Chapter 278 I hope everyone will come to study, regardless of gender
Chen Jie glared at Zhou Lihua and the others fiercely. It was these troublemakers again. They couldn't keep quiet even on such a good day.
Madam Xiao built the academy for the benefit of the whole village, but in their mouths, it became a matter of having money but nowhere to spend it.
Not to mention Madam Xiao, he was already very angry!
Then I heard Guanqi say in a clear voice: "A woman without talent is virtuous. This means that even if a woman does not have talent and knowledge, she should still have noble moral character. It does not mean that a woman without talent and knowledge is virtuous."
When these words were spoken, everyone looked at each other in surprise. So this is what he meant?
They all knew that Guanqi was one of the servants bestowed by the emperor on Xiao Ying, but they didn't expect that he was such a learned man.
Zhou Lihua and the others blushed instantly. Didn't they think it was wrong for women to be talented?
But how can they admit their mistakes so easily?
Chen Xue retorted sarcastically, "Humph, he's just a servant. Who knows if what he said is true or not?"
Zhou Lihua wisely kept silent this time. Chen Zhangshi and Chen Afu were staring at her not far away, making her dare not show her head.
"I am indeed just a servant beside the lady." Guanqi spoke again, glancing at Chen Xue coldly: "But I also passed the imperial examination and became a scholar."
"As for whether what I said is true, you can go to the academy to verify it."
The villagers' eyes immediately lit up, and their gazes towards Guan Qi became full of respect and admiration.
This person is actually a scholar? The emperor is really generous. He can also reward a figure like a scholar as a servant, and the one who received this reward is Madam Xiao.
At this moment, they had a deeper understanding of Mrs. Xiao Ying's identity. Even the scholar treated her as a servant, and they really could not afford such a status.
What Guanqi said was actually half true and half false. He had taken the examination for the scholar and could have been admitted based on his scores, but because he was a slave, even though he was trained by the royal family, he did not obtain the status of a scholar.
Naturally, he felt very sorry about this.
But if he had not sold himself into slavery and been raised by the royal family, he would not have had the opportunity to study.
Someone looked at the new scholar in the village, Li Qingfeng, who was the one Chen Jie had selected from the disaster victims not long ago. Li Qingfeng stroked his beard and nodded, confirming that Guanqi was right.
Li Qingfeng was very satisfied with this academy. Before fleeing the famine, he had also opened an academy in the village, right in his own home. It was incomparable to this academy in every way.
Chen Xue was extremely ashamed and angry when she saw this. She never expected that a mere servant could be a scholar, and she even questioned the scholar's knowledge.
Noticing that everyone was looking at her with mockery or dissatisfaction, she blushed and quickly squeezed through the crowd to escape.
Zhou Lihua looked relieved. Fortunately she didn't say anything, otherwise she would have been the one to be slapped in the face.
"What a troublemaker." Chen Jie cursed unhappily, then looked at Xiao Ying and said, "Madam Xiao, please don't let this kind of person affect your mood. Let's continue to visit the academy."
Xiao Ying nodded, but did not leave immediately. Instead, he looked around.
"I know that many of you think the same as Chen Xue, but you just don't dare to say it out loud."
The villagers were hit on the heart of the matter, and many of them looked embarrassed.
Without waiting for their rebuttal or explanation, Xiao Ying continued speaking.
"It's not your fault for thinking this way. It's because your upbringing has limited your horizons and thinking."
"You probably don't know that the daughters of high-ranking officials also need to learn to read and write. Even if they don't go to academies, they will hire female teachers to teach them."
"Besides learning to read and write, they will also be taught how to run a business, manage a shop, and employ people. Because only then can they become the mistress of a household after they get married."
Kang Ruolan, Guanqi and others nodded in agreement, it was indeed the case.
A true daughter of a wealthy family cannot be an illiterate fool. Otherwise, how can she manage the household after marriage? Even the concubines will bully her.
The villagers listened with great interest, and many of them showed expressions of surprise. They had never seen a family of this level before. So they knew it was like this?
Seeing that everyone had listened, Xiao Ying's expression eased a little.
"Before, people in our village didn't study because they didn't have the opportunity. After all, tuition fees were very expensive. But now that we have built our own academy, we have the opportunity. I hope everyone who can come will come, regardless of gender."
"My thinking is that children aged six to fifteen must attend school for at least one year, and more than one year is up to them."
"You can also study medicine or martial arts according to your talents and preferences, but you must not neglect your studies."
"It's not compulsory for those over fifteen, but the academy will offer literacy classes, mainly teaching common characters."
"I hope that everyone in Chenjia Village will be able to read and write in the future."
"We study not for the purpose of passing the imperial examinations, but only to broaden our horizons and increase our knowledge."
These words aroused everyone's expectations and made many people change their minds.
Madam Xiao was right. The conditions in the village are so good now, there is no reason for them not to seize the opportunity.
I don't expect to pass the imperial examination, but it would be great if I could recognize some words and understand letters and contracts.
Anyway, now every household has someone working in the workshop, and they earn more than one or two taels of silver every month. Life is getting better day by day, so there is no need to let the children work as hard as before.
Li Qingfeng and his daughter Li Ruyue also agreed very much, especially Li Ruyue. She looked at Xiao Ying as if she had found a confidant. She was truly worthy of being Mrs. Xiao.
"Mrs. Xiao, well said!"
Chen Jie was the first to respond, his eyes full of excitement.
He couldn't even imagine what the scene would be like if everyone in Chenjia Village could really read!
Moreover, every household has several children. How glorious it would be if the village could produce a few students, scholars, or even juren?
The others also spoke in agreement, especially the little girls, whose bright eyes were full of anticipation and disbelief, and they looked at Xiao Ying with admiration.
They also want to be as powerful as Mrs. Xiao!
Xiao Ying smiled and then left the school to visit several other buildings.
The residences for teachers, students and logistics staff are also spacious and beautiful, and can accommodate at least two to three hundred students, twenty teachers and hundreds of logistics workers.
There is also a cafeteria that can accommodate at least two hundred people for meals. There will be several long tables and chairs placed inside.
Finally, there is the training ground, which is the largest area, about five or six acres in size, and can be used for several sports activities at the same time.
The training ground is paved entirely with cement, divided into several areas by white lime, and is equipped with several types of sports equipment.
In addition, some flower beds were built and a lot of green plants were transplanted. Benches were also placed in the rest area for everyone to rest in their spare time.
Xiao Ying was very satisfied that he could achieve this in just over ten days.
"Everyone has worked so hard. This academy is beautifully built. Three days from now is a good day. It also happens to be October 15th, the first day of the second half of each month, so I have decided to officially start school in three days!"
The reason for setting aside a few more days is to give everyone time to prepare.
Students have to prepare learning supplies, teachers have to prepare teaching plans, and they also have to recruit logistics workers, such as those in charge of canteen, cleaning, dormitory management, etc.
In addition, the start time of school coincides with the start time of other colleges.
The crowd cheered immediately. After what Xiao Ying had just said, not only did everyone accept sending their children to school, they were even looking forward to it.
The children were even more excited. They could go to school the next day and become scholars themselves!
Li Qingfeng and the others were also full of anticipation and were infected by the atmosphere.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
