Chapter 19 - 19: First Donate 10 Buildings

Words : 1315 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

Back in his room, Fang Jueyu opened his email and, as expected, found an invitation from his alma mater, Haihua Second High School. "Dear 2016 alum, we sincerely invite you to attend the 70th anniversary celebration of Haihua Second High School. We look forward to your arrival on July 21. If you have any questions, please contact the principal's office at 8545740." "There are still 17 days to go, which leaves plenty of time to prepare!" This 2% progress completion task was a must-win for Fang Jueyu, so he was determined to be the shining star of the celebration. He picked up the phone and immediately dialed the principal's office... "Alas, what should I do?" In the principal's office of Haihua Second High School, a middle-aged man in his fifties was dejectedly examining this year's college entrance exam results. This man was the current principal, Zhu Ming. Although it was Haihua City's top high school, Haihua Second High had been overshadowed by First High for decades. The position of being the perennial runner-up had remained unchanged, and now, even that position seemed to be in jeopardy. This year's college entrance exam results for Third High were outstanding, falling only one percentage point behind in the top-tier rate. Such a narrow gap was very concerning. As a long-standing high school, though always slightly behind First High, Haihua Second High had consistently outperformed the lower-ranking schools. This new trend left Zhu Ming profoundly uneasy. Every year, the city's education budget was limited, with the majority naturally going to First High. The combined funds for all other high schools didn't even add up to half of what First High received. As resources shifted in favor of First High, its momentum became increasingly formidable. Teachers, educational resources, and facilities all required funding, and schools outside of First High had to find ways to make ends meet beyond the meager funds provided. However, schools were not for-profit institutions, so where were they supposed to come up with the funding shortfall? Upon investigation, Zhu Ming discovered that Third High had recently produced an extraordinary alum who had worked hard outside for over a decade, establishing a large company that went public in the United States last year. During last year's school celebration, this very alum donated 10 million yuan to aid in the school's development, hence the strong progress observed at Third High this year. Over the years, Second High had also produced some outstanding alumni. Many of them had succeeded in starting businesses, with numerous donations made, but who could contribute such significant amounts? Filling the regular developmental funding gaps was already a stretch. "Ah, if this continues, Second High will soon be surpassed by Third High!" As the principal, Zhu Ming felt an unprecedented pressure. Looking at the score report, he seemed to gain a lot of white hairs in an instant. This year marked the school's 70th anniversary. By tradition, every ten years the school hosts a grand celebration, both to invite alumni back and to hope that successful alumni would generously contribute to their alma mater's construction. A few weeks ago, the school began contacting alumni, but to Zhu Ming's disappointment, whenever the topic of donations came up, more than half of the entrepreneurial alumni suddenly had excuses, leaving Zhu Ming disheartened. "Ring ring!" The office phone rang. Zhu Ming had already received dozens of calls that morning, most inquiring about the specific celebration schedule and activities. He assumed this would be no exception. "Is this Haihua Second High School's principal's office?" A young voice came from the other end, "I'm calling to inquire about the details of the celebration." "Yes, I'm the current principal, Zhu Ming. May I know which batch of students you belong to?" "Hahaha, has Zhu Ming managed to become the principal?" Fang Jueyu thought to himself with a laugh. During his high school years, he was most afraid of Vice Principal Zhu, who would often appear unexpectedly at the windows of various classes during evening study sessions. Fang Jueyu had been caught by him more than once. "Principal Zhu, I'm a graduate of the 2016 class!" Fang Jueyu said. A hint of disappointment flashed across Zhu Ming's face. Students from the 2016 batch would still be in their third university year now, far from finishing their studies, let alone being able to bring any help to the school. However, since it was a former student, Zhu Ming was not about to display this mindset. Every student had a special place in their heart for their alma mater. Who knew, maybe one day they would excel? Zhu Ming welcomed every student who wanted to return. "Principal Zhu, do you remember me? My name is Fang Jueyu!" "Fang Jueyu?" Having worked in education for decades, Zhu Ming's mind contained countless student names, and he couldn't recall immediately. "You don't remember? When I was in my second year, you caught me eating during the evening self-study. You took me to our homeroom teacher, and as it turned out, our teacher was in the office also eating stinky tofu. You ended up lecturing both of us!" Remembering this incident, Fang Jueyu still found it a bit amusing, "And when you left, you even took a piece of stinky tofu with you!" "Ahem, ahem, oh, now I remember, it's you!" Upon hearing this, Zhu Ming's old face turned red, and he recalled the mischievous yet academically outstanding boy's face. "I remember you got into Jiangnan University, right? Your batch was one of the best I've ever taught!" These words were not merely flattery. Fang Jueyu's batch had achieved the highest rate of top-tiers in Second High's history, nearly catching up to First High. If every batch of students were like this, Zhu Ming wouldn't be so troubled. "Are you coming to the celebration?" Zhu Ming put his earlier worries aside, finding chatting with such students both interesting and nostalgic. "Yes, we're on summer break, so I planned to visit my alma mater and the teachers. By the way, Principal, how did our school's entrance exam results fare this year?" "Ah, hard to say!" Zhu Ming sighed heavily, "The gap between us and First High is widening, and Third High is closing in fast, likely surpassing us next year." "How could that be? I remember the gap between us and Third High was always quite large." "Third High has had ample educational funding in recent years, greatly improving their facilities and staff, while our school... sigh!" Fang Jueyu realized that Second High's development was not doing well, with a significant issue being the lack of educational funding. Wasn't this precisely what Fang Jueyu had hoped for? "Principal, I actually have something I want to discuss with you. Does the school accept donations from students?" Fang Jueyu asked. "Hahaha, of course, we welcome alumni contributions to the school's development," Zhu Ming didn't have high hopes. Fang Jueyu was merely a third-year university student without yet graduating. How much could he donate? He also remembered there were no particularly wealthy parents among the 2016 graduates. "Jueyu, the donation amount isn't what's important. Just give what you can afford. You should state the amount of your donation, and I'll make a record of it now." "Does the school only accept cash donations?" Fang Jueyu asked. S~eaʀᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Hahaha, of course not, all kinds of donations are welcome. Do you remember the statue at the school gate? It was donated by a notable alumnus." "In that case, good. I'll start by donating ten buildings!"

Chapter 19 - 19: First Donate 10 Buildings

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