What's wrong with me, a school principal, listening to students' suggestions?

The developers of Jinxiu Residential Area are eyeing the land near No. 13 Middle School.

Liu Jianguo wanted to merge with No. 13 Middle School to free up land, while Qian Wenhua wanted to swallow up No. 13 Middle School's student body to maintain its academic ranking.

The two of them were on the same page, which is why they were so determined to fight Lin Yucai.

However, the prerequisite for the merger is that No. 13 Middle School does not have enough students.

Not only did No. 13 Middle School recruit enough students, it also poached promising students from No. 1 Middle School.

This is equivalent to Lin Yucai supporting himself on the ground with one hand while poking Qian Wenhua in the waist with the other.

"Old Zhou," Qian Wenhua sat down again, his voice turning serious, "Go and spread a message."

"What news?"

"Just tell them the college entrance exam results for No. 13 Middle School are coming out soon, and tell parents to wait for the results before filling out their college applications." Qian Wenhua's eyes gleamed with calculation. "It's a bottom-tier school; its foundation is what it is. How good can its results be?"

"Once those terrible results are released, let's see how many parents will dare to fill in their children's applications."

Old Zhou thought about it for a moment and felt that this was a clever and underhanded move.

You don't need to take the initiative yourself; you just need to send a message to the parents' group saying, "Wait a little longer."

Parents tend to be hesitant and wait for the results; a simple "wait for the results" is enough to make many people put down their pens.

"I'll take care of it right away." Old Zhou stood up.

"Remember, don't use the name of No. 1 Middle School," Qian Wenhua instructed. "Just get a few parents to spread the word."

Old Zhou responded and turned to leave.

Qian Wenhua leaned back in his chair, looked out the window at the impressive teaching building of No. 1 Middle School, and slowly let out a sigh of relief.

Lin Yucai, you are quite capable.

But no one can get around the hurdle of college entrance exam scores.

He didn't believe that Lin Yucai could make up for the bottom of No. 13 Middle School in just six months, having been at the bottom for more than a decade.

As soon as the results are bad, this wave of enrollment fever will recede completely, like the tide going out.

……

The news about Qian Wenhua was released quietly, but it had an effect.

Two days later, the number of students intending to enroll at No. 13 Middle School stagnated for the first time.

The price rose by 30 or 40 yuan every few days, but this morning it only rose by 6 yuan.

"Principal, something's not right."

Ma Desheng was the first to sense something was wrong and rushed into the office with the data sheet in hand.

"Six people came this morning, and there were more than twenty yesterday afternoon."

He slammed the watch on the table, then realized the movement was too forceful and quickly laid it flat.

Lin Yucai stared at the flattened curve without saying a word.

"Someone is probably stirring up trouble."

"I was browsing parent groups this morning, and several groups were all saying the same thing."

Su Qingyan took the watch from the side and looked at it, her expression darkening.

"What did you say?" Lin Yucai asked.

Su Qingyan handed over the phone.

The screen displays a chat log from a parents' group chat, in which an account with a blurry profile picture says:

"No. 13 Middle School is good, but the college entrance exam results haven't been released yet. What if it's just a facade?"

"I suggest we wait until the results are out before making a decision."

A string of agreement followed.

"That's right. It's a big deal for our children's future. We can't just look at how nice the cafeteria is."

"I also think it's safer to wait and see."

After reading it, Lin Yucai returned the phone, his face expressionless.

"That's a clever way to put it. It doesn't criticize us or spread rumors; it just advises parents to wait."

"In these few days, No. 1 Middle School will be able to take the person back," Su Qingyan added.

Ma Desheng became anxious: "Then what do we do? The college entrance exam results won't be out so quickly, we can't just wait around."

No one spoke for a moment in the office.

This tactic is indeed much more insidious than the previous folded webpage trick.

Webpage folding is an obvious way to block content, but short videos can turn the tables on it.

This time, they planted a seed of "wait and see" in people's hearts, leaving no room for doubt, and specifically targeting the weaknesses that parents care about most.

The fact that the college entrance examination results haven't been released yet is the biggest weakness of No. 13 Middle School at present.

Lin Yucai walked to the window and looked at the children who had arrived early to register on the playground.

He suddenly laughed.

"Since he's asking the parents to wait for the results, let's show them something more substantial than the grades."

Su Qingyan looked up: "What is it?"

"Teacher," Lin Yucai uttered two words, "What are parents afraid of? They're afraid that we only know how to provide benefits, but don't have good teachers who can teach, so the grades won't improve."

"Then I'll let them see for themselves whether the teachers at No. 13 Middle School are any good or not."

Parents are never afraid of an unattractive cafeteria; they are afraid that their children will not learn anything there.

Lin Yucai understood this principle very well.

Qian Wenhua's phrase "wait for the results" is so poignant precisely because it hits this nerve.

The No. 13 Middle School has renovated its facilities and improved its reputation, but the quality of its teachers has never been a topic of discussion.

To outsiders, how good could the teachers be at a school that's been at the bottom for over a decade?

"Are our teachers really up to par?"

Lin Yucai called Su Qingyan and Ma Desheng together and asked them directly.

"The foundations are uneven."

Su Qingyan thought for a moment and gave a practical answer.

"Some of them are truly talented; they graduated from prestigious schools back then, but they've been buried in No. 13 Middle School for so long that their ambition has been worn away."

"There are also a few who are just coasting along, simply reading from the textbook in class."

Lin Yucai nodded; this was similar to what he had observed before.

"How many of them can actually be taught well?"

"If I count carefully, there are five or six," Su Qingyan said. "Teacher Zhao in math, Sister Qian in Chinese, and Teacher Wu in physics—these are all really good teachers."

"Especially Old Zhao, who used to teach the top-performing class at the city's key high school, was transferred to No. 13 Middle School after a family incident, and he hasn't mentioned it all these years."

Lin Yucai's eyes lit up.

"You've coached a high-achieving class before?"

"Yes, he never says it himself." Su Qingyan sighed. "At No. 13 Middle School, even good teachers have no ambition. Anyway, the students don't study, so it doesn't matter whether you teach well or badly."

This statement gets to the heart of the matter.

The teacher isn't incapable; he's just lost his energy because of this stagnant situation.

If students don't study, teachers will be too lazy to teach.

Teachers are too lazy to teach, and students are even less willing to learn.

This vicious cycle, like the elite selection process at No. 1 High School, is two sides of the same coin.

"Then let's reignite their spirits." Lin Yucai tapped on the table.

"How much?" Ma Desheng asked.

"Let's hold a public class," Lin Yucai said. "Taking advantage of the large number of parents visiting these days, let's hold a few real public classes so that parents can sit in the classroom and see firsthand how the teacher teaches."

"No staged photos, no rehearsals, just the usual routine."

Upon hearing this, Su Qingyan's eyes lit up at first, but then she frowned.

"The idea is good, but there's a problem," she said. "Old Zhao and his family have lost their confidence over the years. Do you think they dare to say it in front of a room full of parents?"

"If I mess up the presentation, it might just confirm what people are saying outside."

This is a real difficulty.

There are good teachers, but they haven't had that drive in their hearts for too long, and they may not be able to pick it up again.

Lin Yucai didn't answer immediately. He walked around the office twice and then suddenly stopped.

Where is Lao Zhao now?

"At this hour, I should be in the office grading papers."

"Let's go see him."