"Ah Yue! Ah Yue! Come in here for a moment!"
Zhen Wanwan couldn't stop smiling. Anqing Prefecture no longer has to worry about food and drink, and it certainly won't have to worry about attracting people in the future.
However! If one wants to conquer the world, talent is very important, and in this era, scholars are the most respected.
For a country to develop in the long term, it must cultivate talent. To cultivate talent, it must have people to teach them to read and write.
She roughly estimated that there were about ten academies in Anqing Prefecture, with about two or three hundred students, including children who had just begun their education.
These people, who had already obtained official titles through the imperial examinations, numbered less than ten in total.
This shows how difficult it is for ordinary families to support their children's education.
Zhen Wanwan felt that the most urgent task was to bring in students from other prefectures and then provide them with job opportunities to educate the next generation.
However, Zhen Wanwan knew very well that these scholars had always despised money and would not stoop to bowing down for a few bushels of rice.
Some of them couldn't bear to lose face or abandon their scholarly status to make money.
If she wants to bring in intellectuals with ideas, she also has to take care of their fragile self-esteem.
The idea that had just flashed through her mind seemed quite feasible to Zhen Wanwan!
That is to build an academy and a library on this desolate mountain that no one dares to enter!
Thinking that most of the schools in her previous life were built on cemeteries, she had no more worries.
She wasn't afraid of what others would think; once the academy was operational, there would be a two-year policy of free compulsory education…
She refused to believe that with a policy allowing children to study without spending money, people would still miss the opportunity to send their children to school because of some unfounded taboo.
Of course, Zhen Wanwan's primary task at present is to have people plan the academy and library.
She doesn't plan to build the library inside the academy; instead, she's chosen to place it next to it.
In this way, people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds can freely enter and read.
Looking at Zhen Wanwan, who was laughing heartily, A Yue felt a little strange, wondering what her wife was up to now.
"My lady, is there anything you need me to do?"
With a smile, Zhen Wanwan pulled A Yue to the table and showed her the notes she had made.
"Here, take a look and see if there's anything I've missed or that needs changing?"
A-Yue obediently hummed in agreement and looked over at the paper in Zhen Wanwan's hand.
Unsurprisingly, the words on the paper were crooked and distorted, and she struggled to decipher even a few.
She didn't know many characters to begin with, but after spending so much time with Zhen Wanwan, she gradually figured out what Zhen Wanwan meant, through a combination of guesswork and deduction.
"Does my wife intend to build an academy?"
Seeing that A-Yue had guessed correctly, Zhen Wanwan pinched her cheek and, ignoring A-Yue's awkward expression, said happily, "Yes!"
“I think it’s not good to leave this land barren. Besides, it’s in a great location, and I can’t bear to use it all for farming. Wouldn’t it be better if we built an academy?”
Zhen Wanwan looked at A Yue expectantly, wanting her to agree with her idea.
A-Yue paused briefly, hesitated for two seconds, and then nodded: "My wife's idea is very good... but... we have neither great teachers nor books, so... how can the academy operate?"
A-Yue thought that most books nowadays were in the hands of aristocratic families, and ordinary people would never have the opportunity to come into contact with them.
If ordinary families wanted to support their children's education, they could only spend money to send them to private colleges, but the cost of private colleges was enormous and beyond the reach of ordinary families.
Alternatively, one could be like Qu Huaiyuan, who was exceptionally intelligent, learned a few characters from the old Chinese medicine doctor in the village, worked hard, worked as a laborer in a bookstore in the county for two years, and then passed the county school entrance exam through his own efforts.
Then, with talent and diligence, he passed the imperial examination and became a student of the first level!
Zhen Wanwan patted A Yue on the shoulder and confidently patted her chest, assuring her, "Don't worry, A Yue, I've prepared everything. Just wait for my good news!"
"By the way, go tell Fan Jian about this. He shouldn't have gone far!"
Ah Yue, with the paper in her pocket, went out to chase after the person...
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