Chapter 120 The Frog's Cry and a New Plan Early morning, central...

Early in the morning, a hilarious scene unfolded on the dew-covered grass in Central Park.

Li Ge, A Hu, and several other habitual offenders listed in Lin Yue's classroom discipline observation log were all frowning and squatting in a row on the pebble path in the park.

"Listen up, all of you," Lin Yue said, pacing back and forth in front of them with his hands behind his back. "Since you all enjoy daydreaming in class and wasting everyone's time, then use your most prized physical strength to pay for your mistakes."

He pointed to the Tree of Life not far away and announced what could be called the most shameful punishment in history: "See that tree? Today's punishment is simple. Everyone, hop around Central Park like a frog, hop ten times. While you're hopping, you have to shout a slogan. I've already thought of a slogan for you: 'I'm a lazy bum who doesn't like to study, I've disgraced Hope Town!'"

"puff--!"

"Hahaha, Mayor, what is 'frog jump'? Does it even live up to the slogan?" Some people in the crowd couldn't help but laugh.

"Of course they deserve it. Look, it's that croaking beast from last night. You have to learn their moves and jump like that, with your heads clasped together. Let's begin."

Li Ge and Ah Hu's faces turned as red as pig livers, and then they turned into transparent ones, wishing they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into on the spot.

Making these burly men, who usually have the final say on construction sites, learn to jump like frogs and shout such shameful slogans? This is worse than making them fight the Red Scorpion Army hand-to-hand!

Li Ge's inner monologue was probably something like this: In my life, I've carried 200 pounds of cement and done heavy work all night long. I never thought I would fail in my studies and have to learn to jump like a frog in front of the whole town.

"What? You're not convinced?" Lin Yue raised an eyebrow. "If you're not convinced, then keep it to yourself. Anyone who dares to slack off or doesn't shout loud enough will get an extra lap as punishment. You can only go to the cafeteria for breakfast when you've finished jumping."

Under Lin Yue's gentle threats and the helpless, suppressed laughter of the surrounding crowd, Li Ge and the others finally gave in.

Gritting their teeth, closing their eyes, and imitating frogs, they began their first and hopefully last humiliating journey.

"I...I'm...a lazybones who doesn't like studying..."

"I...I've...disgraced...Hope Town..."

The cries, filled with grief and helplessness, echoed in the quiet morning air, attracting more and more onlookers.

“Look at Ah Hu, he looks exactly like that rascal frog by the pond.”

"That's right. Last night he was bragging at night school about how young he was, how strong he was, and how capable he was. But he couldn't even recite the most basic multiplication table."

Hearing this, Ah Hu staggered, his head almost touching the ground.

The children were overjoyed, jumping and bouncing around behind them, mimicking their antics.

"Men always think they know everything, but they actually know nothing. Look at us women, even though we didn't have the opportunity to study before, how hard we study now!"

Aunt Leah whispered to her companion. She was right. Since the night school started, what surprised Lin Yue the most were the women who also attended. Most of them had to do housework and take care of the elderly and children during the day, and after a long day of work, they could practice writing stroke by stroke and recite the multiplication table over and over again under the dim oil lamp at night.

Now, these women, who also attended night school, all stand tall with proud smiles on their faces. It's clear they are more focused and cherish this hard-won learning opportunity than these men.

As for the children who also made mistakes in class, Lin Yue did not punish them physically. Considering that they were at an age where they were prone to playing and that it was their first offense, he simply called them aside and gave them a serious reprimand, warning them that if they made the same mistake again, he would confiscate all their favorite cream popcorn and give it to the student who studied the most diligently.

This threat is clearly more intimidating than any form of corporal punishment.

Seven-year-old Tommy tugged at Lin Yue's sleeve, earnestly promising, "Mayor, I promise I'll never play with pebbles in class again. Could you please not confiscate my popcorn? It's what I look forward to most all week."

Lin Yue couldn't help but ruffle little Tommy's hair. The innocence of these children always easily touched his heart. Compared to adults whose edges had been worn down by life, the changes in children were always more direct and thorough.

After a frog-jumping punishment filled with laughter and tears of grief from men, the academic atmosphere at Hope Institute of Science and Technology was purified and improved like never before.

The classroom content also became increasingly advanced. Lin Yue was no longer satisfied with simple literacy and arithmetic; he began to try to instill scientific knowledge closely related to their lives into the children in the most accessible and understandable way.

The introductory physics class was one of the most popular courses. Lin Yue always came up with all sorts of ingenious experiments to explain complex physical phenomena. In the first introductory physics class, Lin Yue had Li Ge perform a live demonstration at the classroom door, showing him breaking bricks with his bare hands and using a lever to pry up a huge rock.

“Look, students,” he pointed to the muscles of Li Ge that were bulging from exerting force, “Why can Uncle Li split such a hard brick? It’s because he concentrated all his strength in the hardest part of his palm, reducing the contact area and thus generating enormous pressure. This is the same principle as how we can cut meat with a sharp knife but not with the back of the knife.”

Some of the older students raised their hands and asked, "Then why can't I break the brick even though I used the method Uncle Li taught me?"

Lin Yue smiled: "Because besides skill, you also need enough strength and the right hand shape. Just like making bread requires the right flour, yeast, and temperature, none of them can be missing."

He then pointed to the lever used as a teaching tool: "This allows us to move very heavy things with very little force. Its secret lies in the lever arm. Remember what a great physicist said: 'Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.'"

His introductory chemistry lesson was even more dramatic. He led the children in a fun experiment resembling a volcanic eruption. He poured the acidic liquid from fermenting sauerkraut into a ceramic jar filled with wood ash water. Instantly, a large number of bubbles burst from the jar's opening, like a volcanic eruption, eliciting excited screams from the children.

"See that? That's the neutralization reaction between acid and alkali. The digestion of the food we eat every day is actually a much more complex chemical process."

The agricultural practice class was led by Old Bud, but Lin Yue often participated. Under Old Bud's guidance, the children personally performed artificial pollination of corn, judged whether the crop was lacking fertilizer by observing the color of the leaves, and even conducted a small-scale, amazing experiment of grafting potatoes onto eggplant seedlings.

These intuitive and engaging teaching methods greatly stimulated children's interest in learning and their desire to explore. They were no longer passively receiving knowledge, but began to actively observe, think, and ask questions.

More importantly, these courses cultivate practical skills in children. Children who have studied physics know how to use tools more effectively; children who have studied chemistry understand the principles of food preservation; and children who have studied agriculture can help manage their family's vegetable garden.

In the evening, the learning atmosphere in the adult night school classrooms becomes unusually intense.

Ever since that damn classroom discipline observation log came along, everyone has become unusually well-behaved. Even Ah Hu, who used to love daydreaming, now sits up straight in class, afraid that he might accidentally end up on Lin Yue's blacklist and become the star of the frog-jumping performance in Central Park the next morning.

Of course, Lin Yue didn't just suppress them; he understood the importance of using both carrots and sticks. He was equally generous with rewards for students who performed exceptionally well or made rapid progress.

Every week, he posts a leaderboard of top learners on the bulletin board. The top ten students not only receive extra work points, but also a champion's meal from Yihaodian—an energy-restoring bento box with unlimited pork chops and a secret-recipe spicy oil.

This reward was an irresistible temptation for the workers who were exhausted every day.

After a fruitful period of civil administration, Lin Yue spent two more days inspecting and improving the town's various rules and regulations.

As life becomes more stable, some new problems begin to emerge. Some people start building illegal sheds in their own yards, affecting the overall aesthetics and fire safety. Others start getting into disputes over trivial matters, such as whose chickens have disturbed whose vegetable garden.

But the resolution of these problems also demonstrates the power of education.

When Lin Yue convened a meeting with the parties involved in the illegal construction and the knitting incident, he was pleasantly surprised to find that they were able to discuss the issues rationally, instead of arguing and making a scene as they had done before.

"Mayor, I know the shed I built isn't up to standard, but my family really needs more space to store tools. Could you tell me the correct way to expand it?"

"It's not that I want to argue, but my hard-earned vegetables in my garden were ruined by the chicken, which is why I'm so angry. But I really shouldn't have made such a scene, and I know I was wrong to do that."

"It's my fault, it's my fault, I didn't take good care of my chickens." The two families who had argued over the chickens started to understand and apologize to each other again.

This rational approach to communication makes problem-solving much easier.

“I need to go back and discuss this with everyone before I can tell you how the expansion will ultimately proceed. But it seems that just having public security regulations isn’t enough.” Lin Yue stroked his chin. “Our town also needs to enact a ‘Hope Town Urban and Rural Planning Law’ and a ‘Civil Dispute Mediation Regulations’ as soon as possible.”

"Mayor, these regulations affect everyone's lives, and we should also participate in their formulation!" Old Barton, who was watching the mediation, said, and everyone agreed. They volunteered to participate in the formulation of the regulations.

Therefore, Lin Yue organized the town's first democratic legislative meeting. Residents discussed in groups, expressed their opinions, and ultimately formed a management system that was both practical and humane.

This system emphasizes prevention over punishment and education over coercion. For illegal constructions, the first step is education and guidance, providing correct building plans; forced demolition is only carried out when violations persist.

For neighborhood disputes, a mediation committee was established, composed of respected residents, to resolve disputes through negotiation.

This participatory management model has given residents a stronger sense of identification with and willingness to follow the rules. After all, these rules were formulated with their own participation, reflecting their wishes and interests.

Seeing that everything in the town had returned to normal, Lin Yue knew it was time for him to return to Blackrock City.

After all, he is still the chief development advisor in Blackrock City, and there are still a lot of things waiting for him to handle there.

Before setting off, he made a point of finding Aunt Leah.

“Aunt,” he asked, “you’ve had a good time with the old lady since you came back this time. What are your plans for the future? Do you want to stay in Hope Town, or come back to Blackrock City with me to manage the textile factory?”

After a long talk with her mother all night, Aunt Leah had already made up her mind.

She looked at Lin Yue and said, "Mayor, I've made up my mind. I still want to go back to Blackstone City with you. My mother was right; I can't live in the past forever. With Aunt Lian and the others handling the logistics in Hope Town, that's enough. But in Blackstone City, hundreds of women still need me. I want... I want to lead them to make our textile factory bigger and better."

Lin Yue nodded with satisfaction.

He then found Norm, who was hiding in the laboratory, obsessively researching a new formula for glassmaking.

“Norm,” Lin Yue patted him on the shoulder, “pack your things and come with me.”

"Go? Go...where to?" Norm looked up, his face full of confusion.

“Go to Blackrock City.” Lin Yue’s face revealed a malicious smile. “I’ve found you a new teacher. An old human man with decades of research experience on all kinds of herbs and strange diseases. Aren’t you interested in those invisible little insects and healing plants?”

Norm's eyes lit up instantly; as a natural researcher, nothing ignited his passion more than learning new knowledge.

But then he hesitated, filled with fear: "But...but...I...I've never been to a human city before...and...I look...different from them..."

"What are you afraid of?" Lin Yue slapped him on the back of the head in annoyance. "Your brother Kailan is in Blackrock City now. He's an idol worshipped by all the carpenters, even more popular than me, the town mayor. If you go there, you'll be our Hope Town's chief medical officer and research representative. Who would dare to bully you?"

Elder Farador, leaning on his cane, also came over. He looked at Norm, his eyes filled with expectation and encouragement.

“Go, my child,” he said gently. “We can’t keep you young people trapped in this cursed land forever. The world is vast; you should go out and see more of it. We’ve tried so many things over the years, but we haven’t found a way to truly seal the earth’s wounds. Perhaps only by venturing out can we find new opportunities.”

As Lin Yue embarked on his journey to Blackrock City once again, he felt more relaxed than ever before.

Behind him are not only capable managers like Aunt Leah, and promising tech stars like Norm, but also the entire Hope Town, a solid support system that is becoming increasingly united and powerful at a visible pace.

When they arrived in Blackrock City, they were greeted by Kaven's resentful face, which seemed to say, "Boss, you're finally back."

"My great advisor Lin, my great boss Lin!" Carwin looked at Lin Yue as if he had seen a savior. "If you hadn't come back, my old bones would have been torn apart by those noble gentlemen."

After this period of fermentation, Hope Trading Company's unique products have completely ignited the upper class of the entire North.

Every day, waves of merchants and noble stewards from various cities would scramble to get even a pinch of snow salt or a bottle of Hope brand canned goods from Carwin.

The strategy Lin Yue had previously agreed to with Ryan, prioritizing supplies for Blackrock City, was something these outsiders desperately wanted, leading to widespread complaints.

"Advisor Lin, please think of something!" Carwin said with a mournful face. "If this continues, we're going to offend everyone."

Lin Yue just smiled at his exaggerated expression.

He introduced Aunt Lydia and Norm to Carwin and Ryan.

"This is Ms. Leah, the general manager of the textile factory in Hopetown and Blackrock City. You should all know her. From now on, she will be in charge of all business related to fabrics and garments in Blackrock City."

"This is Mr. Norm, the principal investigator of the Institute of Science and Technology. He will assist Mr. Herman in establishing Blackrock City's first public medical team and will be responsible for developing some new products that will allow everyone to live a little longer."

His arrangement surprised both Ryan and Carwin, but their eyes then lit up with ecstatic joy.

Hope Town is finally about to begin exporting its core technologies and talent to Blackrock City.

This means that their cooperation will enter a new, closer phase.

Lin Yue, on the other hand, completely freed himself from the complicated daily affairs.

He handed over the management of the branch to Aunt Carwin and Li Ge, the construction of the new district to Li Ge and Tie Niu, and Old Herman and Norm to establish the medical system.

He then retreated to the background, plotting a new scheme with Ryan.

"Brother Lin Yue, things are settled. I'm about to set off," Ryan said in a deep voice.