Our reporter Han Junjie Intern Liang Bin

After failing in the college entrance examination, he started as a farmer again, studied hard and got a master's degree at 18. Some people say that he is a "self-taught hero".

He was 42 years old when he got his master's degree. He failed to find an ideal job, so he had to return to his original life and continue to be a migrant worker. Some people say that this is a "social problem".

18 years, he taught himself most of the time, without a career, his children were facing dropping out of school, and his wife complained bitterly. Some people say that he is a "failure in life".

; His name is Teng Zhenguo, from Ruzhou, Henan. After three college entrance examinations, two self-taught examinations and two postgraduate entrance examinations, this "master migrant worker" is currently facing an embarrassing situation in life and is at a loss.

18 study hard to build a "master of migrant workers"

1988, Teng Zhenguo took the college entrance examination for the first time, ten points behind. 1989, the second college entrance examination, once again very poor.

As a high school student among six brothers and sisters, Teng Zhenguo "is not willing to stay in the countryside all his life" and began to repeat his studies.

In the third college entrance examination, his score exceeded the admission control line 15. But he was rejected by the university for the third time, because his wish was not reported well.

"This time, I felt desperate. I simply lost hope in life." Teng Zhenguo said.

A few months after the college entrance examination, Teng Zhenguo basically hid at home and dared not go out. "In the eyes of the villagers, I am a useless' bookworm'-I didn't grow well and didn't get into college. It's useless. "

Years of study have made Teng Zhenguo's eyes highly nearsighted. In order to avoid seeing the strange eyes of the villagers, when he had to go out, he also went out early in the morning. As soon as he went out, he took off his glasses and put them on again after he left the village. After returning to the village, he took off his glasses again. "In this way, even if an acquaintance walks by, I can't see clearly."

Teng Zhenguo, who has been farming and selling vegetables for two years in the countryside, is still unwilling, but has started his own university dream. 1992, he began to take the college diploma.

1995, my father is bedridden, hoping to see Teng Zhenguo get married before his death. So he married a girl introduced by his relatives.

In order to support his family, he began to do some manual labor. He worked as a cleaner, porter and builder, but he didn't work long. Life at home is always tense.

Shortly after the marriage, Teng Zhenguo got a diploma from the self-taught college. However, he still can't find a good job with this diploma.

1996, when my son was born, the pressure of life was even greater. In 2002, he left his son and wife and went to the property center of the logistics service company of Jiangsu Normal University of Technology. Like other migrant workers, he works as a teaching building administrator, responsible for switching between teaching buildings and multimedia equipment. His salary starts in 540 yuan. A year later, his wife also came to the school where he worked as a cleaner with a monthly salary of more than 400 yuan.

In the beautiful campus, Teng Zhenguo began to be "restless" again, working as a low-paid but stable administrator. He told his wife, "I want to find what I lost here." In 2003, I began to take the undergraduate examination of Nanjing Normal University. In 2004, after learning that a college degree can also be used for postgraduate entrance examination, Teng Zhenguo began to change his plan and planned to take five years to get a postgraduate degree.

Recalling the experience of this postgraduate entrance examination, Teng Zhenguo himself felt too bitter: in the dormitory and office of less than 10 square meter, Teng Zhenguo almost put all his energy into his study. Sometimes, he doesn't even go out for days. In order to save money, he never begrudges eating meat.

The bitterness of life is only one aspect, because the neurasthenia of the college entrance examination fell that year, and Teng Zhenguo began to have a headache whenever the study pressure was great. "Sometimes I can't sleep all night, and sometimes it lasts for several days."

In 2005, I applied for a postgraduate degree in Hainan University, but failed.

In 2006, he successfully applied for the postgraduate program of ethics in the philosophy department of Chongqing Normal University.

This success made Teng Zhenguo a "celebrity" for a time, which aroused strong social concern: in his hometown of Ruzhou (county-level city), he was selected as one of the "Top Ten Outstanding Young People in the City"; In his hometown of Pingdingshan, he was named "Top Ten News People Who Moved Eagle City". His story was also adapted into a sketch and appeared at the Spring Festival party in Ruzhou. For a time, he had a resounding nickname-"Master of Migrant Workers", and many applause and admiration eyes gathered on him.

The master's degree is still difficult to take.

Teng Zhenguo is a publicly-funded graduate student and does not have to pay tuition. Living expenses need about 600 yuan for one month. In addition to 200 yuan being subsidized by the school every month, his monthly living expenses gap in 400 yuan and his son's primary school expenses are subsidized by his wife who is a cleaner, and his life is very difficult. Teng Zhenguo almost gave up any part-time job and work-study program because he cherished the hard-won opportunity to study.

In 2009, six months before graduation, Teng Zhenguo began to look for a job as busy as his classmates. At that time, he thought there were many better jobs waiting for him than before.

Because he was once rated as "Top Ten Outstanding Youth" in his hometown, Teng Zhenguo first pinned his hopes on his hometown township government and wanted to find a public institution. He found a leader in Ruzhou City, and the leader told him that the administrative institutions in Ruzhou City have no recruitment plans for the time being. Even if there is, his age has exceeded the standard and he does not meet the recruitment conditions.

The road was blocked, so he began to work hard for some colleges and universities in Henan and wanted to be a teacher. But a few months later, no school waved to him. "I inquired about several schools in Pingdingshan, Xuchang and Luoyang, only to know that people either think I am old or blame me for my bad major." Teng Zhenguo said.

Later, Teng Zhenguo learned that civil servants who apply for the exam are basically required to be under 35 years old, while many colleges and universities recruit counselors and other positions, requiring masters to be under 28 years old and doctors to be under 32 years old.

Finally, Teng Zhenguo aimed at the enterprise to see if he could find a well-paid job. He used contacts and submitted his resume, but the feedback was basically the same-he was too old to use it.

With a hard-won master's degree, job hunting has repeatedly hit a wall, and Teng Zhenguo's heart suddenly "a little panicked." In August, 2009, Teng Zhenguo, who was desperate, had to return to the property center of logistics service company of Jiangsu Normal University of Technology, where he worked before graduate school, and continue to engage in property management.

"I also know that a high school student can do the job he is doing now." Teng Zhenguo said with great disappointment: "This is similar to returning to work in farmland after failing the college entrance examination! It seems to be back to the starting point. "

"Now, what should I do?"

In addition to the meager salary, what makes Teng Zhenguo feel lost is the family he neglected because of his hard work.

Because Teng Zhenguo studied hard all the year round, his son has been staying in his hometown in the countryside since he was 7 years old, and was taken care of by his grandmother who was over 70 years old. During the critical period of children's schooling and growth, he devoted himself to learning and failed to give children the education and care they deserved.

Teng Zhenguo's son said: "I have been alone in my hometown for too long! Dad only comes back twice a year and leaves for less than a month at a time. I would rather play with my little friend than talk to him. "

Teng Zhenguo said that in the first day, his son's grades were among the best in the class. But later, my son fell in love with online games. Now, my son, who is about to read the third grade, has finished at the bottom of his class. "A few years ago, he was able to listen to his grandmother, but now he always talks back and sometimes doesn't even go home for a few days." Talking about his son's current situation, Teng Zhenguo is worried.

According to Feng Junmei, Teng Zhenguo's wife, if her husband doesn't earn money to support his family after marriage, he has done nothing right. As early as Teng Zhenguo taught himself to prepare for the exam, his wife sold his thick stack of counseling books as waste and prevented him from reviewing the exam.

"What's the use of spending so much money and time on graduate studies? Aren't you still doing the same job and getting the same salary as before? For so many years, I argued with him as soon as he read a book, but he just wouldn't change. If it weren't for the children, I wouldn't stay at his house. " Feng Junmei is still full of complaints when she mentions that her husband is bent on going to college.

In Teng Zhenguo's memory, in the days of "getting along" with his wife for more than ten years, there were almost no happy memories except bickering and quarreling.

"From 65438 to 2008, I worked hard on self-study, studied hard at the cold window, and pursued my college dream. But now, why is the gap between dream and reality so big? " Nowadays, Teng Zhenguo, a property manager with a master's degree, has completely given up the idea of continuing to take the doctoral exam, and his heart is full of embarrassment and confusion.

He kept thinking, "What did I do wrong? What would it be like if I didn't take the college entrance examination and studied technology as a chef or something? What should I do now? "