Chapter 2303: If you don't have money, take a loan

Liu Bo shook his head helplessly, secretly sighing in his heart that time flies, and he was clearly only forty-something, yet in front of these young teachers, he suddenly felt a kind of senility.

"Chairman Zhou, you are my idol!" The girl's face turned somewhat red because of excitement: "My younger sister also especially worships you. When she learned that you were going to serve as the Factory Director of the woolen mill, she was so happy, and then my sister and I specially went to Dicos to have a big meal to celebrate!"

Zhou Andong revealed a moved expression on his face and said very sincerely: "Thank you, thank you for your support! However, I haven't done nearly well enough and need to keep working hard, and I also hope you can always support me!"

"That goes without saying!" the girl suddenly interjected coldly, "If we don't support you, are we supposed to support those parasites like Shi Guoqiang and Hu Dajun instead?"

She became angrier as she spoke, unable to help clenching her fists, "It's been more than three months since the wage suspension, and as long as I have time, I go to the higher-level departments to report Shi Guoqiang and Hu Dajun and their group."

"But every time the reply I get is that this belongs to the woolen mill's internal decision-making and they have no right to interfere—actually, it's just officials protecting officials. Even if I report with my real name, it's of no use at all; it really almost angered me to death. If it weren't for the children in the class I couldn't let go of, this girl wouldn't want to serve anymore; where else can't I earn a meal?"

"That's right!" Zhou Andong said in great agreement: "We are now in reform and opening up, and every industry is booming. As long as one is not lazy or idle, even without culture, as long as one is willing to put in the effort, one will definitely be able to earn money."

"Wang Yue!"

Accompanied by a shout, a woman in her thirties walked out of the teaching building quickly, greeted the girl, and then walked over: "Why haven't you gone to collect your wages yet?"

Wang Yue, the girl, said excitedly: "Sister Bai, look who this is?"

"Principal!" Bai Lili first greeted Liu Bo, then turned her head to look at Zhou Andong, unable to help calling out in surprise: "Factory Director!"

Zhou Andong revealed a genial smile on his face, took the initiative to reach out his hand, and said: "Hello, Teacher Bai!"

"Factory Director, hello!" Bai Lili smiled all over her face, hurriedly raised her hand, and shook hands with Zhou Andong enthusiastically. Subsequently, her gaze turned to Liu Bo on the side.

"Principal, why not let the Factory Director go to the office to sit for a while? Look at this hot summer day, the sun is so poisonous, letting the Factory Director stand outside is too inappropriate."

Liu Bo gave a wry smile, looked helplessly at Zhou Andong, and said: "Factory Director, you see, it sounds good that I am the principal, but in reality, many times I am just a punching bag. Whoever is in a bad mood will run to my office and slam the table and glare at me, and I have no way at all."

Zhou Andong laughed loudly: "Principal Liu, I listen to your words, not only without any dissatisfaction, but I even feel you are quite proud!"

Liu Bo, including Bai Lili and Wang Yue, couldn't help but laugh out loud. Liu Bo being able to serve as the principal of the secondary vocational department itself showed that he was a person with considerable ability.

And these young teachers running to his office to vent their emotions when they were in a bad mood was not because he had no prestige; on the contrary, it just showed that everyone treated him as a parent they could confide their grievances to, full of trust in him.

"Let's go!" Liu Bo made a gesture of invitation: "I've been criticized, so you should give me some face and go to my office to sit for a while, otherwise if these female comrades know that I neglected their idol like this, wouldn't they tear my office down?"

Bai Lili said with a smile: "Factory Director, go sit in our principal's office for a while. A few days ago, my husband's leader gave him a box of tea, and I think it tastes pretty good, so I brought some to school. I'll brew a cup for you, and you can taste it."

"Good!" Zhou Andong nodded: "Then I'll go in and sit for a while."

The four people walked into the teaching building one after another. Although the facilities inside were also aging, they were shielded from the wind and sun, looking much better than outside.

"Principal!"

"Teacher Bai!"

"Teacher Wang!"

"..."

Along the way, students kept greeting them.

Zhou Andong asked: "It's summer vacation now, why are there still students having classes?"

Liu Bo answered: "They are all graduates, so they are having remedial classes during the summer vacation for the factory's recruitment exam at the end of the year, hoping they can go smoothly when they take the exam."

Zhou Andong nodded. In large state-owned factories, children of staff can take over their parents' jobs, but that requires waiting for their parents to retire. Therefore, before their parents retire, they have to take an exam to enter the factory.

Of course, since it's a factory-run secondary vocational school, even if the graduates take the recruitment exam, almost all of them will pass. For those who don't, it can only mean that the child is truly hopeless.

The four people walked slowly up the stairs, chatting and laughing, and soon arrived at the second floor. The principal's office was located at the end of the left corridor.

Bai Lili stopped her steps, smiled at Zhou Andong, and said: "Factory Director, you go to the principal's office and wait for a moment, I'll go get some tea leaves."

Zhou Andong nodded with a smile: "Good, thank you."

Bai Lili turned and left. Zhou Andong, along with Liu Bo and Wang Yue, walked inside along the corridor. Arriving in front of the office door, Liu Bo reached out and pushed open the somewhat old wooden door.

"Factory Director, please come in."

Zhou Andong walked into the office, his gaze scanning the surroundings. The office space was not large, the cement floor revealed the coarse sand inside, and the paint on the walls had peeled off, revealing the original color.

A paint-peeling desk was placed in the center of the room, piled with documents and sundries, and beside it was a bookshelf that was also peeling, holding some books and materials.

If there was anything in the whole office that looked relatively complete, it was probably the iron filing cabinet in the corner. Its surface, although somewhat rusty, was overall quite sturdy.

And opposite the desk was a wooden long bench. This kind of long bench was often seen in train stations, bus stations, and hospital rest areas; it had a backrest and looked quite simple.

Zhou Andong sat down slowly, and the moment his bottom touched the chair, it made a slight creaking sound.

At the same time, Wang Yue behind the door lightly picked up the thermos, shook it, and a slight sound of water came from inside: "This water is almost gone, I'll go get some water."

Liu Bo took out half a pack of Yuxi from the desk drawer, pulled one out, handed it to Zhou Andong, and then Liu Bo picked up the lighter and lit the cigarette for Zhou Andong.

"Our secondary vocational department's teaching building, although it doesn't look like much from the outside, and the facilities inside are also aging, the building quality itself doesn't have any problems."

Liu Bo said while pulling out another cigarette from the pack, put it in his mouth, and then lit it with the lighter: "But the primary school department and middle school department won't do."

Liu Bo flicked the ash and continued: "The primary school and middle school sides are all ordinary bungalows, a little bit better than the staff dormitory, not counting as dilapidated buildings, but they also have some years on them, and they leak when it's windy and rainy."

"A few years ago, when our factory's efficiency was still pretty good, Principal Ma and Principal Yuan started applying to the factory, hoping to get some money down to repair the school buildings. But Shi Guoqiang and Hu Dajun kept playing tai chi, neither saying they would give it nor saying they wouldn't, just dragging it on until now."

The expression on Liu Bo's face was somewhat ugly, looking down slightly at the burning cigarette in his hand: "At that time, I was thinking, our woolen mill, with leaders like Shi Guoqiang and Hu Dajun, definitely couldn't be good. Sure enough, in just a few short years, this factory was ruined by them into this state!"

"Bang, bang, bang!"

A light knocking sound came. Liu Bo sighed and then shouted: "Come in!"

The door was pushed open, and Bai Lili and Wang Yue walked in one after another. Bai Lili held an exquisite tea box in her hand, and Wang Yue held a thermos in her hand.

Then, Bai Lili opened the tea box, took out some tea leaves, and put them into two teacups, while Wang Yue took the thermos and poured water into the teacups.

Bai Lili and Wang Yue each picked up a cup of steaming tea, walked carefully to Liu Bo and Zhou Andong, and said softly: "Factory Director, Principal, drink tea."

Liu Bo smiled and took the teacup, saying: "Factory Director, I am borrowing your light to be able to drink the tea brewed by Teacher Bai."

Zhou Andong also laughed: "If you treat me and Teacher Bai to a drink, not only will you be able to drink Teacher Bai's tea often, but I also have good tea there, and you will be able to drink it too."

"What about me?" Wang Yue pointed at her own nose: "The four of us, Principal, you treat the two of them to a drink, and leave me out?"

Liu Bo said jokingly: "Taking you along is fine, as long as you can be included in the meal, doing some work like fetching water and brewing tea is definitely no problem, and you can also flatter the principal—killing two birds with one stone."

Zhou Andong knew as soon as he heard that this girl was a foodie. He slowly picked up the teacup, blew away the tea leaves floating on the water surface, then took a shallow sip and continued the topic just now.

"I'm going to the city tomorrow to find the leaders to talk about building the teaching building and staff dormitory."

As soon as his words fell, Wang Yue was the first to react, asking somewhat excitedly: "Factory Director, are you going to build a teaching building and staff dormitory?"

"Right!" Zhou Andong nodded, his gaze turning to Liu Bo: "Didn't you tell them?"

Liu Bo shook his head, very honestly saying: "This matter wasn't confirmed by you either, so how would I dare to tell them casually. In case some accident happens by then and this matter falls through, I won't have any quiet days left."

"This matter won't have any accidents, and accidents are not allowed." Zhou Andong gave Liu Bo a reassurance: "If it goes smoothly, before the New Year, the foundations for the teaching building and staff dormitory can be successfully laid. In this way, by the time school starts next September, classes can be held in the new teaching building!"

Liu Bo listened to Zhou Andong's words, and although there was some expectation in his heart, he still asked somewhat hesitantly: "Does the factory really have enough funds to build the teaching building and staff dormitory at the same time?"

"What are you afraid of if you don't have money?" Zhou Andong smiled slightly: "If we don't have money, we'll take a loan. Only by providing teachers with a good teaching environment and a comfortable living environment can they truly settle down and focus on teaching, thereby improving the overall teaching quality." ===== CHAPTER 2304 =====

"What's there to fear about having no money?" Zhou Andong smiled slightly: "If we have no money, we will go take out loans. Only by providing teachers with a good teaching environment and a comfortable living environment can they truly settle down and focus on teaching, thereby improving the overall quality of teaching."