zhou Hexuan in his recent essays, saying that he had done some great things for China.
While the students are happy, they also criticize the establishment of study abroad quotas, because science and engineering majors account for 60% of the quotas. Most students in China are majoring in literature and law. If they want to obtain the qualifications to study abroad, the competition is too great.
…
Nanjing, Central University.
Tong Dizhou came to the classroom with lecture notes. He was not a lecturer, let alone a professor, he was just a teaching assistant.
Tong Dizhou studied psychology at Fudan University. It was not easy to find a job in this major. He had no backers and no reputation, so he finally asked Chen Buili to introduce him to a job (lieutenant of the Political Propaganda Department of the Kuomintang Headquarters during the Northern Expedition).
, Tong Dizhou could not adapt to the chaotic struggle here, so he resigned after only working for more than a month.
Immediately afterwards, under the introduction of his family, Tong Dizhou went to Tonglu County, Zhejiang Province to work as a section chief. The salary for this position was at least 80 yuan, but the county chief bullied him because he was young and only gave him 30 yuan a month.
If you are a single man, you can live comfortably with a monthly salary of 30 yuan. But Tong Dizhou got married soon, and his wife was studying and gave birth to a daughter. The family of three had an extremely difficult life.
With no other choice, Tong Dizhou wrote to his former teacher for help, and finally got a job as a teaching assistant at Central University, where his life was a little better.
Tong Dizhou put down the lecture notes, wiped the blackboard clean, and arranged the experimental equipment for this class, just waiting for the professor to come to class.
The students in the classroom suddenly started shouting:
"Big news, big news!"
"What's the big news?"
"Mr. Zhou donates 120,000 yuan every year to support 80 students studying abroad in Europe and the United States."
"real or fake?"
"How can there be any lies? It's clearly published in the newspapers."
"Show me quickly."
"Oh my god, fully funded international students not only provide travel expenses and tuition fees, but also a monthly allowance of 5 yuan."
"Isn't 5 yuan too little?"
"Five yuan is a small amount, but if you add up 20 students, it will be 100 yuan a month, and it will be more than 3,000 yuan in three years."
"As long as the tuition and travel expenses are provided, the monthly allowance of 5 yuan is optional. Even if you get a work-study quota, it is not bad. It covers round-trip travel expenses and living expenses for the first two months, and helps you contact students for study-study jobs."
"I will graduate soon. I want to go to Shanghai and give it a try. Maybe I can pass the exam."
"I am coming too!"
"But you have to pay a registration fee of 3 yuan for the exam."
"Of course you have to pay, otherwise cats and dogs will try their luck, and others will not be able to pass the test paper."
"..."
Tong Dizhou was surprised to hear this, so he walked over and asked, "What are you talking about about studying abroad?"
"Teacher Tong, read it yourself." A student handed the newspaper to Tong Dizhou.
Tong Dizhou read the article in detail and couldn't help but admired: "Mr. Zhou is really a great educator, he is willing to spend so much money to support students."
"That's right, 120,000 yuan per year. Tsk, tsk!" The students gasped repeatedly.
At this moment, the professor suddenly walked in and reminded: "Quiet, class is on!"
Tong Dizhou hurriedly ran to stand on the side of the podium, but he was thinking about the study abroad fund. He also wanted to take the exam. Even if he couldn't get a fully funded place, it would be good to be able to work as a study student. It was better than not being able to buy a boat ticket.