The classroom was deathly silent.
Even the old professor on the podium stopped lecturing, adjusted his glasses, and looked toward the source of the commotion.
Although the two little ones, Ping An and An, didn't quite understand the subtle nuances of the words, they could sense that something was amiss.
The uncles and aunts around them all stared at them, and the scrutinizing gaze made them feel a little flustered.
Both little heads leaned towards their mother at the same time, their little hands tightly gripping Lin Xiaoxiao's clothes, like frightened little animals.
Lin Xiaoxiao felt a pang in her heart.
She may not care what others think of her, but she cannot let her child suffer such injustice.
She reached out and gently patted the two children's heads, as if to comfort them and to tell them that their mother was there and they shouldn't be afraid.
Then, she raised her head.
Her movements were slow, yet she possessed an undeniable aura.
That cold gaze shot straight at Song Yaru.
Song Yaru felt a jolt in her heart when she was stared at, but she immediately puffed out her chest, looking like she was saying, "I'm just stating the facts, why would I be afraid of you?"
Several of Lin Xiaoxiao's roommates, who were not far away, were anxiously mouthing words to her.
"fine."
"Ignore her."
Lin Xiaoxiao understood, and a warm feeling washed over her. She gave them a barely perceptible nod to indicate that she was alright.
She took a deep breath, preparing to retort to the woman.
Just then, an old but powerful voice came from the podium.
"This student."
The old professor spoke up, but he wasn't looking at Lin Xiaoxiao; he was looking at Song Yaru.
"The decision for Lin Xiaoxiao to bring her child to class was made jointly by the school and several of us teachers. She is a diligent student with excellent grades. The school should not turn away a willing student because of objective difficulties."
The professor's voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the quiet classroom could hear it clearly.
Song Yaru's face turned pale instantly.
She didn't expect that the teacher would actually side with Lin Xiaoxiao.
The professor adjusted his glasses and continued, "I overheard Lin Xiaoxiao talking to her child just now. Her child asked her about the knowledge from class, and she quietly explained it to her. This is guiding the child's learning, which is a good thing."
“We advocate lifelong learning. The fact that these two young children are willing to sit in the classroom and listen quietly is itself a spirit of seeking knowledge. Once they enter this classroom, they are students. They should not be treated differently just because they are young or can't keep up.”
The old professor's gaze slowly swept over every face in the audience.
"Universities are places for academic pursuits, that's true, but before pursuing academic knowledge, one must first learn how to be a person. A person who lacks empathy and doesn't understand how to sympathize with the difficulties of others will find their academic achievements empty."
These words were practically an insult directed at Song Yaru.
Song Yaru's face flushed red and then turned pale, wishing there was a crack in the ground she could crawl into.
The stares from her classmates made her feel uncomfortable.
"Alright," the old professor said, glancing one last time at the students below the podium. "Let's continue the lesson."
The controversy was thus easily quelled by the old professor.
Many students didn't have any objections to this, because the two children were very well-behaved.
I sat quietly in class and didn't disturb them at all.
Because of the children, the classroom becomes more lively and energetic during breaks.
Song Yaru kept her head down, her fingers gripping the pen so tightly that her knuckles turned blue.
She put all the blame on Lin Xiaoxiao.
It was just a minor incident, and Lin Xiaoxiao didn't take it to heart.
In her opinion, arguing with someone like Song Yaru was a complete waste of time.
A few days later, a new situation arose during a seminar on foreign economic exchanges.
The professor in this course has very progressive ideas and often raises some forward-thinking questions, which may even seem a bit far-fetched by today's standards, to stimulate everyone's thinking.
Today, after the professor finished explaining the main forms of domestic and international trade, he wrote a question on the blackboard.
"Let's imagine what our market will look like five years from now? What kind of commodity trading model will be the most efficient?"
The question caused an uproar in the classroom.
Five years from now? It should be about the same as now.
Now you need cloth coupons to buy cloth and grain coupons to buy rice. Everything is planned by the state. Will it not be the same in five years?
The students whispered among themselves and discussed it for a long time, but they couldn't come up with a conclusion.
At this moment, Song Yaru raised her hand.
Today she wore a white polyester shirt, her hair was neatly combed, and when she stood up, her chin was slightly raised, exuding an innate sense of superiority.
"I believe that even five years from now, the planned economy will still be the mainstay of our economy. This is our institutional advantage, which allows us to concentrate our resources on major tasks."
She first set a tone that was absolutely foolproof.
"However, as our exchanges with foreign countries increase, we can appropriately introduce some market regulation as a supplement under the guidance of the plan."
For example, we could establish more state-owned foreign trade companies, with the state making unified purchases of advanced foreign technologies and our scarce resources, and then distributing them to factories and units that need them.
This approach ensures both planning and a degree of flexibility.
She quoted extensively from books, combining her knowledge with the latest newspaper editorials, making her sound eloquent and sophisticated.
Many students showed expressions of "I see," and felt that what she said made perfect sense.
The professor nodded, neither confirming nor denying, but simply gestured for her to sit down, and then asked, "Do any other students have different opinions?"
The classroom was completely silent.
Song Yaru's speech was too "standard" because almost everyone follows this tone now, so who can come up with anything fancy?
Just then, the professor's gaze fell on Lin Xiaoxiao.
"Lin Xiaoxiao, why don't you tell us?"
Lin Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment, not expecting to be called out.
She stood up, and all the classmates around her looked at her. Song Yaru even gave her a contemptuous look, the meaning of which was very clear: I want to see what a country woman like you can say.
Lin Xiaoxiao didn't look at her.
Her mind was racing.
What about the market after the fifth generation?
For people of this era, it is a dream.
For her, however, it was history that had already happened, even a backward history.
The post-apocalyptic world she experienced, with its extreme scarcity of resources yet highly developed information, fostered resource allocation and trading models that were more than fifty years ahead of this era.
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