Chapter 1230

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Li Tunan had followed Wang Xiaohua's life for nearly a week, and the two had unknowingly become friends in the process.

During their time together, Wang Xiaohua told Li Tunan quite a bit about his own situation, and Li Tunan consequently came to understand Wang Xiaohua more and more deeply.

In the blink of an eye a week passed, and in a few more days school would start.

It was only now that Li Tunan formally began his interview with Wang Xiaohua.

Because of the earlier shared life, when the formal interview finally came, neither of them felt the slightest constraint; it was just like an ordinary chat.

"Who do you think is the person you should be most grateful to in your life?"

"There are two. One is my mother; in my eyes she is the greatest woman in the world. She raised us three brothers on her own — honestly, to me that was even harder than getting into Tsinghua."

"And the other?"

"The other is my late wife. She gave me the purest love, letting me truly touch the meaning of life."

"Have you ever felt unhappy, or psychologically unbalanced, because you were born into a poor family?"

"Honestly, as a child my dullness was quite strong; I didn't feel anything because of poverty. On the contrary, because of my mother's presence, I felt life wasn't that bad. When I was young and ignorant, I thought the family's deep poverty was related to my parents' cognition. Later I realized that was actually the optimal solution they could choose, so I gradually came to understand them, especially my mother."

"What about your father?"

"How to put it... he is a mirror for me. I often look at myself in this mirror, then strive to remind myself not to become that kind of person."

"You mean you hate him, and don't want to become him?"

"I don't want to become him, but I don't hate him anymore."

"Why?"

"Everyone has to come to terms with life."

"Did your father do something that hurt you, or hurt the family?"

"I don't want to talk about that."

"How did you get into Tsinghua?"

"That was my mother's achievement. Before the college entrance exam, every mock exam score of mine fell short of the Tsinghua score line. But that year, the exam essay was a topic about 'choice.' I wrote my mother's life choices into it, and then my Chinese score was the highest it had ever been, and I barely made it into Tsinghua's Chemistry Department."

"What did you write in that college entrance exam essay?"

"I wrote about my mother's life choices. Every step of her life choices was wrong, all pointless hardship, so that she could never walk out of that tiny Shangou Village. In her whole life she hadn't even been to the County Town a few times. But that was the cognition of my youthful vigor; my cognition at the time was actually limited. Now I don't think my mother was wrong at all; on the contrary, I think the views I wrote in that exam essay were all wrong."

"Why did this change in cognition happen?"

"Because I truly came into contact with life. I know life isn't doing test papers; it's not that just because an optimal solution appears before you, you can choose it."

"You said you're already married, and your wife has passed away. Can you tell the story between you and her? How did she pass away?"

"We were high school classmates, then confirmed our relationship in university. As for why we married so early, it was because her family suffered a major upheaval. I wanted to give her a guarantee through marriage, a support to keep living. It's a pity that her father's passing still made her lose the courage to live. As for the rest, I don't want to say too much. I'm sorry."

"Understood."

"You graduate next year. What are your plans?"

"I plan to return to my hometown to develop, and contribute a share of effort to my hometown's poverty alleviation and prosperity."

"Not going to graduate school?"

"Not going."

"Any concrete plans?"

"First, test into a Poverty Alleviation Cadre position back home, then make other plans."

"As far as I know, grassroots township Poverty Alleviation Cadres have very hard work and meager income. Are you truly willing to pay that price?"

"I'm not a person with high material pursuits. Being able to have three meals a day with food and warmth is enough."

"Won't you feel a bit overqualified?"

"No. I studied hard to get into university not to escape my impoverished hometown, but for my hometown to escape poverty."

"What advice do you have for rural students?"

"Don't be inferior, don't overthink, don't be cynical, don't feel the world is unfair, and even more don't be influenced by some voices on the internet to attack so-called exam-oriented education. Just bury your head and study hard. Because the college entrance exam is the single most effective channel for us bottom-stratum people to achieve a class leap — there is no other. The exam may have imperfections, but it is absolutely, as of now, the fairest selection method in the whole world. Without the college entrance exam, us bottom-stratum rural people would have even less chance to rise."

Li Tunan asked Wang Xiaohua many questions.

In the blink of an eye several days passed, and September 1st arrived. Beijing had already entered autumn mode; the morning weather had started to turn a bit cold.

Wang Xiaohua's interview was published in a section of the campus newspaper, attracting quite a lot of attention.

Even the College leadership had taken notice.

The interview content was brimming with positive energy, and coupled with Wang Xiaohua's special identity as a rural student, it was entirely suitable to increase publicity and make him a model and exemplar for the College.

So the subsequent development actually gradually exceeded Wang Xiaohua's control.

The interview article was posted online for publicity, and then triggered enormous discussion and attention.

For a time his deeds became a hot topic of social debate.

And immediately after, the College leadership actually invited him to give a new student speech.

Wang Xiaohua was still completely in a daze.

He completely hadn't expected that merely accepting a school newspaper interview would actually trigger such a huge butterfly effect.

Honestly, at first he was a bit at a loss.

But he calmed down very quickly.

Just a new student speech, not something bad. Write the speech draft in advance, then go up and speak.

As for whether he was qualified, he himself felt he wasn't, but since the leadership had invited him, even if unqualified he had to brace himself and go up.

Refuse, and that is retreat; retreat, and that means losing the courage to solve difficulties.

And in the life ahead, there will be even more difficulties greater than this freshman speech; could it be that every time one encounters a difficulty, one must retreat?

If one retreats every time, is he still himself?

Because he stepped onto the freshman speech stage, Wang Xiaohua's fame was raised once again.

Publicity about his deeds on the internet also grew more and more.

Wang Xiaohua's deeds even made the news television station.

And at this time, Wang Zhanggen, who was at home watching TV, saw his own son's news interview.

"This kid, not bad; my painstaking cultivation of him wasn't in vain!"

A smile appeared on Wang Zhanggen's old face; laughing and laughing, he couldn't help but let out a dry cough.

Wang Erhai at the side couldn't help muttering a sentence:

"Dad, I remember you only beat Third Brother; it seems you didn't really cultivate Third Brother much."

Wang Zhanggen immediately retorted:

"What the hell do you know? Beating is cultivation! Cultivation is beating! No beating, no making the man! I see it's just that you were beaten too little by me in your childhood, so much so that you've come back to the rural area to muddle along in such a sorry state!"

Hearing this, Wang Erhai's face was full of cry-laugh!