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

The old library was demolished in just three days.

The excavators that Xu Jianfeng brought in worked for two days and one night, turning the dilapidated two-story building into a pile of rubble.

The dump trucks made more than a dozen trips in and out, and the site was cleaned up completely.

The foundation work began on the fourth day.

Lin Yucai arrives at the construction site at seven o'clock every morning and doesn't leave until nine o'clock at night.

He doesn't understand architecture and can't offer much technical help, but he has to stay here and keep an eye on things.

He learned as he watched whether the steel bars were the right type, whether the concrete grade was sufficient, and whether the formwork supports were crooked. He asked Lao Chen whenever he didn't understand something.

Old Chen was initially puzzled: was it really necessary for a school principal to spend all his time at construction sites?

Later, seeing that Lin Yucai's questions were becoming more and more professional, I started to explain things to him seriously.

The sun at the end of July was scorching.

There was no shade on the construction site; the steel bars were scorching hot to the touch, and you could fry an egg on the cement floor.

Lin Yucai was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt and work pants, with a towel draped around his neck. His face was tanned dark, and the skin on the tip of his nose had peeled off.

The first week was fine, but by noon on the eighth day, he was squatting by the foundation watching the workers tie the steel bars when he heard the sound of high heels crunching on the stones behind him.

He turned his head and looked.

Su Qingyan stood at the edge of the construction site, wearing a light blue T-shirt and white trousers, carrying an insulated bag in her hand.

"Why are you here?"

Lin Yucai stood up and patted the dust off his knees.

"It's lunchtime, and you're not eating again." Su Qingyan walked over and handed him a thermos. "Mung bean soup, with lily bulbs and lotus seeds added today, chilled."

Lin Yucai took it and unzipped it, revealing a stainless steel thermos and two lunch boxes inside.

The thermos contained mung bean soup, and the lunchbox contained cucumber salad and a few pieces of braised beef.

"Did you make this?" Lin Yucai unscrewed the thermos and took a big gulp.

The icy mung bean soup slid down my throat and into my stomach, making me feel like I'd been doused with a bucket of cold water, and my pores felt refreshed.

"The recipe Zhou Dahai taught me." Su Qingyan pouted. "Don't think I have time to serve you every day; it's only been a few days."

The workers tying steel bars nearby looked up, exchanged glances, and their lips curled into smiles.

"Principal Lin, your wife is so good to you!"

One of the bolder ones gave Lin Yucai a thumbs up.

"Who's your sister-in-law? What nonsense are you talking about?"

Su Qingyan's face quickly turned red.

"No, no, I was just kidding!"

The worker smiled and pulled his head back, while several people nearby chuckled quietly.

"Look at you." Su Qingyan glared at Lin Yucai.

"I didn't say anything."

Lin Yucai looked completely innocent as he picked up a piece of braised beef with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Don't go, don't go! Two teachers are coming to interview us at 3 PM. Do you want to come with me?"

Su Qingyan turned to leave, but Lin Yucai quickly called her back.

"What subject?" Su Qingyan paused for a moment.

"One is in math, and the other in chemistry." Lin Yucai peeled a few cucumbers out of his lunchbox and chewed on them. "I've looked at their resumes, and they're both good, but we'll have to talk to them to find out their actual teaching abilities."

"Okay." Su Qingyan didn't insist on leaving anymore, and found a shady spot to stand and wait for him to finish eating.

At 3 p.m., the two returned to the conference room in the administration building.

The first person to come in was Zhang Xuemei.

Thirty-four years old, round face, ponytail, wearing a floral dress, looks gentle and kind.

"Teacher Zhang, please sit down."

Lin Yucai pointed to the chair opposite him.

Zhang Xuemei sat down, a little nervous, rubbing her fingers back and forth on her knees.

"Don't be nervous, just chat casually." Lin Yucai flipped through her resume. "You taught senior high school students for five years, and their grades were among the top three in the county. Did you come here voluntarily, or did you only decide to apply after seeing our recruitment notice?"

"It was my own initiative." Zhang Xuemei's nervousness subsided somewhat. "I saw the news about No. 13 Middle School online, and I also watched that open class video."

She paused, her eyes shining.

"I watched Teacher Zhao's lesson on functions three times in a row."

"Having taught at the county high school for so many years, this is the first time I've seen a teacher so dedicated to teaching struggling students."

"I want to come to a school like this."

Lin Yucai and Su Qingyan exchanged a glance.

Su Qingyan nodded slightly.

The interview lasted forty minutes.

Lin Yucai asked about teaching philosophy, and Su Qingyan asked about classroom management.

Zhang Xuemei's answers were not fancy, but every point was practical.

"Teacher Zhang, go back and wait for our notification." Lin Yucai stood up to see her out. "If nothing unexpected happens, the contract should be signed next week."

After Zhang Xuemei left, the second person to be interviewed was Chen Silin.

A 32-year-old chemistry master's graduate from overseas, with short, neat hair and a fast speaking pace.

Her first words after sitting down were, "Principal Lin, I have a question... What is the level of the chemistry lab at No. 13 Middle School?"

"It's at a garbage level right now," Lin Yucai said frankly. "The equipment is outdated, the medicines are expired, and even the fume hood is broken."

Chen Silin paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Honesty, I like that." She leaned back in her chair. "So, how do you plan to resolve this?"

"The research building is under construction, with twelve standard laboratories. The equipment is being procured according to provincial key project standards, and it is expected to be put into use in October."

Chen Silin's eyes lit up.

"Provincial standards?"

"Yes." Lin Yucai opened his phone and handed over the rendering of the research building. "Take a look."

Chen Silin took the phone and looked at it for half a minute. When she returned the phone, she was already sitting up straight.

"Principal Lin, where do we sign the contract?"

On August 3rd, the materials for the glass curtain wall were transported from the provincial capital.

Four large trucks were parked at the back gate of the school, each carrying a dozen or so huge insulated glass panels, wrapped in wooden frames and foam padding, and tied securely.

Xu Jianfeng personally directed the unloading. The crane's arm carefully lifted the glass panel and moved it to a temporary storage area next to the library construction site.

Lin Yucai stood to the side watching, his palms sweaty.

These pieces of glass cost hundreds of thousands of dollars each. If one of them breaks during unloading, his heart will break along with it.

Fortunately, Xu Jianfeng's men were experienced and finished unloading everything within two hours without damaging a single piece.

"Principal Lin, don't worry." Xu Jianfeng walked over, took off his safety helmet and wiped his sweat. "I've been doing this for twenty years, and I've never messed up a client's project."

Lin Yucai breathed a sigh of relief and patted him on the shoulder.

The main framework was already in place before the materials arrived.

The three-story reinforced concrete structure rises from the ground, its gray frame appearing rugged and powerful in the sunlight.

The next step is to proceed with the exterior facade installation and interior decoration simultaneously.

Xu Jianfeng divided the more than sixty workers into three groups...

The exterior facade team is responsible for installing the glass curtain wall and steel structure keel, the interior design team one is responsible for water and electricity pipelines and air conditioning system, and the interior design team two is responsible for the installation of floor, wall and furniture.

The three groups each manage their own areas without interfering with each other.

The day shift is from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the night shift is from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.

The lights on the construction site stayed on all night, making it look like a city that never sleeps from a distance.

Residents near No. 13 Middle School thought it was a commercial building under construction, and someone took a picture and posted it in the owners' group to ask.

"Our commotion has been heard about in half the city."

After seeing it, Ma Desheng smiled and forwarded it to Lin Yucai.

Lin Yucai replied with a thumbs-up emoji.

What are you afraid of? Let them watch.

On the day school starts, everyone will know what No. 13 Middle School has become.

On August 8th, a little incident occurred.

At 2 p.m., Lin Yucai was inspecting the construction site when his phone suddenly rang. It was Ma Desheng calling.

"Principal, there's something I need to tell you."

"The Education Bureau just called to say that someone reported that our school did not complete all the necessary approval procedures for summer construction."

Lin Yucai stopped in his tracks.

"Who reported it?"

"They didn't say, it was anonymous." Ma Desheng paused, "but I reckon it's just a few people."

"Are there still people who won't give up?"