Xie Yun seized the opportunity and organized the public to submit articles to the media, sparking a heated debate: Is it feasible to study while working? As we gradually achieve agricultural mechanization, do we really work non-stop 365 days a year, except for special periods like summer and autumn harvests? What do you do when you have a little free time? Do you feel bored or do you strive to improve yourself?
In order to expand his influence, Xie Yun called Qian Gaoyun and asked her to write about her experience of going to the countryside to work in the fields. Qian Gaoyun was an energetic person. In addition to doing farm work, she also raised pigs and chickens, taught, and engaged in literary and artistic training. She did not delay any of these.
In fact, there are many outstanding comrades like Wang Qingli all over the country.
After Wang Qingli was established as a role model, other provinces also introduced their own role models.
In the past, the role models we promoted were all self-sacrificing individuals, those who sacrificed themselves for the public good, or model workers on various fronts. The emphasis was on their spirit of sacrifice and dedication.
Wang Qingli's approach is a new angle of commendation. Not only should one be willing to contribute and serve the public wholeheartedly, but one should also study hard, improve oneself, and serve the public wholeheartedly.
Among the typical characters introduced this time, there is one who has a similar experience to the "blank paper hero". She is Zhou Fengxia, a female educated youth who went to the countryside from the neighboring province of Xie Yun.
Zhou Fengxia went to the countryside in 1968. She performed very well and was always at the forefront of labor. She was not afraid of hardship or fatigue. Because of her good performance, the local government first gave her a recruitment quota, but she refused and gave it to someone else. In 1970, the local government recommended her to go to university, but she also refused and gave the quota to someone else.
She said she wanted to take root in the countryside and work hard to narrow the urban-rural gap. She wanted to use the knowledge she had learned before going to the countryside to serve the countryside and farmers. Moreover, even if she didn't go to university, she could still continue to learn and improve, equipping herself with advanced knowledge to better serve the people.
This time, she was also pushed out, setting off a learning craze.
Coincidentally, Zhou Fengxia was also particularly interested in breeding. She found a way to contact Wang Qingli, and the two became good pen pals.
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This nationwide craze to learn from outstanding comrades did not attract extra attention from some people, or rather, they noticed it but could not use it, so they did not take any action.
The "blank paper hero" was previously favored and exploited because he "dared to go against the tide," and in the years that followed, he was also known as an "anti-trend hero." Wang Qingli and her peers, a group of advanced individuals, were not "anti-trend" in any way; on the contrary, they followed the tide and were naturally unworthy of being exploited by the standard-bearers.
But they have truly led to social progress, and many people have expressed a desire to learn from them. Wang Qingli has received hundreds of letters from across the country expressing their admiration.
Advanced figures at this time usually evolve into political stars.
However, most of this group of advanced models did not take that path. Most of them stayed at their posts and had some promotion, but it was not exaggerated to the extent of going directly from the local to the central level.
After a period of vigorous success, they gradually faded out of the public eye.
Wang Qingli moved from the commune's animal husbandry and veterinary station to the county's animal husbandry bureau and became deputy director.
Zhou Fengxia remained completely still, remaining in the countryside, diligently working on the development. She was used to refusing, and turning down another promotion was no big deal.
Comrade Zhou Fengxia not only became a friend of Wang Qingli, but also a friend of Qian Gaoyun.
She and Qian Gaoyun had a lot to talk about.
Before the "Up to the Countryside" movement, Zhou Fengxia was a pampered child. Intelligent, studious, and gifted in singing and dancing, she had originally planned to pursue a career in the arts. However, her artistic dreams were shattered when she responded to the call to go to the countryside in 1968. The area she was assigned to was extremely backward and desolate, yet Zhou Fengxia plunged headfirst into her work without complaint.
To some extent, she and Qian Gaoyun can be regarded as soul mates.
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On June 8, the Revolutionary Committee of Dong Province issued Document No. Dongge [1973] 28, "Notice on Implementing the Opinions of the State Council on the 1973 Enrollment of Institutions of Higher Education Approved by the State Council's Science and Education Group," announcing the enrollment regulations for Dong Province this year.
"According to the State Council's directives, this year, we will conduct a cultural assessment of all applicants, based on public recommendations and successful political review. The goal is to assess the recommended applicants' mastery of basic knowledge and their ability to analyze and solve problems, ensuring that the students enrolled have a practical education equivalent to or higher than a junior high school graduate. The cultural assessment will be an open-book exam, with the provincial college entrance examination office responsible for setting the questions, prefecture-level (municipal) governments responsible for selecting the topics, and county-level (municipal) governments responsible for conducting the assessments. We must avoid prioritizing scores in the cultural assessment."
In July, when everyone was still eager to learn from advanced comrades, the college entrance examination was held as scheduled.
The exam covers junior high school Chinese, Politics, Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry, divided into two papers. Chinese and Politics are on one paper, with Chinese worth 70 points and Politics 30 points, for a total of 100 points. Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry are on one paper, with a total of 100 points. This paper also contains three questions from high school texts, each worth 10 points, but these questions are for reference only.
The time allowed for answering each examination paper is 120 minutes.
You are allowed to bring books or reference materials into the examination room.
However, when answering questions, candidates are only allowed to look up the materials in the books by themselves and are not allowed to whisper or discuss with each other.
Each examination room had four invigilators. Although the content of the math, physics, and chemistry exams in a certain place in 1973 was a bit simple, the format was still very strict and formal.
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