Chapter 883 882 [Southwestern Associated University]

Zhou Hexuan entered Kunming in a truck. The truck was borrowed from the airport and contained 2,000 pens and 2,000 notebooks.

You can’t come empty-handed. When Zhou Hexuan got on the plane in Chongqing, he brought his pen and notebook with him.

The truck driver probably rarely goes into the city, but he can't find his way there. Zhou Hexuan could only get out of the car and catch a passerby and ask: "Hello, fellow countryman, how to get to the main office of Southwest Associated University?"

"That side of Chongren Street," a passerby said and pointed forward, "The guy in front wearing a suit and glasses is a teacher from Southwest Associated University. Let him take you there."

Zhou Hexuan turned around and saw a middle-aged man in a suit.

This gentleman wears black-framed glasses (Harmony has gone crazy) and has a high hairline. He is lingering next to a cigarette vendor. He repeatedly took out the money several times, but always put the money back in his pocket. He made up his mind to leave, but then came back and asked: "Can you sell your cigarettes by the root?"

The cigarette seller was an old woman with a flat wooden box hanging on her chest. The box was open and filled with all kinds of cigarettes. She replied: "For sale, which one do you want?"

The middle-aged man with glasses swallowed his saliva and said, "The cheapest one only costs two."

"Two dollars and four cents, sir, take it," the old woman said, handing it over.

The middle-aged man with glasses was like a hungry ghost who saw something to eat. He lit the match as quickly as possible and stood there and sucked it in big gulps. In less than 20 seconds, there was only a small section of the cigarette left. He finally stopped, holding the cigarette butt between his fingers and sighed: "Alas!"

The old woman selling cigarettes also sighed: "It's pitiful, it's pitiful."

Zhou Hexuan looked a little sad and waited for the other party to throw away the cigarette butt before he stepped forward and said, "Hello, sir, can you take me to the main office of Southwest Associated University?"

"Mr. Zhou," the middle-aged man with glasses immediately recognized Zhou Hexuan and shook hands happily, "Hello, hello, I, Huang Ziqing."

Huang Ziqing, courtesy name Bifan, Ph.D. from MIT, physical chemist, chemical educator, and one of the founders of physical chemistry in China.

Zhou Hexuan knew nothing about the field of physical chemistry and did not know Huang Ziqing. He asked: "Mr. Huang is a professor at Southwest Associated University?"

Huang Ziqing said: "Well, it used to be from Tsinghua University, but now it's called Southwest Associated University. Mr. Zhou wants to go to the main office? It's very close. I'll take you there."

When Zhou Hexuan entered the city, he was sitting in the passenger seat, and his bodyguards were all in the car compartment. Now that there was another Huang Ziqing, Zhou Hexuan simply took the cab and opened a pack of cigarettes and handed it over.

Huang Ziqing's eyes suddenly lit up, he put the cigarette between his mouth and nose, sniffed it, and laughed happily: "American Camel smoke has this smell. I really miss it."

Zhou Hexuan also handed over the remaining half of the package: "It was given by someone else. I am not used to smoking camels. If Professor Huang likes it, then I will borrow flowers to offer to Buddha."

Huang Ziqing laughed loudly and took the cigarette case cheerfully: "Mr. Zhou, you don't have to worry about me losing face. I, Huang, don't have any other hobbies. I just like to smoke a few puffs. Thank you for your kindness."

Zhou Hexuan took out a lighter, lit it for Huang Ziqing, and asked, "Are the teachers at Southwest Associated University living in embarrassment?"

Huang Ziqing said truthfully: "I was barely making ends meet when I was in Changsha, but it became difficult after moving to Kunming. I had to take care of my family one by one, and my salary was only 70%. Anyway, my savings have been exhausted. Brother Daisun (Chen Daisun, (Dean of the Department of Economics of Southwest Associated University) was determined to quit smoking, but I couldn’t quit. I usually had to buy local cigarettes to relieve my addiction. Today I’m really greedy, like a big smoker, and I’ve lost all my face.”

Of course Zhou Hexuan knew that teachers at Southwest Associated University were in a difficult situation, but he did not expect that in 1939, he would already be living in embarrassment. The 70% salary payment was voluntary to save money for the war, but prices have risen so sharply this year that it is difficult for teachers to support their families by working alone.

The Southwest Associated University sounds awesome, and later generations mention it in all kinds of romances, but the real situation is very bad. Not to mention the conflicts between the three schools. Teachers clamor for salary increases every year. In order to make extra money, many well-known professors have to write articles for tabloids.

It's actually pretty good now, at least teachers and family members can fill their bellies, but it got even worse after 1941, with prices rising to outer space. In 1943, there was even a rumor that professors at Southwest Associated University went on a collective hunger strike to request a salary increase. Jiang Menglin was so frightened in Chongqing that he quickly called to stop it. The Ministry of Education then gave each teacher an additional 400 to 700 yuan.

Unfortunately, in early 1943, the salary of teaching assistants at Southwest Associated University was more than 100 yuan, and the maximum salary for full-time professors was only 600 yuan. This little money is not enough. If it weren't for various subsidies, all the teachers would starve to death - subsidies are often one or two times higher than their regular wages.

By 1945, prices were even more frightening. In April of that year alone, the Southwest Associated University needed to pay more than 40 million yuan in salaries and subsidies...

Zhou Hexuan and Huang Ziqing chatted for a while and soon arrived at the main office of Southwest Associated University.

After hearing the news, President Mei Yiqi of the United Nations University and Chief of Staff Shen Lu immediately came out to greet him and took Zhou Hexuan inside to drink tea and chat.

What is the most dazzling thing about Southwest Associated University?

At a time of national crisis, teachers and students put aside their conflicts and worked together to maintain the school. It was originally agreed that after the merger of the three universities, the principals of the three universities would take turns to serve as the president of the Southwest Associated University. However, Jiang Menglin and Zhang Boling took the initiative to give up their power and went to Chongqing to hold other public offices, allowing Mei Yiqi to manage the Southwest Associated University with peace of mind.

Mei Yiqi later wanted to resign as principal, but Zheng Tianting, who served as general administrator, worked hard to retain him. Because other managers, including Zheng Tianting, are all from Peking University, once Mei Yiqi from Tsinghua University left, Southwest Associated University became the sole leader of Peking University.

In order to ensure democracy in school governance and avoid speaking out, Zheng Tianting not only persuaded Mei Yiqi to be retained, but also implored teachers from Nankai University and Yunda University to join the school committee.

Southwest Associated University has been jointly run by Tsinghua University, Peking University, Nankai University and Yunnan University since the mid-term. Of course, Yunnan University is of a auxiliary nature. Because Lianda University and Yunda University are only separated by a road, Yunnan University has insufficient teaching resources, so it invited many Lianda University professors to serve part-time. At that time, Yunda University was barely considered a part of the Southwest Associated University, but it was administratively and financially independent.

After everyone chatted about the school situation for a while, Mei Yiqi took Zhou Hexuan out of the city in person, while Shen Lu stayed and continued working.

The real manager of Southwest Associated University is not President Mei Yiqi, but Chief Secretary Shen Lu. However, the school was really in trouble, and Shen Lu would soon give up his job. His successor was Zheng Tianting, and it was only through Zheng Tianting that the Southwest Associated University could persist until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.

By the way, Shen Lu is the cousin-in-law of Qian Zhongshu’s wife, Mr. Yang Jiang, and holds master’s degrees from both Wisconsin and Columbia universities.

The truck quickly drove out of the west gate of Kunming. Mei Yiqi pointed to the distance and said: "When I first came to Kunming, the General Assembly rented the Kunhua Agricultural School building for teaching. Although the new school building has been built, some teachers and students still remain. Kunhua Agricultural School. The new school location is over there!"

The campus of Southwest Associated University was located at the later Yunnan Normal University. Although it was said to be a school building, it actually looked like rural houses.

The school building was designed by Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin. The first version of the design showed several Western-style buildings. Due to financial difficulties, it had to be modified into a three-story brick and wood structure. The three-story building quickly turned into a two-story building, and when it was completed, it became a bungalow with earthen walls. I heard that Lin Huiyin would shed tears every time he revised the draft.

The only thing worthy of recognition is probably that the school building has plenty of lighting. There was no glass, so large holes were dug directly into the earthen walls to serve as windows, and a few wooden bars were used to support them as window lattice.

The roof is made of iron, and it will soon be replaced with thatch - the iron can be sold to raise funds.