Chapter 163

"Hey...hey, sir, my shop has made a small profit this year, I can donate money." A merchant shouted immediately, obviously stuttering with excitement.

Someone was not to be outdone, "Who isn't? Thanks to Lord Lin, I have also earned a lot, so I can still give this little money."

Someone coughed lightly, and Lin Shuge looked in the direction of the sound. It was Chen Jin.

"Sir, although I am not as good as the other bosses, if there is anything I can do to help you, I will do my best." Chen Jin stood up and bowed.

As soon as she spoke, many people swallowed their words silently. After all, in terms of the money earned this year, they could not compare to this Madam Chen. Even Boss Chen, who was from the same clan as Madam Chen, did not speak today.

"Everyone is interested. Those who are interested can go to Yan Zhubu to register. Everyone can be included." Lin Shuge said.

"That's good."

"Thank you, sir."

When the merchants who were willing to participate heard that they could all be registered, they were naturally delighted. Merchants were wealthy but of low status, and usually had to rely on Lin Shu Pavilion for care. This time they didn't have much money anyway, so they could sell Lin Shu Pavilion at a good price and maybe even leave their names in history.

After the noisy crowd dispersed, Lin Shuge put away the corners of his mouth that had been pulled all morning, and gently rubbed his sore forehead. The officer outside the door came in and said, "Sir, Master Mu has been waiting for a long time."

"Let him in." Lin Shuge ordered in a low voice.

A moment later, Mu Yuanzhou came in from outside and bowed to Lin Shuge, "Greetings, County Magistrate Lin."

"You should know why I want to see you. Zhongxuan should have told you before he left. Now most of the soldiers in Pingxiang have already gone out to fight. I want to ask you if you have noticed the movements of the Qiang people."

Mu Yuanzhou replied, "Hua Wei led the young men from all tribes to follow the captain of the guards to the battle. Since the other tribes surrendered to Dayan, they have not dared to have any disloyalty. In addition, Your Excellency has written a letter to open up the trade, and a group of Dayan people have moved to Moshui Township. The two tribes have been friendly with each other, and the Qiang people, young and old, are living a much better life than usual. Based on what I have seen in Moshui Township, it should be..."

As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Shuge, as if he was afraid to draw a clear conclusion.

"From what you see, the Qiang people should not have any evil intentions?" Lin Shuge helped him finish his unfinished words.

Mu Yuanzhou quickly leaned forward and said, "I can't guarantee that everyone is like this, but now that Master Wei's deterrence is gone, Master should still take some precautions."

Lin Shuge waved his hand and said, "I understand. Come with me to the academy to have a look."

Go to school?

Although Mu Yuanzhou was doubtful, he still bowed and said, "Yes, sir."

When Lin Shuge and others arrived, the class had just ended and the activity area was full of noisy students.

When the school was being built, Lin Shuge built several large playgrounds in imitation of later schools. At this time, some students were laughing and playing, while others gathered together to play games. In the distance, there should be children, sitting on the ground in groups of three or four, chatting happily.

When the school was first built, there was not sufficient funding, so both young children and adults were admitted, just like some schools in later generations that had junior high and high school departments. However, the young children and adults did not interfere with each other, and they looked clearly separated.

Lin Shuge thought to himself: It would be better to wait for a year or two and then build a new school.

"Let's go, let's go over there." Lin Shuge pointed with his slender finger.

Mu Yuanzhou and Su Cheng, who were following behind, also looked in the direction of his finger and saw that the child over there had a high nose and deep eyes. Although he was wearing the same clothes as other schoolchildren, he obviously did not look Han Chinese.

Could it be the Qiang child who enrolled in school that day? But why are there so many?

Mu Yuanzhou looked at Lin Shuge with confusion as he walked over a few steps, exchanged a few words with the teacher who came forward to greet him, and then started chatting with the Qiang child, looking very familiar with him.

Then, he was shocked to see Lin Shuge easily taking out candies from his arms and distributing them to the children around him. Although those children looked like foreigners, they spoke standard Chinese.

"Thank you, sir. Today we are learning The Analects of Confucius." A child replied, carefully holding a candy.

"So what have you learned?" Lin Shuge leaned over and squatted down to be level with them. Seeing this, the people behind him also squatted down like Lin Shuge.

"What I learned today is that the monarch should treat his subjects with courtesy, and the subjects should serve the monarch with loyalty. That is to say, if the monarch treats me with courtesy, then I will be loyal to him. But sir, we have never seen the monarch." A Qiang child said seriously.

Before Lin Shuge could speak, he said cleverly, "When we learn this skill, we will naturally meet the king. But doesn't Lord Lin treat us with courtesy on weekdays?"

He didn't say the rest of the sentence, but the other children obviously knew what he meant and nodded.

Lin Shuge said quickly, "Don't talk nonsense. It seems that you still need to work harder on the lessons taught by the teacher." He didn't dare to accept this analogy, and asked, "How do you compare with other classmates now?"

The children's thoughts were not as complicated as Lin Shuge's. They just thought that they might have understood it wrongly. Then they heard Lin Shuge asking them this question. In the past, they might not have been able to compare with the Yanren students because of the language barrier and poor foundation, but now they have something to say.

"I got an A in this study." The child who had just spoken said immediately. He was very talented and had the best academic performance among these Qiang children, and he seemed to be a leader.

"Are you happy here?" Lin Shuge asked again.

The child opened his mouth, looked at Lin Shuge and said, "We were not very happy at first. We couldn't speak Chinese, and because we didn't dress as nicely as other classmates and looked different, many people didn't want to play with us. But later on, things got much better. We made a lot of friends. The master said that people from the same school are friends, and people with the same comrades are friends. We are from the same master's school, and we all like... playing and eating cakes, so we are all friends."

Several people burst into laughter when they heard this. Lin Shuge once taught the school how to make cakes. The sweet and soft cakes naturally won the favor of students, especially these "unworldly" Qiang children who liked this soft, cloud-like, fragrant and sweet thing very much.

"Yes, yes, the cake is delicious, and the snacks that A-Yu brought are also delicious. I took them back to Mom, and Mom also thought they were delicious. I also shared the milk cake that Mom made with A-Yu." A shorter child seemed to have finally found a topic to talk about.

When it comes to food, these Qiang children have something to say. Although the food in ancient times cannot be compared with that in later generations, compared with the food of these Qiang people, it can be said to be a slam dunk. Since they came to Yan to go to school, what they have seen the most and what has attracted them the most is definitely the rich food.

Mu Yuanzhou saw these children chattering non-stop about the various foods they had seen. Among the people here, he had the most dealings with the Qiang people and could even speak fluent Qiang language. He joined in the conversation, which naturally led the Qiang children to almost reveal all their thoughts.

When the bell rang for class, all the children immediately said goodbye to Lin Shuge and the others, as they had to go to class.

Lin Shuge waved at them, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Mu Yuanzhou has been in Moshui Township. He has witnessed with his own eyes how the two tribes have gradually reduced friction and now live in harmony. Seeing such a scene again today, he naturally understands something in his mind. Lord Lin really has good intentions.

"Sir, I know what to do. These are hard-earned, and I will protect them all. If anything really happens, I will put an end to it." He spoke in a loud voice, admiring in his heart.

Lin Shuge looked at him with a half-smile, and said, "Zhongxuan has left a defense over there, you should always pay attention to it. If you can't solve it, report to me as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir."

"If there is nothing else, you can leave. I have other things to do in the school today." Lin Shuge said.

Mu Yuanzhou was curious. He had broadened his horizons today. He also thought that Lin Shuge's personal visit must be for some new thing. But he didn't want to take the opportunity to keep him. This Lord Lin had a mild temper, unlike that Master Xie. But he didn't dare to offend him now. Lord Lin was young but experienced, so he couldn't be underestimated.

Especially since he had offended Master Xie last time for some unknown reason and Master Xie had not summoned him for a long time, he felt panicked. Seeing Lord Lin's actions today, Master Xie should not have abandoned him.

Lin Shuge didn't know that his mind had turned to Xie Chen. He only saw the curiosity in his eyes and said, "If you want to follow, then follow me."

At this unexpected turn of events, Mu Yuanzhou immediately bowed and said, "Yes, sir."

Lin Shuge wanted to meet the principal of the school. The principal's surname was Shi, and he was highly respected by scholars in Qingquan. When the school was established, it was Lin Shuge who went to invite him personally, and stated that after the school was built, no tuition would be charged for students and it would only be for the education of the county. Only then did Principal Shi appreciate Lin Shuge's righteous act and agreed to be the principal of the school.

"Why did you come here in person, sir?" When Dean Shi heard that Lin Shuge had arrived, he immediately came over to greet him.

"Master, there is no need to be so polite. I came here because I have something to discuss with you in detail."

Principal Shi and Master Liu who was following him were confused. Captain Wei had just left and Magistrate Lin came over at this time. Could something have happened?

Seeing their horrified expressions, Lin Shuge hurriedly said, "It's a good thing. I discussed with the merchants in the county today and want to set up an award in the school to reward the students who rank at the top of the class every year. In addition, a batch of financial aid will be prepared to help students from poor families. However, this matter still depends on the careful review of the students by the headmaster and the teachers."

Shanzhang Shi listened to Lin Shuge's story and immediately understood his intention. "Your Excellency's kindness, we will fully cooperate with you and will carefully select the right person to live up to your and other righteous businessmen's hard work."

Lin Shuge then told them about the naming of the scholarships and grants, and Dean Shi naturally agreed. The merchants had already paid the money and were just taking up the names, so why wouldn't they agree?

Mu Yuanzhou watched Lin Shuge smiling and chatting with the other teachers about interesting things that happened in the school. He also casually asked about the students in their school, and naturally turned to the Qiang students. A teacher began to complain, saying that the Qiang students admitted when the school just opened were simply... difficult to teach. It was all because of Lin Shuge's presence, otherwise they would definitely say that they were unteachable.

The Qiang children at that time could not speak Chinese, and their behavior seemed vulgar even in the eyes of the Chinese characters for "Fu" which emphasize etiquette. They also had no knowledge of respecting their teachers and would even show off their strength and fight with others when they disagreed with something. They were really difficult to discipline.

But after teaching them more, I found that there was no difference between them and the Yan children. Now I treat them equally, rewarding them together for academic progress and punishing them together for being naughty and causing trouble.

Mu Yuanzhou and Su Cheng listened with great interest and before they knew it, it was almost dark.

Lin Shuge declined Principal Shi's invitation to have dinner together, and left the school with Mu Su.

Seeing Lin Shuge staring at the sky in a daze, Mu Yuanzhou comforted him, "Master Wei is a very lucky person and has great martial arts skills, so you don't have to worry."

Lin Shuge looked back at him and said, "You should go back earlier too. Remember what you said."

Mu Yuanzhou bowed to him and turned to leave.

Su Cheng was the only one left beside Lin Shuge, "Let's go, let's go see Chu Xu and the others."

Su Cheng sighed heavily in his heart. Does the lord look like this? Is there something wrong or not? He didn't want to say too much.

God bless Lord Wei and he will win the battle and return safely. Otherwise, not to mention Lord Lin, he would be worried all day long. Those of them who work in the county government naturally know all about the Huns. Lord Wei must be careful when he leads his troops to the battle.

As night fell, Xie Chen, who was being nagged by different people, tried to hold back and not sneeze. The night wind was a little chilly, so he told He Xin to tell the soldiers to rest, and he sat aside and looked at the moon above his head.