After returning home, Meng Zhao rested at home for two days, but then felt a bit bored. So this morning, he drove a mule cart with his two children and Wei Jinglan to the Shenjia Village School.
A gentle breeze carried a slight chill along the way. Meng Zhao looked at the two children and asked, "How are you two doing at school? Have you been listening to the teacher?"
Upon hearing this, the two children immediately became shy and hesitant. Wei Jinglan explained to Meng Zhao, "They both have excellent grades and are always among the top in every assessment. Last month, in the math competition, even Master Wei's grandson couldn't beat them. Each of them received a scholarship that you set up."
"Really?" Meng Zhao exclaimed with surprise and pride. "You two are amazing!"
Shen Qingze said somewhat embarrassedly, "This money was given by my sister-in-law. We originally didn't want it, but the teacher said that the scholarship is open to all students, and it would be against the rules if we didn't accept it, so we accepted it."
Meng Zhao nodded. "Your teacher is right. This money is meant to reward those who do well in their studies. Whoever gets in the top three in the assessment will receive 100 coins. This money will also motivate other students to study harder. If they surpass you next time, they will naturally receive their own reward as well."
After sending the two children to the classroom, Meng Zhao went to find the village head. The village head happened to be out when she came back last time, so she could check the workshop's accounts together today.
After settling the accounts and arranging the next production targets, the village head raised another issue, "Zhaozhao, ever since our village opened this school, several surrounding villages have known about it. Recently, some people have come to me saying they want to send their children to our school as well. What do you think about this?"
"Of course! Our school is so spacious. It would be a waste to only teach a dozen or so students from the village. We should bring in children from the surrounding villages who are willing to study, so that more children can have the opportunity to read and write."
However, he then added, "But this fee naturally can't be charged the same as in the village."
The current tuition fee of 500 wen per year for Shenjia Village School is practically charity. It's not even enough to cover the teacher's monthly salary, and the village has to contribute a lot of money to the school every month.
The village head asked, "Then what do you think is a suitable price?"
Meng Zhao thought for a moment. When Shen Qinghe was studying, his tuition was about two taels of silver per year. In addition, he also needed to bring extra food and gifts to the teacher every month. In total, the tuition alone was nearly three taels a year.
"Then let's make it 1,500 coins a year. Besides the tuition, there's no need to give the teacher anything else."
Meng Zhao then added, "Let's not hide anything. Let's just tell them directly that the tuition fees for students from Shenjia Village are low because the village provides extra subsidies. They can ask around about the 1,500 wen tuition fee. The price we charge is definitely not expensive."
The village head nodded emphatically. "That's right. It's also a good opportunity to let the villagers know how much of a bargain they've gotten, so they won't always think that our school is making money off them."
Meng Zhao continued, "Furthermore, for every ten students recruited from other villages, Master Wei will receive an extra hundred coins when he pays his wages at the end of the month."
Although the lectures cover the same content, it doesn't matter if there are more children attending. However, with each additional child in the classroom, the teacher has to pay more attention to each one and put in more effort. The teacher's pay must not be withheld, otherwise it would affect the quality of teaching.
After talking with the village head, Meng Zhao went to the pig farm. There was another important matter to attend to these past few days: her first batch of pigs had reached market age.
After raising the pig with great care for so long, it was finally ready to be brought out and the results tested. Having chosen the pig to be slaughtered the next day, Meng Zhao went to Meng's Butcher Shop early the next morning and called Fang Muyun over.
Now he's ready to graduate and can slaughter pigs on his own without Meng Dashan's guidance.
Fang Muyun's eyes widened when she saw the pig Meng Zhao was raising. "Oh my, Madam Meng, how did you raise this pig? How can it be so fat? It must weigh at least 300 jin. I've slaughtered many pigs with my master, but I've never seen one this fat before."
Looking at the pigs in the pen, Meng Zhao thought to himself, "If you have no desires or wants, then all you can think about is eating and getting fat."
Today, Meng Zhao planned to slaughter only one pig. He had Shi Tou lead two men to drive the chosen pig out of the pigpen. Everyone tied the pig up together. Meng Zhao then called all the workers from the pig farm to the yard so they could learn the craft from Fang Muyun and eventually slaughter pigs and deliver them to the shop on their own.
The pig seemed to know it was about to die, its cries growing more and more pitiful. Since it was its own pet, Meng Zhao turned its head when it heard the cries.
Fang Muyun probably thought Meng Zhao was scared, so he quickly grabbed a stick from the side and knocked the pig unconscious with one blow before starting to slaughter it.
When Shun'er saw the pig's blood flowing out, he was so frightened that he wanted to run back into the house, but someone next to him stopped him, saying, "What, you've never seen a pig being slaughtered during the New Year?"
Shun'er shook his head. His village was poor, and very few families raised pigs. He had never seen such a bloody scene before.
Meng Zhao was also somewhat disgusted by this, and thought that next time he should let Fang Muyun come by herself.
Fang Muyun worked swiftly, slaughtering the pig and cutting it into pieces. "Madam Meng, the pork you raised is truly excellent. The skin is thin, the color is bright, the meat is firm, and the pig is large. I have never seen a better pig."
Upon hearing this, Meng Zhao smiled with satisfaction. "I'll ask my father to teach you how to raise pigs. There's a lot to learn about raising pigs well."
Meng Zhao left a piece of meat for the workers at the pig farm as a reward for raising the pigs well. He also made a plan for the other pigs, asking Fang Muyun to come and slaughter them according to the schedule.
After that, they took all the other pork away. This freshly slaughtered pork was the freshest, and they needed to hurry back to braise it and try the taste.
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