Chapter 408

Actually, in this year's selection of outstanding young teachers, another teacher almost squeezed out Jiao Ba; after all, the quota is limited, there are so many schools across the province, and it's not only among universities but also middle and primary schools; even though some people don't value this award, the competition is still quite fierce—after all, it's an honor with a certificate, kept on file.

As for why that teacher was eliminated, Zheng Tan later learned while walking to Jiao Ba's office, overhearing a few students from the Life Sciences College chatting. That young teacher had a strong background—one parent a renowned professor, the other a successful businessman, and there were also relatives active within the system. Logically, such a person would have a good chance of securing a slot after some networking, but unfortunately his luck was poor, and besides, he had accumulated too much resentment from daily dealings, and was set up by his own students.

During the voting period for the selection, that professor was somewhat overly high-profile and also got into a conflict with one of his graduate students over some matters. The next day, that graduate student sold out his boss, posting on an influential online forum that the professor was involved in money laundering and had been pretending to be a decent person while actually being a scumbag.

That graduate student is probably skilled at writing papers, a humanities major; his text reveals strong feelings of grievance and resentment, evoking sympathy—others can understand, after all, nobody would be happy to be held up in graduation, especially for two years straight.

Actually, the graduate students know exactly what their advisors are like; whether master's or doctoral candidates, they inevitably deal with some expense reimbursements and money flows, and thus come to understand their advisors' backgrounds. Just as Yi Xin used to gossip about Professor Jiao with his fellow junior and senior students, the students of each advisor also gossip about their own advisor—don't underestimate the students' abilities; once they get organized, they can cause big trouble.

This time, that young professor was stabbed in the back by his own student—a deep wound. If his family hadn't found someone to suppress the story, it would have become nationwide news; even though the incident was hushed up, his slot was ruined. That's why Jiao Ba got a chance to step in. Otherwise, comparing backgrounds, connections, surface achievements, and political influence, Jiao Ba truly couldn't compete.

Precisely because that teacher was exposed for money laundering, the school leaders specially called Jiao Ba in for a talk—whether he actually laundered money doesn't matter. What matters is whether he might cause trouble at a critical moment, like being stabbed in the back by his own student. In short: money laundering is okay, but it must be done cleanly; otherwise, not only would the teacher lose face, the school would lose face too, and the leaders would have to take it seriously.

Although Chu Hua University has long claimed the top spot among provincial universities, in recent years another local university has also risen to prominence, producing dazzling achievements one after another, doing good PR, spreading positive energy, earning high public approval, and seeing applicant numbers rise year after year; consequently, when people mention these two universities, a kind of Chu City derby has gradually formed. The other side is quite eager to find an opportunity to kick Chu Hua University a few times, and the reason they haven't brought up the money‑laundering matter as a talking point is that everyone feels guilty about it.

Actually, many teachers at various schools have engaged in money laundering, whether at third‑rate universities or the top few. As for methods, there are many: for example, transferring national research funds overseas and keeping them private; or reporting equipment purchases as 5 million when only 3 million was actually spent, pocketing the large rebate in a private slush fund; or claiming insurance, dining, entertainment, etc., on invoices for reimbursement, and so on—all can be used to launder money. As some teachers privately say, why is applying for project funding so important? To launder money and get rich!

The Life Sciences College's 'Geadar Liu', whose shady past was exposed in private student gossip, laundered money through joint research—for instance, a project worth tens of millions that was reported as collaborative research with another party, but privately they had agreed that the other side would issue a high invoice, the money would be transferred, and then the two would split the proceeds underground and pocket the kickback.

Besides that, a portion of the huge research‑approval funds is held by a few officials in administrative departments who don't understand the technology; as the controversial saying goes, 'outsiders leading insiders'. They hold power of life and death over projects, and the research funds that universities struggle to obtain could become a source of bribes to officials and some experts. Hence the campus slang 'running department money in', where 'department' refers to agencies such as the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Science and Technology, etc.

Fortunately, Jiao Ba never used money laundering to get rich; most of his income does not come from project splits but from Yuan Zhiyi's company—when the company was founded, Jiao Ba contributed and held shares. Over the years the company has grown, even opening a southern branch; the fact that Yuan Zhiyi could appear at the provincial annual Glory Gala this time speaks volumes.

Jiao Ba gained considerable experience from teachers like Professor Qin who had relevant backgrounds, and Jiao Ma specially bought him a suit to wear when accepting the award. As for the suit, it shouldn't be too extravagant, otherwise if people really looked into it you couldn't explain it well and might even get labeled 'suspected money launderer'; but it also shouldn't be too casual, or you wouldn't cut a decent figure—after all, there will be plenty of notables present; while we don't expect to dominate the scene with overwhelming aura, we also don't want to be so invisible as to be looked down upon.

It's rare to appear on TV, and the Jiao family are all looking forward to it.

The provincial Glory Gala is at the end of January; by then many students are almost on winter break, those who finished exams early have already bought tickets home, Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi have just finished their tests and have a few days off, waiting for the results before going to school to pick up their report cards.

On January 30th, the provincial Glory Gala started at 2 p. m.; Yuan Zhiyi came in the morning to pick up Jiao Ba and go to the venue together. Today, Comrade Yuan Zhiyi's outfit truly has the aura of a big boss—his attire is more relaxed than Jiao Ba's, his ensemble certainly worth over ten thousand yuan, and the vehicle he arrived in was specially chosen, a low‑key luxurious style.

Jiao Ba originally planned to drive himself, but Yuan Zhiyi looked down on him—Jiao Ba's car, in Yuan Zhiyi's view, was simply too embarrassing. Anyway, everyone was heading to the same place, so giving him a ride along the way was fine.

Jiao Ba went to attend the gala, while the Jiao family sat in front of the TV; actually, the gala wasn't broadcast live, but the provincial TV news that evening would likely have a related report, and then tomorrow's newspapers and online platforms would carry related news. Knowing they couldn't watch the live broadcast, the family still sat in front of the TV waiting.

Jiao Yuan also turned on the computer to browse the web, but unfortunately, even by dinnertime he hadn't found anything.

During the gala at the venue, Jiao Ba's phone was set to silent, and it was inconvenient to take calls while seated. Dinner would be provided there, so at six o'clock he called home to say he wouldn't be coming back for dinner, and would return home later.

On the phone, Jiao Ma didn't like to be asked too many questions; hearing that everything was fine there, she relaxed. Jiao Yuan, Xiao Youzi, and Zheng Tan were all listening with their ears perked while Jiao Ma was on the phone; Jiao Yuan had thought of asking Jiao Ba to get autographs from those few stars, but Jiao Ma had already hung up, so he dropped the idea.

After 7:30 p. m., once the central TV news finished, the provincial TV news came on. This time the Jiao family of three plus the cat stared intently at the news they usually hardly watch, afraid to miss any detail.

"It's out! It's out!" Jiao Yuan exclaimed excitedly.

On TV, the provincial news reported on today's provincial Glory Gala, the venue was huge and looked impressive, with several leaders getting dedicated shots; Zheng Tan saw Er Mao's father, who looked quite like Er Mao but more stern; really, he resembled Er Mao's older brother more—after all, a leader needs to give a steady impression, unlike Er Mao who often acts silly or goofy, who is better off pursuing a freelance career.

Next in screen time were several important provincial economic figures; Zheng Tan also recognized a few acquaintances, such as Manager Liu, though he was more familiar with Fang Shaokang, and even more familiar with Liu's son Liu Yao—back then he had raced remote‑control cars with that little brat, who has now grown up, no longer playing with RC cars but driving a custom‑made small sports car his father had built for him.

The others mostly got only brief shots; a few celebrity figures were visible, and although Jiao Ba wasn't conspicuous in his brief appearance, the Jiao family still spotted him, and Yuan Zhiyi was also found. Among the ten outstanding young teachers, the one who got relatively more screen time was a woman in her thirties who teaches in mountainous areas—something everyone understands—so everyone felt at ease about Jiao Ba's brief cameo.

When Jiao Ba returned home that evening, Yuan Zhiyi came up with him to chat for a while; compared to Jiao Ba's calmness, Yuan Zhiyi was in a good mood—not because of today's awarding, but due to some observations he made at the gala.

Jiao Ba knew that kids around ten love chasing stars, so without needing Jiao Yuan and the others to tell him, he specially brought a notebook to get autographs from those few stars; each star signed one page.

Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi looked at the autographs while listening to Yuan Zhiyi talk about the award ceremony and what happened at the buffet afterward.

When they heard that Jiao Ba was asking for autographs, a certain star seemed rather cold and slightly impatient, causing Jiao Yuan, Xiao Youzi, and Zheng Tan to pause in their actions.

"Which star?" Jiao Yuan asked.

"Just that… whoever." Yuan Zhiyi muttered 'that whoever' for a while before finally recalling the star's full name.

After Yuan Zhiyi left, while Jiao Ba and Jiao Ma weren't paying attention, Zheng Tan saw Jiao Yuan tear out the page bearing the autograph of that cold‑attitude star, crumple it into a ball, and toss it into the bathroom trash can.

Tsk, this kid.

Well done!

The next day, newspapers and online forums indeed had many comments about yesterday's gala; in the papers' more political sections, naturally the focus was on the few individuals the province had promoted as models, while others were merely named with maybe a sentence or two. However, the entertainment sections ran large‑feature stories with big photos of those stars seated at the venue, and the accompanying texts covered many topics—what brand a certain star wore at the event, whether they'd had plastic surgery, hairstyle, chest size, inferring from their various performances whether there were family conflicts, whether recent rumors were true, and so on.

Even if we excuse the newspapers—after all, it's the entertainment section—what about online? If you don't look at the entertainment section, you'll find that on large community discussion boards and active public platforms, the bulk of the content is still about celebrities, from clothing to family feuds and recent films they've appeared in, all mentioned. Although there are some studios and promoters involved, this is excessive; most of the on‑scene reporter interview photos captured show celebrities, and the station logos on the microphones in those pictures are often big names. Compared with those stars being swarmed by reporters for autographs, interviews, and group photos, everyone else seems to fade into the background; even the exposure of economic figures is slightly higher, but a figure like Jiao Ba, a young teacher, could move the nation and still hardly attract notice.

Jiao Yuan dug up a photo in which most of the frame is taken up by a star with exquisite makeup, while the people seated beside and diagonally behind her received no mention in the coverage, reduced to passersby A, B, C, D; under that post many replied with things like 'Nice upvote'.

Jiao Yuan kept this photo specifically because it is the only one he has been able to find so far that shows Jiao Ba—even though in the picture Jiao Ba is merely a 'passerby A'.

This is a very common phenomenon; many who see it consider it natural.

Jiao Yuan got into an argument with people on the forum; he had merely replied, 'Stars already have enough halo and attention—why not share some with others?' and was immediately swarmed by fans; now he's sulking and arguing with them, while also summoning his little allies—Xiong Xiong, Su An, and Lan Tianzhu from the dormitory—to fight together.

Zheng Tan also felt annoyed.

Zheng Tan would have liked to fight too, but unfortunately someone was at home and the computer was still monopolized by Jiao Yuan; he couldn't beat anyone, couldn't reach the keyboard, his paws itched, and he just wanted to do something to vent.

After thinking it over, Zheng Tan went out and came to the old tile‑house district.

After locating the orchid, Zheng Tan charged his phone and hid it again in the old tile‑house. The phone that Liuba gave him has decent internet capability; since he can't use a computer, he uses the phone to post.

Zheng Tan spent three hours composing a post of roughly a thousand characters. He did not deny the influence of those few stars, nor did he bring up Jiao Ba's case; he simply named a few media outlets and reporters, and listed several of the typical examples promoted above that deserve more exposure and attention, including the young female teacher who teaches in mountainous areas.

Typing out those thousand characters took Zheng Tan three hours—not because he was at a loss for words, but because using his paws to type on a phone is difficult; previously tapping out a few characters for a short message didn't bother him, but now that he's typing more he realizes his paws are too clumsy, and after sending a post they feel somewhat numb.

Coincidentally, Zheng Tan's post was discovered by a scholar with considerable influence, who reposted it in the forum he frequents; that forum is full of sharp‑tongued, outspoken people who still attract considerable public attention, and afterward Zheng Tan's post sparked a small buzz.

Zheng Tan himself hadn't expected this; his original motive for posting was simply because he saw those pictures and reports, saw Jiao Yuan arguing on the forum, and wanted to vent his inner frustration.

When those reporters saw the article heating up online, their faces turned green—especially the media outlets and reporters Zheng Tan had named, who were so angry they smashed tables in their offices.

Damn, which meddling angry‑youth nutcase wrote this?! (To be continued…)

PS: While writing this, I suddenly recalled the old jokes about 'low‑key' and 'low‑cut'.