On August 27, the reporter took a car from Xinxiao County and reached Dadao Village by the Zi River. After crossing an iron cable bridge over the Zi River, they entered the so-called "river east" area mentioned by Yuan Aixiong. This river east area, formed by Daishan Village and Dahuo Village, still does not have access to roads. Renting a motorcycle from the rental point at the bridgehead, the journey up the mountain began on a bumpy road. For 50 yuan, the motorcycle ride did not take the reporter all the way to the final destination of Dahuo Village. After getting off, the motorcycle driver pointed to the opposite cliff and said: "You need to carefully hike across that cliff, walk a few kilometers, then you can take another motorcycle to reach your destination."
When Liu Qing was in the fourth grade, the situation of Dahuo Primary School caught the attention of relevant departments in Xinshao County. The government eventually decided not only to preserve this teaching point but also to build a complete school. "Dahuo Village is a remote mountain village with more than 800 villagers. Children would have to walk two or three hours on mountain paths to attend school outside the mountains. In fact, the road connecting the villagers to the outside world has not been built yet, and in some places, there are no roads at all. It's basically impossible for children of a few years old," said Yuan Aixiong, the township chief of Dashin Township in Xinshao County, in an interview with the Legal Affairs Weekly reporter. Originally, Dahuo Primary School was just a teaching point. According to the number of students, it didn't meet the conditions to establish a full-fledged school. Relevant departments had originally planned to abolish this teaching point, but later surveys showed that if the teaching point were abolished, the children would have nowhere to study.
"If things had continued like that, I should be considered a small boss by now," Liu Xinwei self-deprecatingly said. When he went out to develop his career, his three brothers stayed home farming. Now, these three brothers have developed in the city, some working as laborers, others becoming small bosses themselves. "At my age, there's no one else left in Dahuo Village who stays at home," Liu Xinwei added.
Abandoning a business with an annual income of 100,000 yuan to return to the poor mountainous area without road, water, or electricity to become a substitute teacher, Li Feiqin strongly opposed Liu Xinwei's decision. But her opposition was in vain. "We've argued many times about this, and a few times we even talked about divorce," Li Feiqin told the reporter. Eventually, they didn't get divorced, but Li Feiqin stepped into the classroom and also became a substitute teacher. She graduated from high school and is currently the head teacher of the fourth grade at Dahuo Primary School. Together with her husband and one temporarily hired substitute teacher, each is responsible for one class. Implementing alternating year admissions, Dahuo Primary School has grades one, three, and five in the first half of the year and grades two, four, and six in the second half.
Liu Xinwei agreed to give it a try. In the autumn of 1999, Liu Xinwei appeared in the dilapidated classroom of Dahuo Primary School, and the children affectionately called him Teacher Liu. "The first time the students called me teacher, a sense of sanctity surged in my heart. Seeing them reveal the same thirst for knowledge as I did when I was young, I told myself that if possible, I want them to call me teacher for a lifetime," Liu Xinwei said.
On August 27, 2011, the newly completed teaching building of Dahuo Primary School had entered the final stage before the start of the school term. Four masons invited from the town, after eating lunch at Liu Xinwei's house, quickly rode their motorcycles to the school. They needed to finish the school's renovation work before September 1.
What changed Liu Xinwei's life trajectory was a promise made 12 years ago. "In 1999, after Teacher Liu Zicheng retired, no teacher was willing to come here to continue teaching. With 80-plus children of various ages about to lose their chance to study, the village officials found me, hoping I would come back and teach temporarily," Liu Xinwei said. At the time, Secretary Liu Ziwu thought that since teachers from outside couldn't come in, they could only find someone from the village who had studied to teach temporarily. "Considering both my high school education and my experience working outside, they thought I was the best candidate."
In the eyes of villager Liu Zijie, Liu Xinwei's contributions to Dahuo Primary School go beyond just giving up his own career for this insignificant salary. To improve students' learning conditions, from 1998 to 2011, the school successively renovated the toilet, built a new playground, purchased new desks, and repainted the classrooms. All of these were funded by Liu Xinwei himself.
"Teacher Liu Zicheng was the last teacher at Dahuo Primary School, retiring early in 1998." Liu Xinwei said that under extremely difficult conditions, Teacher Liu Zicheng persisted in teaching in the mountains, nurturing many children in the mountains including himself. Many of them went on to high school, and some even to university. "He used to be a private teacher, and later, the state implemented policies, and he finally became a public teacher. However, not long after turning public, the elder retired due to reaching the retirement age." After Liu Zicheng retired, relevant departments attempted to arrange public teachers to teach at Dahuo Primary School, but ultimately failed.
Three days later, more than 70 students from Dahuo Primary School will sit in the two-story teaching building for the first time. Before this, their classes were held in three dilapidated wooden houses. This school with only three grades received support from the Education Bureau of Xinshao County in Hunan Province in 2010, investing over 300,000 yuan to renovate and expand the original teaching point. During the school's reconstruction period, Liu Xinwei brought the students to nearby rented civilian houses for classes. For sixth-grade student Liu Qing, the new semester will leave her elementary school life with a complete "classroom" impression. "When we were in the first grade, grass grew in the classroom because there were no windows, and we couldn't see the blackboard clearly during daytime classes," Liu Qing said.
In 1999, after the last private teacher turned public and retired, Dahuo Primary School, located in the deepest part of the Daishan Mountains, no longer had formal teachers. This situation continued until now, but the sound of reading aloud never disappeared from here. Over the past 12 years, dozens of students who studied here have successfully entered higher education institutions, some even entering national agencies after graduating with a master's degree. At the age of 40, high school graduate Liu Xinwei gave up a position as a foreman with an annual income exceeding 100,000 yuan, returned to his hometown with his wife, and voluntarily took on the school's teaching responsibilities. To date, the couple still receives a monthly "salary" of 500 yuan issued by the Education Bureau, steadfastly guarding the cold and impoverished deep mountains. On the occasion of the 27th Teachers' Day, our newspaper dedicates this article to pay tribute to all special educators like Liu Xinwei and Li Feiqin who do not have the identity of teachers but silently cultivate in the teaching positions!
"Legal Affairs Weekly" Chief Reporter Zhu Chunxian
"How can you possibly have money to invest in school construction with such a low monthly salary?" In response to the reporter's doubts, Liu Xinwei said that the savings of more than 100,000 yuan he brought back from working outside are now all gone. The family's living mainly relies on farming. "Do you regret teaching?" Liu Xinwei said: In terms of teaching achievements, I am very proud because my students are very ambitious. Student Zhang Rentong is already in graduate school, Liu Feng is studying for a master's degree at Guangxi Nationalities University, Liu Zhaoji is attending Hunan Normal University, Liu Zhaoqi and Liu Peng are studying at Changsha Medical College, Liu Yang is at Central South University, Liu Dan is at Shenzhen University...
Li Feiqin's younger brother runs a computer logistics company in Shenzhen and has repeatedly invited Liu Xinwei to help, promising him an annual salary of 100,000 yuan. "I cannot accept his invitation. If I leave, no one will be willing to come here to teach, and I will become a sinner here," Liu Xinwei said. His greatest wish is to one day become a real teacher.
Due to the temporary teacher often leaving because of low wages, usually only staying for one semester, every time the school starts, Liu Xinwei struggles with where to find substitute teachers. Thus, Dahuo Primary School has become a de facto couple's school. To this day, each of the couple earns 500 yuan per month from the Education Bureau, maintaining the operation of the school and the livelihood of the family. "Now receiving 500 yuan a month is already the result of multiple raises; at the beginning, it was only 150 yuan, and in 2005, it increased to 260 yuan."
Twelve years ago, Liu Xinwei was a well-known "big household" in Dahuo Village. In the year before he returned home, Liu Xinwei worked on decoration projects in Lanzhou, Gansu, and his total annual income exceeded 100,000 yuan. After finishing primary school in Dahuo, Liu Xinwei finally walked out of the mountains, completing his junior high school education at the township middle school. In 1993, at the age of 22, Liu Xinwei graduated from Gaoyang Jingwen Middle School's high school department and immediately went south to work in a warehouse management role at an electronics factory in Houjie, Dongguan. "At that time, my monthly salary from working was only 600 yuan, while my fellow villager Li Feiqin, who was my direct supervisor, earned 1,000 yuan a month," Liu Xinwei said. During this period, he fell in love with his superior, and they soon got married. After marriage, the couple successively opened snack shops and contracted decoration projects in Xinshao County, Jianghan Oilfield in Hubei, and Lanzhou in Gansu. "When running a snack shop at Jianghan Oilfield, the combined annual income of the couple was around 50,000 yuan, and by 1998 in Lanzhou, their annual profit had already exceeded 100,000 yuan."
After crossing the canyon and climbing the cliffs, the reporter walked for about half an hour and finally saw motorcycles parked ahead. The driver was none other than Liu Xinwei, the principal of Dahuo Primary School. Sitting on the backseat of Liu Xinwei's motorcycle, the reporter clearly felt the journey was much bumpier than the previous segment. Half an hour later, a row of ancient wooden houses, rarely seen by ordinary people, appeared before the reporter. Following the stone steps, Liu Xinwei's home came into view. Because the school term hadn't started yet, the couple was at home preparing food for the workers doing renovations at the school. "In this village, I am now the youngest adult," Liu Xinwei said. "People call me principal, but actually, I don't even have the formal identity of a teacher. I'm just a substitute teacher. Initially asked by the village cadres to try substitute teaching, I ended up substituting for 12 years and continue to substitute to this day."