Chapter 286 What to Show Off
Pei Minru brought a student over.
Feng Qingsui recognized the student at a glance as San Ya, the girl from the Ruifeng Society who had attracted her attention. After not seeing her for more than a year, she found that the girl had grown taller and her skin color had become lighter.
"Zhaoqing wanted to see you," Pei Minru said with a smile. "She heard from me that the Queen Mother is planning to build a medical school, and she has a few questions for you."
Feng Qingsui looked at Sanya: "Do you have a scientific name?"
San Ya grinned and said, "The headmaster gave me the name Jian Zhaoqing."
“Nice name.”
Feng Qingsui praised.
"What do you want to ask?"
San Ya replied, "I heard that the Queen Mother's medical school accepts students regardless of their background, gender, or age. As long as they have good character and can read, they can apply. Is that true?"
Feng Qingsui nodded: "Indeed. Do you want to enroll?"
"Um!"
San Ya nodded heavily.
"There's only one midwife in our village, and she's often too busy. When my mother gave birth to my fourth sister, one of my aunts went into labor prematurely, and she couldn't make it, so my father had to hire someone from another village."
"Our village is far from other villages and requires a long detour along a mountain road. It happened to rain heavily that day, making the road difficult to walk on. My father even fell twice, which delayed him quite a bit."
"My mother's fetal position was not very correct. She almost died waiting and later developed many underlying illnesses."
"When women in our village get sick, they all go to a midwife to see a doctor. But the midwives' medical skills are not very good, and many of them can't be cured, so they just have to make do with the condition."
"I originally wanted to learn a few words and work as a maid in a wealthy family when I went to school. But when the headmaster said we could enroll in medical school, I changed my mind."
She looked a little shy.
"If I learn medicine, I can help women give birth and treat illnesses, and take care of my mother and grandmother."
"I still have two years to study at Qingquan Academy. I wonder if selling straw sandals will be enough to pay my tuition..."
Feng Qingsui comforted him, "The first year of medical school is exempt from compulsory education. If you can get an A-level assessment in the first year, you can be exempted from compulsory education in the second year. The same applies to other academic years."
San Ya was overjoyed.
"If I can get an A in every year, will I be exempted from all my studies?"
Feng Qingsui nodded: "That's right."
The master's original intention in establishing the medical school was to pass on medical skills, so that the people could have access to medical care and so that scams like "shaman dance to cure diseases" would have no place to stand.
She advised San Ya: "Learn to read well. As long as you can pass the entrance exam for the medical school and study hard, you won't have to worry about your clothes, food, and accommodation. The school will provide you with work-study jobs."
San Ya responded crisply, "Okay! Thank you, Princess. I will study hard."
Pei Minru admired her and said, "The Empress Dowager is truly kind-hearted. She is so considerate of the poor students. I am sure that there will be many more great doctors in the medical field in the future."
"You're no less capable."
Feng Qingsui smiled.
"If you give them an education and teach them to read and write, they'll have a chance to get into medical school. Once the medical school releases its enrollment prospectus, Qingquan Academy will likely see a significant increase in students."
Pei Minru smiled.
"Looks like I have to start preparing."
What she didn't expect was that the day after she brought San Ya back to Qingquan Town, many women in the town sent their daughters to the academy.
"Headmaster, are you still accepting students?"
Pei Minru asked them, "Why do you suddenly want your daughter to go to school?"
They replied, "I heard that if they could learn to read, they could study medicine with the Empress Dowager. We want them to have a skill in the future."
If you study medicine well, you might be able to enter the Imperial Medical Bureau. At worst, you can become a midwife or a bell doctor.
Midwives are among the "three aunts and six grandmas". Although their reputation is not very good, they earn a lot of money.
The reward for delivering a baby can be between three cents and one ounce.
If you meet a wealthy family, you may even get ten or twenty taels of silver.
The county magistrate in a small place earns less than a midwife with good skills.
They don't know how to deal with difficult births and can't find a way to earn money. If their daughters can learn how to do it, they won't have to worry about food and clothing in the future, and they, as mothers, can also enjoy the benefits.
Besides, ordinary people like them rarely see nobles throughout the year, let alone the Empress Dowager.
What a great honor it is to learn medicine from the Empress Dowager. Those who come to propose marriage must have trampled the door threshold to pieces.
Pei Minru immediately understood.
Only when there is profit can people be willing to let their daughters learn to read and write.
The mere fact that they could get into medical school had greatly increased the number of students at Qingquan Academy. If they could pass the imperial examination and become officials, wouldn't women's schools flourish everywhere?
However, since the establishment of the imperial examination system, women have not been allowed to participate, so this idea can only be a delusion.
She was about to shake her head when she suddenly remembered Miss Zong San, who was now serving in the army, and the female battalion under her command.
If women can go to the battlefield, how far is it from them entering the officialdom?
The Empress Dowager's medical school treats men and women equally, and the Regent is also an open-minded person. Perhaps during her lifetime, the day will come when women can take the imperial examination and enter officialdom?
If there ever comes a day like that...
Her heart was filled with emotion.
As the news spread, more and more families wanted to send their daughters to the academy to study and learn to read. The classrooms at Qingquan Academy were sufficient for the time being, but there was a shortage of tutors.
Just when she was worried, Princess Minghui suddenly came to visit with several widowed ladies.
After touring the academy, Princess Minghui asked, "Are you short of tutors? These girls are bored and want to find something to do to pass the time."
Pei Minru's eyes suddenly brightened.
These ladies all came from prominent families. They either studied with famous scholars or were the daughters of famous scholars. They were all known as talented women in their boudoirs and had published books. They were more than qualified to be private tutors.
"This is truly a blessing in disguise. I'm just looking for a tutor. If you ladies would be willing to help me, I'd be more than happy to help you."
Princess Minghui smiled and said, "That's great! They finally have a chance to display their talents."
When Pei Minru was discussing the time and content of the lessons with several ladies, he learned that they were strongly invited by Princess Minghui.
Princess Minghui had no relationship with her and had never been to Qingquan Academy before, so why was she so enthusiastic?
She understood after a moment's thought.
Later, she wrote a letter to Shangguan Mu to express her gratitude.
After receiving the letter, Shangguan Mu was overjoyed and wanted to ride to Ji's house to have a drink with Ji Changqing immediately.
Unfortunately, the next moment he remembered that Ji Changqing was not in the capital.
I couldn't help but sigh.
“It’s a rare opportunity to show off.”
Ji Changqing, who had already inspected the navy and the shipyard and was now fishing for seafood on the ship returning to Beijing, said: Haha, what's so great about just a simple thank you.
His little fox will be able to show off seafood soon.
After picking out the largest and fattest shrimps and crabs from the caught seafood, he took a thin small bucket, filled half a bucket with sea water, and put the shrimps and crabs in.
Then hand it over to the Peregrine Falcon.
"Okay, you can go back to Beijing. But don't eat anything on the way."
The peregrine falcon, having just eaten a belly full of seafood, responded: "Huh?"
——Don’t slander me. When have I ever stolen any goods?
It grabbed the bucket handle, spread its wings, and flew high into the sky.
Half a day later, Feng Qingsui received the seafood delivered by flash delivery.
Then send it to the kitchen for steaming.
After the food was steamed in the kitchen, it was sent to her by Polangxuan. She asked for the pork belly to eat together, but she never expected that she would feel nauseous as soon as she smelled the smell of shrimp and crab.
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