The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

After the May Day holiday, the Education Department officially released a document announcing the special education funding support projects, with the application deadline at the end of May.

Chen Shi arranged for Yang Xiaobo to register on the Education Department's official website. During this period, he would not go to the Education Department to see Zhao Ji, in order to be mindful of the impact and avoid suspicion.

The construction of three key high schools is in full swing. Huang Ming is in charge of following up on the project, while Chen Shi has nothing much to do. He reads the newspaper at work and goes to Liu Youguang and Zhang Xiangdong to report on his work when he has nothing else to do.

It's always good to report your work to your superiors more often; they'll feel that you respect them.

A week passed in the blink of an eye. On Monday morning, a democratic life meeting was held. In the afternoon, just as Chen Shi arrived at the office, Yang Xiaobo walked in.

"Director Chen, someone outside is looking for you. They say he's your brother, Chen Xing."

Chen Shi quickly said, "Let him in!"

Yang Xiaobo went out, and soon after, he brought Chen Xing and Tian Guangming to the office.

Chen Shi stood up to greet them with a smile: "Brother, Uncle Tian, ​​why didn't you call me beforehand?"

Chen Xing said, "Uncle Tian is afraid that making a phone call will affect your work."

"Sit down quickly."

Yang Xiaobo arranged for Chen Xing and Tian Guangming to sit down in the reception room, and he took notes on their appearances.

Chen Xing is Chen Shi's own brother, and his family must be remembered.

He quickly poured tea for the two of them before leaving the office.

Chen Shi offered cigarettes to the two of them. Chen Xing took the cigarette, lit it, and took a puff.

Chen Shi asked, "Brother, what brings you up here?"

Tian Guangming looked at Chen Xing, signaling him to speak.

Chen Xing continued, "Xiao Shi, it's like this: Qinghe Village Primary School hasn't been repaired for many years. Several classrooms leak when it rains. The rainy season is coming, and the students won't be able to attend classes there."

Uncle Tian came to me, saying we'd come together to ask you for help. Aren't you the director of the Education Bureau now? This matter falls under the Education Bureau's jurisdiction.

Tian Guangming was speechless. You really treat Chen Shi like a younger brother? He's the director of the Education Bureau. When he came up, he told you to watch your words.

Tian Guangming stood up, took out a cigarette, and offered one to Chen Shi with both hands. Chen Shi took the cigarette: "Uncle Tian, ​​no need to stand up, please sit down."

Tian Guangming sat down and handed Chen Xing a cigarette with both hands. "See? This is how you show respect to your leader. Even though you're brothers, he can treat you like an older brother, but you can't treat him like a younger brother. You have to treat him like a leader."

Tian Guangming took a sip of tea and said, "Director Chen, Xiaoxing and I came up here to report to you on the actual situation of Qinghe Village Primary School."

In 1998, villagers of Qinghe Village raised over 30,000 yuan by contributing 50 yuan per household to renovate the existing classrooms and student dormitories.

It was renovated in 1998, but it hasn't been repaired since. For a full fourteen years, the classrooms, student dormitories, and teachers' building have long been in disrepair and have become dangerous buildings. In 2008, it was reported to Fushan Town Central School. The school sent people to inspect it and said that it was a dangerous building and that students could not continue to have classes there.

They only say the building is dilapidated and students can't attend classes there, but they won't give any money to renovate the school. Where will the more than 300 students at Qinghe Village Primary School go to school?

At this point, Tian Guangming paused, took a sip of tea, and watched Chen Shi's reaction.

Seeing that Chen Shi remained silent and calm, Tian Guangming continued, "Since 2008, I have been going to the central school every year to ask for money to repair the school. The relevant leaders of the central school said that the central school had no money and could not allocate funds to Qinghe Village Primary School for repairs."

I proposed a solution: could the central school accept the more than 300 students from Qinghe Village Primary School? The students' schooling problem must be solved.

The relevant leaders of the central school said that they could not accept the more than 300 students from Qinghe Village. The central school is currently overcrowded with 70 or 80 students per class. They are also asking the education bureau and the town government for money to build a teaching building. They cannot accept the more than 300 students from Qinghe Village. They told our village committee to find a solution from the town government.

I had previously considered having all the villagers of Qinghe Village contribute money to renovate the school, just like in 1998. However, this proposal was met with opposition from the villagers, most of whom were unwilling to contribute, mainly because the teaching quality of Qinghe Village Primary School was too low and the teachers were all substitutes.

The students are graduating from primary school and still don't know pinyin. Every time a formally appointed teacher is assigned, they see the teaching environment and try to leave; it's impossible to retain teachers who graduated from regular teacher training colleges.

The main problem is Qinghe Village Primary School. It doesn't have a decent teachers' building; the teachers still live in old tile-roofed houses from the 1980s and 90s. When it rains, it's like a light rain inside when it rains heavily outside. The soundproofing is terrible, and there's no privacy. It's impossible to retain qualified teachers in such living conditions.

Chen Shi asked, "How many teachers and staff does Qinghe Village Primary School have now?"

Fourteen

How many substitute teachers are there?

"Of the eight, only six are full-time teachers. Three are veteran teachers who were substitute teachers before being promoted. One is the principal assigned by the central school. Only two were assigned, and I heard they are lobbying everywhere, trying every possible way to transfer away."

Chen Shi thought back to his school days, when things were the same. So many years have passed, yet nothing has changed; it's still the same.

Everyone says you lose at the starting line, but this person wasn't even qualified to participate.

It is said that there is a serious gap in teaching quality between provinces, and that the college entrance examination can be used to favor students from provinces with lower teaching quality in order to make up for this gap.

In fact, within the same province, the difference between rural and urban areas is like night and day, one is in heaven and the other is on the ground, and there are no policies that can make up for it.

The villagers of Qinghe Village are fine, as the school is right at their doorstep. However, for those from other natural villages under the jurisdiction of Qinghe Village, it is much more troublesome to study in Qinghe Village. The closer ones are two or three kilometers away, while the farther ones are five or six kilometers away. They have to cross mountains and valleys, and at a young age, they have to be arranged to live at school, far away from their parents.

In this environment, less than one-tenth of rural children can actually get an education.

Chen Shi thought for a moment and realized that most of his classmates had dropped out of school before graduating from elementary school. Studying was just too hard, and children without perseverance simply couldn't keep going.

In Chen Shi's class, there were eighty or ninety students in the first grade, but by the time they were in the sixth grade and went to junior high school, there were only a dozen or so students in the class, and none of them actually went to junior high school.

When he entered junior high school, his foundation was too weak and he couldn't keep up. By the second year of junior high, only Chen Shi was still studying, and he continued until the end.

Chen Shi was a competitive person since childhood. He had a poor foundation and only caught up in junior high school. His first and second grade teachers were substitute teachers who hadn't even graduated from junior high school. They didn't know pinyin and only earned 100 yuan a month. They had no interest in teaching and often had their wives substitute for them. Their wives hadn't even graduated from elementary school.

During the busy farming season, he would take students to help his family with chores, making them free labor.

Chen Shi didn't have a regular teacher until the fifth grade. One was a local who had previously been a substitute teacher and was later promoted to a permanent position. The other was a young teacher who had graduated from a vocational school and was assigned there. He was only thinking about transferring away from this godforsaken place and had no interest in teaching. He was just going through the motions.

During his six years of primary school, Chen Shi did not encounter a single reliable teacher. Many of the substitute teachers were of low quality and beat students severely, causing many students to run away and become afraid to come to school.

Chen Shi's childhood friend, Li Fugui, was chased away by the teacher and still has psychological trauma to this day. He still trembles when he sees the teacher.