免费幼儿园:给孩子们的福利

To Shandong province now, in Eastern China. A young couple have been running a kindergarten for the past five years. Recently, they decided to make it free... Who said there’s nothing such as a free lunch?
现在前往中国东部的山东省。过去五年，一对年轻的夫妇一直在经营一家幼儿园。近来，他们决定让它免费…谁说天下没有免费午餐的？

Free early education, in a friendly and family-like environment.
在一个友好、家庭式的环境中的免费的早期教育。

This young couple opened a daycare center five years ago.
这对年轻夫妇五年前开办了一个日托中心。

Business was improving over the years, but last year, they made a bold choice.
生意逐年提升，但是去年，他们做了一个大胆的决定。

Pang Qiuxiang, Yuxin Kindergarten, said, "Most parents in the countryside are poor, so they delay sending us their children. I felt we should do something, so we cancelled tuition-fees."
育新幼儿园的Pang Qiuxiang称：“大多数乡下父母都贫穷，所以他们推迟送孩子去上学。我觉得我们应该做点什么，所以我们取消学费。”

This move shocked most parents, and some were even suspicious.
这个举动使大多数父母震惊，一些人甚至怀疑过。

"Education fees are always on the rise these days, so we were afraid the quality of care would drop if it went free." Parent said.
父母表示：“这些年，教育费一直在提高，所以如果免费了，我们担心看护质量会降低。”

These qualms were short-lived however. The couple even proposed new activities and increased the variety of school meals. Their efforts set an example that others chose to follow, providing food and beverages.
然而，这些疑虑是短暂的。夫妇甚至提出了新的活动，提高学校伙食的品种。他们的努力为其他跟随者树立了榜样，提供食物和饮料。

Li Zhen, Food Wholesaler, said, "We felt the need to contribute our part as a company, since it’s in the public’s interest."
食品批发商Li Zhen表示：“作为一家企业，我们觉得需要贡献我们的力量，因为这是公众利益。”

But with more and more parents enrolling their children, costs have started to soar. The couple are investing their savings into school, but they know it’s not sustainable for long.
但是随着越来越多的家长让他们的孩子就读该幼儿园，成本开始猛增。尽管夫妻俩将他们的储蓄都投资在学校里，但是他们知道这持续不长。

"We have to pay over 20-thousand yuan for teachers each month, and so our running costs now stands at over 200-thousand yuan per year." Said Pang.
Pang表示：“我们每个月必须为教师支付2万多元的工资，所以我们每年的经营成本超过20万元。”

They believe free education is necessary and their are commited to the children, yet they are concerned about the future and are now seeking other sources of income.
他们认为，免费教育是必须的，他们对孩子负责人，但是他们担忧未来，现在正在寻找其它收入来源。