Smoothing things over

"Section Chief Xiong went back." Liu Kang, the junior middle school math teacher, looked at Zhao Dannian and sighed. "Principal, our applications for a drainage channel and wells are perfectly legitimate. Why do we have to go begging those officials? I refuse to believe we can't get by without them."

"We haven't even got anything to get by on yet. If we run short of water, you'll have to go down the mountain and carry it up, just like I did back then," Zhao Dannian said openly. Sometimes he stubbornly stuck to his principles; sometimes he stubbornly insisted on pulling strings. All in all, he was a very persistent old man.

Qi Yuan chuckled. "It's not like this is Shaolin Temple, going down the mountain to carry water..."

"When the school runs short of water, Party members have to take the lead." With that single sentence, Zhao Dannian shut Qi Yuan up.

Under the wing of his father's cousin, Qi Yuan had finally managed to join the Party and become eligible to attend the school's Party group meetings. He had never expected Zhao Dannian to put that badge of respectability to use, too.

"We won't run short of water. Ha ha... ha ha..." Since leaving the countryside, Qi Yuan had never done heavy labor again, and he really was afraid the principal would send him to carry water. Xibao Middle School stood halfway up a mountain, and one of the steep slopes could wear a person to death.

Qi Yuan also knew the principal was putting him in his place. He did not dare say much, but instead glanced involuntarily toward Yang Rui.

Ever since his uncle, Section Chief Xiong, had arranged his placement at Xibao Middle School, Zhao Dannian had approached Section Chief Xiong through him several times, but had never managed to get approval for the wells and open drainage channel. Qi Yuan, on the other hand, frequently arrived late and left early under the pretext of handling the matter.

In fact, if Zhao Dannian had only wanted to dig one or two ordinary wells, Section Chief Xiong would most likely have taken care of it for him. Unfortunately, the groundwater lay deep beneath Xibao Middle School, requiring drilled wells. That not only increased the expense but also meant they needed water pumps.

Quotas for industrial products were very tight at the time. Two drilled wells would be no small favor, and with an open drainage channel added on, Section Chief Xiong found it too much trouble. He simply kept putting it off, thinking that once he transferred Qi Yuan away, he could save himself the expense here.

Zhao Dannian could guess what the uncle and nephew were thinking, and pressed the matter. "Since Section Chief Xiong came, why did he leave so soon?"

"Well..." Qi Yuan hesitated, then said, "Section Chief Xiong chatted with Yang Rui for a while, thought some of his ideas were good, and went back first."

He spoke vaguely, still afraid that Yang Rui really did have powerful connections.

Of course, in a township middle school like this, a deputy county magistrate in charge of education certainly qualified as a powerful connection.

Zhao Dannian immediately turned to Yang Rui and asked, "Are all these people gathered here because of Section Chief Xiong? Did you argue with him?"

He really was a little worried about Yang Rui's "explosive" temper. Section Chief Xiong was not an easy man to deal with, and neither was Yang Rui. Otherwise, would he have summoned the militia to the school? If the two clashed, the outcome would be hard to predict.

Unaware that this was the principal's impression of him, Yang Rui pointed upward and said, "We students evaluated the teachers. We're putting up the results to celebrate."

"What evaluation? You mean a selection, don't you? You even made a Teacher Evaluation Form with a five-point scale. More official than the Education Bureau," Liu Kang remarked sarcastically. He had graduated from a secondary teacher-training school and had only been working for two years. He was younger than some of the older students repeating the final year, which was precisely why the principal had assigned him to the junior middle school.

Liu Kang, however, did not consider himself inexperienced or young. Being left off the list made him very unhappy.

Only then did Zhao Dannian look up and see the brush-written characters on the red paper.

For a long time, the principal said nothing.

Gradually, the teachers and students fell silent too, leaving only the faintest sounds of breathing in the air.

"So you've started evaluating teachers now." Zhao Dannian began in a low voice, making a flat statement.

Teacher Lu's heart sank, and he hurriedly said, "That Yang Rui, always acting on whatever pops into his head. Still, he did secure some benefits for the school..."

"Not everyone got any benefits." Speaking of benefits, Qi Yuan had his own complaints. Of the school's thirty-odd teachers, more than ten had received money for marking papers, but he had received none. It was unfair.

In state-run work units, fairness mattered most, especially fairness in benefits, which many people took extremely seriously. The distribution of power was up to the leadership, and graft and corruption depended on individual ability; only benefits belonged to everyone. Even someone pocketing hundreds of yuan a month would get angry if they discovered that the cutlassfish their work unit gave them was smaller than everyone else's.

Zhao Dannian grunted, but did not pursue the matter of marking papers. Instead, he turned to Yang Rui and asked, "Where are the evaluation forms?"

"Burned them," Yang Rui answered crisply.

"Burned them?" Zhao Dannian frowned and asked again, "Why did you burn them?"

"It was my first time organizing this. I was nervous." Yang Rui gave a brilliant smile, revealing straight, snow-white teeth. His sunny smile instantly drew the attention of quite a few female students.

Even an old man like Zhao Dannian had to admit that Yang Rui had a charming smile.

In this world that judged people by their looks, being handsome did have its uses. Take the handsome Wang Jingwei, the handsome Zhang Xueliang, the handsome Zhou Yu, the handsome Qu Yuan... all had become high officials and made something of themselves~

After pondering for a moment, Zhao Dannian waved his hand and said, "Students, disperse. You, come with me."

His hands-off strategy seemed to have failed. He was ready to have a proper talk with Yang Rui.

"Sure," Yang Rui replied, then called out, "Everyone, go home. Rui Study Group, come to school early tomorrow."

Without needing any further instructions, the students scattered in a rush.

While Zhao Dannian was still surprised, Yang Rui spoke. "As it happens, I wanted to talk to you about something too."

"Huh?" The principal was puzzled. He really had never seen a student as lively as Yang Rui.

Paying that no mind, Yang Rui thought for a moment and said, "I chatted with Section Chief Xiong today. He's already agreed to drill two wells and build an open drainage channel for us. Also, I asked him to do something about our pit latrines, preferably turn them into flush toilets. He said he'd have to consider that one."

Zhao Dannian's gaze sharpened. "He agreed to drill the wells and build the channel?"

"He did."

"How did you get him to agree?" Zhao Dannian had quite a reputation in Xibao Town and some friends in the county, yet he had simply been unable to get past Section Chief Xiong, the gatekeeper. That made him all the more curious about how Yang Rui had done it.

Facing the old man's curious gaze, Yang Rui spread his hands and answered, "I just said I knew County Magistrate Luo, and he agreed."

"You lied to him?" Zhao Dannian's eyebrows shot up.

Yang Rui's eyebrows rose too. "How is that lying?"

"Letting him misunderstand is lying too. Didn't you stop to think what you'd do if he asked you to arrange a meeting with County Magistrate Luo?"

"Just because he asks, I have to arrange it?" Yang Rui curled his lip.

"Once he's done something for you, can you really refuse?"

"You did something for Section Chief Xiong too..." The moment the words left his mouth, Yang Rui knew he had made a mistake.

Sure enough, Zhao Dannian's face immediately darkened.

It was not easy for Xibao Middle School to free up an authorized staff position. Some of its teachers were still substitute teachers. Although Section Chief Xiong had handled the whole series of arrangements to grant Qi Yuan cadre status and make him a teacher, Zhao Dannian's approval had still been necessary. This sort of exchange of favors did not sound very good to begin with, let alone when the other party had strung him along.

Fortunately, Yang Rui was still a student. Putting on a righteous air, he said, "I can't stand people like Section Chief Xiong, who make promises and don't follow through. I gave him a good talking-to today."

"You should be thinking about how to apologize. Whatever else Old Xiong may be, he only has to ask around to find out you have no connection to County Magistrate Luo..." Zhao Dannian did not probe Yang Rui's words further. Instead, he began considering what was best for him. Whatever else, he was a student at his school.

Only now did Yang Rui understand. He smiled and said, "County Magistrate Luo is from Xizhaizi Township. I even used to play at his house when I was little. We saw each other over the New Year too. His boy is my age, and we used to be classmates, just like my dad and County Magistrate Luo."

Only then did Zhao Dannian understand, and he nodded slightly.

"You need to keep following up and try to get us the flush toilets too," Yang Rui reminded him.

"I'll go to the county tomorrow." Zhao Dannian nodded decisively.

"If he can get us flush toilets and really wants to meet County Magistrate Luo, I can arrange it." Yang Rui wanted something other than pit latrines more than anyone.

Zhao Dannian continued nodding happily.

Watching his expression, Yang Rui finally asked, "Oh, right. What did you want to talk to me about?"

The principal opened his mouth and said, "Nothing much. Be more careful about how you do things. Make sure you maintain unity with the teachers and your fellow students, and stop doing things to play to the crowd..."

That last part counted as fairly stern criticism.

Yang Rui agreed with a cheerful smile. As for what he really thought, no one knew.