Global Lords: I Have Information System

[This chapter is the long-awaited anti-theft chapter]

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A gray-blue shirt with a hole in the collar, dark pants with repeated patches, shoes with a broken sole made of layered cloth, a large plastic cup filled with plain water... Behind this ”simple” attire is Shoe School Principal Li Zhenhua’s 68-year dedication to donating to the students in the Yimeng Mountain Area. Villagers say, you’re always thinking of others, forgetting yourself.

In 1953, the then 17-year-old Li Zhenhua decisively bade farewell to his hometown Nanjing, leaving the campus of Nanjing Normal University, and came to Yiyuan, Shandong to support education with the determination to change the destiny of mountain children with knowledge. Because of the arrival of this ”city dweller,” the rural school which had been closed for half a year reopened.

Since starting work, Li Zhenhua has consistently donated a quarter of his monthly salary, doing so for 47 years.

After retiring in 1997, he held over 30 part-time jobs, keeping only 500 yuan from his pension for living expenses, donating almost all other income. As of last year, Li Zhenhua had cumulatively donated 1.36 million yuan, aiding over 2,300 students.

In the campus of Hanwang Middle School in Yiyuan County, there stands a marble statue built with the voluntary donation from the locals for Li Zhenhua. Over the 68 years in teaching, he has received 103 honors above city level, including National Education System Model Worker, 2015 China Educational Figure of the Year, 2015 China Good People, Excellent Communist Party Member of Shandong Province, and Shandong People’s Teacher, and has been recognized by party and state leaders 8 times.

Recently, the Shandong Province Party Committee Propaganda Department and Shandong Education Department issued a notice regarding the announcement of ”2021 Qilu Most Beautiful Teacher” and Shandong Province Teacher Role Model results. Comrade Li Zhenhua (former principal of Chengguan Second Middle School in Yiyuan County) was awarded the special prize ”2021 Qilu Most Beautiful Teacher.”

After retiring, he chose to ”work.”

Upon first seeing Li Zhenhua, it’s hard to believe he’s 85 years old. His hearing, sight, and posture are intact, with grayish-white hair against dark skin giving him a spirited demeanor. After retiring, he became busier than when he was teaching.

Having consistently supported impoverished students, the year he retired, Li Zhenhua donated all his savings of 15,000 yuan and the total of 20,000 yuan including the special subsidy from the State Council to Hanwang Primary School, Zhangjia Middle School, and Yiyuan County Experimental Middle School where he had taught before. Following the donation, the local government established the Zhenhua Scholarship and Poverty Relief Foundation, which has since aided nearly ten thousand impoverished students.

Upon realizing there were impoverished students outside the foundation’s scope, Li Zhenhua decided to continue helping. However, his retirement pension was limited, so to aid more disadvantaged children, he chose to work elsewhere. At Zibo Wanji Chaoyang School, Li Zhenhua served as the junior high school principal, earning 500,000 yuan over eight years, aiding 23 impoverished students outside the foundation. ”Providing 5 university students with 5,000 yuan annually, 5 high school and vocational school students with 3,000 yuan annually, 13 junior high school students with 1,100 yuan annually.”

In the toughest times, Li Zhenhua brought Zhang Wenqiang, whom he had previously helped and had now graduated from vocational school, to pick up trash on campus, earning 16,000 yuan over 8 years, which was all used to help impoverished students and elderly widowers.

In his first month of receiving his pension, Li Zhenhua attempted to keep only 200 yuan, but since it was insufficient, he switched to keeping 500 yuan for monthly living expenses, donating the rest. Over 68 years, he’s personally donated 1.36 million yuan, helping over 2,300 impoverished children achieve their school dreams.

After retiring, Li Zhenhua (first from left) visited over 300 villages in Yiyuan County, Shandong Province, identifying students in poverty and left-behind children, offering them economic and psychological help. (Photo provided by interviewee)

Li Zhenhua, despite receiving the special subsidy from the State Council, lives a humble life. His meals consist of noodles and radish strips in the morning and evening, and pumpkin, radish, and steamed buns for lunch. He never drinks alcohol or smokes in his life, and is even reluctant to drink tea, usually carrying a plastic cup with plain water.

Li Zhenhua’s attire couldn’t be more simple: clothes that can be worn for six to seven years, often patched and repaired before wearing again. His cloth shoes would have worn out in two to three years, he’d take them to the street for the shoe repairman to patch them up again to continue wearing. He has never worn high-end leather shoes or suits, not because he couldn’t afford them, but because he dedicated all his money to impoverished children.

”Although life is humble, my heart feels rich, and I’m always happy.”

What makes Li Zhenhua happiest is that the students gradually grow up and succeed, and they also give back to society.

Li Zhenhua loves being with the children. (Photo provided by interviewee)

Among the 23 impoverished students Li Zhenhua has supported, Ren Jilan is one. Because her father died of cancer and her mother was mentally unwell and couldn’t take care of herself, Ren Jilan’s family was extremely destitute. In 2013, while Ren Jilan was in her third year of high school, her father’s cancer reached its most critical stage, and the hospital issued a critical notice. That year, Ren Jilan rarely returned to school and could only study at home. Since she had to give her father medicine, take care of her mother, and work the land, she was extremely busy. Ren Jilan worked hard, ultimately scoring 576 in the college entrance examination and was admitted to Qufu Normal University. But due to lacking tuition fees, she saw no hope for schooling. At this moment, then principal of Yiyuan County Experimental Middle School Li Zhenhua extended a warm hand to deliver the tuition fees. He continued to give her tuition for the following four summers.