Chapter 269: Chapter 269: University Quota, Yujie Soap Factory

To be honest, after learning about all these things, Gu Qinghuan found it hard to imagine, and she felt deeply sorry for this pitiful man.

The humorous, cheerful, and poised Teacher Lin—who would have thought he also carried such bloody scars? Every step he took was like treading on the tip of a knife, stabbing himself, bleeding endlessly.

There was nothing more to say. If this was what he wanted, then as a friend, all she could do was support him.

Lin Xiaomeng quietly told her that Wan Rong had secretly tried to win over a dozen teachers at the school, persuading them to cast fake votes in hopes of securing this rare university spot.

She even approached Lin Xiaomeng, but Lin Xiaomeng refused her.

Wan Rong had really gone all out this time. Aside from her direct competitors and Gu Qinghuan, she had approached almost everyone else.

Of course, not everyone was buying it. For example, old hands like Chen Fang—her brother was the principal, so there was no way she’d go along with Wan Rong.

There were also people like Lin Xiaomeng, who simply didn’t want to get involved.

But most of the others had been swayed by Wan Rong.

Gu Qinghuan realized her chance for revenge had come, and she could help Lin Muyang at the same time.

Given Lin Muyang’s influence at school, if no one interfered, the spot would definitely be his.

Since Wan Rong wanted to go to university so badly, Gu Qinghuan was determined to destroy the thing she wanted most and give her a fatal blow.

If Wan Rong had gone through the proper channels, Gu Qinghuan wouldn’t have stood in her way. But since Wan Rong was so determined to take shortcuts, she couldn’t blame Gu Qinghuan for being ruthless.

Wan Rong had tried to harm her more than once before. Even though she hadn’t succeeded, it was disgusting enough. Being soft on your enemies is being cruel to yourself.

Gu Qinghuan used her space to hide and, before the election meeting started, secretly took photos of Wan Rong meeting with other teachers—even clearly capturing the exchange of goods.

And it wasn’t just one teacher.

If these photos were handed over to the police station or the commune, Wan Rong’s university dream would be shattered, and her family might even be implicated.

But if she did that, the teachers who colluded with Wan Rong wouldn’t be able to escape blame either.

Most of the teachers at the commune elementary school would be implicated, and the school would have to be reshuffled.

In the end, everyone is just human, with emotions and desires. Selfishness is human nature.

Those who went along with Wan Rong weren’t necessarily bad people—they were just acting in their own interest.

If everyone involved was dismissed because of Wan Rong, where would the school find enough suitable teachers to teach the children?

As things stood, while not every teacher was great, those who remained were the best after rounds of selection.

Gu Qinghuan couldn’t guarantee that a new batch of teachers would be better than the current ones, so she hesitated to make a decision.

Her personal vendetta and the greater good were in direct conflict.

Should she hand over the “evidence” and bring Wan Rong down completely, or let her off for now?

In the end, it was the thought of those lovely children that helped her make up her mind.

Gu Qinghuan decided not to expose the matter for the time being, but Wan Rong could forget about participating in the school’s selection.

Wan Rong loved tattling on others—so Gu Qinghuan decided to give her a taste of her own medicine.

She took the photos straight to Principal Chen.

At first, Principal Chen didn’t believe her, but after questioning the teachers in the photos, he realized something was up.

How could Wan Rong dare to do this?

If this got out, most of the school’s teachers would be implicated. How would the school function then?

Fortunately, Gu Qinghuan was sensible and didn’t want to make a big scene—she just left it for him to handle.

Principal Chen understood that the teachers who took Wan Rong’s bribes weren’t necessarily bad people. They were just afraid of poverty and hardship, with many things in life beyond their control.

He decided, for the sake of the school and the students, to let them off this time.

But he made it clear to those teachers: since it was their first offense, he’d let it slide, but if it happened again, he’d report them immediately.

Wan Rong’s candidacy was revoked. She stormed off to question Principal Chen about the reason.

No one knew exactly what was said, but after that, Wan Rong became much more subdued and never brought up the matter again.

With Wan Rong disqualified, Lin Muyang naturally received the school’s recommendation for the Worker-Peasant-Soldier University spot.

He was outstanding to begin with—just overshadowed in this small place. After a passionate speech, he was almost unanimously voted in. He truly deserved the spot.

Everyone congratulated him.

The election ended, with some happy and others disappointed.

Lin Muyang was a responsible person. Even though he’d been selected for the Worker-Peasant-Soldier University, the two eighth-grade classes were about to take their graduation exams, so he continued to teach them diligently. Besides, the higher-ups still needed time for review.

It would be a few months before he actually started university, so he had to finish teaching these graduating classes.

Everyone was moved by his dedication.

When Gu Qinghuan returned to Xujia Village for the weekend, she learned that their commune’s Worker-Peasant-Soldier University spot had also been decided.

It turned out to be that useless freeloader, Xu Huaiyu.

No need to ask—this was definitely Xu Mingshan’s doing.

Lin Xiaomeng was so disgusted it was as if she’d swallowed a fly. Why did Xu Huaiyu deserve it?

Sure enough, after asking around, she found out Xu Mingshan had used work points and other benefits to entice most people to vote for Xu Huaiyu.

Besides, Xujia Village really didn’t have many educated people. Among a bunch of shorties, Xu Huaiyu, who had at least finished high school, was the tallest.

Most of the young people his age hadn’t even finished elementary school, so they couldn’t compete with him.

Chen Fengqin had wanted her own son to try, but her eldest hadn’t even graduated from junior high, so she was too embarrassed to compete and wasted her husband’s good reputation among the villagers.

She was so angry she kept nagging her second son at home to study hard, so he wouldn’t be clueless when opportunities came.

Who would have thought the commune would get a university spot this year? That old fox Xu Mingshan really was farsighted—his kids had all finished high school.

In the end, only three people ran for the spot, and only Xu Huaiyu had a high school education. The other two had only finished junior high and didn’t have much support, so they couldn’t compete.

After Xu Huaiyu got the spot, he was so smug he practically grew a tail—he couldn’t wait to announce it to the world.

People in the village used to call him a freeloader, but now he was about to become a college student. Who would dare say anything now?

Liu Guifang walked around the village every day, wishing she could hang a sign around her neck: “My son is a college student.”

Compliments poured in from all sides.

“Auntie, you really know how to raise kids. All your children are so promising.”

“They say dragons give birth to dragons, phoenixes to phoenixes, and mice to mice. Brother Mingshan and Sister Fang are both great, so of course their kids are pillars of the country.”

“When your third son graduates from university, will the state assign him a job?”

“Heavens, your family’s ancestors must be smiling on you. Huaiyu’s going to be a college student!”

...

Xu Mingshan was finally able to hold his head high. Even his walk had a swagger. The Xu family had produced a college student—he could face his ancestors with pride. He’d single-handedly changed the family’s fortunes.

Because of this, he neglected Xu Huainian’s affairs, completely absorbed in his son’s university plans.

Xu Huainian knew that if he wanted to open a soap factory in the village, he couldn’t get around Xu Mingshan—he had to get his approval.

On the surface, the two had gotten along for years, and he even had to call Xu Mingshan “uncle,” but in reality, they didn’t see eye to eye.

He racked his brains for a way to get Xu Mingshan to agree to the factory. As luck would have it, the university recommendation process was underway.

Xu Huainian didn’t expect his own kids to go to university—they just weren’t cut out for studying.

But he couldn’t let such a good opportunity go to waste. He had to use it to his advantage.

So he made a private deal with Xu Mingshan: Xu Mingshan would support his factory plans, fully cooperate, and promise not to go back on his word for any reason.

In return, Xu Huainian agreed to vote for Xu Huaiyu and turn a blind eye to Xu Mingshan’s little tricks.

It wasn’t really going against his conscience—after all, Xu Huaiyu was the most educated of the three candidates.

Both got what they wanted—a win-win.

Xu Huaiyu’s name was submitted, and once approved, he’d be a college student.

Meanwhile, Xu Huainian’s application to open a factory in the village was also approved.

Xujia Village’s “Yujie” Soap Factory was officially established.

The name “Yujie” was suggested by Gu Qinghuan—pure as jade, clean as ice. It was a straightforward and fitting name for a soap brand.

Xu Huainian was the factory director, his wife Chen Fengqin was the accountant, and for now, she also doubled as the production supervisor. Once the factory expanded, they’d make new arrangements.

Although Gu Qinghuan wasn’t directly involved, Xu Huainian still gave her two positions: head of sales and product consultant.

As for production workers, for now, it was just Xu Huainian’s eldest son, Xu Wenping.

At the start, they didn’t dare expand too quickly. Xu Huainian used Xu Huaiyu’s university admission as leverage to get Xu Mingshan to approve fifty yuan in start-up funds from the village account.

Chen Fengqin cleaned out the old communal dining hall from the days of collective meals and turned it into a temporary workshop. They hung a wooden sign at the door: Yujie Soap Factory.

Gu Qinghuan gave Xu Huainian a procurement list and told him to buy supplies from different places in batches.

If the product formula leaked, they’d lose their edge.

Handmade soap, scented soap, pig fat soap—these formulas weren’t a secret in later generations. You could find countless recipes online.

But in this era, things were different. “Teaching the apprentice starves the master”—many skills were passed down within families.

Xu Huainian clearly understood the importance of this and handled the purchasing himself.

Previously, Gu Qinghuan had made traditional handmade soap herself, but due to lack of materials, she’d had to make do with whatever was on hand.

The results were mediocre—just barely usable, nothing like the dazzling variety of soaps in later generations.

If they wanted to produce soap in bulk for sale, they couldn’t use the old methods—they’d need to buy more specialized materials.

Some costs just couldn’t be cut.

The main ingredients of handmade soap are actually just three things: oil, alkali, and water.

There are many types of oils: coconut oil, palm oil, rice bran oil, castor oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, almond oil, grape seed oil, and so on—countless varieties.

Each oil has its own unique effects and benefits."