Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1049 Hongwei School

Secretary Li slowly lit a cigarette, thought for a moment, and said, "Alright, let's list it separately. I agree."

The separate allocation means that future funding for education will be used specifically for its intended purpose and will not be diverted to other areas. This is great news for Director Wang, as the education and agriculture departments are the most frequently misappropriated local government funds.

The financial allocations for each department are not uniform; they are allocated layer by layer from top to bottom. For example, agriculture, education, and public security are allocated by higher-level departments, but ultimately they all go into the local treasury.

Once the money comes in, it's not used by the designated department that received it; the local government will redistribute all the funds, which is misappropriation. And this misappropriation isn't just about misappropriation; it's also about embezzling funds.

When money comes down from the central government, it gets skimmed off by the provincial government, then by the city government, and only what's left reaches the county level. And if it gets down smoothly, that's a good thing. Sometimes it gets intercepted at a certain level, which is called misappropriation.

This led to another method of allocating funds: designating specific projects or areas for which the central government allocates the funds. Funds with such designations are generally less likely to be intercepted, as they are less likely to be investigated.

……

Xiao Wei said, "Going to school is the only way out for us rural children. The more people go out, the more feedback the county receives. The resources and information brought back from outside can also promote the development of the county. This is also my original intention for wanting to come back and build a school."

It's incredibly difficult for children in rural areas to go to school.

Xiaohong said, "We've discussed it. As long as the children from our county who go to university are academically excellent and hardworking, we will continue to support them and help them finish their studies, even if their families are struggling financially."

We have established a student aid office in Fengtian to provide limited assistance to university students facing financial difficulties. Liaoning University and Northeast Institute of Technology have already begun implementing this program, and we are continuing to sign agreements with other universities.

The county magistrate asked, "Give me the money?"

Xiao Wei said, "No, we give them a small subsidy and then arrange some jobs they can do, so that they can have some income without affecting their studies, so that they can support themselves and even help their families."

Secretary Li nodded and said, "Okay, you two are smart, you've made a good arrangement. Let's settle this matter here. Xiao Wang, go back and hurry up and finalize the location. Make sure the town below demolishes what needs to be demolished and levels what needs to be leveled, and that water and electricity are in place. Tell them that after the new school is built, the original school building can be used as their office."

Director Wang nodded in agreement and asked Xiao Wei, "Um, Comrade Xiao Wei, should we prepare four or three?"

The county magistrate said, "Three should be enough, to cover as much area as possible. Three will be sufficient and will also ease the burden on the county." He turned to Xiaowei and explained.

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "No need to tell me, Xiao Hong handled this. She paid for it herself from the school. I was just running errands for her."

County Head, Secretary Li, and Director Wang were all stunned. Secretary Li said, "Really? Oh my, Wang Jianshe has a fine daughter! She's made something of herself, got into Northeast Institute of Technology, and is now back to run a school and support education. That's remarkable."

The county magistrate said, "It seems we really do have to go out; only by going out can we make a living. Your name is Xiaohong, right? Have you thought of a name for the school? You build it, you name it. It seems like all the schools built by the government are called 'Hope.' Let's do something more elegant. These three schools won't be named after the place."

Little Hong's face flushed red. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Can I be called Hongwei? Hongwei Elementary School."

The county magistrate said, "That's fine, very good. Shall we all use the same name?"

Xiao Hong nodded and said, "Can we all use the same name, followed by the place name?"

Director Wang said, "That works, but it's a bit troublesome."

Secretary Li said, "No need to add place names. Just call it School No. 1, School No. 2, School No. 3, Hongwei No. 1 Primary School, Hongwei No. 2 Primary School, and if the young couple builds any more, they can just keep the names going down. It would be great if all the schools in our county were called Hongwei, including junior high and high schools."

Everyone laughed. Xiao Hong said, "I really have this idea. I graduated from our county high school. To be honest, the conditions there were terrible. There was no heating, and the canteen was no good either. I really want to rebuild one."

Secretary Li laughed and said, "Take your time. Building a high school is not the same as building a primary school. It will cost a lot of money, at least several million. No rush, it's good that you have the will."

Xiao Hong asked Xiao Wei, "Is it okay?"

Xiao Wei said, "You can spend your money however you want, just don't throw it away."

Xiao Hong turned to Secretary Li and said, "Then I'll build it, as long as the county agrees. I want to build the high school by the river and build a garden. I've been thinking about this since I was a student."

Secretary Li and the principal were both stunned. Director Wang reacted and said, "Are you really going to build it? Or are you just kidding?"

Xiao Hong nodded: "Build it. Build it by the river."

Secretary Li smiled and said, "It seems our Xiao Hong has quite a bit of money in her pocket. Where did you get all this money?"

Xiao Hong hesitated for a moment, glanced at Xiao Wei, and said, "I made some money from investing the pocket money he gave me."

The county magistrate said, "You're a college graduate, quite intelligent. Alright, build it. You name the location, and it'll be built there; you name the size, and it'll be built that way. Once it's built, name it Hongwei—Beixi County Hongwei High School, is that acceptable?"

Xiao Hong walked to the wall, pointed to the map, and said, "Right here, okay?"

Several people walked over and looked at the spot Xiao Hong pointed to. Secretary Li said, "North of the road, over here, there's a warehouse, some houses, and vegetable gardens. How about the other side of the river? There are only a few houses on the other side of the river, and over there are a few old military houses. There's not much land, so it's easy to manage. There's also plenty of space."

Xiao Wei said, "How about the place where the army used to show movies? Okay, that'll save us the trouble, the place is big enough to make arrangements."

Xiao Hong pouted: "I had already figured it out when I was in high school. If I ever had money in the future, I would build a high school in Daobei, facing the big river."

The county magistrate said, "They're building a dam over there. Have you gone to see it? It's completely different from before. It'll be several years before it's finished. Right now, it's a mess."

Xiao Wei said, "I know, but I haven't been to see it. We used to say we'd get a boat to play with once it was built."

Xiaohong said, "Okay, let's do it here then. Are there any size restrictions?"

Secretary Li laughed and said, "Our county has a population of over 100,000. If you expand it too much, there won't be enough students. Wouldn't that be a waste of money?"

Xiao Wei said, "Let's double the size of a high school now, and properly renovate the playground, library, cafeteria, dormitories, and teachers' residences. I estimate that a hundred acres would be enough."

(End of this chapter)