Chapter 35 Fixing Light Bulbs Collectively

to take the risk and stayed on in the trading company. However, within just a couple of years, the company was no longer sustainable and finally collapsed. She had no choice but to accept the buyout p...Chapter 35 Collective Light Bulb Replacement

The month of August not only brought news of the results from various primary, secondary, and tertiary schools but also reports of widespread flooding across the country. Although this disaster did not erupt suddenly, it was certainly a stark reminder.

However, life in Xiahai City, which wasn't hit as severely by the floods, continued as usual. Nevertheless, TV news broadcasts were filled with heartwarming stories about military and civilian flood control efforts from different regions.

Su Can knew that even if he could predict this natural disaster ahead of time, it was something beyond his immediate power to change. Or at least, in the short term, he couldn't alter the course of events because it wasn't solely due to the wrath of nature; human activities like deforestation and long-term erosion also contributed significantly.

This flood undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to officials from the Ministry of Water Resources who had underestimated the likelihood of significant flooding over the next three years, causing them to be rattled.

Flood control became the central theme across the nation in August.

Meanwhile, under his mother’s guidance and accompanied by his uncle, Su Can arrived at the administration building of City No.1 High School. Although it was vacation time for teachers, administrative departments continued to operate even during holidays, albeit on a flexible schedule.

During this critical period of enrollment, the administration building saw an influx of people.

When Su Can and others arrived, his uncle Zeng Quanming looked around and recognized quite a few individuals. There was Xiao Wang, a fourth-level procurator from the city’s procuratorate whom he had interacted with before; Lu Dahai, the investor in Construction Street's commercial square, who brought along his daughter; and Lao Zhang, deputy director of the city’s administration bureau. To Zeng Quanming's surprise, even his rival Xiao Fei, the head of the city’s tendering office, was present. There were many others as well. These people hadn't expected to meet so coincidentally on this particular day; it was already awkward enough that they seemed to be just chatting and exchanging pleasantries while in reality their conversations lacked genuine connection.

Well, it turns out that even today, Zeng Quanming, the notoriously ill-tempered man, has also arrived.

It seems these people are all trying to secure an easier admission for their children or relatives into this prestigious high school. There's naturally a fair amount of recommendation involved as well; however, most of them don't have the clout where they can simply make a phone call and get things done.

Dean Tian Feng is a fifty-year-old middle-aged man with slightly balding hair, protruding eyes, and wearing glasses. He has a habit of rolling his eyeballs around their sockets, giving an impression that he's somewhat crafty to have climbed up to the position of dean.

Lately, Tian Feng seems to be experiencing some personal value inflation. With all sorts of influential individuals coming forward for admission issues related to their relatives or children, who generally don't have very high scores—some even far below the cutoff score—it’s unreasonable to expect the school to admit them. However, in principle, exceptions can always be made, especially when dealing with important city figures.

Having dealt with people from top-tier city officials down to regular staff members of various agencies, Tian Feng has developed quite a confident demeanor. After signing off on the admission recommendation for the nephew of the deputy mayor, he even gave him a hearty pat on the back and invited him out for drinks.

Even the市委書記 (city party secretary) is well acquainted with him, making connections at the same level. How could Tian Feng not feel proud

In light of this, even when facing these大大小小的官員 (various officials), he remains calm and composed, sometimes even acting arrogantly. As an example, after Xiao Fei, the head of the city planning office, just resolved his daughter Xiao Yunyun's admission issue—without having to pay extra—he thought about Zeng Quanming who was waiting outside and said slyly to Tian Feng, "I see that Zeng Quanming has also come calling. If you can avoid dealing with him, please do so. This man doesn't have much of a future; the city already has enough troublemakers... being too close to him isn't beneficial..."

Xiao Fei left it at that and stepped out of the door, looking at Zeng Quanming who was standing outside for once broke into an unusual smile, though tinged with amusement.

Su Can, his mother Zeng Ke, and his uncle Zeng Quanming entered Dean Tian Feng's office. Tian Feng welcomed them with a squint in his eyes. Xiao Fei’s position in the bidding department wasn’t particularly noteworthy on its own, but because his father-in-law was handling a road construction project near Xia Hai city which required coordination through Xiao Fei’s department, they became acquainted. This time around, he didn't have to spend an extra dime and managed to resolve the admission issue for his daughter, Xiao Yunyun.

Tian Feng naturally couldn't completely follow Xiao Fei's suggestion, after all, Ceng Quanming was still the director of the municipal planning office. Refusing to give him face would be foolish on his part. However, he did become slightly arrogant and showed a certain expression, leading people to say that Ceng Quanming was an incorruptible official who dared to openly curse superiors when dissatisfied. Tian Feng also wanted to show some disdain towards this "black-faced god."

Moreover, if he made things difficult for Ceng Quanming in a high-profile manner and then quietly let it go at the end, perhaps even this intimidating "black-faced god" would feel grateful toward him.

"Oh, 645 points. However, his application wasn't filled out with our school..." When Tian Feng saw Su Cen's case file, he was initially shocked. The boy had impressive scores; such outstanding students were exactly what No.1 High School sought after. In reality, the application form was just a piece of paper—their insistence on admitting him would leave Third Middle School powerless to stop it, as they couldn't compete with personal choice.

Of course, Tian Feng didn’t show this outwardly; he merely frowned and said, "Oh my, that’s quite problematic... He didn’t list us in his application..." Then he got up, walked over to the water dispenser for a cup of tea, before slowly returning to his desk.

He hadn't heard back from Ceng Quanming yet.

Ceng Quanming had never endured such disrespect. Wherever he went, people spoke politely to him, and now not only was no tea offered but even the chairs weren’t moved for them to sit on. Since they arrived, Tian Feng had been acting indifferent and reading newspapers—how relaxed he seemed.

"Tell Principal Sun that if a student with such scores isn't accepted by any school, it means those admitted from outside who barely meet the requirements have an unfair advantage! Su Cen's qualifications are more than sufficient for No.1 High School!" Despite his authoritative tone, Ceng Quanming didn’t realize this was him seeking help rather than others coming to him for favors. Apart from Su Cen, he likely had never taken such initiative before.

Tian Feng immediately became annoyed, thinking that if the other party softened up later, why did they now start yelling at him He hated it when people brought Principal Sun into their arguments; Sun was his former colleague at No.1 High School and even younger than him. After twenty years in education, Tian Feng had only managed to become an assistant principal, while Sun used that time to climb up to the position of principal.

He certainly wouldn’t share these resentments with others; on the surface, he maintained a facade of being close friends and brothers with Sun for twenty years. But his anger towards Sun grew stronger each time he heard him speak at meetings, feeling envious inside.

Now, with Ceng Quanming's words hitting a sore spot, and considering that the director of the planning office wasn't someone worth mentioning in front of him—after all, even the市委書記had tea and meals with him—who does Ceng Quanming think he is

This led to an immediate outburst from him. The two exchanged heated words, clashing instantly without either side conceding. Moreover, since Uncle Ceng was known for his foul temper, even Mom Ceng seemed at a loss.

Tian Feng's forehead veins bulged as he glared with eyes protruding behind thick glasses, making him look rather menacing.

"What do you want What are you trying to achieve!" Tian Feng slammed his hand on the table when agitated, his voice rising to an almost shrill pitch typical of a woman's: "Do you expect me to compromise my integrity for your benefit Hmph!"

The sound echoed in the long corridor outside. The faces of the cadre’s children waiting there turned even more awkward as they realized this was precisely what they had come for—hardly expecting someone would drag their families here just to fix a light bulb. What was wrong with Tian Feng

Then came an outpouring of accusations from Tian Feng: "Let me tell you, regardless of your status as a national cadre, do you think that gives you the right to go against school policies or break rules I don't believe in such nonsense!" At this moment, Tian Feng thought Xiao Fei was on his side and would certainly take a stand against Uncle Ceng.

The conflict between Uncle Ceng and Tian Feng at the Educational Affairs Office escalated until Mom Ceng feared things might get out of hand, so she persuaded Uncle Ceng to leave. The meeting ended in an unpleasant manner. Those waiting outside saw this commotion and decided to leave, planning to return another day since Tian Feng's accusations had left them embarrassed.

Shortly after the Su family departed, Tian Feng continued pointing at the office door and shouting angrily: "He won't step into the First Middle School’s gates! I'll see about that! We’ll just wait and see what tricks Ceng Quanming has up his sleeve. What does he think a planning office director is"...thout any political upheaval.Su Licheng was clearly persuaded by Su Cai's argument. As a father and the head of the household, he had authority, but after seeing his son’s performance, he no longer th...