Chapter 881: No Virtue is Greater Than Correcting One's Mistakes

After Yu Xiangnan finished speaking, Wang An and Wu Dong couldn't help but exchange a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.

Mainly, these two had discovered that this middle-aged old man, Yu Xiangnan, was truly stubborn. If they didn't let him go, it seemed it simply wouldn't work, because Yu Xiangnan was determined to make the trip personally.

Consequently, Wu Dong said very sincerely

"Elder Yu, you are truly magnanimous! Alright then, let's go together. We can also take the opportunity to intimidate this student Gu Xiaoshuang's stepfather."

Yu Xiangnan smiled and said

"If Minister Wu is busy, please go back to work. Wang An and I can go."

Wu Dong said with a chuckle

"It's fine, I'm not busy these next couple of days. In a moment, let's switch cars and take my jeep; it'll be more comfortable."

Unexpectedly, Yu Xiangnan spoke in a tone that brooked no argument

"No, we'll take the sidecar. I haven't ridden one of these things in years; I've actually been quite longing for it."

Hearing this, Wu Dong and Wang An looked at each other once again, but this time their expressions were peculiar, as if they were both saying to the other: *This old man is really stubborn!*

Just then, Yu Xiangnan suddenly said to Wu Dong and Wang An

"Wait for me a moment. I'm going to find a blank admission notice."

As he spoke, Yu Xiangnan walked out the door toward another office.

A short while later, Yu Xiangnan returned, holding a piece of red cardstock in his hand.

It was clear that this red cardstock was the so-called admission notice.

Just as Yu Xiangnan picked up the brush and was about to write, he suddenly asked

"What is this student's name?"

Wang An hurriedly took out the piece of paper Wang Yi had written, unfolded it, and respectfully handed it over with both hands.

Yu Xiangnan took the paper and looked at it, his brow furrowing instinctively. He then criticized Wang An

"One look and it's obvious you haven't studied since leaving school. Who wrote this? How is it worse than a primary schooler's handwriting?"

It must be said that while Yu Xiangnan was an extremely diligent principal—a man worthy of being enshrined in the ancestral temple—he also possessed the occupational disease common to all teachers: a love for criticizing and educating others, instinctively treating people as his students.

To be fair, there was nothing wrong with Yu Xiangnan scolding Wang An; after all, Yu Xiangnan had been Wang An's principal during his school years, and he still was now.

Hearing this, Wang An instinctively wanted to retort that it was written by his younger brother, Wang Yi, but he immediately restrained himself and merely gave Yu Xiangnan an awkward smile.

Mainly, there was really no need to explain such a thing.

However, one thing was crossing Wang An's mind: once he got home, he would definitely urge Wang Yi to practice his calligraphy. Otherwise, he'd keep taking the fall for Wang Yi day after day.

Seeing that Wang An didn't speak, Yu Xiangnan simply shook his head slightly and began to write seriously on the admission notice.

After Yu Xiangnan pressed the official seal and his private seal firmly onto the notice, the admission letter was complete.

Gently blowing the ink dry, Yu Xiangnan placed the notice into a canvas bag, then turned to Wang An and Wu Dong and said

"Alright, let's go. We'll go quickly and come back quickly. If we're lucky, we can make it back in time for lunch."

With that, Yu Xiangnan picked up the canvas bag and stepped out from behind the desk.

The three walked out of the office. Wang An and Wu Dong helped Yu Xiangnan lock the office door, and the three of them mounted the motorcycle.

Yu Xiangnan sat in the sidecar, and Wu Dong sat on the back seat.

From the way Yu Xiangnan climbed into the vehicle, it wasn't hard to see that his legs and feet weren't very nimble. Instinctively, Wang An asked

"Principal, do you know what's wrong with your leg?"

Yu Xiangnan said with a chuckle

"Chronic cold legs and rheumatism. Old ailments. These are roots left over from those years; it's no trouble, hehehe."

Chronic cold legs and rheumatism were very common in the local area; out of ten people, perhaps eight suffered from cold legs.

This was mainly because the temperatures after the onset of winter were too low, and when conditions were poor, people wore too little, resulting in them being frozen into these conditions.

Hearing this, Wang An immediately said with a smile

"That's perfect. I've saved quite a few Asiatic black bear gallbladders. I'll bring some for you before I head back. Soaking those in liquor is very effective for treating rheumatism and cold legs."

After Wang An finished, Yu Xiangnan rejected him directly

"No need. Such good things would be a waste on me. I sit around all day and don't do any labor; save them for your parents."

Wu Dong interjected with a laugh

"Elder Yu, you've got that wrong. That stuff might be a treasure to others, but to little An, it's just ordinary bone. He kills twenty or thirty black bears a year; he has plenty of gallbladders. No need to save them for him, hahahaha..."

Yu Xiangnan was stunned for a moment, thought about it, and said

"Wang An, so you're not fooling around anymore and have switched careers to hunting?"

It must be said that Yu Xiangnan was a man of great character. Although he had always known in his heart that Wang An had been fooling around previously, he had never pointed it out until now, continuing to treat Wang An as his student.

Wang An scratched his head sheepishly and said

"Heh, I just didn't know any better before. Later I woke up and stopped fooling around."

Hearing this, Yu Xiangnan nodded with great satisfaction

"To realize one's mistake and correct it is the greatest of virtues. It's truly wonderful that you woke up in time. I was wondering how to persuade you to return to the right path. Very good, very good, hehehe."

It was clear that Yu Xiangnan was genuinely happy about Wang An's change.

Wang An smiled awkwardly again and said to Yu Xiangnan

"Principal, sit tight. We're setting off."

As he spoke, Wang An kick-started the sidecar, made a sharp turn on the spot, and drove toward Xing'an Township.

Because Yu Xiangnan was on board, Wang An didn't ride very fast.

Even so, in less than thirty minutes, the three of them arrived.

During this season, almost every household was busy in the fields weeding and hilling the soil.

So, unsurprisingly, there was no one at Gu Xiaoshuang's house.

"Hilling" was a local term for using a plow to flip the soil from the top of the ridge into the furrows on both sides.

The main purpose of hilling was, on one hand, to provide soil for the roots of the crops, and on the other, to remove weeds from the ridge and bury the weeds in the furrows under the soil.

However, the plowshare used for hilling required the tips on both sides to be knocked off; otherwise, the tips would damage the crops.

Seeing the tightly closed gate, Wu Dong said with some worry

"Damn, we aren't going to have to wait until noon, are we?"

Yu Xiangnan clearly hadn't anticipated this either, but he didn't appear anxious.

Wang An looked at the children who were gradually gathering to look at the vehicle, his eyes darting as a plan formed in his mind.