Chapter 362 – Beijing Daily
Soon, the news that Xu Jinning had become Teacher Xu spread across the grade within the span of a single class period.
At first, some people were skeptical, but when their foreign language translation class began and the new teacher was indeed Xu Jinning, and when they were enthralled by her teaching, they had to believe it.
Xu Jinning had really become Teacher Xu!
Not only had she graduated with perfect scores and been hired by the president as their teacher, but she had also started working in the National Translation Department.
And she was only 18 this year—impressive, truly impressive!
By Monday, after a full day of classes, Xu Jinning’s status as a teacher had become well-known throughout Beijing University.
Everyone who had attended her classes did not question her professional skills due to her age but was instead captivated by her teaching charm.
Teacher Xu was truly a person of great capability!
After a day of teaching, Xu Jinning immediately returned to their small courtyard. She did not want to stay at the school any longer, feeling like a spectacle for others.
Xu Jinning felt that she preferred a more low-key life and wished for this high-profile period to end quickly.
What she didn’t know was that soon she would become high-profile once again, and this time it would be on a national scale.
…
The Beijing Daily, though only distributed in Beijing, had significant professionalism and influence.
It reported on national and public affairs, and occasionally published some noteworthy submissions.
However, getting an article published in the Beijing Daily was not easy. Not only did the topic and writing have to be good, but the submissions also had to go through multiple rounds of screening.
So, many people took pride in having their articles published in the Beijing Daily.
Of course, getting an article published in the Beijing Daily also earned a payment, but being published there was considered more important than the payment itself.
Thus, although getting an article into the Beijing Daily was difficult, many people still submitted their work every day.
Every day, the initial reviewing editors had to sift through a pile of submissions. Sometimes, it took a day or even several days to find a suitable piece, and it was not uncommon for them to come up empty-handed.
Zhang Xiaowei was one of those initial reviewers.
Today, after arriving at work, he once again brought a stack of submissions from the submission box, made himself a cup of tea, and, putting on his glasses, began to review them one by one.
To be honest, this daily routine could be quite monotonous.
However, Zhang Xiaowei thought it was bearable. Although reviewing submissions could be somewhat dull and repetitive, finding a good article brought an indescribable sense of excitement and joy.
After all, he was someone who loved both his country and writing.
Of course, if he continued to encounter poorly written articles instead of quality ones, Zhang Xiaowei would become quite irritable.
Just an hour and a half into his review session, Zhang Xiaowei began to grow frustrated.
“What is this nonsense? Even a primary school student wouldn’t write something this bad. And they dare to submit it to the Beijing Daily?”
“Absolute drivel—can’t even manage the most basic expressions.”
“What is this? Praising a foreign country? Is this a case of worshipping foreigners or treason? Is this person possibly an enemy agent?”
“This one is somewhat decent, but writing about animals doesn’t fit our Beijing Daily style.”
“Dear God, can’t I get a decent, well-written submission for once?”
“…”
After reviewing submissions for two hours and rejecting them, Zhang Xiaowei let out a sigh of despair.
He turned to glance at his colleague and noticed that they both had similar expressions—both had been tortured by the submissions after a long day of work.
“Keep going,” his colleague said. “The editor-in-chief mentioned that we need submissions on the theme of the future. Let’s see if anyone has written on this topic.”
Zhang Xiaowei nodded. Despite his frustration, the work had to be done, and he had to keep reviewing.
So, Zhang Xiaowei picked up another manuscript to read.
At first glance, the neat handwriting immediately caught his attention.
The calligraphy was impressive, showing a high level of skill.
‘Let’s hope the content is as good as the handwriting. I hope it doesn’t disappoint,’ Zhang Xiaowei thought to himself.
With this hope, he began reading the article.
The first thing he saw was the title: A Look into the Future
Hmm, this was in line with the theme they were currently looking for.
Could there be hope?
Zhang Xiaowei continued reading.
And as he read on, he was thoroughly captivated.
Zhang Xiaowei was completely immersed in the article’s depiction of a bright and promising future for their country.
From the author’s descriptions, it was as if the author had personally lived in that stable, powerful, technologically advanced, and prosperous future world.
Now, the author was guiding readers through the vision of future life.
Each time Zhang Xiaowei came across new and exciting prospects mentioned in the article, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotions.
Halfway through, he even felt like the blood in his veins was boiling.
By the latter part of the article, Zhang Xiaowei was deeply moved, and his eyes began to well up.
When he reached the final line: “That prosperous era will come, just as our ancestors wished,” a single tear fell from Zhang Xiaowei’s eye.
If only the future of our country could truly be as the article described, how wonderful it would be.
The vision of a flourishing era painted by the article was indeed a grand vision.
Zhang Xiaowei didn’t question whether this prosperous era would come.
After reading the article, he felt an overwhelming sense of pride and certainty. He knew that the flourishing era depicted in the article would come! It was certain, it would definitely come!
“Xiaowei, what’s wrong?” his colleague, who was accustomed to Zhang Xiaowei’s constant muttering and irritability, noticed that Zhang Xiaowei had suddenly become quiet, which seemed unusual and strange.
When Zhang Xiaowei heard his colleague’s voice and turned around, his colleague was shocked to see that Zhang Xiaowei was actually crying!
“You… you’re crying? Even if we can’t find good submissions, it shouldn’t make you cry.”
“Not really,” Zhang Xiaowei replied, still choking up. “I’m crying because I’m moved.”
“What?” His colleague was genuinely puzzled this time.
Moved to tears?
“This article—you take a look. You’ll probably cry too.”
Skeptical but intrigued, his colleague took the manuscript and started reading. Ten minutes later…
“Waaah, this article is so well-written. I feel like I’ve glimpsed the future through it.”
“So, our country’s future is so powerful and beautiful after all.”
