Colorful years

Time, like a giant, ever-turning wheel, relentlessly rolled into 1973. For Congcong, this was destined to be an extraordinary year, with at least two major events that would leave a deep mark on his life and have a profound impact.

First and foremost, we must mention Teacher Hu's meticulous cultivation and advanced guidance of Congcong.

Congcong has shown extraordinary talent in penmanship, and his handwriting is unique and outstanding among all students in the school.

His calligraphy is not only neat and standardized, but also vigorous and powerful, combining strength and gentleness, and has the charm of Wei stele calligraphy.

However, Congcong's family was poor, and they simply didn't have the extra money to buy calligraphy practice books to further improve his calligraphy skills. But as the saying goes, poor children learn to be independent early. With his intelligence and diligence, Congcong carefully observed and understood the brushstroke techniques and character structures his teacher used when writing on the blackboard, and gradually developed his own unique calligraphy style.

Congcong is currently in the fifth grade of elementary school. After this school year ends, he will successfully complete his elementary school studies and enter junior high school. In this way, the close teacher-student relationship between Teacher Hu and Congcong will come to an end, both in terms of time and space.

Looking back on all the moments she has spent with Congcong over the years, Teacher Hu couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions: "Congcong, this child is truly the most outstanding student I have encountered in my more than 30 years of teaching, the student who makes me the proudest and most honored! Now that we are about to part, I am truly reluctant to leave him."

After much thought, Teacher Hu decided that she must leave Congcong with some invaluable treasures that he could remember for a lifetime and benefit immensely in the long road ahead.

After several days of deep thought, Teacher Hu finally had a clear idea and was confident in his approach.

His first arrangement was to have the clever and quick-witted Congcong assist him in creating the blackboard bulletin.

You should know that there is a huge blackboard standing on the north side of the school's spacious playground. It has a very important function - it is used to announce the school's important arrangements and deployments, issue various relevant notices in a timely manner, and also to praise good deeds and good people on campus.

For a long time, Mr. Hu had personally written the content on this blackboard. However, from this day on, he decided to solemnly entrust the task of writing on the blackboard to Congcong. As a result, through daily practice, Congcong's penmanship became more and more pleasing to the eye and uniquely charming.

Following that, Teacher Hu meticulously taught Congcong an extremely important skill—carving steel plates.

It should be noted that in that specific historical context, neither the advanced and convenient typewriter nor the all-powerful computer had yet been invented!

At that time, all official documents issued by government agencies at all levels, as well as teaching and supplementary reading materials used in schools, were first carefully written, then the text was engraved on special wax paper with steel plates, and finally printed using a mimeograph machine and carefully bound into booklets before being distributed for people to use.

Generally speaking, this kind of skill is something people often have the opportunity to learn and master after they enter the workforce.

What is truly astonishing is that Congcong, at such a young age, had already mastered this skill by the time he was in fifth grade.

Undoubtedly, this laid a solid and good foundation for him to quickly adapt to the work environment and carry out various tasks with ease in the future.

Congcong was completely focused, leaning over the steel plate. The iron pen in his hand danced like a nimble dancer on the surface of the steel. Every stroke he made was just right, with perfect control of the force, as if the steel plate were a work of art he had carefully sculpted.

In no time, rows of characters appeared on the steel plate. The characters were neat and orderly, as regular as printed text. Moreover, from beginning to end, Congcong applied a consistent and stable force to the stylus without the slightest deviation.

When these meticulously crafted steel plates are used for printing documents, the results are truly amazing.

The printed text is clear and legible, with strokes of moderate thickness and even ink density, making it easy to understand at a glance.

Both teachers and students were impressed by the high quality of the material. They all looked at Congcong with admiration, gave him a thumbs up, and praised him generously.

Some said, "Congcong, your skills are absolutely amazing!" Others said, "I never expected you could carve steel plates so well, you're incredible!" Faced with everyone's praise, Congcong just smiled slightly, appearing a little shy, but his heart was filled with pride and joy.

Hearing the praise from the teachers and students, and seeing his outstanding student who had surpassed him, Teacher Hu felt a surge of pride.