The commendation meeting was held in the bureau's auditorium, and attendees included not only bureau staff but also high school students.

Because of the resumption of the college entrance examination, all high schools in the city did not have a long winter vacation, and classes started again on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.

On the 21st, the bureau's auditorium was packed with people.

Sheng Xi'an, Zhou Qinglan, Qin Zhengtao, and the other educated youth who were admitted to junior colleges and vocational schools were all invited to the stage to share their learning experiences with the students and staff in the audience.

Afterwards, the bureau leaders presented these individuals with red ribbons and decorations, as well as prizes and bonuses.

The prizes are still the same old three items popular these days: notebooks, towels, and teacups.

Meanwhile, those who are admitted to key undergraduate programs will receive a reward of 300 yuan from the bureau, those admitted to ordinary undergraduate programs will receive a reward of 200 yuan, and those admitted to junior college programs will receive a reward of 100 yuan.

"Comrades and students, what is the purpose of this commendation meeting held by our bureau today? It is to encourage the children of all employees to study hard."

The idea that reading is useless is outdated; knowledge is power.

Our bureau will fully support education and strive to help more children get into their desired universities and become pillars of the nation's development.

We can't let people say that the forestry bureau is full of people who do heavy lifting and carrying timber, and that our forestry bureau can't possibly produce highly educated and skilled intellectuals.

Finally, Party Secretary Zhao Yongsheng went on stage to give a summary.

"Starting from this year, from now on, as long as the children of our forestry bureau employees are admitted to key universities, the bureau will provide a reward."

I'm not afraid of you doing well on the exam; I'm just afraid you won't get in. Do you understand?

This matter was decided upon by the bureau leaders in a meeting.

Anyway, the Forestry Bureau is rich and powerful and doesn't care about the money, but this bonus can encourage more students to study hard and get into higher education institutions.

From then on, the Forestry Bureau established a tradition that those who were admitted to key universities would receive a reward from the bureau, and if they were admitted to Tsinghua or Peking University, the reward would be doubled.

Not only do students receive bonuses, but teachers also receive rewards.

As a result, the teaching quality of Songjianghe Forestry Bureau has been greatly improved, and the college entrance examination pass rate of Songlin High School has always been among the top in the county's five high schools.

Upon hearing this, the teachers and students below were extremely excited and shouted in unison that they understood, followed by thunderous applause.

This applause is a blessing for those who have been admitted to university, and at the same time, it is an encouragement to all high school students.

After the commendation ceremony, Sheng Xiping and his team had almost finished their business in Songjianghe. The bureau specially arranged a car to take Sheng Xi'an and the others who were staying at the forest farm back home.

Sheng Xiping and his two companions rode a motorcycle back to the forest farm. As soon as they got off the motorcycle, they were stunned by the scene before them.

The platform of the small train station was packed with people. Principal Wang of Qianchuan Primary and Secondary School led all the teachers and students, along with the leaders and cadres in the field, all waving colorful flags with smiles on their faces.

Over there, union officials were beating celebratory drums. Good heavens, this was practically the annual farewell party for the winter sports season.

Seeing Sheng Xi'an and Zhou Qinglan get out of the car, Principal Wang waved his hand, and the sound of gongs and drums stopped.

A boy and a girl from the first-year class, the students Zhou Qinglan had taught before, came up and pinned big red flowers on Zhou Qinglan and Sheng Xi'an's chests.

Zhou Qinglan and her colleagues had just finished an awards ceremony at the bureau, and they hadn't even taken off their red ribbons and decorations yet, when they were put on big red flowers.

The audience burst into applause, and then Wang Jiachuan and Zheng Xianyong, representing the forest farm, gave speeches and were awarded bonuses and prizes.

This time, Sheng Xi'an and Zhou Qinglan really made Qianchuan Forest Farm proud, and the farm's leaders were very happy.

So after learning that the bureau was holding an awards ceremony, a welcoming ceremony was also held at the venue.

Of course, the prizes and bonuses given out at the venue cannot be more than those given by the bureau; they are just a token amount.

Regardless, this welcoming ceremony planted a seed called learning in the hearts of all the children.

Let all children understand that studying hard will lead to a better future, and getting into university will give them a brighter future.

After the welcoming ceremony, the crowd lingered, surrounding Sheng Xi'an and Zhou Qinglan as they escorted them to the Sheng family home.

"Dear leaders, teachers, and students, thank you very much for your support and encouragement of Sheng Xi'an and Zhou Qinglan."

On behalf of the Sheng family, I would like to thank all the men, young and old, of our forest farm.

Well, in a couple of days, we'll be preparing a light feast with some wine and vegetables to thank our relatives and friends. We hope you'll all be there to join us.

Sheng Xiping stood at the gate of his house, cupped his hands in greeting to the crowd, and spoke loudly.

These days, there's no concept of graduation banquets, and nobody knows what they are.

But with two people in the family getting into university, and even very good key universities, it's definitely something to celebrate. So Sheng Xiping said early on that he would definitely hold a banquet to entertain relatives and friends.

Since there were many people today, Sheng Xiping made the announcement directly in front of everyone, and the people outside the gate immediately cheered.

The commotion outside the gate startled Zhang Shuzhen inside the house.

Just then, Sheng Xinyu fell asleep, so Zhang Shuzhen led Sheng Xinhua out of the house.

When I got to the courtyard, I saw so many people outside. My daughter-in-law and second son were dressed in red silk and big red flowers. I wondered what was going on.

When Principal Wang of the school saw Zhang Shuzhen come out, he hurried forward to shake hands with her.

"Sister-in-law, you and your brother are so lucky to have two college graduates in your family."

From now on, when people talk about the Sheng family, everyone will give them a thumbs up and say they admire them. Once your second son and Teacher Zhou graduate, you can just wait to enjoy the good life.”

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