Chapter 283 Jiang Huai never expected this, he never expected this!
(Thanks to Huahua for casting 3 monthly votes.)
"Sir, these are two bolts of fine linen cloth that we specially bought in the city. Thank you for teaching us!"
"Sir, this basket of walnuts was picked by my child and me from the mountain. I picked out the biggest ones. Please take them and have some."
"Sir, the Turkic man selling mutton said this is the best mutton in his area. These two lamb legs are a nice addition to your New Year's table!"
......
After about half an hour, the people of Liujiatun came forward one by one to present gifts to Jiang Huai.
Jiang Huai's eyes were already red. He was not a materialistic person, but he was not ignorant of the basics either.
Therefore, he truly understood that the shoes, cloth, and food that the people of Liujiatun gave him were not just a matter of monetary value, but were filled with the genuine gratitude of the people of Liujiatun.
If it weren't for the need to maintain a professional demeanor as a teacher, Jiang Huai would have truly wanted to lower his head and burst into tears right now.
The villagers of Jiangjia Village who were watching stared wide-eyed at the truckloads of goods and the heartfelt gifts.
"This...this...they are all truly grateful for Brother Huai's guidance."
"This must be from the heart!"
I reckon they've all come dressed in their best clothes.
"Putting everything else aside, being able to make shoes for Huai-ge'er by hand is truly an expression of gratitude for Huai-ge'er teaching their children."
"Looking at it this way, Huai-ge'er from the fourth branch really shouldn't have stayed in the clan school back then."
Staying in the clan school would at most guarantee a meal, let alone receive so many New Year's gifts.
"Hey, how much do you think this is worth?"
Yes, putting aside the shoes that weren't particularly valuable but were full of genuine sentiment, the two boxes of high-quality paper, the cartload of high-quality charcoal, and the bushel of millet that were sent out at the beginning were worth quite a bit of money.
Not to mention the famous brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones that Li sent later in October, which were worth a fortune.
However, it should be noted that Li Shiyue did not actually pay for the ink, paper, and inkstone.
She gave most of the money she received from the paper mill this year to Manager Jin as a thank-you gift;
The rest were also allocated to village affairs, such as the money for buying large livestock and wool from She'er;
Then she only kept a small portion for daily expenses.
The ink, paper, and inkstone that she gave to Jiang Huai were all famous works by renowned artists; how could she possibly afford them?
Or rather, how could she bear to spend the money to buy it?
The writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone she gave to Jiang Huai were actually part of a return gift from Prince Liu Shu. She was essentially returning the New Year's gift from her employer to her employer.
The round trip cost nothing!
hey-hey!
In short, this whole thing really put Jiang Huai and the people of Jiangjia Village in awe. Some of them even thought it was no wonder that Jiang Huai had gone out to teach.
It turns out that the villages at the bottom of the county are so rich!
Li Shiyue, who had been observing the crowd and Jiang Huai's expression, knew that her plan for today had been a success!
At this point, her attempt to save face for Jiang Huai had backfired on him.
But how can that be?
Although Li Shiyue intentionally wanted to save face for Jiang Huai, that's why she arranged for Li Wangshui and Li Shiliang to do these things in advance, and had Wang Shisan and Yangzai lead the children to think of those words.
However, she was also genuinely grateful to Jiang Huai for agreeing to let her come to Liujiatun to be his teacher.
She knew that among the scholars at this time, not all of them were like Li Wangming and Jiang Huai, who could truly follow the sage's words of "education for all."
Most intellectuals, whether young or old, actually look down on farmers deep down.
Of course, they wouldn't say it outright.
But therein lies the class difference. What they show is that farmers, especially rural farmers, are not worthy of learning the words of sages, not worth teaching, and should not be taught to read and write!
It is extremely rare for a scholar like Jiang Huai to agree with Li Shiyue's suggestion to teach the villagers in Liujiatun, who didn't even know their own names, to read and do accounting during the off-season, so that they could write their own names stroke by stroke.
Even before seeking help from Jiang Huijun, Li Shiyue had considered finding a literate merchant who could do accounting and hiring him at a high price to come to the village and teach her.
However, Li Shiyue was lucky enough to meet Jiang Huai through Jiang Huijun!
After months of hard work, Jiang Huai taught the people of Liujiatun how to write their own names, understand certain types of transaction documents, and calculate their own accounts.
That's how the people of Liujiatun were able to succeed in trading at the border market!
Jiang Huai deserves much credit for this!
So, when Jiang Huai was so excited that he couldn't control himself, Li Shiyue decided to add fuel to the fire and make sure that Jiang Huai would never go anywhere else except to be a teacher in Liujiatun!
She wanted to flatter Jiang Huai!
Looking at Li Shiyue standing in front of him again, Jiang Huai stared blankly at her. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but once he opened his mouth, he didn't know what to say.
Therefore, Li Shiyue spoke first.
"Mr. Jiang, we have discussed this together. In order to thank you for your guidance and help to our entire village, we have decided to include in our newly revised village genealogy the things you taught children to read and do arithmetic, and taught everyone to write their names, read documents and do accounting!"
We want future generations of sons and daughters to know about our connection with our teacher!
Jiang Huai never expected this, he absolutely never expected it!
Li Shiyue actually said he wanted to include him, a person from another village with a different surname, in their village genealogy.
We need to write down his name and what he did, record it well, and show it to the descendants of Liujiatun.
Let them know that a scholar named Jiang Huai once did such a thing for their Liujiatun.
This was completely beyond Jiang Huai's expectations!
Of course, the people from Jiangjia Village who were watching were also quite surprised to hear what Li Shiyue said!
No one would have imagined that Li Shiyue and his small village would actually go and revise the village genealogy.
Moreover, they were willing to include Jiang Huai's name and deeds in the book?
This is truly treating Jiang Huai as a great benefactor of Liujiatun!
This is truly a great favor!
Jiang Huai, however, was now filled with panic. Before, he might have only been somewhat moved, touched by the simple gratitude of the people of Liujiatun and thankful for their regard for his efforts.
But now, looking at Li Shiyue in front of him, he felt really guilty.
Why?
It should be noted that he had met with Jiang Huijun before meeting Li Shiyue.
When he met Jiang Huijun, this is what she said to him.
"...Although she is a woman, the general has high hopes for her and wants to know if she can be of use in the future."
Jiu Niang likes her, and now that she's come to my door asking for help, I can't very well refuse.
I thought that if you were to take this job, firstly, it would allow you to leave Jiangjia Village and separate from Jiang Twelve and the others, and at least preserve the clan ties, making things easier for Uncle Seven.
Secondly, the fee Li Shiyue gave was not low; even in the prefectural city, this amount was considered top-notch.
If you become a teacher, you'll have a job, which is better than being in a clan school.
Thirdly... I want you to keep an eye on Li Shiyue and that Liu Jiatun for me!
It's not that I want you to do anything bad, it's just that I don't trust her, an outsider.
"Just keep an eye on things for me and write down anything you consider important."
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