The next morning at court, after Minister Lu submitted his memorial, everyone initially felt it was not quite right. After all, even basic necessities like food and clothing were still a problem, so how could he encourage counties to open classes for women?
How will we cover these expenses?
"Well... let Lord Ji speak for himself. I don't think anyone knows better than Lord Ji." Minister Lu didn't take the credit and directly sold Ji Yingying out.
Good grief, I didn't give you this assignment to slack off, but to get you doing real work. If I do all the work, what use are you?
The other members of the Six Departments couldn't help but chuckle, while Minister Lu awkwardly wiped his forehead.
"Your Majesty, the girls' classes can be run by the government. By 'run by the government,' I mean public schools with tuition waived for a limited period. As for the teachers' monthly stipends and the courtyards that will be established, those can be easily arranged."
“We own a clothing factory, right? The profits can be used for this purpose. To be honest, most of the people who buy clothes are women. We use their money to benefit them. This is called taking from the people and using it for the people.”
“Each county, town, and village should establish schools according to a set ratio. For example, a place can have one public school. One school is not enough, but there are many local gentry families. We can encourage the gentry in each county to establish private schools, including schools for boys and girls. The tuition fees for students will be uniformly set by the government, and quotas will be used to limit the number of students who can become top scholars, successful candidates in the provincial examinations, and successful candidates in the county examinations.”
"At this point, when there are more people, we will implement a point system. For example, if there is only one Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination), but the candidate's paper reaches a certain score, he/she can participate in the next provincial-level examination, and so on."
Ji Yingying gave examples one by one, and even broke down all the experiences of organizing them.
"As the population grows, garment factories will need to expand, so that there is one in every city and county. At this time, our schools will come in handy. Those who do not want to participate in the imperial examination can choose to learn technical skills, such as how to grow corn, how to study medicine, how to study veterinary medicine, how to make clothes and handkerchiefs, how to castrate pigs, carpentry, craftsmanship, and how to make weapons, etc."
"These are professional... cough cough... I'm not going to say anymore, I'm coughing."
She talked for a very long time, until Ji Yingying felt her throat was parched. The group of people listened to her lecture like students.
"Someone, serve tea to Minister Ji and offer him a seat."
[Oh wow~ The Emperor is getting more and more savvy. If he doesn't take this position, who will?]
The emperor also agreed with her; he was the true Son of Heaven, and this position was rightfully his.
"Your Majesty, I have something else that can yield a thousand catties per mu when grown, comparable to corn."
"What is it?"
Leaving aside the girls' class, Ji Yingying immediately changed the subject.
"Sweet potatoes, these sweet potatoes are a really good thing."
[I spent ten thousand taels of silver to buy this; it includes seeds, and I even cooked a pot for everyone to try.]
"Do you have any samples, my dear minister?"
"Yes, I've brought it with me, it's right at the door."
"Hurry up and have someone bring it up."
Not long after, Granny Xia came in with people carrying two bags of sweet potatoes and a bucket of cooked ones.
"Come on, everyone, try these sweet potatoes." Ji Yingying invited everyone to take the cooked ones: "I washed the sweet potatoes before cooking, so you can eat them directly or peel them first."
The sweet potato's flavor won everyone over; it was sweet, soft, and even tastier than corn.
"How do you plant these sweet potatoes?" Minister Gong has already come over to ask for advice.
"Do you need me to teach a class?" Ji Yingying asked, without directly writing down the method.
However, since everything has been brought out, it's obvious that it's to show everyone how to plant it.
"Yes, yes, after court we'll go back to the Ministry of Works for a proper lesson. You tell me, we'll handle the operation."
"OK."
The Emperor was pleased and ordered Minister Gong to learn how to plant.
After the morning court session, Minister Gong pulled Ji Yingying back to the Ministry of Works.
“How can we have a class without a blackboard?” Ji Yingying sighed, went to her office area for a while, and soon came out with a blackboard.
This is terrible! I spent a lot of money on this blackboard; it's a complete waste of money.
However, Ji Yingying still explained the planting method to everyone one by one.
"Everyone, please remember that if you eat the leaves, you may not be able to get sweet potatoes. But if you want to eat sweet potatoes, don't eat the leaves. Also, you must turn the vines over, and remember when to plant and how to plant them."
The response was a unified voice: "Understood."
"Alright, go to the estate tomorrow to find a quick plot of land and figure out a way to plant it. The greenhouses are already being prepared for installation, right?" The last question was asked by Minister Gong.
These greenhouses were promoted nationwide, but I wonder how they are doing now?
"The installation at the estate will begin around tomorrow. As for the nationwide rollout, there's been no news yet. However, the last message we received was that it has reached your fiefdom."
Ji Yingying nodded. Xinhe County was a county with a strong capacity for acceptance; her father had conducted many experiments there.
She had just left the Ministry of Works when the Crown Princess sent someone to invite her over.
Why isn't the Crown Princess causing trouble for the children anymore? And why does she have time to invite me over?
I don't know, but there's some juicy gossip!
[Tell me quickly, did you kick the Crown Prince out of bed again?]
No, it's this old woman; she's been cheated on.
Ji Yingying looked up at the old woman in front of her and asked, puzzled, "She styled her hair and makeup herself, how could she have been cuckolded?"
No, no, no, she's not a nun. She's married, but she hasn't told anyone. Instead, she's hidden her husband and children from the public eye.
How do you say it?
[It's likely that the nanny who was taking care of her was being manipulated by her family and used to do things for others, so she didn't want others to know that she had a man and a child, so that she wouldn't be controlled by them.]
Then, because she didn't go back often, her husband cheated on her. No, strictly speaking, he had a lover all along, who was his childhood sweetheart. This lover always considered herself his wife, and even their child called her "Mom."
Every time she went back, the child would give her a cold shoulder. She thought it was because she felt guilty, but it wasn't. It was because he no longer wanted his mother. And her husband was even worse; not only did he use her money to support his childhood sweetheart, but he also supported her entire family.
【Holy crap, is this some kind of blood-sucking?】
[Not only that, if this old woman applies to leave the palace now, things will be even worse later. Right now she's only been swindled out of money, but if she applies to leave the palace, she'll be swindled out of her life.]
That family just wants to exploit her. Once she's no longer of any use, things will get tough for her.
The old woman leading the way was so angry that her fingers were almost digging into her flesh. She never expected that her son would treat her so coldly.
No wonder!
This ungrateful son will regret it later.
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