Siheyuan: Learning to be the sixth

The convoy was driving on a winding dirt road. Once the front car passed by, the cars behind had to eat dirt.

"Zhu Zi, this dirt road was dug out by people from nearby villages using their hoes during the winter when they were not busy with farming."

This reminded He Yuzhu of a sentence used in the Doubaba video of later generations to describe farmers: farmers feed all the people in the city, providing them with social security and pensions, but they themselves get nothing when they get old.

So He Yuzhu has always told his children that you can be ignorant of farming or not engage in farming, but you cannot underestimate farming.

"Brother Liu, you are a good official."

"Zhu Zi, I am not. I also want to transfer more resources to the old district, but there are too many obstacles. My voice is not influential enough."

The topic was very heavy, and both of them fell silent for a while, silently looking at the pine trees on the mountains on both sides of the road, until they reached the primary school where Liu Yuntian's second brother Liu Yunsheng was teaching.

The car slowly drove into the campus, which was not big. A few dilapidated tile houses were classrooms, and the playground was also a piece of yellow land. A group of children gathered around curiously, with simple eyes and a desire for knowledge.

He Yuzhu got off the car and saw the children's thin clothes, and felt sad. Liu Yunsheng greeted them warmly and said, "Comrade He, welcome to come here. The conditions here are difficult, but the children are very enthusiastic about learning."

Walking into a classroom, the desks and chairs were all patchwork and the blackboard was uneven. He Yuzhu couldn't help asking, "Brother Yunsheng, how is the teaching staff?" Liu Yunsheng shook his head helplessly, "There are only a few of us teaching, and the courses are not complete. Music and art classes are basically not available."

At this time, a little girl timidly walked up to He Yuzhu and handed him a painting of a simple classroom and a smiling teacher. He Yuzhu's eyes moistened, and he was determined to do something practical for this school. He turned to Liu Yuntian and said, "Brother Liu, let's go back and discuss how to improve this place." Liu Yuntian nodded heavily.

The three of them came to Liu Yunsheng's office.

"Brother Yunsheng, don't the children in school have winter vacation?"

"Zhu Zi, why don't you have a winter vacation? It's just that the children want to study hard. Their conditions are poor, and if they don't work hard to make up for their shortcomings, they won't be able to narrow the gap with the city children."

Diligence can make up for lack of talent and man can conquer nature. They have such noble qualities at such a young age, which further strengthened He Yuzhu's determination to help them realize their dreams.

"Brother Liu, Brother Yunsheng, to be honest, I also took advantage of the reform to become wealthy. I set up a He Foundation in Beijing. I want to help the children in the old districts. The first phase of funding is about 3 million. I want to use 2 million of it to improve the school environment, and the other 1 million as a subsidy for volunteer teachers."

The two Liu brothers never expected that He Yuzhu would quietly give them such a big surprise.

"Zhuzi (brother), are you telling the truth?"

He Yuzhu looked at the expectant eyes of the two Liu brothers and nodded heavily.

"Brother Liu, Brother Yunsheng, what I said is true, but you have to come up with a plan for me, and I will send someone to cooperate with you."

"Brother Zhuzi, you don't need to subsidize us teachers. We have our own salaries. You should invest the one million into the school."

He Yuzhu admires Liu Yunsheng's selflessness but does not support him.

"Brother Yunsheng, we are not outsiders. Although your idea is very noble, you can't blindly sacrifice your own family for the sake of everyone. Not all teachers have the backing of Brother Liu like you. You have to let them have no worries, so that they can calm down and teach the children better, and attract more volunteer teachers."

Liu Yuntian's vision is much broader than Liu Yunsheng's.

"Second brother, Zhuzi is right. Think about why your elementary school has had so many teachers over the years, but you can't keep them. You don't mind a tough environment, but the meager salary is really not enough to support a family."

Liu Yunsheng thought about it and realized that this was the case. All his salary had to be used to subsidize his family, who was really poor. The living expenses of his family, young and old, were all funded by his eldest brother. When he thought about it, he realized that he had taken it for granted.

"Brother Liu, I think Brother Yunsheng should set an example. First of all, he should use his salary to support his family. This way, it will be more convincing. Otherwise, if people hear that the deputy governor's brother has to rely on aid to survive, they will not dare to come even if they are willing."

Liu Yuntian looked at He Yuzhu with gratitude. He knew that another important reason why his parents returned to the mountain area was that they were afraid that Liu Yuntian would ignore the family and only care about his students. His considerate wife would inevitably develop a rift over the years and their family would be separated.

So he didn't give Liu Yunsheng any chance to refute.

"Zhu Zi, on behalf of the people in the old district, I thank you. From now on, Yun Sheng's salary will be given to his sister-in-law, except for a small portion left for him, and all the subsidies will be given to her so that she can live a good life at home."

Liu Yunsheng also knew that he was in the wrong. Come to think of it, he was just an ordinary person and could not change the fate of everyone, so he just did his best.

They had almost finished discussing the main business, and He Yuzhu finally brought it up.

"Brother Liu, it's getting late. You should take me to visit my uncle and aunt."

"Okay, Zhuzi, it's just that the rural environment is simple, please forgive me."

"Brother Liu, look at what you said. I like the atmosphere of the countryside."

The two elderly people had already learned about the arrival of He Yuzhu's family through a phone call.

(Liu Yuntian paid for the phone so that he could contact his parents at any time.)

"Uncle and aunt, hello, I am He Yuzhu, and this is my eldest son He Xiao. I will be your grandson-in-law in the future."

"Hello, Grandpa and Grandma~"

The two elderly people are over 70 years old, but they have a good eye for people.

"Boss, you found a good in-law, and Ranran found a good husband."

"Here, this is the red envelope that grandpa and grandma prepared for you. It's not much money, but it's a token of our love. I wish you a happy and harmonious life together."

At this moment, Liu Yunsheng remembered that he had not yet given a red envelope to his nephew's husband, so he looked at his wife with a blushing face.

Liu Yunsheng's daughter-in-law Wang Yunxia is a typical peasant woman.

"Boss, we only have eight dollars left. I'll pack six and leave two for emergencies. Is that okay?"

Hearing this, Liu Yunsheng felt a pang of sadness. It turned out that life at home had become so stressful.

"Wife, let's do this. From now on, I'll give you my salary for safekeeping. Just give me some living expenses."

Wang Yunxia was also stunned when she heard this. She didn't know what had stimulated her man to say such a thing, but she knew him and it didn't seem like he was lying.