Chapter 427: Fellows

"Master Su!" When they arrived at the Tong County government office, the clerks and yamen runners greeted Su Ying warmly when they saw her.

The situation in Tong County improved this year, and the salaries were close to those in Wu County. The officials and yamen runners felt that there was hope in their lives.

Tong County has made soybean oil, bean shoots and soy sauce into a series of products, with each village forming its own unique characteristics.

It became the place with the largest soybean consumption in the Lingnan area, stimulating the sale of soybeans from several surrounding areas to Tongxian.

At the same time, soybean oil, soy sauce and soy products are sold continuously.

Not only did the villages become prosperous, but the inns, restaurants, and carriage shops in the city were also affected. Every household either opened a restaurant or an inn.

At the very least, it is a purchasing agent point, and everyone benefits from it.

The sugar production at the sugar mills during the four months at the end of the year is even more frantic, with constant business travel, and villagers also carrying sugarcane to sell, while also consuming and buying.

The county government's profits and taxes increased dramatically, and the clerks and yamen runners from the sugar factory and all walks of life received a lot of New Year's salaries and overtime pay.

Who doesn’t like such a good day? Who doesn’t want to live such a good day every day?

There were several strangers who looked at Su Ying curiously.

Is this the first female official in the Tang Dynasty? She looks like a young girl, yet she has already reached the seventh rank!

The students were curious but also unwilling.

I studied so hard, but couldn't even get a ticket to the imperial examination, and yet a girl managed to get to the seventh rank! Why was it so easy for others to become officials?

"These are the students who are here to teach!" County Magistrate Lin introduced.

"Master Su!" the students bowed.

"Hello, gentlemen!" Su Ying politely returned the greeting. "You've all had a hard time on the journey! Lingnan is a wild place, and the official school still relies on you gentlemen to take care of it!"

"Lord Su, you are so polite!" The students did not expect Su Ying to be so amiable, and not as condescending and overbearing as they had imagined.

"Gentlemen, you have come a long way and have gained a preliminary understanding of Lingnan. I wonder what you think?" Su Ying sat down and started chatting with the students.

"Your Excellency, we are from Yangzhou and are classmates. We are willing to do our best to help run schools in Lingnan," one of the students replied.

"Oh, Yangzhou is a good place!" Su Ying raised her eyebrows. She didn't expect that the students from the wealthy place would be the first to respond.

"Yes!" The students felt a sense of joy of being recognized when they heard Mr. Su praising their hometown.

"Come from Dayuling?" Su Ying asked.

"Yes! Today, Dayuling is bustling with people and merchants. I heard that the roads there were very difficult and dangerous years ago.

We were lucky and passed through after the New Year. The road was wide, with two-way lanes, and the cement road was thicker and more wear-resistant than the one built in Wuzhou!

"After this trip, I realized how limited my knowledge was. Lingnan is not as backward as I imagined!" the students said sincerely.

“No, Lingnan is indeed barbaric and backward, but it’s just that Wuzhou, where you all came, has been working hard to change over the past year or so, and it’s changing with each passing day, which has given you a false impression.

Just looking at the enrollment these days, we can see that the student population is too small and insufficient. This is Tong County, which is already wealthy, and the people still can't afford to send their children to school."

Su Ying smiled and said, "The road ahead is long and difficult. What are your opinions and suggestions, and what are your plans?"

"Your Excellency, no matter how many students there are in the first term, we will not give up. We have already checked and counted the school-age children through the household department.

The yamen runners were ordered to inform all villages to send their school-age children to the county school for interviews and select a group of children with good qualifications.

"We'll set up a special class, waive tuition fees, and provide free textbooks," the students replied.

"Oh, it seems that you all came prepared!" Su Ying smiled. There were still people of the same kind in ancient times!

"Yes, we've prepared for any eventuality and brought a lot of textbooks." The students looked proud. "We're emulating the local gentry in this way."

In the wealthy areas of Jiangnan, some gentry set up schools and recruited local intelligent children, exempting them from tuition fees and giving them free books.

Even all the expenses for the provincial and prefectural examinations were arranged and subsidized, just to make good connections or to train him as a son-in-law.

As long as one of the children becomes successful, the squire will make a profit and get back both the principal and interest!

This move has no disadvantages and only benefits. For the gentry, it is just a piece of cake, just a matter of buying a few books and a meal.

For gifted children, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change their destiny.

When the students came, they gathered together to discuss that Lingnan was poor and wild, and there were only two reasons for issuing this order to teach there.

First, there are few teachers here, which means there are few textbooks and classics. Several people went to the local gentry to beg for a lot of books.

Secondly, the area is poor, with not enough food to eat, so naturally there is no money for education. So I thought about how to truly support education, accept a group of students, and exempt them from tuition fees.

"Haha, gentlemen, you are so attentive!" Su Ying smiled with satisfaction. This is what real teaching is!

"The provincial government has heard of the difficulties faced by various counties in running schools and is printing textbooks and classics to donate to the counties to support their education."

"Great!" several students said happily, "Then we can recruit more students!"

"Well! You gentlemen, you've worked hard!" Su Ying couldn't help but talkative when she met people of the same profession. "When the county school is established, we can add abacus and new math classes!"

"Sir, we will teach these auxiliary courses appropriately, but from what you said, you want to teach them as main courses?" Some students were puzzled, as this was inconsistent with the imperial examination.

"Yes! Most of the students come from poor families and have average qualifications. It's impossible for every one of them to take the imperial examinations. It would be better to teach these children practical courses so they can support their families in the future."

The students looked at each other in bewilderment, having never thought about educational streaming.

The situation Su Ying described mostly involves children working as free apprentices at the age of seven or eight, with food provided but no wages, working for free for several years.

Although it is said that a master or employer is teaching a skill, in many cases the master will not actually teach the apprentice. The apprentice has to rely entirely on himself to learn, comprehend and learn from the master.

Su Ying explicitly proposed to divert some of the students. This was the first time they had heard of this teaching concept, and they needed to digest it.

"Sir, we are teaching the books of sages. What you said, what you said..." The students hesitated, saying that taking those subjects as main courses was an insult to the sages.

"That's fine. Let's talk about abacus and modern mathematics after you've read the textbooks!

The mathematics courses at the Six Schools of Chang'an and the official schools of the prefectures have already incorporated abacus, and I believe that modern mathematics will soon be incorporated as well!"

Su Ying was not angry, after all, they had never met.

Abacus has a great influence. In addition to being included in the curriculum of mathematics and Wuzhou official school, other channels of dissemination are among colleagues such as accountants and household officials.

Students in Yangzhou may have heard of the power of abacus, but they did not take it seriously.

"Mathematics is included in the curriculum?" The students exclaimed, having no idea about such news.

The Six Schools of Chang'an were the bellwethers for schools and private academies across the country. Most of the talented people who graduated from these schools were employed by various departments of the imperial court. Although they were clerks, they were capable ones.

Such officials are most needed, especially in the military logistics and food supply.

When the imperial examination is blocked, isn't this another option?

"Do you have any abacus or new mathematics teaching materials?" The students were eager to see what could allow mathematics to become a special course.

"Lord Lin should have it!" Su Ying looked at County Magistrate Lin.