Chapter 8 Requirements
"Principal, I came here today to ask about my father." Song Yuanchao didn't want to say much about going to college, so he got to the point.
Hearing what Song Yuanchao said, Principal Zhou was stunned at first, then nodded heavily: "In fact, the school has been dealing with these matters these days. I think there will be a satisfactory explanation for Teacher Song's problem."
Song Yuanchao was not surprised by Principal Zhou's words. About a year after Song Yuanchao returned to Shanghai, the matter concerning his father Song Guangzeng was resolved.
At that time, Principal Zhou personally visited Song Yuanchao and announced the news to him in person. At the same time, on behalf of the school, he paid Song Guangzeng a full 17 months' salary totaling 1,054 yuan.
However, Song Yuanchao was an ordinary young man at that time. Because of the death of his parents, he did not have a good impression of the school. Although he knew in his heart at that time that this matter could not be blamed on Principal Zhou, because Principal Zhou himself was a victim back then, the young and energetic Song Yuanchao still could not get over this hurdle in his heart.
So after receiving the back pay from Principal Zhou, Song Yuanchao didn't say much to Principal Zhou. After saying a few cold words, he stood up and left.
Song Yuanchao still remembers the hesitant expression on Principal Zhou's face when he left, and his slightly hunched, somewhat lonely figure as he walked out of the alley. In the long years that followed, Song Yuanchao never dealt with Principal Zhou again, nor did he see this respectable old man again.
Thinking back to the scene of that year, Song Yuanchao felt very sorry for Principal Zhou. He stood up with red eyes, bowed respectfully to Principal Zhou, and solemnly said thank you.
"Son, this is what I should do. You don't need to say thank you. I feel really ashamed. It's my fault that I failed to protect your father." Principal Zhou held Song Yuanchao's arms 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 not something you could control. Now you have done so much for my father. As his son and as your former student, you deserve this thank you!"
Principal Zhou's eyes instantly filled with tears. He slapped Song Yuanchao's arm several times, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.
After sighing for a while, Song Yuanchao helped the excited Principal Zhou to sit down. After a while, he told him the second purpose of his visit today.
When Song Yuanchao told Principal Zhou that he had just returned and had no job yet, and because his father used to be a teacher at the school, he asked if the school could give him a job according to the replacement policy, Principal Zhou did not expect Song Yuanchao to make such a request and was a little surprised.
"Yuan Chao, didn't Uncle Zhou just say that? You have a good foundation. If you study hard for a few months and take the college entrance examination, it will be a good way out. Why are you in such a hurry to find a job?"
"Principal, people have to make a living." Song Yuanchao sighed, his face full of helplessness: "My parents are gone, and my relatives have long stopped visiting. I haven't saved much money in the northwest for so many years. I have to eat when I come back, right? How can I eat without a job and salary?"
"This..." Principal Zhou thought for a moment and said, "Uncle Zhou will help you solve the money problem. You can just stay at home and study hard..."
"Thank you, Principal. I think you know better than me that it is better to teach a man how to fish than to give him a fish. Besides, I have been repairing the earth every day for eight years in the Northwest. I have almost forgotten everything the teacher taught me. Even if I review for a few months and take the college entrance examination, can you guarantee that I can pass it? This road is a bright road , but although it is good, it is not safe for me. It is fundamental for people to be down-to-earth. It is better to solve the work problem first. 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 so logical that for a moment Principal Zhou didn't know how to persuade him anymore.
What Song Yuanchao said makes sense. 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 time reached 11.6 million. But how many of these educated youth and young people could actually get into university?
Just as Song Yuanchao said, many people have already returned all their books to their teachers, and only a few can succeed by cramming for a few months.
The same thing happened in the second college entrance examination in 1978. The ratio between the number of applicants and the final admissions was extremely disparate. And according to this trend, the competition in the college entrance examination will become increasingly fierce in the next few years. This year's college entrance examination will inevitably be different from the previous two, both in terms of the difficulty of the test paper and the admission requirements will be more stringent.
In addition, the key point Song Yuanchao mentioned is his survival issue.
Song Yuanchao's parents have both passed away, and he is alone in Shanghai with no one to rely on. The problems of food, drink, defecation and urination must be solved.
Principal Zhou could certainly help him temporarily and squeeze out some subsidies from his meager salary to Song Yuanchao, but as a lifelong scholar, Principal Zhou naturally understood that emergency assistance should not be used to help the poor.
"But, Aid Korea..." Principal Zhou is a good person, and even more a good teacher and principal, but he didn't know how to persuade them on this matter.
After thinking about it, he finally came up with a solution. He said to Song Yuanchao earnestly, "It's always good to give it a try. If you can get into college, the government will provide subsidies for college students. Although the money is not much, it will not be a problem for you to live. After graduation, you will be assigned a job and your future will be easier. Besides, Uncle Zhou is here, so you don't have to worry about this."
"Principal, I'm not a child anymore. I understand what you said and I'm very grateful, but I still want to rely on myself."
"You, you, why are you so stubborn?" Seeing Song Yuanchao insisting on his own way, Principal Zhou couldn't help but get angry: "You want to find a job, but have you ever thought about it? This is a school! Can you, who haven't even graduated from high school, replace your father as a teacher in the school? Yuanchao, a school is not a company. Not everyone can be a teacher. If you have the ability to be a teacher, why don't you go to college?"
Song Yuanchao smiled. He had known that Principal Zhou would say this, and he had already thought about how to answer this question before coming.
"Principal, you are worrying too much. I have never thought that I could be a teacher in a school. If it was an elementary school teacher, it might be okay, but this is a middle school. With the little knowledge I have, wouldn't it be misleading for the students to be a teacher ?"
"Then you still...?" Song Yuanchao's words stunned Principal Zhou. He was a little confused about what Song Yuanchao was thinking.
"Principal, I remember our school has a school-run factory, right?"
Principal Zhou was stunned for a moment, and seemed to understand Song Yuanchao's plan.
"Teachers are also part of the school's staff, but they are not teachers and do not have to teach students. If possible, I would like to trouble you to help arrange a job for me 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 feature of the times.
Before the 1980s, many schools had their own school-run factories, which belonged to the schools. A small number of employees were on the teaching staff list, while the majority were on the collective staff list.
These school-run factories are small in scale and usually have little technical content. Many of them are similar to or even inferior to street factories.
Many school-run factories were engaged in low-level manual work such as making matchboxes and packaging soap. In the period of unified purchase and sale, such factories had no problem surviving. However, in the period of reform and opening up, with the gradual opening of the market and the booming of private enterprises, the school-run factories that had no competitiveness were naturally eliminated by the times.
