Chapter 176 There Must Be Competition

"The symbols on it are numbers, a shorthand for one, two, and three. The two hour and minute hands point to the number that tells you what time it is. They're easy to recognize, but you have to learn Roman numerals first, which is a shorthand for numbers. Only then can you recognize them. People in our city now work by this clock. For example, the city lord has a nine-to-six workday, meaning you have to go to work at nine in the morning and go home at six in the afternoon. If you don't know how to read this clock, you'll have trouble finding your way around the city."

"So that's how it is." Everyone suddenly realized, and they walked, looked, and asked, feeling like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.

The carriage slowly stopped, and everyone saw that they had arrived in front of a villa. The villa was not big, but there were many people inside. They each held a wooden board and chopsticks in their hands, moving forward one by one, and the aroma of food could be smelled from inside.

Then someone asked: "What are you doing? Why are you eating?"

The village chief of Zhangjia Village took a quick look. He could read, and then explained to everyone, "This is the research institute that Miss Qian just mentioned!"

"Oh, it's true! I saw that carpenter Liu who came to our village to build a house!"

Some people were naturally delighted to recognize someone they knew, and more than a dozen elderly people helped each other down the carriage. But Qian Zhenniang was the first to dismount, glance inside, and then say, "Alas, what a bad time! We arrived just as they were having dinner."

Several old men took a look outside the door, then their expressions changed slightly and they secretly pulled each other's sleeves.

The village chief of Zhangjia Village was pulled by them and took a look inside.

Then he gasped for breath.

Wow, this is some white and solid rice!

This...this...this...during the years of famine, every family ate porridge mixed with wheat bran and wild vegetables. Who would dare to waste food like this!

"What are they holding in their hands? Why are the bowls not really bowls, yet they are serving food?"

Qian Zhenniang explained, "Oh, this is a dinner plate. Now, everyone who works for the city lord uses this standard. This dinner plate is very convenient. It has four compartments inside. One is for rice, and the remaining three are for vegetables. It's very convenient."

Wow, there are three dishes!

Now everyone felt a little uncomfortable.

The people inside had already noticed Qian Zhenniang and were greeting them with their plates in hand. "Hey, Secretary Qian, why don't you come in? Come on, it's lunchtime, so we can have a bite together!"

Qian Zhenniang half-stood at the door, smiling and agreeing to all the requests, but then added, "I won't eat. The food at your research institute isn't as good as the food at our county office. The village heads from Lan County are all here today, and I have to show them around. After dinner, we still have classes. Today's class seems to be Teacher Fang's math class. We worked so hard to get him to give the lecture, so you must study hard. If you fail the exam at the end of the month, you'll have your salary cut! The city lord said this time, we're serious!"

This stirred up a hornet's nest. The craftsmen couldn't even eat in peace. They all rushed over and surrounded Qian Zhenniang with a chattering voice: "Secretary Qian, can you please tell the city lord that we are all craftsmen. Mathematics is really difficult. There are only a few people in our city who can understand it. Why are you forcing us to learn it?"

"Exactly. It's not just math, mechanics is also very difficult! We have monthly exams, but why do we have weekly exams?"

"Secretary Qian, I never had any education when I was little, but I never thought I'd find myself studying in my old age! My grandson isn't even studying as hard as I am. Why is that? We're all craftsmen, and we make a living from our skills. Can't we just honestly make the things the City Lord mentioned? We've already made pencils and clocks, haven't we?"

"Right, we've already started mass production of pencils. We can now make hundreds a day. The city lord even said he wants to sell them to Lan County! By then, we'll be making endless money. Why do we have to suffer the pain of studying?!"

Qian Zhenniang was furious. She shouted, "Humph, all of you claim you don't like studying and can't study. Aren't you just lazy? Are the pencils, clocks, and carriages your achievements? The City Lord and Teacher Fang worked day and night on them, and you made them according to their drawings. How can that be considered your achievement? The City Lord supports you with one or two taels of silver every month and provides you with the best meals. He hopes that in the future you will not only be able to make things according to the drawings, but also that you will use your brains to come up with things of your own! You all eat the City Lord's food and take his money, and you don't even bother to listen to his orders. So why does he support you?"

Qian Zhenniang's words were so powerful that they echoed throughout the entire research institute.

Even the dozen or so village chiefs behind him were frightened like quails.

No way, Miss Xiao Qian looks such a kind person, why does she have such a bad temper?

Look how powerful she is, she even made dozens of men in the research institute blush.

"Let's not talk about the distant past, let's talk about the near future. Have you developed the cement that the City Lord mentioned? Have you shrunk a clock to the size of a palm? The City Lord has high hopes for you, spending a fortune hiring famous teachers to teach you how to read and write, and even letting you focus on your research for free. He also wants you to build water wheels, hydraulic dams, and lighter farm tools in the future, so that your names will be remembered forever! If you don't study, how will you understand the internal structure, how will you know how those things work, how will you know how to build that ten-story building that the City Lord mentioned without collapsing?"

The craftsmen in the research institute were instantly scolded so much that they couldn't even eat anymore.

After listening for a long time, the village heads behind Qian Zhenniang finally understood.

It turns out that these people received one or two taels of silver every month, were provided with the best three meals a day in the city, and hired teachers, all so that these craftsmen could study with peace of mind and make better things in the future!

Such good treatment, such a pie in the sky, is something they can't even ask for, yet these people are still complaining hypocritically?

Even the head of Zhangjia Village couldn't stand it, cursing angrily, "The City Lord gives you so much money and lets you live a life of luxury, and this is how you repay him?"

"That's right, you're taking money to help others eliminate disasters. I'm afraid you don't know how much tuition you have to pay to hire a teacher outside. You really don't know the hunger of the hungry! If that's the case, Miss Qian, I don't think this group of people is worth anything. Why not replace them with Xiao the carpenter from our village? He can do anything and is an honest person. He won't be like these people who refuse to do things when the boss asks them to!"

Village Chief Fan quickly added, "That's right. We have a stonemason in our village who does very detailed work. Why not let him come? Even though he can't read, he's eager to learn. Just let him stay here for a year or two, and I'm sure he'll learn everything."

The craftsmen felt a sense of crisis as their jobs were taken away, and the few people who had spoken earlier were glared at fiercely by their companions.

In the eyes of the people of Lan County, there are only three types of jobs that are popular now.

One is to enter the county government office, one is to the military camp, and the third is to the research institute!

Working in the research institute is very popular nowadays.

As long as you have a skill or a craft, anyone can come in.

And this job is not tiring. Most of the time I sit in the research institute and attend classes. A small part of the time I dismantle things. What exactly do I dismantle? Almost everything, from small farm tools to large water wheels and even various buildings.

Almost everything that could be demolished was borrowed by the city lord for them to demolish.

Such a good thing is hard to find even with a lantern!

"Secretary Qian, Old Liu is just complaining a little. He's probably just studying himself to death! We all know the City Lord treats us well, and we're all working really hard to learn!"

"Exactly. If you ask me, exams are a good thing! We can always know where we are at and where we haven't learned well, so we can catch up."

"Right, right, right. The City Lord has told us before that being a craftsman is boring. If you want to be a scientist, you should be able to draw, research, and invent. You need to know how the waterwheel works and how to use it to irrigate the farmland. The City Lord is doing this for our own good. We all know it. Secretary Qian, don't listen to Lao Liu and the others. He's complaining because his grades are not good. We all really like the courses taught by the City Lord!"

"Yes, only after learning those math and mechanics courses can you understand the structure inside. Just like that clock, it involves a lot of mechanics knowledge. I couldn't understand the principles before, but now after taking those courses, my brain has become much smarter."

Qian Zhenniang's face was still full of anger, and she said directly, "Humph, I know some of you are lazy and don't want to study! I tell you, the good days are over! Now that Lan County has opened its gates, there are many good seedlings willing to endure hardships and learn in Ye County and the villages under Lan County. The city lord also said that he will start recruiting students from various villages next month. When the propagandists run around to various villages, our institute will be overcrowded! I can only say that the institute has such a small area. The temple here is small and can't accommodate so many big Buddhas. Those who can't do it will always be at the bottom of the exams. Those who are lazy and slacking at work, you can only take care of yourself!"

When these words were spoken, everyone in the institute was stunned.

What’s going on? The research institute needs to expand its staff?

In this case, some of them will inevitably be expelled from the institute!

For a moment, all the craftsmen in the research institute became nervous. They were about to ask Qian Zhenniang to explain clearly, but they saw that the man had already got on the carriage and left with the village chiefs of more than a dozen villages!

Qian Zhenniang sat in the carriage, still looking angry.

The village heads held their breath, fearing that they might disturb the aggressive second-in-command.

However, there are still some people who are not afraid of trouble.

The head of Zhangjia Village couldn't help but ask, "Miss Qian, you just said you're going to recruit people from every village to join the research institute next month. Is this true?"

Qian Zhenniang shook her head, "Of course it's fake!"

Now the villagers were all furious. "Miss Qian, why is this happening? I don't think the people in the research institute are very hardworking. Why don't they just recruit people directly from our village?"

"Yes, there are many young men in our village who are more diligent and studious than them. Why should we let them occupy the toilet without doing anything?"

"That's right, the carpenters and stonemasons in our village are just as skilled as them, and their work is no worse than theirs. Why don't they want us?"

Qian Zhenniang looked around and sighed repeatedly, "It's not the right time yet. The village heads don't know that Lan County has been closed for a while, and the rumors have been spreading more and more fiercely. Some say that our city lord eats people, and some say that our city lord is a monster with three heads and six arms. This time, we kindly asked the villages below to come and learn the composting technology, but in the end, few people cooperated. They all said we were liars! They almost got into a fight with our propagandists! Alas, this is the current situation. Even if the city lord thinks those people in the research institute are not good enough, there is nothing he can do. He has to keep them fed three times a day for now!"

These words made the village heads blush.

Weren't they speaking ill of the city lord before they entered the city?

But after just one turn, they already understood that this mountain king was really different from others!

The key is that the move is generous!

Several people were about to persuade Qian Zhenniang to change her mind, but they heard a bell ringing, as clear as a wind chime, and it rang several times in a row. Then they saw a lot of children appearing on the street for no apparent reason.

There were both boys and girls among the children. Although they were of different ages, they all carried the same schoolbags. They laughed and chased each other as they passed in front of their carriage.

"What's this again..." The village leaders were already dazzled. "Is school over? Why are there so many kids? Why are there girls among them?"

Qian Zhenniang smiled and explained, "You probably don't know, but last month our city lord started promoting universal education. We've opened ten classes in Lan County. Five of them are for children, regardless of gender. As long as you're seven years old or older, you have to go to school. The other five classes are for everyone, regardless of gender or age. If you want to work outside, you have to attend our literacy classes."

The village heads who had just arrived in the city were completely lost. Lan County was changing so fast that it was overwhelming and people almost forgot what Lan County was like before.

"What are literacy classes and universal education?"

"It's our city lord's new policy. All the people in Lan County have to attend classes. It's free, and they even provide a meal. If you learn quickly, you can even become a teacher for thirty cents a day. Many people in our city can now read. You know that Aunt Zhao from Xiaoshui Alley in the east? She's over fifty, and she never learned a single word in her life. Our city lord forced her to study, and guess what happened?"

More than a dozen old men all listened attentively.

There were also people who joined in the conversation: "What's going on?"

"Wow, that Aunt Zhao has only studied for a dozen or twenty days, and she's already learned all the pinyin! Now she's a literacy teacher, teaching two classes a day. Not only does she earn thirty cents for free, but everyone calls her Teacher Zhao wherever she goes. She's so impressive!"