What's wrong with me, a school principal, listening to students' suggestions?

A week later.

Gu Ci returned to No. 13 Middle School with three design proposals.

She erected three display boards in the cafeteria hall.

Each display board is covered with hand-drawn renderings, color schemes, and fabric samples.

The first set is a Japanese preppy style.

The women's version features a dark navy blue short blazer paired with a pleated plaid skirt, a white shirt underneath, and a thin, dark red tie at the neckline.

The men's version features a matching suit jacket and trousers in the same color scheme, creating a simple and sophisticated look.

The overall style leans towards a British academic aesthetic, but the addition of white piping at the collar and cuffs adds a touch of liveliness and prevents it from looking stiff.

The second outfit is an urban sporty style.

The main colors are black and dark gray, and the coat is a loose stand-up collar jacket style with two white diagonal stripes.

The pants are perfectly fitted A-line athletic pants.

The fabric is a high-elasticity, quick-drying blend, ensuring maximum comfort.

It looks like a collaboration with a trendy brand, and it wouldn't look out of place at all if it were priced at four or five hundred yuan in a shopping mall.

The third set is a modern Chinese style improvement.

This is Gu Ci's favorite set.

The men's version is a modified stand-up collar Zhongshan suit, made of navy blue fine fabric.

The shoulders are clean-cut, the waist is cinched, and a small school badge is embroidered on the chest.

The women's version is a similar stand-up collar cropped top paired with a high-waisted A-line skirt, with the skirt hem ending two fingers above the knee.

The skirt has a hidden lining of athletic shorts on the side, so you won't feel embarrassed no matter how you move.

As soon as the three plans were presented, the cafeteria was instantly packed with people.

At lunchtime, the line for food stretched all the way to the display board.

The students ate their meals while looking at the exhibits, and oil stains almost dripped onto the display boards.

Gu Ci moved the display board back half a meter with a pained expression.

"The first one! It has to be the first one! The plaid skirt is amazing!" Several girls screamed and squeezed in front of the display board.

"Let's go with the second outfit! The second outfit is so cool, it'll make you look like a trendy brand when you wear it out." The boys were also quite vocal in their support.

"The third outfit looks great too! The Zhongshan suit one is especially stylish, so classy!"

The arguments were so heated that they almost ripped the ceiling off the cafeteria.

Su Qingyan stood in the corner maintaining order, and it took three shouts of "Queue up to vote" before people could barely move.

The voting method was very primitive: each person was given a slip of paper with a number written on it, which they then put into a box next to the board.

Lin Yucai leaned against the kitchen window, watching the students arguing excitedly about school uniforms, a smile playing on his lips.

"The principal is even more enthusiastic than when they let them elect class monitors."

Zhou Dahai handed a bowl of soup out the window and remarked with a sigh.

"That's right, the class monitor can't control what they wear."

The voting lasted for two full days.

Su Qingyan and Ma Desheng counted the votes together, repeating the count three times.

Final results: Option 1 received 187 votes, Option 2 received 152 votes, and Option 3 received 143 votes.

The first option won.

However, the second and third sets of votes were also quite high, and the differences between the three sets of proposals were not significant.

Looking at the result, Lin Yucai made a decision that surprised everyone.

"Only children make choices; I'm going to do all three!"

"What did you say?" Su Qingyan stopped writing.

"Do all three sets." Lin Yucai flipped through the voting results.

"The first option is a formal dress, which can be worn for both events and everyday life."

"The second option is a sporty style, suitable for physical education classes and extracurricular activities."

"The third option is optional; students can choose whichever they prefer."

"In this way, each student will have at least two sets of school uniforms, one formal and one sporty."

"Those who wish to add a third set can purchase it voluntarily."

"The cost of three sets..." Su Qingyan quickly calculated in her mind.

"I'll figure out the cost of mass production; don't worry about the money."

Su Qingyan took a deep breath.

She's become immune to the phrase "Don't worry about the money."

Those who know him might think he's a school principal, but those who don't might mistake him for some domineering CEO!

The news spread that very evening.

No. 13 Middle School is changing its school uniforms. There are three brand-new designs, which were chosen by the students themselves through a vote.

The message spread very easily: students posted it on short video platforms.

Lin Xiaoya, a girl from Class 1, Grade 11, was the first one again.

She took three photos of the display boards, put them in a nine-grid format, and posted them online.

The results of the vote on the new school uniforms for No. 13 Middle School are in!

"The first design is preppy style, it's amazing! I can wear it next semester!"

"Look at our current school uniforms (last picture). The difference between the old and new uniforms at the same school is like a cosmetic surgery transformation."

The comments section went wild again.

"Is this true? No. 13 Middle School? That No. 13 Middle School that's at the bottom of the city?"

"I don't believe it, it's photoshopped."

"It's not photoshopped. I know people from No. 13 Middle School. Their school has been making a lot of big moves lately."

"Students can choose their own school uniforms? At our school, we don't even have a chance to try them on when they're handed out."

"I cried. Our school uniform is the style from 20 years ago. It faded after being washed three times, and the collar was so stiff it could cut your neck."

Students from other schools were divided in their attitudes.

One group felt a mixture of envy and jealousy, wishing they could transfer schools immediately.

Another group questioned and ridiculed, feeling that No. 13 Middle School was just making empty promises.

"Come on, anyone can make a rendering."

"When they're handed out next semester, they'll probably be cheap, low-quality goods again."

"A school with a 5% college entrance rate, instead of focusing on academics, is it just spending all its time on these fancy things?"

"What's the use of a nice-looking school uniform? It doesn't add points to the college entrance exam."

When these comments reached the ears of the students at No. 13 Middle School, a small online war quietly broke out.

Zhang Yang was the first to go down.

He usually only posts basketball and game screenshots on Douyin, but this time he wrote a long article for the first time.

"Some people say it's fake just because they haven't seen it. You can come to No. 13 Middle School and see for yourselves."

"Our cafeteria has national gold medal-winning chefs cooking, our classrooms have 8K smart blackboards, and our dormitories have air conditioning and private shower rooms."

"Now we even have to vote on our own school uniforms."

"The principal paid out of his own pocket for us so-called bad students."

"We've been poor, looked down upon, and abandoned, but things are different now."

"Anyone who says No. 13 Middle School is just making empty promises, come on, say it to my face."

This TikTok video was screenshotted and forwarded by Shouhou to several student groups.

The tone of the comments section suddenly changed.

There are fewer sarcastic remarks now, and more questions like "Does No. 13 Middle School still accept transfer students?" are being asked.

Lin Yucai saw this Douyin video in his office and stared at it for a while.

Zhang Yang, that kid, may have a sharp tongue, but he's more inclined to support the school than anyone else.

He was about to turn off his phone when the system panel flashed.

[School uniform design task progress update: 62%]

All three design proposals have been finalized, and the student voting process has been completed.

[Remaining steps: sample confirmation, fabric design finalization, and signing of the mass production contract.]

More than 60%.

The remaining steps can be handled by Gu Ci; there's no rush.

Lin Yucai closed his phone, crossed his legs, and looked out the window at the playground.

The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the playground in gold, and several boys were shooting hoops on the basketball court.

The shadows cast by the lamplight were stretched long, and when they ran, they looked like a group of tireless ponies.

My phone vibrated.

Su Qingyan's WeChat.

"Gu Ci said that it would take about two weeks to make a sample. She recommended a factory in Jiangsu and Zhejiang for the fabric, saying that the quality was good and the price was negotiable."

"Okay, you follow up."

"There's one more thing."

"What?"

How much will the school uniform cost next semester?

Lin Yucai thought for a moment and typed a few words.

"free."

"A single school uniform costs at least two hundred yuan, and there are five hundred students..."

"I have prepared two million, which is enough. I'll keep the extra money as a reserve."

There was a long silence on the other end.

"How much money does your foundation actually have?"

"Just think of it as a gold mine."

Su Qingyan sent a speechless emoji and said nothing more.

Lin Yucai placed his phone face down on the table, leaned back in his chair, and smiled.

The claim that there is a gold mine is not too far-fetched.