Chapter 50: Speech
Chapter 50: Speech
'As you all know, my family is an ordinary rural family. My parents are not highly educated: my father finished junior high school and my mother finished elementary school. My grandparents were also farmers, so there are no advanced family rules or family teachings in our family.'
When she said this, many of the students below smiled knowingly. In this regard, many students' families are the same.
'My parents were not eloquent, but from an early age, they taught me by example how to behave and what to do. After going to school, our teachers taught us the Five Points of Speech, the Four Beauties and the Three Loves,'
At this, not only the students laughed, but many of the teachers did too.
Feng Yiping continued, 'The important thing is that the teacher not only taught us to be good at learning knowledge, but also to be good at using the knowledge we have learned. In other words, we should not only work hard, but also work smart, which will have a multiplier effect. The teacher also taught us knowledge outside the textbook, such as how to scientifically and reasonably arrange and distribute a task so that everyone can work together to complete it. My personal view is that parents teach us the basics, and on this foundation, teachers teach us some scientific methods and techniques.'
These words were a bit boring, and the students didn't really want to listen. Feng Yiping then changed the subject. 'As you all know, by chance, I have published two articles in magazines. One of my original intentions was to leave some of my current thoughts and understanding of life. The same thing will be perceived differently by people at different ages. For example, we all feel that studying is hard now, but a few years from now, when we enter society, we will look back on this period of time and feel that it was relaxing and enjoyable. Similarly, I guess when we are old, looking back on the past, we will feel that the hard work when we were young was also sweet.'
These words didn't get much of a reaction from the students, but many of the teachers agreed with them. They, too, had been students, and compared to the difficulties and challenges of the present, life at school was really relaxing and enjoyable.
Feng Yiping continued, 'This brings me to the second part of my original intention. Teachers often use the saying "it's a pity you don't learn when you need to" to motivate us. I looked it up in a bookstore and found that it is the upper part of a couplet written by the Song Dynasty poet Lu You. The lower part of the couplet is "if you don't experience it, you won't know how difficult it is".
This is what Feng Yiping later found online when teaching his son a lesson. Baidu says it is probably a couplet written by Lu You.
'The upper line encourages us to study hard, while the lower line tells us to take action. Together, they mean that knowledge and action are one. 'Knowledge' guides 'action', and in turn, through 'action', we perfect our 'knowledge'. So, when I write those things, it also means taking action. As it turns out, what we are learning now can still support us in taking some action.'
Everyone agreed with these words. It is estimated that today, there will be more mail at the local post office than usual. Influenced by Feng Yiping, many students are preparing to submit articles to various magazines this week.
Of course, this topic is still a bit heavy and academic, and the teachers agree with it, but the atmosphere among the students has obviously not been mobilised. Feng Yiping certainly doesn't want his speech to become a lecture that everyone hates.
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'Next is the third point I intended to make. I published two articles and I received some royalties.'
This topic everyone liked, and money, who doesn't like it, the students suddenly became enthusiastic.
'Teacher taught us that 'knowledge is only useful when you need it,' and I think that parents' lives also taught us another saying, 'money is only useful when you need it.
This was a bold and blunt statement. There was a moment of silence, but then many students applauded after they had come to their senses.
Feng Yiping felt that they did not deeply agree with the saying 'money is of little value until you need it,' but were just happy to have found a way to counter the saying their teacher often repeated, 'books are of little value until you need them.'
The head of the teaching department's face turned a little ugly at that moment. He had already stood up, but was pulled back by the principal next to him.
Wang Yumin, who was sitting in the back of the class, lost her original ease. She stood up and signalled to Feng Yiping as hard as she could. Teacher Zhu, who was originally wandering in the back, stopped and looked at Feng Yiping on the stage with interest.
Feng Yiping noticed that the principal had pulled the head of the teaching department back, and the two vice principals did not explicitly indicate their opposition. He felt at ease in his heart. It seemed that these words had not touched their bottom line.
He simply took the microphone, walked out from behind the desk, stood in front, and paced back and forth. 'This is not a time when it is taboo to talk about money. "Money is only valuable when you need it" is an objective fact. So how do we make money? The knowledge we learn at school is the foundation of our earning power. I have twice been lucky enough to receive some royalties, which also proves this point. The knowledge we learn must ultimately be transformed into wealth, and there are many kinds of wealth, such as spiritual and material. Some of you here may become philosophers, writers, scientists, and some may become entrepreneurs,'
'But the prerequisite for all of this is that we learn all kinds of knowledge and advanced technology. The more we learn today, the stronger the foundation we lay for a better future.'
After hearing this, the leaders on the stage looked slightly relieved, and Wang Yumin finally sat down. Teacher Zhu stood behind them, smiling with his chin in his hands, and said to himself, 'It's really not bad to be able to come back like this.'
Feng Yiping also spoke for a few minutes, saying that at this time, the final speech should always be an encouragement. Feng Yiping followed this template: 'My fellow students, each generation has its own historical mission. Our grandparents' generation stood up our country; our parents' generation settled our country; and our generation will make our country prosperous. Let us not fail to live up to the heavy trust of history. From now on, starting with me, let us study hard, lay a solid foundation, and in this great era, do our part.
After saying the last sentence, Feng Yiping returned to his usual shy and timid appearance, put the microphone back on the table, then bowed to the leaders and bowed to the audience again.
'Clap, clap, clap.' The applause was enthusiastic, and the principal took the lead.
Feng Yiping walked quickly, leaving all the things he received on the table. Vice Principal Zhang quickly caught up to him, and Feng Yiping thanked him awkwardly. The students in the audience laughed when they saw this.
It was a fluke, and this was precisely the effect Feng Yiping wanted. He always wanted people to find some of his flaws, so that everyone would feel that he was just an ordinary person, not much different from anyone else.
People who are too perfect will always be hated.
When Feng Yiping returned to the stage, the applause started again. Most of the students felt that what Feng Yiping had just said was not just preaching, but also related to the current situation and was very vivid.
When he got off the stage, Feng Yiping felt much more at ease. Seeing everyone applauding, he put down his things and bowed to the surrounding students. His originally very traditional, but now very unorthodox, gesture made many students laugh again.
On stage, the headmaster joked, 'I think student Feng Yiping is perfectly capable of entering a speech contest!'
'Haha,' the students laughed again.
The headmaster motioned for everyone to quiet down, 'Student Feng Yiping did a good job. Some of his points were also very novel. He used himself as an example to talk about the necessity and importance of studying hard. I won't go into detail,'
Then he laughed at himself, 'I really can't think of anything more interesting or more pleasing to the ear than what he said. Anyway, the bottom line is, everyone, remember, just study hard now.'
The principal laughed at himself, and of course everyone gave him a big hand, and there was non-stop applause.
The only downside to this unexpected interlude was that everyone was uninterested in the speech that the student union president had prepared so carefully. This was true not only of the students, but also of most of the teachers. While he was speaking, everyone was buried in conversation about what had just been said.
In contrast, what he had said was all empty talk, nothing practical, nothing relevant.
When the meeting broke up, Xiao Zhijie squeezed over and kept giving him the thumbs-up, saying, 'Feng Yiping, you're the man!'
At this time, Wang Yumin waved at him from behind, and Feng Yiping just managed to shove the stool and the things he had received today into Xiao Zhijie's hands. Xiao Zhijie was going to sit there and wait for Feng Yiping, but when he saw that the number of people in the playground was getting smaller and smaller, he pretended to have a hard time carrying the things of the two people and walked towards the classroom. Wang Changning saw this and laughed, and came back to help him carry Feng Yiping's prize.
Wang Yumin looked at Feng Yiping with a playful smile. Feng Yiping looked innocent and harmless. 'Teacher Wang, I'm quite embarrassed and scared when you look at me like that. If there's anything I did wrong today, just criticize me directly, and I'll accept it all.'
Wang Yumin was amused by his words again. 'I can't tell, Feng Yiping, you're surprising me more and more. Today's impromptu speech was so successful, what other talents will you show tomorrow?'
Feng Yiping said, 'Teacher Wang, don't you know what I'm capable of? What I just said on stage was just a summary of what you usually teach us, with some of my own opinions added. It's really all the good you usually teach.'
Wang Yumin laughed, 'Okay, okay, you really took it personally when I said you were fat. Don't just remember to have fun during your two-day holiday. Organise what you said today and give it to me on Monday.'
Unexpectedly, he had given himself another task, but Feng Yiping had no room to object, and could only agree immediately.
'Okay, you go back to your work.'
On the way back to the classroom, Feng Yiping encountered people he knew and didn't know, and they all greeted him with a smile. It seemed that from that day on, no one in the school didn't know him.
The classmates in the class were even more enthusiastic. Many of them came up to pat him on the shoulder or give him a punch on the chest to show their appreciation. Later, Feng Yiping sat there, holding his book in front of his chest, and whenever he saw someone coming over, he would say, 'Don't hit my chest.'
Naturally, the female classmates couldn't do these actions, so they expressed their praise verbally, saying, "Feng Yiping, you're amazing!'
'Feng Yiping, you're really good!'
When Huang Jingping left, she also came over and said to him with a smile, "Feng Yiping, that's a good point!'
Although Feng Yiping spoke today's words hastily, he had not been without thoughts. Since he had the chance to do something important again, in addition to changing himself, he also wanted to try to help the people around him.
*** once said that his life had only influenced a few people at most. This is definitely a very, very humble way of putting it. His life has not only deeply influenced us Chinese, but also had a huge impact around the world. It can be said that he has profoundly changed the world.
With Feng Yiping's limited abilities, since God has given him this opportunity, he really wants to do his best to influence some people around him, otherwise he would really be ashamed of this opportunity.
At noon, Feng Yiping and Wang Changning went back to his maternal grandfather's house together, and they didn't bring the prizes or certificates they had received. The prizes were still too useful for his cousins, and as for the certificates, he was afraid that the little ones would tear them up if he took them to his grandfather's house, so he kept them at school.
He never cared about these awards, but one person did. During the Spring Festival that year, when everyone returned to their hometown for the New Year, Feng Zhenwu rummaged through a box and found a stack of awards. They were all the awards Feng Yiping had received from school since he was a child. Feng Zhenwu showed them to his grandson one by one, teaching him to follow in his father's footsteps and win awards every chance he got.
To be honest, that was also the first time Feng Yiping discovered such a delicate side of his father, and also the first time he knew that his father had always been proud of him.