Chapter 119 Wei Shengxue: Librarian, please follow the boss's lead

Boyi was an ordinary student at the Xianyang Academy. He came from a poor family. If the academy had not expanded and recruited a large number of students to quickly train Qin officials, he would have spent his whole life farming like his father and grandfather.

But even if he was lucky enough to be selected, his family background was still not enough to support his daily activities, so he could only make a living by copying books for his classmates or doing errands.

Today was a day no different from the previous ones. He was helping his classmates buy breakfast. As he was putting the breakfast into the cloth bag, he heard two people in scholar's clothes talking at the stall.

It’s a scholar’s ​​business! Boyi subconsciously pricked up his ears to listen.

"Are you serious? Why would they hire people for such a good thing?"

"I'm a minor official under my brother, the doctor. This matter has already been agreed upon, and the announcement will be made in two days. If you're interested, I'll go and explain it to my brother and ask him to reserve two positions for us in advance."

Someone else interrupted, "There's no rush for this. Copying a book requires neat handwriting. It has to be the printed script that was just released last year. Have you two learned it?"

The two people who had just spoken were embarrassed and said awkwardly, "That's the font used for printed books. For ordinary handwriting, we still mostly use small seal script and official script."

This newcomer obviously knew a lot of inside information, and the two of them didn't care about losing face. They hurriedly and earnestly added new breakfast and politely invited him to come and take a seat.

"Brother, you are very knowledgeable. Could you explain this to me?"

The man accepted their gifts graciously, without hiding anything. He spoke directly, "The Immortal, sympathetic to the difficulties faced by students in Daqin, wishes to establish a place where everyone can borrow books. His Majesty has summoned the elders for several days of deliberation and has decided to build a library in the inner city, collecting classics from various sources. Anyone who meets the requirements will be able to borrow them. We will soon be gathering people to hand-copy the books."

A collection of classics from all over the world!

Free borrowing!

The convener hand-copied the book!

Each of these items alone would be a dream come true, yet they're all brought together?!

"Brother, is this true?!"

"This, in the past, to borrow a scroll of bamboo slips, I had to work for the owner for three years, working like a slave day and night, just to get a glimpse of the words of the sages... Your Majesty, Your Majesty is willing to share the palace collection with us. This, this is such a great favor!"

He still remembered the joy that filled his body when he first picked up the Spring and Autumn Annals. It was a book he had spent ten years studying under a master to acquire. Now he had the opportunity to read countless works by famous masters!

"Even if I die on the spot, I will have no regrets in this life!"

Unexpectedly, the man shook his head and gave even better news, "It's not just the classics in the palace, but the collections of every family in the court."

In order to seek a way forward for the new empire, the First Emperor summoned most of the various schools of thought to Xianyang. At least they could serve as doctors. If they were all included...

"Mom, how many books does this require?"

“I’ll never be able to finish watching it in this lifetime.”

"I hate that I only have one eye and two hands!"

The sudden interruption of the voice made them nod repeatedly, without even noticing who said it. It was only after a while that they reacted and turned around, only to see a strange face.

"Who are you?"

"I am Boyi from Xianyang Academy, honored to be a student in Class A." Boyi bowed.

Class A is the most outstanding group of students in the Xianyang Academy.

Boyi, with a name but no surname, had been a commoner for generations. But the title of Class A was enough to cover up this shortcoming.

Several people also hurriedly returned the greeting, "Brother Boyi is very polite, why don't you sit down and talk with me."

Boyi readily accepted the offer, sat down, and placed the large cloth bag beside him. Through the open bag's mouth, you could see several packed breakfasts inside. This generous and open-minded performance of running errands for others immediately made the others feel good about him.

"How's your handwriting, Brother Boyi? We were just discussing copying books. If you have good handwriting, you might be able to get the job. Even if you have to provide your own writing brush and ink, it would be a rare opportunity."

Boyi asked, "I am confused by what I heard. Could you please clear up my confusion for me?"

"Brother Boyi is a student at the academy. I believe a teacher will be here to give lectures after classes begin today. His Majesty values ​​the academy so much that he wouldn't leave you out of such a privilege." The man who had just interrupted smiled, congratulating him in advance. "I hope you've seen the works of the ancient sages and can explain them to us."

Boyi agreed readily, saying that he would not have known about it if they had not mentioned it.

"Your Majesty, you will establish a public library. Anyone who is a student of the Imperial Academy or has not committed any crime or violation of Qin law can apply for a library card. With this card, they can borrow two books from the library each month. However, they must leave behind ten accurate handwritten copies of each book, and they are not allowed to take the originals out of the library."

"I can borrow two books just by copying ten?!"

Several people looked at each other, and saw ecstasy in each other's eyes:

There is such a great thing in this world!

"This must have been suggested by an immortal!" The person who spoke first analyzed it clearly. "The immortal is benevolent and grateful for the hard work we put into studying. He's also worried that we won't cherish books, so he came up with this roundabout way to allow us to read more books."

"And all the lords in the court, you are so generous this time!"

"Ahem," the person next to him quickly coughed a few times to remind him, "The adults care about the students and voluntarily donate their own books. This is a very kind act." Don't be sarcastic.

And what are the people they are discussing doing?

They are arguing.

Yes, quarrel.

The quarrel had nothing to do with the book.

"It's good enough that I can copy books for them, but I have to understand the pain of eye strain from copying books?!" The minister who spoke had an expression of disbelief and a little grievance on his face.

Why didn’t I get such a good thing?

When he was studying, being able to take one more look at the books was a great favor. Now, not only are they allowed to read freely in the library, but there are also special chairs for people to sit when they come to copy books. How could the immortal still think that copying books in the dim light would strain their eyes?!

This is not an immortal, this is my real mother!

Wei Shengxue: ...

She was a little overwhelmed by the intense reaction.

She just said that she wanted to install glass windows in the library. Isn't that a standard feature of libraries?

Every library has large floor-to-ceiling windows, which are bright and clean, and provide excellent lighting.

She tried to reason with the old doctor, whose face was wrinkled and white, and whose age looked older than expected. "Studying in a dim environment is very harmful to the eyes. These people will be the backbone of the Qin Dynasty in the future. If they become blind, wouldn't that be a loss of the greater good?"

The doctor was still so angry that he was puffing his beard. It was good enough that they had a place to read. According to his idea, they should all squat in the corridor.

“Only those who endure the most hardships can become the best. If you can’t even endure the hardship of studying, what else can you achieve?”

Wei Shengxue looked at him and saw that he was shaking with anger. He didn't even dare to speak loudly, for fear that he would accidentally anger the old man to death.

"It's just that they used glass windows during construction, so it can't really be called extravagant."

"That's colored glaze! Even the Zhangtai Palace doesn't dare to use such a gorgeous material as colored glaze for decoration. How can a mere library dare to violate the rules?"

"They're just a few pieces of cheap glass made from sand. The cost is less than a similar volume of pottery. There's no way they're gorgeous or pretentious."

"sand?!"

Wei Shengxue smoothed her hair and asked in surprise, "Don't you know that glass is made from sand?!"

No way, the Daqin Glass Factory has been built for almost a year!

Both sides stared at each other in confusion.

Then they all looked at Ying Zheng.

Ministers: Your Majesty, is this true?

Weishengxue: Fellow Daoist, how come they don’t know?

Ying Zheng: ...

He fell into an eerie silence.

How do I say this?

Do we want him to say that he set the price of glass extra high in order to fleece the nobles more?

No, how can I say such truth?

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Wei Shengxue made the final decision: "It's decided. The library will use large lighting!"

Then she went straight to the next topic: "Have you chosen the right person for the librarian position?"

This is a position comparable to that of the Shaolin monk sweeping the floor, and it is definitely the location of a hidden boss.

The librarians of Daqin cannot be left out of the configuration!

The position of librarian comes with a natural advantage in reading all books and is respected by all readers.

This is where the real interest lies, compared to the choice of materials used to build the library.

So the ministers in the hall decisively put aside the previous topic and started competing for this position.

Weishengxue: Change the subject get