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original title: unforgettable rural rule of law class

after class, the children asked teacher lai jiaming (right) for his autograph.

in order to educate young people to respect, learn, abide by and use the law from an early age, i initiated the establishment of the "protect the future" volunteer service team in 2004 to teach law classes in villages and schools. over the past 20 years, my team members and i have visited more than 100 primary and secondary schools and taught more than 2,000 law classes. there are many stories that moved me and are unforgettable.

one day in april 2006, a principal of a rural primary school came to me on a bicycle and said, "teacher lai, i would like to ask you to give our children a law class. our school is remote, with only more than 140 students, 70% of whom are left-behind children, and no one has ever come to school for a law class." i immediately promised the principal, "i will definitely go next week." a week later, i came to this rural primary school. the school was very old, and only the national flag on the playground was new. the principal said, "for your arrival, we specially hung a new national flag." the weather was not good that day. it rained in the middle of the class, and i thought the class might not be able to go on. suddenly, i saw the children all running to a classroom on the first floor. i walked in and saw that more than 140 children were crowded in a small classroom. they asked me to continue telling them the rest of the law story. after the story was finished, i said, "children, you can perform a show for teacher lai." unexpectedly, more than 140 children sang the "national anthem of the people's republic of china" in unison. when the song started, i saw the national flag fluttering in the rain through the window, and tears instantly flowed down my face. these children in front of me are not only children from the mountains and left-behind children, but also the hope of the motherland and the future of the nation. i decided to persist in going to the countryside to teach the children law classes.

on the evening of june 3, 2021, i went to a rural middle school to take a law class on preventing student bullying. after only more than ten minutes of class, there was suddenly lightning and thunder in the sky, wind and rain, and the whole town lost power. more than 600 teachers and students were trapped in the hall. without electricity, the microphone, projector, and electric fan could not be used, and the class was forced to stop. a few minutes later, a student suggested: teacher lai, please continue to give us the law class. this opportunity is so rare and we like it very much. the classroom immediately became quiet. at this time, the teachers turned on the flashlights on their mobile phones for lighting. some teachers also found candles. it was raining outside, and our class continued. the classroom was unusually quiet. my clothes were soaked with sweat. this candlelight law class was the most unforgettable law class in my 20 years. while we paid for the children, we also gained touching, happiness, and trust.

when the service team was first established, when i went to the mountain village school to take the law class, i often took the bus from the county town to the town, and then the school teacher would pick me up on a motorcycle to take me to school. after the class at this school, the teacher would take me to another school on a motorcycle and instruct the next teacher: "after teacher lai finishes the class, remember to send teacher lai to the station." it was the seamless relay of teachers from one school after another that enabled us to successfully enter many mountain village schools and teach law classes to more children.

rural children are very simple and their expression of love is also very special. after every law class, the children always surround us and ask for autographs. some children will take out their favorite gifts from their pockets and give them to us, such as a biscuit, a candy, a small balloon, a small shell... some female classmates didn't bring anything with them, so they took off their hair bands and gave them to us. some wrote their names on paper and gave it to us, hoping that we would remember them.

i have been teaching law classes to children in rural areas for 20 years. along the way, we have indeed felt that this road is long and difficult, but it is on this long road that we can grow up with the children and help them become better people. this is my simplest pursuit. in this process, i feel fulfilled and happy, and my life is full of meaning. (lai jiaming, assistant to the third-level senior prosecutor of the yongfu county procuratorate of guangxi zhuang autonomous region)

(prosecution daily)