Chapter 9: The Inescapable Paddle

"Mrs. Mary, please believe me. This is definitely a printing or printing error in the textbook, or it could be an editorial oversight. In China, whether it's in the 'Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of Xia' or the 'Annals of the Five Emperors,' or in works like 'Zhuangzi' and 'The Annals of Lv Buwei,' the person who organized major engineering projects for flood control is Yu! It absolutely cannot be Wu!"

Carter rattled off a series of book titles that neither of them had ever heard of, his emotions running high. At this point, it seemed that it was no longer just a matter of personal pride for him. A textbook accredited by the American College Board, especially when it came to history, particularly Chinese history, whether it was a printing mistake or an intentional error, it didn't matter.

Even if they didn't distort the record of the great engineering projects for flood control, let alone defame it. But to get even the key figures wrong, it seemed to suggest that these Americans didn't really value Chinese history. Carter knew, however, that it was beyond him to expect Americans to truly value, let alone face, Chinese history, especially in this era of American arrogance, and even fewer Americans forty years later would pay much attention to it. But since this matter involved him, whether to avoid losing face or to correct historical errors as much as possible, Carter had no choice but to press on. Of course, he didn't want to back down!

Carter, who had only recently graduated in his previous life, still had a strong scholarly spirit. He knew he was right, so why should he be punished?

"Carter, are you sure you've read all these books? I haven't noticed you being so interested in Chinese culture before?"

Fortunately, Carter's scholarly spirit met Mrs. Mary. Despite her doubts about whether Carter was making things up, she didn't outright deny him but patiently asked.

"I wasn't interested before, but since the U.S. established diplomatic relations with China this year, I've become interested. After all, they're also one of the ancient civilizations, and the only one whose culture has been passed down continuously from ancient times to today. I'm curious why there are seven ancient civilizations in the world, but only China's culture has never been interrupted."

Carter had already prepared an excuse for the knowledge he wasn't supposed to have. Mentioning the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the U.S., most Chinese students' first reaction would be Nixon's visit to China in '72, but the official establishment of diplomatic relations was in January of this year, which was just a few months ago.

This created an interest in China, which was reasonable. The description about continuity afterward was even more logical, because it was a direct quote from the textbook. Even "Mediterranean," who seemed annoyed by being fooled by his student, couldn't help but furrow his brow and wonder if this student was actually right.

"Alright, your explanation convinced me. But I don't know whether this person who managed the flood control was Wu or Yu. Let's set aside this question for now. Later, I will write to the authors of the textbook for confirmation, and also to my college alumni. I'll ask them to find a real Chinese person in Los Angeles's Chinatown to verify your answer."

Mrs. Mary looked at the upright Carter, who seemed righteous, and then at the hesitant "Mediterranean," and made a final decision. At that moment, Carter thought Mrs. Mary had been convinced by him, feeling slightly pleased, and also a little curious about Mrs. Mary's alma mater. Wasn't USC quite famous in Los Angeles?

What he didn't realize was that Mrs. Mary's easy persuasion wasn't because of his eloquence. The writing of American history textbooks isn't organized by official institutions, and there's no funding for such activities in administrative budgets. Usually, history textbooks are selected directly from the works of historians. Errors in individual works, especially in comprehensive works like world history textbooks, are quite normal. Even writing a web novel, there are still areas that can't be covered, let alone being corrected by readers. Mrs. Mary's easy persuasion was due to the fact that American history textbooks are not organized by official institutions, and there's no funding for such activities in administrative budgets. Usually, history textbooks are selected directly from the works of historians.

"Setting aside this issue, Carter, you sleeping in class, was that wrong? Mr. Weiser punished you for that. Do you have a problem with that?"

That... doesn't seem to have a problem? He couldn't really say in front of Mrs. Mary that sleeping in class was no big deal. Which high school student hasn't slept in class?

Poor Carter still couldn't escape the paddle in the end. But fortunately, this time the punishment was carried out in the principal's office, avoiding public embarrassment.

"Damn, if anyone ever tells me again that studying in the U.S. is easier than in China, I'll slap them twice!"

Rubbing his slightly painful buttocks, Carter cursed and grumbled as he walked out of the office building. This was unbelievable, in China, even if students were punished, it was at most standing or copying text, how could there be such direct "physical attacks"? What about freedom and democracy?

Advanced country? Is this it?

Ten minutes later, with a black face, Carter walked into Blake Bank. Goodman, who was on the phone, caught sight of Carter's grim expression and quickly ended his call, hurrying over.

"Carter, what's wrong? Things didn't go well at school?"

But that didn't make sense. If the matter of leaving school early hadn't been settled in advance, Carter wouldn't be here at this hour.

"Forget about school. I just want to be alone."

Carter grumbled, gritting his teeth, sitting in the boss's chair. Thanks to the soft sponge cushion, the pain in his buttocks had lessened a lot, and he figured it would be bearable in a while.

"Alone? Who's Alone?"

Goodman, puzzled, picked up an utterly humorless joke, which earned him an eye roll from Carter. Feeling physically and mentally bruised after the experience, Carter was feeling quite defeated.

"Alright, let's forget about the Alone thing. How's the loan going? What's the progress? And what's our cash reserve situation? How much do we have now?"

"The loan is going smoothly. Potternewt has agreed to lend us $650,000 at 14%, Montserrat has agreed to lend us $300,000 at 13.4%, and Mecken's Mecken Bank has agreed to lend us $250,000 at 13.2%, all for a five-year term. These three are already confirmed, and another twenty banks are in negotiations."