I was reborn without dreams

Chapter 127 Uncle Zhang's Reverse Childhood Trauma
Ms. Li couldn't bear to leave her husband, so she went to Fengyi County, ate braised noodles and steamed buns, and also returned to her old profession—being a primary school teacher.

They teach everything.

The first phase of the project mainly involved building school buildings first and then dormitories. Therefore, the first batch of teaching activities were mainly carried out in four or five villages around the location of "Zhang'an Hope Primary School" and had not yet spread to other brigades in Chenzhuang Town.

In this process, besides "teaching in rural areas", Ms. Li's daily work is to help her husband arrange for the graduating students of "Yangtai Teachers College" and "Shanghu Teachers College" to participate in the "Volunteer Targeted Training Program" last year. Now, the "Volunteer Targeted Training Program" of "Zhang'an Education" is officially named "4698 Education-Related Outstanding Talents Targeted Training Program" in the government-enterprise cooperation projects noted in Jiangkou Province.

The scope extends beyond teachers' colleges to include normal universities within the province. However, since it is primarily enterprise-based, there are currently no similar enterprises other than "Zhang An Education" responding to the call.

However, the terms "1998 students," "1998 plan students," or "1998 fixed-training students" still circulated in many teachers' colleges in the province.

In particular, some newly established normal colleges, which have only been transferred from teacher training colleges for less than two years, attach great importance to the employment of their graduates and have begun to frantically issue "Employment Agreement Forms for Fresh Graduates" to recent graduates, putting them under great pressure to meet their KPIs.

But times have changed. When job assignments were guaranteed, it wasn't so noticeable. But with the increasing influence of market forces, and now that job assignments have been abolished, students are fine in their first year at colleges and universities, but by the third and fourth year, both schools and society are feeling the impact.

When a stupid company suddenly appears offering "guaranteed job placement," it's enough to make you want to punch a dog in the head.

That's right. Many schools didn't even know what "Zhang An Education" was supposed to do, and just assumed that it was "guaranteed job placement".

Zhang Da'an was too lazy to pay attention to those stupid school administrators who were in charge of administration; he just ranted and rave and then shut up.

The biggest characteristic of students willing to participate in the "Volunteer-Oriented Training Program" is not any particular talent. Apart from gold medals in physics, mathematics, and skills competitions, the honors they receive at school are worthless. Even if you can recite Shakespeare in a British country accent, it is just a language skill and cannot be sold for money at "Zhang An Education". Their biggest characteristic is their ability to withstand pressure.

Those who can serve as teachers at "Zhang An Hope Primary School" for one or two years must be able to withstand pressure.

Conscience is secondary.

Furthermore, during the interviews, Zhang Da'an repeatedly emphasized that they should not be overly compassionate and were strictly prohibited from investing too much emotion into teaching activities.

Once my heart is set on the local area and I can't bear to leave those children, then wouldn't all the money I, Zhang Da'an, invested be wasted?
But to everyone's surprise, before the "1998 Plan students" had even gotten to know the children, Zhang Da'an's aunt went to visit them for her husband's sake, and ended up overflowing with maternal love.

Divine gold.

Since he couldn't easily fire his aunt, Zhang Da'an could only argue back with his uncle.

Unexpectedly, Uncle Zhang loved his wife very much. He said, "That idiot will only be enthusiastic for three minutes at most," but then he and Teacher Li sponsored more than two hundred outstanding students from impoverished families.

They are called outstanding students, but that's not necessarily true; they have students from primary school, middle school, and university. However, they come from truly impoverished families; they face genuine hardship. The fact that they have over twenty university students is a testament to the entire village pooling its money to send them to university.

Zhang Zhengdong, Li Jiawen, and the Fengyi County Civil Affairs Bureau discussed and came up with a unified subsidy program, referencing Runzhou City's "100 People, 1000 Assistance" program launched in March of this year through the welfare lottery. The program provides 2,000 yuan per year for outstanding college students from impoverished families and 300 yuan per semester for outstanding middle school students from impoverished families.

Originally, there was no intention to sponsor primary school students, since there was already a "Zhang An Hope Primary School". However, some children were really suffering, and Zhang Zhengdong saw in them the same people Zhang Da'an was when he was a child.

Without parents, at best one has grandparents, at worst one is left to rely on the charity of others. If he had parents, Zhang Zhengdong wouldn't be so overwhelmed with compassion, because that would be too miserable. If he didn't have the ability, he could pretend he didn't see it and it wouldn't matter; now that he has the ability, all those years he served in the army weren't for nothing.

The local militia members were willing to work with him on the construction site, not because Zhang Zhengdong was a high-ranking official or had a lot of money, but mainly because Zhang Zhengdong seemed like a decent person.

Of course, Uncle Zhang himself was afraid that these children would end up like his nephew.

It's not that if someone's abilities are like their nephew's, then they're a mutant; it's that they're just as inhuman as their nephew, even devoid of humanity.

Theoretically, it should take out 400,000 to 500,000 yuan a year, but in reality, it doesn't need to be that much. First, the children of school age who are in primary school don't have to pay money. They can just eat and live with the "Zhang An Hope Primary School" and have someone to take care of them. Second, the subsidies for middle school students are handled by the Fengyi County Civil Affairs Bureau. They are also clever. They used Zhang Zhengdong's reputation to solicit donations from local tycoons and Pengcheng tycoons.

If it were a direct begging for alms, no wealthy family would casually sponsor a child who has no relation to them. But now the Fengyi County Civil Affairs Bureau has a point. Look, Director Zhang from out of town has put in so much effort, and you, a local man, don't you feel any shame at all?
Who can bear this?
So when Zhang Da'an was preparing for the exam in a couple of days, the mines in Pengcheng and Fengyi, whether state-owned or private, all followed suit and gave him 300 yuan. Of course, it wasn't just 300 yuan, but a standard allowance of 300 yuan per student per semester for middle school students.

The Fengyi County Civil Affairs Bureau handled this matter exceptionally well. Firstly, they did a good job; secondly, they gained an excellent reputation; and thirdly, and most importantly, they put an end to the previous dispute between more than 17,000 people and a construction company in Pengcheng City.

With over 17,000 people, if they really started a fight, they could fight all the way to the capital and still have some left.

The statistics are so detailed that it's no exaggeration to say that the main force is the men, women, and children of Chenzhuang Town. Those who came to help include fellow villagers from Peicheng County, and even relatives from southeastern Henan.

The main reason is that these days, a construction company that can sustain itself in a particular field of engineering for a long time is truly remarkable. They can easily recruit seven or eight hundred people, making them a mainstay of dynamic social groups.

Even those involved in smuggling along the coast couldn't muster even a fraction of the core personnel.

Originally, the locals were somewhat resentful but dared not speak out, but now that Zhang Zhengdong, who loves to eat dog meat, is there to hold them up even if the sky falls, what are they afraid of?

Besides, Uncle Zhang eats dog meat, not fox meat, so he's not afraid of foxes howling.

It wasn't difficult to suppress this matter, since it didn't cause much of an impact, but Zhang Zhengdong was hung up and scolded.

Do you even count as a cadre anymore?
Uncle Zhang, on the other hand, was unconcerned. "I'm doing a great job as the head of the Private Education Section at the Shazhou City Education Bureau. You want me, Zhang Zhengdong, to be the deputy general manager of an education investment company? Can I do it? I don't have that ability!"
Later they made me the leader of this damn group. Do I, Zhang Zhengdong, look like I have that kind of authority?
That does look quite similar.

When higher-level leaders came to handle this matter, they blamed Fengyi County, and surprisingly, they mainly tried to appease Zhang Zhengdong.

Throughout the entire process, someone from Fengyi County covered their face and looked aggrieved: No, the one who caused trouble was Director Zhang Zhengdong from Shazhou. Why did he slap me in the face?

When it comes to holding people accountable, there's only one question: Are these fellow villagers from Fengyi County?

Yes……

Then there will be no problem.

So much so that now everyone in Fengyi County, except for Chenzhuang Town, treats Uncle Zhang like a plague god. Who knows if this crazy guy from out of town will organize a drill one day?

And you know what? Uncle Zhang was really busy growing mushrooms, leading three large teams in a massive campaign. The Fengyi County Agricultural Bureau was initially quite reluctant, but after the oyster mushrooms started to sprout silk threads in seven days, they all perked up.

How can one be without spirit?

The draft purchase contract has been prepared, and a "helping agricultural product wholesale point" has been set up directly in the agricultural and sideline product wholesale market in Shazhou City. In fact, it is a stall with a warehouse covering an area of ​​more than 300 square meters.

Other stalls are all about the same size, and the agricultural and sideline products wholesale market in Shazhou City has always been a big business, with stalls in high demand. Many middlemen, community stores, and vegetable markets in the surrounding county-level cities are willing to come here for wholesale.

For the average person to snag a prime stall location, whether it's for fruits, vegetables, meat, or seafood, there's simply no way to do it in the wholesale market; you have to go further up.

Uncle Zhang is now on the path to even higher positions; after all, he is indeed the leader of a certain group and the director of the office.

If we insist on labeling him as "abusing his power for personal gain," it doesn't seem like a bad thing. But overall, it's more like "using his power for public good." But if it's "using his power for public good," does that mean he was fulfilling his duties?

In short, Zhang Zhengdong's erratic behavior made those observing him feel extremely conflicted, even incredibly frustrated...

Most cadres, to varying degrees, will hesitate and be timid when it comes to the development of their work or their advancement.

Uncle Zhang doesn't care about this or that. He has limited intelligence and doesn't understand the intricacies of those government offices. His main concern is to help his nephew's career and, incidentally, follow his own heart.

Just like when he passed through Gujiawei carrying an old man on his back and an old woman as he rushed out of the fire, he was no longer the country bumpkin principal of Dongweigang Middle School. In any case, he was considered a big shot in Shazhou City.

Zhang Zhengdong had never considered the matter of protecting himself, or rather, the concept was not in his mind. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been the only one among the three brothers who had fed Zhang Da'an for over a decade until he reached adulthood.

Leading the sponsorship of about two hundred children was, strictly speaking, just something that happened on a whim, not something I actively sought out. Otherwise, I would have done it last year, instead of going through all this trouble for half a year.

Because the messy and bizarre things were so outrageous, the new leadership in Fengyi County just let things be as they were, as long as they did their jobs well.

The department that works with women and children is quite willing to deal with Zhang Zhengdong, and it has become even more convenient to deal with him after Teacher Li came.

It facilitates fundraising, helps complete annual tasks ahead of schedule, and also makes it easier to sort out the relationship between cadres and the masses.

"...Our technology will definitely catch up with that of developed countries. There is no doubt about that. Don't think that the Japanese and Americans are anything special. What they have now, we will have in the future too!"

"Mr. Zhang, how can you be so sure? I read in the newspaper that our current technological level is still very backward..."

"Then I can be so sure, there's a reason behind it. My nephew was the top scorer in the college entrance exam for two consecutive years, and he'll definitely be the top scorer this year too. He's the smartest person in the world. He told me a long time ago that our country has a profound cultural heritage, and it changes every year, undergoing a major transformation in ten years!"

"Shit?"

"Come and give me a couple of taps on the head! Can't this little thing talk?!"

"Hahahahahaha..."

A little kid, covering his head and laughing, squeezed out of the crowd, only to get two quick taps on the head from Zhang Zhengdong's knuckles.

Unlike Zhang Da'an, who has a rough appearance, Zhang Zhengdong, even when tanned dark by working on construction sites, still retains his handsome middle-aged appearance. Many young girls dream of marrying him when they grow up, based on his current looks.

Of course, that was before Teacher Li came. After she arrived, many girls were heartbroken.

“Poverty is like being wounded. What we need to do is study hard, grow up quickly, and then slowly heal and cure our wounds. Once the wound is healed, we won’t be poor anymore. Let others have this and that. I may not have it now, but I will have it in the future; I may not have it when I was a child, but I will have it when I grow up. It’s just a matter of sooner or later. If I’m dressed poorly now, does that mean I’m missing a pair of eyes or a nose compared to someone who is well-dressed? I have hands and feet, and I can earn a living with my own abilities. I’m not afraid.”

After taking a break from work, Zhang Zhengdong chatted nonsense with the children in the canteen. The local villagers, who did not smoke, would also eat on one side of the canteen, but they would not cross the boundary, as there was a fence separating them.

If you can't resist the urge to smoke, go to the canteen in the workers' shed outside, where you can light a cigarette and chat while you eat.

Drinking alcohol is strictly prohibited on construction sites, but it's not absolute. You can't drink at noon, but after work in the evening, an ice-cold beer is quite refreshing.

Normally, people in Fengyi County drink a lot of strong liquor, whether it's in jars, bulk, or bags. But at the construction site of "Zhang'an Hope Primary School," everyone restrained themselves. If they really wanted to drink it, they would go home to drink it.

I usually drink beer after work in the evening, but not much, two or three bottles is considered excessive.

When I was with Zhang Zhengdong, we didn't care about showing off. We were basically not at the construction site, but at roadside stalls. There were seven or eight stall owners from the city in Fengyi County who would come at specific times to set up their stalls. They would cut up seventeen or eighteen catties of dog meat, and the rice was served in a large basin with a lot of gravy poured on top. The taste was absolutely amazing.

"Father Zhang, when I have money in the future, I want to go to the capital to see Chengtian Gate."

"You pig-brain! If you get into a top high school, I'll pay for you to see Chengtianmen that summer. You can also go to the Summer Palace or climb the Great Wall if you want. In short, if you get in, I'll pay for it!"

"Dad Zhang, what about us? Can we also go to Chengtianmen to take pictures as souvenirs?"

"Of course, either way is fine! When have I ever gone back on my word?"

Uncle Zhang looked smug, finding a sense of accomplishment he had never felt before from these little kids.

These kids are so good at conveying emotions, they're way better than my nephew.

Uncle Zhang felt a little regretful thinking about how Zhang Da'an had become more and more despicable over the years, to the point of being increasingly inhuman.

Children should act like children; they can't act like stray dogs.

(End of this chapter)