A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

Three days after the final exams, Abudu received a call from Teacher Chang.

"Abudu, come to the school conference room at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

Teacher Chang's voice sounded a bit unusual. "Dress neatly."

"Teacher Chang, what's the matter?"

"You'll find out when you get here," Teacher Chang said, keeping everyone in suspense.

The next day, Abudu arrived at the meeting room on time, wearing his school uniform.

He was stunned when he pushed open the door. Inside sat Teacher Chang, Teacher Jiang, and several other people he didn't recognize, one of whom was holding a camera.

"Abudu, this is Director Wang from the county education bureau," Teacher Chang introduced.

Director Wang, in his fifties, smiled kindly: "Abudu, we've heard about what you've been doing—the book club, the volunteer service team, and that bilingual agricultural assistance model. Very good indeed."

Abudu was a little embarrassed: "Director Wang, we just did something small..."

"A small matter?"

Director Wang waved his hand, "Doing small things well is the key to great things."

Our education bureau plans to promote your experience throughout the county and would like to invite you to give a presentation and cooperate with us in filming some promotional materials.

"Promotion?"

Abudu was completely bewildered. "How do we promote it?"

"It's about letting students from other schools know that learning isn't just for exams, and that knowledge can be used in real-world applications."

Director Wang asked, "Are you willing?"

Abudu looked at Teacher Chang, and Teacher Chang nodded to him.

"I do," Abudu said.

On the day the report came out, Abudu was helping out in the cotton field.

Tursun ran over, phone in hand: "Abudu, look! It's the county education bureau's official WeChat account!"

The article is titled "From Cotton Field to Classroom: A High School Student's Approach to Balancing Academics and Public Service".

The accompanying photos show Abudu hosting a reading session and the service team working in the cotton fields.

"Isn't that a bit exaggerated..." Abudu scratched his head.

"Where is it exaggerated?"

Guli leaned closer to look. "Isn't this what we do?"

That evening, Abudu's WeChat exploded.

People kept adding him as a friend, with notes like "Student of XX Middle School, want to join the service team" or "Our school also wants to start a reading club, seeking guidance".

Abudu approved each one and replied patiently.

Even at 1 a.m., new messages kept popping up.

"That won't do."

The next day, he told the core members of the service team, "We need to have a set of rules; we can't just accept anyone who comes."

"But they came after reading the report, wouldn't it be bad to refuse them?" Rena said.

"It's not a rejection, it's a regulation."

Abudu thought for a moment and said, "Let's set a standard for joining the team: First, academic performance cannot have a significant decline."

Second, attend training to understand the service content;

Third, participation in activities must be consistent; one cannot participate only sporadically.

Tursun added, "Furthermore, we must truly embrace our philosophy that knowledge should serve practice."

After the new charter was released, even more people applied.

Students from three nearby middle schools came in groups to learn from their experience, so Abudu and his team decided to hold a small sharing session.

During the sharing session, a girl from No. 2 Middle School asked, "How do you balance your study and activity time?"

Our class advisor told us that in high school, everything should be focused on studying.

Abudu picked up the chalk and drew a time management chart on the blackboard: "We don't use activity time to squeeze out study time, but rather combine study and activities."

For example, for weekend services, we prepare relevant knowledge in advance; after the event, we need to write a summary, which provides an opportunity to practice writing in Chinese and English.

"Isn't this tiring?" another boy asked.

"tired."

Abudu spoke frankly: "But it's worth it."

When you see that what you've learned can truly help others, the sense of accomplishment is even more real than getting a high score.

After the sharing session, more than 30 students from other schools filled out application forms on the spot.

The service team suddenly expanded to more than sixty people, and had to be divided into three groups to take turns.

The book club area also became lively.

Chen Hao from Dalian sent a message: "Abudu, our school also wants to expand the scale of the reading club. Could you organize a pairing activity?"

A student from Dalian is paired with a student from Xinjiang, and they exchange students regularly.

"That's a great idea!" Abudu immediately responded.

The number of people signing up for the pairing activity exceeded expectations as soon as it was launched.

More than 80 people reported from Xinjiang, and more than 100 people reported from Dalian.

Abudu and Chen Hao stayed up for two nights before they finally came up with the perfect couplet.

During their first online exchange after pairing up, Abudu specifically asked each pair to introduce themselves in both languages.

Although it was a little awkward at first, gradually, the meeting room was filled with English and Mandarin spoken in various accents.

A girl from Dalian said, "My pen pal taught me how to say 'hello' in Uyghur—'Yakshi'!"

Her pen pal from Xinjiang immediately corrected her: "It should be 'Yaximses,' more formal!"

Everyone laughed.

During their second exchange, Chen Hao brought up a new idea: "Abudu, some of our classmates here want to donate books to schools in Xinjiang. Do you need any over there?"

Abudu's heart skipped a beat. Their school library did indeed have very few books, and many of them were from more than ten years ago.

"We need it, we absolutely need it!"

He said, "We are particularly short of popular science books and English learning materials here."

"Then we'll organize it!" Chen Hao said excitedly.

The book donation drive received a warm response after it was launched in Dalian.

Not only students donated, but parents also donated, some even donating almost brand-new original English books.

When the first batch of books arrived, Abudu and his classmates were in self-study class.

The gatekeeper pushed two small carts in. "Abudu! Your books! Four big boxes!"

The whole class gathered around.

Upon opening the box, books were neatly stacked inside: there was the "Encyclopedia of the Ocean," a "Birds' Guide," simplified English readers, as well as handwritten reading notes and postcards from students in Dalian.

Look at this one!

Guli held up a postcard with a picture of the sea and cotton, which read, "May books build bridges so that the children of Liaoning can grow together—how beautifully written!"

Abudu flipped through those books, feeling a warm glow in his heart.

He picked up a children's edition of National Geographic, on the title page of which was a line of childish handwriting: "For a child far away, I hope you like the sea."

What moved him even more was that some students from Dalian not only donated books, but also their school supplies.

A boy named Li Xiang sent over his electronic English dictionary with a note saying, "I've replaced it with a new one. This one still works, so I'm giving it to someone who needs it more."

Abudu distributed the books and school supplies to the Xinjiang students he was paired with, according to the list, and also kept some for the school library.

The book club thus gained new content: reading books sent from Dalian.

Students from Xinjiang read books on marine themes, while students from Dalian read "Xinjiang Customs and Scenery" sent from Xinjiang.

After reading it, we can have more topics to discuss.

"Dolphins are so intelligent!"

At a book club meeting, a girl from Xinjiang shared her thoughts after reading the book: "They cooperate to catch fish and use sponges to protect their noses."

"Your karez irrigation system in Xinjiang is truly amazing."

A boy from Dalian said, "An underground water conservancy project from two thousand years ago that can still be used today—that's true wisdom."

Through these exchanges, the friendship between the teenagers from the two places has deepened.

They talked about studying, life, and dreams.

A boy from Dalian said he wanted to apply to Dalian Maritime University and become a ship captain in the future; his pen pal from Xinjiang said she wanted to study agricultural technology and come back to improve cotton varieties.

"When your ship delivers goods to the Xinjiang port, maybe you can load them with my improved cotton," the Xinjiang girl said with a smile in the video.

"It's a deal!" the boy from Dalian said earnestly.

At the end of the semester, the county education bureau really came to present an award to Abudu and his service team.

The certificate reads "Outstanding Volunteer Service Group at the County Level," and includes a prize of one thousand yuan.

At the award ceremony, Director Wang said, "Student Abudu and his partners have proven with their actions that middle school students in the new era can not only learn knowledge well, but also apply it well."

Their story tells us that learning and practice are never contradictory, but rather complementary.

Standing on the stage, Abudu looked at the service team members sitting below, as well as the new faces from other schools, and suddenly felt a little dazed.

A year ago, he was just a rural boy who only knew how to bury himself in his studies.

Now, he stands here, with a team of more than sixty people behind him, leaders from the county education bureau in front of him, and friends in Dalian, three thousand kilometers away, on the other side of the screen.

It all started with that simple idea: to add value to cotton.

Now, it's not just cotton that's adding value.