Chapter 49

On Saturday, the weather was nice, with no wind, and the sun occasionally peeked out.

Before the holiday, the last two classes were meetings, summarizing the previous semester and holding an award ceremony.

Feng Yiping originally wanted to hide at the back and enjoy himself, but Wang Yumin specifically asked him to sit in the front row. In a class, only four columns could be seated, and in the front row, besides Feng Yiping, there were Tang Shaokang, who had always been the second-best in grades, and the other two were Huang Jingping and Zhang Qiuling.

As usual, a banner was hung on the two sycamore trees in front of the playground, which read "Liangjiahe Middle School 1992 Upper Semester Summary and Award Ceremony." On the high platform in front of the playground, behind four desks, sat the principal, two vice-principals, and the head of the teaching department. On the central table, a microphone wrapped in red cloth was placed, connected to a loudspeaker hanging on the sycamore tree.

There was no "Athlete's March" played. Amid the occasional "thud" sounds of tractors and three-wheeled vehicles passing by the school gate, the head of the teaching department emphasized the meeting discipline, and then the principal spoke. The principal's speech was still nothing new, of course, in such an occasion, it was quite difficult to come up with something original.

Be lenient after more than twenty years. At that time, some university leaders tried to add new elements to their welcoming speeches for new students, but the results were mixed. These official speeches, you can't expect too much, just be steady and error-free.

After the principal, the two vice-principals, and the head of the teaching department spoke in turn, by the time the microphone returned to the principal, half a class had already passed.

At this point, the principal brought up a topic that made everyone happy. The school had officially decided to build a teaching building and was raising funds from various sources. They had applied for funds to the town education office, county education bureau, town government, and county government, and also sent letters to alumni, hoping they could support the construction of the teaching building to the best of their ability.

When this news was announced, a buzz of excitement rose from the audience. The idea of being able to study in a legendary building excited many students, and even some teachers in the back row smiled.

Tang Shaokang thought differently from others and whispered to Feng Yiping, "It won't be another fundraising, will it?"

His concern was quite normal. At this stage, fundraising activities were common, from the national to the local level.

In 1990, when Feng Yiping was in elementary school, the teacher mobilized donations for the Beijing Asian Games. Although it was called a donation, it was essentially mandatory, with each student contributing 50 cents. For a rural family like Feng Yiping's, 50 cents in 1990 was a significant amount. Feng Yiping remembered that he had to ask his mother and father, and after a night of persuasion, they finally agreed because the teacher required it.

Then, the town built a hydroelectric station, and the entire town was required to contribute, with no exceptions. After that, the county hospital was renovated and expanded, and the county people's square was rebuilt, all of which required another round of fundraising. Of course, the county's fundraising was mainly targeted at those who received salaries from the government.

When Feng Yiping was in a technical secondary school, the city was building a bridge across the river, and all government employees were required to have 10% of their monthly salary deducted to support the construction.

Perhaps because there were too many fundraising activities in those years, and the cuts were too severe, there was a significant backlash. At one point, hundreds of people surrounded the city government, and some even petitioned the provincial government. The matter eventually fizzled out. The bridge was probably built in the early 21st century when the city's financial situation improved.

Similarly, the teaching building of Liangjiahe Middle School, if Feng Yiping's memory served him right, also fizzled out. It wasn't until the end of the century, after he graduated from the technical secondary school and started working, that a three-story teaching building was built. As for the dormitory building, it wasn't built until the 21st century.

Tang Shaokang's father worked for the town government, and he had probably been involved in many fundraising activities in recent years, so he was more sensitive to such matters than the average student.

Feng Yiping, of course, wouldn't tell him not to worry, as this fundraising would also fizzle out. Seeing that Zhang Qiuling, who was sitting next to Tang Shaokang, had stopped whispering to Huang Jingping and was paying attention, he pretended to be surprised and looked at Tang Shaokang, "What's wrong with fundraising? Isn't it necessary? If the school's facilities improve, good teachers might agree to transfer here, which would help improve our grades. Our family understands this."

Tang Shaokang looked at Feng Yiping with doubt, unsure if he was really naive or just pretending to be high-minded. He hesitated, feeling somewhat disdainful, thinking that someone from the countryside was ultimately narrow-minded.

After the leaders spoke, the main event of the meeting began: the award ceremony for the three-good students and outstanding students from each class.

As the only three-good student in Class 1, Grade 1, Feng Yiping was the first to go up to receive his award. The three-good student award was presented by the principal, and this was the first time the principal met Feng Yiping face-to-face. He observed him: Feng Yiping was thin, slightly dark, with short hair and a sharp face. He looked spirited and full of energy. He was wearing a thick coat, a down jacket, and leather shoes, indicating that his family's conditions were not bad.

When Feng Yiping received the award certificate and prize from the principal, he smiled shyly and made eye contact with the principal. Although it was just a brief moment, the principal, a seasoned fox, immediately felt that this student was indeed interesting!

Next, Huang Jingping went up, along with Tang Shaokang and Zhang Qiuling, who were outstanding students. They walked from the same direction, and it seemed they were heading straight for each other. Feng Yiping quickly moved to the left, and Huang Jingping moved to the right, but they still faced each other. Feng Yiping then moved to the right, and Huang Jingping moved to the left, still facing each other.

After a couple of rounds of yielding, they were back to the starting point, and some students below were already laughing. Huang Jingping looked embarrassed. Seeing this, Feng Yiping stood still, raised his right hand, and made a polite gesture, inviting Huang Jingping to go first. She blushed and walked past him, and then he came down.

Zhang Qiuling followed closely behind. As she stood up, she muttered to Feng Yiping, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Tang Shaokang added, "It felt like a wedding ceremony."

Huang Jingping, who had just come down from the stage, heard this and blushed like a big apple, hurriedly sitting down at her seat. Feng Yiping patted Tang Shaokang on the back, "It's your turn, go up quickly."

When Zhang Qiuling came down, she didn't hesitate to compare the prizes with Feng Yiping. The three-good student award included a certificate, a hardcover notebook, and a fountain pen, while the outstanding student award did not include a fountain pen.

Zhang Qiuling flipped through the notebook, "The notebook is the same."

Huang Jingping, who was nearby, looked at the certificate, "His certificate has gold-embossed letters."

Zhang Qiuling checked and found it was true. She was a bit unhappy and pushed the items back to Feng Yiping, "Why is the school so stingy? They should make all the certificates gold-embossed. It wouldn't cost much more."

Feng Yiping smiled at her, "Yes, you should ask your father, the principal, why he's so stingy."

Zhang Qiuling was even more annoyed. Why did she always feel inferior in front of Feng Yiping?

After the awards for all three grades were presented, the student council was supposed to speak, and then the meeting would end. However, there was an additional agenda item today. The head of the teaching department brought out three red certificates, three boxed fountain pens, and three elegant password books.

The principal stood up and said, "Starting this year, the school will add a 'Learning Model' award to recognize students who excel not only in their studies but also in other areas. One student per grade will receive this award. Now, please invite the winners to come up and receive their awards."

The third-grade model student was a girl named Su Qing, whom Feng Yiping remembered as his sister's elementary school classmate. When Feng Yiping was in fourth grade, she was in sixth grade, and they had some interactions. She was particularly good at math and had won several awards in the Mathematical Olympiad.

The second-grade model student was a boy who had represented the school in the county sports meet and won first place in the 1500-meter race.

The first-grade model student was Feng Yiping again. After receiving the certificate and prize from the principal, he was about to go down when the principal smiled and stopped him, "Feng Yiping, although I haven't taught you, I've heard your name many times from other teachers, including those from other schools. How about you say a few words to everyone today, great writer?"

Although it was phrased as a suggestion, the principal had already walked out from behind the table and pulled Feng Yiping to his seat, where the microphone was.

Feng Yiping followed the principal involuntarily, feeling a bit uneasy about the principal's unconventional move. Sitting so casually might be impolite, so he stood up. The principal didn't object, leading the applause and standing beside him. The head of the teaching department, seeing this, quickly brought another chair for the principal.

While the principal was getting the chair, Feng Yiping was nervously thinking about what to say. He stood there, holding the microphone, and started with some thank-you words to buy time, "Thank you to my parents, the principal, all the teachers, and my classmates."

At first, his voice was a bit shaky, but as he spoke, he regained his confidence and spoke steadily and fluently.

Thank you all for your support! Your support is my motivation. In the past two days, the number of clicks has increased, all thanks to your help in promoting it. I am very, very grateful! I am new to this, and I am still not familiar with many functions. Today, I saw that someone has already given me a tip, which moved me deeply. I would like to thank them one by one: akakakakakhf, Xiaotongxue, Lianxingzhe, Book Friend 150413225652625, Light V Holy V Knight, Tianbeiyue. Thank you very much!

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