Chapter 272: Bright Lights
Sang Luo didn't mind a little more stimulation. She raised her hand and pointed at Shen Ning, Xu Wenyin, Chen Xiaoya, Shen Yin and Shi Qiaoer standing on one side of the classroom, and said, "I'm sure many of you know these people. They are the teachers of the school in the village."
Pan Niang, who was sitting in the front row because of her small stature, suddenly became excited and whispered to her friends from the Feng and Zheng families next to her: "My cousin! The one on the far right is my cousin!"
Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Chen who were watching outside were also very happy. Mrs. Chen was so happy that she could hardly stop smiling.
Most people did recognize these children, but there were a few who did not, and some people whispered, "How can such young children teach?"
Someone nearby immediately retorted, "You don't know, right? The one next to Madam Sang is Madam Aning, Madam Sang's sister-in-law. Didn't you hear what Madam Sang said just now? She has been with you since she was little. If she were a boy, she would have passed the provincial school entrance exam like her two brothers."
"The lady next to her, Xu, her father is the owner of Dongfulou. Several of her brothers are studying in the provincial school, and they have been able to read and write since they were young. The other children were also taught by Madam Sang and several students who have now been admitted to the provincial school for several years. They started teaching them in the mountains. They recited them while jogging in the morning... Yes, yes, what's her name?"
Old Mrs. Zhao heard him stuttering and helped him by saying, "Wheel language."
"Yes, yes, yes, it's Lunyu, it sounds really nice, but I can't quite understand it. So, don't underestimate me because I'm small, I'm very capable!"
Concubine Fan turned her head to glance at Old Madam Zhao. It was dark, and she had not looked closely just now. Only now did she notice that there were many patches on the old lady's clothes.
It’s quite rare that you even know the Analects of Confucius.
Sang Luo and the others paused in their discussions before saying, "Aning and Wenyin are the teachers of the basic class, responsible for the daytime school curriculum, while Xiaoya, Xiaoyin and Qiaoer are the teachers of the night class. They are young, and I don't need to tell you whether they can be taught or not, you will know after listening to the last class. What I want to say is that even at such a young age, they can still get 15 cents from me for a lesson.
"What?" Someone outside yelled.
Fifteen cents for a class?
One class during the day and one class at night, isn’t that just thirty cents?
A teenager earns thirty cents just by attending two classes a day?
It’s hard for those who didn’t sign up, especially those who have daughters who wanted to come after hearing about the program, but whose family members thought that girls didn’t need to study and didn’t sign up at all. They regretted it so much that their intestines turned green and their legs felt weak and powerless.
There is no tuition fee, and you will have a bright future if you graduate from this program. Why were you not happy at the time?
Yes, it was my father-in-law who said that my daughter will be married off in a few years, and that studying too much might make her mind wild, and that it would not be appropriate for her to go out at night.
It means that at night you can also weave mats, fans, and baskets, and do some sewing and mending work.
…
Sang Luo knocked on the table and said, "That's enough. I said all this to tell everyone here that reading is useful. It is useful in many aspects. Buying and selling land and houses, writing contracts and promissory notes, which one does not require literacy? If you can't read, you can only ask others for help. When the year is bad or your family is in trouble and you need to borrow some money, aren't there many people who have been cheated out of their land and houses or even their entire family because of their illiteracy?"
“Quite a few!”
"So it is better to rely on yourself than on others. Since you have the opportunity to study, cherish it. If you study here, you must abide by the rules. Your teacher will tell you later. If you can't follow the basic rules, then I can only ask you to leave."
"Okay, I'll stop here. Please let Mr. Chen Xiaoya give us the first lesson."
After she said that, she gave up her position on the podium, and she and Shen Ning and others retreated to the back of the classroom to watch Chen Xiaoya teach.
…
Chen Xiaoya was eleven years old this year, but she had been following Shen Ning's enlightenment since she was six, and became a little teacher in Daxing Village when she was ten. There were more people giving lectures, and there were many older students. There were even more people watching outside, but many of them were from her own village, and her mother was also her student. Chen Xiaoya was very stable.
I introduced myself first, then took over Sang Luo's words to explain the rules of the class, and then talked about the special features of the night class.
"We will teach literacy in two ways. The first quarter of an hour is fun literacy, based on common characters, and we learn two characters a day. The rest of the time is regular teaching, starting with the Thousand Character Classic. There will be two arithmetic classes every week."
Then he said, "The first word I'm going to teach you today is closely related to everyone and every family has it."
He turned around and drew a simple field with chalk on the blackboard which was quite eye-catching but no one knew what it was used for.
Let’s start with a character “田”.
…
Fan Fei Niang was listening to the class very seriously. She watched Chen Xiaoya draw a paddy field on the blackboard. Next to the square picture, she also drew the word "field".
We explained the characters using pictographic elements and even invited a few students to interact and try to write the character "田" (field) with chalk.
The character "田" is really easy to write, and chalk is also rare. The elders from Daxing Village came to support the class, and the younger students from outside the village were also eager to try. Three people were called up to write one after another, and the classroom atmosphere suddenly became lively.
After explaining the character "田", she drew two rice seedlings on the paddy field, and then introduced the character "苗" from the shape to the character...
Fan Fei Niang saw intuitively the benefits of blackboard and chalk as teaching aids, and she was impressed. This child, who looked only in her early ten years old, could lecture dozens of people so calmly and skillfully, and her explanations were really logical. How did Sang Luo teach her?
When I turned my head, I saw the old lady next to me also leaning forward unconsciously, listening to the class with great interest. After listening for a while, she glanced at where a group of students were sitting in the classroom. A series of wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes, and she smiled with such joy and satisfaction.
Concubine Fan's heart was moved, and she lowered her voice and asked, "Aunt, do you have children studying here?"
"Yes, my two sons are helpers in my wife's family. My little granddaughter and grandson started studying with Miss Aning and her family in the village last year. Now my eldest daughter-in-law and the second daughter-in-law are also working as maids in my wife's vermicelli workshop. There are eight places for study in our family, and the other six older grandchildren are all here. My wife is also very kind. She understands that we have a lot of farm work to do and have classes at night. How much lamp oil does it cost."
The old lady had already stretched her neck to count them. There were twelve of them, and she almost went blind from counting them.
When Concubine Fan heard the old lady mention eight places for study, she immediately looked at Old Lady Zhao and said, "Are you the Grandma Zhao that Ah Luo mentioned?"
The smile lines at the corners of Mrs. Zhao's eyes were lively, "Yes, my wife is kind-hearted. She has taken good care of me as a long-term worker in her family."
Isn't it a kind heart? He is born with a kind heart.
Concubine Fan smiled, but she also admired the old lady next to her. She was still a little puzzled: "I heard that this school doesn't charge tuition, but books, pens, ink, paper and inkstones must cost money, right? How can you afford to support eight children to study?"
The imperial court had long ago ordered the establishment of schools, and provincial and county schools were gradually opened, but the township schools were slow to open. The government was short of funds, and the inability to pay the tuition fees of many teachers was one reason. The people could not afford it, and they did not attach much importance to reading, and they did not have the time to read. This was also a very realistic problem.
Nowadays, the future source of students for county and state schools still comes from private schools run by the people in counties and states. The families of those who can afford to send their children to private schools are not bad. However, the rural schools that the imperial court wanted to run seriously were only tried three or four times and then failed due to the above-mentioned reasons.
A rural school supports a teacher with only three or four students. The cost is too high.
But the old lady in front of me has patched clothes on her body and her son works as a farmhand for the Shen family. It is obvious that her family is not well off. How can she afford to send so many children to school?
Concubine Fan couldn't understand it.
Old Mrs. Zhao turned her head and took a serious look at Concubine Fan. It was dark before and her mind was in the classroom. She only knew that there was a young lady standing next to her and didn't pay much attention to her. Now, with the help of the light coming through the classroom, she took a closer look and found that she looked completely different from a country girl. The material and color of the clothes she wore were also very good.
"My wife was born in a rich family, right? Are you here to watch the fun in the city?"
Concubine Fan nodded: "Life is fine at home."
Mrs. Zhao said, "We study differently from the people in the city. We were also taught by Madam Sang. The poor have their own way of studying. Our family didn't spend much money to support our children's education."
What is the correct way to read "poor"?
Concubine Fan's eyes moved and she asked, "How do you study hard? You can't save on books, pens, ink, paper, and inkstone, right?"
None of these items are cheap. Books are not to be mentioned. Good books are simply hard to find. Even now that learning is becoming more popular, a volume of "Thousand Character Classic" for young children costs eight hundred coins. As for pens, the cheapest one costs more than thirty coins, and ink costs more than a hundred coins a piece. Paper is cheaper nowadays, but Fan Feiniang remembers that the cheapest one costs sixty coins a piece.
Ink and paper are consumables.
"You don't need to buy books. We made our own bamboo slips. The books used by the first two children were copied by Miss Aning, and the six children behind can just ask their brothers and sisters to help copy. We don't need paper and ink on a daily basis. We use a sand table or a slate to write. A branch can be used for a sand table, and for a slate, we use a brush dipped in water to practice writing. In the hottest months of summer, the brush dries very quickly. So in fact, you just need to buy a brush for each child at home, and then buy a piece of ink to copy the book. Brothers and sisters in the family take turns using it, and it can be used for a long time."
For eight children, Mrs. Zhao was willing to spend about two hundred coins to buy pens and ink.
As she spoke one thing after another, Concubine Fan's eyes became brighter and brighter.
So this is possible!
Seeing that she listened attentively, Mrs. Zhao had more energy to speak, and lowered her voice and said, "Mrs. Sang treats us well, but we also know good things. My old man and his children and grandchildren made three desks overnight and sent them to us. Look at the ones in the front row. They are made by our family according to the desks in the village school. The others should be made by other families. We will continue to make them and make ten desks for your school. If everyone works hard, you don't have to pay for the desks yourself."
——If everyone works together, I won’t have to pay for this desk myself.
Concubine Fan suddenly had an idea, and she suddenly became clear-headed. She smiled and bowed to Old Lady Zhao, saying, "You said it well. Thank you very much."
Old Mrs. Zhao was puzzled: "What are you thanking me for? Thanking my family for making desks? That's the right thing to do."
Concubine Fan smiled, turned around and said to Nanny Zhong beside her: "Let's go back."
"Don't you want to say hello to Madam Sang?"
"No, A'Luo is busy, let's go first."
The stage of fun literacy in the classroom had passed. The master and servants walked a few steps and heard a girl leading the reading, followed by dozens of people.
"The sky and earth are dark and yellow, and the universe is vast and wild."
Concubine Fan stopped and looked back at the small patch of bright lights reflected from the classroom window amid the sound of reading. A light ignited in her eyes and she said to the maid beside her, "Please ask Mr. He to come and see me tomorrow morning."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
