Back to the golden age

"Principal, I'm here today to ask about my father." Song Yuanchao didn't want to say much about going to college, so he brought up the main topic instead.

Hearing what Song Yuanchao said, Principal Zhou was taken aback for a moment, then nodded emphatically: "Actually, the school is already dealing with these matters these days. I think there will be a satisfactory answer to Mr. Song's question."

President Zhou's words were not surprising to Song Yuanchao. About a year after Song Yuanchao returned to Shanghai, the matter about his father Song Guangzeng was resolved.

At that time, Principal Zhou personally visited Song Yuanchao and announced the news in front of him. At the same time, on behalf of the school, he repaid Song Guangzeng's 17-month salary totaling 1054 yuan.

However, Song Yuanchao was an ordinary young man back then. Because of the death of his parents, he didn't have a good impression of the school. Although at that time he knew that this incident could not be blamed on Principal Zhou, because Principal Zhou himself was a victim back then. But the young and energetic Song Yuanchao still couldn't pass the threshold in his heart.

So after receiving the replacement salary from Principal Zhou, Song Yuanchao didn't say anything to Principal Zhou, and got up to see off the guests after saying a few words coldly.

So far, Song Yuanchao still remembers Principal Zhou's hesitant expression towards him when he left, and his slightly hunched figure when he walked out of the alley. The venerable old man was never seen again.

Recalling the scene back then, Song Yuanchao felt that he was very sorry for Principal Zhou. He stood up with red eyes, bowed respectfully to Principal Zhou, and thanked Principal Zhou solemnly.

"Son, this is what I should do. Don't need to say thank you. This makes me really ashamed. It's because I didn't protect your father well." Principal Zhou held Song Yuanchao's arm with both hands, his eyes moist.

"No!" Song Yuanchao shook his head and said sincerely: "You did nothing wrong, and the situation at that time was beyond your control. Now you have done so much for my dad, as his son, and as you once student, this thank you deserves it!"

Tears welled up in Principal Zhou's eyes instantly, and he slapped Song Yuanchao's arm several times, but didn't know what to say for a while.

After sighing for a while, Song Yuanchao helped the excited Principal Zhou to sit down, and after a while, he revealed the second reason for his visit today.

When Song Yuanchao told Principal Zhou that he hadn't worked just after he came back, because his father was a teacher at the school, whether the school could give him a job according to the replacement policy, Principal Zhou didn't expect Song Yuanchao to make such a request, and he was a little surprised .

"Aid Korea, didn't Uncle Zhou just say that? You have the basics, and studying for a few months is a good way out for the university entrance exam. Why are you in such a hurry to find a job?"

"Principal, people have to live." Song Yuanchao sighed, his face full of helplessness: "My parents are gone, and my relatives at home have not been in contact with each other for a long time. I haven't saved any money in the northwest for so many years. I have to eat, right? I don’t have a job, no salary, what can I eat?”

"This..." Principal Zhou thought for a while and said, "Uncle Zhou is here to help you solve the money problem, so you can study hard at home with peace of mind..."

"Thank you principal, but teaching people how to fish is not as good as teaching people to fish. Ideally, you, principal, know better than I do. Besides, I have been doing earth repairs every day for the past eight years in Northwest China. I have long forgotten what the teacher taught. It’s almost there, even if you study for a few months, can you guarantee that I will pass the university entrance exam? It’s true that this road is the Sunshine Avenue, but it’s good, but it’s not safe for me. Down-to-earth is the fundamental, why not Solve the work problem first, and it will not be too late to talk about other things after you have no worries."

Song Yuanchao expressed his thoughts sincerely, and his words were orderly, and for a while, Principal Zhou didn't know how to persuade him.

What Song Yuanchao said is not unreasonable. As an educator, Principal Zhou certainly understands the difficulty of going to college.

At the end of 1977, the country resumed the college entrance examination. The number of applicants for the first resumption of the college entrance examination reached 1160 million, but how many of these educated youths and young people can really enter the university?

As Song Yuanchao said, many people have returned all their books to the teacher long ago, but only a few months of kung fu made a surprise attack, but very few succeeded.

The same was true for the second college entrance examination in 1978. The ratio of the number of applicants to the final entry was extremely different. According to this trend, the competition for the college entrance examination in the next few years will become more and more intense. This year’s college entrance examination will inevitably be different from the previous two. Both the difficulty of the examination paper and the requirements for admissions will be more stringent.

In addition, the key point that Song Yuanchao said was his survival.

Both Song Yuanchao's parents have passed away, and he has no one to rely on in Shanghai. The survival problem of eating, drinking and drinking must be solved.

It is true that Principal Zhou can help him temporarily and squeeze out part of his meager salary to subsidize Song Yuanchao, but the emergency does not save the poor. Principal Zhou, who has been a pedant all his life, naturally understands this truth.

"But, aiding North Korea..." Principal Zhou is a good person, a good teacher and a good principal, but he didn't know how to persuade him on this matter for a while.

After thinking about it, he finally came up with a solution, and said earnestly to Song Yuanchao: "It's always good to try anyway. If you can get into a university, the state will subsidize college students. Although you don't have much money to live on, it's not a problem." , the job will be easy after graduation. Besides, Uncle Zhou is still here, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

"Principal, I am not a child anymore. I understand all the reasons you said, and I am very grateful, but I still want to rely on myself."

"You, you, why are you so stubborn?" Principal Zhou couldn't help being a little angry when he saw Song Yuanchao's insistence on going his own way: "You want to find a job, but have you ever thought about it? We are a school! You haven't graduated from high school yet. Can someone replace your father and come to the school as a teacher? Aid Korea, the school is not an enterprise, and this teacher can’t be just anyone, if you have the ability to be a teacher, why don’t you go to university?”

Song Yuanchao smiled, he already knew that Principal Zhou would say that, and he had already figured out how to answer this question before coming.

"Principal, you are worrying too much. I never thought that I could be a teacher in school. If I were a primary school teacher, maybe it would be fine, but we are a middle school. It is not a mistake to be a teacher with the little ink in my belly." Is it a child of a man?"

"Then you still...?" Song Yuanchao's words made Principal Zhou stunned, and he couldn't understand what Song Yuanchao was thinking.

"Principal, I remember our school has a school-run factory, right?"

Principal Zhou was stunned for a moment, as if he understood Song Yuanchao's plan.

"Teaching staff is also the establishment of the school, but teaching staff are not teachers and do not have to teach students. If possible, I would like to ask you to help arrange a job in the school-run factory. Don't worry, I don't have any other requirements, I just need a stable job .”

School-run factories are a characteristic of the times.

Before the 80s, many schools had their own school-run factories, which were owned by the school, and a small part of the employees were teaching staff, and most of them were collective staff.

This kind of school-run factory is small in scale and usually has no technical content. Many of them are similar to or even inferior to street factories.

Many school-run factories are low-level handicrafts such as dry matchboxes and soap packaging. In the period of unified purchase and marketing, such factories survived no problem, but in the period of reform and opening up, with the gradual opening of the market and private enterprises With the vigorous rise of the school, the school-run factories without the slightest competitiveness were naturally eliminated by the times.