Chapter 207 Learn from Comrade Wang Qingli!

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After communicating with Wang Qingli, Xie Yun went to the county town again, found He Zeshan, told him his ideas, and invited him to go to the provincial capital together to talk to Xia Shijie.

He Zeshan, a man who has seen plenty of ups and downs, believes Xie Yun's concerns are well-founded. "The gaokao system has been plagued by opposition since its inception. Some people, unable to pass the exam due to poor grades, attacked the system, claiming it was irrational. After more than a decade of attacks, the gaokao is dead. There are political factors involved, but we won't discuss them. There are just a few signs of recovery now, but they won't be able to withstand the turmoil."

After a moment's thought, he added, "When we go see Secretary Xia, let's not talk about the college entrance exams. Let's just talk about setting an example. We've discovered an exceptional individual, and we think the entire country should learn from her. That's it."

Xie Yun nodded. She thought so too. They could talk about whatever they wanted in private, but they shouldn't bring up the college entrance exam with anyone else. They were simply trying to establish a role model for the poor and lower-middle peasants.

They cannot touch the topic of college entrance examination now.

But she does hope that this trend can continue. The college entrance examination system has its own limitations, and the recommendation system for college admission is even more limited. Later, some people criticized this system of recommending college admission, saying, "You don't need cultural background to go to college, you just need to have a good father."

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Xie Yun and He Zeshan took the manuscript to the Rencheng Municipal Committee and greeted Zou Mingtao, the municipal party secretary. Although this matter had nothing to do with the city, skipping the level of reporting was a taboo in the officialdom, so they still followed the rules.

Zou Mingtao and He Zeshan are old acquaintances. Coincidentally, before serving as the secretary of the municipal party committee, Zou Mingtao had served as the secretary of the Qushui County Party Committee for a long time and was He Zeshan's predecessor.

In 1966, Zou Mingtao, a veteran revolutionary from a poor peasant family, was labeled a capitalist-roader and sidelined, only to be reinstated in 1969. A man of unwavering integrity, he understood the realities of the people, cared about their suffering, and remained steadfast. Despite three years of being sidelined, he was thoroughly investigated, but no fault was found. Xia Shijie personally visited Rencheng and reinstated Zou Mingtao as leader of the city committee.

During this special period, Zou Mingtao did a lot of work to eliminate factionalism, promote unity, and ensure production, which is very rare.

Xie Yun had met him once before because of the promotion of Liushutun No. 1 wheat seed, and he admired his pragmatic, simple, honest and down-to-earth style.

Zou Mingtao was not at all arrogant. When he heard from his secretary that the two of them had arrived, he directly called them to his office.

"What brings you two here today? Are you having trouble promoting wheat seeds?"

He Zeshan quickly said, "No, no, it's going smoothly. This year has been quite favorable. We're here today for other matters, just to say hello. Xiao Xie is here to tell you."

Zou Mingtao smiled and nodded, "Then let Xiao Xie speak."

Xie Yun smiled and said, "We have an exceptionally outstanding young female comrade in Taoyuan Commune, named Wang Qingli. Her family was poor, and her parents were very particular about favoring boys over girls. After three years of primary school, she began working at home to earn work points.

This comrade was highly motivated and skilled at work, becoming the team's top laborer. Later, without interrupting her work, she learned veterinary medicine and helped raise pigs. Later, when our team offered night school, she enrolled and made rapid progress. Despite her busy schedule, she never gave up on learning and becoming a university student. In 1970, she became the first worker-peasant-soldier university student recommended by the team.

She returned from her studies last year and works at our commune's animal husbandry and veterinary station. When you and Secretary Xia visited Liushutun last year, he suggested that large-scale animal husbandry in Liushutun could be expanded. Comrade Wang Qingli is now working on this initiative. She first trained a large number of barefoot veterinarians, then promoted scientific animal husbandry, gradually expanding the scale of animal husbandry in each brigade. She's doing a great job.

We believe that the deeds of such outstanding comrades should be known to the entire nation and worthy of emulation. Comrade Wang Qingli's deeds are not about being spectacular, but about being achievable by any of us. If all our people can emulate her, becoming outstanding socialist successors who balance work and study, then what will our country prosper?

So, I thought, let's publish her article in the provincial newspaper, and then ask Secretary Xia to help get it to the national newspaper. This way, we can expand its influence. As you know, many models have been established across the country in recent years, and we can also have one here."

As he spoke, Xie Yun handed him the manuscript he had written.

Zou Mingtao carefully read the manuscript, thought for a moment, and asked, "Comrade Wang Qingli has been in the newspaper before, right?"

"Yes, she has. She's a pioneer. She's very popular where we are. Everyone who hears about her deeds gives her a thumbs up."

Zou Mingtao smiled and asked He Zeshan: "Old He, what do you think?"

He Zeshan listened to Xie Yun's chatter, silent but his mind racing. It seemed that Liushutun was indeed a place where talented people could emerge. Comrade Wang Qingli, despite such a poor environment, had managed to grow to her current level – truly remarkable. She possessed a strong heart and a clear mind. Anyone else might have been blunted and stuck in that quagmire, but she had somehow managed to wriggle out!

"Xiao Xie is right. Comrade Wang is truly commendable. Most importantly, her experience is transferable and replicable. Everyone can become as outstanding as Comrade Wang Qingli."

Zou Mingtao nodded. "Okay, then you should go see Secretary Xia. I'll write you a letter of recommendation to prove that I'm aware of Comrade Wang's deeds and hope to promote them. I won't be accompanying you this time, as I'm busy here."

He Zeshan said with a smile: "It is enough for us that you can support us. How can we ask you to make another trip?"

Xie Yun looked at Zou Mingtao's not-so-good complexion and said, "Don't work too hard. Take care of yourself."

Zou Mingtao smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will continue to work for the country and the people for decades."

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Xie Yun and He Zeshan went to the provincial capital with a letter of recommendation handwritten by Zou Mingtao and stamped with the official seal, and visited Xia Shijie.

When he saw them, he was first concerned about the promotion of wheat seeds. After learning that everything went well, he started to talk about other things.

These days, setting up role models is very popular, and Comrade Wang Qingli is indeed outstanding. After reading the article, Xia Shijie did not hesitate at all. He personally wrote a note at the beginning of the article, calling on everyone to learn from Comrade Wang Qingli, and asked his secretary to send Xie Yun's article and his note to the provincial newspaper.

As for the national newspaper, we have to wait until the provincial newspaper publishes it.

Two days later, the article was published in the provincial newspaper, and soon a wave of learning from Comrade Wang Qingli swept across Eastern Province.

The provincial party committee directly issued the study documents.

Comrade Wang Qingli was stunned!

She said to Xie Yun, "You really made a big deal out of it!"

Xie Yun patted her shoulder and said, "Sister Qingli, keep going, work hard, and keep improving. This overwhelming wealth is about to fall on your head, you must catch it."

Wang Qingli took a deep breath, her eyes determined, "I can do it."