On this warm southern early winter weekend, a WeChat conversation with a student who was graduating for the 22nd year made me feel warmer and richer. Although Su Shi said, "If you look at what has changed, you will see that heaven and earth cannot last a moment." It reminds me that everything in the world is fleeting, but I am still willing to believe that love is eternal! Only love, everlasting, would rather take root in autumn and spring again.
In the 1990s, there were not so many student aid programs in society, and there were indeed many students from poor families on campus. Hui'an was a famous backwater in the past, as can be seen from its nickname "Digua County". However, Hui'an people are well aware of the belief that "the barren land is planted with pines and cypresses, and the poor children of the family study." No matter how tight the economy is, they must find ways to let their children study.
This student on WeChat is such a typical example. He is from Houlong, Quangang (students who were admitted to No. 1 Middle School before Quangang was divided into districts can come to Hui'an to study). When he was in high school in Hui'an No. 1 Middle School, he had an older brother who was in high school in his hometown middle school, and a younger sister who was in high school. When I was in junior high school, my parents did not have a fixed income, so one can imagine their financial embarrassment. He came to my class when he was divided into classes in the second year of high school. At that time, there were several classmates with similar family situations in the class. After I learned about the situation, I set up a "love fund" in the class. I took the lead in donating money and also mobilized my family members. Then the classmates donated anonymously and without limit. The money raised was managed by the life committee. I have forgotten how to deal with it specifically, but it is certain that this love must have illuminated their world at some point. .
Later, when he was registering for the first semester of his third year of high school, he told me that his family could not afford to register, so I decided to use my own money to advance his tuition fees so that he could study with peace of mind. Later, he was admitted to Zhejiang University, and several of his classmates were admitted to prestigious universities in Beijing and Nanjing. I tried many ways to apply for subsidies for them to help them pay for their travel expenses, which seemed expensive at the time. At that time, his family's pressing needs should have been more or less solved. In the same year, his elder brother was admitted to Zhangzhou Normal University and his sister was admitted to Quanzhou Normal University. This should be what he mentioned on WeChat, but he didn't expect that he could still remember it so deeply after more than twenty years.
During my first summer vacation in college, I saw a small advertisement he published for tutoring around No. 1 Middle School. His math and English skills were super good, and given his status as a student in Hui’an, For high school graduates and current students at Zhejiang University, it is easy to find service targets. He can already use his knowledge to change the fate of his family! Later he told me that during that summer he earned enough money to pay for his and his sister’s tuition, and also bought a violin for his sister who was studying in normal school (roughly, I can’t remember the specific details).
We have been in contact through text messages, and his greeting text messages always arrive as scheduled during holidays. One year before the Spring Festival, he suddenly showed up at my house when he was already working. There were no high-speed trains or high-speed rails at that time. He took the train all night and got off at Fuzhou Station, took a bus home, and came to my house before going home. I remember that he was busy with work at that time and brought me a cup of Longjing tea as a gift. I still remember the mellow aroma of Longjing tea that penetrated my heart and spleen. That time he told me that all three of their brothers and sisters were working, their family had built a building, and their lives were gradually getting better.
Later, we all followed him from the air and occasionally interacted in the class group. He was unable to attend several small-scale class gatherings because he was working outside. Unexpectedly, he suddenly sent such a message to me the day before yesterday. Me, it makes me feel like I have returned to the old days.
During this Mid-Autumn Festival, I received a gift from a student who lives and works in Beijing - a box of rice flower-scented pastries and a roast duck from Quanjude. He said that he was in poor health when he was studying, so I gave them to him. He cares a lot. Once I met a girl from the class of 1995 who was also a teacher at school. She recalled fondly that she was sick in the boarding house at that time. I, who was not the head teacher, took her to the hospital for medical treatment. She was very grateful. Now she also passes on this love. Go down and care for her students. A boy from the class of 1999 in the Fuzhou alumni group (someone told me that I am not in the group) recalled that I was worried that he would not pass the Chinese language exam, so I always helped him make up lessons voluntarily after school...
Last night, some students working in Hui'an had a dinner party and invited me to attend. I happily went. During the dinner, a "memory expert" recalled many details of those years, which was very heart-warming. I heard them counting the names of a certain classmate who became a "flying knife in the air" "(The myth of surgery in a certain field), a certain classmate has become the backbone of his field... This is what I like to see the most as a teacher. Since I couldn't ride a bike after drinking, a student volunteered to walk across half of the county to take me home. He also said that "walking can relieve hangovers" so that I had no mental burden. Walking downstairs of Haixi Building, he said, "Teacher, thank you for helping me a lot before the college entrance examination." I really couldn't remember anything. He said, "It doesn't matter if the teacher doesn't remember, I just keep remembering it myself." !" Then, he walked me to the door of the house and watched me open the door and go in before turning around and leaving.
To be honest, I never thought about asking for anything in return when I did these things. I always felt that this was what I should do at that time. I didn’t expect that the students gave me such generous feedback. .