Chapter 1896: Return In Glory
Luna had been looking through the information of all the retired teachers in the archives center until late at night. In the end, she fell asleep on the table there.
Early in the morning, Luna took the list of retired teachers' names and contact details that she spent the night organizing, and got ready to visit those teachers.
Her first target was a language teacher, Tahirid: a humble and well-mannered old man who just retired.
The horse-drawn carriage pulled over in front of a house with an exquisite design. Luna got off the carriage, and went up to knock on the door.
In no time at all, an old lady opened the door. When she saw Luna standing at the door, she exclaimed in surprise, "Luna, what are you doing here?"
"Good morning, Madam Berlinda. I'm here to look for Teacher Tahirid," Luna said with a smile. She had been to Old Tahirid's house before.
"He's trimming the plants in the garden. Come on in first. He has been talking about you young teachers a couple of days back," Berlinda said with a smile as she showed Luna in.
The era of houses made of wood had long passed, yet the house did not smell like decaying wood. Instead, it was very classical and elegant. The brown carpet on the floor and the burning fireplace made the entire room feel warm and cozy.
There were two sofas in the living room. The cushions were knitted with yarn by the skillful Madam Berlinda.
There were very thoughtful decorations everywhere in the room, and they were almost all personally made and displayed by Teacher Tahirid.
"Take a seat for a while. I'll go call him," Madam Berlinda told Luna before walking out the back door.
In no time at all, an energetic old man walked into the living room. He saw Luna, who was standing by the fireplace, looking at a drawing on the wall, and smilingly said, "Luna, why do you have the time to drop by my place today?"
Luna turned around, and saw an old man who was well-dressed even at home. With a smile, she said, "It's been a while since I've visited Mr Tahirid and Madam Berlinda, so I came specially to visit you."
"Take a seat. Let me make you a cup of coffee. The kids sent it over a couple of days ago. It's good stuff." Tahirid walked to the bar table, and grabbed a handful of coffee beans. He put them into a coffee grinder, and as he ground the coffee beans manually, he looked at Luna, and said, "I heard that you're recently busy with the construction of a new school for the kids. How's the progress?"
"The new school is almost completed, and we are already wrapping up with the interior renovations. Right now, we're just waiting for school to start, and then more than 500 less privileged students would be able to attend school," Luna replied with a smile.
"More than 500?!" Tahirid paused in his actions. He looked at Luna with admiration, and gave her a thumbs-up. "Luna, you're really doing a good deed for those children. Respect."
"I'm just doing things within my means. The kind people who donated to the foundation were the ones who enabled the children to go to school."
"The principal also talked to me about his intention to accept more students. However, it's not easy for our school as well. It was already our limit to sponsor 100 students. You're solving the schooling problems of 500 children all in one go. There's no need to be humble about that," Tahirid said with a smile as he continued to grind the coffee.
Luna looked at Tahirid, and pressed her lips together as she replied, "Although there would be 500 children who could start school when the next semester starts, there are still more than 3000 children in Chaos City who cannot attend school… You know it too. If they miss the age to go to school, they will be left with no choice but to do the lowest and most difficult jobs. They will not have the ability or opportunity to change their fate."
Tahirid's hand action slowed down. He let out a long sigh, and lamented, "In the past, my heart would always ache for you for giving everything to the children. By just getting by, you can't change anything. Those children aren't able to escape their fate other than the fact that they could have an additional full meal.
"Now that you can let 500 children study in Chaos School, you at least gave them the chance to change their fate. However, we still have limited capabilities. We cannot easily change the fate of more than 3000 children."
"I know that your heart goes out for these children as well, and I also know that what you said is true. Therefore, I've never requested the people around me to do what I am doing." Luna nodded. She looked at Tahirid, and said, "We aren't able to do it, but what if more people like you, with decades of teaching experience and still able to teach, gather together?"
"You mean?" Tahirid looked at Luna with bewilderment.
"I want to build a new campus for these children. A campus that is completely different from Chaos School, one that only accepts children who aren't able to get an education, because they are poor," Luna said with resolution.
Tahirid's eyes lit up. However, he quickly calmed down, and hesitated for a while before looking at Luna, and said, "Luna, I know you have good intentions. However, building a new school campus is no small matter. Whether it's the capital, resources, or the manpower for teaching these 3000 students, we might not be able to sustain it just by relying on old folks like us."
"You are right. I know all that. Capital-wise, we still have sufficient funds in the foundation. As for the administrative procedures and construction of the new campus, there would be professionals handling them.
"Regarding the teachers, we will hire a new batch of teachers as our core manpower, but we still need to invite a batch of experienced old teachers like you back to help them along…" Luna told Tahirid about the plan that she and Mag had discussed yesterday.
Tahirid's eyes grew brighter. After hearing Luna's words, he stood up agitatedly, and said, "I didn't expect you to already have such a detailed plan. This way, although each child is unable to develop their capabilities and talents to their best, it's still a chance to learn useful knowledge for the children. At least it can change their fate, and that means that they could have more choices.
"I am willing to join this school to become a teacher again, and shine upon these children with the last of my passion.
"Although my memory has started deteriorating, if you don't mind, I can still teach a few more years of calculations, or even tell the young teachers how they should conduct classes," Madam Berlinda said with a smile as she walked out of the kitchen with a pot of boiled water.
"That's wonderful. Thank you." Luna stood up and bowed with a smile.
"Don't say that. We're just doing a small part. Luna, you are the one who has given her all to these children." Tahirid waved his hand, and said, "Be it us, or the few other old fellows who just retired, we've been so idle at home. I happen to be meeting them for some tea later. I will tell them about this. They would definitely be willing to join."
"Do you mean Mr Jeremiah and the rest?" Luna asked.
"Yes. That group of old folks." Tahirid nodded.
"In that case, can I join you when you're meeting them? I would like to personally tell them about this." Luna looked at Tahirid expectantly.
"Of course."