Rebirth of Bloody Romance

Zhong Yuemin looked at Li Yanhong, smiled slightly, and asked another question. "Yanhong, tell me, what is the main contradiction in our society at present?"

Li Yanhong frowned. She had heard this question countless times in political class. She said impatiently, "The political textbook has said it eight hundred times. At this stage, the main contradiction in our society is the contradiction between the people's growing material and cultural needs and the backward social production. This main contradiction runs through the entire process of the primary stage of socialism in our country and all aspects of social life. It determines that our fundamental task is to concentrate our efforts on developing social productivity."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Zhong Yuemin with a challenging gleam in her eyes, as if to say, “Look, didn’t I memorize it very well?”

Zhong Yuemin nodded, approving her answer. "Well, that's right, you did memorize it very well. But," he changed the subject, "do you really understand the meaning of this sentence? Can you tell me your understanding?"

Li Yanhong was at a loss for words when Zhong Yuemin asked her this question. Although she could recite this passage fluently, she did not think too much about its deeper meaning. She muttered, "What's there to not understand? I'm not stupid."

Zhong Yuemin listened to her explanation and smiled gently: "You are right, but this is only a superficial understanding. In fact, this major contradiction involves the fundamental driving force and direction of our social development. The people's growing material and cultural needs reflect their yearning and pursuit for a better life; and backward social production is the biggest obstacle for us to achieve this goal. Therefore, we need to concentrate our efforts on developing social productivity to meet the needs of the people and promote social progress."

Zhong Yuemin paused and continued: "Moreover, this contradiction is not static. It will change as society develops and progresses. Therefore, we must not only understand the current manifestation of this contradiction, but also pay attention to its development trend in order to better cope with future challenges."

"I, I..." Li Yanhong muttered something in a low voice.

Zhong Yuemin smiled slightly, not minding Li Yanhong's mumbling, and continued. "Yanhong, I am not questioning your IQ. This question is actually much more profound than it seems. This major contradiction not only reveals the driving force of social development, but also points out the tasks and challenges we face. More importantly, understanding this contradiction has a profound impact on our understanding of social phenomena, formulating reasonable life plans, and even on the formation of our values ​​and world outlook.

Li Yanhong sat in a corner, clasping her hands tightly, looking a little nervous. Li Hongmei, sitting opposite her, looked smug, as if she had already anticipated the direction of this conversation. Zhong Yuemin, sitting in the middle, looked calm and confident.

"I, I don't quite understand." Li Yanhong's voice was trembling, and she was obviously lacking confidence. She thought she had studied for several years and knew knowledge that many people didn't know, but at this moment she felt an unprecedented sense of frustration.

Li Hongmei, who was standing by, immediately smiled smugly when she heard this. She put her hands on her hips, looking like she had seen through everything. "I've told you before, don't think you're great just because you've read a few days. You're nothing in front of Brother Zhong."

Zhong Yuemin showed his signature smile, which was not full of sarcasm, but more of tolerance and understanding. "It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Let's give an example. You are from the countryside, right? Let's talk about things in the countryside."

Zhong Yuemin paused, thinking of the busy farmers, and continued, "For the people in the countryside, the most important thing right now is to fill their stomachs, raise more pigs, chickens, cows, and sheep, and make more money. If they can buy a bicycle, that would be even better. None of them even thought about buying a tractor. Is that right?"

Li Yanhong nodded honestly. "Yes." In her heart, she had already agreed with Zhong Yuemin's statement. In the poor countryside, life itself is a struggle against poverty, and the knowledge in books is indeed too far away from them.

"Since you know this, then this is the main contradiction." Zhong Yuemin continued, his tone becoming serious. "They spend the whole year trying to resolve this contradiction. What they need is a prosperous life. Only with a prosperous life can they fill their stomachs, marry wives, and send their children to school. So do you think they will care about the things you talk about in this book?"

Li Yanhong was silent for a moment, then replied without confidence, "No, I won't." Her voice was full of helplessness and frustration. She finally understood how pale and powerless the knowledge she had learned from those books was in this real world.

Zhong Yuemin looked at her lost look and couldn't help but feel a little emotional. "But don't lose heart. Knowledge changes destiny, this saying is true."

Li Yanhong was deeply moved by Zhong Yuemin's words. She lowered her head, rubbed the corner of her clothes, and only dared to look at her toes, as if she could find some comfort in that small piece of land. Her silence seemed like a silent agreement, but also like an inner struggle.

Zhong Yuemin did not continue to exert pressure on her when he saw this, as he knew very well that what Li Yanhong needed at the moment was not more criticism, but understanding and guidance.

Then, Zhong Yuemin changed his tone and said, "Okay, adhering to the two-point theory means adhering to a comprehensive view of the problem, and adhering to the key point theory means grasping the main contradiction. Only when you grasp this core can you read effectively, and the principle of academic research must be critical thinking."

These words were like a beacon that illuminated Li Yanhong's confused mind. She raised her head, her eyes gleaming with new light. Although she still didn't speak, her expression was obviously much more relaxed.

After saying this, Zhong Yuemin turned to Li Hongmei. "Hongmei!"

"Brother Zhong, go ahead and talk. I'm listening!" Li Hongmei responded immediately with a bit of respect on her face.

"It's better to unblock than to block. You should understand this principle, right? Don't always be hard on Yanhong. She has her own ideas and pursuits. We should encourage her more."

Although Li Hongmei was arrogant and domineering in front of Li Yanhong, she behaved very well in front of Zhong Yuemin. She nodded, indicating that she agreed with Zhong Yuemin's statement.

"Okay, it's getting late, you should go back and rest. You have classes tomorrow, so prepare well." Zhong Yuemin said as he handed the book in his hand to Li Yanhong.

However, Li Yanhong didn't seem to be in the mood to take the book. After listening to Zhong Yuemin's words, she lost interest in reading. She threw the book on the table and followed Li Hongmei away silently.

Zhong Yuemin looked at their departing backs and smiled bitterly. He shook his head and said to himself, "You know what, this kind of book does cater to the personality of young people. But they still need more time and experience to..."

The 1980s was an era of culture, an era of passion and thought. The cultural fever was like a warm spring current, quietly infiltrating every corner, and no one could tell when it started and when it would end.

No one can tell exactly how it reached its climax and when it reached its peak, but it continued throughout the 1980s and became a distinctive mark of that era.

Zhong Yuemin, a bystander, looks at this cultural craze from his unique perspective. He does not blindly deny its significance, but he also does not express his appreciation. His attitude is more like that of a calm observer, using a rational eye to analyze the deeper meaning behind this cultural craze.

At this time, traditional culture has become a hot topic. Countless young people take pleasure in criticizing and trampling on traditional culture. They are eager to break the old shackles and pursue new ideas and values. In their eyes, the teachings of Confucius and Mencius are outdated and no longer meet the needs of modern society. They are full of yearning and desire for "modern society", but at the same time they are also accompanied by deep doubts and uneasiness.

However, this Westernization trend is not truly "Western-oriented".

Many people simply use the concepts of "the West" or "modernization" to oppose tradition, and their understanding of Western political system and philosophy remains at a superficial level.

Some people don't even know all the basic English words, and most of their knowledge and ideas come from Chinese media or books outside the mainland. This phenomenon, as Zhong Yuemin said, is nothing more than copying what others have said.

On this day, Zhong Yuemin had just come back from get out of class. Seeing several people gathered in the office, he asked curiously, "Hey! What are you guys doing?"

"Yuemin, take a look quickly."

When Zhong Yuemin's eyes fell on the thick teaching supplementary book in Liu Yansong's hand, he was stunned, his eyes widened, as if he had seen something incredible.

On the cover, I saw the eight eye-catching characters "Five Years of College Entrance Examination and Three Years of Simulation", most of which were presented in the form of hand-painted art fonts.

These fonts have smooth lines and delicate strokes, but they have a rustic, handmade feel.

If you look more closely, you will find that the large characters in the center clearly borrow from the unique style of Yao style.

The strokes are of moderate thickness, and the structure is rigorous and dignified, giving people a sense of calm and grandeur.

However, compared with the exquisite fonts produced by modern printing technology, this combination still seems a bit "primitive" and rough.

Zhong Yuemin couldn't wait to turn the pages of the book to find out what was inside.

As expected, the content is mainly typeset in traditional Song font.

The densely packed words were arranged neatly, without any fancy touches, only a sense of plain practicality. But it was this simplicity that made Zhong Yuemin feel doubtful.

"Hasn't our school's printing factory started using computers a long time ago? Why are the printed books still like this?" Zhong Yuemin turned his head to look at Liu Yansong beside him with a puzzled look on his face, his tone full of surprise.

Zhong Yuemin really couldn't understand why such an old typesetting method was still used when there was advanced technology available?

At this time, Zhong Yuemin was thinking secretly in his heart that if he could make full use of the computer to do typesetting work, the final effect would definitely be completely different.

After all, the speed at which computers can create fonts and the ease of operation are far beyond the reach of manual phototypesetting machines that require manual operation.

You know, this old-fashioned typesetting machine can only be regarded as the first generation of machines at best. The computer laser phototypesetting machine carefully developed by Professor Wang Xuan and a group of scientific researchers has already entered the fourth generation.

The gap between them in terms of performance and efficiency is so huge that it is no exaggeration to describe it as "a world of difference".

Xie Min heard Zhong Yuemin's question and said dissatisfiedly, "Xiao Zhong, do you think we don't want to use the school's Founder system for typesetting? But the tasks there are already fully booked. If we wait in line, we may have to wait until next year. We have no choice but to go to this private printing factory in the western suburbs. Even this kind of light paper is ridiculously expensive, costing seven or eight thousand per ton!"

Zhong Yuemin stood there with mixed feelings. He thought everything was ready, just waiting for the final push, but he didn't expect the domestic printing level to give him such a big "surprise". Looking at the supplementary textbook in his hand, he couldn't help but feel helpless.

Should he really build a printing house by himself? This thought flashed through his mind. Find connections? He frowned. This didn't seem to be a path he was willing to take. He always thought highly of himself and really didn't want to lose face because of this matter.

However, the construction of a printing factory is not easy. It is not a problem that can be solved by simply investing money, but also requires technical support and a professional team.

Zhong Yuemin also knows very well that if they do not have their own printing factory, although their teaching supplementary books can be sold now, in the long run, they will not be able to achieve explosive growth, let alone become bigger.

Printing machines and auxiliary equipment can all be solved with money. But what about typesetting technology? This is a hurdle that cannot be bypassed. Currently, there are only a few companies that have mastered first-class printing and typesetting technology.

Zhong Yuemin thought of Liu Lianxiang. Maybe he could come up with a solution? He decided to give it a try. If it didn't work, he would think about it later.

Looking at the stunned Zhong Yuemin, Xie Min shook him gently and asked with concern, "Hey, Xiao Zhong, what's wrong? Is there any problem?"

Zhong Yuemin came back to his senses and smiled slightly, trying to hide his inner turmoil. "Oh, sister, how many copies have we printed?"

Zhu Jianguo answered excitedly, "One hundred thousand copies! The order payments from many schools have been remitted, and we are just waiting to ship them." There was a gleam in his eyes. The hard work of the past few months was finally paying off. An income of hundreds of thousands was undoubtedly a huge sum of money for their small team.

Yang Li also added, "Many teachers say that the teaching materials we compiled are very good and are now in short supply. We tried them out in the affiliated middle school and the students' response was very good." His face was filled with pride and satisfaction.

Zhong Yuemin didn't want to dampen their enthusiasm, so he changed the subject. "You have classes and are shipping goods, can you handle it?"

Xie Min replied indifferently, "We have our own division of labor. We run back and forth between the printing factory, the post office, and the school. As long as there is money to be made, it's worth the effort."

"That's right, money makes the world go round." Zhu Jianguo said with a smile.

"I feel full of strength now." Yang Li also echoed excitedly, as if he had seen the dawn of victory.