1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 284 Price War, Turning the Tide
Gu Bin's business acumen was no joke. As expected, as soon as the news of hiring foreign teachers spread, many parents were interested and came to inquire about the details.

The foreign teacher classes priced at 1800 yuan are still highly sought after, with some parents even proactively inquiring about one-on-one tutoring.

Wu Meng was secretly delighted and finally made up her mind to take the high-end route, and began to recruit foreign teachers in a high-profile manner.

The best university in Jinan is undoubtedly Shandong University.

Shandong University has a quota for international students every year, and the number of international students is relatively large. However, with the summer vacation approaching, it is not easy to find suitable candidates in a short period of time.

She went to great lengths to recruit two female students from Europe.

Both of them were blond and blue-eyed, and spoke with a perfect British accent.

Gu Bin personally approached the two beautiful women, speaking to them in English and promising them double the pay of other teachers.

The double pay for the two of them resulted in a geometric increase in profits.

This is a perfectly reasonable deal no matter how you look at it.

Wu Meng admired him greatly, so she no longer cared about the airfare and agreed to the suggestion to temporarily recruit six more foreign student teachers from Shanghai.

Gu Bin entrusted the entire matter to Zhao Yuncheng.

Zhao Yuncheng had been his personal assistant for many years and knew his boss's preferences very well.

The boss doesn't care about appearance; he values ​​character and temperament.

Those with unusual hobbies, poor character, bad temper, or violent tendencies are all excluded.

Shanghai has a large number of international students, making recruitment relatively easy.

Within two days, he had recruited six qualified female foreign teachers and personally brought them back.

With the help of foreign teachers, Yuncai Education turned the tide, not only achieving a remarkable turnaround but also gaining a head start in the high-end training and education field.

Parents of high school students eager to improve their spoken English, prepare for the IELTS exam, and study abroad flocked to the event to secure spots.

Their children also became the first beneficiaries of the foreign teachers' lessons.

Yuncai Education has achieved both fame and fortune. Principal Wu is overjoyed and boasts to everyone he meets about his good luck and the help he has received from benefactors.

As for the mysterious and influential person who kept his achievements hidden, the principal remained tight-lipped about who he was.

It's not that she didn't want to say it, but Yuncai Education's mission is to benefit female colleagues, so it only recruits women and not men, and this principle also applies to senior management positions.

The main theme is to favor women over men.

The personal assistant of a certain important person had some complaints.

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old house.

Why do you only hire women and not men?

Zhao Yuncheng was very puzzled and had been complaining non-stop ever since he entered the room.

Gu Bin shook his head helplessly, expressing his grievance that as a victim who had kept his achievements hidden, he couldn't even get a supervisor position.

"This is sexism."

Zhao Yuncheng complained incessantly: "I want to speak up for my male compatriots."

"You damn ghost!"

Wu Meng slapped him on the forehead, displaying her authoritative cousin status.

"We are also thinking about the safety of the female students."

Lin Xiyu patiently explained, "Cases of male teachers molesting and sexually assaulting female students are shocking. To prevent such incidents from happening again, it's best not to recruit male teachers."

“Those are all remote mountainous areas; no one in the city would dare to do this openly.”

Zhao Yuncheng got slapped, but that didn't stop him from arguing.

"You know shit."

Wu Meng slapped him again, unable to hold back her curses: "Better safe than sorry. If something like this really happens, not only will the business fall apart, but your sister will also be torn to pieces by the students' parents."

"What's the point of you just guarding against the teachers?"

Zhao Yuncheng, slapped twice, became somewhat enraged: "Unruly male students are more difficult to deal with than teachers! Why don't you separate boys and girls to eliminate all potential problems? Don't tell me it's for money, to avoid wasting spots!"

You're right.

Lin Xiyu nodded in affirmation: "This is something we overlooked. For safety's sake, it's best to separate."

"Isn't it?"

Now it was Wu Meng's turn to be flustered: "You really want to separate boys and girls?"

Lin Xiyu replied matter-of-factly, "Since someone has raised a question, as the manager, I must address it."

Wu Meng wailed, "If we have to have classes separately, where are we going to find so many classrooms?"

"No need for the hassle of separating them."

Gu Bin suggested: "We can hire someone to supervise and manage the students. Students should not be allowed to enter the classroom without the teacher's permission. This will eliminate potential risks."

"This method is feasible."

Lin Xiyu's eyes lit up: "My aunt just told me a couple of days ago that she wanted to work at the training center, so why don't we let her take charge of this?"

"Your aunt?"

Wu Meng was a little confused: "Isn't she in poor health? How can she still insist on going to work?"

She didn't want to stay at home.

Lin Xiyu sighed sadly, "I feel like a useless person, unable to do anything. My bad mood is even more detrimental to my recovery."

"Let your aunt do it if she wants to."

Gu Bin dotes on his wife: "It's just a little extra salary each month, we can afford that."

"What can she do here?"

Wu Meng was a little conflicted: "It's one thing if it's someone else, but she's your aunt, and she's not in good health. I don't dare to take advantage of her."

"Let her be in charge of opening and closing the classrooms."

Lin Xiyu thought for a moment and said, "Her salary will come from my profit sharing, so there's no need to calculate it separately."

"It's not that I'm worried about the money."

Wu Meng laughed awkwardly: "I'm just afraid of tiring her out. If she gets sick from overwork, I really can't bear the responsibility!"

"These kinds of things are inevitable in the future; you'll have to get used to it."

Gu Bin gave her a reminder: "Everyone has relatives and friends. If they really have difficulties, they'll come to you for help. If you can help them, then help them. If you can solve their problems, then solve them as much as possible. In business, harmony brings wealth. Your network is far more important than the small profits you make now. Your current efforts may one day bring you double the return. When that happens, you won't need to rack your brains to calculate; the money will automatically roll into your pocket."

"That's a very eloquent way of putting it."

Zhao Yuncheng admired her from the bottom of his heart: "Sister, now you know the difference between yourself and Brother Bin, right? Why is he the CEO of a listed company worth hundreds of millions, while you can only run a training class? This is the difference in vision and breadth of mind, thinking and cognition, which limits your development. This is also why Brother Bin can control everything with ease, while you can only jump up and down in a panic, running back and forth to the old house for every little thing."

"Who are you calling stupid? You want to die, don't you?"

Wu Meng blushed from his tickling and raised her fist to punch him again.

Zhao Yuncheng had learned his lesson this time and reacted incredibly quickly. He jumped up from his chair and ran out of the living room in a few steps.

Wu Meng chased after him to the door and saw him running straight towards the fish pond. Fearing that he would frighten the babies, she stopped awkwardly.

"Haha, babies, I'm here."

Having escaped unscathed, Zhao Yuncheng arrived at the fishpond, put his hands on his hips, and burst into triumphant laughter.

The four babies looked up, staring in horror at the funny, strange uncle.

In his excitement, Da Bao sprayed a "fountain" that shot into the sky and landed on his leg.

Zhao Yuncheng's trouser leg was not spared; it was soaked with urine.

"Hahaha."

Seeing this, Wu Meng finally felt relieved and laughed so hard she almost fell over.

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After her aunt's job was settled, Lin Xiyu took advantage of the weekend to go back to her maternal grandmother's house and tell her the results of their discussion.

My aunt was very happy and prepared a table full of delicious dishes to express her gratitude.

Grandma was also very pleased and in a good mood, so she drank a couple more cups.

As people get older, they can't stay awake, and they get confused after drinking alcohol. Seeing that her grandmother was tired, Lin Xiyu didn't stay any longer. She helped her grandmother to bed, then left her grandmother's house alone and took a taxi to the Youth Palace.

Li Ang was waiting for her at the door. When he saw her arrive, he quickly put out his cigarette and put it in his pocket.

When did you learn to smoke?

Lin Xiyu pretended not to notice his slightly awkward movements and teased him with a smile: "Why have I never seen you smoke before? Is it because you're too nervous teaching the kids and want to have a smoke to calm down?"

"Hey, hey."

Li Ang blushed, gave an awkward laugh, and took it as tacit agreement.

"Are you really nervous?"

Lin Xiyu raised an eyebrow in slight surprise.

"I'm just a roughneck."

Li Ang scratched his head sheepishly: "I've never taught anyone before, and I'm afraid I'll get nervous and won't be able to speak properly."

"They're just kids, don't be nervous."

Lin Xiyu smiled and comforted him: "Children are innocent and pure. Even if you don't speak, they will admire you very much if you just communicate with them through paper cutting."

"hey-hey."

Li Ang took these words to heart, chuckled, and his tense mood indeed eased considerably.

"go in."

Lin Xiyu pushed open the glass door of the lobby on the first floor and led the way: "I've already spoken with the staff at the Children's Palace, and they warmly welcome you to participate in the charity event."

"Thank you, senior sister."

To express his gratitude, Li Ang voluntarily changed his address to "senior sister".

"Junior brother, you don't need to be so polite."

Lin Xiyu smiled and readily accepted his kindness.

"It's still easier to pronounce it this way."

Li Ang seized the opportunity to get closer to him: "If outsiders hear this, they'll know what kind of relationship we have. There's no need to explain further. It's much more intimate than just calling each other by name."

"We are from the same lineage, after all."

Lin Xiyu inwardly agreed: "Apprentices of intangible cultural heritage inheritors can be respected wherever they go. They must stand tall and not be underestimated."

"We have truly benefited from Grandma Hu's kindness."

Li Ang immediately straightened his back and smiled in agreement: "Even though she's gone, she can still protect us and let us benefit from her."

So that's why.

Lin Xiyu said with emotion: "We must hone our skills and pass on the art of paper-cutting. We cannot bring shame to her."

"Senior sister is right."

Li Ang was ashamed: "I was narrow-minded, only thinking about the benefits, unlike my senior sister who considered everything so thoroughly."

"The classroom is just ahead, let's go in."

As the two chatted and laughed, they arrived at the public activity room on the first floor. Lin Xiyu gave Li Ang an encouraging look, pushed open the door, and went in first.

"Hello, Teacher Lin."

There were already quite a few children in the classroom, about twenty or so, all of them quite young.

The oldest was only eight or nine years old, and the youngest was only four or five.

The children were delighted to see her and swarmed around her to greet their teacher.

"Hello students."

Lin Xiyu smiled and turned to wave to Li Ang, signaling him to come in: "Let me introduce you all. This uncle is my junior brother. Starting today, he will come to the Children's Palace every Saturday to teach you with me."

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"Teacher Lin's junior brother?"

What does "junior brother" mean?

"They are disciples of the same master."

“If we were to become Teacher Lin’s students, we would be fellow students.”

"Hey fellow apprentices, I'd love to become your apprentice too, that sounds so cool."

"Have you been reading too many martial arts novels? Do you think you're Li Xunhuan, the Flying Dagger, or some kind of chivalrous hero?"

"I don't have throwing knives, but I have carving knives. If I practice to a certain level, I can use them as throwing knives too. Swish, swish, swish, the knife never misses, and I can defeat my enemy with a single strike."

Children are innocent and uninhibited; the topic of conversation often veers off course.

Li Ang stood awkwardly at the doorway, hesitating whether to come in.

"Classmates, let's welcome Teacher Li together."

Lin Xiyu led the applause, thus silencing the children's noise.

"Hello, Teacher Li."

The children indeed stopped running around and followed her rhythm, clapping their little hands to express their welcome.

“good good”

Li Ang rubbed his hands together nervously, uttered three "good"s in a row, and then realized that he had said the wrong thing.

"Hello everyone, no, I should say, hello classmates."

Under the curious gaze of a group of children, he nervously broke out in a cold sweat and began to stammer dramatically.

"whee."

Some of the younger children covered their mouths and giggled.

Li Ang was embarrassed and his face turned bright red.

"Alright, class is starting now. Everyone, please return to your seats."

Lin Xiyu smiled kindly, helping him ease the awkwardness.

"Class is starting, class is starting."

The children obediently returned to their seats and sat down.

Li Ang breathed a sigh of relief and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

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"Classmates, as is customary, before we learn paper cutting, let's review what the teacher has taught us."

Lin Xiyu cleared her throat and began the lesson: "How many techniques have been passed down in Jinan paper-cutting from ancient times to the present?"

"Four."

The children gave a uniform answer.

Which four?

Lin Xiyu asked again.

"Cut, carve, tear, burn."

The children already knew the answer by heart, and without the slightest hesitation, they answered it immediately.

Why is Jinan's paper-cutting called "Spring Water Culture Paper-cutting"?

Lin Xiyu smiled and continued to ask, "What is the connotation of spring water culture?"

"Me, me, me, teacher, I can answer."

This question was quite difficult. The younger children stopped responding, and only a few older children actively raised their hands to ask and answer questions.

"Chen Xiang, you answer."

Lin Xiyu's gaze fell on the boy who had just mentioned Little Li Flying Dagger, and she called on him to answer.

"Spring water culture is a unique cultural system that is characterized by spring water resources and has been formed over a long historical process."

Chen Xiang did not disappoint her and recited the answer in one breath: "It covers multiple dimensions such as natural ecology, humanistic spirit, artistic aesthetics and social life. Its core lies in the deep integration of the natural attributes of spring water with human activities to form a cultural symbol and spiritual symbol with regional characteristics."

(End of this chapter)