"The doctor doesn't see me much. Every day, my daughter just asks for the results and then tells me."
I picked up an apple, bent down to peel it, and whispered, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Old Zhang smiled and said, "At first, I was waiting for you to tell me the news of my death, but who knew you would go further and further away? I was afraid that telling you would distract you, and it wasn't a good thing anyway."
"...Actually, we've already made it to the semifinals."
Old Zhang's eyes lit up: "What did Secretary Liu say? Can he build a few buildings for us?"
"He said that if we make it into the top three, he will apply to the city for a grant."
Old Zhang nodded and asked, "How are the preparations for the next match going?"
I said sheepishly, "...not very good, the opponent is very strong."
Old Zhang chuckled and said, "Don't feel pressured. Actually, I was more shocked to hear that you made it to the top 8 than to find out that I had late-stage lung cancer."
This time, I was the one who was surprised: "You knew all along?"
Old Zhang still smiled and said, "I'm not afraid of death. Besides, it's my own body; how can anyone lie to me?"
I handed him the peeled apple, and he said, "I can't eat right now."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" I asked him, stuffing an apple into my mouth. "What did you call me here for? Baozi really wanted to see you too." I found that talking to someone with a terminal illness wasn't so heavy after all.
Old Zhang suddenly fell silent, and after a long while he said, "Actually, I just wanted to apologize to you."
"Apologize?" I asked, puzzled.
Do you know why I helped you?
"...Is Baozi your illegitimate daughter?"
Old Zhang, exasperated, said, "Can't you be a little more serious when you're talking to someone who's about to die?"
I slapped my forehead and said, "I'm an idiot."
Old Zhang laughed and said, "I knew you were a bastard."
"You only helped me because of this?"
Old Zhang said seriously, "But I also know that you are a scoundrel with a decent heart. Actually, it was very simple for me to help you at first, just because you wanted to build a school, which is better than building a golf course. Later, you said that the enrollment would be free, so I decided to help you. Although I still don't know what you want to do, Xiao Yan told me that you are really good to those children."
I said, "Yan Jingsheng?"
Old Zhang nodded: "He said that although you don't go to school often and you've hired a bunch of idlers as teachers, he can feel that you have a warm heart, and you really haven't charged anyone tuition."
I scoffed, "They need to be rich too."
"At this time, a martial arts tournament was about to be held, and I thought you were all free anyway, so I signed you up as a last resort."
I sighed: "There's no surprise at all, I guessed it all."
"I knew this was an opportunity, and I also knew a little inside information. The country was going to build a martial arts training base, so my heart was moved."
I asked curiously, "What's it that's making your heart flutter?"
"Xiaoqiang, do you remember what I told you last time? I want to borrow a classroom from you to gather the children from the vicinity of Yaocun and set up a study class."
“I remember. Why would you need to borrow it? You’re our principal. Once you’re discharged, you can use the teaching building or dormitory building as you please.”
Old Zhang shook his head: "That's why I apologized to you: all I've been thinking about are those kids. I only thought that you could make a profit from this competition, even if it was just a brick or a tile. I never thought that fighting would result in injuries or embarrassment. I feel guilty."
I wiped my sweat and said, "It seems we didn't leave you with a good impression. Actually, very few of our people were injured. We only had one dangerous situation when a guy almost suffocated from an egg."
Old Zhang still blamed himself, saying, "I am a selfish person."
I suppressed the turmoil in my heart and deliberately joked, "Exactly, exactly, how could we live if everyone were as selfish as you?" I asked casually, "Didn't I give each of those villages 100,000 yuan?"
Old Zhang smiled bitterly: "This money isn't an official allocation. What good can it do once it's in the hands of those local tyrants? The conscientious ones use it all to repair the villagers' houses, the less conscientious ones use it as activity funds to try and get more disaster relief funds from higher authorities, and the scoundrels just pocket it."
I comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, I'll lend you the whole school building. They're just kids from one village, right? I'll cover their food and lodging."
Old Zhang straightened up excitedly and said, "How long can you manage without government support? Can you even take care of the children outside of Yao Village?"
I stared in disbelief and said, "Old Zhang, you've got a really big heart!"
Old Zhang's face darkened again, and he slowly said, "Even if you made it into the top three this time, I'm not sick, so it still wouldn't solve anything. But at least it could help a small group of children. They're still young..." I thought he was going to say something passionate, but Old Zhang just said weakly, "And I am their principal."
I felt a pang of sadness. Supporting 300 people was unavoidable, but to raise a whole bunch of kids, find them teachers, and ensure their safety—I simply couldn't manage it, both physically and financially. After giving the 1 million to my friends, I'm now as poor as I was when I earned 1200. The only difference is that before, I spent 1200 a month on myself, but now I earn 12,000 a day and hundreds of people help me spend it.
Old Zhang changed the subject, altering his expression, and said, "Tell me about your story. How did you make it into the top 8?"
I corrected him: "Top 4!"
Old Zhang said, "I told you I didn't expect so many teams to come—nearly 200, right? I didn't expect you guys to make it to the top 8."
I continued to correct him: "Top 4!"
Old Zhang tidied his thinning hair and said, "Then tell me what's going on. I've heard there are quite a few strong teams there, and I've watched a few of their matches. They're all really skilled. You're just relying on some unorthodox methods to get through this?"
I lowered my head and ate my apple, unsure of what to say. Old Zhang is different from the Chairman; I don't want to lie to him, and I can't lie to him anyway. He has a lot of information.
Before I could speak, Old Zhang continued, "I did one good thing before I died. If you win tomorrow's match, it will also benefit the school."
I muttered, "We can't win tomorrow's game." I felt I couldn't continue to jokingly trample on the hopes of a dying old man.
"Why?" Old Zhang had taught Chinese his whole life, so of course he understood the difference between "cannot win" and "cannot win".