Chapter 498 Zhaocheng Jieyuan
The village school consisted of three rooms: two were used as classrooms, and the other was where Master Yu and his family lived.
The school was originally built with adobe bricks and a thatched roof, making it look very simple. Many children were crammed into the classroom, and the desks and chairs were not neatly arranged. Many children did not have paper and pens, but only the simplest sand table. Even so, the learning atmosphere was very strong.
The school has been established for almost a year, with each term lasting three months. Some children without talent will attend one term, learn a few characters, and then stop coming. Some children like reading, so they continue reading. If a child is talented, Master Yu will set up a special small class to teach them.
However, the people of Dahe Village have been farmers for generations, and there are not many talented children. Apart from Sidan and Yuzhan, the only person who is fortunate enough to join the small class is a grandson of the Xu family.
“Besides the children from our village, villagers from Wangjiadun, Guihua Village, Lijia Gou and other places have also sent their children here.” Master Yu began to explain the basic situation of the school. “A few days ago, the son of the old scholar from Chengjia Village came to me, hoping that Dahe Village could accept the students from Chengjia Village. If we calculate it this way, the number of students may reach three hundred.”
The village head asked curiously, "Old Scholar Cheng has been teaching for thirty or forty years, why did he suddenly stop teaching?"
“The old scholar is getting old, and the children are too noisy; his health can’t take it anymore,” Master Yu said. “He originally planned to pass the school on to his son, but recently, quite a few people from Chengjia Village have been working in Da Shan’s mother’s workshop. They can earn nearly one tael of silver a month, more than the old scholar. His son doesn’t want to do this thankless job anymore.”
Cheng Wanwan knew that the old scholar was teaching purely out of charity. Back then, Cheng Zhao was talented, so the old scholar would take Cheng Zhao by his side every day and teach him to read and write, without charging him any money.
In the past, other children in Chengjia Village went to school not by paying money, but by giving them a pound of meat, ten eggs, a piece of cloth, and so on... It is completely understandable that the old scholar's son was unwilling to inherit the school.
A year ago, Chengjia Village was the only village in the entire Ping'an County with a formal school.
A year later, in this year, only Dahe Village in the surrounding area has a school, and it's a university school.
“Currently, we estimate there will be 300 students. The school needs to be expanded. Each classroom can accommodate 60 students, so we need at least five classrooms. In addition, some people from the city will bring their children here, so that will be six classrooms. Furthermore, we also need to build accommodations for the new teachers.” Teacher Yu wrote and drew on the paper. “We can arrange half-day classes for the village children, with them taking turns in the morning and afternoon. We can also hire two more teachers.”
"The Qian family has taken care of hiring tutors," the village head said with a smile. "They will hire at least three scholars to be the children's first teachers. As for you, Master Yu, you will come to teach the students who are about to take the exams. As for the new school, Master Qian has organized merchants to raise nearly a thousand taels of silver to build a school with blue bricks and tiles. This way, when it rains heavily, the house won't leak, and the children can study in peace."
The merchants were not stingy with their money; with a casual shout, they raised more than nine hundred taels of silver, enough to build a university, provide accommodation for the teachers, and even provide dormitories for children who lived far away. They might even be able to build a student canteen...
“Reading and writing are not a way to make money. I think we can continue to keep the tuition fee at twenty coins a month,” Cheng Wanwan said. “The village has the ability to provide a learning environment for the children. When the children become successful in the future, they will give back to the village. If they can’t afford to study because the tuition fee is too high, then it will be a loss.”
The village head nodded: "I agree."
Master Yu naturally nodded in agreement. He sighed, "When I was teaching in Huzhou, I taught with all my heart for four or five years. One day, after my students learned about everything I had been through, they humiliated me severely. I thought I could never teach again in this lifetime..."
After arriving in Dahe Village, he did not hide his past. He was quite surprised that these people were willing to send their children to him.
Although he knew that the reason was related to the Sui'an people, no one would risk their own child. He experienced the feeling of being respected as a former teacher.
“In the future, more and more children will come to study in Dahe Village,” Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. “One day, Master Yu will have students all over the world, and his influence will spread far and wide.”
The three chatted and discussed drawing up a rough sketch of the new school. It would still be built next to the ancestral hall, a quiet place suitable for studying.
Just as the sketch was finalized, Zhao Tiezhu suddenly rushed in, breathless: "A-Grandpa, people from the provincial capital have arrived!"
Cheng Wanwan suddenly stood up.
People from the provincial capital have come to deliver good news, but shouldn't they go to Chengjia Village to deliver the good news?
She quickly walked outside.
Four government officials from the provincial capital were being led by Manager Yan toward the mansion when the two groups happened to meet.
Upon seeing Cheng Wanwan, Manager Yan excitedly exclaimed, "She passed the exam! She really passed!"
The four officials immediately began to beat drums and gongs, and only after they finished did they announce: "Congratulations to Cheng Zhao, a native of Ping'an County, Huzhou, for ranking first in this year's provincial examination and becoming the top scholar! This is good news!"
A red calligraphy copybook was handed to me.
Cheng Wanwan quickly took it, opened it, and her face immediately lit up with a smile.
Zhao'er really passed the exam; she came in first place and became this year's top scholar. Her future is limitless.
She hurriedly asked, "What about Shen Zheng, who is also from Ping'an County? Did he pass the exam?"
"The magistrate's son also passed the exam. We just went to the Shen family to deliver the good news before coming here." The official paused and said, "However, the young master Shen's ranking wasn't very good."
"Oh my god, they all passed the exam!" The village head was overjoyed. "This is all thanks to Master Yu!"
Master Yu stroked his beard: "I've looked at this year's provincial examination questions. I've covered most of them before. Zijue is quite lucky."
Cheng Wanwan's eyes narrowed into slits with laughter. She was so happy that she quickly asked Granny Qi to give her a reward of five taels of silver each.
After the officials received their reward money, she said, "Although Cheng Zhao is my nephew, he is not from Dahe Village. You should go to Chengjia Village to report the good news. Dashan, you should quickly lead the officials the way."
Only then did the officers realize they had made a misunderstanding.
When they asked for directions in Ping'an County, they mentioned Cheng Zhao, and everyone said he was from Sui'an. They were then told to come to Dahe Village, so they came.
The official quickly returned the reward money.
Cheng Wanwan naturally refused to accept it: "This is also a great joy for me. You all must accept this reward money, don't be shy."
Zhao Dashan harnessed the horse-drawn carriage and, accompanied by four officials, headed towards Chengjia Village.
When the villagers heard about this, they all came to congratulate them.
"I knew Cheng Zhao was destined for great things."
"Now that I'm a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, I can become an official. It's really not easy."
"Is there another exam coming up? I heard that you can go to the capital to see the Emperor. Oh my, the Cheng family has produced a man from Sui'an and a high-ranking official. I'm so envious!"
Cheng Wanwan accepted all the congratulations from the villagers.
Since she wasn't Cheng Zhao's parents, she naturally didn't need to hold a banquet. However, she still had to invite the Zhao family to come and join in the fun, so they could all share in the joy.
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