Chapter 641 - 637: A Respectable Person
The brigade leader’s wife had prepared a huge spread, worried there wouldn’t be enough food. There was a large basin of chicken stew with potatoes, another large basin of pork stew with glass noodles, and finally, some mixed-grain flatbread.
For the times, a meal like this for entertaining guests was considered exceptionally good.
It was already ten o’clock at night by the time Gu Jiaojiao headed home after dinner.
The nights weren’t as cold now, so a thick sweater under a jacket was all one needed.
The four of them walked along the village’s narrow path. The silvery moonlight spilled onto the ground, illuminating the road ahead with perfect clarity.
The next day, not long after arriving at school, Leng Yuan had to leave on an errand.
He told Gu Jiaojiao before he left that there was a resolution regarding Lu Yuanbin’s situation.
Leng Yuan was scheduled to teach the ninth grade that day. Gu Jiaojiao had been at the school long enough that she was also capable of teaching them, but An Dongyang was still a no-show.
In the end, the principal just had the other ninth-grade teacher cover both classes.
As for An Dongyang’s absence, the principal could no longer tolerate it.
He immediately called the higher-ups again.
He had expected them to continue defending An Dongyang. To his surprise, the person on the other end was extremely accommodating. They admitted there was indeed a problem with An Dongyang and suggested a solution: he would file an application to allow the school to hire an additional teacher.
Furthermore, the previous request for desks and chairs had also been approved. They told the principal to come and pick up the authorization slip.
The principal was completely dumbfounded.
He had come in ready for a fight, so when the official was suddenly so considerate, the principal was momentarily stunned and didn’t know how to react.
After a long pause, he finally gave a curt agreement.
Just as the call was ending, the man casually asked, "You have a teacher at your school named Gu Jiaojiao, don’t you?"
The principal looked puzzled. "Yes, we do!"
The man on the other end immediately laughed. "Old Dong, if you had a connection to Manager Zhu, why didn’t you say so sooner? We could have avoided all this delay! But no matter, it’s all sorted out now. Come and get the slip whenever you’re ready."
The principal hung up the phone, utterly baffled.
He hadn’t quite understood those last few sentences. After mulling them over for a moment, it finally dawned on him.
’This authorization slip... it must have been Gu Jiaojiao. She must have asked someone to pull some strings for it to get approved.’
He immediately stood up, walked over to Gu Jiaojiao’s classroom, and called her outside.
Gu Jiaojiao was in the middle of reviewing an exam paper with her students. Hearing the principal call for her, she told the class to study on their own and stepped outside.
"Principal, did something happen?"
The principal’s weathered face was filled with gratitude. "Teacher Gu, the funding I applied for to get new desks and chairs has been approved. I really have to thank you for this. These funds are incredibly important for the school."
Gu Jiaojiao was a little surprised.
’How does the principal know about this?’ she wondered. She had gone through Zhu Wanqi, so logically, the principal shouldn’t have been aware of her involvement.
However, Gu Jiaojiao didn’t say anything more on the matter.
"I’m just glad it was approved."
"We can still have Mr. Leng build the desks and chairs. That way, the money can be saved for more important things."
It was a considerable sum of money, but for a school where all the equipment was old and outdated, it wasn’t nearly enough.
The principal was overcome with emotion, and his eyes grew moist. He solemnly thanked Gu Jiaojiao on behalf of all the children at the school.
It wasn’t just because Gu Jiaojiao had helped get the funds approved; it was because she had given every student a better learning environment, a chance to make something of themselves in the future.
The principal was over fifty, with graying temples and wrinkles etched into his face. Seeing him thank her with reddened eyes, Gu Jiaojiao also felt deeply moved.
All this time, it had been the principal paying out of his own pocket to keep the school running. ’He’s the one who is truly admirable,’ Gu Jiaojiao thought.