Ignoring the commotion below, Jiang Zhi continued, "From now on, every family's children will have to attend school for two hours."
The Xu family village uses funds from the foundation to cover tuition fees, and each year the student with the best academic performance receives a large prize.
The matter of opening a school had been mentioned by Wang Xiaoju a few days ago and discussed in the village. Now that it had been confirmed by Village Chief Jiang, the crowd was buzzing with discussion again.
Some agreed, some disagreed; every household had a different opinion.
Two hours is roughly half a day.
Some families have children who are already teenagers and half of the labor force. If each child needs to study at school for two hours every day, how much farm work will be delayed?
They also need to earn less money in the workshop. Their own children don't need to take exams or study, and they're satisfied if they can go to night school to learn a few words and do some calculations.
Some people thought that they could study at the school with the scholar without paying tuition, and where else could they find such a good thing?
No matter how much farm work there is, I can get it done by getting up early in the morning and going to bed late at night. It doesn't matter if the children do a little bit of work.
Hearing everyone's discussion, Jiang Zhi realized that she had made a mistake based on her own experience; neither she nor Xia Xiucai had noticed the problem.
Xia Xiucai studied diligently at the school from morning till night, with his entire family supporting his education.
Jiang Zhi naturally went through all her education from kindergarten to university.
They forgot that farmers still have some resistance to education, feeling that if their children study every day, there will be one less person to do the work at home.
This kind of thing has been encountered in modern nine-year compulsory education, and legislation is needed to barely ensure its implementation.
This matter is actually easy to solve. We just need to divide the two hours into morning and evening classes, and let Scholar Xia arrange the specifics according to the curriculum.
Calligraphy practice and explanation lessons need to be held in the classroom, while memorization lessons can be conducted at home while herding cattle, without being confined to the classroom.
However, she did not want to explain this to everyone, nor would she compromise on this issue in the slightest.
If I give in, some people might say that two hours is too long, and one hour is fine.
Is it okay to do it once every two days?
After all, working in a mosquito coil workshop means you can earn real money.
Jiang Zhi's face darkened. She looked around at everyone and said in a low voice, "Do you think you're so great just because I've given you face?"
Let me be blunt: you can choose not to send your child to school and have them stay home to work.
But I also have rules.
From now on, whenever a child appears in the workshop during the time the scholar is teaching, all the mosquito coils that family makes that day will be confiscated and their numbers will not be recorded.
Lin Xiaohu's family and several other families wanted to make a fuss, saying that their children had to do chores, but when they heard that making mosquito coils meant none of that mattered, they were immediately speechless.
Seeing that everyone else was supportive and in agreement, those few people could only shut up in frustration.
In this village, Village Chief Jiang's words carry more weight than an imperial edict. The emperor might not be able to control his few coins, but Village Chief Jiang could.
Jiang Zhi continued, "The scholar doesn't accept tuition fees from everyone, but the village will give him one tael of silver a month for tea."
Playing the zither is hard on your nails, talking is exhausting, and every evening the scholar lectures on and on—do you think he's just entertaining you with his endless chatter?
After saying that, Jiang Zhi turned to look at Wang Xiaoju: "You need to remember this!"
Previously, Xia Xiucai only received his own subsidized grain, and the rest was from the villagers helping with the work. He had been teaching for so long without receiving a real salary, so this time the basic salary for teachers must be determined.
Xia Xiucai also served as the financial director, and regardless of the amount, this part of his salary had to be calculated separately.
Wang Xiaoju nodded quickly: "I'll remember, it'll come from the workshop's fund!"
She's very savvy. This money either comes from the foundation or from Aunt Jiang, so her saying it now is to support Aunt Jiang.
Jiang Zhi gave her an approving look, then looked at the others in the room.
Those who were worried that even if their children didn't go to school, they could at least do farm work were suddenly dumbfounded.
This means the workshop didn't make any money; in fact, it lost money every month.
If Xia Xiucai takes out twelve taels a year, he takes more, so everyone else's share of the profits will naturally be less.
No, since money has already been spent, and every family has contributed to the construction of the school, it's a waste not to let our own children learn. They should sit for at least two hours.
Xu Changming smacked his lips and then swallowed his words. His own grandchildren also had to learn. Didn't he see that Wang Xiaoju was a little successful and was already showing off in the village?
Xu Gensheng did not express any opinion. His child was still in his womb, and it was too early for him to decide whether to study or work.
Tian Gui especially wanted his son Xiao Quan to study more, and hopefully pass the imperial examination to become a scholar.
Xiaoman's brother-in-law is an official, so her own family must also be successful for Tao'er to have confidence in marrying him.
Since there were no dissenting votes, the matter was settled. Everything that needed to be said had been said, but the crowd did not disperse. Instead, they gathered in twos and threes, whispering among themselves.
They'll tell you how much money they received and ask if your child is in school, whether they're in first or second grade.
The three displaced families surrounded Xu Gensheng, Tian Gui, and Li Laoshi, asking how to arrange the time for repairing the house and how to borrow work points...
The area around the pergola was packed with people, all chattering away.
Just then, Xu Changming, who had already left the venue, suddenly shouted, "Hey, what are you guys doing?"
Those with sharp ears had already looked in the direction of the sound and saw a huge creature moving in their direction.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out that there were two large mahogany cabinets tied back to back on the wheelbarrow.
Because of its large size, the two men pushing the cart were very careful, afraid of scratching the paint.
Hearing the shouts, the two men carefully stopped the car before sticking their heads out.
Old Wang nodded and chuckled at Xu Changming, "My dear in-law, I've come to deliver a cabinet to my youngest sister! Is she here?"
Xu Changming looked at him with suspicion: "You're willing to give your sister a cabinet?"
Wang Lao Er walked out from beside the large cabinet, wiped his sweat, fanned his clothes, and said in a carefree manner, "What are you saying, old folks? My youngest sister should use the cabinet, what's there to be reluctant about?"
The scene quickly attracted the attention of the villagers, and those who knew the Wang brothers went to call Xiaoju.
Some people came over, touched the wooden cabinet, and asked, "This wooden cabinet is well made; it feels sturdy!"
Wang Laoda quickly said, "This is something we made for our youngest sister. It's all cypress wood, and the boards are five millimeters thick. It's very good!"
When Wang Xiaoju heard that her brother from her maternal family had come and was making a big fuss about bringing her gifts, she immediately rushed over in a huff to chase him away.
Upon seeing Wang Xiaoju appear, the people around her exclaimed, "Team Leader Wang, your brother has brought you furniture!"
"This cabinet is well-made! It's made with high-quality materials and the workmanship is exquisite!"
Wang Xiaoju was taken aback when she saw the two large red cabinets. She turned to her two older brothers who were already standing over and said irritably, "I don't want your things. Everyone take them and leave!"
Old Wang gave Xu Changming a wry smile: "Oh dear, old folks, look how spoiled we've been with our youngest sister! She even refused the things we brought her!"
Wang Lao Er was more straightforward than his eldest brother. When he saw that Wang Xiaoju was still trying to drive him away, he immediately got angry and shouted, "You're blaming us for withholding your dowry money, but you didn't want that money yourself, saying that you couldn't let outsiders use it."
Tell me, before you got married, did you ever cook or wash dishes at home? It was all done by your two sisters-in-law.
Even after you got married, you never missed a single meal of stewed chicken we had. You and your husband always ate in town before leaving.
"You've gotten into so much trouble since you were a kid, and every single time it's been us older brothers who've stood up for you, cleaned up your messes, and fought for you. Don't you have any conscience?!"
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