Chapter 131 All Students

  "Haiyuan, you have never been forgotten!"

  On December 15, 1922, an earthquake of magnitude 8.5 occurred, and before long, time had arrived at August 15, 1928, five years and eight months later. The strong earthquake had already become a distant memory, and the ruins that had collapsed could only be seen in the earthquake protection sites in various counties in the disaster area. After the painful experience, they lived a good life year after year, and for nearly six years, they were never forgotten.

  Starting from April 15, 1923, every year the Ministry of Education organizes a group of university students to come to the town's counties to participate in the reconstruction of the disaster area. Some of them will join local primary schools, live with children, tell them about the world outside, and lead them to explore the ocean of knowledge. Others will use their professional knowledge to help the local government alleviate poverty and become rich, fundamentally changing the local area... However, every autumn, around mid-August, these university students will leave and return to their campuses to continue their unfinished studies.

  "Next spring when flowers bloom, big brothers and sisters will come to be with you again. If you really miss us, write a letter!"

  Qian Chou is a junior student of physics in the School of Applied Sciences, China Industrial University. When he was just entering his senior year, the school started recruiting volunteers to go to Haiyuan for four months in April. Participating in this activity would inevitably delay his studies by a large margin, but many students still signed up enthusiastically. In the end, only 40 people were assigned to Haiyuan, while other students were sent to Hunan and Hubei, two areas where the basic education system has not yet been fully implemented, or to Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai and other places.

  Lai Haiyuan has been saying for more than three months that universal education benefits the healthy growth of children from wealthy families, "the gap between the rich and the poor should not harm education", which is one of the reasons why the autonomous government made free compulsory education for all citizens, and also the most important reason.

  "How long does it take to get back to Liuzhou by train?"

  "There is no direct train back, and we have to keep transferring trains. After this train arrives in Baoji, I will transfer to the Baoji-Chengdu train, and then buy a direct ticket from Chengdu to Liuzhou. Our university's management of students is not strict, so it's okay to linger on the road for a few days." After boarding the train, Qian Chu, who was returning to Liuzhou, and Liao Yun, who was returning to Chengdu, naturally sat together.

  "After arriving in Baoji, I plan to take the high-speed bus instead of the train. Taking the expressway from Shaanxi to Chengdu is much faster. The train is especially troublesome when passing through Qinling Mountains, winding and turning all the time. The highway can quickly pass through this area and head straight to Chengdu, which is not like the train that stops at every station!"

  "...but our school only reimburses us for train tickets, not bus tickets. The large bus we took just now was arranged by the institution that received us. Are you going back without taking the train? You'll have to pay out of your own pocket." Qian Chu glanced at the girl's handbag, which was obviously an expensive item. No school in the autonomous region would give students something like this, and it was clear that the girl had bought it herself. Her family background must be much better than his own.

  Qian Chou's family was not wealthy and belonged to a typical traditional Chinese peasant family, and he was the only son in the family. His parents made a living by farming, and his father would go out to work during the slack season to earn some money for the family, but not much. Although the autonomous region had zero agricultural taxes, even if they didn't pay taxes, how much money could their few acres of land make? The autonomous government implemented compulsory education for all citizens, which allowed poor children like Qian Chou to fulfill their dream of going to school. From elementary school to university, he was always at the top of his class and didn't need to spend a single penny from his family. Every year, he would receive a full scholarship, plus a poverty alleviation grant and assistance from the autonomous region's charitable education foundation. So, during every Spring Festival holiday, his task was to bring money back to his parents. Studying had become a way for him to make money, so it was natural that he wouldn't want to spend money on taking a luxurious bus back to school.

  "It won't cost much money! Before I came to teach, I also heard that the autonomous region is going to open an airline, and later the ticket prices for Chengdu-Liuzhou will be cheaper. At that time, I must buy a ticket and take a plane to Liuzhou to visit your school!" Liao Yun took out a box of chewing gum from her bag and smiled as she handed it to the two passengers sitting across from her.

  "Anyway, I won't be able to afford a plane ticket. Once I start working, I'll probably be able to take luxury buses and planes," Qian Chu said with a smile, looking at the piece of gum the girl had handed him. In school, they could get one pack every month, but he just couldn't bear to spend money on it. Many snacks were free in school, like the gum. "So your family is quite rich, huh?"

  "We don't have much money, my dad is an auto sales agent, these years he has been running around in Xinjiang, Gansu and Shaanxi, selling a lot of tractors and motorcycles, but not many cars. If you want to talk about making big profits, it's those car manufacturers under government control... this highway and dense road network construction is just encouraging people to buy cars... by the way, since you're not in a hurry to go back to school, why don't you come take a look at our Sichuan University? You have a student ID, so you can enter our campus."

  "Why don't you come visit our school first? My internship is said to be arranged within Sichuan province, and I'll have the chance to visit your school then. You should go take a look at Guangxi, the largest province in our autonomous region." Qian Chou was hesitant to linger on the road, for him learning was extremely important, sightseeing trips were not something that children from poor families like his could afford, studying hard and finding a good job in the future was more important than anything else.

  Liao Yun was able to invite Qian Chu to visit their school earlier because of a regulation by the Ministry of Education two years ago. The basic education stage students' annual study time was adjusted to nine months and ten days, increasing their winter vacation to over two months.

  But there is a reason for this, when the school is on holiday, it will distribute a travel destination proposal map to students during the holidays. Under the accompaniment of parents, whether on foot or by bike, or driving by car, they can go to various designated scenic spots to pay homage to history, experience rural life in poor areas, and visit industrial parks to gain a deeper understanding. In short, with this proposal map, under the accompaniment of parents, students can go to many places to broaden their horizons and promote the establishment of their outlook on life and values.

  For students traveling with their parents, they purchase train tickets, air tickets, ferry tickets, high-speed tolls for self-driving cars, and even rent bicycles and hotel accommodations. After unified coordination, merchants and companies will offer discounts and concessions. Parents are naturally delighted to accompany their children on trips, and the various discounts and benefits throughout the family tour not only promote family harmony and children's growth but also bring great momentum to the economic circulation of the autonomous region.

  After visiting anywhere, students can submit a composition of their experience to the school. Every year, the school evaluates which student's holiday life is the most enriching and meaningful, and the most rewarding ones are those who go on a family hiking trip to experience life. Reading ten thousand volumes is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. After spending more than nine months in school reading books, take advantage of the holidays to look around, experience life, relax your mind, rest your body, and harmonize your family relationships, which are very beneficial for students' healthy growth.

  Moreover, after the introduction of this policy, it was widely welcomed by many industries and society. In addition to being able to spend more time with children, a major reason is that it greatly stimulates economic development. Children have a long time not by their side every year, now the economic strength is also very good, many parents are willing to take their children to eat well, dress well, play well, and invisibly bring economic consumption to the autonomous region.

  Of course, families with low incomes are not suitable for this policy, but schools do not require students to complete such growth experiences and increase their travel experiences. Children from rural families can also complete life experiences in rural areas and write reports on them, and there are many who have received awards for doing so. Moreover, even the poorest families in the autonomous region, like Qian Chou's family, are not saying that they cannot afford to eat or wear clothes, but rather their economic bearing capacity is weak due to low income. The matter of tourism can be completed after income increases, but students like Qian Chou can complete tourism during their studies because university students traveling to various places, especially visiting universities, is just a matter of eating and living for some time, which is the same behavior as transferring to another university. The round-trip train ticket is still calculated at half price, and after returning to school, even the half-price train ticket can be reimbursed with proof of visiting the school.

  "Alright, or I'll pay for your travel expenses and we can take this train all the way to its final destination, Xi'an. From Xi'an, we can fly directly to Liuzhou and arrive at your school in the evening." At this point, Liao Yun borrowed a newspaper from a fellow passenger across from her and pointed to the headline on the front page: "The pride of China Industrial University is Xiao Naitian, who works in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He's been making waves for several months now and has become the number one celebrity in Chinese diplomacy after reaching an agreement with the British on the Hong Kong issue. He's truly a hero! Your university must be so proud!"

  Qian Chu took over the newspaper and looked at it. The black-and-white photo on the newspaper was a signing ceremony of the Chinese and British representatives, namely Xiao Naitian and Lord Bluebird jointly signed the agreement for Hong Kong's return to China. According to the agreement between the two parties, the Hong Kong region had been under British rule since January 26, 1841, until January 26, 1940, exactly 99 years. The British rule over Hong Kong could not exceed one hundred years, and it was agreed that Hong Kong's political power would officially return on January 26, 1940. This agreement was a great success for the autonomous region's diplomacy, and of course, Xiao Naitian became famous overnight.

  "Yes, he is the pride of our school, but not from our College of Applied Sciences. Our college's pride has yet to be born! Besides, there are many proud aspects of our school. The current CTO of AsiaMe Group, isn't this position impressive? His name is Rao Cong, and he is also from our university..."

  Qian Chu continued to talk about a bunch of talents emerging one after another, all of whom were students from the Industrial University. After all, the reputation of being the cradle of industry in the autonomous region was not just bragging rights. Any random person you picked out would be a key figure in some enterprise today. "But I think this diplomatic success is largely due to the government and military's attention, as well as the people's support. You don't know how many mass petitions and demonstrations broke out in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and many other areas for the return of Hong Kong. Even I signed my name on a petition. The powerful countries were forced by pressure to return Hong Kong. Of course, Xiao Naitian's skills are still quite good..."

  "Yes, he is indeed the pride of our liberal arts department and my idol. Can you introduce me to him? The newspaper said that Xiao Nai Tian will be returning to his alma mater for a lecture soon, this is my best chance to meet him! I'd rather wait in your school for a month..."

  "What? You've been talking for half a day and it turns out you like him? Your secret crush is too crazy, even across thousands of kilometers you can still have feelings?" Qian Chu's face was filled with disappointment. Since ancient times, Gong Da has never had a beauty, and finally managed to catch one, only to find that she already belongs to someone else.

  "Alright, so I'll pay for the ticket back to Liuzhou!" Liao Yun said without looking up, gazing at the newspaper with Xiao Nai Tian's valiant and elegant face.

  "Liao classmate, I must sit in first class!" Qian Chu said to the rich second-generation woman beside him with a serious tone.

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