Mixed in 1980

Chapter 486 Searching for Xu Jinqiu

The reason why a simple, even rudimentary video can go viral is simple: it instantly triggers many people's memories.

"My alma mater is also Xinghuo Hope Primary School."

"My goodness, it turns out that the primary school in our village was built by a private individual. I always thought it was a Hope Primary School built by Project Hope."

"I haven't seen the primary school, but there is a teaching building in both the junior high and high school, called Xinghuo Teaching Building, and it is also signed by Xu Jinqiu."

"Could she have built all of them?"

Once the ink cartridge of memory is opened, it cannot be closed. Like an infectious disease, one ordinary person after another starts posting videos online.

It's either Xinghuo Hope Primary School or Xinghuo Teaching Building. People keep writing in the comments section: "This is the 102nd Xinghuo Hope Primary School I've seen."

"I specifically searched and found 369 results."

"The Xinghuo Teaching Building has been updated to number 98."

……

How many Xinghuo Hope Primary Schools are there, and how many Xinghuo teaching buildings are there? In response to this question, some bloggers have actually gone to the trouble of counting.

The blogger named "Amu" did just that. He created a spreadsheet, constantly recording names, checking for duplicates, and updating it every 3 hours.

By the evening of the second day, the count had reached 2135 Xinghuo Hope Primary Schools and 1856 Xinghuo teaching buildings—a truly alarming number.

The CCTV Douyin account also liked his video and commented: "Great job, keep up the good work on statistics, surprises await you."

Netizens were amused by the news, commenting that the usually meticulous central government had never been so playful. It also indirectly suggests that the central government was aware of the situation.

So, a group of people went to leave a message.

The CCTV Douyin account responded with, "They won't let us report on it, there's nothing we can do," along with a sad emoji.

Not only the central government, but also the propaganda department is frustrated.

Any one of the charities run by the Chen family could be excellent publicity material, full of positive energy; they've wanted to do this for a long time.

But the Chen family just wouldn't allow it.

They had their own ideas after Chen Yanyin came out to expose the truth. You've already exposed yourselves, so you can't stop us from reporting on it, can you?

As a result, they just wouldn't allow it. The higher-ups even asked someone they knew, but Chen Fan only replied, "I still want to have a few days of peace and quiet, don't mess with me."

If everyone uses the word "rectify," who would dare to report it?

It's great now. They don't even need to report it. Netizens will spontaneously uncover the truth. Once the secret becomes common knowledge, the Chen family won't be able to stop them.

And that's how this scene came about.

This fueled netizens' curiosity, leading to a continuous stream of participants, like a relay race, with new schools and teaching buildings being revealed every few minutes.

"Are you just bored out of your mind?"

Chen Yanyin also frequently sees this, and her lips twitch involuntarily. She deliberately didn't say anything before, but netizens still dug it up.

They continued digging in this way: "Fine, now I can't hide it anymore. I don't care, I'll just pretend I didn't see it. Anyway, I'm not going out."

She doesn't go out, but Chen Yanxi has to go to work.

As soon as she entered the office, a group of colleagues crowded around her, their eyes shining: "Yanxi, tell us!"

"What did you say?" Chen Yanxi asked innocently.

A female colleague reached out and pinched her cheek: "Princess, tell me, how many schools and teaching buildings has your family built?"

Chen Yanxi shrugged: "My second aunt is in charge of it all. How would I know? And they're building it every year. I bet she doesn't even know how many there are."

"Still pretending with us."

The female colleague's eyes darted around, and she teased, "Princess, you know, when people's curiosity isn't satisfied, they'll do some unexpected things. You wouldn't want us to talk nonsense, would you? What if it gets to you..."

Chen Yanxi was both amused and exasperated: "Can you keep it a secret?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Chen Yanxi smiled wryly and said, "I don't know the specifics either, but there should be more than 10,000 Xinghuo Hope Primary Schools in total, and there should be teaching buildings as well."

Upon hearing this, the office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

What does it mean to build more than 10,000 primary schools? If calculated based on current construction costs, just considering the cost of building and facilities, it would cost between 3 million and 15 million yuan.

There are also primary and secondary school teaching buildings, each costing several hundred to tens of millions of yuan.

How much money will be donated?

The female colleague lightly slapped herself, her eyes gleaming: "Yan Xi, how much money did it cost to build all these schools and teaching buildings?"

Chen Yanxi explained, "Actually, it's not too bad. It was started in 83. In mountainous areas with sparse populations in the south, a primary school only costs 5 or 10 yuan, and a larger one only costs 20 yuan."

"In 1983, my dad's salary was 56 yuan."

A middle-aged male colleague chimed in: "Back then, there were no households in our town with 10,000 yuan in their pockets, and even bicycles were a rare sight. How much is 50,000 yuan worth now?"

My female colleague said, "I know that. Back then, a house in Tuanjiehu, Beijing, cost 3 yuan, which was equivalent to buying almost two houses within the Third Ring Road." Then, a group of colleagues started doing the math.

Anyway, they were shocked. How much money must one have to build so many schools and teaching buildings? How much determination must one have to donate so much money?

The look in my eyes towards Chen Yanxi was inexplicably filled with more respect. The eldest princess of a charitable family was so down-to-earth, teaching at the school just like an ordinary person.

It's unimaginable.

Just then, things changed again online. A video was posted by a female college student. In the video, she had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing clothes that were obviously from a street stall.

"Hello everyone, I am a student at Xiamen University."

“My father became disabled due to work-related injury, and our family has always been poor. We had to borrow money from relatives to pay for his college tuition and living expenses.”

"But I'm lucky."

“After starting school, my counselor asked me to apply for the Xu Jinqiu Scholarship, which I successfully received. The tuition fees were all covered by the Xu Jinqiu Scholarship, and I also received 800 yuan per month for living expenses.”

"I think it's correct to call her Aunt Xu. Thank you, Aunt Xu!"

Many college students saw this video and immediately commented that many universities offer the Xu Jinqiu Scholarship, which is known as the most difficult scholarship to apply for.

Even so, many people were able to apply.

Then, another group of college students and graduates who had received scholarships posted videos, once again stirring up the buzz.

As noon approached and it was almost time to leave work, Chen Yanxi's colleagues gathered around her again: "Princess, just how much charity work has your family done?"

"I really don't know," Chen Yanxi said with a wry smile.

Seeing that his colleagues didn't believe him, Chen Yanxi touched his nose: "Building the school and the scholarship were integrated. The scholarship started in 1984, but I really don't know the specifics."

The story then takes us back to 1984.

In Dali, a woman in her forties sits in the courtyard of a guesthouse and posts a video on her Douyin account, which boasts 800 million followers.

"Hello everyone, I am Ai Qing!"

"Today we won't talk about homestays or travel. Today we'll talk about the story between me and Sister Xu Jinqiu."

"That was in 1984, I was 7 years old."

“At that time, the village’s private primary school had already closed because it had no teachers. In fact, even if there were teachers, I wouldn’t be able to go to school.”

“My family can’t even afford to eat, let alone send me to school.”

"That spring, a construction team came to the village and started building a school. You may have guessed it already, it's Xinghuo Hope Primary School."

"That same year, an older sister came to visit."

"An exceptionally beautiful woman. She had her hair in a long ponytail and wore a white shirt with a beautiful drape. She looked delicate and fragile, like a fairy."

"She is coming."

“She gave us candy, played with us, and even asked us to take her mushroom picking. But then something terrible happened: when we came back from picking mushrooms, she stole all of our mushrooms.”

"Seriously, it's absolutely awful."

"She even laughed at us, calling us silly kids, and said that she ran off with the mushrooms. We kids couldn't catch up at all, and several of us started crying."

"I still remember it to this day: a pretty woman in a white shirt, like a bandit, stole our mushrooms."

We were all very sad that day.

“When we got home, our family told us that we could go to school from now on, because the lady in the white shirt was sponsoring our schooling.”

"When I first started elementary school, it cost 5 yuan a month."

"When I was in fifth grade, the price increased to 10 yuan, and when I went to junior high school, it increased to 30 yuan. Later, when I went to high school and then to university, she sponsored my tuition and living expenses."

“My life changed because the mushrooms were taken away. If it weren’t for her, I might have married someone randomly when I was fifteen or sixteen, just like many other girls.”

"University? Impossible. Cities are too far away from me. I might spend my whole life in a remote mountain village, farming and raising children, with no end in sight."

"who is she?"

"As you can guess, yes, it's Sister Xu Jinqiu. She's really, really beautiful. In all these years, I've never seen a woman more beautiful than her."

"No female star on TV or in movies can compare to her."

"Sister Xu Jinqiu, can you see this?"

"The mushrooms in Dali have grown again. When you have time, come back and visit. My friends and I have been thinking of you."

"I hope to see you again."

"Thank you!" After saying that, he bowed to the camera and didn't straighten up for a long time.

(End of this chapter)