In Putang Village, Jinjing Town, the northernmost village in Changsha County, there is a farmhouse library hidden in a quiet village. On December 14, it was a little cold outside, but the bookstore was warm and quiet, and Xun Minqiang, who was nearly eighty years old, and his wife Zhang Zhilan were sorting out books in front of the bookshelf. Fifteen years ago, Xun Minqiang, a retired rural teacher, founded this bookstore at his own expense, and gradually set up public welfare reading classes and free custody classes, with a collection of 1More than 50,000 volumes, and 30,000 people have used the bookstore, lighting up the reading dreams of batches of rural children. Xun Minqiang was also awarded the "Good Person of Hunan" in the 2023 Helping Others category.
Founded a rural public welfare bookstore at his own expense
In 1978, 34-year-old Xun Minqiang came to teach at Guanjia Primary School in remote Putang Village and became a rural teacher, working for 22 years.
Reading was a luxury for rural children at that time. Xun Minqiang told reporters that before Putang Village was lifted out of poverty in 2016, it was extremely inconvenient for villagers to travel, and if they wanted to buy a book, they had to go to the town first, and then take an hour and a half from the town to Changsha County.
In 2008, in accordance with the requirements of the superiors, the Changsha County Library implemented the construction of a "rural bookstore" in one village, and Xun Minqiang, who wanted to build a bookstore, was determined to shoulder this burden.
At the beginning, there was no space, few books, and few people, so I was worried every day. In 2009, Xun Minqiang vacated two small rooms of 15 square meters in his home, one for the library and the other for the reading room, and the problem of space was solved.
Faced with the shortage of books, Xun Minqiang took all the books he had collected for many years of teaching, and went to the county library to "turn the edge" of some books, and pieced together a library with a collection of 3,000 books.
Slowly, more people came to the bookstore to read books, and the 30-square-meter library seemed to be stretched.
In 2012, after discussing with his wife, Xun Minqiang took out the couple's life savings of 250,000 yuan, expanded a 140-square-meter house next to the old house, and "turned the edge" of more than 7,000 books around, with a total of 1More than 20,000 copies. With the support of Jinjing Town Central Primary School, 20 sets of desks were introduced, and the "New Rural Bookstore" with a reading room, periodical room, library and activity room was rebuilt.
The book house has been transformed into a caring care room
After the renovation of the bookstore, Xun Minqiang found that there were many left-behind children in the local area, and the children had no one to help them with homework after school, and they were left unaccompanied during winter and summer vacations and weekends, so he came up with the idea of starting a public welfare reading class and a free childcare class.
In 2012, the first summer public welfare reading class was opened, with 75 students in 2012, 40 students in 2013, and 114 students in 2014......For more than 10 years, Xun Minqiang has recorded information and stories about children in the archives for collection.
During this period, Xun Minqiang also tried his best to hold reading clubs and Xi sharing sessions to encourage children to communicate with each other and grow together. Many children wrote their thoughts on reading in the bookstore, and it is still very emotional to read.
In the past, I only knew how to watch TV every day, and my eyesight deteriorated, but now I have a farmer's bookstore looking for teachers, and I can stay here every day to read, and my grades have improved, and I have fallen in love with reading and thinking ......Turning over the slightly yellowed letters, the immature handwriting and innocent words revealed gratitude to the farmer's bookstore. This is the feeling written by Yang Chun, a student of Hengshan Primary School, 13 years ago, and has been carefully kept in the archives by Xun Minqiang. Today, Yang Chun has become a teacher.
When the youth is strong, the country is strong. "Xun Minqiang hopes that through the correct guidance of the farmer's bookstore, rural children can embark on the right path.
At the age of 69, I took a driver's license just to be able to deliver books to my door
Considering that rural children live relatively scattered, and it is inconvenient and unsafe to travel, since the completion of the book house in 2009, Xun Minqiang has insisted on using motorcycles to deliver books to the door. "Bring a sack of books at a time and go door-to-door for them to pick and choose. At that time, "Motorcycle Delivery" became a beautiful scenery in the vast fields.
In the second half of 2013, Xun Minqiang accidentally fell while delivering books on a motorcycle, although he was fine, but the accident made his family scared, and he resolutely disagreed with him to ride a motorcycle to deliver books again. In order to reassure his family and make it easier to send books, Xun Minqiang made a bold decision to apply for a driver's license at the age of 69, and got a driver's license within 6 months before the age of 70.
After learning to drive, you can bring more books each time, which is convenient for yourself and the villagers. Xun Minqiang said.
In addition to the children's knowledge "supply station", the farmer's bookstore has gradually become a "gas station" for the villagers' wisdom, and many villagers have begun to look for a way to get rich in books. Xun Minqiang often sends agricultural books and science and technology books related to greenhouse planting, characteristic breeding, melon and vegetable production to local farmers to help them solve problems encountered in production. The gusts of fresh wind blowing from the farmhouse bookstore continue to infiltrate this small village in the north, and also reflect a new picture of the beauty and happiness of the countryside.
As long as I can do it for a day, I will do it well. Xun Minqiang said.
Published in "Hunan**" December 19, 2023 05 edition.
*: Hunan**, Xingsha Education.
Editor-in-Chief丨Liao Xuewen Proofreader丨Deng Qiong.
Editor丨Luo Yu