'This is precisely another problem I want to talk about,' Professor Li was unwilling to be at a disadvantage, 'In Europe and the United States, children over the age of 18 move out of the house and become independent, and they pay for their own university tuition.
In China, however, even university students in their twenties still rely on their parents for living expenses. If they stay at university for an extra year, their parents are forced to bear the costs for another year. Take your classmate Lin Tian as an example. According to the introduction, you must be 19 years old by now!
This is a bit personal. The host, Lin Tianjian, saw that the conversation was going in the wrong direction and tried to change the subject. Feng Yiping spoke first, 'Professor Li, I have a different opinion on this. In Europe and the United States, many students leave their parents when they become adults because they want to go to university elsewhere and they can't live at home if they want to. Some adults who didn't go to university will also move away from their parents' home, and the reason is more that they don't want to be controlled.'
Relying on having spent a few years abroad, bullying us for not knowing the situation abroad!
'As for university tuition fees, I don't know how many of the students Professor Li said would bear the costs themselves. As far as I know, most parents in the United States, like our parents, started preparing an education fund for their children a long time ago.'
All parents are the same. Those who think that American parents just let their children leave home empty-handed as soon as they become adults are influenced by people like Professor Li, who take things out of context.
Parents abroad generally let go completely after their children graduate from university and start working, unlike in China, where they will still worry about their children's marriage and house.
'Of course, there are also some college students who don't want financial support from their families. Together with those students from difficult backgrounds, they apply for student loans and work part-time during the week or during spring and summer breaks to earn living expenses. But this is because they have a sound system to support them. Don't just look at the surface, without analysing the reasons behind the surface.
May I ask Professor Li, how many students at your university can apply for student loans each year? How many people can the school provide with opportunities for work-study?
Professor Li was stunned by his words. Didn't he say that he was a high school student who grew up in the mountains and had never seen the world? Could these words be said by someone who had never seen the world?
Hearing Feng Yiping ask, she was a little flustered. Of course she knew the details. At the beginning of this year, the state had just launched a pilot student loan programme in eight cities, and it was a guaranteed loan. The students who received the loan must be from families in difficulty that had been investigated and verified by the local education authorities. It was no easier to get this loan than it was for small and micro enterprises to get a bank loan later on.
Feng Yiping didn't expect Professor Li to be able to answer with anything profound, so he continued, 'According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 300,000 university students studying in the provincial capital, which is more than the entire population of our county. With so many people working part-time at weekends or during the summer and winter vacations, can they find work?'
Teacher Hu said, 'Yiping is telling the truth. This is actually a social problem. If the family doesn't provide any help, it's really impossible for us university students to complete our studies on our own.'
Lin Tian tried to take back control, but Feng Yiping spoke before she could. 'Besides, are children in Europe and America really more independent than their Chinese peers? I can say for sure that they are not.
Even according to Professor Li, children abroad don't leave their parents and become independent until after the age of 18. But in China, in recent years, how many girls and boys have left school at the age of 15 or 16 to go out and work, not only taking care of themselves but also supporting their families?
In my experience, there were more than 160 students in the three classes at the junior high school I attended. In the end, only six went on to high school, and some went to other schools. At least half of the students didn't even wait to get their junior high school diploma before going to the south to work with their hometown friends or close friends during the summer vacation.
The uncles and aunts here probably have also come into contact with this, and some may even have such relatives in the countryside. So what were their peers in developed countries in Europe and America doing at their age? They still eat their parents' food, wear their parents' clothes, and spend their parents' money. I guess sometimes they even complain that the meat is too fat for them!'
The audience burst into laughter. At that time, who didn't have a few poor relatives in the countryside? Feng Yiping was describing a situation that they were certainly familiar with.
Whether it was the number or the proportion, the number of people in China who became truly independent at the age of 15 or 16 was definitely higher than the number of people in developed countries in Europe and America who became independent as adults.
Teacher Hu, regardless of the audience's laughter, added with a smile, 'Foreign children aged 15 or 16 of course rely on their parents. If a guardian fails to fulfil their obligations before the child reaches the age of majority, they may be held legally responsible.'
This was not the first time he had appeared on Jiangdu Night Talk. He had never seen a guest come on and refuse to let go of the person being interviewed. And the two guests today, one a university professor and the other just a high school student, really had no chance.
Professor Li was cornered by Feng Yiping and naturally didn't want to give up, but Lin Tian didn't give her the chance and changed the subject. 'Yiping, let's talk about your novel. As we all know, apart from your top grades, you're also very good at writing. One of your novels is already being adapted into a movie by a famous director. I'd like to ask, how do you find a balance between studying and writing? Do you have any tips for literary creation?'
This is good. This is actively advertising for him, and hopefully after the show airs, the city bookstore will sell more of his novels.
'First of all, this is thanks to the teaching of the school teachers,' Feng Yiping attributes the credit to the collective, as per the characteristics of this show.
Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Professor Li, 'I've never heard of this book before. Yesterday, I had a hard time getting someone to find a copy, and found that it mainly writes about love and romance. Is this your personal experience?
And is this the message you want to convey to your peers? Instead of studying hard, you should seize the time to fall in love?'
The director in the background was furious, 'Who invited this guest?'
A staff member in charge of external relations raised his hand trembling, "It was me,'
The director glared at him, "Tell her in the earpiece or on the prompter, obey the host's instructions,'
Not only did Feng Yiping not get paid, he also spent some money entertaining the journalists doing the interviews. These two guests had taken the programme team's money to appear on the show, and of course they had to do what they were told.
Feng Yiping smiled and retorted, 'Professor Li, what I wrote is fiction, not reportage!'
'Haha,' there was another round of laughter from the audience.
This laughter was like a slap in the face for Professor Li. Her face turned green and then white, but not many people cared. You have to respect others before they will respect you.
Feng Yiping didn't want to say this either, but this Professor Li had gone too far. He didn't know what had offended her, and she had been targeting him from the beginning. She was even more annoying than that灭绝师太. After all, that灭绝师太 had mixed a few strands of public-spiritedness with her selfishness, but this Professor Li was completely out to get Feng Yiping. She opposed whatever he said. I'm here to be interviewed, to be put in the limelight, to be praised, to be complimented, okay? I'm not here to accept your criticism of crooked reasoning.
Feng Yiping is not worried that after this broadcast, people will think that he is too aggressive. It is not surprising that these scenes will be cut.
In fact, Professor Li's resentment towards Feng Yiping is mainly due to this book. After checking yesterday, and combined with the circulation of the Hong Kong and Taiwan editions, Feng Yiping's novel has sold millions of copies and has opened up a new genre.
When she returned from her studies, she wanted to write a book, but all the publishers she approached wanted her to pay for it herself. She gritted her teeth and published it at her own expense. The first print run was 30,000 copies, and even with free copies, she only sold 2,000.
Losing money was the least of her problems; losing face was the biggest. A woman in menopause has no reason to be reasonable. After seeing the figures, she couldn't help but feel resentful towards Feng Yiping.
She wanted to say a few more words, but when she saw that the staff member on the other side was using a teleprompter to ask the guest to cooperate with the host, she thought that arguing any further would not necessarily give her the upper hand. She let out a defeated sigh and shut up.
The interview went back on track after that. Lin Tian repeated the previous question, and Feng Yiping answered her, 'First of all, I have to thank the teachers at school for their guidance. Seeing that my writing was quite good, they often tutored me after class and set up an interest group.'
These are the kinds of things this column likes to hear.
'So how did you come up with the idea of publishing? You were still in junior high school at the time.'
'Can I tell the truth?' Feng Yiping asked her with a smile.
'Of course, we want the truth.'
'The main reason was money,' Feng Yiping answered honestly.
'For money?' Lin Tian didn't expect Feng Yiping to be so blunt.
'Yes, it was for money. My family was in a difficult situation. I was always unable to pay the school fees. In order to improve our lives, my sister went out to work at the age of 14. My parents stayed at home. After a year of hard work, they saved and scrimped, but they were still unable to make ends meet. At the end of the year, the house was always full of people collecting debts. Although I was young, I also wanted to do my bit for the family. Under the circumstances at the time, writing was the only thing I could do.'
Such sad episodes are often seen in many domestic programmes. The Jiangdu Night Talk programme team also needs such episodes nowadays.
Lin Tian didn't know if she was really moved or if she had had such an experience before. Her eyes were filled with tears. 'It's really not easy. At such a young age, you are already thinking about sharing the burden at home.'
Teacher Hu said emotionally, 'It's really rare to find such a child.'
Some of the aunts in the audience were wiping their eyes at this point, and Huang Jingping's eyes were also a little red. Now when she thought about Feng Yiping's appearance when she first entered school, what she was wearing was not shabby, but it was a little worse than the average student. She didn't know that it was Mei Jianzhong who helped buy the clothes, otherwise Feng Yiping would have to report to school wearing an ill-fitting undershirt.
Li Jia and Gao Zhiyi had experienced Feng Zhenchang and Mei Qiuping pushing a tricycle to buy chestnuts, and they had thought that their family conditions were not good, but they had never imagined that they were so bad.
'Your family was in such difficult conditions, so why did you later decide to donate all the 50,000 yuan that the film company paid you for the movie rights to your novel to your junior high school?' Lin Tian asked again.
'After I went to high school, my parents also went to the city to make a living. They worked hard and earned some money, and life at home was better than before. However, for us country kids, school was still very hard. I wanted to do my bit for my future classmates, so I asked my parents for their opinion, and they agreed, so I donated it all.
My contribution is nothing. Later, with the government's support, my alma mater is now building a new, modern teaching building, so that my classmates can finally have a good learning environment. This is what the song says: 'If everyone gives a little love, the world will become a better place.'
Lin Tian felt that Feng Yiping's last remark seemed to have stolen her line, and it was more appropriate for her to say it.
A virtuous cycle ensued. Based on the material at hand, Lin Tian asked the key points, and Feng Yiping, in his role as a good boy, answered by attributing credit and achievements to the collective and policies. Teacher Hu commented from time to time, while Professor Li was completely sidelined.
After more than an hour, the interview finally ended. Lin Tian wished Feng Yiping good luck in the college entrance exam, and Teacher Hu also said, 'Do your best in the exam, and I hope you can get what you want and bring glory to your parents.'
'Thank you, thank you all,' Feng Yiping got up again and thanked the audience, saying loudly, 'I will be working part-time at Youjia Convenience Store during the summer vacation. Welcome everyone.'
He knew that this part would definitely not be broadcast on TV, but if shouting this out could leave a little impression on these audience members and staff members, then it would not be a waste.
After the recording was over, Gao Zhiyi went to find the director to prepare a working dinner for the entire programme team that evening, but the director was very cautious and did not want to make such a big deal about it. Mainly because the mayor had arranged it, he later bought a few boxes of fruit and a few drinks and delivered them to the programme team.
Feng Yiping and Huang Jingping took a taxi home first. As soon as they entered the house, Huang Jingping hugged him, saying, 'I'm sorry, I didn't know you were that difficult.'
'Silly, I'm fine now. It was mainly because the show needed it, so don't take it seriously.'