Chapter 264: The Scholarship Honor Roll is going crazy [6000 words]
It has to be said that posting a scholarship honor roll in the ancestral hall is indeed quite tempting for clan members with good economic conditions.
So, on the second day of the clan meeting, people came one after another to find Deng Changqian, the person in charge of collecting money, and happily donated their scholarships.
In later generations, Bangjie Village (Brigade), as one of the seven administrative villages in Shuangwang Town, had a total of more than 1,600 households and a total population of nearly 7,000 people, of which about 4,300 were surnamed Deng, which was considered prosperous.
The population today is naturally not as large as in later generations, but in the entire Bangjie Brigade, the population of the surname Deng also exceeds 3,000.
When so many people mobilize, the power that is unleashed cannot be underestimated.
In particular, there is a secret competition between villages! Although they are all brothers of the same clan, they still like to compete with each other for such a great opportunity of being in the limelight.
Therefore, the next day after the clan meeting, all villages took action. In less than three days, more than a hundred people from all villages made donations for education, and the smallest donation amount was no less than 5 yuan. It can be seen that the economic conditions of the clan members in the first wave were relatively good.
Deng Changqian received instructions from clan leader Deng Shirong. When clan members donated, he would record and count the amounts in each village separately, and then compile two honor rolls, one for individual donations and the other for each village.
To put it simply, there are personal rankings and village rankings.
Those who have experienced the future understand the power of rankings. Back when QQ launched a level ranking list, everyone used QQ frantically to level up. The same was true when it launched a member growth value ranking list. In order to rank at the top, everyone spent money desperately.
The QQ level and member growth value alone have caused such a sensation, not to mention the game level. There are so many people who are crazy about it.
By the same token, the clan has now created a donation honor roll, which not only ranks individuals but also ranks villages. Who wouldn't want to compete? Which village would want to be at the bottom of the list in front of all the brothers in the clan?
Therefore, since the release of these two lists, the enthusiasm of the tribesmen for donations has been further stimulated.
The competition between villages is also going on quietly.
…
This afternoon.
Accompanied by several young men from the village, Deng Changbao came to the Deng Changqian family, who was in charge of collecting money. He got straight to the point and asked, "Brother Qian, who ranks first on the personal donation honor roll now?"
Seeing the famous boss of the clan coming, Deng Changqian said with a smile: "The one who ranks first for now is Uncle Yungui from our village, who donated a total of 388 yuan."
When the young men behind Deng Changbao heard this amount, they all gasped. This amount of money was almost enough to marry a wife. It was really an extraordinary sum of money.
Deng Changbao was not surprised to hear this figure. The tile factory jointly contracted by Uncle Yungui and Jiugong had made a lot of money in the past two years. The money that Uncle Yungui got should be no less than 16,000 or 17,000 yuan. Donating 388 yuan to help the family with education was really not a big deal.
Deng Changbao did not rush to express his opinion, and asked again: "So which village ranks first in the donation list of each village now?"
Deng Changqian couldn't help but laugh and said, "The village that currently ranks first is also our Naye Village."
Deng Changbao nodded and asked again: "Then where does our Jimaoling rank now?"
Deng Changqian knew the rankings of the villages by heart and answered directly: "Your Jimaoling is currently ranked 12th."
Deng Changbao couldn't tolerate this ranking. After all, he was the owner of a brick and tile factory. He had made a lot of money in the past two years, even more than his uncle Yungui. He was the undisputed richest man in Jimaoling. Naturally, he wanted to support their Jimaoling village.
Therefore, he asked again: "Brother Qian, how much less is the total amount of donations from our village than from your Naye Village?"
Deng Changqian replied: "The total amount of donations from our Naye Village is currently 638 yuan, and the total amount of donations from your Jimaoling is currently 66 yuan."
Deng Changbao's mouth twitched when he heard this. The gap was indeed quite large. Even if Naye Village removed the 388 yuan donated by Uncle Yungui, the boss, the remaining amount was far more than their Jimaoling Village. He thought about it and said, "Brother Qian, please remember this. I donated 688 yuan."
Deng Changqian was surprised by the donation amount, and then he immediately gave a thumbs up and praised: "You are worthy of being a famous boss of our Deng family. Your donation is really extraordinary. With the support of big bosses like you, our Naye Deng family will surely prosper!"
Deng Changbao was so flattered that his face beamed with joy. While taking money out of his pocket, he said, "I am just doing my part. If our Deng family in Naye becomes prosperous, others will look up to us. This will benefit everyone."
Deng Changqian nodded and said, "That's true."
Next, both parties counted the money, and then Deng Changqian took out the account book to make records. The village rankings and personal rankings were also adjusted accordingly.
After doing all this, Deng Changqian smiled and said, "Congratulations to Boss Changbao for being ranked first in the individual donation list for student aid. Congratulations to Jimaoling Village for rising to the first place in the total donation ranking. I will post this list in the ancestral hall later so that all the clan members can see it."
Deng Changqian was very satisfied after hearing this. If it was something else, he might not have made such a big splash, but this was a donation for student aid from the clan, and it was also a great thing to bring honor to the village, so naturally the more high-profile the better. He had made a great contribution to the clan now, and if there were any problems in the future that required the clan to step in, he would have something to say.
After completing the donation, Deng Changqian took the young people in the village back home.
Deng Changqian was also quick to act. Half an hour later, a large red paper was posted at the entrance of the ancestral hall. On it was the Naye Deng Family Honor Roll for Donating to Support Education. On the left was the ranking of individual donations, and on the right was the ranking of donations from each village.
The donation rankings of each village are listed from the beginning to the end, but there are a lot of individual donors. This is just a temporary honor roll, so not all donors are written on it. Only the top 50 are listed for the time being.
The ancestral hall of the Naye Deng family is located next to the headquarters of the Bangjie Brigade. The brigade headquarters is the core of the entire Bangjie. Except for a few villages that are far away, villagers from other villages like to come to the brigade headquarters to chat when they have nothing to do.
Therefore, when Deng Changqian came to the ancestral hall to post the honor roll, he instantly attracted a crowd of onlookers.
Then, the news spread like wildfire, and in less than an hour, it spread to all the Deng villages.
Although most families in rural areas at that time were relatively poor, basically every village had families with relatively good living conditions. For example, Deng Shirong and Deng Yungui from Naye Village, and Deng Changbao from Jimaoling Village, were all representative figures.
There are bosses in other villages as well.
For example, Deng Yunfa and Deng Changshou from Yangdipo Village jointly opened a bowl factory and have made a lot of money in the past two years.
In fact, except for a very small number of people, most people who started out to do business in the early days of reform and opening up made money in the first few years.
But after the golden period when people could make money with their eyes closed, most people were eventually eliminated due to the inability to keep up with market changes. Only those who were able to adapt to the market and stand out from the crowd became famous bosses.
Deng Yunfa and Deng Changshou, including Deng Yungui and Deng Shirong in their previous lives, ultimately failed to keep up with market changes and were eventually eliminated.
However, during this period of time, Deng Yunfa and Deng Changshou still made a lot of money and were the only two people in Yangdipo Village with an annual income of over 10,000 yuan.
At this time, Deng Yunfa, Deng Changshou and many villagers were chatting about the student aid honor roll at the entrance of the village.
Before, this honor roll had not been posted publicly, and those who took the lead in the charge were only villagers with relatively good economic conditions in each village. As bosses, except for Deng Yungui, the bosses of other villages were not in a hurry to leave.
But now, a temporary list of the Scholarship Honor Roll has been posted, and Deng Changbao, the boss of Jimaoling Village, has also taken action and directly occupied the top spot on the individual list. He also brought Jimaoling Village to the top of the rankings of various villages.
Upon hearing the news, Deng Yunfa and Deng Changshou could no longer sit still.
Deng Changshou couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Yunfa, how much do you think we should donate?"
Deng Yunfa thought for a moment and said, "I plan to follow Yungui's lead and donate 388 yuan. If you donate this amount, then although our individual donation ranking is not the highest, the total will be enough to push our village to the top."
Deng Changshou clapped his hands and said, "Okay, then let's donate this amount and make Yangdipo Village the first."
The villagers present couldn't help but cheer when they heard the words. Although they were not the ones who contributed the effort, as members of the village, they still had a sense of collective honor.
At the same time, similar scenes were played out in every village. The bosses who had originally planned to wait and see for a while before taking action later were stimulated by the posted temporary lists and could not wait to take action.
So, in the next few days, the rankings of each village were so fierce. Sometimes Naye Village was first, sometimes Jimaoling Village was first, sometimes Yangdipo Village was on the top, sometimes Ma Village came from behind, and sometimes Bangba Village took the lead.
In short, no village can always sit firmly on the throne of number one.
However, the first place in the individual list has always been firmly held by Deng Changbao from Jimaoling Village.
As the clan leader and advocate of the Scholarship Honor Roll, Deng Shirong was naturally in no hurry to take action. He planned to wait until the battle for the list was settled before making his move.
During this period, Deng Shirong also worked out the detailed regulations for grants and scholarships. After discussing with the more prestigious members of the clan, he decided that the scholarships would be implemented according to the reward standards he had previously told his sons, daughters and daughters-in-law.
As for the standard of scholarships, it was originally intended to only support children from the clan who came from poor families but were good at studying. Later, after discussion, it was changed to support all children from the clan who were good at studying.
As long as the students can rank in the top three in the final exam, the clan will not only reimburse all tuition and miscellaneous fees, but also provide additional cash rewards, 5 yuan for the second and third place, and 10 yuan for the first place. For the fourth to tenth place in the class, only tuition and miscellaneous fees will be reimbursed.
After the scholarship incentive was announced, the sensation it caused was far beyond anything that could be achieved with a scholarship.
Indeed, the amount of the scholarship is huge, especially for those who are admitted to Tsinghua University or Peking University, which is a huge reward of 1,000 yuan, which is enough to marry two wives.
However, people just look at this huge reward and have no hope at all, especially some villages that still don’t have even one ordinary college student. It’s nonsense to ask them to set their sights on Tsinghua University and Peking University!
However, this scholarship is different. It is an award that is entirely possible to get. Even if you cannot rank in the top three in the class, but just in the top ten, all tuition and miscellaneous fees can be reimbursed. If you can maintain this ranking, your family will not have to spend money on your studies. This is a huge thing!
Therefore, in order to obtain the scholarships from the tribe, after the start of school this year, all the tribe members have attached unprecedented importance to their children's studies. The intensity of supervision is completely different from before. In the past, parents just let their children do what they want, and studying depended entirely on the children's self-consciousness.
But other children are playing. Do you expect your own children to study and do homework at home obediently? Is this realistic?
Now it’s not just one or two families that are strict, but the whole family. Occasionally, one or two parents fail to discipline their children properly, and their children run away. As a result, there is no one to play with them anywhere, while the other children are doing their homework at home!
It is absolutely impossible to go out and play before finishing homework.
This small change may not have obvious effects at the moment, but as long as we persevere, I believe the children’s learning will improve.
…
Bobai County.
A group of people, young and old, walked out of the station carrying their luggage. They were none other than Zhang Zhenfa's family from Poxin Village.
Except for Zhang's mother, everyone else in the family was visiting the county town for the first time. Their behavior was similar to that of people who were visiting the county town for the first time. They were all looking around and exclaiming at the "tall buildings" in the distance and the "constant flow" of vehicles in front of them.
Zhang's mother stayed here for half a month last time and got to know every corner of the county. Now she introduced the area to her family like a local: "This is Nanjie Road, which is not a prosperous area in the county. The most prosperous areas in the county are Dajie, Wenhua Road and Xinglong Road.
Let's go straight ahead along this road. When we reach the intersection ahead, Xicheng Road is on the left. The restaurant owned by Xiuping's father-in-law is on this road. If we turn the corner from the intersection, we can see the People's Cinema. The restaurant is located opposite the cinema, so we should be able to see it when we turn the corner."
Zhang Zhenfa looked at the bicycles and motor vehicles passing by everywhere and couldn't help but sigh: "This county town is indeed a county town. It is much bigger and more prosperous than our Longtan Street. I wonder if our store will do better if it opens here?"
Zhang Shoumin nodded and said, "It should be better. The main advantage of our store is not the low price, but the better service than others. If we can gain a foothold in the county, it is normal for the business to be better than Longtan Street."
Zhang Shouguo asked, "Dad, do you want to open our family store in the county town?"
Mrs. Zhang Da and Mrs. Zhang Er both looked at their father-in-law. Currently, the family store is doing well and they can steadily earn several hundred yuan every month. They are quite satisfied. If they move to a new place and start from scratch, they may earn more, but they may not be able to compare to before.
So, deep down, even though the county town is more prosperous and even though they yearn for life in the county town, they still don't want to move.
Zhang Zhenfa shook his head and said, "I just said that casually. The business of my family's store is stable now. If I move to the county town, who knows what will happen. The risk is too great. There is no need to move. Only consider moving to a new location if the business of the store is not good in the future."
Mother Zhang waved her hand and said, "Alright, let's talk about business later. Let's not stand here anymore. Let's go!"
…
Ten minutes later.
The Zhang family arrived at the entrance of Suifeng Hotel. Looking at the majestic three-story building in front of them, they were all shocked.
Although they had an idea before coming to the county that their in-laws' restaurant covered an area of more than 1,000 square meters, they still couldn't help being shocked when they actually saw such a large restaurant.
The hotel cashier counter is designed to be on the right side of the hotel entrance. Sitting at the cashier counter, you can see what is happening outside the hotel.
Therefore, before the Zhang family entered the restaurant, Zhang Xiuping saw them and directly pulled her husband out to greet them.
"Dad, Mom, eldest brother and sister-in-law, second brother and sister-in-law, Xiaojun and Xiaoshan, you are here!"
"Yuntai, Pingmei!"
"Sister, brother-in-law!"
After greeting each other, Zhang Xiuping and Deng Yuntai welcomed the Zhang family into the hotel.
The hotel looked big enough from the outside, and once inside, the spacious space really opened the eyes of the Zhang family.
If the size of this restaurant is compared to a basketball, then the state-owned restaurant in Longtan is at most a ping-pong ball. The two are not at the same level at all.
Zhang Xiuping and Deng Yuntai directly arranged the Zhang family to sit in one of the private rooms. When they saw the decoration and furnishings in the room, they were naturally amazed.
After they were all seated, Deng Yuntai smiled and asked, "Mom and Dad, Big Brother and Sister-in-law, Second Brother and Sister-in-law, Xiaojun and Xiaoshan, here is the menu. Just tell me what you want to eat and I'll ask the chef in the kitchen to make it for you."
Zhang's mother said quickly, "Yuntai, don't bother yourself. Just ask the chef to make something to eat."
Deng Yuntai smiled and said, "Mom, since you guys rarely come here, I must treat you well. Just order whatever you want. Don't be polite."
Although they said that, the Zhang family still felt embarrassed to order food.
Zhang Xiuping smiled and said, "Brother Tai, don't make things difficult for my parents. I'll just take care of the arrangements."
At this time, the two waiters, Zhang Wenying and Zhang Wenjuan, served tea and tableware.
Three minutes later, the food was served.
The only thing that can be served so quickly is naturally white cut.
The boiled vegetables are all ready-made. You just need to put them in the boiling soup to warm them up slightly, then chop them and arrange them on the plate and they can be served.
As for the dipping sauce, it is already prepared and can be directly put into a small bowl and served, so the process is naturally very fast.
There are generally two types of Bobai white cut, one is the white cut used for dipping sauce, and the other is the white cut for cold dishes, both of which taste great.
When the dishes started to be served, Zhang Xiuping looked at her husband and said, "Brother Tai, go out and collect the money. I'll eat some more with my parents."
Deng Yuntai nodded and said, "Mom and Dad, Big Brother and Sister-in-law, Second Brother and Sister-in-law, Xiaojun and Xiaoshan, then you guys can eat slowly. There are guests here, and we'll need someone to pay the bill."
After Deng Yuntai left, Zhang Dasao, who was sitting on the left of her sister-in-law, asked, "Pingmei, your restaurant should make a lot of money a month, right?"
Zhang Xiuping has a good personality. Before she got married, she helped take care of nephews and nieces in her parents' home. She got along well with her eldest and second sisters-in-law. Now that she got married well, the relationship between her and her sisters-in-law became even more harmonious.
That’s why Mrs. Zhang dared to ask such private questions. If the relationship was not good enough, she would not have asked such sensitive questions.
Hearing Mrs. Zhang's question, the other members of the Zhang family also showed curious expressions.
Zhang Xiuping smiled and said, "Business is pretty good at the moment, with a profit of around a thousand a month!"
The Zhang family members were shocked when they heard this. This income was beyond their expectations. It was not too much, but too little.
The store they opened on Longtan Street cost less than a thousand yuan, including the purchase of the storefront. The area was insignificant compared to this restaurant, but they could still make three to four hundred yuan a month. As a result, this restaurant occupies such a large area, invested more than three hundred thousand yuan, but only made a few hundred yuan a month?
Zhang's mother immediately said worriedly, "Xiuping, you said the restaurant business was good, but we only make a few hundred yuan a month. How many years will it take to earn back the more than 300,000 yuan your father-in-law invested?"
Zhang Zhenfa also frowned and said, "Our store is small and the investment is only a few hundred yuan, but now we can make three or four hundred yuan a month. Such a big restaurant can only make a thousand yuan a month, which is indeed a bit too little. Even if we can make 20,000 yuan a year, it will take 15 or 16 years to make back the money invested. This business should be a loss, right?"
Mrs. Zhang Dasao and Mrs. Zhang Ersao looked at each other, obviously they had not expected this situation to happen.
Zhang Xiuping couldn't help but laugh and said, "Dad, Mom, what are you thinking about? It's impossible to make a loss. The restaurant is just starting out, so we don't make much money, but our restaurant's business is getting better and better. It's possible to make 2,000 to 3,000 or even 4,000 to 5,000 yuan a month in the future.
Besides, the money invested is still there. Do you think this three-story building and the land are worthless? Even if the hotel can no longer be run, the money invested can be recovered by selling it.”
Mrs. Zhang nodded repeatedly and continued, "Pingmei is right. The investment has always been there. If we don't consider the cost issue, we can earn more than a thousand a month, which is a very good income."
Mrs. Zhang agreed, "That's true. Our small shop can earn three or four hundred yuan a month, but we also employ six or seven laborers. On average, each person doesn't make much. This restaurant is managed by Pingmei and her husband, but they earn more than a thousand yuan a month. The difference is still very large."
Zhang's father, mother and brothers also understood this truth and breathed a sigh of relief.
(End of this chapter)
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