Courtyard House: Initial Donation of 50 Million

Yi Aijia's life, like frozen earth touched by a spring breeze, is undergoing profound changes. The source of these changes is not merely Yi Zhonghai's paternal love, nor is it limited to Yan Fugui's meticulous guidance. A deeper force stems from Wang Huanbo, a seemingly unassuming man in the west courtyard who is constantly influencing the future of the Hongxing Factory and even the entire region.

Wang Huanbo's vision never confined itself to the roar of machine tools in the workshop or the precise blueprints in the laboratory. In his numerous strategic meetings with high-level officials such as Secretary Yao Jianghe and Deputy Factory Director Li Huaide, he repeatedly emphasized and successfully instilled a core concept: "Developing a factory through science and technology is not something that can be achieved overnight; its foundation lies in talent. And the cultivation of talent must begin with the source of vitality—basic education. The future competitiveness of Hongxing Factory is not only reflected in how many 'high-precision' CNC machine tools and hydraulic presses we have in the workshop, but also depends on whether we can cultivate a new generation of skilled workers and engineers who can operate these machines proficiently, dare to improve them, and even ultimately invent them. It's like building a house; machine tools are the skyscrapers on top, while basic education is the unseen but crucial foundation buried underground. We cannot be poor in education, no matter how difficult the circumstances, we cannot let our children suffer! This is a strategic investment that will allow Hongxing Factory to gain a foothold, or even take the lead, in the industrial competition of the next ten or twenty years!"

This far-sighted argument, combined with the tangible technological leaps and economic benefits already brought about by Wang Huanbo, deeply impressed Secretary Yao and Li Huaide. Li Huaide, in particular, not only saw the political significance and social benefits, but also keenly sensed the immense prestige and potential political achievements it contained. Therefore, under his strong promotion and specific management, the leadership of the Hongxing Factory reached a consensus to significantly and continuously invest a portion of the factory's profits, as well as some valuable resources that could not be directly used for production (such as high-quality building materials in short supply domestically and advanced teaching equipment procurement channels) obtained through Wang Huanbo's "special overseas channels," into the complete renovation and upgrading of the factory's Hongxing Primary School and Hongxing Middle School. A vigorous "educational upgrade battle" was thus launched.

A massive transformation of the school's infrastructure has brought about a complete change. The first area to undergo this metamorphosis was the school's physical structure. Taking advantage of the summer and winter breaks when students were away, a construction team comprised of key personnel from the factory's infrastructure department and hired professional workers entered Hongxing Primary School. The old scene was utterly overturned: the once dusty, rain-soaked dirt playground was completely leveled and compacted. High-quality, lush turf, transported from the south, was carefully laid, and a standard circular cinder track, soccer field, and basketball court were marked out. Beside the playground, a spacious and bright indoor gymnasium built of red bricks rose from the ground, complete with basketball hoops, volleyball nets, badminton courts, and table tennis tables, with bright, transparent windows. From then on, rain or shine, in the sweltering heat or freezing cold, children could enjoy indoor activities, and physical education classes were no longer a concern.

All classroom doors and windows were replaced with transparent fiberglass windows, the walls were painted a dazzling white with imitation porcelain paint, and the roofs were fitted with the then-fashionable fluorescent light tubes, completely bidding farewell to the era of dim kerosene lamps and insufficient incandescent bulbs. Classrooms were also uniformly equipped with new height-adjustable desks and chairs. The school library's collection surged from a paltry few hundred volumes to nearly ten thousand, encompassing Chinese and foreign classics, popular science books, and children's literature. A dedicated science laboratory (equipped with microscopes, globes, anatomical models, etc.), a music room (equipped with an organ, accordion, and simple percussion instruments), and an art room were also established. These changes left the teachers and students returning for the new semester feeling as if they had stepped into another world, filled with amazement.

A new generation of teachers was brought in, injecting fresh blood. While improving the hardware, upgrading the "software" was even more crucial. Li Huaide fully utilized his "capable" nature, personally visiting the Municipal Education Bureau and leveraging the rising status of the Hongxing Factory and the influence of Wang Huanbo's prestigious reputation, managing to "snatch" a group of outstanding graduates from teacher training colleges, assigning them to Hongxing Primary and Secondary Schools. These young teachers, like Ran Qiuye, were energetic, innovative, possessed solid professional knowledge, and had novel teaching philosophies. Their arrival was like infusing a pool of spring water with vitality. Classrooms were no longer "cramming" and rote learning, but were filled with thought-provoking questions, group discussions, physical demonstrations, and even simple experiments. In Ran Qiuye's Chinese class, she would lead the children to read the text aloud on the lawn, experiencing the natural beauty in the words; the new physics teacher would conduct interesting experiments with hand-cranked generators and magnets, stimulating the children's curiosity about science. The campus was filled with the sound of reading aloud and laughter, and learning became a joyful and attractive experience.

The improved student body fostered a virtuous cycle. As the Hongxing Factory's profits soared, employee wages and benefits rose accordingly, making it an enviable "star factory" in Beijing. As a result, the general quality of the children of Hongxing Factory employees and the investment in their families' education were significantly higher than those of ordinary citizens in the surrounding area. Furthermore, the "luxury" of Hongxing Primary School's facilities even surpassed some key district primary schools, immediately attracting considerable attention. Not only did children of Hongxing Factory employees flock to it, but many families outside the Hongxing Factory system, though wealthy or placing great emphasis on education, also went to great lengths to get their children in. This further optimized the quality of the student body, creating a healthy competitive atmosphere that values ​​education and learning. Here, the competition was no longer just about who had the newest clothes or the most snacks, but more about who had better grades, broader knowledge, and who brought glory to their class at the sports meet.

Yi Aijia: A Seedling Bathed in the Spring Breeze. Yi Aijia, this seedling that once struggled to survive in barren soil, has now been bathed in this unprecedented "educational spring breeze." Every day, she sits in a brightly lit classroom, listening to Teacher Ran Qiuye's melodious voice telling moving stories and sharing interesting knowledge, while outside the window lies a lush green playground. After class, she can run and play with her classmates on the soft lawn, or venture into the well-stocked library to immerse herself in the ocean of knowledge. In the science lab, she saw "tiny lives" inside water droplets for the first time through a microscope, her eyes widening in amazement; in the music room, she clumsily pressed the organ keys, producing off-key yet delightful sounds.

Of course, the biggest help still came from Teacher Yan Fugui. Every day after school, while most children excitedly went home, Yi Aijia would obediently follow Teacher Yan to the teaching and research office. At this time, Yan Fugui completely shed his shrewd calculations as the "Third Uncle" of the compound and transformed back into a rigorous and patient math teacher. He would patiently explain the word problems that troubled Yi Aijia to her most difficult students, using the most intuitive methods such as drawing diagrams and arranging matchsticks, until she suddenly understood. Teacher Yan's old bicycle, which rattled everywhere except for the bell, also became Yi Aijia's "special seat," carrying her back to compound number 95 every day in the afterglow of the setting sun.

With improved nutrition, a cheerful mood, a completely transformed learning environment, and the added extra help from a renowned teacher, Yi Aijia's grades skyrocketed. The little girl who used to stare blankly at math problems and struggle with writing sentences in Chinese was gone. In her place was a confident Yi Aijia who dared to raise her hand in class, whose homework was filled with more and more "Excellent" marks, and whose face always wore a confident smile. She even participated in the school's recitation competition with encouragement from Teacher Ran and won first place in the third-grade group! When she ran home with that certificate in her hand, Yi Zhonghai and an older woman were moved to tears.

Every afternoon, when Yan Fugui rides his bicycle back to the courtyard with Yi Aijia, the neighbors who are cooling off or cooking in the courtyard can see the little girl's rosy, healthy-looking face and her increasingly clear, bright, and spirited eyes.

"See that? Aijia is getting more and more beautiful!"

"Absolutely! Studying at Hongxing Primary School makes all the difference! Look at their energy!"

"I heard she's doing very well in school! The Yi family really struck gold!"

Yi Zhonghai and the older woman listened to these discussions, their hearts filled with sweet joy. They were incredibly grateful that they had sent their niece to Hongxing Primary School. This decision not only made up for the lack of early education in their child, but also planted seeds of thirst for knowledge, optimism, and self-confidence in her young heart. These seeds are now thriving in the fertile soil of Hongxing Primary School.

The source of all these changes is perhaps known only to a very few in the courtyard. The lights in the west wing often stay on late into the night, and Wang Huanbo remains busy. He may not have directly entered the gates of Hongxing Primary School, but the seeds of "valuing education" he sowed have taken root, sprouted, blossomed, and borne fruit in this land, quietly changing the fate of countless children of the Hongxing factory like Yi Aijia, and subtly influencing the future landscape of No. 95 Courtyard and even a wider area. The light of hope, like a spark, is gradually becoming a prairie fire.