[Blue Pen Fun Pavilion are all sons of dogs]

[Dog among dogs]

[Poor dog that nobody pays attention to]

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

[Don't ask why it's long-awaited, because the author really doesn't have enough proper chapters to replace it]

[Genuine readers, as usual, just refresh at 6 am]

[Pirated readers, you are welcome to subscribe to the genuine version, you see the ads, and you might be able to afford the subscription]

[The author stays up late writing, surely you wouldn't mind watching the ads, right?]

A gray-blue shirt with a hole in the collar, repeatedly patched pants, shoes with broken soles, a plastic cup with a crack—in this "simple" appearance lies Li Zhenhua's 68 years of donations to the students in the Yimeng Mountain Area. The villagers say, his heart always holds others, never himself.

In 1953, at the young age of 17, Li Zhenhua resolutely bid farewell to his hometown Nanjing, to leave Nanjing Normal School for Yiyuan, Shandong Province, determined to change the fate of the mountain children through knowledge. His arrival meant the reopening of a rural school that had been closed for six months.

Ever since starting his work, Li Zhenhua dedicatedly donated 14% of his monthly salary, a commitment that lasted 47 years.

In 1997, upon retirement, he took up more than 30 part-time jobs, only retaining 500 yuan from his pension for living expenses, with the rest of his income almost fully donated. Up until last year, Li Zhenhua had donated a total of 1.36 million yuan, supporting more than 2,300 students.

In the Hanwang Middle School campus in Yiyuan County, a statue carved out of Han stone stands tall, built with donations from Yiyuan's villagers to honor Li Zhenhua. Over the past 68 years, he has received 103 national to municipal honors, including National Model of Education System, 2015 Personality of the Year in China Education, 2015 Good Person of China, Shandong Province Outstanding Communist Party Member, and Shandong Province People's Teacher, among which he was received by national and state leaders 8 times.

In a notice jointly issued by the Propaganda Department of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee and the Shandong Provincial Education Department on the "2021 Qilu Most Beautiful Teacher" and Shandong Provincial Teaching Model selection results, comrade Li Zhenhua (former principal of Chengguan Second Middle School, Yiyuan County) was awarded the Special Prize of "2021 Qilu Most Beautiful Teacher". 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

After retirement, he chose to "work odd jobs".

Meeting Li Zhenhua for the first time, it's hard to imagine he is already 85 years old. Hearing loss, poor eyesight, a hunchback, gray hair, and dark skin, yet he appears energetic and lively. After retirement, instead of leisurely enjoying his golden years at home, he became busier than ever.

Since he had been supporting impoverished students all along, in the year of his retirement, Li Zhenhua donated his only savings of 15,000 yuan, along with a special State Council subsidy totaling 20,000 yuan to Hanwang Primary School, Zhangjia Middle School, and Yiyuan County Experimental Middle School where he had worked. Following his donation, the local government established the "Zhenhua Scholarship and Poverty Relief Foundation". Through this foundation, nearly ten thousand impoverished students have received assistance.

Upon learning there were impoverished students outside the foundation's range, Li Zhenhua decided to continue providing support. However, given the limited pension, he chose to work outside to support more needy kids. At Zibo Wanji Chaoyang School, Li Zhenhua served as the principal of the junior high department, earning 500,000 yuan over eight years, supporting 23 impoverished students outside the foundation. "Giving 5,000 yuan annually to five students, 3,000 yuan to five high school and technical school students, and 1,100 yuan to 13 junior high students each year."

At the most challenging times, Li Zhenhua, along with Zhang Wenqiang, a student he previously supported who graduated from a technical school, collected garbage on campus for eight years, selling it for a total of 16,000 yuan. All this money was used to support impoverished students and lonely elderly people.

In the first month of receiving his pension, Li Zhenhua tried to leave only 200 yuan, but because it was really insufficient, he adjusted to retaining 500 yuan as his monthly living cost, donating all the rest. Over 68 years, he has donated 1.36 million yuan, helping more than 2,300 impoverished children fulfill their educational dreams.

The retired Li Zhenhua (left) roamed over 300 villages in Yiyuan County, Shandong Province, identifying impoverished students and left-behind children, offering them economic and psychological support. (Photo provided by interviewee)

Despite receiving the special State Council subsidy, Li Zhenhua's life remains frugal. Talking about meals, he drinks noodles soup in the morning and evening with radish strips and usually has pumpkin, radish, and steamed buns for lunch. In all his life, he never drinks alcohol or smokes, doesn't even indulge in tea leaves, usually just carrying a plastic cup with boiled water.

Li Zhenhua's dressing style can hardly be more austere: a piece of clothing can last six to seven years, often mended and worn again. Cloth shoes are worn for two to three years until the soles wear out, then he seeks help from street cobblers to have them patched and continued to wear. Throughout his life, he's never worn high-end shoes or suits, not because he couldn't afford them, but because all his money was used to help impoverished children.

"Although life is frugal, the heart is rich, and every day is filled with joy."

What makes Li Zhenhua most gratified is seeing his students slowly becoming successful and giving back to society.

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

Among the 23 impoverished students that Li Zhenhua had supported, Ren Jilan is one. Diagnosed with cancer, despite being able to take care of herself, her family still struggled greatly. In 2013, during Ren Jilan's third year of high school, her cancer reached a critical stage, and the hospital issued a critical illness notice. That year, Ren Jilan barely returned to school to study, reviewing at home instead. Besides helping with medication and care, she also worked in the fields, overwhelmed by all her responsibilities. Ren Jilan was very determined and scored 576 points in the final exam, gaining admission to Qufu Normal University. However, tuition fees remained unsettled, facing the prospect of missing further education. At this moment, as the president of Yiyuan County Experimental Middle School, Li Zhenhua's warm hand helped deliver the tuition fee to the girl. For the subsequent four years, he covered her tuition fees each summer.

Since then, Ren Jilan made a silent vow: to become someone like Grandpa Li. After graduating from university, Ren Jilan returned to her hometown in Yiyuan, passing the teacher recruitment exam, and went to work at Fuluping Primary School where Li Zhenhua once worked. Influenced by Grandpa Li, from the first year on the teaching post, she scrimped and saved from her salary to support two impoverished students, fulfilling her vow with real actions.

Li Zhenhua tutoring students in their studies. (Photo provided by interviewee)