Inside the school, Mr. Su and several students were cleaning. Zhao Heng waved his hand and said, "Teacher, it's getting late. I'll teach the children. You should go back and rest!"
During this period, Mr. Su's health was not very good, which made this carefree county magistrate's son feel particularly respectful towards the old man.
Mr. Su nodded: "Alright!"
"Everyone, sit down and listen to me first. This time, I went to town with my aunt and stopped by my home. I managed to extort some money from my father to buy you all a schoolbag. Of course, there are only a limited number of schoolbags available, and they will only be given to those who perform well!"
A round of applause erupted in the classroom.
The children's eyes shone brightly, and the chubby girl was the first to stand up and say, "Thank you, sir! We will definitely study hard!"
Niu Niu clapped happily, "The magistrate is so kind to us, remembering to buy us schoolbags. Although my grandma made me a schoolbag, I want the one the magistrate gave me too!"
Zhao Heng slapped his forehead: "What's going on? I meant well, but how did my father beat me to it?"
"You, you people, I bought these things. What do they have to do with the magistrate? You keep calling me 'magistrate,' aren't you just hurting my feelings?"
Niu Niu laughed heartily, slapping the table and shouting, "Yes, yes, yes! We should all thank Mr. Zhao for his kindness. So, from now on, we must listen carefully to Mr. Zhao's lectures, understand?"
The group of children behind him quickly responded: "We definitely won't cause trouble in Mr. Zhao's class, and we'll listen carefully."
This group of unruly children was led by Niu Niu. Although Niu Niu was young, if she led these children to cause trouble, even he, the son of the county magistrate, would be helpless. Now, he had finally gained their approval.
Apart from Mr. Su, there are very few literate teachers in Daling Village who can teach the children. Zhao Heng is one of them, but the children don't listen to Zhao Heng's lessons properly, which is a great source of distress for Li Zheng.
Jin Dashan wasn't very literate, and aside from teaching the children some painting, he couldn't teach them anything else. As the number of students in the school increased, the number of teachers was becoming too small.
Liang Shuyan knew very well that she had brought Jin Dashan to Shengming Academy to study under a teacher because she saw that Jin Dashan had a talent for painting. By the way, wasn't the teacher who taught Dashan and Zhao Heng not teaching at Shengming Academy? If they could invite him over, wouldn't that be the same as moving Shengming Academy to Daling Village?
Thinking of this, Liang Shuyan slowly said, "Perhaps I have a way to invite a teacher from Shengming Academy!"
Upon hearing this news, Li Zheng excitedly exclaimed, "Really? Aunt Dashan, if you can invite the teachers from Shengming Academy, it would be worth it even if it costs more money. The children of our Daling Village have hope!"
"I can give it a try, but I'm afraid I won't be able to manage it for the next couple of days. You see, we're busy building a house at home!"
Li Zheng seemed to suddenly realize something, and a thought popped into his mind: "If we could build a school before it gets cold, wouldn't our Daling Village have its own school? The children wouldn't have to suffer in the winter. But..."
Li Zheng's words startled Liang Shuyan: "Yes, it's just a matter of funding. Speaking of funding, I do have a solution. If each family can contribute a little, and I can find a way to raise the rest, wouldn't that solve the problem?"
Zhao Heng overheard Aunt Jin discussing this matter with Li Zheng and became very curious. He stepped forward politely and said, "Actually, I agree with my aunt's point of view. If each family contributes a little money, wouldn't our school have hope again?"
Li Zheng said with some difficulty, "In our village, families with children can afford the tuition, but who else is willing to pay for building a school? Forget it, I'll find a bricklayer to repair the school and make do with it for now!"
"Oh dear, Li Zheng, why do you think like my father? Look at this old house, it's already in disrepair. How can it be repaired? What if the house collapses and hurts the children? Who will be responsible?"
“Young Master Zhao, you make it sound so easy, but building a school requires a huge sum of money, and the people of Daling Village can no longer afford that much silver!”
Liang Shuyan waved her hand and said, "There's no rush. There are still several months until winter. Let's build the house first and then figure out a solution."
Several carriages were parked at the gate of the Jin family's residence, and many people, unaware of what was going on, gathered around to watch the spectacle.
"Oh my goodness! This mountain woman is actually going to build a house with stones! Such fine bluestones must be very expensive!"
"Yes, and these small stones too. I recognize these. The big lions at the entrance of the county magistrate's mansion are made of this kind of stone. Aunt Dashan is really rich."
Zhao Heng pointed to the carriage at the door from afar and said, "Auntie, is the person who delivered the stone here? Why is it being delivered to our house?"
Liang Shuyan quickened her pace, stepped forward, and greeted them warmly: "Oh dear, these stones are being delivered to the site where houses are being built. We would be grateful if you could help us deliver them there. There are already workers waiting for us."
An old man stroked his beard and said, "Of course. The shopkeeper instructed us to deliver it to the destination exactly as you requested, otherwise we wouldn't get a tip."
Da Shan came out just then, looked at the carriages behind him, and said happily, "Mother, let me take these masters over there. What if we can't find them? Wouldn't that waste time and cause trouble for others?"
Liang Shuyan nodded.
Several women from the village surrounded Liang Shuyan, asking her all sorts of questions. The first one to approach was Aunt Pang, who said with a smile, "Hey, Aunt Dashan, how big is your new house? You need all these stones to build it!"
"I plan to use the big stones to build the foundation, and the small ones to make the yard later, so that when it rains, my feet won't be covered in mud, and the ground won't be muddy either."
The plump aunt was dumbfounded: "Ah, your foundation is made of stone? Shouldn't it be a stone foundation?"
"Oh, that's too time-consuming and not sturdy enough. It will still collapse if there's a flood."
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. As farmers, they knew how much a cubic meter of stone cost. The fact that Da Shan Niang was going to use stones for the foundation showed just how wealthy her family was.
In the kitchen, Zhang called Sanwang over: "Sanwang, are you really going to leave home? Look, because of you, your second brother's family went to the martial arts school, and now the family is building a house. There are so many things to do. Are you willing to watch your mother, who is so old, continue to be angry and run around?"
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