Investigating the mysterious organization? Lucy: Is this Great Xia Kung Fu?

"What did it say?"

Zheng Lixing took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled a smoke ring. "Did it say how to solve this problem? Did it provide any deployment plans?"

"It said the matter has been fully entrusted to our Great Xia Academy of Sciences to handle," Zhang Yuli said, shaking his head helplessly.

This was ridiculous. When had he ever been responsible for building schools and recruiting faculty? Wasn't this like forcing a duck to climb a tree?

Their Great Xia Academy of Sciences, a scientific research institution, and the education department were worlds apart, so much so that they weren't even related.

But there was no other way. This matter had to be handled with special urgency. The higher-ups had designated the Great Xia Academy of Sciences to implement and follow up, and these thousand schools absolutely could not have any problems.

If the 7 billion RMB budget was insufficient, the highest level would provide special funding until all one thousand schools were built.

There was even talk of forming a special task force, with Zhang Yuli and Zheng Lixing provisionally selected as the first two members, while others were still under consideration.

This special task force would report directly to the highest level and be solely responsible for all matters concerning this mysterious organization.

However, Zhang Yuli wasn't considering these things at the moment. He was still agonizing over the shortage of teaching staff.

He drank cup after cup of tea. "Primary schools are manageable, but finding faculty for middle and high schools will be difficult."

"Where am I supposed to find so many qualified teachers? Am I Sun Wukong, able to conjure people from my monkey fur?"

Primary schools were relatively easy to manage. Most teachers could handle multiple grades, and about a dozen teachers could meet the teaching needs of a primary school.

The key was that the requirements for teacher qualifications weren't very high, which naturally lowered the recruitment difficulty by a large margin.

But it became difficult for middle schools. There were more subjects to teach, and the teaching difficulty increased significantly. Therefore, both the quantity and quality of faculty needed to be carefully screened.

As for high schools, they were the most challenging. Teachers capable of teaching high school were already highly skilled. Moreover, they needed to recruit faculty for a hundred high schools all at once.

Preliminary estimates suggested that middle and high schools alone would require as many as 30,000 teachers. Currently, Northwest Province had a total of only 100,000 middle school teachers, which was an expansion of almost 30%.

This number might not be a significant challenge for some of the provinces with better economic development in Great Xia.

But this was Northwest Province, one of the provinces with the most backward economic development in the country.

The word "difficult" echoed in Zhang Yuli's mind.

A grave expression flickered across Zheng Lixing's face, etched with deep lines. "Now that the schools are built, Great Xia must arrange for teachers. Otherwise, won't we become a laughingstock?"

The mysterious organization's initial request of 1 billion US Dollars to build a thousand schools was just a preliminary condition. The important thing now was to see Great Xia's sincerity.

Two major technological breakthroughs had already been delivered. Now it was time for Great Xia to demonstrate its utmost sincerity.

They had to find these teachers, even if it meant conjuring them out of thin air.

"I understand that."

Zhang Yuli nodded and sighed helplessly. "But given the conditions in Northwest Province, how can we easily recruit enough teachers?"

It wasn't difficult for Northwest Province to quickly build a thousand schools. The challenge lay in recruiting enough qualified teachers.

What charm could a province ranked at the bottom of Great Xia's economy possess to attract qualified teachers?

"It seems we'll have to offer more subsidies," Zhang Yuli pondered countermeasures. "Since these thousand schools will cover the school construction needs of Northwest Province for the next few years, this portion of the funding can be used for subsidies."

"For teachers in these impoverished areas, even if their base salary is low, we can provide more subsidies."

"I think this is the only feasible method," Zheng Lixing agreed, nodding.

Increasing salary and benefits was the only solution they could think of to address the shortage of teaching resources in Northwest Province.

Anything else was impractical. This wasn't Shanghai or Yanjing, or other first and second-tier cities. Many of these places were located in backward rural areas, lacking any competitive appeal.

After all, people strive for higher places, and water flows to lower ground; this is an immutable truth.

While there might be many who genuinely wanted to support teachers in impoverished areas, this was not sustainable development. Improving treatment levels was the core issue.

This situation wasn't unique to Northwest Province; it was the same in most backward regions across Great Xia.

"I'll contact the education department of Northwest Province later and ask them which areas in the province face the most severe educational difficulties, and we'll prioritize them," Zhang Yuli said, feeling relieved now that one worry was resolved.

"Let's proceed with this matter as you suggested,"

Zheng Lixing extinguished his pipe, his deep gaze fixed on Zhang Yuli. "Also, regarding that 'mysterious organization,' I still can't find any clues."

He had spent the last two days poring over classified documents from the past few decades, even tracing back to the Republic of China and Qing Dynasty eras, but found no relevant records.

"I don't think it's necessary to investigate further," Zhang Yuli replied calmly.

"You mean we should pretend not to know?"

"No, I mean if you want to know the answer, just ask directly."

Zhang Yuli shook his head.

This was Great Xia's current approach. If this mysterious organization or mysterious person didn't want them to know, then no matter how curious Great Xia was, they had to feign ignorance. Even if they discovered certain loopholes, they had to pretend not to see them.

If the other party wanted Great Xia to know, then they could simply ask. There was no need to investigate for answers.

In some situations, retreating to advance was the best strategy.

Zheng Lixing suddenly understood. "So that's how it is. I get it now."

The most crucial core issue here was not to damage the trust between Great Xia and the mysterious organization.

Based on this principle, the best approach was to ask directly whatever you wanted to know.

Lu Ze, on the other side of the Earth, was unaware of the amusing events happening at the Great Xia Academy of Sciences.

At this moment, he excitedly looked at the most crucial line of numbers on the screen reflected in his eyes.

[Achievement Points: 16000!]

"I can do a Blue Draw now, and I'll even have 6000 Achievement Points left over," Lu Ze mused, stroking his chin.

He had been contemplating whether to proceed with the draw right now.

After all, he wasn't one to be indecisive, and besides, the system didn't offer any interest on accumulated Achievement Points.

"But I still need to do some preparation work to ensure everything is in place," Lu Ze murmured softly.

Instantly.

He began performing a series of strange hand gestures, chanting, "May the God of Fortune bless me!"

These were incantations and movements Lu Ze had learned from a neighbor in his rural hometown in Northwest Province, said to bring greater luck.

Wouldn't one need to offer a prayer before a draw? Who could truly fathom the mysteries of metaphysics?

He just wondered if Eagle Country was still within the jurisdiction of Great Xia's gods.

Just then.

Lucy, walking by, saw Lu Ze making his peculiar hand gestures and asked with shock and confusion, "Lu Ze, what are you doing??"

She then followed up with a surprised inquiry, "Could it be that this is one of your Great Xia martial arts moves? Can you teach me?"

These strange movements, weren't they exactly what she had seen in Great Xia kung fu movies?

Lu Ze twitched the corner of his mouth. "Lucy, this isn't any kind of kung fu."

How could she possibly mistake this for a kung fu move?

You should watch fewer of those movies where only two or three people act.

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