Chapter 137 "They need some time..."
The situation at the Hongxingyan teaching site was worse than Shu Ran had anticipated.
The so-called teaching point was just a borrowed, half-collapsed sheepfold shed belonging to a herder. Inside were only four or five sallow-faced, thin children, and a substitute teacher who looked so nervous that he stuttered—a boy named Liu Xiaoshuan, who himself had only recently become literate.
The statistics team went inside and took a look around. Seeing the empty shed without even a decent blackboard, and the children who couldn't even write their own names, their faces darkened.
Team Leader Zheng didn't say anything, but just wrote something down in his notebook, and then gestured to go to the next place.
Over the next half day, the statistics team randomly checked two regular company-level literacy classes near the division headquarters. The situation was slightly better, but the students' literacy level and application ability clearly did not meet Team Leader Zheng's expectations.
In the evening, the statistics team checked into the division headquarters guesthouse. The atmosphere had dropped to freezing point.
Director Sun paced back and forth in his office.
"Oh no, this impression score is probably ruined. Shu Ran, look at Team Leader Zheng's face..."
Shu Ran sat in the chair and said calmly, "Director, the situation is not good, but it's not time to despair yet."
"Still not desperate? Look at what we saw today! The pastoral area was barely passable, and the one at Hongxingyan was just... sigh! The company's literacy class is just so-so! The literacy rate we reported is different from what we actually saw!"
“It’s normal for there to be a difference.” Shu Ran stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the deep night outside. “We reported data from the entire division as a whole, based on preliminary assessments. The statistics team only looked at a few points, and that was done without any preparation. That’s not entirely fair.”
"But that's what they watch!"
“Then let them see more.” Shu Ran turned around, her gaze firm. “Director, we still have a chance.”
"What opportunity?"
"Tomorrow, isn't the statistics team going to the regimental headquarters to see the summarized data and have a discussion with us?" Shu Ran walked to her desk, picked up her canvas bag that she never parted with, and took out a thick stack of papers covered with writing and several notebooks.
"What is this?" Director Sun asked, puzzled.
"These are the original data I've collected over the past two years, as I've visited most of the teaching sites and literacy classes throughout the entire division." Shu Ran spread the materials out on the table. "They include the earliest number of illiterate people at each site, attendance records from each learning session, even those that are just crossed-out attendance sheets. There are also comparisons of some students' assignments before and after, as well as their own learning reflections and application examples, even if they are only a few sentences long."
She flipped through the papers; the writing on them was dense and indistinct, some of it already blurred.
After giving several typical examples, Shu Ran said, "These are the most authentic examples of literacy work, and they are more convincing than any summary report. It may not be perfect, but it is progressing."
Director Sun stared blankly at the pile of old papers. "You've been keeping these all this time?"
“I have a feeling that I’ll need it someday,” Shu Ran smiled. “Tomorrow at the symposium, I don’t plan to read those dry reports. I want the statistics team leaders to see what the word ‘literacy’ really means in a place like the border region.”
"Let's try anything, even if it's a dead end! Let's do it your way!"
“Also,” Shu Ran pondered for a moment, “Director, could you think of a way to invite one or two staff members or their family members from our literacy class tomorrow? Let them speak for themselves; that would be more effective than us saying a hundred words.”
"This... is a bit difficult, time is too tight..."
"Let's give it a try." Shu Ran's eyes were burning. "Even just one of them can prove something."
At the same time, in the guesthouse, in the room of Team Leader Zheng.
"Old Zheng, it seems there's some exaggeration in the information about this division," the deputy director of the Corps' propaganda department said slowly, sipping his tea.
Team Leader Zheng remained silent, his brow furrowed as he reviewed today's records.
"Especially that clerk named Shu Ran, she's quite famous, but the things she saw today were really... tsk tsk. I heard her background is a bit complicated." The deputy director continued to chime in.
Team Leader Zheng closed his notebook and rubbed his temples. "Work is work, background is background. The points we looked at today were indeed not very satisfactory. The one in the pastoral area was relatively honest, but the one in Hongxingyan... was basically just giving up. But..." He paused, "that Shu Ran is quite interesting."
"oh?"
"She's so young, yet so composed. She explains things without shirking responsibility or exaggerating, just stating the facts. And," Team Leader Zheng pointed out the window, "did you notice? The place we went to today, although remote and the road was difficult, she led the way very well, and greeted the teachers and herdsmen naturally, like she was just cramming at the last minute. This shows that she really did her research down there."
The deputy director scoffed: "What's the use of just running around? Results are what matter."
"Let's look at their overall data tomorrow and hear what they have to say." Team Leader Zheng stood up. "Hearing is believing, and seeing is not necessarily believing. Sometimes, the most truthful things are hidden in the details."
At this moment, Shu Ran was hunched over the table, giving a final review of what she would be presenting the next day.
She didn't know what awaited her tomorrow—whether it would be a complete failure or a miraculous escape.
The next day, in the division headquarters conference room.
On one side of the long table sat the members of the statistics team, led by Team Leader Zheng, all with serious expressions; on the other side were Director Sun, Shu Ran, and several key members of the Education Section of the Division, the atmosphere heavy.
Team Leader Zheng had the division's report materials spread out in front of him. He didn't look at the forms, but instead picked up a "Reference Table for the Statistics of Literacy Targets" issued by the Corps and slowly compared it with the data, pointing to it with his finger: "Director Sun, according to the information you reported, the illiteracy rate of the entire division has reached 63%, which is much higher than the last survey."
"Yes, Team Leader Zheng, we've checked this number repeatedly..." Director Sun replied hastily.
Team Leader Zheng raised his hand to interrupt him, "Yesterday, at the Hongxingyan teaching point, fewer than ten of the registered literacy students actually persisted in their studies. According to that substitute teacher, only three have met your preliminary assessment standards. At the Z Regiment's 13th Company pastoral area, there were 62 registered students, 12 of whom were regular students, and about eight of them met the standards. The situation is slightly better in the company-level literacy classes that cover all employees, but even in the two classes we checked, the pass rate did not exceed 60%."
With each number he reported, Director Sun's face paled a little more.
“I don’t doubt your data aggregation procedures.” Team Leader Zheng put down the reference sheet. “But I’m very curious, how did you bridge the huge gap between the actual situation at these points and the data you reported for the entire division? Did you use an abacus to make it happen, or is there some kind of magic bullet we haven’t seen?”
This question was too tricky, and the meeting room fell silent.
"Team Leader Zheng." Shu Ran stood up and lifted a bulging canvas bag from her feet to the table.
“Your observations are very insightful, and the questions you raised are crucial. The points you pointed out are indeed the weakest and most difficult areas in our current literacy campaign. They cannot represent the overall level of the entire class, but their existence precisely illustrates why we need to combine mobile teaching with centralized literacy campaigns.”
She took out several thick booklets from her canvas bag, roughly bound with needle and thread. The covers were written in calligraphy and read "List of Literacy Recipients and Progress Tracking of XX Group". The paper was yellowed and the edges were badly worn.
"This is the original roster we compiled when we first started the literacy campaign. We took the clerks, medics, and even literate family members from each company and spent more than two months going out to each company and pastoral area to register them." Shu Ran pushed one of the thickest books to the center of the table. "The names, ages, companies or pastoral areas to which they belong, and initial levels of literacy of all 8,763 people in the division are listed here."
Team Leader Zheng raised an eyebrow, signaling her to continue.
Shu Ran then took out several other slightly newer but equally thick booklets. "These are the follow-up 'Learning Progress Tracking Booklets' and 'Preliminary Assessment Records.' Unlike regular schools, we don't have exam papers. Our assessments are conducted by company officers, literacy officers, or designated assessors who take these booklets, check the roster, and randomly select students to test their ability to recognize commonly used characters, write their names, and calculate simple arithmetic problems. Those who pass will have a checkmark placed on the back and sign to confirm."
She turned to a page and pointed it out to Team Leader Zheng. It was filled with densely packed names, followed by simple dates and checkmarks. The examiners' signatures varied, some with childish handwriting, others with practiced ones.
"The few weak points you mentioned are special cases with slow progress, and the number of people who have met the standards there has indeed significantly lowered the overall average." Shu Ran changed the subject. "However, more than 60 percent of our division's literacy students are concentrated in the various regimental headquarters, older companies with better foundations, and farms. In these places, we have carried out large-scale centralized literacy classes using company auditoriums, canteens, and even warehouses. The teaching staff is relatively stable, and the students' attendance rate is high."
She quickly flipped to another part of the roster, pointing to the areas with the most checkmarks. "For example, the livestock company of Regiment X had 215 people to be literate, and 189 of them have passed the initial assessment; the farm of Regiment Y had 170 people to be literate, and 153 of them have passed... These are the majority of the people who have met our standards."
To prove that this wasn't just empty talk, Shu Ran took out several old newspaper rolls tied with hemp rope from her bag, opened them, and found a large number of slips of paper with different handwriting inside.
"These are some of the assessment slips we randomly collected from these intensive literacy classes. Some asked you to write down the names of family members, some asked you to calculate a day's work points, and some asked you to read a simple notice."
She unfolded the slip of paper. Although the handwriting was crooked, the content was clearly legible, and most of them had the examiner's simple signature and the date at the end.
"Our literacy standards are not high, just 'four skills': being able to recognize 300 commonly used characters, being able to write one's own name and home address, being able to do addition and subtraction within 100, and being able to understand simple notes and work point tickets."
Shu Ran looked at Team Leader Zheng and said, "For those who are enrolled in intensive literacy programs and have a fixed learning time and environment, most people can reach this standard after six months to a year of study. And this group accounts for the vast majority of our literacy students."
She pointed to the thick original rosters and tracking books: "It's normal for you to suspect that the data is inflated. These original records are all here, the rosters, tracking records, and even some assessment notes, all of which match up. You can check them at any time. We dare not say that we haven't missed a single one, but these 63 percent are based on these names, tracked, recorded, and assessed one by one, and then compiled. Among them are staff members who have made rapid progress in the centralized literacy classes, as well as herders who are struggling in the pastoral teaching points. What we reported is not a number imagined out of thin air, but a microcosm of the entire division's efforts to eliminate illiteracy."
Finally, Shu Ran picked up the reference sheet issued by her superiors and said, "Team Leader Zheng, literacy work is like casting a net to catch fish. In some places, our net has dense mesh, so we catch fish quickly; in other places, the mesh is sparse, or even has holes, like at Hongxingyan, where we catch fish slowly or even miss some. But we can't negate the fish caught by the whole net just because of a few holes. What we need to do is patch up the holes as soon as possible, and at the same time, we must truthfully report the results we have already achieved."
After she finished speaking, no one spoke again, and the atmosphere in the conference room became somewhat awkward.
Team Leader Zheng flipped through the roster without saying a word.
Shu Ran knew that Team Leader Zheng wouldn't be easily persuaded, but thinking about how much effort she and other frontline educators had put in, she decided to go all out.
“Team Leader Zheng, esteemed leaders,” she said, closing her notebook, “returning to your initial concerns. I want to say that the numbers themselves are accurate; they are compiled from the preliminary assessments of each regiment and company. But they may not fully reflect what you saw yesterday, the situation in the most difficult and remote corners.”
Her words stunned everyone present.
Shu Ran picked up a notebook with a faded cover and opened it: "This is the list of students we recorded when we first set up the site. At that time, only seven people were able to attend the classes, and five of them couldn't even write their own names. This is their sign-in sheet; at first, they could only press their fingerprints or draw circles."
She pushed the notebook to the center of the table; it was covered with crooked circles and blurry fingerprints.
"Three months later, the same people started signing their names. Their handwriting was terrible, but they were learning."
She then picked up another stack of fragments of exercise books of varying sizes and types of paper, some of which were even cigarette box paper or corners of old newspapers.
"These are assignments from different periods and different trainees. Leaders can see that the handwriting has gone from being completely illegible to gradually becoming neat; from only being able to copy to being able to write simple sentences."
She displayed them one by one.
"The pastoral area you visited yesterday, where Teacher Jiang Yonghong lives, is indeed in very poor condition. But even in that drafty mud-brick house, twelve herders and their children can now basically write their own names and understand simple notices issued by the company. This is of great significance to them and to the spirit of literacy campaigns in our country."
Shu Ran looked at Team Leader Zheng: "The 63% we reported means that tens of thousands of people in the entire division who were originally illiterate have now reached the standard of literacy. Behind this number are countless transformations from nothing to something."
She looked at each member of the statistics team: "Literacy work, in the border areas, especially in pastoral areas and remote companies, is not a political achievement project that can be mass-produced quickly. It's more like planting trees in the Gobi Desert, digging holes shovel by shovel, watering each tree one by one. Progress is slow, and it can be ruined at any time by a sandstorm. We can't guarantee that every tree will survive, but the numbers we report are those saplings that have already taken root and sprouted. They may still be short, but they are alive and growing. They need some time and patience."
She finally picked up a hand-drawn map she had made herself, marking the locations and progress of each teaching point: "Our border region is vast and the situation is complex. Some places have achieved remarkable results, such as some well-established old companies; some places, like Hongxingyan, have struggled or even temporarily stalled for various reasons. We dare not hide our difficulties, and we have never stopped trying. This summary data is the most accurate statistics we can do under the current conditions. It may not be perfect, but it represents the path we have taken and the changes along the way."
The meeting room remained silent.
Team Leader Zheng picked up a scribble with curled edges and looked at it for a long time. On the cover, there was the name of a minority group written on it, and inside the cover, in pencil, were the words "I love my hometown, I love my motherland" written repeatedly.
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the conference room door.
Director Sun frowned. Who would bother him at this time? He was about to say "wait" when Shu Ran spoke up: "Director, it's probably the people from the animal husbandry company who are delivering materials. I asked them to bring some things over yesterday."
Director Sun was somewhat puzzled, but seeing Shu Ran's calm eyes, he still called out, "Come in."
The door was pushed open, and instead of the company clerk, a sturdy young man from an ethnic minority group entered. He was clutching a notebook in his hand and looked nervous.
It's Adil.
The statistics team looked at the uninvited guest with some surprise.
Shu Ran walked up to Adil and introduced him to Team Leader Zheng: "Team Leader Zheng, this is Adil. He comes from the pastoral area near the Livestock Company. He is one of the earliest students of our Qiming Primary School and a beneficiary of our literacy campaign."
Adil took a quiet breath and, following Shu Ran's instructions, walked to the conference table. He first bowed to the leaders and then raised his notebook.
"Leaders... I am Adil." He said in clear and fluent Chinese, his voice trembling slightly with nervousness, but he tried to remain calm. "Before, I only knew how to herd sheep, and I didn't know a single Chinese character."
He opened his notebook. The first page had the three crooked characters "Adili" written on it. The following pages contained simple numbers and words like "sheep," "horse," and "grass," written in childish handwriting. "Teacher Shu taught me to write my name and recognize characters."
He continued flipping through the notebook, and the handwriting gradually became neater, with short sentences appearing, interspersed with some pinyin and simple drawings. "I know that learning is useful. Gradually, I was able to understand the company's notices."
Then, he turned to the most recent pages, where the text was no longer a simple copy, but a clear and organized record of common symptoms of livestock and the corresponding drug names and dosages, with simple diagrams drawn next to them.
“Now, I’m learning from Technician Liu at the company’s veterinary station,” Adil said with a hint of pride. “I can read the words on medicine bottles and help with medical records. Technician Liu said I’m learning well and can become a veterinarian in the future.”
He closed his notebook, looked at Team Leader Zheng, and said with a determined gaze, "Learning has made me more than just a shepherd boy. I can do so much more. Many children in our pastoral area want to learn."
Adil's words, the notebook in his hand that recorded his journey from illiteracy to assisting veterinarians, and the gleam in his eyes, were more powerful than any eloquent report.
He is a living example of how literacy work changed the course of his life.
Shu Ran spoke up at the right moment: "Team Leader Zheng, data is cold, but people are alive. Adil is just one of the thousands of people we help with literacy. I think the significance of literacy is not just about making the numbers look good, but also about giving millions of children like him the opportunity to see a wider world and the ability to create a better life."
Team Leader Zheng stood up, walked around the conference table to Adil, patted Adil on the shoulder, and said, "Good! Good lad!"
"Comrade Shu Ran," Team Leader Zheng's voice was much gentler than before, "the examples you gave are very valuable and more convincing than the figures on the reports."
He glanced around the conference room and addressed all the working group members, saying, "We do statistics not to nitpick over decimal points in the numbers, but ultimately to see what this work has actually brought to the people. Yesterday we saw some difficulties, and today we also see the efforts and changes made by the specific individuals behind these difficulties."
He then turned to Director Sun and said, “Director Sun, your work has its shortcomings and difficulties, but it also has its highlights and achievements. In particular, this approach of going deep into the grassroots is commendable. Literacy work, especially in the border areas, cannot be rushed, but it also cannot be slow. What is needed is this solid work and patience.”
Director Sun breathed a sigh of relief and nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, Team Leader Zheng's criticism is correct. We will definitely improve and be more thorough!"
In the latter half of the meeting, the atmosphere noticeably relaxed. The statistics team began to inquire more detailed about specific teaching methods and logistical support, which Shu Ran and Director Sun answered one by one.
At the end of the meeting, Team Leader Zheng walked up to Shu Ran and, seeing her exhaustion, said in a gentler tone, "Comrade Shu Ran, you've worked hard. When you get back, take some of your original records, select some representative ones, and compile a brief explanation to attach to the report. We need to take it back for further study."
"Yes, Team Leader Zheng." Shu Ran nodded, and the huge weight that had been hanging over her heart finally lifted by half.
She knew she had narrowly escaped this hurdle. But what the final conclusion of the statistics team would be, and how the higher-ups would view their work, remained entirely unknown.
Shu Ran stepped out of the meeting room; the afternoon sun was a bit dazzling. She subconsciously glanced towards the entrance of the division headquarters compound, which was deserted.
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