The only remaining issue was the tents. 1000 sets of clothes and shoes were just a matter of a dozen or so boxes; a simple lie to Baozi would suffice. But 100 tents were a different story. Later, I came up with a plan. I told the shopkeeper not to close his shop until I came to pick up the goods the day after tomorrow. At first, he was indifferent, but I told him that if he didn't want to wait, that was fine too, since I knew where his warehouse was. He then said he would definitely meet me there. One should be persistent, never giving up until the goal is achieved, never returning until the enemy is defeated, never having a home until the Xiongnu are destroyed—how many soldiers return from ancient battles! Although this inevitably leads to misunderstandings; they call my approach a rogue's habit.
The last major issue: location. The place had to be outside the city, but not too remote. I needed to buy food and supplies in the nearby suburbs, and since Liu Laoliu had brought my men over at dawn, I had to lead them on foot to reach the destination before daybreak. I had no doubt about the Yue Family Army's long-distance marching ability, but I lacked confidence in myself; aside from being in bed, I had rarely done any strenuous exercise in recent years.
Baozi has been working as usual these days. Since the earthquake, many families haven't been cooking, making small restaurants even more popular. Because Baozi works the early shift, lunch is prepared by Li Shishi. Many people mistakenly believe she's a great cook, which is wrong. Even if she did cook before, she'd just throw a handful of lotus seeds into the pot, and when someone else prepared it and served it to Emperor Huizong, she could claim it was lotus seed soup she made herself. She lacks a systematic cooking theory; she doesn't even know that fried rice is made with cooked rice. Such a clean girl wouldn't wash the vegetables before cooking, but that way the oil wouldn't splatter. Later I learned that restaurants actually do it this way.
Just as Li Shishi was about to pour a plate of sculpted eggplant, cut in a very modern way, into the oil, Thank goodness Baozi returned. Behind her followed an old man wearing tortoiseshell glasses and a Zhongshan suit. I took out my wallet and said to the old man, "What, are you collecting the water bills this week?"
Baozi shoved Li Shishi away and started doing it herself. She turned around and glared at me, saying, "This is our elementary school homeroom teacher, Ms. Zhang. She's now the principal of Yucai Elementary School. We bumped into each other on the street just now, and I pulled her back."
I've heard Baozi mention this Teacher Zhang before. Apparently, she's a very kind and approachable Chinese language teacher, and the kids love her. Baozi was able to sneak peeks at "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" during English class thanks to Teacher Zhang—or rather, Principal Zhang.
I greeted Principal Zhang awkwardly, and he smiled wryly and said, "Don't call me Principal Zhang, I'm not a principal anymore."
I said in surprise, "Yucai Primary School? I don't think I've ever heard of it."
Principal Zhang said, "It's not a formal school; it's actually a village-run primary school. I went there to be the principal after I retired and had nothing else to do, without receiving a salary."
I casually said, "Then you can take a break while this is happening. Once things are calmer, you can go back to being the leader of the kids."
Principal Zhang said dejectedly, "It's gone. The school is gone, and the classrooms are all dangerous buildings."
I asked, "Is it that serious?"
"Our school is located in Yaocun," Principal Zhang said, only this one sentence. Yaocun was the epicenter of this earthquake.
I pulled the old man aside and chatted with him for a while before I learned that Yucai Primary School was actually a school built with money pooled together from the surrounding villages and towns. It was called a school, but it was really just a few bungalows with six male teachers and more than 400 students.
The school was built in Yao Village because it was the central point, close to all the other villages. Actually, none of them were really close; the furthest village was more than 30 li (about 15 kilometers) away, and even the children from Yao Village itself had to walk a while to get to school. Although Yao Village was just a village, it governed a vast expanse of wilderness, and there were no people or even crops near the school.
I asked Principal Zhang, "So how is the school doing now?"
Principal Zhang said, "The only saving grace is that no children were injured, but the classrooms are definitely unusable now."
How much did it cost to build the classrooms?
"That was more than ten years ago, and it cost nearly 100,000 yuan."
My eyes lit up, and I said, "Principal Zhang, if a wealthy person wanted to borrow this land, do you think it would be feasible?"
Principal Zhang wasn't interested at all. The old man adjusted his antique glasses and said listlessly, "Rich people? What would they need that land for? That piece of land was just sitting idle for the past few years, and now nobody wants it anymore."
I quickly said, "I want it! I want it!"
Principal Zhang asked in surprise, "You?"
"Uh...it's a friend of mine, he wants to use that land..."
"What are you doing?" Principal Zhang glanced at me.
I was speechless, not knowing what to say. Meeting the old man's questioning gaze, I quickly came up with a solution and said, "He wants to start a school!"
"School!" Old Zhang seemed to snap out of his daze, like Garfield hearing about pork rolls.
"That's right, he wants to start a martial arts and academic school, a place that specifically accepts older children."
Principal Zhang's eyes dimmed again, and he said weakly, "Then you go and talk to the village chief."
I stopped Old Zhang, who was about to get up, and said, "Didn't they spend 100,000 yuan to build the school back then? I can give each family 100,000 yuan, and 200,000 yuan to Yao Village. Do you think that would be more likely?"
After listening, Principal Zhang lowered his head and thought for a long time before finally saying, "100,000 yuan is enough for them to build a simple school building and hire a teacher in each village, but I will no longer be able to stay with those children."
I feel like a terrible person, like a local tyrant trying to seize someone else's betrothed. The problem is, even a wealthy landlord like me is running out of money these days. Back then, 15 villages were involved in the joint construction of the school, which cost 1.5 million yuan. Add to that the extra 100,000 yuan given to Yao Village, plus the money spent on clothes, tents, food, and supplies, and 30-40% of my 5 million yuan is already gone. But then again, if I don't have this piece of land, the spending will be even more uncontrollable.
After thinking it over, Principal Zhang looked like he had made a firm decision: "If your friend really wants to do this, I can help him contact the village chiefs. After all, it's all for the children."
I said, "If it's convenient, could you take me to meet the village chiefs tomorrow? I'll be meeting them on behalf of my friend."
Principal Zhang grasped my hand and shook it, saying weakly, "No matter what, please thank your friend for me. The most important thing is that the children have access to education."
I slapped myself and said, "He was forced into it, otherwise he would definitely have built a big school building for the children."
Principal Zhang asked me, "By the way, what's the name of your friend's school?"
I was stunned again, and could only say, "What do you think we should call him?"
The elderly intellectual adjusted his glasses, looking quite confident. I thought he would come up with some elegant name, but he said, "Let's call it Yucai Martial Arts School."
Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Ultimate Principal
Like me, Baozi has idolized Black Cat Detective (I prefer One-Ear), Kosei, Ultraman, and Spider-Man since she was a child. If there's one person among her idols that she can actually see and touch, it's Principal Zhang.
In other words, among all the teachers who had taught Baozi without incurring her resentment, Principal Zhang was the only one. He was the kind of old-fashioned intellectual, rigorous in his scholarship and gentle in his temperament. He had already sent out his 100,000-word paper, but when he remembered that he had used the wrong punctuation, he insisted on waiting at the post office door in the middle of the night, and when they opened the door, he would coax and plead with them to take it back, correct it, and then send it again.
When Principal Zhang saw that I had summoned an entire class during lunch, he was quite surprised. He only became a little warmer towards us after learning that the two girls slept together. Regarding how we were addressed, Principal Zhang called us Xiaoqiang, Xiaoying, Xiaojing… but when it came to Liu Bang, he was very unhappy; since he stopped being a hoodlum, probably no one had called him that anymore.
After a few beers, Old Zhang became quite talkative, launching into a discourse on history and current affairs. This kind of old-fashioned scholar, when in a drunken stupor, possessed a unique charm. When discussing the Hundred Schools of Thought, Qin Shi Huang could still chime in; when talking about the Liu-Xiang rivalry, Liu Bang sat far away from Xiang Yu; when mentioning Li Bai and Du Fu, Li Shishi joined the discussion; and then, when the topic turned to the Gong'an School and *Dream of the Red Chamber*, the conversation fell silent. Seeing that there was nothing more to say, I casually invited him to be the honorary principal of Yucai Martial Arts School. The old man, partly due to being quite drunk and partly delighted that his chosen name had been accepted, readily agreed.
When Old Zhang left, he left behind the conclusion that young people nowadays are ignorant and incompetent.
I'll remember what Old Zhang said. I'll settle the score with you when Ji Xiaolan and Cao Xueqin arrive!
The third day was a hectic one. In the morning, I had to meet with the village chiefs. Fifteen village chiefs, including those from Lianyao Village, plus myself and Lao Zhang, gathered together, but the atmosphere wasn't very friendly. They all felt that someone suddenly offering them 100,000 yuan must have some ulterior motive. Farmers these days aren't easy to deal with; they've all seen money before. Principal Zhang, as my honorary principal, said a few words on my behalf, and I promised to give each village an extra 10,000 yuan, which finally appeased 14 of the village chiefs.
The village chief of Yao Village finally decided to lend me the land. He said, "I don't want the extra 100,000 yuan you give me. I only have one request: the construction team you use to build the school must be my nephew's."
Then the village chief led me to see the land. The former Yucai Primary School was just a few bungalows nestled in a vast expanse of weeds, looking like a miniature version of the Dragon Gate Inn from afar. Winding paths, worn by children, led in all directions, with only the path leading to the county town accessible by car. The children who attended here were actually quite fortunate; I've never heard of any school in the world, including elite schools, where students could catch wild rabbits on the playground during their 10-minute breaks.
The village chief called his nephew over too; he was a short man with a head full of sores and triangular eyes, clearly not a good person. This fellow, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, glared at me and asked in a rude tone, "What do you want to do?"