Chapter 277 School Starts
The new semester has just begun, and many students are standing in front of the campus bulletin board, which contains an introduction to Mr. Wan Boda, an economics expert who was rumored to be coming at the end of last semester.
Next to it was a notice that the teacher's research group was recruiting eight temporary assistants.
"Go to Yue Ning to register?"
"Has Yue Ning recruited an assistant for Professor Wan?"
"I heard that she had a role in Professor Wan's willingness to come to HKU. It was her Tianjin cuisine that kept Professor Wan here."
"Yuening is here."
Yue Ning was riding her bicycle past the bulletin board and heard people calling her. She got off her bicycle and asked, "What's wrong?"
"They're talking about Professor Wan's temporary assistant. Are they looking for you?" a student asked her.
"yes!"
“What do you mainly do?”
"Translate English textbooks into Chinese. Professors help mainland schools. These are materials for mainland schools."
Yue Ning established a connection between Professor Zhu and Professor Wan in Shanghai. Professor Zhu wanted textbooks from overseas schools, and Professor Wan remembered it. When he came to Hong Kong, he asked Yue Ning to help him give the materials to Professor Zhu. Last time when I went back to Yuecheng to pay tribute to my father, Uncle Mo said that Professor Zhu was having a headache. The materials were good, but their students' English level was too poor, so they had to be translated before they could be used.
Yue Ning asked Professor Zhu to return all the information. She organized a translation in Gangcheng and then sent it to him.
When I told Teacher Wan about this, he immediately thought that it must be the same in Tianjin, and thought it was great to be able to give them information to the old friends who came to Tianjin.
He also contacted his friends in Tianjin, and they encountered the same problem. He also asked them to send all the information to Beijing Lide, and in short, Cui Huiyi brought it back in person.
Yue Ning took on the task of finding someone to translate.
When someone heard about helping the mainland, they smiled with an ambiguous meaning: "Is that so?"
"Working for nothing, or working for nothing for the mainland?" a boy said suddenly, "To put it bluntly, isn't it because you don't want to find a translation agency?"
Yue Ning laughed, "They are all economic information. It will be helpful for us to translate them. Although they are called temporary assistants, it seems that there will be a lot of information. We will definitely become proficient after working together for a long time. Everyone should also think carefully about whether they are willing to sacrifice their spare time to help the development of the mainland?"
"Why?"
"We pay, 10 Hong Kong dollars per thousand words." Yue Ning said with a smile, "Not too high. And this translation may not be easy to do, because it is a professional document, and there may be many discussions and revisions back and forth." Yue Ning said with a smile, "Anyway, everyone should think it over carefully. After you sign up, I will also interview you."
"It's just the money for ordinary translations, but we want professional translations." One person said, "I see that the wages you pay the interns in Baohua Building are not that low, and you also let them go to Japan for half a month during the summer vacation, half for tourism and half for site selection. The conditions are very good! Why is the project you lead so cheap?"
"You can understand it this way. This is a public welfare project, and Baohua Building is a commercial project." Yue Ning said. In fact, she will become a member of the economic research project through this translation.
A girl came over and said, "Ningning, hello, I'm Zhao Jiaying, a sophomore majoring in accounting. Can I sign up?"
"Ningning, I'm also a freshman in economics, Zhou Mingxuan. My parents are from Suzhou, and I hope I can do my part to help."
"Count me in, too."
"I'm signing up, too."
"Me too."
"Whoever is willing to be a cheap laborer, go ahead and do it!" said the boy.
"That's right, it's so funny. If you really love the mainland so much, why did you run away? Why don't you go back and build your country?"
"They keep saying they want to do this and that for the mainland, but they just won't go back."
The two of them sang the same tune. Yue Ning looked at them and said, "First, I really want to build my own country. I have investments in the mainland. Don't you know that? Second, please use your brain. Hong Kong has been Chinese territory for thousands of years. China will not give up Hong Kong. The British government's consistent strategy is to withdraw from colonial management at an opportunity. This is the case with Australia, Malaysia, India, and Canada."
"Why don't you mention Singapore? Singapore is an independent country."
"It seems like he thought about it, but it also seems like he didn't think about anything. Doesn't Singapore want to join Malaysia? Singapore was kicked out because most of the population is Chinese. Does China have this problem?" Yue Ning rolled his eyes at him, "Those who don't want to become Chinese port city people are all emigrating. You are interesting. On the contrary, you want us to leave."
"Yeah! Why aren't you leaving yet? Can't you go to Canada or Australia?"
"We are Chinese and we are willing to help domestic universities. You are British and if you don't want to help, we won't force you."
These people ran away after being shouted at by everyone.
"I'm very grateful for everyone's willingness to help. Come to my place in the afternoon to fill out the form and I'll do the test then. Thank you!" Yue Ning waved goodbye to everyone.
She didn't take it seriously. In the next two days, she interviewed several students, distributed information, and started preparing a speech for freshmen.
It was not until she was interviewed by the school that she realized what she said that day had attracted the school's attention.
The blinds of the conference room filtered in mottled light and shadows. Yue Ning looked at the three school directors opposite him. The middle one tapped the complaint letter on the table with his fingertips: "Student Yue, some people reported that you made remarks in public that 'Hong Kong will definitely return to China' and even questioned Britain's management strategy for the colonies. We understand that young people are concerned about current affairs, but as an academic institution, HKU hopes that students will avoid being involved in political disputes."
Yue Ning straightened his back: "Mr. Director, I am just stating historical facts. The cession of Hong Kong Island in 1842, the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860, and the lease of the New Territories in 1898 were all unequal treaties signed between the Qing government and Britain."
Her voice was clear and steady. "As for the example of Singapore, its forced independence in 1965 was the result of political games within the Federation of Malaya, and is not comparable to China's sovereignty claims over the port city."
There was a sudden knock on the door from the back row, and Professor Wan Boda pushed the door open and walked in: "Sorry, I'm late. I heard that they were discussing the historical positioning of Hong Kong City?"
He sat down slowly, his eyes sweeping over the school directors: "I have taught Far Eastern economic history for twenty years, and what I hate most is putting political stance above academics. Yue Ning quoted the textual research in John King Fairbank's The Cambridge History of China in the Late Qing Dynasty. Does our school think this book has political tendencies?"
The school directors looked at each other in bewilderment. Wan Boda pulled out a document from his briefcase: "This is a declassified British Foreign Office file that I just received. The 1968 report of the Governor in Hong Kong clearly stated that 'the cost of maintaining colonial rule has exceeded the benefits.' It was just an academic discussion, how did it become a political dispute?"
Seeing the atmosphere relaxed, Yue Ning said, "I organized the translation of economic materials in the hope of building an academic bridge. Mainland students use the Development Economics textbook we translated to learn the economic perspectives under the Anglo-American system. Now many universities in Britain and the United States have set up special awards for mainland students. I think our school, as a school in the British education system closest to the mainland, should also start to subsidize mainland Chinese students to study in Hong Kong. Those students said that, I can only say that they are short-sighted. The mainland students who come out to study now, as long as they return, will become elites in all walks of life in the next thirty or forty years."
Isn't it that the West is trying to win over China at this time to deal with the Soviet Union? Yue Ning didn't say this, but she believed that the school director could understand what she meant. Under such circumstances, the West would never insist on not giving up Hong Kong City.
Several school directors looked at each other. Not only because of the several old Chinese families in Hong Kong that Yue Ning represented, but also because of her own abilities, she would definitely be an outstanding alumnus in the future.
The chairman of the school board forced a smile and said, "Young people, please be careful with your words. Academic discussions are fine, but public debates should be cautious."
"Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask, when will we start to sponsor mainland students to come to Hong Kong? If possible, I would also like to contribute to this project." Yue Ning smiled brightly, "Also, I can lobby my elders and friends to donate to this fund together."
She talked to herself about the project establishment and funding sources? But this project does sound good.
The school board chairman's smile now seemed much more sincere: "You go back first. After we discuss it, we will notify you and let you participate."
Yue Ning stood up: "Thank you!"
"You're giving a speech as a representative of the freshmen tomorrow, and I don't want to be involved in these remarks," said a school board member.
Yue Ning looked at several school directors and said, "The topic I will talk about will be: Under the linkage between China's reform and opening up and the Hong Kong-City economy, we today will define the future of Hong Kong City."
Yue Ning followed Professor Wan out. Professor Wan looked at her. He was worried that she would be called in for questioning. Under such circumstances, he didn't expect her to take the initiative and actually proposed that the school sponsor mainland students.
“You!”
Yue Ning smiled and walked back with Professor Wan.
The next day, in the school auditorium, Yue Ning stood behind a carved podium. The audience was filled with freshmen and a few school directors were sitting sporadically in the back row. One of them was looking down at his watch.
"Good morning, teachers and students. I am Yue Ning, a freshman in the Department of Economics." Her voice came through the microphone clearly. "Today I want to share an observation with you: When I opened the 1978 Hong Kong Trade Annual Report, I found that only 3% of the re-export trade volume came from mainland China; in the first half of this year, this figure has jumped to 9.2%. This is not a simple change in numbers, but a signal that mainland China is opening its doors, and Hong Kong is destined to become a bridge connecting the two worlds."
A sharp voice came from the back row: "Hong Kong's advantage lies in the British system. Linking with the mainland will only hinder its development!"
Yue Ning looked up and saw the boy who questioned her on the notice board yesterday standing up with his neck stiff. She smiled and motioned him to sit down: "In 1979, Yimei Electric Appliances went to Pengcheng to set up a factory. Someone also told Qiao Junxian that. But today, Yimei Electric Appliances has grown from a factory on the verge of bankruptcy to owning two products, electric fans and rice cookers. Gangcheng conducts design, research and development, and inspection, while Pengcheng conducts manufacturing, and finally sells to Europe, America, and the mainland through Gangcheng. Yimei's employees have grown from only a dozen people at the beginning to 257 people today in less than a year."
Yue Ning looked up and scanned the audience: "There is a 'smile curve' theory in economics, which says that the high value-added links in the industrial chain are in R&D and marketing, and the manufacturing link has the lowest profit. Put the low-profit links in Pengcheng, and let Hongcheng do the high value-added work. This is not a burden, but a division of labor. We must recognize that this huge opportunity has arrived. At the same time, we have to ask ourselves, are we ready?"
"The real crisis is not the difference in systems, but blindness to the trend of the times." She smiled. "Last week I met several Japanese investors at Baohua Building. They wanted to enter the mainland market, but they couldn't even tell the difference between a 'planned economy' and a 'market economy'. But we can. We understand English financial reports and what 'revitalizing the economy' means when people in the mainland talk about it. This two-way interpretation ability will become Hong Kong's most precious soft power in the future..."
The speech ended with thunderous applause. Suddenly, someone stood up. Yue Ning had a headache. Could there be another troublemaker?
The old man asked: "Yuening, I remember you bought a pipa and said you wanted to perform it at the freshman party."
Oh, this? She was just saying it casually.
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