Universe Infinite Canteen

Hou De had managed to pick out seven new students who met the enrollment qualifications in less than one night and bypassed the checkpoints to complete their aptitude tests.

Director Hou, who had been at the helm of the Ministry of Education for over a decade, had never encountered such an odd situation before.

When he received the results, even with his self-control, he couldn't help but lose some composure, failing to keep the expression on his face in check.

Although there were still four people not tested, it didn't matter anymore because, with the three new students they had previously, Hou De now had enough students to meet the minimum number required for the start of school.

If they dared to report ten people, that meant they indeed had found ten new students that met the requirements, because there was no need to take the risk of falsifying information when they had already met the standard.

Even if Director Hou still couldn't figure out how Hou De did it, he knew that it all must have something to do with this young man who had suddenly appeared, and he had already sent people to thoroughly investigate the siblings from the Cao Family.

Cao Jinhua had been running around for the new student selection all this time, but with the targeting from the Hero Group and the Ministry of Education, the efforts had been of little avail, and the school had been troubled by the lack of students even up until today.

The only variable was this new Principal Ma.

Director Hou knew nothing about Ma Lu because the latter had appeared too abruptly.

It wasn't until now that he seriously sized up Ma Lu.

The first impression was that he was young.

Ma Lu looked to be in his early twenties, and even Cao Jinhua was considered young for a principal, but Ma Lu seemed a good ten years younger.

Moreover, Ma Lu's skin was well taken care of, looking tender and fairer than that of Cao Youyi, in stark contrast to Cao Jiajia next to him, who looked as dirty as a rag.

—A rich man's son.

This was the second conclusion Director Hou drew after observing him, and Ma Lu appeared quite relaxed in the presence of him, the director, and the various officials from the municipal Ministry of Education, without a hint of nervousness.

Furthermore, considering that he had the capacity to find seven new students who met the requirements overnight and complete their qualifications checks without anyone noticing, this was not something that could be achieved by one person alone.

Even if you added all of Hou De's old alumni, it wouldn't be possible; it must have been the effort of a very powerful force.

Thinking of this, Director Hou began to think of withdrawing. He was willing to join forces with the Hero Group to go against Hou De because they promised to help with his transfer back to the Ministry of Education.

But, Director Hou didn't want to offend another significant power, especially since he didn't understand why Ma Lu took over from Cao Jinhua as the principal of Hou De, just as the Hero Group didn't tell him why they were so intent on forcing the Cao siblings to sell the school.

No, this was too complicated.

As an old fox who had been climbing the ranks in the political world for decades, Director Hou had always followed the philosophies of bullying the weak, sailing with the wind, and not waking up early if there was nothing to gain.

Seeing that the situation was unclear, he would rather step back first and observe.

A smile quickly spread across his face, seamlessly transitioning from surprise and annoyance to happiness, and then he took half a step forward, grasping Ma Lu's hand eagerly.

"Good, good, good, this is excellent. There is hope for Hou De's revival. Brother Ma, don't take offense, it's just that the higher-ups have given strict orders this time to crack down on falsifying enrollment lists.

"Of course, I know that our Hou De would never do such a thing; but since the task has been assigned from above, we still need to put on a show. But as I said, no matter what happens, the municipal Ministry of Education will definitely stand by Hou De's side. Director Feng..."

Director Hou said this and then waved to Feng Ziwen, who was standing to the side, "Come, come, come, Director Feng is an outstanding graduate of Hou De and also a director at our municipal Ministry of Education. If you have any issues in the future, you can talk to him, and whatever the municipal Ministry of Education can do, we will definitely handle it for you."

Feng Ziwen nodded and bowed while also feeling emotional in his heart.

The director truly was the director, deftly shifting the blame in just a few words and by using his identity as a Hou De alumnus, he bridged the relationship between the two parties. Moreover, by mediating between Hou De and the Hero Group through him in the future, they would not offend the Hero Group, maintaining full flexibility.

The most crucial thing was that this old man really had thick skin; at over fifty years old, he was still calling Ma Lu 'Brother Ma' so affectionately, completely unabashed, something Feng Ziwen felt he needed to learn.

Director Hou chatted cordially with Ma Lu for a while longer before reluctantly letting go of his hand.
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"Brother Ma, you must have a lot to handle since you've just taken office, so I and the gentlemen from the municipal Ministry of Education won't stay and disturb you any longer. Oh, and one more thing."

Director Hou seemed to remember something before leaving, "The Ministry of Education has recently issued a notice about some reforms, planning to increase the rewards for cleaning up the catastrophe belt, and there will also be some regulations to further promote healthy competition among talisman master schools.

"The municipal Ministry of Education will release the details in a couple of days, but since I'm here, I might as well tell you in advance. However, you don't need to feel too much pressure; I believe in Hou De's potential, and I'm sure you'll return to the top hundred in the future."

After Director Hou and the officials from the municipal Ministry of Education had left, Ma Lu asked Cao Youyi.

"What's this new regulation about, is it also targeted at Hou De by the Ministry of Education?"

"It shouldn't be, the talks about the reform started three years ago, but because it involved many interests, it took until now to finalize it," Cao Youyi explained.

"Oh, I see."

"However, the new rule shouldn't have much impact on our school," Cao Youyi added, "We don't have many teachers or students left now, and there's not a single person capable of leading the team to clear the catastrophe belt on their own."

What she said was true, and Ma Lu had learned from Cao Youyi the night before at the restaurant school that there were only three teachers left at Hou De, including Cao Youyi herself.

The student body across four grades totaled only 41 people, and that included the ten new students enrolled this year.

Calling it a university seemed a bit of a stretch when the actual scale might not even compare to a somewhat sizable private school in a rural area.

What was even more tragic was that even with such a reduced number of personnel, the school's financial situation remained dire.

To maintain Hou De's normal operations, Cao Jinhua had not only invested all of her family's savings but had also called on old alumni to donate funds three times.

The money raised had all been spent, and Cao Jinhua had also taken another loan from the bank earlier this year. Though not large, it was still a deficit.

In short, that was the situation.

After Director Hou and the other officials from the municipal Ministry of Education had departed, Ma Lu looked down at his Traveler's Bracelet. He had been in the new Plane for almost half a day now, with less than forty minutes left before his return.

There was no time to rest; he immediately threw himself into new tasks, beginning to diagnose and find a cure for Hou De's critical condition.