Literary Master 1983

Chapter 412 You've really put me through a lot (Part 2)

Sun Yushi said excitedly, "Comrades! From now on, if you have any ideas about the use of the budget, you can raise them in the meetings. We will definitely live up to your trust and do our best to serve you!"

The secretariat's ingenious function lies in the fact that, although everyone has the right to make suggestions, the secretariat ultimately decides which suggestions are formally discussed and adopted.

In other words, despite Yu Qie's best efforts to prevent it, he still had the power to veto the budget.

Yu Qie is really insane; the waters at Yanda University are too deep. It's just a meeting, why am I being given so much more responsibility?

Why don't you believe I don't care about this million Hong Kong dollars?
You people have really caused me a lot of trouble!

He immediately announced, "I am not qualified for these administrative tasks and am not good at them," and intended to resign from his position as deputy secretary-general. However, after careful consideration, the entire academic committee insisted that he take the position.

This was Yu Qie's first resignation.

At the time, many members of the academic committee mainly elected Yu Qie out of consideration for Sun Yushi, and did not genuinely believe that Yu Qie should lead them.

After all, a deputy secretary-general in his early twenties is simply astonishing!

The Chinese Literature Department now boasts a large number of renowned scholars in their seventies and eighties, making it perhaps the department with the most severe "aging" problem among all colleges. Yu Qie is even younger than their children and grandchildren.

Not long after, something happened: the school was short of funds and wanted to divert a portion of the Chinese Department's "Hong Kong dollar donations". When Principal Ding Lei asked Sun Yu what he thought about it.
Sun Yushi naturally dared not refuse, yet was unwilling to agree. So he called a meeting and asked, "Comrades, the school wants this money from us. What should we do?"
The crowd looked at each other, and when they started to discuss it, it was nothing more than the nonsense that "circumstances are stronger than people."

Yu Qie was furious upon hearing this: The donor's wish was simply to give the money to the Chinese Literature Department, that was all, and you've already distorted it?! That's really overkill!

I absolutely will not allow any misappropriation!

Historically, this donation by Cha Liangyong to the Chinese Department was only the first one. He would donate tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars later until Yenching University was moved and specially established the "Cha Liangyong Chinese Studies Fund" for him.

Ding Lei and Sun's misappropriation of funds, while seemingly for the greater good, is in fact a short-sighted act.

Yu Qie stormed into the principal's office and caused a scene, beating Ding Leisun mercilessly. Ding Leisun, being a kind-hearted man, couldn't take it anymore and said, "Your college took so much of the donation. I was called here by other colleges to find a solution. Can't I support the other colleges?"

"This isn't about whether or not to provide support! It's a matter of basic morality. Do you even know what a charitable foundation is? First and foremost, you should respect the wishes of the donors!"

“Yu Qie, a million Hong Kong dollars is no small sum. If you offend professors from other colleges, what will happen in the future…”

Ding Leisun originally wanted to ask what would happen to you in the future, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that Yu Qie didn't seem to care. So he said, "You don't need to do anything. Just let things happen. Your relationship with Cha Liangyong wasn't good to begin with... Even if he finds out in the future, he won't think you did anything wrong."

"Because it's the proper procedure, you can't decide that. He won't blame you."

“Why can’t I make a decision?” Yu Qie said. “If anyone thinks I have ‘offended’ them, let them come to me. I’m not afraid of ten of them, even if they come with all their tricks!”

Seeing that Yu Qie's attitude was so firm, Ding Lei had no choice but to give up his idea.

School is just the first round.

The second round involves the Ministry of Education.

In the 1980s, universities were severely lacking in funding, especially for international exchanges.

Cha Liangyong donated Hong Kong dollars, which were essentially "US dollar vouchers" and could be considered equivalent to over ten thousand US dollars. Consequently, some people set their sights on this sum, intending to exchange it for RMB at the official exchange rate of 1:0.8.

One Hong Kong dollar cannot be exchanged for one Chinese yuan.

However, due to various reasons, this exchange rate could not actually be achieved. According to overseas Chinese, the actual exchange rate on the market was 48 Hong Kong dollars to 100 RMB, which has remained unchanged since the 50s.

In 94, China's exchange rate reform aimed to bring it closer to the market level, but as soon as the reform was completed, the official exchange rate immediately plummeted.

With this back and forth, less than half of the million-dollar donation was lost.

It was still Yu Qie who came up with a solution. This time, he didn't make a scene or complain while playing bridge; instead, he went directly to Mr. He, who was in charge of education.
"Mr. He, why did you embezzle this money?"

Old He was ashamed to find Yu Qie, who had come to him unexpectedly: "The Ministry of Education is sending a group of government-sponsored students abroad, each receiving $10,000 a year, including $6,000 for tuition and $4,000 for living expenses. We are still short of more than $100,000—this is exactly the amount we need."

Which university? I've never heard of it.

Under repeated questioning, Professor He said, "Shuimu University."

Yu Qie remained calm, then suddenly said, "Then I have a question for you. Are the government-sponsored students at Tsinghua University considered human beings? Are the students in the Chinese Department of Peking University considered human beings?"

Mr. He was speechless when asked the question.

After a moment, he compromised: "Yuqie, I know it's not fair to you to exchange it for RMB. How about this, one million for two million? Let's do it according to the actual exchange rate."

"If you can persuade Cha Liangyong, I will naturally agree."

Why would Cha Liangyong pay him any attention? Although this man had been humiliated by Yu Qie, every time he came to the mainland, he was always accompanied by Qiao Gong.

Cha Liangyong is a martial arts master from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong! Everyone used to have a copy of his book by their bedside.

In the end, Professor He could only try to smooth things over: "National education is a grand scheme, and overall planning is the natural course of action. The Chinese Department studies Chinese, so it doesn't need to go abroad or use experimental equipment... Why should so much money be taken away? I think this money is more than enough to spend, it really is more than enough."

“You’re wrong!” Yu said. “Our foundations used to be publicly run, with the government involved. So we treated them as our own slush funds, just moving money from one pocket to another. There was no need for marketization, and we didn’t particularly respect any of the donors.”

"At a single command, employees of government agencies enthusiastically donate money. Is this charity? Yes, it is. But private foundations cannot operate in this way. Maintaining operations is a matter of life and death, and the wishes of donors must be respected."

At this point, Yu Qie suddenly had an idea: "Not only can the money not be misappropriated, but we must also keep a record of where the money was used, when it was used, and even things like buying a pack of instant noodles for a few cents, so that people can be convinced of its authenticity."

Yu Qie rejected the education department's proposal. Upon his return, he immediately became the powerful deputy secretary-general, surpassing even Sun Yushi.

The committee's teachers suddenly realized that without Yu Qie, they couldn't hold onto the money.

Professor He was not the kind of easygoing person who could be swayed by a few words; on the contrary, he was ruthless and iron-fisted. When the president of Jiangnan University in the south implemented a "credit system" reform, it angered veteran teachers. The president threatened to resign, and the situation escalated all the way to the north. Professor He directly forced the university president to step down!

It is clear that Yu Qie has more prestige than the presidents of top-tier universities.

Or rather, it's more destructive.

Sun Yushi said to Yu Qie, "Professor Yu, you definitely didn't convince him with reason! In the end, it was because of your influence."

Yu Qie didn't care whether his reasoning was convincing or not; as long as it didn't bother him, that was fine.

However, Yu Qie was surprised after hearing this: Jiang University? Isn't that the school where my sister Yu Xian goes?

The principal has changed?
Jiangcheng, the city's top university, has recently been embroiled in some turmoil.

The current principal is Liu Daoyu, who knows that his time at the university is coming to an end and that he will be dismissed soon, according to a friend.

Liu Daoyu was always at the forefront of educational reform. In the 1970s, Liu Daoyu served as the director of the Education Department. During his tenure, he reinstated the college entrance examination (he was one of the first to suggest it). Today, this historic move has produced Yu Qie as its most representative figure.

Yu Qie became a member of the "Dream Generation" after the college entrance examination. Without the college entrance examination, Yu Qie might have struggled in his small county town for even longer. His success convinced the education sector that it truly could change his destiny.

However, Liu Daoyu acted too hastily. Although his reforms were praised, they also made many people dissatisfied.

Last year, a student at Jiangcheng University had his degree revoked due to poor grades. The student believed the curriculum was unreasonable and requested an appeal. Liu Daoyu supported the student's appeal, which completely offended the senior professors, and the situation has now escalated beyond repair.

Liu Daoyu did not regret his decision. During his tenure, many geniuses emerged at Jiangda University: for example, a male student in the Computer Science Department was very smart and planned to complete a four-year course in two years before applying to graduate early; there was also a female student in the Mathematics Department who started a business while studying, reselling CDs around Jiangcheng University and opening an "electronic supermarket".

At other universities, they certainly wouldn't receive much support from the school.

At Jiangda University, this is possible because their president is Liu Daoyu.

Liu Daoyu called the two students over and said a few words to them. "You two are a bit unconventional, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Keep it up, and try to prove yourselves in the future."

Both students were somewhat apprehensive.

They only knew that the principal was not doing well recently, but they didn't know that he was going to be dismissed. At this moment, Liu Daoyu's sigh made them feel that this was probably the last time they would see the principal.

Liu Daoyu recalled the inside story he had heard not long ago: Old He was turned away by Yu Qie and didn't receive a single penny of the million-dollar donation. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Do you young people all like Yu Qie? I like his drive the most! As long as you have the truth, you have nothing to fear no matter where you go in the world."

"Don't be afraid of making mistakes! Keep learning and keep improving. Everyone makes mistakes in their life, and you are still so young."

"Let's learn from Comrade Yu Qie!"

Then Liu Daoyu saw that the female student from the mathematics department had an expression that said, "I didn't."

"You're Yu Xian, right? The guy next to you is Lei Jun. I can tell he really admires Yu Qie. Why don't you have that? What, you're not convinced?"

Yu Xian spoke frankly: "The person you're talking about is my own brother. I've even seen him wearing open-crotch pants. I don't know what's so admirable about him."

Liu Daoyu wasn't particularly surprised. As the principal, he naturally knew that Yu Qie's younger sister was studying at Jiangcheng University.

This Spring Festival, Liu Daoyu received a New Year's greeting letter from Yu Qie. The letter did not contain a single word asking how Yu Xian was doing, but instead sent him the original manuscript of his novel "College Entrance Examination 1977".

Sending such a valuable gift is certainly a way of hoping that Liu Daoyu will take good care of Yu Xian.

Moreover, Yu Qie was a beneficiary of Liu Daoyu's position in the education department back then, and the original manuscript of this novel that he sent was imbued with some romantic sentiment.

Throughout his life, Liu Daoyu hoped to discover geniuses and prevent education from becoming too rigid.

His gaze fell upon Yu Xian in front of him.

“Yu Xian!” Liu Daoyu said, “Do you want to pursue further studies? If you go abroad in the future, I naturally can’t help you much. But if you want to go to Peking University, I recommend you go there and be with Yu Qie. His words carry weight.”

"Is my brother really that amazing?" Yu Xian asked.

Liu Daoyu's expression was complicated: "Look, that's how it is. How long has it been since you last saw him? The less you know, the less you take it seriously; if you knew something like me, you would understand that your brother is very capable."

"This Spring Festival, I received a letter from the Chinese Department of Yenching University, addressed to Yu Qie... Don't laugh at me, but at my age, my heart skipped a beat! I was just that excited!"

At this moment, the boy next to him kept nodding.

Yu Xian blushed a little at what the principal said and didn't refute him anymore. Instead, he asked, "So you two had been in contact in private? I didn't go home this year, and my family took turns calling me, but he didn't answer at all... I thought he didn't care about me."

Liu Daoyu laughed heartily and escorted the two students downstairs before leaving.

As soon as the principal left, the boy cautiously asked, "Senior, is Professor Yu your...your older brother?"

"What, do you need to see him?"

"How could I dare to contact him? I was just asking."

"Then I'll just listen."
-
The School of Humanities held another staff meeting, where several senior professors expressed their admiration for Secretary-General Yu's recent work.

It's a done deal for him to become the deputy secretary-general of the academic committee; he can't resign now!

Yu Qie had no choice but to say, "I won't give any special consideration to any suggestions; it's mainly up to Director Sun to decide."

Sun Yushi gave a meaningful, yet comical, look. He believed that once Yu Qie had this power, he wouldn't be able to refuse. He would definitely use his power very soon.

Sure enough, bad news soon followed in literary circles—national treasure-level professor Shen Congwen was hospitalized and suspected that his days were numbered.

A group of employees hoped to allocate funds to provide humanitarian care for Shen Congwen, so that if he were to pass away, his funeral could be arranged with dignity; however, many others felt it was unnecessary, arguing that a dying person was less important than a living one.

This matter will be decided by Yu Qie.

Yu Qie suddenly realized: Shen Congwen really didn't have many days left to live. This Chinese writer, who was most famous in the West in the late 1970s, was approaching the end of his life.

Shen Congwen's biggest regret is that he has never been truly wealthy, nor even owned a decent house. As a young man struggling in Beijing, he was so poor that he had to buy food on credit and sometimes went three days without a proper meal! He finally achieved great success, but then…

Before the Lunar New Year, the central government granted him a high-rise apartment near Chongwenmen. Shen Congwen moved in happily, but after only a few months, he was hospitalized again.

Starting in 85, he was repeatedly hospitalized, but each time he miraculously survived. He had intermittent periods of good health. At his worst, he bled for more than twenty days, and everyone thought Shen Congwen was going to die, but he recovered soon afterward.

This time, Shen Congwen's luck ran out.

(End of this chapter)