83: Chapter 83 A God of Wealth Descends from Heaven

"Mom, I understand. Four million is already quite a lot..."

Li Dakang gripped the phone, his voice tinged with exhaustion: "Mm, I will find a way. Please don't worry."

After hanging up on his mother, Li Dakang leaned heavily back against his chair.

His mother, Department Director Zhou Lan, was a department head at the Ministry of Education. Through her connections, he had just secured a rural education assistance fund of four million from the Ministry of Education.

Yet even so, even including the matching funds from the county and township, there was still a gap before reaching the goal of six million.

Li Dakang rubbed his temples, his gaze landing on the school renovation plan on his desk.

In the report submitted yesterday by Deputy Township Head Zhang Xiaoyan, those shocking figures and photographs seemed to still be flickering before his eyes.

Among the thirteen schools in the township, apart from the Town Middle School where the buildings could still be used after repairs, the school buildings of the remaining eleven village primary schools and one Town Central Primary School all had serious safety hazards.

Problems like cracked walls, subsiding foundations, and leaking roofs were everywhere, and the professional assessment concluded that they all had to be torn down and rebuilt.

Li Dakang had originally envisioned completing the school construction to a high standard in one go to avoid waste caused by repeated investment in the future.

However, after detailed calculations, this beautiful vision encountered the cruel barrier of reality.

The reconstruction cost for one village primary school required at least 200,000 yuan; including the supporting desks, chairs, and teaching equipment, the total investment would reach 400,000 to 500,000 yuan.

The construction standard for a Town Central Primary School was even higher, requiring facilities like laboratories and libraries, with the investment for a single school reaching as high as 700,000 to 800,000 yuan.

Calculating it this way, the total reconstruction budget for all thirteen schools in the township would exceed six million yuan.

What was even more worrying was that the educational predicament in Guantian Township went far beyond the issue of hardware facilities.

Many village primary schools faced a severe shortage of teaching staff; a single class was crammed with over a hundred students, yet there were very few teachers, and teachers who had graduated from professional normal schools were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Therefore, many teachers had to take on multiple roles, teaching both Chinese and mathematics.

Among the substitute teachers, a considerable portion only had a middle school level of education.

The formation of this situation had its historical reasons.

In this era when university students still enjoyed guaranteed job placement, most graduates from formal normal colleges were assigned to county schools, and very few were willing to teach in remote villages.

This was not meant to accuse the teachers of lacking a spirit of dedication, but rather a result of real-life survival pressures.

After all, teachers were also ordinary people who needed to support their families.

If even basic living standards were hard to guarantee, how could one talk about teaching and educating students with peace of mind?

To change this situation, the treatment of rural teachers had to be improved, but this would be another significant fiscal expenditure.

Given the current fiscal situation of Guantian Township, bearing the dual pressure of school reconstruction and teacher improvement was truly beyond its capabilities.

Li Dakang knew well that investment in education could not wait, but where to get the money had become the most thorny problem placed before him.

"Knock, knock, knock." The sound of knocking interrupted Li Dakang's train of thought.

"Come in."

Director Su Zhiguo pushed the door open and entered, holding a stack of documents in his hands: "Secretary, the detailed budget for the renovation of the school buildings in each village is out."

His voice was a bit tight: "According to the standardized construction you requested, the most conservative estimate is 6.5 million."

Li Dakang took the documents; this figure was even a bit higher than he had expected.

He waved his hand: "I know. You go out first, let me sort through this again."

Director Su Zhiguo nodded and closed the door softly; only Li Dakang was left in the office.

He spread out the budget sheet, his fingertips repeatedly tracing the figures in the columns for "School Reconstruction" and "Purchase of Teaching Equipment," and another cigarette butt was added to the ashtray.

6.5 million, 500,000 more than the previous estimate. After the 4 million from the Ministry of Education arrived, how would the remaining gap be filled?

Li Dakang tapped his fingertips on the desk, mentally going through all the fundraising channels he could think of, but not a single one could securely fill the gap.

Just as he was worrying, the phone on his desk suddenly rang.

"Dakang."

The voice of Municipal Party Secretary Guo Zhenhua on the other end of the line carried a smile, much lighter than usual.

"I'm here to tell you some good news."

Li Dakang felt a stir in his heart; could the "good news" at this moment be related to money?

He suppressed the urge to ask immediately and replied in a deep voice: "Uncle Guo, please tell me, I am listening."

Municipal Party Secretary Guo Zhenhua slowed his pace: "There is a Boss Tie who has returned from Taiwan, and he is going to Guantian Township tomorrow. You should prepare for it over there."

Li Dakang's eyes lit up: "Boss Tie?"

"Tie Qichang, a giant in the electronics industry in Taiwan, with assets exceeding 100 million."

Municipal Party Secretary Guo Zhenhua's voice lowered a bit: "Vice Governor Lu, who is in charge of investment attraction, accompanied him for several days of inspections but couldn't close any deals. As it turns out, he suddenly said he wanted to go back to his hometown to take a look, and his hometown is Tieshan Village in your Guantian Township."

Upon hearing this, Li Dakang felt a jolt in his heart, and the hand holding the phone tightened involuntarily.

A Taiwanese businessman with assets over 100 million has his ancestral home in Guantian Township?

Isn't this the God of Wealth dropping from the sky?

His mind was running at high speed.

In this era at the beginning of the Reform and Opening-up, businessmen from Taiwan were undoubtedly the "Golden Phoenixes" that local governments scrambled to attract.