Meng Zhiyun led him slowly toward the village's primary school. From afar, one could see the three-story school building, its entire exterior covered with snow-white tiles that shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight.
Through the tightly closed gate, one can clearly see a straight flagpole standing in front of the teaching building, with the bright five-star red flag fluttering in the wind. This must be the sacred place where students hold their daily flag-raising ceremony.
At that moment, the school gates were tightly closed, but just as they reached the gate, a clear and melodious school bell suddenly rang.
Immediately afterwards, students poured out of the classrooms like a tidal wave, instantly filling the entire campus with laughter and a vibrant atmosphere.
Wang Hu glanced at his watch subconsciously and saw that the hour hand was pointing to 11:30. Just then, the school gates slowly opened, and the children, like wild horses, joyfully surged out. Since rural schools usually don't provide lunch, these children need to go home after school to eat their meals.
After all the children had left, the once noisy campus gradually returned to tranquility. Meng Zhiyun led him through the school gate, while the teacher who opened the gate looked at them with curious eyes.
When the teacher's gaze fell on Meng Zhiyun, a sense of déjà vu welled up within him. The woman before him was dressed in fashionable and glamorous urban attire, which seemed somewhat out of place with the simple and rustic atmosphere of Shihezi Village.
Meng Zhiyun noticed his confusion and took the initiative to greet him, "Principal Zhang, I am Meng Zhiyun. This is my boyfriend, Wang Hu. I wanted to bring him to our school today."
Principal Zhang's real name is Zhang Hongtu. He is over 50 years old and was a sent-down youth who went to the countryside to provide support. He is from Shanghai. He got married and had children here and started teaching here. As for why he did not return to Shanghai, there is no need to delve into the reasons.
On the way here, Meng Zhiyun had already introduced the school and their principal to him. He was a very respectable person, so he quickly went up to greet him, "Hello, Principal Zhang, your name is Wang Hu. I heard that this is Xiao Meng's school, so I wanted to come and take a look."
Principal Zhang smiled warmly and approached Wang Hu, extending his hand to shake his. He said, "Welcome, welcome. These past few days, there have been rumors in the village that Xiao Meng did some inappropriate things outside, but I know her, and I believe she's not that kind of person. Welcome to our school. Why don't you come to my office to rest for a while? We can chat slowly."
Then he led Wang Hu and Meng Zhiyun toward the school. Although Principal Zhang had a full head of silver hair, he still stood tall and straight. He was wearing a black Zhongshan suit with patches on it, but the craftsmanship was superb. He had embroidered a flower to cover them up, and Wang Hu would not have noticed it if he hadn't been so observant.
When Wang Hu arrived at the office, he was even more confused. The teaching building was so brand new, but the office was a mud-brick house. After sitting down, Wang Hu voiced his doubts.
Principal Zhang chuckled, poured a glass of water for the two of them, and then said, "The money for the teaching building was allocated by the higher authorities, and it's not enough. We still owe the contractor money. On my way here, I must have seen many children who didn't come to school. The contractor moved half of the desks back, just to force the school to pay."
Wang Hu was somewhat angry and said, "Isn't he breaking the law? Obstructing nine years of compulsory education is a very serious matter. Aren't there any police officers to deal with him?"
Principal Zhang said somewhat helplessly, "The police have come and given him a warning, but the contractor has advanced some money to build the school, so his family is also in financial difficulty. We can't really send him to jail, can we?"
Wang Hu suddenly realized that everyone had their own difficulties. Then Wang Hu said, "How much money is still owed? I'll make up the difference. Give me your account number, and I can transfer the money to you right now."
Principal Zhang was overjoyed upon hearing this and asked Wang Hu with excitement, "Young man, are you really willing to donate money? It's not a small amount, it's several hundred thousand."
Wang Hu patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, I have more than enough money. If you don't believe me, ask Xiao Meng. The car he drove here cost 15 million. Now that he's become our village's son-in-law, he should do something for our village."
Upon hearing that Wang Hu was so wealthy, Principal Zhang stopped being coy and took out a notebook from the drawer next to him. He did some calculations and said, "Wang Hu, I'll call you Xiao Hu from now on. I've calculated that we're still short over 260,000 yuan. We owe the contractor over 200,000 yuan, and there's still over 50,000 yuan for the teachers' salaries."
Upon hearing that it was only 260,000, Wang Hu wondered where the money for the bag he bought was. He waved his hand and said to Principal Zhang, "I will donate 1 million to you to renovate this row of offices of yours. The mud-brick houses have become dangerous buildings. If there is a heavy rain one day, they may collapse."
Then Wang Hu asked Principal Zhang for the account number. Principal Zhang insisted on holding a donation ceremony, saying that such a large sum of money couldn't be donated quietly. He then said he was going to call the town leaders.
Wang Hu quickly stopped him and said, "Principal Zhang, I know your good intentions, but I have things to do this afternoon. Besides, you've heard about my father-in-law's situation. I've hired a lawyer from Ningbo, and I need to pick him up this afternoon."
Then Wang Hu transferred the money to the primary school's corporate account, noting it was a donation. Just then, Meng Zhiyu came running in, panting.
“Brother-in-law, I’ve been wandering around the whole village. If I hadn’t run into Wu Houzi’s kids, I wouldn’t have known you were here. Dinner is ready at home, and Mom asked me to come and call you for dinner,” she said, still out of breath. She greeted Principal Zhang, “Hello, Principal Zhang.”
“You too,” Principal Zhang replied.
After the group came out of the office, a crowd of people gathered outside, including men and women, who were probably all teachers at the school. Several of the female teachers were staring at Wang Hu with shining eyes.
A bold female teacher came up and shook hands with Wang Hu, saying, "Hello, my name is Li Yueru, and I am Yunyun's high school classmate. You'd better treat Yunyun well, or we old classmates won't let you off the hook."
After she finished speaking, she turned and left. Wang Hu was a little confused. Just now, the woman had scratched his palm, and he still had a piece of paper on his phone.
However, he dared not open it now. There were too many people here, and if he opened it, she wouldn't be able to face anyone. Secondly, this female teacher was indeed beautiful.
Wang Hu greeted the group of teachers, then said goodbye to Principal Zhang. The three of them returned home, where Meng's mother had prepared a large feast, including chicken, duck, and fish, and a bottle of wine was also on the table.
Then Meng's father introduced two people to accompany him for drinks. One of them was Sixth Uncle, whom he had met on the street, and the other was Fourth Uncle. Meng's father was the fifth in their family. In fact, Meng Zhiyun had several aunts, but they were not included in the family, and they were married far away and could not come back.
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