Author: Liang Yang
Fast forward to 1962, the system was adjusted, the ditch was changed to a district, several brigades were merged into a small commune, and my second brother was also sent to a small commune, first as the poll director, and then as the vice president.
At that time, it was rumored that foreigners would be transferred to be the accountants of the production team, and the people unanimously called out, did not trust the outsiders, were afraid that the outsiders would take charge of economic power, and had temporary concepts that would harm the interests of the locals.
So, I worked as an accountant for more than two years, and the reputation was good. When accountants, they are all early high school graduates. At the beginning of the liberation, it was difficult to enter junior high school, and the main teacher of Chen Kan Primary School was He Jinyu, who led more than a dozen of us students, and finally I was admitted to Chen Yang Middle School.
In fact, now that I think about it, I didn't work hard in elementary school at that time, and I couldn't catch up with the current primary school students, but I was better than others intellectually.
Mr. He Jinyu later became the principal of Fengtang Middle School and worked with me. In the past, the school system and curriculum were relatively short, there was no sixth grade, there was no junior third and third year of high school, and it was common for teachers and students to become colleagues.
I was the accountant of the production team, it was easier, the summer and autumn to do the distribution plan, the accountants of other teams had to calculate the account for a week, and I took the day to get the time done.
However, my mind is not on accounting, and I still want to go out and mix. By 1964, the county needed teachers. The second brother reported my name and academic qualifications to the county education department.
I wanted to be a teacher, so I found Chen Weihai, a fellow villager in the Propaganda Department of the county party committee, who was the third brother of my second sister-in-law. He's an honest man who says you're the only one to go to the education department, and the most I can do is to introduce you.
That day, he happened to be home, so I dragged him to the county on my bicycle and asked him to go with him to the Education Bureau. He introduced me to Secretary Wang of the Education Bureau. Secretary Wang was very enthusiastic, saying that there was a shortage of teachers in the agricultural middle school at present.
However, he did not say whether he wanted to or not, pacing back and forth in the office, and my heart fluttered and waited for him to speak.
After a while, he said to me very seriously, well, you write an article for me to see.
Immediately, he took me to his dormitory, gave me paper and pen, and asked me to write an essay about how to be a good teacher in the middle school.
Over the years, I felt hopeless in the countryside, saw that my second brother often wrote news reports, and also followed him to learn to write manuscripts, and published several small articles in "Xinhua Daily" and "Yanfu Mass Daily".
I wrote for nearly an hour in Secretary Wang's dormitory, and I remember that the handwriting was particularly careful at that time. Unexpectedly, after handing in the papers, Secretary Wang swept his eyes, nodded frequently, and then went to the office to open a letter of introduction for me.
He said that depending on my level, I don't need to study at Yancheng Institute of Education for the time being, and I can teach directly.
I was very happy at that time, and I didn't even say a word of thanks, including to Comrade Chen Weihai, who introduced me to me.
Group photo of Fengtang Middle School. The fourth from the right in the second row is the author, and the fifth from the right is Principal He Jinyu.
(The first row of the right is Teacher Liu Qingxia, the third left is Mrs. He Jinyu Principal, the second row is The right one is Teacher Hu Shaoyi, the second right is Teacher Cangdingbang, the sixth right is Teacher Wei Liyan, the left one is Director Yang Yi, the left Road Two is Accountant Li Xiaoen, and the other teachers can't be named by xiaobian)
However, if you do not study through Yancheng Institute of Education, you will not meet the qualification requirements and will only be a temporary substitute teacher. In the spring of the following year, I went to Yancheng Institute of Education to study for half a year, and when I returned, I was transferred to Sanhe Nong middle school as a teacher.
Rural school scene in the sixties (in other places, our school conditions in Dafuning at that time were much better than this)
Rural secondary school scenes in the sixties
Scenes of extracurricular activities in the 1970s
Later, I learned that Secretary Wang had a very high level of calligraphy, first-class calligraphy, and was very prestigious in the educational circles of Funing at that time, but unfortunately he died young.
I admit that China has always been a society of acquaintances, and personal connections are useful, but at that time, it was only a recommendation from relatives and acquaintances, there was no set of gifts, the key is to see your level. Without that essay, I wouldn't have been able to become a teacher.