Following Zhao Qiankun's guidance, the road became more and more remote. Zheng Party Secretary said: "At this time, each family has only two dollars in hand, and every year they call for donations to build a primary school, but no one responds!"
"Haha, it's hard to have enough to eat, but you are really taking money from the poor's pockets...hehehe!"
Liu Shengli ended with a wry smile. The subtext was, if you village cadres don't do anything, why should the people pay for it? How could the old branch secretary not understand? He just smiled wryly and did not refute.
Tie Jun didn't want to participate in the discussion. There were many social issues behind it, and it was too heavy. It was full of tears. He was soft-hearted and couldn't afford to be hurt.
The wind was blowing, and the sky was filled with yellow sand. Tie Jun rolled up the car window, and a torn plastic bag was blown against the windshield wiper, like holding a white flag. If he said, life is like this, do you accept it?
Rushing up the dirt slope, there is an office sandwiched between two windowless dirt houses, and a stubborn flagpole stands on the empty playground.
After parking the car, Tie Jun got out of the car, tore off the torn plastic bag with his hands, rolled it into a ball, stepped on it under his feet, and cursed: "You idiot, come here if you want, I will definitely not cooperate!"
Liu Shengli was puzzled. His eyes looking at Tie Jun became more and more dreamy. Tie Jun was smiling, the sun was shining brightly, and he was full of vitality. It was so fascinating to him.
There was a coughing sound in the office. It was from a woman. It was a little crisp, a little old, and very contradictory. Tie Jun didn't know why he felt this way.
Don’t worry about it anymore, you will know when you go and see it. Follow the branch secretary, walk to the door, and look inside.
"Party secretary?"
She was indeed a woman, brushing the small blackboard, with ink in one hand. She was not tall, had yellow and sparse hair, and had a slightly dark face. She was probably between 18 and 30 years old, Tie Jun judged.
"Teacher Lu? You...didn't you go back to your hometown?"
"I thought about it and decided not to go back. I feel a little guilty for not sending my children to middle school, and... I'm not willing to do it!"
There was light in Teacher Lu's eyes, and the old party secretary walked into the room, took the brush from her hand, and said, "How can a parent beat someone? I apologize to you again on his behalf."
"Haha, I accept it, why don't I just keep it?"
Teacher Lu knocked on his back, looked at Tie Jun and the others, and asked, "Are you a parent?"
The three of them laughed and shook their heads together.
"That's good, I thought they were here to settle accounts with me again!"
"What's going on?"
Liu Shengli asked the branch secretary with a straight face.
"Alas, it's not Li Dachui from your village. His local boy copied Xiang Xiang's composition and Teacher Lu criticized it. The next day, Li Dachui came and beat Teacher Lu."
Tie Jun and Liu Shengli clenched their fists at the same time.
"Teacher Lu, don't worry, I will ask him to apologize to you in person tomorrow!"
Liu Shengli spoke, feeling furious in his heart. Even if he was punished again, he would have to make that bastard admit his mistake.
"Thank you, no need. He admitted his mistake. The baby is the unlucky one!"
It seems that being abused is nothing new. Tie Jun first mentally pinched and scratched the bellies of Li Dachui and his wife.
Hearing that they came to see the school, Teacher Lu was very smart and knew that something good was going to happen. Who would come here for no reason!
"The principal has gone on a home visit, let me accompany you to see it!"
Teacher Lu led the way, and several people followed him towards the classroom. There was no need to enter the room, and there were no windows, so the scene in the classroom could be seen at a glance.
There are no desks. There are piles two meters apart under the wooden boards, which are called desks. The chairs are the same, parallel, but much shorter.
There was no podium, but a tree pillar stood on it. It was bare and had nothing on it. The blackboard was broken and wavy, like a trembling curtain.
"Oh, chalk and erasers are only available during class, so I'm afraid the kids will play with them!"
"How many students are there in the school?"
Tie Jun knocked on the blackboard and turned to ask Teacher Lu.
"Oh, students from four villages are here, 8 in fifth grade, 24 in fourth grade, 40 in third grade, 62 in second grade, and 6 in first grade."
"Why are there so few fifth graders and first graders?"
“There are few first-year students because parents do not send new students, and there are few senior students because there are few students who persist.
It’s normal. Under these conditions, the tuition and fees are quite high, so no parent would be willing to send their children here!”
"Didn't you respond to the town?"
"Education is under the unified management of the county education bureau. I have responded many times and the response is always the same, saying that fees are collected in accordance with national unified standards and cannot be special."
"Sister, where are you from? Did you graduate from a normal school?"
Zhao Qiankun, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked a confused question.
"I'm only 18, don't call me sister. My hometown is Lanzhou, and I graduated from Lanzhou Normal University."
"Let me tell you, you look familiar. I'm two years older than you. We're alumni. I'm from the Department of Education, class 84, and my name is Zhao Qiankun."
"Ah? 'It's like being intoxicated, like a dream like you. When I fall into the dream, you are there. When I wake up from the dream, it's you...'"
"Hey, the shameful thing spread thousands of miles, and I paid the price."
"Teacher Ouyang got divorced and went to Zhangye to teach, didn't you know?"
"how do you know?"
"Your collection of poems has spread throughout the campus, and your poem "A Guilty Conscience" has been published in the "New Poetry Journal", and you don't even know it!"
The two got chatting, and Tie Jun caught his interest, so he came out first and looked around.
The party secretary and Liu Shengli didn't hold on for long, so they came out. When they saw Tie Jun wandering around the flagpole, they came over.
"Haha, in the whole school, this flagpole is the most impressive and has a bit of personality!"
"The principal said that the flag-raising ceremony every Monday is when the children are the most well-behaved. The five-star red flag is the home in the hearts of the children."
Raising his head and looking at the tall flagpole, Tie Jun felt ashamed. It had been a long time since he had felt the glory of the five-star red flag.
"Party Secretary, you must have made a budget. How much does it cost to build a primary school?"
"We do it every year, high, middle and low grades, with walls and gates, without walls and gates, with greening, without greening..."
"Hey, people ask you how much it costs, what do you mean?"
Liu Shengli was originally dissatisfied with the party secretary. He had a military character and didn't like to beat around the bush.
"Oh, a better 50,000 yuan, a simple 5,000 yuan, there are bricklayers and carpenters from artificial villages."
"What about the construction period?"
Tiejun was also a little worried. He was a cadre. He asked questions and answered questions. It was really troublesome.
"A good half year, an easy three months."
"Not to mention other places, how many schools like this are there in your town?
Also, once the school is built, is it easy to recruit teachers?"
"There are four schools, and this one is the poorest. If the conditions are good, of course the teachers are willing to come. We have more normal schools in Gansu. Some people think we are so poor, so they all go to Shaanxi."
"Isn't this nonsense? Your house is leaking, so you run to someone else's house to take shelter. Why? You won't come back? Your house will always be leaking like this?"
Liu Shengli's words were interesting, and Tie Jun couldn't help but nod. This is the reason. In less than ten years, the Northeast's industry will decline, and this situation will also happen.
"Party secretary, can you give me a copy of your budget?"
"Yes, yes, that's great. I'll give it to you when I get back soon. Don't be embarrassed. It's okay to make a simple one. At least there is a window, so the kids' hands won't freeze in the winter."
After wandering around for a while, Zhao Qiankun and Teacher Lu came out. Zhao Qiankun must have said something, but Teacher Lu only stared at Tie Jun curiously.