After talking with Jin Shulin, the old principal, for a long time, Gu Bai had a rough understanding of the dire situation faced by these 21 impoverished schools, explained simply in four words: internal issues and external threats.
The internal issue is that the salary for volunteer teachers compared to current income levels is absurdly low. In 2017, even a sanitation worker in a city earned at least 2000 a month, while a volunteer teacher in Xuyong County only received 600. Those who stay as volunteer teachers in Xuyong County can be said to be truly driven by love.
It is precisely for this reason that fewer and fewer teachers are willing to come to Xuyong County to volunteer. Orıginal content can be found at 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝙣𝙚𝙩
The external problem is even simpler; the area is too impoverished. Generally, students drop out voluntarily at a young age to farm or work to contribute to the family expenses. For them, the word ’school’ is merely a luxury, and this issue can only be solved fundamentally. Even if Gu Bai’s donation can improve the teaching conditions of these 21 schools, it can’t keep them in school.
The more he learned, the heavier Gu Bai’s heart became.
At the end of the conversation, Gu Bai found an excuse to leave Jin Shulin’s lounge and went to a corner to light a cigarette.
Doing charity is always easier said than done, but when you are actually in the situation, difficulties follow one after another.
Originally, Gu Bai only planned to an amount to each of the 21 schools and be done with it after fulfilling the task completion requirement, but after hearing Jin Shulin’s words, he completely changed his mind.
Regardless of his initial intentions, at this moment, Gu Bai genuinely wanted to do something for these children.
Gu Bai extinguished the cigarette butt and called out to Yi Jiahui.
Hearing Gu Bai’s call, Yi Jiahui quickly ran over.
"Chairman Gu, what are your instructions?"
Gu Bai waved his hand: "Let me ask you something, how much would it cost to build several hope elementary schools here in Xuyong County?"
Although puzzled about why Gu Bai asked this question, Yi Jiahui quickly replied: "The transportation environment in Xuyong County is too poor, building hope elementary schools here would undoubtedly increase the costs significantly, but for specific costs, we need a professional to do an evaluation.
And such things must be negotiated with the local government, because building schools requires government approval to allocate land."
"I plan to build five hope elementary schools and one middle school here, relocating all the students from these 21 impoverished schools to the newly built ones. Please pass this message directly to the foundation’s foreign affairs director, and have them communicate with the local government to implement it as soon as possible."
Swift action has always been Gu Bai’s way of doing things.
After carefully considering it, Gu Bai realized that all the issues could be resolved with money, so to him, it was not a problem anymore.
Although doing so would seriously affect the speed of task completion and cost more money, at this point in time, time and money had become unimportant; having decided to do something, it must be done perfectly.
As they talked, bursts of crisp, childish laughter came from inside the classroom.
Gu Bai waved to signal Yi Jiahui to leave, lightening his footsteps, he slowly walked to the window.
The window was full of cracks, but at least it could keep the wind and rain out.
Through the glass, Gu Bai saw the simple smiles on those young faces, chattering around Yan Shen.
"Teacher Yan, can you draw one for me, too? I want to show it to my parents when they come back. They will be very happy to know the teacher helped me draw!"
"And me, and me! I also want one!"
Listening to the buzzing voices beside him, like buzzing bees, Yan Shen gently brushed away the hair on her forehead and softly said, "Didn’t you forget the promise with the teacher? As long as you score 80 in the exam, I will draw for you, if you want me to draw, you should keep your grades up."
The tone was no longer cold like when talking with Gu Bai; every word was filled with infinite gentleness.
Seeing such a scene, Gu Bai couldn’t help taking out his phone to snap a picture. In the photo, Yan Shen held the drawing board with one hand, painting with a single hand, and her smile outshone all the beautiful scenery in the world.
"Doesn’t the teacher know, besides Zhang Yanyan, we’ve all scored over 80!"
A little child standing next to Yan Shen proudly said.
After this was said, a little girl sitting in the corner couldn’t help but bury her small head in her arms.
It was only then that Gu Bai discovered there was such an unsociable child sitting in the corner, not joining the other students in clamoring around Yan Shen.
The attentive Yan Shen also noticed the small figure in the corner, realizing she had said something wrong, quickly changed her words: "You don’t have to get 80. As long as you study hard, I’ll draw for each of you!"
Only after hearing Yan Shen’s words did the small head tentatively peek out, cautiously watching the lively scene not far away.
As Gu Bai secretly observed the classroom scene, Yi Jiahui came over to Gu Bai once again.
"President Gu, Zhuang Kexin is here with supplies."
Gu Bai turned his head and saw Zhuang Kexin and a few foundation staff carrying large bags and small bags not far away, and immediately walked over.
Seeing these people drenched in sweat, Gu Bai asked, "Did you all carry these things over?"