Mu Yi'an was busy with the shop's preparations, hoping to open it before her belly got too big.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have the energy to do this in the later stages of pregnancy. After giving birth, she would still need to rest and recover during her postpartum period, and with the baby being so small, she would basically have no time or energy to take care of these things until the baby was 100 days old.

This means at least half a year will be wasted, resulting in a significant loss of income.

Mu Yi'an took care of everything at home, and Jiang Shuyun didn't have much to help with.

However, after his efforts over this period of time, he has compiled more than 500 commonly used characters.

There were too many words this time, so instead of making flashcards, we made a booklet.

The booklet was cut to octavo size and was made of relatively stiff paper.

Each page contains six characters, each accompanied by a simple drawing, allowing students to learn characters by looking at the pictures.

In her previous life, Jiang Shuyun practiced calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting, and also studied sketching and simple line drawing. She also practiced oil painting for two years.

This skill was Jiang Shuyun's source of confidence; otherwise, he really didn't know how he would survive in the academic circles of ancient times.

Jiang Shuyun made two booklets, checked them several times to make sure there were no mistakes, and then took the booklets to the headmaster.

"Jiang, the headmaster invites you in."

Outside the headmaster's study, after the page went in to deliver a message, he invited Jiang Shuyun in.

"Thank you, thank you for your help."

Jiang Shuyun thanked the page and pushed open the door to enter the headmaster's study.

"Hello, Headmaster. I apologize for disturbing you."

"Come and sit down."

Jiang Shuyun sat down on the chair below the headmaster, her posture upright and dignified.

"What brings Zhonglin here? Is there something you don't understand about teaching?"

The headmaster had a good impression of Jiang Shuyun, not only because the emperor had mentioned this newly appointed scholar, but also because of his attitude towards the common people and his guidance to students to value the people.

"Reporting to the Headmaster, there are no difficulties in teaching for the time being. I have some other matters I would like to consult with the Headmaster."

Jiang Shuyun stood up and handed the completed literacy booklet to the headmaster with both hands.

"What's this?"

The headmaster took it, placed it on the desk, and gently opened it.

What catches the eye are neatly written characters and drawings of an unknown style. Each drawing is accompanied by corresponding text, which is very vivid.

"This is?"

"Headmaster, this is a literacy booklet I compiled myself. It's about learning characters by looking at pictures." Jiang Shuyun pointed to the pictures above the characters.

“I thought that with such books, children who can’t go to school and adults who don’t have the opportunity to learn to read can learn some commonly used characters by looking at the pictures.”

"Hmm, good idea, and the drawing is very good too. So, is there some difficulty you're facing by contacting me?"

The headmaster understood from the book that it was for learning to read, but he didn't expect that Jiang Shuyun wanted more people to learn to read.

"Headmaster, as you know, although I passed the imperial examination, I still only have a superficial understanding of many things. Is there anything wrong with books like this? After all, this is not a proper way to study."

Yi'an had reminded him that such things might be harmless on a small scale and no one would pay attention. However, if word got out and those schools of thought found out, there might be some trouble.

"I understand what you mean. Leave this book here for now, I need to take a look. How many did you make? Are there any more?"

"Headmaster, there's one more book."

"Then keep it safe and wait for my message."

"Thank you, Headmaster, you've worked so hard!"

Jiang Shuyun bowed and left the headmaster's study.

The headmaster carefully flipped through the entire book and knew that Jiang Shuyun had put her heart into it.

The entire booklet contains 540 characters, all of which are commonly used characters.

He presented it in a graphic format, making it easy for people to understand at a glance. Just as he himself said, even without a teacher, one can know how to pronounce a character simply by looking at the picture.

If such books were promoted, there would be many more literate people throughout the Dali Dynasty.

The headmaster actually stood up; he needed to think this through carefully. If handled well, it would be a great thing for the country and its people; if handled poorly, it could easily bring trouble to Jiang Shuyun.

After circling around a few times, the headmaster sat down again and began writing a letter.

After writing the letter, he read it carefully twice, making sure there were no problems with the wording. Only then did he put it down, wait for the ink to dry, fold it, put it in an envelope, seal it with wax, and summon the person in the shadows.

"This letter and this booklet are to be delivered to His Majesty."

"yes."

The person in the shadows came and went without a sound, as if they had never been there at all.

After finishing his task, the headmaster stood up, left the study, and strolled around the courtyard for a while, hoping for good news.

Jiang Shuyun left the headmaster's study and stopped thinking about the matter. He carefully put away the other booklet, intending to take it home that evening.

It's already the end of October, and Yi'an's belly has grown even bigger.

During this time, she was busy mobilizing her team, hoping to open the barbecue shop before her health deteriorated further.

Steward Li went to send his parents back to the county town, and then brought back a boatload of fat pigs and sheep from the county town, which he brought to the estate.

Jiang Shuyun also likes barbecue. In his previous life, when he had nothing to do, he would go to a barbecue restaurant alone or with a few close colleagues and friends to eat some skewers and drink a few beers. That was one of his few social activities.

He believes that barbecue will be popular in any era.

Yi An is a very capable person. In her previous life, she had done many part-time jobs and was involved in many industries. Although she was not an expert and only had a superficial understanding, she was still much better than him.

Once the shop opens, he can invite the teachers he's on good terms with from the academy to come and try it.

In ancient times, scholars were easily admired, somewhat like idol worship.

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