The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 292 I've made up my mind, you'll be the principal.

When Qian Jin went out again, he ran into Zhou Tiezhen, who was covered in wood powder.

The team leader nodded hurriedly to him: "Director Qian is here? Well, we're going to set up a temporary shed outside, so it won't take up any classroom space."

Qian Jin asked, "What will we use to build the shed?"

“Use wood and plastic sheeting,” Zhou Tiezhen said matter-of-factly, and then directed his men to repair a window that was making a strange noise when it was opened and closed.

Qian Jin said from behind, "How can you work in this freezing weather in the shed? Forget it, you guys can continue working in the classrooms, there are several classrooms anyway... Hey, this guy!"

Zhou Tiezhen had disappeared.

He's too busy.

The classroom, which served as a work shed, was also bustling with activity, filled with the sounds of people talking.

The sounds of sawing wood, shavings, hammering, shouting, and storytelling on the radio—

Qian Jin prepared several radios for entertainment, and he gave these radios directly to the Xiping Production Brigade.

At this moment, all sorts of sounds were mixed together, creating a chaotic mess.

The classroom smelled awful, filled with the sweat and foot odor of the men, a strong pine scent, and a slightly pungent paint smell.

More than twenty carpenters were working hard here, sweating profusely.

Some were cutting wood in front of huge table saws, with the piercing sound of motors echoing everywhere.

Some sat on wooden stools, leaning forward, their arms rhythmically pushing the sharp planes.

The wood shavings, as thin as cicada wings, curled and flew like golden ribbons, piling up into small mountains at the carpenters' feet.

Several other craftsmen were gathered in a designated area, carrying out the most complex procedures.

Paint the surfaces of tables and chairs.

Qian Jin gestured for Wei Xiongtu and Wei Qinghuan to approach the area, but to maintain a certain distance to avoid interference:
"See this? This is the complete process of making nitrocellulose varnish. It's very complicated, but the results are excellent."

An experienced craftsman was meticulously sanding a pine tabletop with a piece of fine sandpaper. Once he finished, another craftsman immediately took a soft cloth, dipped it in a pale yellow powder, and quickly and evenly applied it to the sanded area.

"This is 'runbo powder,' similar to grout or wood grain stain. It can fill in the tiny pores and ducts on the surface of the wood and also slightly tint it, making the overall color more even," Qian Jin explained.

He has to explain.

In Wei Xiongtu and Wei Qinghuan's memory, painting tables and chairs was simply a matter of brushing on a layer of paint and waiting for it to dry.

In comparison, this is far more troublesome.

After applying the putty powder, another worker took out a flat tin box containing mixed putty.

He skillfully applied the first coat of putty with a scraper, using even pressure to fill in even the smallest dents on the tabletop.

Then comes the waiting for it to dry.

"The putty and sanding are the most crucial steps, as they determine the smoothness of the final paint finish. You can't be careless at all. It looks complicated, but you can't skip any of them," Qian Jin explained in a low voice, while the two watched intently.

Wei Xiongtu couldn't help but ask, "Is it really necessary to go through all this trouble?"

Qian Jin laughed: "You think it's troublesome, right?"

The two craftsmen next to him laughed after hearing this:

"This teacher has probably never seen us paint desks and chairs before. This is going to be a hassle! And this is just the beginning!"

"Come on, just you wait and see, I'll show you what real trouble is, haha."

Several people were responsible for painting the tables and chairs.

After two coats of putty were sanded, the tabletop had a satisfyingly smooth finish.

The craftsman who had been polishing put down his scraper, picked up a bowl containing a prepared pale yellow oil, and then used a special brush to apply it.

He looked up and explained to Wei Xiongtu, "Teacher, this is applying the oil coloring before you can apply the paint."

The paint used was nitrocellulose lacquer, stored in a dark tin can with foreign lettering printed on it.

The art of painting emphasizes speed, evenness, thinness, and uniformity, a principle that experienced painters clearly understand.

He dipped a bristle brush into a suitable amount of varnish, and soon the varnish film flowed and spread on the smooth wooden surface, instantly covering the tabletop with a bright luster.

The paint film dries and sets quickly, but this is only the beginning.

After it dries completely, sand it again. Then repeat the process of applying a second coat of clear varnish and sanding.

Then apply a third coat of clear varnish!
"Generally, three coats of clear varnish are needed to achieve a full, glossy, and protective finish. The sanding between each coat is especially important, as it determines the final feel and smoothness," Qian Jin continued to explain.

Wei Xiongtu and Wei Qinghuan were completely dumbfounded.

Qian Jin waved his hand: "Stop looking, we still need to wax and polish it later, but we don't have any tables and chairs at this stage right now, let's talk about it later."

Wei Xiongtu looked on with longing: "No wonder those tables and chairs were so nice; it turns out painting them is such a painstaking process!"

Qian Jin must have had a hard time getting into the secret passage, otherwise why would he have given the craftsmen such good treatment?
In addition, he discovered that there were indeed many carpenters in the Xiping Production Brigade, and their skills were excellent.

In this way, in addition to forming an engineering team, he can also select a group of people who are good at making furniture, and later set up a furniture processing plant using Xiping timber as raw material.

He knew very well that furniture sales were booming in the 1980s, and the market was full of money.

Of course, the main thing then will be paint.

The paint is supplied by the mall, which is its core competitiveness.

Wei Xiongtu handed a cigarette to an old hand and chatted with him.

The old craftsman told him that the desks and chairs used in the school required more than a dozen processes to complete, which was completely different from the furniture he remembered from rural workshops that was simply brushed with tung oil.

After learning about the series of processes, he exclaimed to Qian Jin, "I only saw that the tables and chairs were beautiful and elegant, but I didn't know that the process was so complicated."

"No wonder, no wonder! If making a table and chair requires so many complicated steps, then the education of knowledge and the inheritance of skills must also require such meticulous craftsmanship and repeated refinement. Otherwise, how can we cultivate truly valuable talents?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Jin immediately gave him a thumbs up: "My brother-in-law is extraordinary. He can draw inferences from one instance to another and make connections between different things."

"Brother-in-law, you're really wasting your talent in Jiagang. You must go to the position you're meant to be in and shine!"

Wei Xiongtu smiled and didn't take his words to heart.

Qian Jin didn't say much.

No rush, we'll talk about it later.

He led the two back to the main campus, pointing out the layout of the classrooms throughout the school, and explained it to them in detail:

"That's the main entrance, and this is the registration area and the finance office."

"This row of classrooms is for theory, and it will be equipped with a blackboard and a podium. The largest classroom at the back is the workshop. The water and electricity lines are not yet in place, and the ventilation equipment has not been installed, so we won't go to see it. There's nothing to see for now."

"Then a tool storage room and a material warehouse were arranged next to the workshop. The buildings on the north side were vacated to be used as student dormitories. The classrooms were separated, and the carpenters could make bunk beds. At that time, a dormitory could accommodate more than a dozen students."

"The kitchen is over there, and the toilets are in the four corners of the courtyard. We'll have to run a sewer pipe to connect them all. Once the sewer pipe is buried, the sanitation problem will be solved."

His plans are clear, pragmatic, and full of the spirit of a doer.

When Wei Qinghuan looked at him again, her gaze was now brimming with tears.

Women tend to admire those who are strong.

At this moment, Qian Jin, bathed in the setting sun, exuded an incredibly powerful aura.

Wei Xiongtu was also impressed by his idea: "Chief Qian, your plan is quite grand."

Qian Jin laughed and said, "What's this? Our training school will have to work really hard from now on."

"The country lacks talent, and farmers lack skills. So, we need to create a place here that can transform farmers and unemployed young people into skilled workers. We will not only teach animal husbandry and agricultural planting, but also machinist, fitter, basic electrical work, home appliance repair, sewing and tailoring, accounting, and even cooking. We can teach all of these!"

Qian Jin, full of smugness, continued his tirade: "Just you wait and see, factories, street service stations, and newly opened individual stalls will all be short of skilled workers."

"Now that reform and opening up are underway, policies are becoming more and more relaxed, and more job opportunities will emerge in society in the future. If ordinary people have skills, they won't have to worry about not having food to eat."

“Workers who learn good skills can get higher wages and better job positions; unemployed youth who learn skills can have a proper job; and rural children who learn a skill will have more ways to make a living in the city.”

He paused, his gaze fixed intently on Wei Xiongtu and Wei Qinghuan, who were listening intently:

“You all know my character. This school isn’t for my own personal gain. It’s to provide a real opportunity and a legitimate platform for those who want to learn real skills and change their destiny through their craft!”

He pointed to the brand-new tables and chairs: "Like these tables and chairs, the wood is of good quality, the craftsmanship is excellent, and with the right craftsmen polishing them, they can become the shiny and sturdy things they are today!"

As the sun sets, the golden-red afterglow streams through the bright glass windows into the empty classroom.

Orange-red light flowed and danced on the amber-lustered pine wood tables and chairs, leaving behind a warm and hopeful play of light and shadow.

Qian Jin's shadow was stretched very long.

Wei Xiongtu squinted at the empty classrooms, his mind wandering. He could vaguely hear the sounds of future reading and discussion echoing in his ears.

Wei Qinghuan felt her chest filled with an unprecedented passion.

She stole a glance at her husband's profile, her eyes filled with adoration and longing.

That's a real man!

My judgment was indeed top-notch!

Qian Jin suddenly turned his head, his gaze sharp as he looked at Wei Xiongtu:

“Brother-in-law, you are a proper scholar, knowledgeable, upright, literate, and have strong organizational skills. Don’t you feel too stifled working as a laborer and clerk in the dock’s cargo team?”

He didn't use a question; he went straight to an exclamation.

Deeply affectionate.

Wei Xiongtu was taken aback, not expecting the topic to suddenly shift to him.

He hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "Everyone has their own expertise; we're all service workers."

Wei Qinghuan retorted, "You know my brother is literate and educated, so why don't you help him get transferred?"

Wei Xiongtu kept waving his hands, and Qian Jin said, "I didn't transfer him away, precisely for today."

He looked at Wei Xiongtu: "Brother-in-law, do you remember? I once said that I would set up a school and make you the principal!"

Qian Jin did indeed say that.

That was back in 1978.

Wei Xiongtu's heart pounded; he had guessed Qian Jin's intention.

Qian Jin said, "This training school will be officially opened for enrollment soon. Of course, this is not a formal school run by the state, nor do we train students to take exams. We are training practical talents for the country."

"A train runs fast because of its locomotive. Our school definitely needs a principal who can steer the course, command respect, understand educational management, and organize teaching plans. After much thought, I think only you—my brother-in-law—are the most suitable person to be the principal!"

Wei Xiongtu's heart skipped a beat.

He felt his cheeks burning, and his facial muscles were twitching violently; his glasses, which he had only been wearing for a short time, almost slipped off.

Three minutes before this, he had thought that Qian Jin would ask him to do something else at the school, such as helping out as a tutor in the study room, but he never expected that he would be made the principal.

He asked instinctively, "Although this is a training school, what about personnel appointments and dismissals..."

Qian Jin said, "I have already discussed this with the leaders. Our school does not participate in ideological education, but only cultivates students' survival skills. We do not need funding from higher authorities, nor do we charge fees, so naturally we do not pay any money to higher authorities."

"This gives us a great deal of autonomy. I and the leaders in the education sector can select and assign teachers, and we can also appoint the principal."

"This was promised to me by the leaders in the education sector!"

Wei Xiongtu stared at him, dumbfounded: "This...this really works?"

Qian Jin said, "Don't worry about whether it works or not. You just need to take care of the education work, and I'll handle the negotiations with the outside world!"

"So, all you need to consider is whether you want to be the principal."

Hearing his brother-in-law's resolute words...

Wei Xiongtu's face turned increasingly red, and he felt as if a fire was burning under his skin.

At the same time, what also began to burn was the flame of idealism in the chest of this man who was cautiously doing clerical and miscellaneous work in the moving team, a flame that had been dormant for a long time and which he thought had been extinguished.

"I..." His voice was a little hoarse, and his eyes were filled with intense emotion.

Wei Qinghuan asked him, "Brother, what's there to hesitate about? The supply and marketing cooperative is a good organization, but the transport team is not suitable for you."

“I’ve only been to Jia Port a few times, but almost every time I go, I hear the disdain the porters show when they mention you. Think about your back, always covered in plasters, think about the endless chores there. Do you want to spend the rest of your life in a place like that?” “I don’t want to. I want to be the principal.” Wei Xiongtu began to habitually hesitate. “But Xiaoqing, you know me. Do I have the ability? I don’t want to give…”

"Yes! I have that ability!" Wei Qinghuan said firmly.

Wei Xiongtu was once again stunned by his sister's resolute words.

He looked at the snow-white walls and bright glass in front of him, and then recalled the brand-new tables and chairs he had just seen, as well as the infinite possibilities that Qian Kou was talking about.

Courage, like a flood breaking through a dam, washed away his inherent hesitation and concerns.

He suddenly raised his head, his attitude becoming unusually firm:

"I'll do it!"

After saying those two words, he let out a long breath, his shoulders slumped unconsciously, but his spine straightened even more.

He felt as if a tremendous burden had been lifted, and a brand new mission had been taken on his shoulders.

"That's great!" Qian Jin's eyes were full of relief as he patted Wei Xiongtu's shoulder hard.

Just then, Wei Qinghuan stepped forward, took Qian Jin's arm, and spoke in the same resolute tone as before:
"If my brother becomes the principal, I want to come too."

“I don’t like my job at night school, I’m quitting. I want to come to this training school! Whether it’s teaching science, managing students, or handling accounts, I’m willing to do anything that can help!”

Qian Jin stared blankly at his wife.

His wife was very excited, and her pretty face became even more charming and beautiful.

A strange light gleamed in her eyes as she said, "Night schools have changed a bit. In the first two years after the college entrance examination was reinstated, students were genuinely interested in learning, but I've noticed that things have gradually changed."

"Now, students who aspire to take the college entrance exam go to regular schools. People who come to night school are just killing time and passing the days. They don't really think about learning anything."

“Students come and go in batches. Sometimes I don’t even remember their names or know their situation before they leave. I realize that this is not a place for teaching and nurturing people.”

Then she looked around at everything that was brand new and drew a circle with her hand: "This place is different. It's not even as good as our night school, but I can see a lot of differences here."

"What needs to be done here is real work, something truly significant that can change the fate of many people!"

Qian Jin chuckled awkwardly, "Staying at night school is pretty good, isn't it? After all, it's a proper job. Our place, hehe, it's not even set up yet..."

He never expected that his motivational speech would not only convince his brother-in-law, but also his own young wife.

No!
He had other plans for Wei Qinghuan.

With Wei Qinghuan's abilities, connections, and future potential, he has a way to help Wei Qinghuan develop step by step in the night school and eventually become the principal.

Night schools are institutions that will soon be eliminated; they won't even survive until the 1990s.

In this way, once the Chengnan District People's Night School is shut down, he plans to restructure the night school in Wei Qinghuan's name.

They were also converted into training schools to train English. In the late 1980s and 1990s, the trend of studying abroad was a major development.

He can then form an education group through strategic alliances.

Wei Qinghuan shook her head firmly: "No, for teachers, the real job is one that can educate and nurture people, not one that focuses on social status or salary and benefits."

Qian Jin felt a chill run down his spine.

Ah Zhen, are you serious?
Wei Xiongtu smiled gently at his sister and said, "As the principal, I welcome your arrival."

"Xiao Qing, with your abilities, educational background, and enthusiasm, you are definitely the kind of talent the school needs..."

Wei Qinghuan said happily, "Brother, you agree with my choice, right? That's great! From now on, our family will work together as one to make this training school a success!"

"Make it a cradle for truly cultivating skilled craftsmen and changing the fate of some farmers and unemployed educated youth!"

Wei Xiongtu shook his head: "Actually, I know why you want to be a teacher. You're afraid I won't be able to handle the situation, so you want to help me, after all."

He paused, then spoke his mind: "After all, you are the wife of the brigade commander."

Wei Qinghuan was anxious to explain.

Wei Xiongtu smiled at her again: "It's okay, Xiaoqing. You do your best at night school, and I'll do my best at the training school. Let's see who does better."

Qian Jin hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes, Teacher Wei is the principal of the training school, Teacher Wei was promoted to a leadership position at the night school, and I am the director of the supply and marketing cooperative. We all have bright futures."

"What are you talking about?" Wei Qinghuan said unhappily.

Qian Jin said, "What are you thinking!"

He used his talent for making up stories to start a moral education for her: "The learning atmosphere at night school is not right now. As a teacher, what you want to do is run away. Is that right?"

“This is not right! You should try to turn this around. Of course, you are just an ordinary teacher now and can't make influential decisions, but you can work hard and get promoted.”

"If my brother can be the principal, why can't you? You definitely can! You'll be the principal of the People's Night School!"

Wei Qinghuan was not easily fooled: "What nonsense are you talking about? Even if our school is going to change principals, it will be a leader from the education department or a director or vice principal transferred from another school to take over. How could it be my turn?"

Qian Jin said, "It's my turn, I'm sure I'll get my turn."

"And listen to me, honey, adult education has a bright future, and you'll have a great future in night school too."

"Besides, the night school job is easy, only two or three hours in the evening. You have plenty of time during the day. You can come and help me during the day. You can be my secretary. Isn't that helping me too?"

After being comforted by the two, Wei Qinghuan changed her mind.

Qian Jin secretly wiped away a cold sweat.

Yes, it's cold, and I'm not sweating.

It's getting late.

It was already past dusk.

Qian Jin dragged a large box out of the office: "Since you're here, let's do a project together."

"What are you doing?" Wei Qinghuan asked curiously.

Qian Jin opened the large box, which contained various calligraphy and paintings, with a large folded world map and a map of China on top.

All maps are laminated, larger than one square meter, and brightly colored.

"I asked my former boss to buy this from the Xinhua Bookstore in the capital and mail it to me."

That's the truth. He didn't dare buy a map from the store. Putting everything else aside, just take the world map for example. The current map shows a huge red empire in the north.

Soviet Union!

Maps from the 21st century are no longer usable today.

Wei Xiongtu is a humanities teacher who loves geography and history.

He opened a world map and looked at it in the orange-red glow of the setting sun. He saw that the continents on the map were clearly distinguished by their colors, and blue oceans embraced the landmasses.

Below is a map of China, with winding railway lines and scattered city coordinates, the numerous lines outlining the trajectory of an era that is rapidly expanding across the map.

Qian Jin said, "Let's do it ourselves, with the principal leading the team, and nail these maps and famous quotes and pictures to the wall."

Wei Xiongtu and Wei Qinghuan each grabbed a small hammer and began working with great enthusiasm.

They both have a deep affection for the school.

This is our own school.

While figuring out where to nail the map, Wei Qinghuan explained it to Qian Jin.

She said that when she was a child, her father told her that her Wei family had run a private school in feudal society and a school in the suburbs during the Republic of China period.

Therefore, appointing Wei Xiongtu as the principal can be seen as a continuation of the family bloodline.

Wei Xiongtu remained silent, but carefully used thumbtacks to neatly nail the huge map, which carried the coordinates of time and space, onto the snow-white wall of the reading room.

In the future, there will be many bookshelves and cabinets here, and he hopes that when students come to read, they will first notice the layout of the whole world.

Only by looking at the world can we have a future.

After nailing the map down, they started hanging famous quotes on the wall:

"Knowledge is power!" — Francis Bacon

"What you learn from books is never enough; you must put it into practice to truly understand." - Lu You

"Great things in the world must be accomplished by attending to details"—Lao Tzu

"A worker's skills are the foundation of their livelihood—Wang Jinxi"

All of these things.

Then the largest piece of calligraphy came from Qian Jin's idol:

"Self-reliance and hard work!"
Dozens of laminated calligraphy and paintings by famous people are scattered in more than a dozen classrooms, yet they do not appear crowded.

Qian Jin urged Wei Xiongtu: "As the principal, you should also write a piece of calligraphy, firstly to encourage the students, and secondly as a memento."

Wei Xiongtu said shyly, "I'll pass..."

“Here are calligraphy brushes, large sheets of fine Xuan paper, and ink. Why don’t you write?” Qian Jin urged him.

Wei Xiongtu waved his hand again: "These words are spoken by educational giants or model workers. I am just an old scholar and a pedantic pedant, so I won't embarrass myself by saying them."

Wei Qinghuan said, "Why don't you, husband, say it and let my older brother write it, and the two of you can collaborate on a piece of calligraphy!"

Qian Jin thought for a moment and said, "Okay, just write this one sentence. I'll say it, and you write it—"

"Education should be geared towards modernization, the world, the future, and the people."

Wei Xiongtu laughed loudly: "That's a good line, very stylish."

Wei Qinghuan spread out a long sheet of white paper.

Wei Xiongtu filled his brush with ink, then concentrated and began to wield his brush in his most proficient style of large characters in the Wei stele script.

The ink flowed freely, and the brushstrokes were vigorous and powerful.

Every word seemed to be infused with the surging beliefs and expectations in his heart.

After he finished writing, he and Qian Jin carried it outside to let the cold wind dry the ink, and then hung it in the principal's office.

Looking at these classrooms now evokes a completely different feeling.

The originally empty, simple, and even somewhat rudimentary cement white walls were instantly filled with an uplifting cultural atmosphere because of these maps and banners.

An atmosphere of thirst for knowledge, gazing into the distance, and tempering one's will, like an invisible spiritual thread, quietly grows in the brand-new school space.

When the carpenter and his team members carried the desks and chairs into the classroom, they would always stop and linger for a moment when they saw these things.

The world map and the map of China, in particular, fascinated them.

These farmers, who have been working in the fields since they were old enough to understand things, learned for the first time about the distribution of the five continents and the course of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, their two mother rivers.

The last rays of the setting sun disappeared beyond the gray courtyard wall.

In the empty classroom, the light quickly dimmed, but the fresh scent of new pine and the unique aroma of nitrocellulose lacquer permeated the air even more clearly.

Qian Jin told Wei Xiongtu and Wei Qinghuan to ride their bikes home.

Wei Xiongtu pushed the cart and sped up to get on. He looked up and saw the night sky gradually deepening above him.

A not-so-bright star is stubbornly twinkling its faint light.

He knew that as the night deepened, the star's light would grow brighter and brighter, and that more stars would appear around it.

My path is not lonely.

Leaving the somewhat deserted streets of Kunlun Mountain Road and entering the busier main roads of the city, one after another Jiefang brand trucks roared past, raising clouds of dry winter dust.

The truck bed was filled with figures dressed in bulky gray-blue overalls.

Those were workers from state-owned factories and mines on the outskirts of the city returning to their residential compound in their company's transport vehicle after work.

Other factories had also closed for the day, and the crisp, chaotic sound of bicycle bells flowed through the streets like a stream.

In the distance, a factory's towering chimney belches thick smoke that shoots straight up into the leaden-gray sky, carrying the rugged lines and powerful energy characteristic of 1980s industry.

Qian Jin loves this era.

(End of this chapter)