Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 23: Set an example of quality education!

The person from Yenching University was naturally not the admissions teacher of Yenching University, but the founder of "Blog China", Dongfang Xing, and his friends.

When he saw Wang Zixin, Zhang Ting and Zhang Chao walking into the principal's office, he immediately stood up, walked past the two teachers, and extended his hand to Zhang Chao, saying, "You must be Zhang Chao. I'm Dongfang Xing. Nice to meet you, nice to meet you!"

It was also the first time that Zhang Chao met this influential figure in the history of the Internet. He hurriedly shook Dongfang Xing's hand and said, "Teacher Dongfang, you are too polite. It is my honor to meet you."

At this time, the principal Wu Xingyu started to introduce: "Teacher Wang is Zhang Chao's class teacher, and Teacher Zhang is his Chinese teacher. This is Director Ou from the city's propaganda department, this is Deputy Secretary Li from the county's education department, this is Teacher Dongfang Xing from Blog China, and this is reporter Li Lie from the New Yanjing News."

Everyone then began to greet each other.

At this time, there were not enough seats on the sofas in the office, so Xiao Zheng, the office clerk, hurriedly brought in a few stools, then tactfully left and closed the door.

After they sat down, Principal Wu Xingyu spoke first: "Student Zhang Chao, your pen name should be 'Midnight Tide'."

Zhang Chao nodded.

Dongfang Xing said, "Let me explain it." Then he recounted in detail what happened in the special supplement of "Nan Guo Weekend" last week and at the semi-finals of the "New Concept Composition Competition".

They also produced Southern Weekend and several influential newspapers that reported the incident as evidence.

Although Zhang Chao had heard Dongfang Xing's story on the phone last week, as an insider, he still felt thrilling when he heard it now.

At first he just wanted to get a chance to go to college, and chose to become famous through writing, taking advantage of the popularity of "New Sprout" magazine and the "New Concept Composition Competition". He never expected that the result would be like this today.

He still underestimated the chemical reaction that would occur when Southern Weekend, New Sprouts, and the New Concept Essay Contest were mixed together in the era of print media.

From the moment Southern Weekend decided to publish his three articles, things were heading in a direction that he could no longer control.

However, Zhang Chao was still relatively calm at the moment. After two days of reflection over the weekend, he was also certain about his future path. Regardless of whether he could go to college or not, he would choose writing as his first choice in life.

This was no longer a speculation, but during the past two weeks of rebirth, his intense writing had rekindled the fire that only belonged to young literary people in his heart.

And "Southern Weekend" opened for him the most difficult door to embark on the path of professional writing in this era.

Thinking of this, the look in his eyes when he looked at Dongfang Xing couldn't help but be somewhat "affectionate".

Dongfang Xing spoke until his mouth was dry. The matter was not complicated, but every three sentences he would go back to the topic of "Zhang Chao first published articles on our 'Blog China'."

At the end, he got to the point and said, "This matter is now at the forefront of public opinion. Because Zhang Chao not only broke the sacred halo of the 'New Concept Essay Contest', but also raised a serious issue for the national education department and even the entire society -

What are the selection criteria for talents? Is the direct admission of universities based on meritocracy or does it undermine educational equality? The media is also very interested in the true identity of "Midnight Tide". Editor-in-Chief Jiang of "Southern Weekend" found me and wanted me to contact "Midnight Tide", but I didn't expect..." Before he finished speaking, he looked at Zhang Ting, who was the least influential person in the room.

Zhang Ting took over the conversation with a smile, and explained to everyone, especially Zhang Chao: "Wasn't your learning achievement report meeting on Friday? It was already 6:40 and I didn't see you, so I went to look for you. As a result, I saw you making a phone call in the phone booth, and before I could get there, you hung up and ran away.

I was still trying to catch up with you, but the phone in the phone booth rang. I thought it was someone calling you, and I wanted to answer the phone for you first, and then tell you. It turned out to be Teacher Dongfang Xing. After a while, I told him about your situation. Teacher Dongfang asked me not to tell you yet, fearing that you would refuse again. Zhang Chao, you are really something, how could you refuse such a good opportunity? "

Zhang Chao said: "Isn't this the end of the semester..."

Dongfang Xing continued, "I always thought that 'Midnight Tide' was a young teacher, but I didn't expect that you are actually a high school student who just turned 18. I think this is an opportunity. Your articles and your identity are very consistent with the educational issues mentioned above. It just so happens that many media want to interview you. I was afraid that you would not agree, so I brought you here directly.

This teacher Li Lie is my good friend. He is not an ordinary reporter, but the editor-in-chief of the in-depth reporting department of the New Yanjing News. After hearing about your story, he was very interested and immediately put down other work in his hands and rushed over with me. "

Li Lie is only in his early thirties, thin, very capable, and his eyes are particularly sharp. He said: "Our New Yanjing Newspaper was founded on November 11 last year. It is a comprehensive large-scale daily newspaper jointly established by the 'Nan Guo Newspaper Group' in Guangzhou and the 'Guangming Newspaper Group' in Shanghai.

The "In-depth Reporting Department" I am in charge of is to conduct in-depth research on various social topics of public concern, uncover the inside story, and restore the truth. I read the article written by Zhang Chao, and combined with the recent events surrounding the "New Concept Essay Competition", it is very consistent with the purpose of our in-depth reporting. So I came here.

I hope to have an exclusive interview with you."

Zhang Chao understood in his heart that the New Yanjing News was the biological son of the "Southern Newspaper Group", and should be the younger brother of the Southern Weekend. No wonder it was brought here by Dongfang Xing first.

Without waiting for Zhang Chao to respond, Principal Wu Xingyu, fearing that Zhang Chao would refuse again, said, "Student Zhang Chao, this interview is not only a good opportunity for you to show your talents, but also a good opportunity for our school to showcase its educational achievements, especially its quality-oriented education achievements."

Director Ou of the city's propaganda department also said: "It is still a new thing in Fuhai in recent years for a high school student to publish an article in the influential Southern Weekend and trigger a strong social response. After you are interviewed by the New Yanjing Newspaper, the city TV station will also interview you."

Deputy Secretary Li of the county education department followed up and said, “We will also have the county television station interview you.”

Dongfang Xing also continued: "The New Yanjing Newspaper is only the first one. There are more than a dozen media outlets that want to interview you. It is very important to make a good start."

Zhang Chao knew that he couldn't refuse it anyway - and he didn't want to refuse it this time, so he agreed generously: "I would like to thank the leaders for their recognition, and also thank teachers Dongfang Xing and Li Lie for their attention. I was just afraid that I wouldn't be able to speak well."

Wu Xingyu laughed and said, "I've seen the video of you being interviewed by the county TV station a few days ago. If you can't speak well, there won't be any students in our school who can speak well."

At this time, the head teacher, Lao Wang Zixin, finally had the opportunity to speak up and said, "Zhang Chao is a typical representative of the fruitful results achieved in promoting quality-oriented education in our city, our county, and our No. 3 Middle School! He should be reported well."

One sentence made all the leaders present happy.

(End of this chapter)