Mayor Gu Le announced, "The tea party to celebrate Teacher Wu's 70th birthday is now officially beginning."
A woman stood up and said, "The first item on the agenda is for us students to present our congratulatory gifts to Teacher Wu in turn."
Chen Yuyan tugged at Ma Yunfei and said, "We just got the notification and haven't prepared any gifts. What should we do?"
Ma Yunfei frowned and said, "Oh dear! I forgot about that too."
"Yunfei, we're going to make a fool of ourselves this time."
Those who came to the tea party tonight had been notified in advance and had all prepared gifts.
Following the seating order, everyone began to read out their gift lists.
"Teacher Wu, I bought you a four-speaker tape recorder. I asked an acquaintance to bring it back from Shenzhen."
In 1990, a four-speaker tape recorder was the most fashionable electronic product.
"Teacher Wu, I'd like to give you a bamboo painting. It's by a famous artist, and I bought it at an auction in Guangzhou."
Ma Yunfei was startled. If it were a painting bought at an auction, even if it was cheap, it would still cost several thousand yuan.
“Teacher Wu, I know you have rheumatism, so I specially knitted you a pair of woolen pants. They are knitted with double yarn, and I'm sure they will keep you very warm.”
…………
Gifts were piled up on the long table in the middle.
Chen Yuyan felt uneasy, as she felt she hadn't prepared any gifts and was really letting Teacher Wu down.
Ma Yunfei also felt a little embarrassed, seeing that everyone else had taken out their gifts and only his family was left.
Someone asked, "Chen Yuyan, where's your gift?"
"I...I..."
Chen Yuyan didn't know how to explain. It would be difficult to say that she had only received the notification two hours ago.
In short, no matter what reasons are given, they are untenable.
Chen Yuyan felt like she was sitting on pins and needles; she wished she could disappear into a mouse hole.
Suddenly, Ma Yunfei stood up and said confidently, "Chen Yuyan and I originally planned to go to City A to carefully select a gift, but after thinking it over, we felt that even the most expensive gift would not be enough to repay Teacher Wu's cultivation. So, Chen Yuyan and I wrote a poem together, and now I will dedicate this poem to our respected Teacher Wu."
Chen Yuyan stared blankly at Ma Yunfei. She felt that Ma Yunfei's poem to Teacher Wu at this moment was not only elegant but also unique, making him stand out from the crowd.
Everyone else offered material gifts, but Ma Yunfei and Chen Yuyan offered spiritual gifts.
Ma Yunfei cleared his throat and began to recite a poem. His rhythmic and passionate recitation immediately captivated the entire audience.
Ma Yunfei also had a teacher he respected. In 2000, when this teacher passed away, he wrote this poem.
The poem was etched in his heart, and he never expected it would come in handy now.
After Ma Yunfei finished reciting, he sat down quietly.
The entire room fell silent; everyone was deeply moved by Ma Yunfei's poem.
This is a poem full of emotion and passion.
Teacher Wu led the applause, which seemed to awaken everyone, and the banquet hall erupted in thunderous applause that lasted for a long time.
Everyone had to admire how well this poem was written.
Gao Yuan nudged Anna with her elbow and said suspiciously, "I heard that Ma Yunfei is only a primary school graduate. How can he write such wonderful poems? I think he must have copied them from somewhere."
Anna chimed in, "Yes, how could a big gambler write poetry? Obviously, he must have taken other people's poems and passed them off as his own to fool people."
Although Gao Yuan and Anna had doubts about the origin of the poem, they dared not say so, since they had no evidence.
Teacher Wu stood up and said, “Students, I have been teaching for over forty years and have never accepted a single gift from a student. Now that I am retired, I must also maintain my integrity in my later years. I am sincerely grateful for the gifts you have given me, but I cannot accept them. I hope you will send these gifts to the orphanage; those poor children need them more than I do.”
Teacher Wu glanced at Ma Yunfei and Chen Yuyan and said approvingly, "Tonight, I can only accept this one poem."
Chen Yuyan breathed a sigh of relief; she never expected that Ma Yunfei could write poetry.
With Ma Yunfei's elementary school education, let alone writing poetry, even if you ask him to recite poetry, there would be a lot of characters he wouldn't recognize.
There are many illegible characters in the poem that Ma Yunfei recited, so it is clear that the poem could not have been written by Ma Yunfei.
Chen Yuyan also likes to write poetry, but she had never heard of this poem before.
If Ma Yunfei borrowed a poem written by someone else, then at least it shows that Ma Yunfei is also a person who likes poetry.
That's strange, really strange.
Chen Yuyan looked at Ma Yunfei carefully and concluded that Ma Yunfei was still the same Ma Yunfei, with no change in appearance.
However, Chen Yuyan felt that Ma Yunfei was somewhat unfamiliar.
Everyone in the banquet hall couldn't help but feel a deep respect for Ma Yunfei. They never expected that this big gambler would have so much knowledge, which made them all feel ashamed.
What made everyone even more embarrassed was that the carefully prepared gifts were rejected by Teacher Wu.
And that worthless poem became the most precious gift of the evening.
Ma Yunfei was very pleased with himself; he was extremely pleased with himself for subtly and cleverly defusing an awkward situation and saving face for his wife, Chen Yuyan.
Chen Yuyan quietly took Ma Yunfei's hand and said, "Honey, you're amazing!"
This is the first time Chen Yuyan has called Ma Yunfei "husband".
Teacher Wu continued, "Students, tonight I have something to announce here."
Everyone in the banquet hall straightened their backs and pricked up their ears, filled with curiosity about what Teacher Wu was about to announce.
"Just today, someone donated money to the orphanage. This donor did not want to reveal their name and was willing to be an unsung hero. However, I think this act of charity deserves to be praised."
Upon hearing this, Ma Yunfei turned pale with fright.
This afternoon, he and Chen Yuyan donated 10,000 yuan to the orphanage. At the time, the director of the orphanage asked them to leave their names, but they refused.
How did this matter reach Teacher Wu's ears?
In 1990, people didn't have cell phones, so it was impossible to take pictures of them.
Moreover, very few people owned cameras in 1990.
The orphanage was very poor and couldn't possibly have a camera.
Besides, if someone takes pictures of them, they'll definitely be discovered.
If Teacher Wu reveals the donor's name, then the town mayor and his wife will know that Ma Yunfei concealed the profits from selling yams.
The town mayor and his wife will never trust Ma Yunfei again, and perhaps, from now on, Ma Yunfei will lose his source of income.
Ma Yunfei's heart jumped into his throat. A thought flashed through his mind: he had to stop Teacher Wu from revealing who had donated the money.
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