Courtyard House: Initial Donation of 50 Million

The procedures for Yi Aijia's transfer to Hongxing Primary School were completed surprisingly smoothly, thanks to the personal issuance of a martyr's family certificate and adoption certificate by Director Wang of the Subdistrict Office. After learning that Yi Aijia was the orphan of Yi Zhonghe, a martyr of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, and was now being cared for by Yi Zhonghai, an eighth-grade fitter and a technical backbone of the Hongxing Factory, Principal Wang of Hongxing Primary School attached great importance to the matter. He personally received Yi Zhonghai and Yi Aijia and also invited Ms. Ran Qiuye, the homeroom teacher of Class 2, Grade 3, where Yi Aijia would be transferring.

Ms. Ran was a young, gentle, bespectacled teacher with two dark braids and clear, scholarly eyes. Hearing about Yi Aijia's background, and looking at the petite, reserved girl before her, whose eyes held a hint of timidity and precocious maturity, she felt a surge of affection and respect. She bent down, gently took Yi Aijia's hand, and spoke in a voice as soft as a spring breeze: "Aijia, welcome to Hongxing Elementary School, to our third grade, class two. I'm Ms. Ran. If you ever have any difficulties, you can come to me, okay?"

Yi Aijia looked up at the new teacher with a warm smile, then at her uncle Yi Zhonghai beside her, who looked nervous yet expectant. She nodded gently and said softly, "Hello, Teacher Ran."

Principal Wang solemnly assured Yi Zhonghai, "Master Yi, rest assured! Aijia is the descendant of a hero. It is an honor for our entire school to have her come to Hongxing Primary School! We will definitely give her the best education and care, and we will never let the child of a martyr suffer the slightest injustice!"

The next day, Yi Aijia, wearing new clothes and a new schoolbag specially bought by Yi Zhonghai, was dressed in two neat little braids by an older woman. Personally escorted by Yi Zhonghai, she entered the gates of Hongxing Primary School. Teacher Ran was already waiting at the classroom door and led her into the classroom of Class 2, Grade 3.

After the bell rang, Teacher Ran didn't immediately begin the lesson. Instead, she took Yi Aijia's hand and led her to the front of the class, saying, "Class, today we welcome a new student to our class, Yi Aijia. Aijia has a very remarkable father named Yi Zhonghe, a hero of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army who sacrificed his life on the Korean battlefield to defend our country! Aijia is the daughter of a martyr, a role model we should respect and learn from! Let's welcome Aijia to our class with warm applause!"

The classroom was silent for a moment, then erupted in enthusiastic applause! Although the children were young, the words "volunteer army," "hero," and "martyr" had already left a sacred mark on their hearts through textbooks, movies, and adult narration. They looked at the small, thin new classmate on the podium with eyes full of curiosity, admiration, and a hint of longing to get closer.

During recess, the school's loudspeaker broadcast the passionate voice of the Young Pioneers instructor: "Attention all students! We have an important announcement! A new student has transferred to Class 2, Grade 3—Yi Aijia! Yi Aijia's father is the glorious martyr of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, Comrade Yi Zhonghe! Comrade Yi Zhonghe fought bravely and sacrificed his life for the country in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea; he is a hero of our Chinese nation! Yi Aijia, as a descendant of a hero, coming to our Hongxing Primary School is a source of pride for all our teachers and students! We hope that all students will actively learn from the hero, carry forward the spirit of patriotism, and at the same time, actively care for and help Yi Aijia in her studies and daily life, so that she can quickly adapt to the new environment and feel the warmth of the Hongxing Primary School family!"

The announcement echoed throughout the campus. On the playground and in the classrooms, all the students and teachers stopped what they were doing and listened attentively. Yi Aijia stood in her class line, feeling countless kind and admiring glances from those around her. Her face flushed slightly, but a warm feeling and a sense of pride she had never experienced before welled up inside her. So, her father was a hero! A man worthy of everyone's respect!

Soon, Yi Aijia discovered that life at her new school was completely different from what she had imagined. After class, several female classmates would gather around her, talking to her and playing jump rope and beanbag toss with her; the male classmates no longer bullied her like the naughty boys from her previous school, but instead helped her clean the blackboard and carry her homework; when the teachers asked her questions, they would guide her patiently, and praise her enthusiastically when she answered correctly. Her new deskmate, a girl named Xiao Juan with pigtails, even shared half of her hard candy that she was reluctant to eat with her.

This feeling of being surrounded by kindness gradually opened Yi Aijia's heart, who had lacked love since childhood and had an introverted personality. She began to actively communicate with her classmates, and a smile appeared on her face. Although her academic foundation was very poor due to her parents' early years of hard work and lack of supervision, especially in mathematics and word problems, which seemed very difficult to her, she studied very hard and always completed her homework neatly.

All of this was silently observed by one person: Yan Fugui, who also taught fifth-grade math at Hongxing Elementary School.