After Mu Yi'an settled Jiang's parents in, the people from Jiangjia Village were brought to the manor by Steward Li and temporarily settled in.

These people were all visiting the prefectural city for the first time and taking a boat ride for the first time; they were all very excited.

Especially after arriving at the village, seeing the endless fields and the magnificent courtyards built there, they were truly amazed.

"Uncle Mian, do all these fields and yards belong to Brother Shuyun?"

Jiang Shulin, the second grandson of the great-grandfather, was very curious: how much silver would such a manor cost?

"Yeah, they're all from the boss's side. You better watch yourself from now on, don't call him 'boss' in front of outsiders. This isn't Jiangjia Village, and there won't just be a few of us working here from now on."

"I understand, Uncle Mian."

Jiang Shulin didn't quite understand why he couldn't call Shuyun "brother" but had to call him "boss".

But before he came, his grandfather told him to listen to Uncle Mian.

Yesterday, Steward Li brought them to the estate. Those who were not married lived in the small courtyard next to the main courtyard, while the married families lived in the first courtyard.

There are no suitable houses for these married people on the estate, but Steward Li said that they will start building houses in the next few days, and then they will all have their own houses.

Jiang Mian had already walked around the entire estate. It was truly vast, with paddy fields, dry fields, forests, wells, and ponds—it had everything.

For the time being, Xu Wu and his wife will take care of the meals, while the other women who came with them will help with the cooking.

Xu Wu's family was reunited. Xu Ping and Xu An showed their father around the village.

Sister Xu and her family lived in the back building, which was very convenient for them to enter and exit through the back door.

Butler Li said that his family lived in the back building and took care of the yard.

Now that everyone has arrived, we need to get things done at the estate as soon as possible.

Not far from Zhuangzi's place, at Bailu Academy, Jiang Shuyun was attending a class.

A spacious schoolhouse, with fewer than thirty scholars of varying ages.

"Let's talk about people's livelihood today."

"People's livelihood? Master, why do you talk about people's livelihood?"

The students sitting below looked puzzled. They had been learning the Three Character Classic, the Hundred Family Surnames, the Analects, the Four Books and Five Classics, and so on since their early childhood. What did this have to do with their lives?

Why do you study?

When Jiang Shuyun was in school, she didn't interact much with other students and didn't pay much attention.

Now, after teaching for over a month, he has found that these students really don't care much about people's livelihoods, the common people, or daily life.

Jiang Shuyun knew that such things were common in ancient times, and he had no intention of changing anything, nor did he have the ability to do so.

He only wanted to mention some things in his daily studies, and even if only one or two people took them to heart and thought about them, he thought that in the future, when he became an official, he might be able to consider the needs of people at the bottom of society a little more.

"Studying is for the purpose of taking the imperial examinations!"

"Studying is for the purpose of passing the imperial examinations!"

"Studying is for the purpose of becoming an official, changing one's social status, and bringing honor to one's ancestors."

...

Different people may give different answers, but the central idea is similar.

"Pass the imperial examinations and become an official. Have you ever thought about what kind of official you want to be?"

Jiang Shuyun then raised the next question.

"We don't have the final say on what kind of official we become, do we?"

"I want to be an honest official, one who stands up for the common people."

The answer was not loud, but it was firm. Jiang Shuyun glanced at the student who spoke and was deeply impressed.

Ma Wenbo, a boy from a poor family.

"Do you know what officialdom is about standing up for the common people?"

Those corrupt officials whose homes were raided had also spent ten years studying diligently. When they first entered officialdom, who didn't dream of becoming a good official remembered for generations? But how many actually achieved that?

Zhou Bingwen was the son of an official.

Both students were gifted in their studies and were young scholars who, before reaching adulthood, had already passed the imperial examinations and earned the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations).

"So what? You still have to try. If you give up without even trying, will there be any honest officials left in the political arena?"

Ma Wenbo disagreed. He came from a poor family and had no access to the so-called officialdom. However, the current emperor was diligent and hardworking, not a muddle-headed person, so why couldn't he take a chance?

"I'm not saying we shouldn't try; I'm just stating the facts. Everyone has had that thought: to be a good official. But often, we're not in control of our own destiny."

Ma Wenbo didn't say anything more, his shoulders slumped involuntarily. He knew all too well that what Zhou Bingwen said was true.

Jiang Shuyun listened to the students' discussion without interrupting until they all fell silent.

"What Ma Wenbo and Zhou Bingwen said is not wrong, but it is not entirely correct either."

Our Great Li Dynasty had so many prefectures, counties, and districts under its jurisdiction, with a population of hundreds of thousands.

But do you know how many of these people can afford to go to school, how many can make ends meet, and how many are too afraid to go to the clinic when they are sick?

Do you know where the rice you eat usually comes from? How much grain can one acre of land produce? How can you maintain the normal operation of a county?

Jiang Shuyun looked at the bewildered students below. They only studied books and most of them were detached from real life.

"Master, we don't know."

Zhou Bingwen was born into an official family. He was surrounded by a bunch of maids and servants, living a life where he was waited on hand and foot.

He didn't know where the rice he ate every day came from, nor had he ever visited his family's farm, let alone know how much grain an acre of land could produce.

"Master, will these questions be useful for our future scientific expeditions?"

One student raised a question: "These things aren't on their exams, are they?"

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