Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 976 Financial Aid

Xiao Wei said, "It's mainly about attitude; I didn't think about it that much."

Director Xu said, "The key is that the money spent has to be effective, right? It's pointless to just throw money at them; it's better if we spend more here, which can actually help some students."

Xiao Wei said, "Then you can help me with this. I don't have much experience with this, and I don't know much about the actual situation. I only had this idea because I heard Yang Mingwei from your school say that many students don't even have enough to eat."

Director Xu said, "You're very thoughtful. I was just thinking, maybe I should collect a scholarship from all the students who do business at the school, so the school can give some subsidies or scholarships to those poor students."

Xiao Wei said, "It's possible, but the key is how you charge and how much. If a small shop earns ten or twenty thousand a year, they'll feel the pinch if you charge three thousand."

Director Xu said, "That's true. I'll think about it carefully. Okay, that's all for now. I'll let you know when I've figured it out. Winter is almost here, so there's not much to do. Don't worry."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'll wait for your call. Actually, you can just help me compile a list of schools that you think are suitable for opening a shop, and I'll arrange for someone to talk to them. The main problem is that we're not familiar with this area; I don't even know how many schools there are in Fengtian."

Director Xu said, "There are quite a few, fifty or sixty vocational schools and above. However, some of them are too small, so there's not much point in opening a shop there. Actually, instead of this subsidy program, you might as well do it yourself."

In your company's name, let's call it the Brothers Group Scholarship. It's an annual event. The schools provide the lists, and you review them yourselves. If you qualify, you sign an agreement and receive monthly payments. This way, you don't have to negotiate with each school individually, and you don't need to consider the specific circumstances of each school. As long as you meet the requirements, it's fine, right?

For example, if you have a rural household registration or your family income is below a certain threshold, you can apply to any school as long as you meet the requirements. Then you'll be applying to all the schools in Fengtian, not just one specific one, understand? The money won't be wasted; it will boost your company's reputation.

Xiao Wei said, "It's not that I'm afraid of spending money, but what if tens of thousands of people report it if there's no limit?"

Director Xu laughed and said, "That's why we need to set conditions. We can study the conditions carefully and be cautious. You can refer to some of the regulations in the Civil Affairs Department, and then you can file a record with the Civil Affairs Department. You will only issue the visa to schools that have signed an agreement with you guaranteeing that the students applying for the visa are qualified. That should work."

Xiao Wei said, "Then I have to set up a department specifically to manage this? That's too much trouble."

Director Xu said, "It definitely has to be established. Doing good deeds is not that easy. You can easily turn good intentions into bad ones. People's hearts are so complicated these days. You spend money and end up with a lot of resentment and discontent."

You manage the money yourself, the qualification review is handled by the school, and then you do a random check. Although it can't guarantee 100% accuracy, it can at least bring it down to a tolerable level.

Unless you don't care, and you're just taking out a sum of money every year, and you don't care where that money goes, then just give it to the school as you see fit. I'm telling you, it wouldn't be surprising if that money ended up as teachers' benefits.

Xiao Wei asked, "Is it possible?"

Director Xu said, "It's definitely possible, really. Let me tell you something. You know about Project Hope, right? It's a national project. Do you know how many places have had that money used for officials' cars, or schools built for local government offices?"

Xiao Wei said, "Really? Brother Xu, what you're saying is giving me the chills."

Director Xu said, "There are many things that are even more disheartening than this, so you have to be careful in everything you do, otherwise good things can turn into bad things, which is very disheartening. I used to sponsor several students, and now that they have graduated, some of them still write to me from time to time, while others have disappeared. It's not that I wanted anything from them, but can you believe how disheartening it is?"

I have a friend, I won't say who, who became rich a few years ago, sponsoring many students and even making the news. Now that things are going well, he's receiving a constant stream of requests for help from all over the country. Once, he went on a business trip to the interior of the country, and it happened to be not far from the home of a disabled student he was sponsoring, so he went there, bringing 5,000 yuan with him to visit the family.

Guess what happened?

When he arrived, he asked the villagers for directions. One of them shouted, and within two minutes a burly man, even stronger than him, came running over. He wasn't a student at all; he didn't farm or attend classes, and lived off the money the man gave him. He spent his days gambling and drinking, claiming he had wealthy relatives in another place.

So, Xiaowei, let me be frank with you, even though we're not close. It's good that we have the heart to help others, but we can't let ourselves be fooled. At least the money spent should be worthwhile, not a complete waste, right?

Xiao Wei said, "Yes, I understand. I'll discuss it with Xiao Hui and the others. Thanks, bro."

Director Xu said, "No need to thank me. I've gotten a lot of benefits by taking advantage of your influence, haha. Alright, that's enough. Come over and visit sometime."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'll come over when I have time. Please take care of things at school."

After hanging up the phone, Xiaowei jotted down the note about the scholarship in his notebook, underlining it as important. This was something he needed to think about carefully.

It was a little after 4:30 PM, almost 5 PM, when Chen Hui returned.

He slumped onto the sofa and said, "The army works so damn fast! I thought it would take at least half a month to finish, but it'll probably only take a week at most. At this speed, a week is a sure thing. Before, when we installed an oil tanker, it would take almost a month. It's incomparable."

Xiao Wei said, "The oil tank is already buried? Doesn't that thing need to be welded and then have anti-corrosion treatment done?"

Chen Hui said, "Commander Hu got us a ready-made one, I don't know where he got it from. We didn't bury it today, we had to clear the backyard. We cleared the backyard today, we tore down the old boiler room and everything, only the chimney was left, we cleared that out too."

The backyard is quite large; they said it's about four acres. They'll put the boiler and laundry room there, and they can also add a staff bathhouse and build a few heated storage rooms. There's plenty of space."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "You can handle it as you see fit, just don't make it cramped." He then recounted his phone call with Director Xu to Chen Hui and asked, "What do you suggest we do? I didn't think too much about it at first; I just thought it would be easier to get things done with the school."

Chen Hui said, "The school won't do you any favors because of this; it's all about interests. But this will definitely make us famous. We'll definitely get in the newspapers, and TV should be no problem either. It'll be quite beneficial for us."

"Then let's do it. Set up a student aid office and have Geng Hui manage it. Anyway, so many floors up here are just sitting idle."

Xiao Wei asked, "Is there an upper limit? Director Xu said it's been approved by the Civil Affairs Bureau, but what about the funding? How much is it per year?"

(End of this chapter)