The news that elementary school would start the next day spread throughout the village. It was said that it was free. After seeing Wang Yu pass the exam, many people wanted to send their children to school. Now that there was a free opportunity, how could they not be willing?
What surprised them even more was that the girl and the boy could also go to school and learn to read and write. They were not ungrateful people. It was easier to find a marriage partner for a girl or boy who could read and write. They had never thought about it before because education was expensive. Being able to support a child's education was already very good. Now that they had the opportunity, it would be unreasonable not to go.
There was an endless stream of people coming to the village chief's house to inquire about the matter. Later, the village chief gathered everyone together and told them that the elementary school was funded by Wang Yu and that he was paying for all the expenses. He also said that he would continue to provide financial support to children who were good at studying, and asked the villagers to remember Wang Yu's kindness.
After hearing the accurate news, the villagers were excited and praised Wang Yu's benevolence and righteousness.
"I was saying Wang Yu is a good kid, but I didn't expect him to care so much about the village."
"You're right. Their winery buys grain from the village at a high price. Oh, and that curved plow was also made by Wang Yu, right? It's really amazing."
"Yes, yes, it would be great if my child had half of his ability!"
"Anyway, my kid wants to try to study. It's good to be able to read."
"Yes, our grandson is going too, and Brother Qiu is going too."
…
Wang Yu took the written words to the village chief. Along the way, he received many enthusiastic greetings. Wang Yu could only answer them one by one. The journey of ten minutes took him half an hour.
The village chief was so eager to frame Wang Yu's calligraphy that he said, "This calligraphy is really good. I'll find a skilled craftsman to make a plaque for him later."
"Okay, I'll have to trouble Uncle Zhou to take care of everything from now on."
"That's a good thing. My old bones still have a few years of use left. I will definitely do a good job in elementary education. Don't worry."
After Wang Yu returned, he mentioned the matter of going to the capital to his father again. Seeing that his father was still hesitant, Wang Yu said, "Dad, I have a hundred acres of official farmland in the capital that needs to be taken care of. You know I have to be on duty every day and I definitely don't have time. Please ask the steward to take care of the farmland at home, and you will have to take care of the official farmland in the capital."
Wang Yu was a seventh-rank official with a salary of forty-five years and five dan of new grain. One dan here is about one hundred kilograms, and five hundred kilograms of grain is enough for five people to eat for a year. He also received a subsidy of one hundred acres of official land. Official land did not require taxation, but of course the land would be taken back if he stopped being an official.
Wang's father agreed after hearing what Wang Yu said. His son was a scholar and really didn't know how to take care of the fields. It would be good for him to take care of them. A hundred acres of land, that's how much grain can be produced, so he needs to take good care of it.
"I'm afraid Dad will have to work very hard then."
The king's father waved his hand and said, "I've been dealing with farmland all my life. It's not that hard."
Knowing that his father had agreed, he was happy. After agreeing on these things, Wang Yu still needed to go to Chen Yanwen and Song Boyan to discuss with them when to go to Beijing, and then go to see Master Song. He was afraid that there would be few opportunities to see him again after this separation.
When Wang Yu arrived at Chen Yanwen's house, they were packing their clothes. Because the emperor wanted to grant them a marriage, they had to go to the capital as soon as possible.
Ever since Chen Yanwen came back and told the family about the emperor's arranged marriage, this news shocked the Chen family even more than when they heard that Chen Yanwen had passed the imperial examination and become the top scorer. The Chen family was soaring to fame, and Chen Yanwen's uncle's family no longer dared to boss them around.
Of course, Chen Yanwen's attitude has changed since he passed the imperial examination. Now he will only curry favor with them even more. The old lady in the family also kept her mouth shut. At this time, the people in the clan were extremely grateful that they did not succeed, otherwise there would be no chance for Chen Yanwen to become a prince consort.
Apart from the happiness of the clan members, Chen's mother was more concerned about the relationship between Chen Yanwen and the princess. She felt more relieved knowing that Chen Yanwen was willing. She was afraid that the royal family forced him to become a princess.
Wang Yu planned to take the water route this time, so he would not go with Chen Yanwen. Chen Yanwen was going to the capital with his parents this time, so it was okay for them not to go together, but today they were going to Songjia Village together.
Chen's father and mother knew Wang Yu. Not to mention that their shop in the capital city was doing so well, it was all Wang Yu's idea. Moreover, their son was able to pass the imperial examination and become the top scorer thanks to Wang Yu and Song Boyan, so they were particularly enthusiastic when they saw Wang Yu coming.
Mother Chen: "Xiuzhi is here. The house is a bit messy right now. I'll ask someone to prepare some refreshments."
"Aunt, don't worry. I came here today to visit Master Song in Song Village with Yuan Jing." Song Boyan graduated from high school, and Master Song must be busy in the clan during this period and not in the academy in town.
"Yes, we are going. Just wait for me while I prepare some gifts. It is thanks to Master Song that we have been taught such good language and literature over the years." He then arranged for people to prepare the gifts.
Wang Yu also prepared gifts early in the morning and went to Songjia Village with Chen Yanwen. When they arrived, Song Boyan was playing with Xiao Shitou in the yard. Xiao Shitou was almost two years old and had a real name, Song Huaian. He was playing with building blocks, which were given to him by Wang Yu. The blocks came in various shapes and were dyed in bright colors. Children liked these things very much.
"Little Shitou has grown so big?" This was the first time Wang Yu had seen Little Shitou since they came to Beijing. The child, who could hardly walk before, could now run.
Little Shitou probably didn't remember this uncle, so he stopped playing with the blocks and hid away a little. Song Boyan said helplessly, "He's a little shy, and now he won't let me hold him."
"Same here. Dabao didn't let me hold him at first. He'll be fine after getting familiar with him." Then he got down to business and asked, "When are you planning to go to the capital?"
After asking Song Boyan, I told him that I planned to go there by water, and that this time I would also take the child with me, as the water route would be faster. So Chen Yanwen would not go with us. Song Boyan agreed, and we decided to leave on July 1st.
Chen Yanwen: "After I finish packing up my house in two days, I will leave first. We will meet in the capital then."
The three of them went to Master Song's house again. When Master Song saw his three students, he felt that it was worth it to teach them in this life.
Now some of them were in tears. He had only helped them in the early stages, and it was their own ability that allowed them to study at the provincial academy and pass the imperial examinations. He said, "Well, well, you are very good. You must also be good officials in the future."
The three of them also knew that they would have few opportunities to come back after leaving this time, so they were reluctant to leave. They talked with the teacher for a long time. After that, Wang Yu and Chen Yanwen left, and Chen Yanwen had to go home to pack his luggage and prepare to go to the capital.
After the two separated, Wang Yu returned home. Cheng Chen was playing with Dabao in the house. The little guy must have just taken a bath, and his hair was not completely dry yet. Now that the weather is hot, it will dry quickly after playing for a while.
Cheng Chen saw Wang Yu come in and asked, "My husband is back. Have you eaten yet?"
"I've eaten at the teacher's house." Wang Yu walked over and sat beside the bed to play with toys with Dabao.
"Is everything arranged?"
"Well, it's all arranged. We're leaving on the first of July. We'll take the water route and reach the capital in about a month. Tomorrow we'll go to the Yue family and spend a few more days there. How about that?"
After they went to the capital, we didn’t know when they would be able to come back, so this time we asked Cheng Chen to stay at Yue’s house for a few more days.
"good."
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