Chapter 157: Is the ancestral hall greater than the school, or the school more powerful than the ancestral hall?
(Thank you, Mu Yan, for supporting 100 Qidian Coins.)
When Erdan's mother saw Zhou Lanhua, she felt genuinely embarrassed, as if she had been caught "informing" on someone.
Li's mother knew how to handle people. She carried Dazhuang and Xiaozhuang onto the kang (a heated brick bed) first, and then she let Erdan, who was already on the kang, share the snack box with the two of them.
When the children are playing together, it's easier for the adults to talk to each other, isn't it?
As soon as she sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed), Zhou Lanhua blurted out the story of how she had "caused trouble."
"...She said she was embroidering patterns for clothes for the little kids in her family, thinking of sending them to school in the city in the spring. How could I possibly understand that?"
I was just too naive; she implied that we went to buy land that day.
I just said it directly. I could tell something was off about her face right then and there, but I didn't think much of it, did I?
As you know, in October, things turned out the way they did.
It's all my fault. I couldn't keep my mouth shut and told people everything. I didn't realize they were trying to trick me into revealing information.
Oh dear, I'm so angry!
From now on, I will never speak to her again if I see her!
She's treating me like a fool!
Li Shiyue grabbed a handful of spiced beans and gave them to Zhou Lanhua, "Auntie, what's wrong? It's nothing serious."
"Here, have some beans. They're from the city, they smell delicious!"
When Zhou Lanhua saw Li Shiyue's attitude, she felt much more at ease.
"October, aren't you angry?"
"Oh, Aunt Lanhua, what's wrong with this?"
Even if you don't tell her, can't she find out from someone else?
No matter how much you try to prevent it, there will always be times when you can't prevent it.
"When spring comes and we hire people to build houses, won't they still find out?"
Hearing Li Shiyue say this, Zhou Lanhua let out a long sigh: "Shiyue, I know you have a big heart. I made a mistake this time. Don't worry, I will keep my mouth shut from now on. If anyone asks again, I won't say a word!"
"However, Auntie, what you said has given me an idea."
Li Shiyue looked up at Zhou Lanhua and asked, "Auntie, would you like Dazhuang and Xiaozhuang to go to school too?"
"Huh? Send it to the county town?"
Uncle Wang Shui did make a fortune thanks to you, but he still needs to build a house this spring.
We still need to develop land later this month, will we have enough money?
Studying must cost a lot of money, right?
Besides, Dazhuang is old enough, but we're just farm kids, what's the point of learning that?"
The more Li Shiyue thought about it, the more she felt it was the right thing to do, so she simply asked her mother to find out the brush, ink, paper and inkstone. With a burst of inspiration, she started writing line by line.
Zhou Lanhua watched as Li Shiyue wrote with great skill and eloquence, filling a page in no time.
After writing for three pages, Li Shiyue asked Li Qiutian and Li Xiatian to invite all their "own people" over.
Upon seeing this, Li Wangshui and Zhou Lanhua simply left Dazhuang and Xiaozhuang at Li Shiyue's house, and the two of them took the empty baskets home to fetch grain.
Dog Lao San, his third aunt, Yang Zai's cousin's family, Wang Shisan and his grandmother, Ma Zi and Wei Zi also came with their whole family this time;
Adding to the already existing Erdan's mother and Erdan, and the Li Wangshui and Zhou Lanhua family of four, Li Shiyue's house was truly packed with people sitting or standing, whether on the kang (heated brick bed), in the yard, or in the kitchen.
After everyone sat together and enjoyed a happy meal, it was almost dark.
A large group of people, women and children, sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), while the men sat or stood on the ground.
Three lamps were lit inside the room, and an extra candle was lit in front of Li Shiyue.
I bought these candles at a general store when I went to the prefectural city; they weren't cheap.
Li Shiyue stood by the kang (a heated brick bed) and immediately made a bold statement: "I plan to build a school!"
"Build a school?"
"Where will the school be built? We'll need to buy land."
"Why build a school? To send children to study?"
A large group of people started discussing animatedly, and Li Shiyue didn't rush to continue, instead giving everyone plenty of time.
After everyone had finished speaking, Li Shiyue coughed twice and continued, "I've thought about this idea before."
However, what I had in mind was that once our village developed, we would build a school for our own children.
But after I heard Aunt Lanhua talk about what happened to my eighth great-uncle's daughter-in-law today, I thought, why don't we build the school together with the house and the paper mill?
Reading is the most useful thing!
That's beyond doubt!
Brother Shiyang and my second uncle are perfect examples!
Of course, I'm not saying that all the children in our village should take the imperial examinations to become scholars. I just want to build a school and hire a teacher to teach them to read and do basic accounting. When the children grow up and go out into the world, they will be able to read documents and do accounting, so they won't be cheated.
If you have beautiful handwriting, you might as well work as an accountant in a shop.
Moreover,” Li Shiyue said, pointing to the business plan he had written on the kang table, “who knows if our business might not expand to the county town, or even open a shop in the prefectural city?”
With a "whoosh," everyone was completely taken aback by the empty promises made by Li Shiyue.
"So, can we still open a shop in the prefectural city in the future?"
"Huh? This, this will work?"
"October, are you serious?"
Li Shiyue nodded: "Not only that, if there are any promising children among the kids who can sit still and study hard, and your families can't afford to support them, then we'll support their education together!"
"Take the exams for the lowest level of education, then the highest level, and keep going up the ranks. Don't worry about the money!"
Zhou Lanhua stared at Dazhuang and Xiaozhuang, who were playing with Erdan on the kang with their buttocks sticking out, and a fire, or rather, "hope," suddenly welled up in her heart.
"What if, what if my Dazhuang and Xiaozhuang are academically inclined?"
Based on this, Li Shiyue added: "The place to build the school is enough if we squeeze out a piece of land from the riverbank I bought, the place where I was going to build the paper mill."
If more children come to study in the future, then we'll buy more land.
As for the cost of building the house, I'll pay for it!
I'll take care of hiring a fortune teller. I'll go to the county town and bring one back!
Once this school is open, all the children of those who work in our paper mill will be able to study for free!
If outsiders want to come, they'll have to pay a tuition fee!
Those who are quick-witted will understand what Li Shiyue means once they hear her say this.
At least Li's mother and Zheng Meiniang knew as soon as they heard Li Shiyue's words that Li Shiyue was doing it on purpose and wanted to strike first!
Who should strike first?
Of course, it was Li Youfu and his eighth uncle who represented the old Li clan's power!
They want to build an ancestral hall, the kind of ancestral hall that women aren't allowed to enter, right?
So, Li Shiyue built a school!
She wanted to see whether the ancestral hall was greater than the school, or the school was greater than the ancestral hall!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
