When Zhu Tao heard Yun Qing mention Zhu Xiu'er's marriage, his brows began to furrow. He didn't have much of a relationship with Zhu Xiu'er, his adopted sister, but she was still a sister, and his marriage couldn't be rushed.

But Zhu Xiuer is only the age of a middle school student, and he can't get over the thought of her getting married.

He selectively forgot that his wife, Yun Qing, was also only a junior high school graduate.

"My sister's marriage isn't urgent for now; we can talk about it after our child is born."

After hearing Zhu Tao's words, Yun Qing thought about it and realized that getting married too early was not a good idea.

"That's fine. Mother asked me to teach my younger sister how to manage the household. She's only just started learning, and it will take time for her to learn. Besides, she doesn't have to get married at home, which is more comfortable than getting married. Although there's no rush, you should still keep an eye out for good families. If you find a suitable person, it's good to settle down in advance, so that your younger sister won't be without a suitable person when she reaches the right age."

Zhu Tao naturally nodded in agreement.

“That’s fine, but as you know, most of the people I know are probably already married. Once someone introduces you to someone, they become a different person. I don’t feel comfortable letting Xiu’er marry just anyone. You’ll need to take care of her in the future.”

Yun Qing naturally doesn't mind worrying; she'll only worry if one day he doesn't need her to worry anymore!

Yun smiled and nodded: "Then let's do it that way. By the way, the Emperor just sent someone to handle this matter at a school near the capital. Are you going there tomorrow?"

"Yes, the sooner this is done, the sooner we can have peace of mind. Let's start working on it tomorrow."

When Yinzhen went to Yunrong's place that evening, he brought over the things that Zhu Tao had brought and handed them to Yunrong, saying, "Take a look, what do you think? You have more say in this than I do."

Yunrong took it, saying, "I have more say in this than you do."

Yunrong opened it and immediately understood what Yinzhen meant. She was indeed more qualified to speak on this matter than Yinzhen.

"The pinyin dictionary, Zhu Tao brought it over?"

Yinzhen nodded: "Yes, it was delivered today, let me show it to you."

Yunrong opened it and looked at it carefully. There are still many differences between the dictionary compiled by Zhu Tao and the modern Xinhua Dictionary. The first difference is in the thickness.

Due to limitations in printing technology, even though printing technology has improved, it is still unable to print very small fonts due to various reasons (materials, etc.), so this dictionary looks surprisingly thick.

In terms of content, since classical Chinese characters have more complex strokes than modern simplified characters, there is no method for searching characters by stroke. The pinyin is also different; it is not standard Mandarin. Since Beijing was the center of the Qing Dynasty, you can search based on the Beijing pronunciation.

Yunrong tried looking up a few characters, and the speed was acceptable. Yunrong then randomly searched for a few rare characters, and she was able to find them all.

After Yunrong finished her investigation, she said, "It's not bad. It's already very good that it has been done to this extent. If it is promoted, all the scholars of Tianren can benefit."

Yunrong: "How do you plan to promote it?"

Yinzhen felt that this matter could not be rushed. Although there was pinyin and a dictionary, and they worked well, there was one problem: too few people knew how to use pinyin. Even if the dictionary was given to every scholar in the world, it probably wouldn't be of much use.

"I asked Zhu Tao to find a school near the capital and teach the children there. As for the rest, that's up to him."

Yunrong nodded: "You can handle this as you see fit."

After saying this, Yunrong suddenly thought of something and said, "That's right, there are many methods for learning characters by looking at pictures nowadays, which might be useful."

"Learn characters from pictures?"

Yunrong briefly explained: "It involves using various pictographic patterns. For example, you can label an eagle image on the 'ing' symbol. This makes it easy for both children and adults to remember. Adults are clever enough to replace the image with corresponding onomatopoeic words. Giving the image to children can also increase their learning enjoyment. It's a win-win situation, and I think it's feasible."

Seeing that Yunrong was speaking enthusiastically, Yinzhen listened very attentively. After listening, he thought the matter was feasible, so he said, "This is a good idea. Do you plan to do it yourself or hand it over to Zhu Tao?"

Yunrong thought for a moment and then said, "Let Zhu Tao handle this. I've been thinking about tinkering with a bicycle lately. You can talk to Zhu Tao about this; it'll be easier for him. He can work with a few colleagues from the Hanlin Academy to make a template, and then print it out. Oh, right, this picture-based literacy project could actually be a business opportunity. We can hand over the subsequent printing to the Imperial Household Department, and then our private coffers can be replenished. Thinking about it this way, this is something we have to do."

After hearing Yunrong share so many of her thoughts, Yinzhen smiled. Yunrong was right; Yinzhen was thinking further ahead. If this thing really worked, the paper version could be cheaper to print, and then a batch of wooden carved versions could be produced.

If the money is enough, it can be customized. There is no shortage of rich people in any era. Rich people naturally like to compete. Then, a limited edition can be made, and famous painters and calligraphers can be invited to make the background. When it is publicized, the money will flow in!

Yinzhen certainly didn't lack information, but the Qing Dynasty needed it for infrastructure development! The more money the better, and he would accept it without hesitation.

Yinzhen: "It's kind of you to think of all this. I'll have Zhu Tao handle it when he comes over next time, but I hope he won't suspect anything?"

Yunrong: "Who cares? If he was going to suspect someone, he would have done so already. Didn't you investigate him? Judging from his behavior, he's probably a history novice. As for whether he'll find out anything later, it's not important anymore. As long as he doesn't have the guts to rebel, that's fine. Besides, even if he suspects someone, he probably won't suspect you."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!