After the autumn harvest, Shanggou Village was immersed in the joy of a good harvest. At the same time, the students entered the final review sprint stage.
In April, Su Ye mobilized all students to sign up for the 1961 college entrance examination. This was not limited to the students from her rural middle school. All the village members who had attended high school and technical secondary school were encouraged by her to take the college entrance examination.
Ma Gensheng and Teacher He held up their loudspeakers and shouted along the way: "Knowledge is power, and it is an honor to take the college entrance examination!"
"As long as you are admitted to university, the village will subsidize you 10 yuan per month for living expenses."
"If one person passes the exam, the whole family will be honored!"
Ma Gensheng thought: It would be different if there were intellectuals leading the way. How could I have dared to dream of such a thing before
Their ancestors had lived in the deep mountains for generations, and Shanggou Village, a poor place, had never produced a scholar, and even this generation had not produced a single college student. Each college student received a monthly subsidy of 10 yuan, which Ma Gensheng had never dared to think about before. But now, although it hurts to think about it, he dares to dream about it because he has seen hundreds of thousands of yuan in money.
The villagers of Shanggou Village were overjoyed when they heard the slogans from the loudspeaker.
If you pass the college entrance examination, the village can also provide you with a subsidy of 10 yuan. This is a lot of money. The state also provides college students with a subsidy of 10 yuan every month, and tuition and miscellaneous fees are all waived. Adding the subsidy from the village, going to college is equivalent to earning 10 yuan a month. A strong laborer may not be able to save 100 yuan in a year, but if you pass the college entrance examination, you can save 120 yuan without working.
It seems that studying is still a worthwhile thing!
Many people were so excited about the village policy that they could not sleep. Even if they were not the ones to receive the subsidy, every household had children, so how could this policy not apply to their families? Of course, there were many more people who only regretted that they had no knowledge, otherwise they could have earned this subsidy.
Su Ye knew that it was useless to just shout slogans, and only by giving out real money could people see the reality. If the subsidies were sufficient, students could go to college with peace of mind and reduce the burden of family expenses.
For every additional college student, the village has to pay an extra 120 yuan in living expenses each year. Is this a lot of money? Not much. College students are rare these days. A college student is of great significance to the village, especially when the student can devote himself to the construction of his hometown after graduation.
In the past, Shanggou Village could not afford the money even if they had squeezed themselves dry. But now it is different. They have the confidence to reward college students! Every year, the tea trade in the port city alone can make a net profit of more than 100,000 yuan. In addition, there are several farms in the village. In a few months, when the meat and eggs are mature, they can be sold to the supply and marketing cooperative, making money continuously.
All of Suye's students signed up for the exam. The welfare subsidy for college students in Shanggou Village boosted the morale of many members and successfully mobilized several members who had studied in the county town to sign up. All the students were actively preparing for the review in May, and studied whenever they had time after finishing their farm work.
As soon as they put down their farm tools, they picked up their textbooks, paper and pens to review seriously. Every evening, they would turn on the radio to listen to national affairs and have fun.
In order to review for the college entrance examination, Liu Gang, Li Ming and Lin Yuanyuan did not even go home during the Spring Festival. After eating the New Year's Eve dinner, they washed the pots and dishes and picked up the exercise books to start writing.
Before this group of people had time to wash the dirt off their hands, they walked into the college entrance examination hall and became the first group of villagers in Shanggou Village to take the college entrance examination.
In June, wheat and potatoes gradually matured, and fruits and vegetables were fragrant. Secretary Ma took the initiative to take the job of picking up and dropping off students for the exam. They rode the clanging tractor to the county middle school.
Although the current conditions are difficult, Secretary Ma still tries his best to create the best conditions for them.
At noon, his son and daughter-in-law would bring hot lunch to the examinees, including corn, steamed buns, tea eggs, noodles, and rice. The food conditions were quite good. After the exam, the students could eat a hot meal as soon as they walked out of the examination room. The other examinees could only bring some dry food. Seeing the "luxurious" lunch eaten by the examinees in Shanggou Village, they were all envious.
In order to have something delicious, Ma Gensheng carefully prepared the noodles separately, and only poured the hot noodle soup into them just before eating. The noodles were soaked in broth, with a poached egg on top and minced meat underneath.
Secretary Ma did not want to stir up hatred, so he just whispered to everyone in private: "There is meat hidden in the noodles, so be careful and cover it before eating!"
Everyone enjoyed the care of the old branch secretary and ate all the meat quietly. After staying in Shanggou Village for a long time, I almost forgot what the outside world was like. I felt it was not easy to see that the candidates from other places could only eat dry food.
Once upon a time, they were also the group of people who did not have enough food to eat. Today, food is hard to come by. They ate up all the food that Ma Gensheng brought them, not leaving a single grain behind. Teacher Su was right. Only by working hard to build a new countryside can people have enough food to eat. Now they have to work hard to get into college, absorb cultural knowledge, and then come back to build a new countryside!
Everyone quickly finished their lunch, took a nap, and then woke up to start the intense exam in the afternoon.
…
After the college entrance examination, Su Ye and other teachers asked the students to estimate their scores. They had been preparing for this exam for a year, and since these students had already taken the exam once, this was their second time, so their scores should not be too bad.
Zhou Yi returned to No. 1 Middle School and collected first-hand information about the college entrance examination and drew the score line. He was the one who did this work every year. Based on the students' estimated scores and the admission score line, he estimated that about 10 of their students would be admitted to universities, among whom Liu Gang, Li Ming, and Lin Yuan all passed the key score line.
This result was not easy to come by. There were only 12 students in the rural area this time, three of whom were admitted to key universities, and only two failed. What a terrifying pass rate! Zhou Yi, Teacher He, and He Meimei all looked at Su Ye in awe. She was really good at reviewing for the college entrance examination.
Zhou Yi stared at the list of names on the roster and said, "Each person gets 120 yuan a year, so 1,200 yuan for 10 people. This is not a small expense."
This is still an underestimation. Because of the welfare policy, in addition to the 12 students from No. 1 Middle School, Shanggou Village has a dozen students who have signed up for the exam, and the education expenses must be prepared at least 2,000 yuan. Zhou Yi knows exactly how much money is in the collective account of Shanggou Village. Su Ye previously spent a lot of money on purchasing a batch of agricultural machinery. Although the chicken farm and duck farm have gradually laid eggs, they cannot generate much profit for the time being.
Money is needed everywhere, and Zhou Yi started to worry about the money before his college students were even born.
Su Ye said with a smile, "Teacher Zhou, don't worry about this. I have a plan. Just wait to collect the money."
She sent a telegram to Lu Siyuan, asking him to ask his classmates in Country M to send a telegram to Hong Kong City.
…
One day later.
When Yu Peng received the telegram from "Master Wu Ming", he jumped up with joy. He had been eating "shark fin rice" for a month on Wu Ming! His God of Wealth finally contacted him!
Wu Ming's telegram contained only a short sentence: "Enjoy the tea."
Yu Peng felt that this was Wu Ming's guidance, so he quickly asked his secretary to make him some "Dragon and Phoenix Tea". The so-called "Dragon and Phoenix Tea" is the "Gold Inlaid with Jade" from Shanggou Village, named after the dragon and phoenix painted on its packaging box.
After reading Wu Ming's telegram, Yu Peng adopted the attitude of "better to believe it than not to believe it" and treated "Dragon and Phoenix Tea" with even more respect. Not only did he carry it with him, but the tea he drank at home and used to entertain guests was "Dragon and Phoenix Tea". Even a Hong Kong businessman who had a good relationship with him had a box of "Dragon and Phoenix Tea" in his hands.
Gradually, everyone in the circle knew that Yu Peng loved a certain type of tea, and he treasured it like a treasure, and would not easily use it to entertain guests. How could they know that this tea was actually Yu Peng's opportunity and the secret to his "shark fin rice"
In their eyes, Yu Peng had found a good tea and they couldn't let it go. They had tasted this tea at Yu Peng's company. The tea soup was clear, the taste was sweet and long-lasting, and the tea box was very unique. Many Hong Kong businessmen took a few boxes home to drink. Liquor, red wine and beer were all replaced by tea. If they had to be treated to a drink, they would not be willing! The custom of drinking tea gradually spread among the Hong Kong business community.
Tea merchants smelled this business opportunity and found out that the "Dragon and Phoenix Tea" loved by Hong Kong businessmen was actually produced in a small village in mainland China. They sent people to the mainland overnight to investigate and place orders.
Shanggou Village has received its second big order, a tea order worth 50,000 yuan per year.
Later in September, Su Ye specially changed the packaging of tea leaves to green in order to "thank" Yu Peng. Before October 1962, the Hong Kong stock market was in a very good situation. Because of the listing of Jardine Matheson shares, the Hong Kong stock market transaction volume once reached 1 billion yuan that year, and the Hong Kong stock market was like a carnival feast for investors.
Until one day in October, the K-line that was so high suddenly plunged. The following year, the Cuban missile explosion, the assassination of the US president, and the bank run incident, all these black swans ushered in a five-year cold winter for the global stock market. The once "Jardine Matheson" stock fell all the way from its glorious peak, and in 1965 it fell below the issue price, with only 12 yuan per share.
Su Ye smiled and handed Yu Peng a truckload of "lustrous green" tea cans. "I saved your life, no need to thank me. Just keep the money and buy more tea from our village."
Instead of looking at the green sea at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it is better to go home and drink green tea. At least drinking green tea does not cost money!
A truckload of green tea cans arrived at the port. Yu Peng was unhappy for a long time. Wasn't it a spoiler? All signs showed that the stock market was in a good situation and there was no sign of risk. After a few days of not wanting to eat or drink, Yu Peng sold most of his stocks under pressure. A week later, the Hang Seng Index plunged 300 points in one week. All investors were hit hard.
The investors were still convinced that this was just a temporary adjustment and the bull market would continue. Yu Peng sold all his remaining stocks without hesitation. As a result, the Hang Seng Index continued to fall after October, which was even worse than the market during the US dollar crisis last year.
Yu Peng, who survived the disaster, is still in shock. "Dragon and Phoenix Tea" is really his opportunity!
…
Shanggou Village.
Su Ye happily counted the tea revenue, and decided to put 40,000 yuan into the collective account, and the remaining 10,000 yuan as education funds. She smiled and asked, "Teacher Zhou, do you have any concerns now?"
Not only did he have no concerns, but he could easily use the money to support 100 college students. Zhou Yi smiled helplessly and was convinced by Su Ye.
How come these Hong Kong businessmen are so docile and obedient like fat sheep, waiting to be slaughtered? Are they still the Hong Kong businessmen described in the newspapers as "early rise without profit" and "shrewd and cold-blooded"? Last time Zhou Yi was busy with literacy education in the village and had no time to go to Hong Kong City with Su Ye to sell tea. I wonder what they did in Hong Kong City.
Teacher He was chewing peanuts with gusto, thinking to himself: You don't know this? Our teacher Su is really amazing. She made her fortune by playing tricks.
With just a slight touch of her mouth, she can make the dead come alive. Just look at the group of students and villagers around her who treat her like an idol and you will understand.