After the four finished eating, they drove to the Armed Forces Department.
Zhang Hongmei was quite familiar with this place; she had first met Zhang Xingguo here.
There was a green truck with a canvas canopy parked right at the entrance. Xiao Li stopped next to the truck without thinking.
At that moment, the truck door opened, and a middle-aged man jumped out.
Zhang Shouyi also opened the door and got out of the car. The two shook hands. Zhang Hongmei didn't hear what they were saying clearly in the car, but judging from their familiar expressions, they must have a good relationship.
After exchanging a few words, the man saluted Zhang Shouyi and then entered the compound.
Wang Ying got out of the car. "Boss, I'll be driving off now."
"Go."
Zhang Hongmei also got out of the car and handed the house keys to Wang Ying, saying, "You can give this car and its contents to my third uncle."
"Okay." Wang Ying happily drove away.
"Hongmei, let's go to school."
Both the principal and Chen Sheng lived in the teachers' dormitory, and Zhang Hongmei found Chen Sheng first.
With only two days left before school started, all the teachers had arrived at the school. Chen Sheng was quite surprised to see Zhang Hongmei when he opened the door.
"Zhang Hongmei, what are you doing here? Isn't school about to start?"
"Teacher, this is a gift for you, please accept it. Let's go to the principal together, and I'll explain later."
Chen Sheng hesitated for a moment, "Hongmei, you are still a student and have many expenses. I can't accept your gift."
"Teacher, why are you being so cliché? This is just a student's heartfelt gift."
Standing behind Zhang Hongmei, Zhang Shouyi felt he should make his presence known. "Teacher, you don't need to be so polite. In ancient times, there were even teachers and students who were like father and son. It's only right that she is respectful to you."
Chen Sheng laughed, "Yes, how could I be so cliché? Well then, thank you for your kind gesture. Let's go find the principal."
Chen Sheng called out to his wife, Zhang Hongmei, who also greeted him warmly before the group headed toward the principal's dormitory.
"Hongmei, your newspaper has been a great help to the students. Now all that's missing is to hang up your portrait."
Zhang Hongmei was startled during the lecture and quickly waved her hand, "Teacher, you have to stop this. I haven't made such a great contribution, how can you hang my portrait? It'll shorten my lifespan."
"That's what I said too. The principal didn't agree, but my gratitude to you is genuine."
"Hehe, teacher, you know me. I dislike being high-profile the most. You have to help me."
"Hehe, everyone would love to see that! Don't worry, I know you well, nothing like that will happen."
Zhang Hongmei patted her chest, terrified.
Zhang Shouyi smiled behind her, thinking, "This girl is really lazy. She's low-key and high-profile, so she probably doesn't care. Maybe she just doesn't like trouble."
It was only a few minutes' walk. The principal was reading a newspaper in the courtyard when he heard footsteps. He looked up and saw Zhang Hongmei. Despite her advanced age, Zhang Hongmei jumped up when she saw him.
"Take it easy, what's the rush? You just missed me, and here I am."
"So you still remember me? You said your letter was so messy, like a tofu book. If it weren't for your handwriting, I would have thought you were just fooling me and had someone else write it. Fine, a tofu book is fine, but at least write something more. It doesn't even add up to two hundred words."
“I’ve already told you I can’t write letters. It’s good enough that I can write at all, and you’re still being picky.” Zhang Hongmei helped the principal sit down, muttering to herself.
"Wait a minute, school is about to start, why are you back?" The old principal looked at Zhang Hongmei with a look of horror. Had she been expelled?
"What are you thinking about? I'm here to say goodbye." Zhang Hongmei rolled her eyes inelegantly.
"Saying goodbye? You're not going to study properly, where are you going?" The old principal and Chen Sheng asked in unison.
"I'm going abroad to continue my studies."
"Go abroad? Isn't staying at home good enough? Why do you want to go abroad?" Chen Sheng was getting a little anxious.
"I just want to go out and see the world. Since they are developing better than us, they must have their strengths. We are currently in a state of disrepair and should learn from their strengths to make up for our weaknesses. So I decided to go abroad."
Neither of them spoke; both were educators, nurturing students. How could they not understand this principle? But when it came to their own children going out, their inner thoughts were quite different.
Going abroad presents several challenges: language barriers, lifestyle differences, and discrimination from foreigners—all of which are real issues. Furthermore, the prospect of a girl being alone in a foreign country and unfamiliar with the people is a major concern. Most importantly, there's the fear of her being deceived; if she marries a foreigner and doesn't return, it wouldn't be surprising.
“But you’re young, and you’re a girl. We’re worried you’ll get taken advantage of outside.” Chen Sheng really didn’t want Zhang Hongmei to go.
"Hehe, don't worry, I'm not going by myself. The country is sending eight people, and our school has six, so with me, that makes fifteen."
Chen Sheng remained silent. He knew all too well that this was a good opportunity, but looking at the pretty young girl, he just couldn't bear to let her go.
The old headmaster pondered for a moment, then said, "Since you've made up your mind, we will never be a stumbling block or an obstacle in your path. We support you, but you must be careful, control your temper, and not put up with being mistreated."
Since you're a girl, we have even more concerns. However, you're also a smart person, so we can be relatively at ease with you.
Go for it! Young people should be bold and enterprising; that's the spirit we need. We support you and wish you a speedy return after completing your studies to contribute to the country and the people.
"Thank you, I will. Don't worry about me. I can now communicate normally in foreign languages, and I'll gradually adapt to the lifestyle. Besides, I'll have company when I go out."
"Okay, I'll be waiting for you to come back. I'm getting old, don't let me wait forever."
"Hehe, I'll definitely be back as soon as possible. This is something I brought back to help you recover. I still have to go to the junior high school to check on things, so I won't stay long. I'll come see you again when I get back."
Teacher, don't worry, I'll take good care of myself.
"Alright, let's see how far my students go in the future? We'll be waiting for you at home."
"Okay, don't worry. I'll be leaving now. I still need to go back to Liujiatun to take a look."
Zhang Hongmei bid farewell to the two, and Zhang Shouyi, who was standing to the side, also smiled and said goodbye to them.
The three of them left the school and went straight to the post office. The post office had just opened.
Most of the staff knew Zhang Hongmei. "Sister Huang Ying, a pretty young girl from Liujiatun has come to see you."
Huang Ying was wondering who had come to see her. When she saw Zhang Hongmei, she was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. "Hongmei, why are you back? Come on in my office and let's talk."
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