42 Yongzhou already had many county schools for girls
"It's not fair! My son is so talented! Why doesn't the county school accept boys?"
"Did she really say that?" County Magistrate Han sat at the desk, the brush in his hand not putting down for a long time.
"That's what County Magistrate Ye really said." Liu Mazi on the opposite side nodded.
County Magistrate Han looked pensive and said hurriedly, "Now! Go find that family for me."
"Which family?" Liu Mazi asked at a loss.
County Magistrate Han frowned and made a "tsk" sound, a blob of ink smearing on the paper on the table: "That's the family she drove away!"
After receiving the order, Liu Mazi retreated quickly. He originally wanted to tell County Magistrate Ye about this matter, but he went to the backyard of the county office and the county school, but he couldn't find her.
County Magistrate Han was pressing him hard, so he had no choice but to take the woman to the county government office. The woman went into County Magistrate Han's study and stayed there for more than half an hour.
*
Ye Yunzhao was completely unaware of these things. After graduating from the county school, she went straight to Cuihua's home.
Liu Dazhuang was a skilled bricklayer and handyman. He'd dug a cellar at home at some point, though calling it a cellar was a bit of an exaggeration. Ye Yunzhao saw it was just a pit, half a meter deep and one step wide. It looked simple, but the walls were smooth, suggesting Liu Dazhuang had put a lot of thought into it.
Although it looked crude, it was incredibly useful. These days, Madam Cuihua had been digging up wild radishes from the mountains under the guise of picking mushrooms. As the weather grew colder, and the radish harvest season was almost over, she didn't dare stop.
Fortunately, Xixiang is backed by mountains, and the radishes that Cuihua knows about are enough for her and Zhuang Xue to "eat".
Cuihua was incredibly clever, but after just four or five attempts, she realized that freshly ground radish had a stronger, sweeter flavor, and the crystal cake she made naturally had that same quality. So, to improve the quality of her crystal cake, she stacked the radishes neatly in a pit in the cellar, covered them with soil, and dug them out after five or six days. They were still sweet and delicious.
Ye Yunzhao had only seen proper cellars, not simple cellar pits. He looked at it curiously, wondering if the vegetables next to it could be kept fresh. After a while, he looked up and said,
"Has Shopkeeper Chen bought the crystal cake?"
Talking about this, Cuihua was both happy and worried. She was happy because she wanted to share the joy of making money with her master, but she was worried because her master had repeatedly told her to sell one piece for ten cents, but she only got seven cents.
"I bought it a while ago." Madam Cuihua lowered her head and said, "Master, I should have told you about this earlier..."
Seeing that she was feeling uneasy, Ye Yunzhao said with a smile, "What difference does it make if you tell me sooner or later?" She changed the subject: "Did I lose money? Or did I make money?"
In fact, Ye Yunzhao knew in his heart that the crystal cake business was a sure win, but it was inappropriate to inquire about other people's financial situation, so he could only ask in a roundabout way.
Fortunately, Cuihua and Liu Dazhuang were both sincere people. One of them poured her some water, while the other did not hide anything and lowered his voice, "Master, of course I earned it."
Madam Cuihua smiled as she rolled her eyes around, confirming the surroundings were safe.
"I make a lot of money! At least 130 coins a day!"
She couldn't stop feeling happy just by saying this. These days, she would quietly go out with her shoulder pole before dawn every day. She didn't prepare many crystal cakes, only more than 20 pieces every day. When the sky was slightly bright, she had already walked home with more than 100 copper coins in her pocket.
Ye Yunzhao didn't ask her how much she had earned, but only said, "If anyone asks you about this these days, please tell them that you learned this craft from me."
Madam Cuihua had long understood that she wanted to teach others the craft at the county school. Before, County Magistrate Ye didn't allow her to speak out, so she kept her mouth shut. Now that County Magistrate Ye allowed her to speak out, she naturally had to spread the word.
Ye Yunzhao's face was filled with concern as he warned, "You're a simple-minded person. If someone asks you how much you earn, you must never tell them everything like you did today. Just say you make a living. Do you understand?"
Madam Cuihua nodded hurriedly. She knew that Ye Yunzhao was concerned about her, so she was naturally happy: "Master, don't worry."
He turned around and asked Liu Dazhuang to go to the county to buy some meat, and warmly invited Ye Yunzhao to have dinner at his home.
"I just ate it, you guys keep it for yourselves."
Ye Yunzhao pulled her aside, tugged at her sleeve, and whispered, "Ordinary people can't earn more than two or three hundred copper coins a year. Although crystal cakes make a lot of money, you have to save it carefully. Ground radish is sometimes available..."
Ye Yunzhao has said this very bluntly. The reason why Madam Cuihua can earn so much right now is all because it is the harvest season for radishes. This money has to be saved for the winter!
"Master, I remember."
Seeing her calm expression, Ye Yunzhao knew that she had taken his words to heart. After all, she was his little disciple, so he felt relieved, patted her a few times, and turned to walk out.
*
The next morning, Ye Yunzhao got up very early. Since she came to this strange world, she had hardly slept in and was busy every day.
Today is no exception.
She found three or five pieces of rags from the county government's warehouse. Some were coarse linen, and some were of good material, but had holes in them gnawed by rats. Ye Yunzhao didn't mind and threw them all into her backpack. Today she wanted to clean up the original study room of the county school.
She originally wanted to ask a few yamen runners for help, but they patrolled the city day and night. Last time, they asked Liu Mazi to find someone to help move a lot of things, and even cleared the weeds in the county college. This time, she couldn't open her mouth at all.
Ye Yunzhao estimated that there would not be many people coming to register tomorrow, so he decided to clean the two study rooms by himself first.
She walked towards the county school under the gray light. The sun had not yet risen, and a faint crescent moon hung in the sky.
Ye Yunzhao looked up at the sky, staring blankly, and suddenly felt that she had seen this scene in her previous life. It was not until her eyes moved down and saw the dilapidated streets full of ancient charm that she came back to her senses.
I really traveled through time.
Logically, she should have been used to it, but every time she saw the blue sky, Ye Yunzhao would think of the days when she was doing poverty alleviation work in her previous life... It seemed like a lifetime ago.
She sighed lightly and walked quickly to the county school. The yard was clean as new, as if it had never stopped being used. She wet the towel she brought with her and pushed open the door of a study.
There was a faint smell of mold in the air. There were six or seven small desks in the room, covered with a thick layer of dust. Fortunately, they still looked intact.
Ye Yunzhao looked around and took two steps inside. She accidentally bumped into a desk. The desk, which seemed fine just now, suddenly tilted at one corner, stirring up a cloud of dust, which scared her.
Ye Yunzhao covered his mouth and coughed lightly a few times. When he bent down to look, he found that the table legs had been eaten by insects and were in a terrible state.
There were thick spider webs hanging on the wall. Ye Yunzhao held his breath, opened the windows one by one, and found half a rotten broom in the corner.
Ye Yunzhao was busy for nearly two hours before the room was finally suitable for people to sit in. She shook the dust off her sleeves and was about to wipe them with water when a sudden noise was heard outside the county school.
She leaned against the door and seemed to hear someone arguing, but the gate of the county school was locked tightly by her. How could someone be arguing here?!
Ye Yunzhao frowned and put his ear to the door before he could vaguely hear the content.
"...How can you...take in a daughter...my son...how can you..."
Ye Yunzhao made a "tsk" sound. The quality of ancient doors was really good. She took two steps to the side and used the gap in the door to make the sound louder.
"It's not fair! My son is so talented! Why doesn't the county school accept boys?"
The woman outside was getting more and more excited, spitting everywhere: "Men are fighting on the battlefield outside, but their sons can't even learn to read in the county school! Why!"
After hearing these two sentences, Ye Yunzhao guessed what the commotion outside was about. She had anticipated today's scene when she decided to only accept female students. She sighed, prepared herself, and raised her hand to open the door of the county school.
The woman who was speaking passionately outside the door seemed to be frightened by the movement behind her. She was stunned, staring at Ye Yunzhao with wide eyes, and stammered, "Ye... Ye... Ye County Magistrate, why... do you look like this..."
Ye Yunzhao was startled. It was the woman who had registered with her son yesterday. She belatedly realized that she was covered in dust. She calmly shook off her clothes.
"Someone will be coming to learn skills tomorrow, and I'll be cleaning... What are you yelling about in front of the county school in broad daylight?"
The woman shuddered, as if coming to her senses. "County Magistrate Ye, I'm just a country woman. I've never been to school, and I can't read. But I do know one thing: as a citizen of Da Qi, I must act according to the laws of Da Qi. Do you agree with this, County Magistrate Ye? Do you all agree with this?"
As soon as she finished speaking, someone in the crowd responded, "Well said." The woman lowered her attitude. If Ye Yunzhao had not been covered in dust today, it would have seemed like a government official bullying the common people in the street.
Ye Yunzhao smiled and said, "That's right."
The woman got the answer she wanted and asked, "Then I hope County Magistrate Ye can explain to me. Is it possible that there is a law in the Great Qi that stipulates that the county school can only accept girls and not boys?"
After the woman finished speaking, the crowd became noisy again, and many people agreed with her. A look of pride appeared on her face.
Ye Yunzhao didn't answer but asked, "Do you mean that we must do things according to the law?"
The woman looked at Ye Yunzhao as if he were a fool: "Of course."
Ye Yunzhao nodded in understanding: "Then tell me which law in Da Qi stipulates that county schools must admit men?"
After hearing these words, the woman who had been so proud just now froze up, and for a long time she couldn't utter a complete sentence: "You...I...this..."
Ye Yunzhao looked up and saw that the people gathered in three or four circles had different expressions, but most of them were worried. She said confidently, "I will just say this once: the county school will not accept men for the time being. There are four reasons:
1. There is no teacher in the county school now. If a girl enters the county school, I will be the one to teach her. What's more, I only accept girls who have reached the age of marriage. There are only girls in the school. If one or two men suddenly come in, do you think it is appropriate?
Second, since I'm not a teacher, I naturally can't teach you the Four Books and Five Classics. I can only teach you some skills to make money. During this time, there will inevitably be physical contact. I believe you all understand better than I do that there should be no physical contact between men and women.
3. Yongzhou already has many county schools for girls, so our county is not an exception.
4. Once I have hired a suitable teacher, if there are girls or boys who are willing to take the imperial examinations, I will naturally welcome them, and there will be no distinction between men and women.
Did you all hear and remember clearly? "
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