Compared to the principals and teachers in the prestigious schools of big cities, Jiang Cheng suddenly felt that the Zheng Qiu before him was a man truly worthy of praise and respect.
Even for Chen Jin, the president of the university he was currently attending—a man of high status and power—Jiang Cheng had never felt this way.
Seeing that Jiang Cheng was there to show charity, Zheng Qiu enthusiastically led him on a tour of their school.
As they saw, the entire school was only two stories high.
When they went to the second floor, they found it had long been abandoned; the three classrooms had clearly been turned into storage rooms, filled with severely damaged desks.
Zheng Qiu began to explain, "When I first returned to the village to teach over ten years ago, these classrooms weren't abandoned yet. Back then, there were six teachers. We divided the work, with each person teaching one grade. Although we taught seven classes a day and never had a moment's rest, looking back, it was truly a happy time. Every one of us was full of fighting spirit, constantly dreaming of how to help these students improve their grades..."
As he finished, Zheng Qiu couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Behind and to the side of the school was a small earthen house, partitioned into several small rooms.
The lighting in the rooms wasn't very good; it was clearly the Teachers' Dormitory.
Aside from water and electricity, there was only a desk and a set of iron bunk beds.
According to Zheng Qiu, since there was no cafeteria, the teachers who came to volunteer not only had to boil their own water for bathing but also had to cook their own meals.
Such an environment was indeed very poor.
Coupled with the fact that transportation from the village to the county seat wasn't very convenient, buying daily necessities was a huge hassle.
This was also the main reason why the volunteer teachers who came later couldn't stick it out.
Looking at such terrible conditions, Jiang Cheng asked with some emotion.
"Is such a dilapidated school really worth your persistence here? From what you've said, with so many children, only you and Teacher Huang are teaching them now. To be honest, setting aside the issue of whether there's enough instructional time, these children are all crowded into one classroom regardless of age. Not only is the curriculum different, but their learning progress can't be guaranteed. Why not let them go to the schools in the county?"
Hearing this, Zheng Qiu sighed helplessly, "This school has been established for over a hundred years, and I came from here myself. When I was studying here, the school wasn't this dilapidated. The gap between the salaries of volunteer teachers and regular teachers wasn't that large, and everyone's hearts weren't so restless. They were all sincerely burning their youth for the children's future."
Thinking of this, Zheng Qiu led Jiang Cheng out of the Teachers' Dormitory and spoke softly.
"Actually, I've wavered too and thought about leaving. But if I leave, these children from families with difficult conditions will truly have no hope left."
"If this school is gone, their only path is to stay home and help with farming, forever trapped in this small world. Many of these children come from families whose conditions aren't enough to support them boarding at the county schools. By staying here, they at least have a glimmer of hope to touch the outside world through reading and writing."
Looking at the barefoot children running around, Jiang Cheng asked again, "Principal Zheng, I'm curious. With the school in this state, does no one look after it?"
Zheng Qiu understood what Jiang Cheng meant and continued.
"The funds for school repairs are submitted every year, but the country is developing, and money is needed in all aspects..."
He sighed softly again and said, "The environment is one thing, but if people come and can't stay, you can't tie them here. This is an inevitable result of the changing times. Going to the countryside to teach used to be a matter of pride, but nowadays, young people find it hard to look at a salary of four or five thousand. Asking them to huddle in this corner of the world for five years... For all these years, only Teacher Huang and I have managed to persist. But the school environment is just too poor; I'm afraid that eventually even Teacher Huang will..."
After speaking, Zheng Qiu helplessly touched the peeling door frame of the classroom.
Xia Meng's eyes couldn't help but redden upon hearing this.
She grew up here; no one understood the future of these children better than she did.
In this environment, the chances of being as successful as Zheng Qiu and getting into university are slim to none, countable on one hand.
Many people even reuse their notebooks repeatedly, erasing them with an eraser after finishing and using them again.
Coupled with the most critical issue—lack of teaching staff—these children's progress simply cannot be guaranteed.
Under these conditions, wanting to get good grades is nothing but a pipe dream.
"Is this the plight of all Hope Primary Schools in our country?"
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Jiang Cheng truly wouldn't have believed it.
In 2017, the teaching profession was indeed very sought-after.
Although the number of teachers nationwide was saturated, it didn't stop most people from flocking to apply for Teaching Majors.
As long as you could get a Permanent Position, it was an 'Iron Rice Bowl'—the job was very stable.
Setting aside the various subsidies for teachers in big cities, the Housing Provident Fund alone could solve many teachers' home-buying problems.
After the 'involution' in education over the past few years, the salaries for private school teachers have become even more exaggerated, easily reaching over ten thousand, with even more extreme subsidies and performance bonuses.
Quite a few public school teachers have also been attracted by the conditions of private schools and switched jobs.
With tutoring institutions being so prevalent outside, the teaching profession has no trouble finding work at all.
With such good job opportunities outside, asking these people to go to the countryside to volunteer is indeed asking for the impossible.
Zheng Qiu sighed again, seemingly unwilling to talk more about this topic, only saying: "From your accent, you're an outsider, right? To be able to donate your wealth to charity at such a young age, you are a person of great love. On behalf of the children, I thank you..."
An hour later, a black commercial van drove onto the school playground.
Seeing this, Zheng Qiu thought the supplies Jiang Cheng sent had arrived and couldn't help but look delighted.
Unexpectedly, after the car stopped, the back door opened, and a Middle-aged Man with slightly dark skin and wearing a black business jacket stepped out... The Middle-aged Man was holding a small leather clutch bag, and after getting out, he began to look around... Upon seeing Jiang Cheng, a smile immediately plastered across his face, and he walked quickly toward him.
The Middle-aged Man stood still in front of Jiang Cheng, extended his hand, and introduced himself: "Hello, you must be Mr. Jiang. I am Qi Hong, the Bank Manager of the county's Investment Promotion Sub-branch. It is an honor to meet you..."
Hearing his introduction, Jiang Cheng immediately understood what was going on...