Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1048 This is for the benefit of the next generation

Everyone fell into thought. The county magistrate said, "Tell me in detail."

Director Wang said, "Actually, I've had this idea for a long time, and similar applications are submitted every year, but to be honest, it just can't be implemented. Selecting a few central locations to gather scattered students together for boarding school would not only improve the children's grades but also save resources from being wasted."

Once the school site was finalized, all the teachers stationed in the affected villages were transferred there, while the original school leadership remained unchanged. This significantly reduced the shortage of teachers and made the problem much easier to address. However, we calculated that this would require a considerable amount of funding.

Xiao Wei asked, "How much money are you calculating?"

Director Wang said, "We are considering four central schools. We can use part of the original school buildings and add some modern teaching equipment. The total cost will be at least 1.5 million yuan."

Xiao Hong blurted out, "So little?"

Director Wang smiled wryly: "That's quite a lot, nearly 400,000 yuan per school on average. That doesn't even include the costs of student accommodation, like meals. Students can bring their luggage from home, but we need to add more dormitory supervisors and set up a cafeteria, all of which cost money."

The county magistrate asked, "Is it not acceptable to charge families a reasonable fee for their living expenses?"

Director Wang shook his head and said, "That's impossible. How much do the farmers here earn in a year? They wouldn't even want to go if they didn't get paid. Besides, how much should we collect? Collecting too little is meaningless, and collecting too much leaves them with nothing."

The county magistrate said to Secretary Li, "Food and lodging are problems. Three meals a day for a student will cost at least a few yuan, which adds up to five or six hundred or seven hundred yuan a year. We really can't afford that."

Secretary Li nodded slowly and said, "Four schools, just the cost of food alone is over a million yuan a year, which is more expensive than building the schools."

Director Wang said, "Yes, and this is an ongoing issue that will only increase, so I directly suppressed this plan because it's unrealistic."

The county head turned to Xiaowei: "And then there are the salaries and benefits of the teachers and staff, which amount to at least several hundred thousand, four or five hundred thousand a year. To be honest, the county is still in arrears of several hundred thousand in teacher salaries; the budget is too tight."

Secretary Li said, "The branch office and other units also owe a lot. There's nothing we can do. The money given from above is only a little bit each year, and we're in dire need of funds every year."

Director Wang said with a smile, "Isn't that what people say outside? Eat your fill at the beginning of the year, starve at the end. It's just right not to eat or drink at all."

Secretary Li frowned, cleared his throat, and said to Xiao Wei, "What do you think, boss? That's the situation. Now it's up to you to make a decision."

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "I also said that I could help the county build two factories, and I'm confident that I can make several hundred thousand yuan in profit a year. The problem is, will the money actually go to the education sector? If it doesn't, then it's all for nothing."

Secretary Li and the county head exchanged glances. The county head thought for a moment and said, "I can guarantee that the bulk of the funding is here. I wouldn't believe it myself if I said it was all. This is the actual situation. The county can subsidize a little more of the teachers' salaries; now the only thing left is the meal expenses for boarding students."

Xiao Hong's eyes widened: "That's not right! The two factories combined should make over a million in profit a year. Shouldn't all of that go towards meal expenses? Shouldn't the county government take care of the teachers' salaries? Aren't there government subsidies too?"

In those days, the salaries of teachers and staff in the education system were divided into two parts: one part was government funding, and the other part was covered by local government funding.

Xiao Wei said, "As long as the breeding business is established, the county's fiscal revenue should increase. It's hard to say exactly how much it will increase, but it's a long-term project. As long as my market doesn't collapse, there will always be demand."

Especially when it comes to vegetables, most people here grow some vegetables in their own plots for their own consumption, while the main fields are planted with corn and sorghum. Actually, vegetables are more cost-effective than other crops.

I suggest that, in addition to rice, the county should guide farmers to grow vegetables in large quantities. Don't worry about the sales channels; I'll take care of that. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers, eggplants—any vegetables that meet the standards, we'll take them all, as many as you can get.”

Xiao Hong said, "Yes, this is the only way to truly solve the big problem. Farmers' incomes will increase, the county's finances will improve, and if we also focus on tourism, our county will become rich in just a few years."

The county magistrate asked Xiaowei, "What do you need? Vegetables? Rice? Pork? No limit?"

Xiao Wei said, "I need everything I need in life, there's no limit. This amount of food in a county is far from enough for me, so I can develop with confidence. Chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, sheep, even cattle, all kinds of vegetables, mountain products like wood ear mushrooms, and fruits are all available. But it seems we don't have many fruits here, the soil isn't suitable."

The county magistrate asked, "Where are you going to sell it? This stuff is available everywhere, won't the market be saturated?"

Xiao Wei said, "I won't resell them; I'll sell them directly to supermarkets. Our company already has supermarkets, shopping malls, and convenience stores, all of which can be operated in this sector. I plan to open stores throughout Northeast China, including those within the Great Wall. I've already bought land in Beijing and Tianjing, and construction will begin next year."

"This area of ​​northern Hebei and eastern Shandong will be developed in the future. We also have our own hotels and restaurants, which will consume a lot of resources. This is my home, so I will definitely support it. If I need ten percent, I'll prioritize our county first, and then distribute the rest elsewhere."

The county head clapped his hands and said to Secretary Li, "With that in mind, what are we afraid of?"

Secretary Li squinted and thought for a moment, then asked, "Won't all the goods for winter come from the south? What do you think, is it possible for us to develop some greenhouses?"

The county head said, "Yes, yes, greenhouses. The secretary and I went out to investigate and saw that many places outside the pass are developing this. Off-season vegetables in winter fetch high prices and generate good income."

Xiao Wei said, "I'll take it as long as it grows. But we still need to be careful with this; it's no small matter, and the investment is substantial. It's best to test it on a small scale first, and only promote it if there are no problems. I can contact the Agricultural University for some technical support."

Xiao Hong poked Xiao Wei with her finger: "Weren't we talking about school?"

Xiao Wei said, "Yes, yes, let's talk about school matters. The planting and breeding is a done deal, you can do it without any discussion. I agree with Director Wang's suggestion of dividing the area into sections for renovation."

You know this better than I do, so I'll listen to you. Whereever you feel is suitable, I'll build it there. You don't need to worry about the construction or supporting facilities; I'll just build it and hand it over.

"You just need to make arrangements for the faculty and staff, and as for the funding later on, sir, that's up to you. I've done everything I can."

The county head thought for a moment and said to Secretary Li, "Secretary, why don't we do it? We'll list the education sector separately. Xiaowei has done so much; we can't let him fall behind. Developing education is a matter of benefiting the next generation, and it's no small thing."

(End of this chapter)