Chapter 388: Donating to My Alma Mater

Zhang Ping'an returned to the Back Courtyard, where Wang Xiaoling was quietly reading medical books; she had originally planned to return in March, but had delayed it until now to take care of their two granddaughters.

"Brother Ping'an, why did you come over? At this hour, shouldn't Xiaoguan and Shujun be back yet?"

Guan Xiaoguan also studied to be an Accountant, and now, like Dongzi, she works in Finance at the Auto City; Liu Shujun also transferred back to Sijiucheng, and to have more time to take care of the children, she teaches Chinese at the primary school where Yan Bugui once worked.

"No, Weidong is back, and she was competing with me to take care of them."

"Haha, you two are cut from the same cloth, both doting on your daughter."

"Isn't that a good thing? A daughter will only be by our side for twenty-some years at most before she has to marry; naturally, we should cherish her more."

"You always have your reasons." Wang Xiaoling rolled her eyes at him.

"That's right."

"Xiao Ling, how about we have Wandong and the others come back to attend school here too?"

"Ah? Why did you suddenly think of that?"

"I was just thinking that it would be nice for everyone to live together, and besides, the three of them—Wanqiu and the others—will be graduating this summer."

"But... Wandong and the other younger ones have grown up in Xiangjiang since they were small; I'm afraid it will be very hard for them to adapt to schools in the Mainland."

Zhang Ping'an thought of how the school toilets in the Mainland were still dry latrines, the playgrounds were mostly just hard-packed dirt, and there were even various crops growing on the grounds.

The classrooms were the same; the desks and chairs were passed down from generation to generation, and it was considered good if a classroom had a ceiling fan in the summer.

Compared to the Xiangjiang of this time, the gap was indeed not small; although Zhang Ping'an's children were not raised in the lap of luxury, they attended elite schools, and such a large disparity would likely be hard to adapt to for a while.

However, children at this age are resilient; letting his children grow up in this environment could also temper their character.

"Hmm... then let's make a donation to my alma mater as a return."

Since summer vacation is coming up, Zhang Ping'an didn't plan on making it too extravagant; just reaching the standard of the post-90s generation would be enough.

"This... then let's wait until the children come over and ask for their opinions."

Wang Xiaoling still didn't want the children to suffer; she hadn't thought it was suffering in the past, but for five children who had grown up in comfortable environments, it would be hardship and suffering.

"Hmm... that's fine too."

But regardless of whether the children attended school here or not, Zhang Ping'an still intended to change the environment of his alma mater.

He had heard Liu Shujun say more than once that the school's supporting facilities were hard to describe; the teachers were okay, as they could catch a breeze in the summer, but a room full of students was purely a furnace.

It was the same when chatting occasionally with Yan Bugui; he would still go back to the school to look around when he had free time, saying that the school hadn't changed much from when he was there.

But thinking about it, it made sense; only five or six years had passed since the ten years of the special period ended, and the school was currently more focused on the students and teachers, while the campus environment was secondary.

The next morning, Zhang Ping'an arrived at Hongxing Primary School and went straight to the principal's office through the guard.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Come in."

"Who are you?" The principal looked up and saw Zhang Ping'an; although he looked somewhat familiar, he didn't recognize him.

"Hello, Principal. I am a former graduate of this school, from the class of '51."

"Class of '51?" The principal looked Zhang Ping'an up and down, then turned and picked up a photograph.

"Are you Zhang Ping'an?"

"It is me." Zhang Ping'an was slightly surprised; he didn't remember ever meeting this principal.

"It really is you. I said you looked familiar; I was your Chinese teacher back then."

"Ah, hello, Chinese teacher." Zhang Ping'an said awkwardly; he hadn't needed to attend classes back then, so he naturally didn't know the teachers, but he vaguely remembered that the teachers at the time were only in their early twenties or even younger.

This Chinese teacher probably hadn't had an easy life; he looked to be over sixty now, and the change was quite significant, so it was normal that Zhang Ping'an hadn't recognized him.

"Ahem, my surname is also Zhang; we are from the same clan. What brings you here this time?" Principal Zhang clearly saw Zhang Ping'an's awkwardness.

"Ah, it's like this, Principal Zhang. I have achieved a little success now, and I want to give back to my alma mater."

"Good! You've come at just the right time; you are worthy of being our school's most outstanding graduate."

Principal Zhang didn't care how Zhang Ping'an was giving back; he praised him first. He also wanted to change the school's environment, but educational funds were relatively tight, and he was suffering too.

"Hmm, I plan to donate 100,000 yuan to improve the school's infrastructure."

Zhang Ping'an didn't intend to use the group's name; it was purely a graduate's contribution to his alma mater.

"How, how much?" Principal Zhang stood up with a start.

"Oh my, Zhang Ping'an, I could tell you would be successful since you were small. Look at this, it's true! You tell me, this..."

Principal Zhang didn't actually know Zhang Ping'an very well; after all, besides appearing for exams, Zhang Ping'an was never seen, so he could only offer dry praise now.

"Principal Zhang, I have one small request."

"Go ahead."

"I won't interfere with the specifics, but please try to replace the school's dry latrines. This can reduce the growth of bacteria, which is good for both students and teachers."

The educators of this time were still pure, and their character was completely trustworthy; Zhang Ping'an wasn't worried at all that they would embezzle the funds.

At this time, they were still willing to be candles, burning themselves to light the way for others, though in later generations, they would be replaced by electric lights...

"Hmm, okay, that's no problem."

"Good, the money can be in place by tomorrow."

"Good, good, good."

Principal Zhang shook Zhang Ping'an's hand heavily and gave it a vigorous shake.

"A good comrade."

After Zhang Ping'an left the school, Principal Zhang was still filled with emotion, and then he busied himself preparing the donation agreement and the series of procedures needed for tomorrow.

"What? You are receiving a donation of 100,000 yuan tomorrow? What is going on? Tell me in detail."

These donations all had to be filed; Principal Zhang naturally had to communicate with the education department in advance.

Principal Zhang didn't hide anything; of course, he didn't know much about Zhang Ping'an, but his attire and attitude just now didn't look like someone who was lying.

"Fine, we will have someone there to witness it tomorrow."

"Good."

Returning home at noon, Zhang Ping'an told Wang Xiaoling about the donation.

"Mm, renovating the alma mater is a good thing, but what about the middle school?"

"Of course I donated there too; after all, that is where our love began."

"Go on with you, we're at such an age now," Wang Xiaoling said with a smile on her lips, clearly recalling the beautiful times of the past.

"Hehe."

In the afternoon, Zhang Ping'an followed the same routine as the morning, and as luck would have it, the middle school principal also knew Zhang Ping'an.

"Zhang Ping'an, you truly are a graduate who walked out of our school; I saw you had potential when you were small..."

"..."

Zhang Ping'an suspected that the elementary and middle school principals were from the same school of thought, as their rhetoric was identical.

Afterward, both sides agreed on a time, Zhang Ping'an left, and the middle school principal then reported the matter upward.

"What? Your school has one too? Is his name Zhang Ping'an?"

"Leader, how did you know?" the middle school principal was stunned and immediately asked.

"Zhang Ping'an also donated to his elementary school."

"That explains it."

Returning home, Zhang Ping'an took out 200,000, gave 100,000 to each of his two sons, and explained it to them.

"Weidong, you go to the elementary school tomorrow to make the donation."

"Weijun, you go to the middle school tomorrow to make the donation."

"Alright, Dad."