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

July 11th.

The buzz surrounding the phenomenal college entrance examination results of No. 13 Middle School hasn't died down yet, but new problems have already arisen.

At 10 a.m., Lin Yucai had just sat down in his office when Ma Desheng pushed the door open and came in, clutching a stack of business cards.

"Principal, three groups of people have arrived at the gate."

"Who is it?"

"From universities." Ma Desheng spread the business cards on the table. "One is from the admissions office of the Tomato Provincial University of Science and Technology, another from the Provincial Normal University, and the third is the regional admissions officer for the northern Beijing area."

"Everyone says they want to see you to discuss the targeted recommendation of outstanding graduates from No. 13 Middle School."

Lin Yucai picked up the business cards, flipped through them, and raised an eyebrow.

They came fast enough.

The results were just released yesterday afternoon, and the university came knocking on our door first thing this morning.

These people have a keen sense of smell, even more so than hunting dogs; wherever a dark horse emerges, they're there.

"Have them wait in the reception room; I'll see them one by one."

"There's one more thing," Ma Desheng said with a slightly subtle expression. "Besides the people from the university, two admissions directors from high schools have also come."

"High school? What are you doing at No. 13 Middle School?"

"They said they wanted to come for an exchange and learning session." Ma Desheng gave him a knowing look.

Lin Yucai understood immediately.

The exchange and learning were just a pretense; their real purpose was to find out what teaching methods No. 13 Middle School actually used.

Achieving a 91% undergraduate admission rate from 173 students is a figure that would seem unbelievable to any education professional.

Whether driven by normal curiosity or ulterior motives, these visitors must be received.

"Let's deal with the university staff first," Lin Yucai said, tidying up the documents on his desk. "For the high school staff, let Vice Principal Su handle them."

Ma Desheng accepted the order and left.

The first person to enter was the deputy director of the admissions office of Tomato Provincial University of Science and Technology, a woman in her early forties.

Her surname was Fang, and she was dressed in a smart gray suit skirt. As soon as she entered, she handed out her business card with a professional yet warm smile.

"Principal Lin, I've heard so much about you." After sitting down, Deputy Director Fang went straight to the point, "To be honest, we saw the results data of No. 13 Middle School yesterday afternoon, and the entire admissions office held a meeting overnight."

"Among the students from your school who scored above the first-tier university admission line this year, how many top science students have scores high enough for our school's admission line?" "We'd like to discuss whether we can establish a long-term channel for recommending high-quality students."

Lin Yucai picked up his teacup, took a sip, and didn't answer immediately.

"Director Fang, our school has a total of 173 senior students this year," he said slowly. "Next year, the number of senior students may be even smaller."

"If your school is sincere, I would like to discuss more than just these few students from this year."

Deputy Director Fang's eyes lit up.

"What does Principal Lin mean?"

"The cooperation framework should be long-term." Lin Yucai put down his cup. "I hope your school can give No. 13 Middle School a certain number of recommendation slots every year, so that we can go through the independent enrollment channel instead of the unified enrollment competition."

"In exchange, No. 13 Middle School can serve as a source of high-quality students for your school, giving priority to recommending qualified students."

After listening, Deputy Director Fang quickly jotted down a few notes in his notebook.

"We can offer this level of sincerity." She nodded. "I'll discuss the specific number of slots and conditions with my superiors and get back to you within three days."

"it is good."

The first one was sent away, followed by the one from the Provincial Normal University.

The people from the teachers' college were more direct; they had their eyes on Chen Yu.

"Chen Yu scored 504 points, and our school was her first choice." The person who came in smiled broadly. "We've reviewed this student's file, and her academic improvement is astonishing. Our school would like to offer her a freshman entrance scholarship."

"How much?" Lin Yucai asked.

"8000 per academic year, for four consecutive years."

"Okay, you can talk to the student and her parents directly about this." Lin Yucai waved his hand. "I can't make decisions here, but I can help you contact Chen Yu and her mother."

The third person was the regional admissions officer of a key university in northern Beijing. He was a young man with gold-rimmed glasses and a refined demeanor.

His first words upon entering the room immediately perked Lin Yucai up.

"Principal Lin, before I came here I checked the highest score at No. 13 Middle School, the student with 587 points."

"Her name is Wang Siqing, she is in Class 2 of the third year of high school, she got a perfect score in math and 272 in the combined science subjects."

"Our school's estimated admission score in Tomato Province this year is 583."

"I want to speak with this student in person."

Lin Yucai put down his teacup and sat up straight.

587.

Wang Siqing.

He remembered the name.

There was a very quiet girl in Class 2 of the third year of high school. She didn't have a strong presence, but she always ranked among the top students in every exam.

He barely spoke to her alone.

But this time she got the highest score in the whole school, which is also the highest score that No. 13 Middle School has produced in recent years.

"Sure," Lin Yucai nodded, "but if you want to hire her, you have to state your conditions."

"Scholarships, the right to choose a major, academic mentor pairing... all of these must be provided."

"She's a student from No. 13 Middle School, not a cabbage in the market. If you want to take her away, you'll have to show the utmost sincerity."

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses smiled and pushed up his glasses.

"Principal Lin, rest assured, we prepared all these plans before we came."

……

Lin Yucai's throat was hoarse from talking so much after receiving three groups of university visitors that morning.

At noon, he took his lunch to the cafeteria and found it even more lively than during the Chinese New Year.

Almost all the senior high school students were there.

Some were sharing their college application plans with classmates, some were calling university admissions hotlines on their phones, and a few were taking a group photo.

Chen Yu sat in her usual spot by the window, a bowl of braised pork rice in front of her, and was enjoying her meal.

A middle-aged woman was sitting next to her; she was clearly her mother.

It's obvious they came from home today.

Her mother held a bowl of chicken soup, wiping away tears as she drank, each sip of soup accompanied by a stream of tears.

"Young lady, this soup is for drinking, not for making you cry."

Zhou Dahai poked half his head out of the kitchen window and shouted with a laugh.

Chen Yu's mother was so amused that she stopped crying and started laughing. "I'm so sorry, I'm so happy."

"headmaster."

Chen Yu stood up as Lin Yucai carried the food past them.

"Um?"

Chen Yu took a piece of paper out of her school uniform pocket, folded it in half, and handed it to him.

"What is this?"

You'll see when you get there.

Lin Yucai took it and opened it.

The note contained only one line of text, written in neat blue ballpoint pen.

"Thank you for making me feel like I'm not someone who's been abandoned."

He folded the note and put it in his shirt pocket.

"Let's go eat," he said. "Braised pork doesn't taste good when it's cold."

Chen Yu smiled and sat back down, stuffing the meat into her mouth.

……

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Su Qingyan returned from the reception room with a notebook in her hand.

She knocked on Lin Yucai's office door and then came in.

"Did you take care of those two high school students this morning?" Lin Yucai looked up.

"They've been sent away." Su Qingyan put her notebook on the table. "The dean of studies from No. 3 Middle School in the east of the city and the vice principal of Chengnan Experimental Middle School."

"It's ostensibly a learning and exchange trip, but in reality, it's just a probe."

"They asked me for ages about my teaching methods, class schedule, and whether I used any special teaching aids."

"What was your answer?"

"To be honest," Su Qingyan sat down, tucking her hair behind her ears, "the teachers teach diligently, the students learn diligently, the food in the cafeteria is good, and we sleep well at night."

"What secrets do we have here?"

Lin Yucai chuckled.

This is definitely not a lie.

On the surface, that's really all there is.

The halos given by the system may seem impressive, but they're really just icing on the cake.

The key to these kids' soaring grades was the renewed passion for teaching that Lao Zhao and his colleagues had rekindled, and the students' mindset shift from "just getting by" to "truly wanting to learn" over the past six months.

The halo is just an amplifier; the underlying substance has to be real.

"But there's something I need to tell you."

Su Qingyan's tone changed, becoming more serious.

"What is it?"

"The dean of students at No. 3 Middle School in the east of the city mentioned it to me quietly before he left."

Su Qingyan lowered her voice and moved a few steps closer.

"He said that Liu Jianguo had leaked information within the Education Bureau in the past two days that he would launch a review of the teaching compliance of No. 13 Middle School's college entrance examination results this year."