The content of Xiao Yiming's speech at the Provincial Higher Normal School on 4 June was published in full by major newspapers in Sichuan the next day, and the description of the scene in which more than 18,000 teachers and students gave a long standing ovation and warmly retained the scene became a hot topic of discussion among people from all walks of life in Chengdu.

In this regard, Sichuan officialdom is calm.

Although there was a lot of speculation and uneasiness, the Governor did not express any opinion on this matter, and the officials naturally did not raise their eyebrows and ask for trouble, and those who understood thought that the Governor had always advocated academic freedom, and that it was no big deal for Xiao Yiming, a young official whom he valued, to publicly express some ideological opinions that did not touch the bottom line of the regime; Those who do not understand privately speculate that it is likely that the governor deliberately instructed him to test the political attitudes of all walks of life in Sichuan through Xiao Yiming's mouth.

Teachers and students of institutions of higher learning and specialized schools in various parts of Sichuan have held special discussions one after another, and a large number of centrist and (leftist) literati have made various comments, generally holding that Xiao Yiming's remarks are profound, lofty, and profound, and that his ideological connotation is by no means under the various trends of thought in recent years.

Xiao Yiming didn't care much about this, he thought that his few words would at most cause a small repercussion in Sichuan, but he did not expect that a week later, Shanghai's "Declaration", "Times" and "Zilin Xi Bao", Wuhan, Zhejiang, and Guangzhou's "Minli Bao" reprinted the full text and attached various editorials, and the British's "Zilin Xi Bao" took the lead and was the first to send a telegram requesting an exclusive interview.

For a time, all parts of the country talked about "the braids on the head and the braids in the heart", and Xiao Yiming's name attracted the close attention of the cultural circles and major political groups across the country, and all kinds of comments became more and more intense, and the content became more and more extreme, which made Xiao Yiming so worried that he couldn't sleep for several nights in a row.

Xiao Yiming, who deliberately set the fire, saw that he was unable to control the fire, and in desperation, he had the courage to break the jar and break it, and it happened that the 300,000 yuan of arsenal construction funds allocated by the governor arrived, Xiao Yiming immediately handed over the affairs at hand to several colleagues in the military garrison department, and then kicked the project to the engineering company under the Huaxi Group, returned home to think quietly, wrote down some experiences from time to time, and wrote a few comments on current affairs in response to the various arguments that are currently boiling.

The semi-secluded life is indeed very comfortable and comfortable, get up every morning to go boxing, finish a trip to the construction site close to the west, come back and start reading the newspaper and practicing calligraphy, tired to take the guitar to Sister Yi's house, and Sister Yi to play an ensemble, the guitar and folk music version of "Butterfly", "Moonlight Phoenix Tail Bamboo", "Horse Racing" and other more than a dozen pieces played extremely skillfully, bringing Sister Yi a lot of joy and smiles.

The calm and comfortable day did not enjoy many days, and the cultural celebrities and young talents who came to the door disrupted Xiao Yiming's semi-secluded life.

As a result, the cultural leader Zou Wenhan and the principal of the Normal School, Zhang Lan, and others became frequent visitors to the Xiao family's compound.

Every time these old masters come to eat and drink enough, they have to bring some "little things" such as German magnifying glasses, vernier calipers, British globes, American Parker pens and other "little things" when they are in good spirits, a few old masters are still picking their teeth while wandering in Xiao Yiming's back garden, here and there, and then Xiao Yiming has to send people everywhere to find ornamental plants such as plum and golden camellia to come back and plant, or dig out a certain part of the "untimely arrangement", Spend a lot of money to buy the ornamental stone piles that the old masters like to go up.

At the beginning of July, Williamham, a British correspondent for the Zilinxi newspaper, and Freys, a bearded reporter for the Beijing-Tianjin Times, both came to Chengdu and contacted Xiao Yiming through the British consular officer De Weimen in Chengdu, and visited the consulate under the guidance of the consulate's cultural officer, Edward.

Xiao Yiming, who was dressed in a denim suit, stood at the gate of the compound in advance to greet him, and when he saw the familiar Edward, he joked: "Billy, when will you send the two boxes of whiskey you owe me?" ”

Edward gave Xiao Yiming a warm hug, and then accused: "Xiao, you scoundrel, although the horse you gave me that day was tall, but it couldn't run fast, and I didn't know when I went back and thought about it, it was the horse you used to pull the cart, not a military horse, so the results of the competition were invalid." ”

"Huh!? You chose the horse yourself, don't try to pay for it! ”

After Xiao Yiming finished speaking, he stretched out his hand to the young, tall, blonde-haired Williamham: "It's Mr. Williamham, right?" Welcome! ”

"Thank you! I didn't expect Mr. Xiao to be so young. Williamham greeted in Chinese.

The bearded journalist Freys, who had just returned to China from the Middle East, took the initiative to step forward and introduce himself in English: "Michael. Freys, a reporter for Yenching's Beijing-Tianjin Times Shanghai, was very happy to meet Mr. Xiao. ”

Xiao Yiming also greeted in English: "I'm also very happy to meet Mr. Frey!" My husband's pretty beard is very charming, and I guess it will fascinate a group of my younger siblings. ”

Everyone laughed heartily, and then followed Xiao Yiming into the courtyard and sat down in the main hall.

As soon as Frey finished praising Xiao Yiming's excellent English, he saw a group of boys and girls standing at the inner aisle, looking at his beard one by one, dumbfounded.

Edward and Williamham couldn't help but laugh again, Xiao Yiming spread his hands and said, "See, Mr. Freys, I guess you can encounter such a scene in many parts of China." ”

After Xiao Yiming's ridicule, the restraint between each other disappeared invisibly.

Xiao Yiming called a group of little guys to say hello to the guests, and then sent them to the backyard for class.

Edward took a sip of tea, put down the teacup and asked, "Xiao, how is the tutor who just came?" ”

"Miss Mary is very talented and caring, thank you for your help, but in another month and a half, the little ones will go to school at Dongmyeon Zhenxing Road Primary School, Miss Mary, like me, does not want to see children grow up in this small reading space, this is not good for their growth, they should study and live with other children from all walks of life." Xiao Yiming replied with a smile.

Williamham and Frey were very surprised when they learned that the beautiful building complex they had just passed by was the school, and then learned that the education method implemented by this new school was different from any school in China, in addition to the basic Chinese, mathematics, physics, chemistry, history, geography, biology and physical education are compulsory courses, the school also hired a number of language teachers and music teachers from Britain, France, Germany and other countries. There are more than 1,800 students in five grades, more than one-third of whom are children of commoners in Chengdu and surrounding counties and towns who are exempt from all fees, and the whole dormitory management is implemented.

Williamham is sensitively aware of the stakes: "Xiao, how much is the investment in this school?" How much does it cost to spend on teaching and welfare every year? ”

Xiao Yiming replied truthfully: "Excluding the purchase of 170 acres of land, Huaxi Group Company invested more than 185,000 yuan in the construction of the campus to build a four-story office building, four two-story teaching buildings, five three-story student dormitory buildings, two conjoined apartments for foreign teachers, and a standard football field with a running track, four basketball courts and a series of fitness facilities.

"According to the plan, Huaxi Group invests about 150,000 yuan every year, mainly for the payment of teachers' salaries, students' clothing, food, housing and transportation, and the purchase of teaching equipment, and we want to make this school the best basic education school in Sichuan."

Williamham was very surprised to hear this, he knew that no public school in Shanghai had the scale of this school, and the annual allocation for the political axe was less than 40,000 yuan, and the annual allocation of the entire Shanghai Police Department was only 300,000 yuan.

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