Global Lords: I Have Information System

[Blue Pen Fun Pavilion is full of useless offspring]

[The most useless of all]

[A pitiful creature ignored by all]

[This Chapter is a long-awaited anti-piracy piece]

[Don’t ask why it’s long-awaited, because the author is truly holding back due to a lack of substitutable official Chapters]

[Readers of the official version, same old rule, refresh at 6 AM, and you’re good]

[Piracy readers are welcome to subscribe officially, you can actually afford to subscribe by just watching an ad]

[The author works tirelessly, surely you wouldn’t mind even sparing some time for the ads]

The worn collar of the gray-blue shirt, a repeatedly patched pair of pants, shoes with broken soles, and a plastic cup filled with water symbolize this ”simple” image. This is the legacy of ”Shoe School” Li Zhenhua, who dedicated 68 years to the students in the Yimeng Mountain Area. As the villagers say, he always held others in his heart, forgetting himself.

In 1953, at just 17 years old, Li Zhenhua resolutely bid farewell to his hometown of Nanjing, walked out of Nanjing Normal School, and went to Yiyuan, Shandong, determined to change the fate of children in mountainous areas through knowledge. Because of this ”urban” person, the rural school, which had not resumed classes for half a year, began anew.

From the start of his career, Li Zhenhua consistently donated 14% of his monthly salary; this donation spanned 47 years.

When he retired in 1997, he initially had over 30 part-time jobs, but only kept his 500 yuan retirement pension for living expenses, donating almost all the rest. As of last year, Li Zhenhua accumulated donations amounting to 1.36 million yuan, aiding over 2,300 students.

In the yard of Hanwang Middle School, there stands a statue of Han jade stone, funded by the local people of Yiyuan County in honor of Li Zhenhua. For 68 years until now, he has been recognized with 103 honors, including national model educator and various awards from Shandong Province. He was also commended by state and national leaders eight times.

In 2021, the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and the Department of Education issued a notice announcing the winners of the ”2021 Qilu Most Beautiful Teacher” and ”Shandong Province Education Models.” Li Zhenhua (a former teacher at Chengguan Second Middle School in Yiyuan County) was awarded the special prize for the ”2021 Qilu Most Beautiful Teacher.”

Retired, yet choosing to ”work part-time”

Upon meeting Li Zhenhua, it is hard to imagine he is already 85 years old. Despite being deaf and visually impaired, his stooped back, gray hair, and dark skin give him an energetic spirit. After retirement, rather than enjoying familial bliss, he became even busier than during his working years.

Due to consistently supporting poor students, in his retirement year, Li Zhenhua donated his only 15,000 yuan savings and combined it with a special state allowance of 20,000 yuan to the Hanwang Primary School, Zhangjia Middle School, and Yiyuan County Experimental Middle School where he once worked. In response, the local government established the ”Zhenhua Scholarship and Poverty Relief Foundation,” through which nearly 10,000 impoverished students have been aided.

Upon hearing that there were still poor students outside the foundation’s scope, Li Zhenhua decided to continue supporting them. But as his pension was limited, to assist more needy children, he chose to ”work part-time.” At Zibo Wanji Chaoyang School, Li Zhenhua served as the headmaster of the middle school division for eight years, earning 500,000 yuan to aid 23 needy students outside the foundation. ”Five students received 5,000 yuan annually, five high school and technical school students received 3,000 yuan, and 13 middle school students received 1,100 yuan each year.”

During the most challenging times, Li Zhenhua, along with Zhang Wenqiang, whom he once supported and who had since graduated from technical school, collected trash on campus, selling it for a total of 16,000 yuan over eight years, all of which was used to support poor students and the elderly without family support.

Upon receiving his first pension month, Li Zhenhua attempted to keep only 200 yuan, but since it was truly insufficient, he adjusted to keeping 500 yuan for living expenses, donating the rest. Over 68 years, he donated 1.36 million yuan, helping more than 2,300 impoverished children fulfill their educational dreams.

The retired Li Zhenhua (left) traversed over 300 villages in Yiyuan County, Shandong Province, identifying poor students and left-behind children, helping them economically and psychologically. (Photo provided by interviewees)

Although Li Zhenhua enjoys special state allowances, his life remains very frugal. As for meals, he has noodles with radish strips in the morning and evening, and usually pumpkin, radish, and steamed buns for lunch. He never drank alcohol or smoked his whole life, and even tea leaves, he couldn’t bring himself to indulge in, opting for plain boiled water in a plastic cup.

Li Zhenhua’s clothing couldn’t be more simple: a piece that can last six or seven years, often mended and re-patched. Cloth shoes worn for two or three years with broken soles would be taken to street cobblers for repairs to continue wearing them. He never wore high-end shoes or suits, not because he couldn’t afford them, but because he chose to dedicate all his money to impoverished children.

”Although life is frugal, my heart is affluent, and I live happily every day.”

What made Li Zhenhua most proud was to see his students gradually succeed and then give back to society.

Li Zhenhua most enjoys being with his children. (Photo provided by interviewees)

Among the 23 impoverished students Li Zhenhua once supported, Ren Jilan was one of them. Shortly after she was diagnosed with cancer, Ren Jilan’s health and autonomy deteriorated, and her family struggled financially. In 2013, during her third year of high school, her cancer reached a critical stage, and the hospital issued a critical condition notice. That year, Ren Jilan barely returned to school for classes, having to study at home. Besides administering her medicine and taking care of her, she also had to help with household chores, keeping her busy. Ren Jilan was very ambitious, ultimately scoring 576 points and being admitted to Qufu Normal University. But as the tuition fees remained elusive, the hope of attending school faded. At that moment, Li Zhenhua, the sitting principal at Yiyuan County Experimental Middle School, placed the tuition fee warmly into the girl’s hands. For the subsequent four years, every summer vacation, he provided the tuition fee.

From that time on, Ren Jilan made a silent vow to become someone like Grandpa Li. After graduating, she returned to her hometown in Yiyuan and came to work at Fuluping Primary School, where Li Zhenhua had once worked, through teacher recruitment exams. Influenced by Grandpa Li, from her first year of teaching, she started setting aside money from her salary to support two economically disadvantaged students, living out her promise with practical actions.

Li Zhenhua tutoring students. (Photo provided by interviewees)