Chapter 41 Talking about setting up a school
Li Qiqiao and her friends sorted out two large boxes of books for almost half an hour. There were more than a hundred books in total, and they were all good books with very expensive paper.
But the Jiang family's house was too small, and they didn't know where to put them after they were done, and they were worried.
The two inner rooms were very small, just enough for sleeping and resting.
In addition to the stove and the rice jar, there was not much space left in the outer room. If the books were placed there, there would be no place to put them.
Feng Shi was illiterate and had suffered from the loss of being uneducated when she was young, so she cherished books very much and was reluctant to pile them outside the house.
While they were struggling, Jiang Fengnian couldn't help but sigh: "Our house is too small, otherwise there would be no place to put books."
Feng Shi narrowed her eyes and thought.
In fact, the family has more than enough money to build a new house, but the timing is not right now. Building it suddenly will be too eye-catching.
However, it seems that the matter of moving to a new house must be put on the agenda as soon as possible.
Even without these books, it is becoming increasingly inconvenient for a family of several people to squeeze into a house with only two small rooms.
The house that Fengnian and Fenghu lived in was originally separated by a room.
Not only is it so cramped that it is difficult to turn around, but the eldest half has no windows for ventilation, and the sound insulation is even worse.
Last night, Jiang Fengnian turned off the oil lamp and was going to get into bed with his wife to "give birth" to a baby. Who knew that halfway through the "birth", he heard Jiang Fenghu coughing non-stop on the other end.
I thought my second brother was asking me to keep my voice down.
Jiang Fengnian was so scared that he didn't dare to speak for the whole night.
When he asked in the morning, he found out that Fenghu just choked on too much salted fish and was just clearing his throat.
But this embarrassing thing happened more than once, and it was troublesome to keep going like this.
Feng was thinking about it, when suddenly there was a noisy movement outside.
"They're fighting!"
"The kids in our village are fighting with the kids in Taoyuan Village again!" Feng Miao ran into the house excitedly, shaking his sleeves.
He picked up a stick and turned around to go out and join the "battle."
Feng grabbed his ear and knocked him down.
"You naughty monkey, stay at home and try to fight!"
Jiang Fengnian smiled helplessly: "The children of the two villages have fought several times. It's so cold, and only people of your age have the energy to do so."
Speaking of the children's fighting, it is also a must-see program every winter.
Taoyuan Village is adjacent to their Daliu Village, separated by only a small river.
Although there is a drought now, the river has dried up long ago, but in the past when the river was full, the two villages also drank from the same water.
In winter, the children no longer have to help their families with farm work, and often play crazy in the village in groups of three or two.
The children of the two villages always meet each other. After a long time, the boys are naughty and can start a "village fight" for anything.
Sometimes it is to grab a glass bead.
Sometimes it was just to fight for two or three small insects.
Feng Miao said that this time it was because the kids from Taoyuan Village looked at the kids from Dalui Village a few more times on the other side of the river.
The kids started fighting again because of a few words like "What are you looking at?" and "What's wrong with looking at you?" The kids from Taoyuan Village were obviously at a disadvantage, and two of them had broken heads and were bleeding.
If it wasn't for the fact that the kids from his own village were about to win, little Feng Miao wouldn't have dared to show off with a stick.
Such small matters were not worth much in the countryside, but sometimes the adults would feel a headache if the fight was too severe.
Mrs. Feng remembered that there was still some unused incense ash at home, so she took it out to see which kid needed to stop bleeding, so that she could use it anyway.
As soon as she walked to the mill, she saw eight or nine boys being beaten to the ground with bamboo sticks by their parents.
Some were from Daliu Village and some were from Taoyuan Village.
The village chief was holding a cigarette pot and was so angry that he kept hitting his grandson: "What if someone looks at you a few more times? Is it worth it to break their head? I look at you every day, why don't you dare to fight me? I think you are just too stubborn. Go back and let your mother beat you!"
"Wuwuwu grandma, please don't tell my mother. My mother always beats me with her shoe soles. Her shoe soles are very smelly. I am terrified..." Yang Tianmei's son cried loudly, and his forehead was red from being hit by the cigarette pot.
The adults in the two villages couldn't help laughing.
The village chief had no choice but to throw up his hands. He dared to expose his mother's secret. It seemed that he would inevitably be beaten to a pulp.
At this time, Feng handed over the incense ash. The village chief could only sigh that it was really a pillow when you were sleepy, and hurried to apply it to the injured child.
The adults in the two villages had a good relationship. When they were rushing to harvest in autumn or selling grain, they would often help each other.
They didn't get embarrassed because of the children's affairs.
But everyone was worried and didn't know how to control these naughty boys.
"This kid is really unmanageable. The more he is beaten, the more naughty he becomes. My butt has been beaten to pieces, but he will do it again next time." The village chief of Taoyuan Village shook his head.
"Hurry up and wait until spring, and press my grandson to the ground to help me plant rice, so that he won't cause trouble everywhere." Mrs. Liu from Daliu Village also sighed.
"If only they could go to a private school in the city like Xiao Fengjing from the Feng family and Xiao Wencai from the Li family, with teachers watching over them, who would dare to fight?"
"No, it's just that the tuition is too expensive, and we can't bear to pay."
Feng was suddenly mentioned, and it was obvious that everyone envied her family for being able to send their children to a private school.
After all, if they were not short of money, who would be willing to let their children be blind.
Mrs. Feng looked at the mill that was about to be rebuilt, and then she saw Mr. Zhang, who was idle at home. Suddenly, she had an idea, so she pulled the village chief over.
"Village chief, since we have built the mill, we are idle anyway. I have an idea. Why don't we turn the mill into a temporary school, gather all the children together, and ask Mr. Zhang to teach them how to read?"
"It doesn't matter how well they learn, as long as they are not blind, it's better than them playing around in the village." Mrs. Feng's tone was very serious.
When the village chief heard this, he immediately spit out the cigarette pot in his mouth. This is a good idea, why didn't he think of it!
Mr. Zhang's eyes lit up.
He dragged his lame leg and nodded hurriedly: "Uncle village chief, I am happy to do this. As long as I can teach a few children and have something to do, I don't need any wages!"
Because he broke his leg a few years ago, Zhang Xiucai encountered setbacks everywhere. Not only did he lose his teaching career in the city, but he couldn't do farm work when he returned to the village. He has been depressed for several years.
If he can be a teacher now, at least he has not passed the imperial examination in vain.
So the village chief immediately made a decision.
"Everyone, listen to me. Feng's idea is good. Let's open a school in the mill. Those who want to teach children to read or those who want to keep them from causing trouble can send them here. What do you think?"
The villagers were immediately delighted.
This is great. Anyway, children are bored in the winter.
This way, they can learn to read and have someone to watch over them, which is a win-win situation.
Taoyuan Village and Dalui Village are close to each other, so the village chief simply invited Taoyuan Village to join them so that the children of the two villages can study together.
"This is great. Since Dalui Village has a mill and a teacher, we in Taoyuan Village can't take advantage of it. Each child will pay 50 wen as a gift to Mr. Zhang for his hard work!" The village chief of Taoyuan Village was sensible and took the initiative to propose it.
Mr. Zhang blushed with joy.
He looked at Mrs. Feng with gratitude and thanked her for her advice.
The villagers couldn't help but praise Mrs. Feng.
"Other people's children can go to private schools, and they still think so much about us. You are worthy of being the mother of our village's little lucky star!"
"Mrs. Jiang, thank you so much!"
Mrs. Feng smiled and said, "Of course, my little Fengmiao also runs around every day. If the school in our village is really well run, it will be convenient for my family." With just
one sentence, she immediately narrowed the distance between her and everyone else. The villagers stood in the cold wind, smiling with red cheeks.
At this time, someone asked, "By the way, village chief, can girls also go to school, or only boys are accepted?"
The village chief waved his hand.
"Girls can work in the fields like boys, so why can't they study together? Our village does not look down on girls. As long as they are willing, they can be sent here!"
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