Teacher Du found herself in a difficult position.
She knew Wang Yi's schedule was packed. He had only three days left in China.
He had only three days left to spend with his family, so he couldn't afford to waste a whole day and night on the road.
"Brother Yi, your time is precious. You should still fly..."
But Wang Yi waved his hand. "We're taking the train."
Teacher Du looked troubled and turned to the principal for help.
Principal Zheng shook his head too. "Cancel my plane ticket as well. Switch it to a green train."
"Principal, but..."
Principal Zheng was nearly sixty. Teacher Du couldn't bear the thought of making him suffer through that journey again.
But Principal Zheng waved his hand and said:
"As teachers, we should be willing to share both hardships and joys with our students. If they're taking a green train, how can we go and fly? Besides, since they're the reason we're taking the train and putting up with all this, they'll feel even more guilty and remorseful. That can become the motivation they need to work hard."
Wang Yi smiled and nodded. "You've got a whole scheme worked out."
The female teacher gave a wry smile. "Then I'll cancel your plane tickets and get train tickets instead. But it'll be a rough trip for both of you."
Principal Zheng shook his head. "It's no trouble. It's not as if I've never taken a green train."
Wang Yi chimed in too. "What's so rough about it? It's a lot more fun than training."
Hearing the two of them, Team Leader Teacher Du shook her head helplessly, while feeling great admiration for them.
One was an NBA superstar worth tens of billions of dollars, a national idol in China.
The other was the principal