Extraordinary Genius
chapter-659

Extraordinary GeniusChapter 659 – Everyone is giving shopping cards

Tai Hua Supermarket Corporation spent some money toadvertise in all the cities where their branches were located. Newspapers +Radio.

At the same time, many interesting articles and comicsappeared in the newspaper. The articles were praising the contributions ofteachers and their influences on the students. These were all paid articles.

When Tai Hua Supermarket hired people to write thesearticles, they were puzzled. But when they remembered that Teachers’ Day wasaround the corner, they felt this was not surprising. Furthermore, they werepaid, and their articles were to be published in the newspaper.

Although these people were not used to praise teachers andthe teaching profession, they were professional writers. All of them were ableto write good articles. But when they showed the drafts to Tai Hua Supermarket.They were all rejected!

What a joke? How can our articles be rejected? We areprofessionals, and which part of our articles did not meet the standards? Ifyou all are the editors, you can still criticize our articles. Who are you topick on our articles?

Tai Hua Supermarket only gave one reason. The articles didnot express the olden traditions of respecting teachers.

Olden traditions of respecting teachers? What traditions?

Only one smart writer remembered the custom of giving giftsto teachers. It’s going to be Teachers’ Day soon. Could this be the directionwhere Tai Hua Supermarket wants them to write? Tai Hua Supermarket wants themto make ‘giving gifts to teachers’ as a way to express respect for teachers?

So, this writer wrote a new article based on this directionand Tai Hua Supermarket immediately paid him for his article. His article willbe published in the newspaper in many cities.

This writer was only a reporter from a city’s newspaper. Hewould be famous if his article were published in many cities’ paper.

After this article was published, many other writersunderstood what Tai Hua Supermarket wanted. They started to check historyclassics and events and wrote them into their articles. All of them begin topromote this ‘wonderful’ tradition. Finally, their articles were accepted byTai Hua Supermarkets and were published in various newspapers. The writers werepaid handsomely by Tai Hua Supermarket and newspaper agencies.

Look, since ancient times, people are giving teachers gifts.This is a tradition. It is the same as giving gifts during Lunar New Year. Thisis a custom passed down from the olden times. This is not bribery!

Some parents who had no intention of giving the teachersgifts at first changed their minds. At the same time, they were also cursingthese writers.

These people were encouraging teachers to accept gifts!

With these articles published and if we do not give theteachers gifts, we will be seen as not following traditions. If we do notfollow traditions, will our children have a good life in school?

Although the schools claim that the teachers will treatevery student equally, that’s what the schools claims. Teachers were alsohumans. Everyone will have preferences, and this is a fact.

How can they make the teachers like their children? One waywas the student must be obedient, have good results, and could make the teacherproud. Another approach was to give the teacher gifts.

Now, the parents were thinking about what gifts to give tothe teachers. Give gifts like the olden days? In ancient times, gifts toteachers consist of 6 items of great significance. Celery, red beans, preservedmeat, etc. This should not work!

If the students were to give the teachers those gifts, theteachers’ families would have to eat celery for more than a month. They willnever finish all the celery. But what about other items? In the olden days,people also give Four Treasures of the Study. But in this era, who still practicecalligraphy? Many teachers do not even know how to hold the brush. Ballpointpens? Then it must be a gold pen at least. Which teacher does not haveballpoint pens?

Gifts should be something the other party need and the otherparty will remember you. But what is a suitable gift? All the parents weretroubled over this.

……

“Eh, Old Sun, your son is in the year 3 of high school? Itis the teachers’ day soon. Are you going to give the teacher any gift?”

“How can we not give the teacher gifts? The other parentsare giving gifts, and if you don’t give the teacher any gifts, do you think ourchildren will have a good life in school? My son is going to take theuniversity entrance exams next year. This year is crucial to him. I must makesure his teacher will not neglect him. Your son is also in the Junior Highschool final year. You are not going to give the teacher any gifts?”

“I want to give. But I do not know what gifts to get. Thisis why I am asking you what gift are you giving?”

“Didn’t you read the papers? Tai Hua Supermarket hadintroduced a shopping card. You can use this card to shop in Tai HuaSupermarket. We are going to give a 500 RMB value card. All my colleagues at myworkplace are getting the same thing. Just give the teacher this shopping card.Although it is costly, the teachers will take care of our children.”

“500 RMB? It is very expensive. I am only earning 360 RMB amonth.”

“Don’t be stingy. Your wife is also working. Just bear withit for one month. This is a critical period for your son. If he did not go to agood high school, it would be difficult for him to enter a good university. Iam going to Tai Hua Supermarket to buy the shopping card now. Are you going?”

“Yes. Wait for me. I need to get money from my wife first.”

……

“Dear, our son is in his final year of high school. He willbe graduating this year, and how can he be seated at the back of the class? Itis Teachers’ Day soon. I heard from my colleagues that they will be giving theirchildren’s teachers gifts. Should we also give our son’s teacher gift? We mustmake sure our son gets into university.”

“Ok. But what should we get? His teacher is a guy. How aboutwe give him two bottles of alcohol and two cartons of cigarettes?”

“No. Other people are giving Tai Hua Supermarket shoppingcards. With that card, the teacher can buy whatever he needed. The supermarketalso sells cigarettes and alcohol.”

“How much should we give?”

“I heard that many parents will be giving 500 RMB shoppingcards. We are better off than most of them. Let’s give the 1,000 RMB shoppingcard!”

“1,000 RMB? Dear, although I am working for an overseascompany, my salary is only 800 RMB a month.”

“You still have bonuses. This is for our son’s future. We mustgive something to let the teacher remember our son. You go and buy a 1,000 RMBvalue card tomorrow. We will give it to the teacher and also tell him aboutchanging the sitting arrangement for our son.”

“Okay.”

……

“Dear, when you send our son to school tomorrow, pass thiscard to Teacher Liu.”

“This is Tai Hua Supermarket shopping card? You bought this?How come it is 1,000 RMB card? What can you do with 1,000 RMB? I know you stillhave a 3,000 RMB card with you. Give Teacher Liu the 3,000 RMB card. You arewilling to give your clients so much money, how can you save when it comes toour son?”

“Fine, fine, fine. I will listen to you. I thought that1,000 RMB is enough. I give my clients gifts is because I can make much morefrom him. Where do you think our house and our Songjiang Motor car come from?Give these two 3,000 RMB shopping cards to your parents and our parents. Letthem get something good for themselves. They are always so thrifty.”

“I know. Our son must be an official in the future. Look atyou. You might make a lot of money from doing business, but when you meet thosegovernment officials, you still have to bow to them.”

“Stop nagging. I had drunk a lot just now and have aheadache. Help me brew a pot of tea.”

“You only know how to order me around. Take off your coatfirst. I will hang it up. The water is boiled. Go and bath first.” The womannagged and went to brew tea.

……

Tai Hua Supermarket sold more than 10,000 pieces of 500 RMBshopping cards per branch during the few days before Teachers’ Day. Even FengYu did not expect the sales to be so high. The parents in this era were crazy.They will do anything for their children!

Translator’snotes: I can’t find any English articles about the 6 gifts for teachers on theinternet. Giving gifts to teachers had been recorded in history since the ZhouDynasty. 六礼束脩 is the name of this custom for teachers when a studentenrolls in the school. The six items were Celery, lotus seeds, red beans, reddates, longan, and preserved meat. These items have symbolic meanings.

1.Celery: Itsymbolizes hardworking and earnest to learn.

2.Lotusseeds: The bitterness of lotus seeds symbolized the hardship of the teachers.

3.Red beans: Redbeans symbolizes good fortune.

4.Red dates:This symbolizes getting good results in the imperial exams.

5.Longan:This symbolizes the completion of studies.

6.Preservedmeat: This symbolizes the student’s appreciation of the teacher.

Thistradition is still being practiced in some schools in Asia, especially Chinaand Taiwan.

Here aresome pictures of this custom in China.

ZhouDynasty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhou_dynasty

FourTreasures of the Study

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Treasures_of_the_Study

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