Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 153 Class One
The Spring Festival of 1980 was much more lively than in previous years, with firecrackers being set off several times more frequently. The "revolutionary and militant" Spring Festival was abolished, and the Spring Festival holiday was generally reinstated nationwide this year.

The notice that there would be no holiday for the Spring Festival began in 1967 and lasted for more than a decade. Even during the winter when it was impossible to work in the fields, the production team still had to "grasp revolution and promote production".

Early in the morning, Liu Fuqing returned from across the Kuye River, his hands behind his back, holding a smoking pipe. Yang Xiuyun was preparing things for Liu Yiguo, urging him to go see his partner who was spending the New Year with him.

"Take more, it's not easy for a young girl to spend the New Year alone. We have plenty of things at home, it's not like we don't have enough." Yang Xiuyun packed things while teaching Liu Yiguo how to chat with her.

Liu Yiguo patted his new clothes and said with a smile, "Mom, I'm not stupid, I know how to say it."

Seeing that Yang Xiuyun was still babbling on and on, Liu Yiguo gave her a pleading look, and Liu Yimin said with a smile, "Mother, this is my eldest brother talking to a girl. Maybe he'll be more talkative when he meets her."

Yang Xiuyun tied the items to the bicycle, tightened the rope tightly, and only felt relieved after shaking it to make sure it wouldn't wobble.

“I’ve walked more roads than you’ve eaten salt. Your father and I have been together for decades. We’ve never talked about love, but we know how to live together.”

As Liu Yiguo pushed his bicycle away from home, Liu Xiuyun chased after him and said, "Take me out for a walk in the park, see a movie or something. City people love watching movies, so don't be stingy with the money."

Liu Yimin quickly came to Liu Yiguo's rescue, saying, "Father, Mother, you stay home. I'll go see my older brother off!"

After seeing Liu Yimin off at the brigade entrance, Liu Yiguo looked at Liu Yimin's frostbitten nose and ears and said with a smile, "Hurry up and go back. Our parents just love to worry. I'm not bad at talking to people."

"Okay, this is just a small token of my appreciation." Liu Yimin said with a grin, handing Liu Yiguo a note.

Liu Yiguo unfolded the note, puzzled. After reading the words on it, he blushed and shouted at Liu Yimin, "I don't need this!"

The sound echoed through the winter village. Liu Yimin heard it, waved his hand, and said nothing.

Seeing that no one was around, Liu Yiguo spread it out and read it aloud again. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was well written. By the time he rode his bicycle to the mine, he had already memorized it perfectly. This was a love letter written by Liu Yimin for Liu Yiguo, seeking to further enhance their revolutionary friendship.

Since there were hardly any people left in their family, they moved into the school's single dormitory.

When Liu Yiguo arrived at the school, sweat was pouring from his hat. After knocking on the door, to the surprise of the other person, he smiled and untied the things from the back of his bicycle and carried them inside: "Gu Ping, you must not have prepared anything for the New Year by yourself. My parents asked me to bring you some food."

Liu Yiguo's girlfriend is named Gu Ping. She knew Liu Yiguo was coming, but she didn't expect him to arrive so early. She quickly invited Liu Yiguo into the room.

The room was simply furnished; a bowl and chopsticks sat on the table, with a few unfinished dumplings in the bowl. After putting the food away, Liu Yiguo said with concern, "You're just going to eat this?"

"I can't eat much by myself." Gu Ping quickly asked Liu Yiguo to sit down and prepared to cook dumplings for him.

When Liu Yiguo took off his hat, steam billowed from his forehead like the chimney of a coal stove. Gu Ping knew Liu Yiguo was coming, so she had made a lot of dumplings.

Liu Yiguo slowly placed the food he brought from home on the table, while Gu Ping was busy making dumplings. The scene gave the impression of a newlywed couple doing housework together.

After dinner, Liu Yiguo asked Gu Ping for her opinion on going for a stroll in the county town, and Gu Ping naturally agreed. In the county town, the two watched a movie, "Sweet Career," which was very popular last year.

After watching the movie, they went for a walk in the park together. As they walked, their bodies were at a very subtle distance, their shoulders swaying back and forth, seemingly about to touch each other, but always managing to avoid it.

The two chatted casually for a while when Liu Yiguo suddenly said, "We parted ways in a hurry in junior high school, and I never thought that we would get to know each other again after working for several years. It seems we are quite destined to meet."

Listening to Liu Yiguo's somewhat clumsy words, his occasional pauses in thought, and the interspersed lines of poetry, Gu Ping stopped and said with a smile, "Stop reciting, your younger brother wrote this for you, right?"

"How did you know?" Liu Yiguo asked instinctively.

"It's too obvious, it's too literary, like something a writer would write."

Liu Yiguo said awkwardly, "My brother meant well."

"It's good that you have the intention," Gu Ping thought for a moment, then continued:

"After the New Year, I'll take you to visit my home. Although I don't have parents anymore, I have an uncle, and from a matter of etiquette, I should go back to visit him."

"That's only right!"

Although they didn't discuss when to get married, Liu Yiguo's marriage plans have progressed further after visiting the woman's family. At least both sides are thinking about getting married.

After the New Year, Yang Yushan, the director of the Revolutionary Committee, arrived at Maiji Brigade in a jeep. He first toured the brigade to learn about this year's harvest, and then went straight to Liu Yimin's house.

Yang Yushan's military overcoat was unbuttoned as he strode into the Liu family's house. The hem of his overcoat fluttered in the wind, making him look like a general who had just come from the battlefield.

"Yimin, another year has passed, you're even stronger and more famous now." Yang Yushan nudged Liu Yimin's chest with his fist. Behind him were two staff members, one of whom he recognized—the director of the Education Bureau, whom he had met before.

Following closely behind was Party Secretary Li Dashan, whose face was ruddy. The arrival of the county revolutionary committee leaders in Maiji Brigade was a source of pride for him.

Not long after they sat down, the director of the Education Bureau behind Yang Yushan explained the purpose of their visit: they wanted Liu Yimin to give another motivational speech for the college entrance examination to encourage the students of Ruxian County.

"In 79, a lot more people from our county were admitted to universities, but the schools were all mediocre, and most of them were vocational college students. In the entire Luocheng area, our county started to rank at the bottom again. We were ashamed when we went out to meetings. People said that it was a waste of all the talent in our county to produce just one person like you."

The director of the education bureau took a deep drag on his cigarette, sounding incredibly frustrated. The more vehemently they promoted Liu Yimin back then, the louder the mockery and ridicule became now.

"Director Yang, the number of students admitted to universities can't be increased with just one simple report. The most important thing is to improve the overall level of students. If giving reports were really useful, I would give reports every day," Liu Yimin said helplessly.

"Do you have any good ideas? After all, you've been staying in Yanjing for a long time."

Inside the Liu family's house sat a group of people, with a pile of firewood in the middle. Liu Fuqing had specially selected good wood and was constantly adding fuel to the fire. Seeing Liu Yimin deep in thought, Yang Yushan, Liu Fuqing, and Li Dashan began discussing the harvest.

Rumors have already spread that land contracting is going to be implemented. News has reached Anhui Province, and some people in nearby counties are also openly or secretly involved. This is causing Yang Yushan a great headache, as he doesn't know whether he should allow it to be implemented openly in the counties.

Liu Yimin asked the director of the Education Bureau about the situation at the schools from time to time. After a long while, he said, "How about we try focusing on key schools?"

"What do you mean?" "It means that the top classes and regular classes are taught separately. In order to tackle key scientific and technological projects, the country will gather a group of outstanding researchers to work together. The college entrance examination is a key task of the Education Bureau, so the high-achieving students will be gathered together to study."

"Some schools have divided students into fast and slow classes, which has some effect, but not significant," the education bureau director said.

"That means the division isn't thorough enough. We should give special care to the students in the top classes, assign them the best teachers, develop individual teaching plans, and import more supplementary teaching materials from good schools in Los Angeles for these students to use. We should also conduct more mock exams and reward students who make great progress and achieve good grades."

Liu Yimin was referring to the model of Huanggang High School. In the first year after the resumption of the college entrance examination, Huanggang High School established elite classes for intensive teaching, which yielded remarkable results.

Although this model is brutal, it is effective and suitable for small counties like Ruxian that want to quickly increase the number of students admitted.

In addition, distinguishing between key classes and regular classes is another form of individualized education.

Students in this era are also more resilient to pressure, and there are quite a few who dare to be so determined as to study so hard that they hang themselves from the rafters or prick their thighs with awls.

Yang Yushan and the director of the Education Bureau left. After returning, he immediately went to the high school principal to discuss the matter of the honors class.

Yang Yushan hardened his heart and said, "If we can't select schools for the elite class, we might as well select students from the whole county to form an elite class."

A few days later, Yang Yushan and the director of the Education Bureau found Liu Yimin and selected fifty students from the whole county to form a "Yimin Class" at the county high school.

"Class One Min?" Liu Yimin looked strange. "I told you to set up an elite class, not to do it like this!"

“Yes, Class 1, let all students take you as their role model and strive for top universities. This class is taught by the best teachers in the county. I don’t believe we can’t cultivate some good students,” Yang Yushan said in a deep voice.

The director of the education bureau chimed in, "Director Yang is very determined. He has transferred teachers and students from several schools, which has caused a lot of resentment among the staff."

Yang Yushan waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing; for the sake of the county's overall interests, he could bear some complaints. The Education Bureau Director's cooperation successfully demonstrated Yang Yushan's deep concern for education.

If they don't get promoted, who will?

"Yimin, you have always been a role model in the hearts of all high school students in our county. We must fully leverage the power of your example, encouraging everyone to take you as their benchmark, strive forward, and achieve excellent results in this year's college entrance examination."

Finally, the topic shifted to having Liu Yimin give a report on the establishment of the "Yimin Class" and encourage everyone.

Before setting off for Yanjing, Liu Yimin arrived at the county high school ahead of time and exchanged a few pleasantries with his former teachers and principal.

They all kept praising Liu Yimin, saying that they could tell back then that he would definitely be extraordinary when he grew up, and so on.

Upon arriving at the teaching building, we were led to the classroom by the school staff. The classroom door sign had been replaced with three bright red characters: "Class 1 Min". The white wooden sign with red characters and gold trim showed that this class was extraordinary.

“This is the exam room for my college entrance exam!” Liu Yimin said subconsciously.

"Yimin, we specifically chose this classroom!"

Amid cheers, Liu Yimin walked into the classroom. The students immediately stood up, their necks flushed, and clapped enthusiastically. What happened next made Liu Yimin so embarrassed that he almost dug out a teaching building for the county high school.

The students recited "Ideal" in unison, expressing their determination to continuously strive for progress and work hard.

Liu Yimin glanced at Yang Yushan, assuming it was arranged by him, but the principal said in a low voice, "This was entirely spontaneous by the students."

Stepping onto the podium, Liu Yimin asked everyone to sit down and chatted with them. Many people asked him about his university experience, and Liu Yimin answered their questions one by one.

The last time he stepped into the classroom, he was a test-taker; this time, however, he entered as a successful candidate, and his mindset was completely different.

After answering the questions, Liu Yimin wrote on the blackboard: "Strive through spring, summer, autumn and winter for a year, and fight for a life without regrets."

"Students, there's not much I can do. At most, I can encourage you and say some inspiring words. The future is in your own hands. You all recognize these dozen or so words. What I really want to say is, when you look back on this classroom a few years from now, will you feel regret or gratitude? Will you be grateful for your hard work today, or will you regret not doing one more problem and getting a few more points? Just one point, and everything might be different."

Looking at the people around him, Yang Yushan said excitedly, "It tastes just like before!"

"This is even better than the last report!"

"Of course, Comrade Liu Yimin's progress far exceeded our expectations. His ability to give reports is something that most people really can't learn. Even months later, I still feel deeply moved when I think back on one of his reports in 78. But no matter how I try to learn, it always feels different!"

Yang Yushan recalled Liu Yimin's first report, the first time he had ever heard such a report. The voice went from low to high, the content ranged from the present to the future, from China to the damn Pacific Ocean…

Then I thought about it, damn it, there might really be some people who are born with the ability to give reports!

"Every point counts, and every point shapes a person's life. Finally, I'd like to leave you with this saying: 'Horse forward with the spur of your horse, for heroes have always emerged from among the young!'"

Yang Yushan was the first to applaud and loudly instructed the director of the Education Bureau: "Write down all the words that Comrade Yimin just mentioned and post them in the schools. Not only in the classrooms, but also in the dormitories. In short, not only in the county high school, but also in all the other high schools. Just posting them isn't enough; they also need to be shouted out and made to be shouted out loud by the students!"

The director of the education bureau and the principal quickly took out their notebooks and wrote it down, indicating that they would do so immediately.

The Ruxian Daily published several news articles in succession: "Yang Yushan, Director of the County Revolutionary Committee, announced the establishment of the county's top-performing senior high school class, the 'Yimin Class,' to fully prepare for the 80 college entrance examination."

"One Point Can Make a Difference in Life: Comrade Liu Yimin's Explanation of the College Entrance Examination"

"Riding at breakneck speed, you lead the way; heroes have always emerged from among the young."

Can the "Yimin Class" produce another "Liu Yimin"?

The Luocheng Evening News published an article titled "Ruxian County Innovates Teaching Models and Strives to Create 'One-Class' Programs."

The report delivered by Comrade Liu Yimin is worthy of being memorized and studied by all prefectural committee members and high school students throughout the province.

(End of this chapter)