blenderwars Chapter 380: 3 Million Yuan Spent on an International School, and the Pedantic Scholars Moved at the
Chapter 380: 3 Million Yuan Spent on an International School, and the Pedantic Scholars Moved at the
"What the hell? Three hundred million?!"
"Build...build a school? An international school from kindergarten to high school?!"
"Good heavens! Am I dreaming? Tuition is completely free?!"
The impact of Jiang Chen's words was simply too great.
Even after the cheers subsided, the villagers in the village committee square remained in a collective, extremely unreal, dazed state.
They looked at each other, and in each other's eyes they saw the same shock and ecstasy.
This news was like a drop of boiling oil falling into a pot of cold water—no, it was like throwing an atomic bomb directly into a pot of boiling oil.
With a propagation efficiency far exceeding the speed of light, it spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of Jiangjia Village and even all the surrounding villages in just a few minutes.
Jiangjia Village is going to build a top-tier private school worth 300 million yuan!
It's not just about money.
This means that the next generation of Jiangjia Village will be completely freed from the fate of toiling in the fields.
They will have the same, or even better, educational resources as the children of wealthy families in the provincial capital and even the capital!
This is incredibly good news that could change the fate of three generations of a family!
……
At the east end of the village, in a low, dilapidated mud-brick house.
Jiang Jianwen, a man known in the village as "the pedantic scholar," was wearing a faded white vest and was swaying his head as he taught his son, Jiang Haoran, who had dyed his hair yellow, to recite the Three Character Classic.
"At birth, human nature is inherently good..."
"Dad! Stop reading! It's so annoying!"
Jiang Haoran impatiently picked at his ear.
Just then, the cheers that were like an avalanche reached the village committee compound and also echoed in this remote corner.
Immediately following was the excited chatter of the neighbors.
"Did you hear that?! Chenzi is going to spend 300 million to build a school!"
Jiang Jianwen's head, which was shaking and swaying, suddenly stopped.
His eyes, which were always half-closed and looked somewhat sleazy, suddenly widened, and his ears stood up straight like a rabbit's ears.
"Build...build a school?"
He listened intently, piecing together the fragmented information from outside.
When keywords like "300 million", "top international school", and "principal" entered his ears...
Jiang Jianwen felt all the blood rush to his head, and he was so excited he almost jumped up.
He could no longer sit still, like a wild beast locked in a cage, pacing restlessly in that small, dimly lit room.
His brain, which had been eroded by alcohol and complaints for years, was now working at an unprecedented speed.
Build a top-tier school?
Well... then it must require a cultured and capable principal to manage it, right?
Looking across the entire Jiangjia Village, and even the surrounding villages and towns, who could be more learned than Jiang Jianwen?
Jiang Jianwen was a high school student! Although he didn't get into university, he was a renowned scholar back in school!
Who else but me should take this position as principal?!
He could almost see a glittering, golden road slowly unfolding before him.
Once he becomes the principal, can he, as the principal, have no say in the 300 million yuan project funds?
They might skim a little profit from the bricks and cement, or take a kickback from teacher recruitment...
Be nice!
With that money in hand, let alone buying a house and a new car in the county town, he could live a life of luxury eating sea cucumber noodles every day and rinsing his mouth with Moutai every meal!
Thinking of this, Jiang Jianwen's breathing became heavy, and his eyes gleamed with undisguised greed.
"What are you wandering around for? You're like a donkey pulling a millstone, it's making my eyes dizzy!"
His wife, Wu Xiulian, was sitting at the door picking vegetables when she saw him like this and couldn't help but pour cold water on his mood.
"I've heard that Jiang Chen is building an international school and will be hiring foreign teachers! With your few classical phrases, you think you can be the principal? Stop daydreaming! Do you think they'd even look at a pretentious scholar like you?"
"You don't know anything!"
Jiang Jianwen was in a state of extreme excitement and wouldn't listen to any advice.
He yelled at Wu Xiulian, then rushed into the inner room and started rummaging through a broken wooden box under the bed.
Soon, he pulled out a red hardcover book carefully wrapped in plastic from a pile of moldy old books.
He carefully blew off the dust; it was a rather old-fashioned college diploma!
Although no one had ever heard of the school name on it, and the seal was blurry, the "steel seal" and "principal's signature" were all present.
This was a fake certificate that he had paid a lot of money to get from a guy on a street lamppost years ago.
But in his own mind, this was the best proof of his identity as a "cultured person"!
Holding this precious diploma, Jiang Jianwen's mind was racing with calculations.
He immediately changed out of his sweaty white vest and put on a gray Zhongshan suit that had been sitting at the bottom of his trunk and was already somewhat stiff.
He then pulled out a bottle of cheap hair wax from the drawer, slicked his already sparse hair back until it was shiny and glossy, and meticulously combed it into a slicked-back hairstyle.
Finally, feeling that it wasn't "cultured" enough, he turned around and pulled out a thick, brick-like copy of the Kangboxi Dictionary from the bookshelf, solemnly tucking it under his arm.
After getting dressed up, he looked at himself in the mirror again and again, nodding in satisfaction.
Yes, this outfit, paired with this hefty book, perfectly exudes the aura of a cultured person, doesn't it?
"You...you really want to go?"
Wu Xiulian stared in disbelief at his incongruous attire.
"Hmph! How can a sparrow know the ambitions of a swan!"
Jiang Jianwen left behind a profound statement that even he found enigmatic, then strode out of his house with his chest out and head held high, heading straight for the most imposing Hui-style villa in the center of the village.
At this moment, Jiang Chen was sitting under the big banyan tree in his own yard, leisurely drinking tea.
Wang Dagou stood to the side, holding a small notebook and recording Jiang Chen's instructions.
"The school bus must be a Volvo, the top-of-the-line kind. The crash beams must be reinforced with the thickest steel plates, and all the windows must be replaced with bulletproof ones."
"The children's safety is our top priority. If one vehicle isn't enough, we'll buy two. Each child will have their own seat, and it must be spacious!"
"Order me a hundred vehicles first!"
Wang Dagou kept taking notes while clicking his tongue in amazement.
One hundred top-of-the-line Volvo school buses—only Brother Chen could pull off something like that.
Just then, a figure carrying a book and sporting a slicked-back hairstyle walked into the courtyard with measured steps.
It was Jiang Jianwen.
As soon as Jiang Jianwen entered the courtyard, he didn't look at anyone else; his gaze immediately locked onto Jiang Chen, who was sitting in the armchair.
He cleared his throat and slammed the heavy Kangxi Dictionary onto the stone table with a dull thud.
Then, without waiting for Jiang Chen to speak, he put his hands behind his back and started pacing around in the middle of the courtyard, muttering in a literary, semi-colloquial way.
"Ahem! Nephew Chen, I have heard that you intend to establish a school in the village. This is a great undertaking that will benefit the present and future generations!"
"As the saying goes, education is the foundation of a nation's great undertaking! Teachers are those who impart knowledge, teach skills, and resolve doubts!"
"The key to the enduring prosperity of my Jiangjia Village lies not in money, but in talent! And the cultivation of talent requires not only renowned teachers, but also sound strategies!"
Jiang Chen sat in the chair, holding the freshly brewed pre-Qingming Longjing tea, without even lifting his eyelids.
He was too lazy to even correct the various grammatical errors and logical fallacies in the other person's words.
He simply watched the man leaping and bounding around like a monkey, a faint smile playing on his lips.
He saw through Jiang Jianwen's dirty and greedy true intentions hidden beneath his classical allusions at a glance.
Seeing that Jiang Chen remained silent, Jiang Jianwen assumed that he was intimidated by his "talent" and spoke even more enthusiastically.
He quoted extensively from Confucius's teachings to Project Hope, spitting as he spoke, portraying himself as a patriotic and selfless educator.
Finally, after going around in circles, he revealed his true intentions.
He turned around abruptly, staring intently at Jiang Chen, and said loudly in an unquestionable tone.
"Nephew Chen!"
"Throughout my Jiangjia Village, only I am fit to shoulder this great responsibility!"
"This position of principal is rightfully mine!"