"What did it say?"
Zheng Lixing took a drag from his cigarette and slowly exhaled a smoke ring. "Did it say how this problem should be solved? Did it lay out any plans?"
"It said the matter was to be handled entirely by our Great Xia Academy of Sciences." Zhang Yuli shook his head helplessly.
This was utter nonsense. Since when had he been responsible for building schools and recruiting teachers? Wasn't this forcing a duck onto a perch?
Their Great Xia Academy of Sciences was a research institution, while the education department was a whole world apart. They had nothing to do with each other.
But there was no helping it. This matter had to be handled as a special case. The higher-ups had designated the Great Xia Academy of Sciences to carry it out and follow up on it, and there absolutely could not be the slightest problem with these thousand schools.
If the seven billion yuan budget was not enough, the highest level would continue allocating special funding until all one thousand schools had been completed.
The higher-ups even intended to form a special task force. For now, its two confirmed members were Zhang Yuli and Zheng Lixing, while the remaining members were still under review.
This special task force would answer only to the highest level and would specifically handle all matters involving the Mysterious Organization.
However, Zhang Yuli clearly was not thinking about any of that right now. He was still troubled by the shortage of teaching staff.
He drank cup after cup of tea. "Elementary schools are manageable, but staffing middle schools and high schools will be difficult."
"Where are we supposed to find so many qualified teachers? What, am I Sun Wukong? Can I turn monkey hairs into people?"
Elementary schools were still relatively easy to handle. Most teachers could even teach several grades on their own, and around a dozen teachers would be enough to meet the needs of one elementary school.
The key was that the requirements for teacher qualifications were not especially high, so recruitment would naturally be much easier.
But middle schools were difficult. There were already many subjects to study, and the difficulty of teaching rose significantly, so both the quantity and quality of staff required careful selection.
High schools were the most difficult of all, because teachers capable of teaching at that level were already highly competent. Not to mention that they needed to recruit enough staff for a full one hundred high schools at once.
Initial estimates put the number of middle school teachers needed for middle schools and high schools alone at thirty thousand. Yet the entire Northwest Province currently had only one hundred thousand middle school teachers in total. That was practically a thirty percent expansion.
For several of Great Xia's more economically developed provinces, this number might not have been an enormous problem.
But this was Northwest Province, one of the least economically developed provinces in the country.
The word "difficult" weighed heavily on Zhang Yuli's heart.
A grave look flashed across Zheng Lixing's weathered face. "They've already built the schools. Great Xia has to provide the teachers somehow, or won't we become a laughingstock?"
The Mysterious Organization's previous offer of one billion US Dollars to build one thousand schools had merely been a preliminary condition. What mattered was where Great Xia's sincerity would be shown this time.
Two heavyweight technologies had already been delivered in succession. Next, it was Great Xia's turn to demonstrate its greatest sincerity.
They had to conjure up these teachers even if they had to pull them out of thin air.
"I know."
Zhang Yuli nodded and sighed helplessly. "But with conditions like those in Northwest Province, how can we recruit enough teachers?"
Quickly building one thousand schools in Northwest Province would not be difficult. The difficult part was recruiting enough qualified teachers.
What appeal did a province near the bottom of Great Xia's economic rankings have to attract qualified teachers?
"Looks like we can only offer more subsidies." Zhang Yuli kept thinking through possible solutions. "These thousand schools will also cover Northwest Province's school construction needs for the next several years. That portion of the funding can be used for subsidies."
"Teachers in those poor areas earn little even when they are teaching as volunteers, so we can give them more support."
"I think that's the only workable solution." Zheng Lixing nodded in agreement.
Raising salaries and benefits was the only solution the two of them could think of for Northwest Province's teacher shortage.
Everything else was simply impractical. That place was not Modu, Yanjing, or some other first- or second-tier metropolis. Many locations were in backward towns and rural areas, with no competitive appeal whatsoever.
After all, people strive upward, while water flows downward. That had never changed.
There might indeed be many teachers willing to support impoverished areas, but that was not sustainable. Improving compensation was the core issue.
This was not just the case in Northwest Province. Most underdeveloped regions throughout Great Xia faced the same situation.
"I'll contact Northwest Province's education department later and ask which areas in the province are struggling the most with education. We'll prioritize those places." Having settled this concern, Zhang Yuli spoke with a sense of relief.
"Handle it as you suggested."
Zheng Lixing stubbed out the tobacco in his hand, his deep gaze fixed on Zhang Yuli. "Also, regarding that 'Mysterious Organization,' I still haven't found any leads."
Over the past two days, he had gone through all relevant classified materials from the last several decades. He had even traced them back through the Republic era and the Qing dynasty, yet found no records at all.
"I don't think there's any need to keep investigating," Zhang Yuli replied calmly.
"You mean we should pretend not to know?"
"No. I mean that if we want to know the answer, we should just ask directly."
Zhang Yuli shook his head.
This was Great Xia's current stance. If the Mysterious Organization, or that mysterious person, did not want them to know, then no matter how curious Great Xia was, it had to play dumb. Even if they discovered certain flaws, they had to pretend they had not seen them.
If the other side wanted Great Xia to know, then they could simply ask. There was no need to investigate for answers.
Sometimes, retreating to advance was the best strategy.
Zheng Lixing suddenly understood. "So that's how it is. I understand now."
The most crucial point was that they could not damage the trust between Great Xia and the Mysterious Organization.
Based on that principle, directly asking whatever they wanted to know was the best choice.
On the other side of the world, Lu Ze had no idea about the amusing events taking place at the Great Xia Academy of Sciences.
At that moment, he stared excitedly at the light screen reflected in his eyes, at the most important line of numbers.
[Achievement Points: 16,000 points!]
"I can do one Blue Draw now, and I'll even have 6,000 Achievement Points left over." Lu Ze rubbed his chin.
He had just been considering whether to draw immediately.
After all, he had never been one to hesitate, and the system did not pay interest on Achievement Points sitting around.
"But I still need to make some preparations before everything is in place," Lu Ze murmured.
In an instant.
He began making a series of strange hand gestures, chanting, "Fortune God, bless me!"
Lu Ze had learned this set of chants and movements from a neighbor back in his rural hometown in Northwest Province. Supposedly, it could make a person luckier.
Before a draw, how could he not offer a little worship? Who could possibly understand something as mystical as fortune?
He just did not know whether Eagle Sauce was still within the jurisdiction of Great Xia's gods.
Just then.
Lucy, who was passing by, watched Lu Ze repeatedly make strange hand gestures, her face filled with shock and confusion. "Lu Ze, what are you doing??"
Then she asked eagerly, "Could this be one of your Great Xia kung fu moves? Can you teach me?"
Those strange movements—weren't they exactly like what she had seen in Great Xia kung fu movies?
Lu Ze twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Lucy, this isn't kung fu."
How had she managed to see this thing as a kung fu move?
She really ought to watch fewer of those movies that could be acted out by just two or three people.
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