Chapter 53 Chapter 53 Going to School

Li County remained peaceful in August. After the bandits were eliminated, the supply of perfume and soap resumed.

Due to the backlog of goods for several months, wealthy businessmen, officials and their families could not use soap when taking a bath every day, and could not go out without perfume, which was very unusual for them.

Wang Nianzhen was urged again and again, and she was almost broken from trying to smile, but she still didn't get any news.

The delivery person was mysterious, disappearing and reappearing suddenly. She had sent people to follow him, but found nothing. So Wang Nianzhen felt that it was very likely that these people would never come again.

She had no choice but to send people to the dock to receive the goods every month.

She waited for three or four months and finally got what she wanted. There were several more delivery people than before, but she didn't care. As long as the goods were in her hands, everything would be fine.

The goods are the total amount for the past few months, and nothing is missing.

In view of the refugees, Lin Si specially picked some people from the last group who participated in the group, and followed Nan Qiao to escort Mo Yu to the transaction.

Yin Sheng is one of them.

When he learned that the person he was escorting was the father of Ms. Mo, he worked even harder and more attentively. Not only did he escort Mo Yu around, he even asked him if he wanted some water, and the ox cart drove faster.

The other escort team members were shocked by his thoughtfulness and even wondered if they were not serious enough about their work.

Along the way, they encountered two waves of refugees who wanted to steal food, but when they saw the rosy faces and pretended fierce eyes of Yin Sheng and others, they quietly crawled into the haystacks.

Such people are obviously well-fed and strong, and are not their target.

Mo Yu sighed silently, the world has really changed. In the past, there would not be so many homeless refugees.

It seems that giving up everything to come to Li County was the right thing to do. The old servants at home no longer have to guard the old house. When he returns this time and gets the county lord's permission, he will bring those old servants to Li County.

The days ahead will be restless, and I can only feel at ease if I follow the county lady.

Lin Si also thought so. He could still go out to transport goods in the next one or two years, but the situation would only get worse in two years, and he would not be able to go out to transport goods then. Fortunately, even if the perfume and soap were piled up, they could still be sold.

Transporting goods now is just a temporary measure to avoid exposing the geographical location of Li County. In the future, someone will come to pick up the goods. In the future, when the Maritime Silk Road is opened up, these things can be sold directly to foreigners, making a lot of money from them.

Lin Si has even imagined in his mind that in the future, the whole world will speak Chinese and foreigners will take the CET-4 and CET-6 exams.

With this goal, Lin Si felt full of energy.

*

Ever since Tingyu became an outstanding graduate in the literacy class, she has been following Zuoyou every day to learn how to be a teacher. When Zuoyou goes to the Wugengtian class, he also brings Tingyu with him as an auditor.

Tingyu then realized that the young men and women who occasionally came to the county lady's mansion were studying every day. They read in the morning and practiced martial arts in the afternoon, day after day, for more than two years.

Tingyu is a studious person. After attending classes every day, he would go back to review and summarize and write down his thoughts.

The county lord gave her this opportunity, and she wanted to seize it.

Being a maid in the county lady's house was good, but she also wanted to become the kind of person who could discuss things with the county lady in the same room.

When Tingyu was cleaning the house, he heard the county lady, Madam Zhu and others talking, but he could not understand what they were saying at all.

Zuo You was quite satisfied with her student Tingyu, as she was intelligent and meticulous in her work. Of course, she was even more satisfied that the teacher position was finally not her job to do alone.

It’s hard to teach all the children at dawn now, let alone the primary school that Lin Si wants to open.

They let her teach everything by herself, really treating her like a capable ox!

Lin Si made a special distinction between the teaching intensity of the primary school and the fifth watch.

Children in Li County also have to take into account that they have to help their families with farming, etc., so the progress can be slowed down. The primary school only teaches two years of courses. If the grades pass the score line, they can continue to study in depth. Those whose grades do not meet the standards will be directly diverted to carpentry and blacksmith technical schools.

There will be many places that will need carpenters and blacksmiths in the future, and it will not be enough to always take advantage of Sun Chang and Fan Li.

Zuo You and Tingyu finished their lessons at dawn in the morning, and stayed in the house to compile teaching materials in the afternoon.

The subjects learned in elementary school are simple, only Chinese and mathematics. Children in Li County have been helping their families with farm work since they were young, so they have very good physical fitness and don’t even need to attend physical education classes.

When Zuo You was compiling teaching materials, Tingyu was also learning at the same time.

After much haste, Lin Si finally announced the opening of a primary school in Li County before the New Year. All girls and boys under the age of twelve and over the age of five could sign up. There was no tuition fee, only a small amount of miscellaneous fees.

Lin Si considered a lot when it came to opening a school. The first was the ancient practice of favoring boys over girls. She had only been in Li County for two years and had not yet been able to completely reverse this decade-old dregs. In order for the little girl to be able to study, she adopted a compulsory system and linked it to work and farming.

If there is a little girl of appropriate age in the family who is not sent to school, and if the mother is a factory worker, she will be dismissed directly, and if the man works on the farm, he will no longer enjoy the water-powered waterwheel and any welfare benefits of the people of Li County. If a factory is opened in the future, he will not be hired, and Liang Nian's winter charcoal distribution, which he paid for out of his own pocket, will also be cancelled.

If there is any dispute, report it directly to the county government.

Although Lin Si has set an age limit for the primary school, it doesn’t matter if there are people over the age of twelve who want to learn to read and write, as night school literacy classes will be opened later.

This news was enough to cause further turmoil in Li County, which had been tending to a peaceful life.

*

Gong Jingxiu looked at her little girl and felt happy no matter how she looked at her.

The county magistrate has opened a school, and even little girls can go to school. In the past, just opening a school would be unthinkable, let alone allowing girls to go to school.

Bu Yi is six years old this year. He can wield a knife at such a young age and is not afraid at all when seeing pigs being slaughtered.

Gong Jingxiu: "After the New Year, Aiyi can go to school, okay?"

Bu Yi: "I don't want to go to school, I want to kill pigs!"

Gong Jingxiu continued to coax him, "After going to school, you will become even better at killing pigs."

"Then I'm going to school." Bu Yi said in a baby voice.

Gong Jingxiu only gave birth to this one daughter, and she usually doted on her and loved her very much. Bu Yi never stopped eating meat with her every day.

Even if Lin Si didn't follow those rules, she would still send Buyi to school.

What a great opportunity it is to learn to read and write, especially since this is a school that does not charge tuition, only twenty yuan for miscellaneous literature fees.

You have to know that those who want to pass the imperial examinations have to give more than twenty cents as a gift to the teachers, not to mention the tuition. Those teachers are very arrogant and look down on people.

Gong Jingxiu had seen such a scene once in Shizhou, and she thought at that time, it’s just knowing a few words, what’s so great about that.

Gong Jingxiu rubbed Buyi's chubby cheeks and said, "My dear, when you get educated in the future, don't look down on others."

The mother and daughter were joking for a while when Gong Jingxiu heard a loud quarrel breaking out next door.

Gong Jingxiu, who loves to listen to gossip, quietly moved to the corner and listened to the conversation in the room.

Speaking of which, Gong Jingxiu actually doesn't like her next-door neighbors. Although there is nothing wrong with the couple's behavior, they like to take advantage of others, which Gong Jingxiu doesn't like.

"If she goes to school, who will do the laundry and cooking? You work in the factory and I farm. If you come back, we won't have anything to eat, right?"

"Why are you so angry at me? If she doesn't go to school, I'll lose my job. You can't even use the waterwheel. Who knows how many good things the county lady will produce in the future. It has nothing to do with us. Just to eat your crappy lunch, are you going to die?"

Gong Jingxiu then remembered that the couple had two children, the older girl was exactly ten years old this year.

"You're destined to get married in the future. I don't know what's the point of being literate." The man's voice was still filled with anger.

Gong Jingxiu hated hearing such words the most and couldn't help but complain in her heart, "If you have the guts, just stop her from going. If she loses her job, the whole family will starve to death."

Just after she finished listening to the conversation, Gong Jingxiu saw the little girl next door with her head lowered, her eyes slightly red, quietly walking out of the room.

Probably frightened by the quarrel.

Gong Jingxiu didn't want to care, but when she saw the little girl's red eyes, she couldn't help but feel soft-hearted.

What's her name? It seems to be Lan Niang?

"Lan Niang, come and play with Buyi. After you're done playing, go back. Aunt Gong has snacks at her house."

Lan Niang wiped her tears and followed Gong Jingxiu.

Lan Niang asked, "Will Buyi go to school too?"

Gong Jingxiu nodded. "Lan Niang, don't worry about what your mother and father say. They haven't seen much of the world and don't know the benefits of studying. The county lady has given us this opportunity. You should cherish it and study hard. In the future, even if you work in a workshop, you will be a manager at least."

Lan Niang seemed touched by Gong Jingxiu's words. She sniffed and said, "Thank you, Aunt Gong."