RYEY -Chapter 378 Bold and Decisive

Cheng Qiao awkwardly touched her nose, feeling embarrassed as she looked at the grandfather and granddaughter of the Shen family. Stammering, she suggested, “How about we first recruit some nurses or intern doctors to come in and let them receive some training?”

Shen Sanleng glanced at the dilapidated school. Right now, it wasn’t just the Wuwei People’s Hospital that was short on medical staff— even the military district hospital was starting to feel the strain.

Sometimes it wasn’t a matter of lacking people, but rather that those who came to help were almost useless and divided their energy. At this rate, it was better to quietly focus on proper training.

“That’s a good idea. But we’ll need to raise funds to repair the school. I’ll write the application this afternoon,” Shen Sanleng said.

“Alright. Principal Shen, you write the application. I’ll gather materials for repairing the school. Shen Ying can handle recruiting some nurses and intern doctors. But I hope we can hire those truly committed to the practice of Chinese medicine.”

“What about teachers?”

Cheng Qiao didn’t reply, instead looking at Shen Sanleng. He shook his head helplessly—teaching was his weakest skill. On-site teaching would be more effective; sometimes practical lessons were better than dry theoretical ones.

“When I graduate next year, I’ll stay at the school as a teacher. At least I can help share the burden. At the same time, we should also recruit some experienced senior Chinese medicine practitioners.”

Shen Sanleng nodded repeatedly. Many apprentices had come from his family, and some had become talented. Tomorrow, he would reach out to them—if they were willing, they could come and help.

Thinking of this, much of the pressure on him immediately lifted. Ever since he took on this task, he hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep for two months.

No money, no people—just a principal and one student. Could this even be called a school? Yet above, beyond some documents and a brief statement, nobody cared—they left him to figure it out on his own.

What choice did he have? This wasn’t the Shen family of over a decade ago. Though he couldn’t command the wind and rain, he still had some economic power and connections.

“Principal, I’ll first get some people to gather firewood and replace the broken doors and windows. We’ll also need glass and desks and chairs. There’s so much to do,” Cheng Qiao said.

At this moment, she deeply missed Li Huan. If he were here, he would have started immediately. Unlike her, her mind raced, but her hands stayed idle.

“Alright, let’s each handle our part. We won’t start classes for the first half of the semester. Once conditions are right, we’ll begin.”

Shen Sanleng finally understood why the higher-ups hadn’t done anything—they knew Cheng Qiao had a solution. In that case, they could act boldly and decisively.

The three of them hurriedly left the school. Cheng Qiao immediately sought out Xiao Dan. In Wuwei, a place unfamiliar to her, besides Cheng Liguo and Li Bing, Xiao Dan was the only option.

“Xiao Dan, can you contact your dad and have him find people to help repair the school? I can pay them daily wages.”

“Really? That’s awesome! I have a day off tomorrow; I’ll go tonight!”

At the mention of money, Xiao Dan’s eyes lit up. The villagers were secretly busy with side jobs, always active, but their incomes hadn’t increased much.

So whenever they heard there was money to be made, they ran faster than rabbits. He was so excited that he forgot to ask how much and whether meals were included.

“Get more people. I need a lot of timber. If anyone can make adobe bricks, I’ll pay for them too. The school is in terrible shape; it at least needs to shelter us from the wind and rain.”

“I’ll have my dad take some people to the mountains to chop trees, and some people here to repair the building. Everyone will have work to do, that’s fine.”

“Hey, don’t run off! I haven’t finished yet.”

Cheng Qiao called after him. This kid was too reckless. What if his dad asked about the wages—how would he answer?

“The daily wage is originally one yuan, but I won’t provide meals, so I’ll add fifty cents per day. As for adobe bricks, I’ll pay the market price.”

“One yuan a day? Oh my…”

Xiao Dan’s allowance had increased to twenty-eight yuan a month. He gave twenty to his family and saved eight for the future—planning to get married someday.

He hadn’t expected Second Sister-in-law to casually offer one yuan fifty cents per day! He didn’t care about anything else and ran straight to his dorm to prepare to go home.

“Dad, take Little Chengli to school tomorrow to register. During this period, I leave him in your care. Your daughter is unfilial, unable to let you live well, and yet I’m making you help with the child.”

“Silly child, you’re my pride. I can’t help you, and Little Chengli is the root of our Cheng family. You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

“Grandpa…”

Little Chengli’s eyes filled with tears as he looked at Cheng Liguo. He felt so warm inside. His whole family loved him—parents, grandparents, older siblings—they were all sincere.

“Be good. Your mom is busy. The best help you can give her is for us grandpa and grandson to take care of ourselves.”

“Okay, Mom, you go ahead. I’ll study hard and improve every day.”

Cheng Qiao hugged Chengli, then turned to leave. In a secluded place, she pulled out a bicycle and rode toward the Qilian Mountains.

Driving would take over an hour; cycling would take longer. Fortunately, Cheng Qiao had strong stamina, and by noon she had reached the foot of the mountains.

The green pine trees there would be materials for the school repairs. She closed her eyes, calmed her mind, and began to scan the surrounding area with her consciousness.

Aside from the wind, she could hear rustling leaves and small animals moving in the distance. With a flick of her wrist, a giant eagle appeared above her.

A sharp, high-pitched eagle call rang out. The sea-eagle soared into the sky, its keen eyes scanning every place it flew over, scaring a rabbit that had just peeked out back into hiding.

Watching the eagle soar freely, Cheng Qiao felt it had been too restrained in the space. Aside from Xiangyang Mountain, there was no place where it could spread its wings without restraint.

As it flew farther until it became just a small dot, Cheng Qiao took an axe from her space and began chopping.

So many pine trees! She set a goal for herself: before sunset, she must fell ten pines, or she wouldn’t rest.

She drank some water from the space, picked up the axe, and channeled all her strength into her hands. With one swing, she cut nearly half of a trunk that a person couldn’t embrace.

Her confidence surged. She swung the axe—one, two, three times—then again. The pine finally fell, quickly collected into her space. Her eyes immediately fixed on the next tree.

One after another, she worked in cycles. When tired, she drank water from the space; when hungry, she ate a steaming bowl of fried-egg noodles, then continued chopping trees.