24-year-old Zhang Fengzhen arranges her daily work very tightly. She rushes to school every morning, checks the class hygiene area, and then instructs students to read early. She used her spare time to participate in the teaching and research of the language preparation group, and participated in on-the-job training after school to summarize and improve the shortcomings in volunteer teaching.

She still feels that time is too fast, and the one-year volunteer teaching career has come to the second half. She is a member of the 24th graduate teaching group of Anhui University of Finance and Economics, and went to Pishan Farm Middle School of the 2022th Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in August 8 to carry out volunteer teaching. Behind her choice is the continuation of the family's two generations of national feelings.

In the sixties and seventies of the 20th century, in response to the call of the country to build the great northwest, two thin figures embarked on the road of supporting the frontier. When they first arrived in Shihezi City, Xinjiang, they saw vast flat land, sparsely populated, and only newly established factories. But they were determined to put down roots here and make a contribution, and the two worked at the local Bayi sugar factory.

These two young people are Zhang Fengzhen's grandfather Zhang Rongde and aunt Zhang Xiuyun.

In that era when transportation was basically based on walking and communication was basically based on letters, grandpa and aunt squandered their youth and sweat on the frontier, which also affected the life choices of Zhang Fengzhen and her father Zhang Zhongxue.

In 2013, Zhang Zhongxue, who worked hard in the transportation industry, took the initiative to support Yecheng County in Xinjiang and went to Xinjiang to help build expressways. Coincidentally, his brother worked for a state-owned construction enterprise that also built the Xinjiang highway.

Zhang Fengzhen has lived with her grandparents since she was a child, and often listens to the stories of the old people when they were young after tea. Since childhood, Zhang Fengzhen has been full of curiosity and yearning for the frontiers of the motherland. "Later, because there was no one in the house, my grandfather had to return, leaving my aunt to work there alone, which was a job for the rest of his life. I want to continue the family's feelings of helping Xinjiang. ”

When she first entered university, Zhang Fengzhen joined the school youth volunteer association and regularly went to primary schools in Bengbu City to teach. In her junior year, she learned that Pishan Farm Middle School, which is connected to the school, is located in southern Xinjiang, on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert and at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains. Children there know little about the outside world, and there is a shortage of volunteers.

Zhang Fengzhen is determined to help children understand the outside world.

"Can you take care of yourself outside as a girl who goes so far away?" The family is worried.

But Zhang Fengzhen did not waver: "You can go, why can't I?" I want to follow in the footsteps of my grandfather, aunt and father, and go over there, which is where you struggled. ”

A few days before departure, her father told her about the local environment, weather and diet. "The place you went this time is not far from where I used to work!"

On August 2022, 8, Zhang Fengzhen set foot on the hot land of Xinjiang for the first time. When she first arrived in Xinjiang, although she endured many difficulties such as unsatisfactory water and soil, unadapted climate, and unaccustomed diet, Zhang Fengzhen thought about the hardships of her grandfather and father's work, and she gritted her teeth to overcome and persist. After adapting to local life, she always works with great energy and passion. "I was holding my breath in my heart. Volunteer teaching, for me, is to continue to follow the footsteps of my predecessors! ”

She leads the fifth grade Chinese class in the primary school and is the deputy homeroom teacher of the class. After Zhang Fengzhen came to school, she focused on her children's grades, and she would go to other teachers' classes every day when there was no class to listen to classes and learn from teaching experience. "I basically take breaks in the office, and after a short squint, I go to the class to take the students to dictate and write words, some students are not very familiar with Hanyu Pinyin, I hope to deepen their impression."

Zhang Fengzhen's care is in the eyes of the students, and the students do not hesitate to express their love for the teacher.

"Teacher Zhang, you are really like a mother" "Teacher Zhang, I will definitely study hard and not let you down" "Teacher Zhang, we love you very much!" In the letters sent by students in Zhang Fengzhen's collection, the unpretentious language tells the children's life and learning bits, and the crooked handwriting is full of true feelings of teachers and students.

For Zhang Fengzhen, these letters represent a responsibility and responsibility.

Patimai is a girl in Zhang Fengzhen's class, with a shy personality and no active interaction in class. Zhang Fengzhen visited her home again and again to learn about her life. Over time, Patimai and Teacher Zhang became friends. She began to open her heart and took the initiative to talk to Zhang Fengzhen about her confusion in study and life.

March 3 was Patimai's birthday, and Zhang Fengzhen called her to the office to talk and prepared small gifts and snacks for her. She said that she will definitely work hard and will not disappoint the teacher.

Many children say that from the day they like their teacher, they start to study seriously and will also like the subject.

On the morning of March 3 this year, before Zhang Fengzhen entered the class, the girl Rezi Wanguli ran up to hug her and sent her "Happy Holidays Teacher". When she returned home in the evening, Zhang Fengzhen found that the children had sent her holiday wishes on their mobile phones, and the next day, student Eliminur also brought Teacher Zhang a small handmade necklace that represented her heart. The feeling of being missed by the students made Zhang Fengzhen very moved and gratified.

"Every year, new volunteers will go to the places where the motherland needs it most, first sow the 'seeds' of hope, water and fertilize the 'seeds', and one day, they will bloom everywhere." She hopes that she will continue to shine in her volunteer teaching career, like the elders in her family, and do something unforgettable in her youth.

China Youth Daily / China Youth Net Reporter Wang Haihan Wang Lei Correspondent Ding Yadong Source: China Youth Daily