Chapter 273: Small Steps Lead to Big Results
The first class of the Daxingzhuang Children's School was filled with Sang Luo's encouragement, interesting interactions, and a little teacher who did not need a book and could read with clear and melodious voices with his hands behind his back. There were also the sounds of children, young at seven or eight years old and old at thirty or forty, reading aloud together.
This lesson was undoubtedly a success. Not only did no one question the eleven-year-old girl's ability to be a teacher, but when she demonstrated abilities that surpassed everyone's cognition, everyone respected her even more!
At the end, Sang Luo reminded those who came to the class at night from the surrounding villages to go in groups as much as possible. After returning home, they should make a wooden box, put some fine sand in it and practice more with a wooden stick. This way, they can truly remember what they have learned.
This class was exciting, novel, enjoyable, proud and gratifying for the students in the class and their parents outside the class. Time passed quickly. But for those who came just to watch the fun and had a place before but didn't know how to use it, it was very painful.
After waiting for a long time for the school to be over, Sang Luo and Shen Ning came out of the classroom, and the woman quickly followed them.
"Mrs. Sang, Mrs. Sang."
Sang Luo stopped and turned to look, and saw a woman she didn't recognize.
The woman was a little embarrassed and said, "I'm from the vermicelli workshop. Madam, my family has two places, but only one is used. I want to ask, can I still register my child now?"
Once one person spoke, several followed.
Sang Luo raised her eyebrows slightly. She was quite successful in spreading the fire, but she did not respond to the woman's request.
"There is no order without rules. I have set the deadline for registration. If you miss this opportunity, you will miss it. However, there will be more enrollment in the future. If there are unused places, you will still be given opportunities. You can wait for the next enrollment."
The seven or eight people who followed over all had disappointed looks on their faces, but the opportunity was indeed given to them, but they themselves did not want it, and they did not know what to say for a moment.
After Sang Luo and Shen Ning walked for a while, Shen Ning whispered, "Sister-in-law, aren't you saying this tonight just to get more people to pay attention to reading and literacy?"
"Um."
"Then why don't you accept it?"
Sang Luo looked at her and said, "There is no order without rules. I am serious about this. We now have shops, workshops, caravans and long-term workers. There may be more people in the future. If we want to train them as a team, it is important to have the awareness of abiding by the rules. Once the rules are set, no matter whether they or we are, we must abide by them."
"Besides, just like they didn't value the free quota before, things that are obtained too easily will not be cherished from the bottom of their hearts."
After listening to this, Shen Ning thought about it carefully and realized that this was indeed the truth: "That's true. I saw that the aunt who spoke first was followed by a young lady about my age. When the aunt asked questions, the young lady's eyes were full of expectation. I think she also wanted to study. I think it's a bit of a pity."
There are too few girls.
Chen Ning is fourteen years old now, and she is no longer as ignorant as she was when she was young. A girl of fourteen or fifteen years old, if not particularly doted on by her family, may not stay at home for a few years. If her parents and grandparents do not love her, the family that gives the larger betrothal gift may marry her off immediately.
The value of girls is too low in the eyes of country farmers. When they are young, they help with various housework at home. When they grow up, they choose a good family, receive a betrothal gift and get married. But like water spilled, they become someone else's family.
Thinking of this, Shen Ning couldn't help feeling a little depressed. Of course, it wasn't for herself. Shen Ning never thought that her eldest brother, sister-in-law and second brother would treat her like this. She just felt that it was not easy for women.
Seeing her unhappy, Sang Luo smiled and said, "What a pity! The doors and windows of the classroom are open. If she really wants to learn, can someone tie her legs or blindfold her or plug her ears?"
Opportunities are always something you have to fight for yourself, and there is never only one way to choose when doing anything.
Shen Ning was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Yes, you can sit in!"
Sang Luo saw her eyes brighten up and smiled, "Those selected at this time are those who are truly willing to learn, so just let it go. We have done everything we should and can do. We can be the guides on the road ahead, but we don't have to support and drag everyone along."
…
Sang Luo's words were correct. She refused. Several female workers in the workshop tried to ask Mrs. Chen and Qin Fangniang for help. Mrs. Chen also said, "There is no order without rules. Besides, A Luo also said that she will recruit more in the future. Just wait a while."
The woman wanted to beg, but Chen Ning felt sorry for the young lady, so she pulled her mother's hand and whispered, "Mother, my wife didn't pay for the school, and it's us who didn't come. It's not good to let others break the rules. Please don't make it difficult for Grandma Chen. I will come and stand outside the window to listen tomorrow, and it will be the same. Just tell grandpa and grandma to allow me to come out every day."
Mrs. Chen laughed and said, "That's right. Your daughter is very clever and a good student. Don't let her stay at home and waste her time. Boys can support a family if they learn skills, and girls can stand tall if they learn skills. They all have to live their lives in this world. They are all your own flesh and blood. Don't rank them first. The daughters of our Daxing Village are precious treasures in every family."
The woman nodded repeatedly. Outside the noisy classroom, several people nearby heard her words, took them to heart, and followed the fellow villagers who had brought their stools out one after another to go home together.
…
In the classroom, Gan Erlang's wife, mother and daughter, and Zheng Danniu's aunt and nephew had not left yet. Gan Erlang had come here to accompany his wife and daughter. When he saw Chen Xiaoya writing on the blackboard with chalk, he went to his sister's house, found a piece of thin wood, took out a piece of black charcoal from the stove, sharpened it and brought it back.
As soon as the get out of class was over, he squeezed into the classroom and asked his daughter-in-law to go to the desk and copy down the two words that Chen Xiaoya had just taught her to read and write today.
"It's done. I'll make a bamboo slip when I get back. We can buy some ink and write it down once it looks good."
This was really clever. Zheng Da Nv and her niece didn't leave either. Zheng the butcher and his family, who had been outside the classroom, also squeezed in to watch. They greeted Gan Erlang and said they would go back and borrow the piece of wood from his family and copy it as well.
The Feng clan members who were familiar with each other in the same village also brightened up when they saw this. They knew that many people would bring wooden boards and charcoal pencils starting tomorrow.
Shen Yin, Chen Xiaoya and Shi Qiaoer, who were a step late, looked at each other and said, "This is a good idea. I'll tell everyone about it in class tomorrow."
At the back of the classroom, the four brothers and sisters of Shuanzhu also came to class on time that day. The brothers and sisters were quite tall, and they felt a little uncomfortable, so they sat at the back. After class, they didn't rush to squeeze out. They waited until most of the people in the front of the classroom had moved their stools away, then they picked up their own stools and prepared to leave. When they passed by the podium, they saw a group of people gathered there, and they also leaned their heads to take a look.
Hu Zi said, "Brother, let's bring charcoal pencils and wood chips tomorrow. When we get back and practice well, we can copy it down with pen and ink."
They have "Thousand Character Classic", but obviously they will teach things other than the Thousand Character Classic in class. It is correct to write down what you learn in class every day using this method. Otherwise, it will be easy to forget after a long time. Also, if you write it down, it will be convenient to practice it at home.
Shuanzhu, the eldest son of the Lu family, was in charge of all the money in the family. He was willing to buy a brush and a piece of ink for the four brothers and sisters who were studying. Shuanzhu nodded in agreement.
As the two brothers were talking, the older girl pulled her brother's sleeve.
Shuanzhu turned his head to look at her, and the girl whispered, "Brother, look at the window."
The three brothers turned around together and saw Lu Dalang standing by the window, looking at the podium.
Shuanzhu frowned, and Tiezhu lowered his voice: "What is he doing here?"
One sentence can reveal the difference in the relationship between father and son.
It is indeed strange that Lu Dalang appeared here. He was almost exiled at the beginning, and was poisoned and mute and exiled to the mountains. Although the reason has never been explained in detail to the outside world, every family in the village can guess something. After his family came back, they actually did not have much contact with the other families in the village.
The place and house they chose was the most remote one in the village, quite far away from other houses. On a daily basis, the five brothers and sisters still had some communication with the people in the village, but Lu Dalang had none at all.
He was not mute. His grandmother had not lied to them. The medicine could damage a person's throat, but it was a folk remedy after all. After a few months, Lu Dalang was able to speak something slowly, but no one could understand him. Of course, because of some things, the relationship between father and son and father and daughter was very strained at that time, and no one was willing to talk to him anymore.
When they came out of the mountain, their grandmother went to the city to get some medicine and brought it back for them to drink, and their voices gradually recovered. But after being injured for several years, it was true that their voices were particularly unpleasant.
In short, whether it was because he felt ashamed, or because of his bad voice, or for some other reason, Lu Dalang hardly interacted with the people in the village. He worked in the fields and mountains during the day, and when he was done he would go home and wait for food. After eating he would lie down. Even if he saw people from the village, he would not say a word and would just walk by.
Now you’ve come to the most lively place in the village?
None of the four siblings thought that Lu Dalang came to see them out of concern for them. Shuanzhu's brows were furrowed so tightly that they could kill a fly. He patted the iron pillar and said, "Go back first."
Having said that, after leaving the classroom, he still kept his eye on Lu Dalang.
Lu Dalang also saw his children turn their heads to look at him, and then saw that they were all carrying stools and coming out. They looked at the podium again, then turned around and walked towards their home.
…
Finally, there were no one left in the classroom. Shen Yin and Shen Tie, who came to pick him up, blew out the lights, packed up a little, locked the door, and went back to his eldest brother and sister-in-law's house.
The room in their house was used as a classroom, and the three brothers lived directly in the house of their eldest brother and his wife.
Just as his two brothers walked away, An Jiu, who had left at some point, came back and climbed into the room through the window in the dark. With his excellent night vision, he searched for something on the desk. He looked inside and out, even touching the edge of the standing board. There was nothing there except a piece of rags...
When he climbed out the window and returned to the hut on the mountain, An Qi, who often sneaked into the hut at night when no one was around, asked, "Did you find the pen?"
An Jiu shook his head: "No, it was taken away. I saw that thing getting shorter and shorter the more I used it. I will go and see if there is any that is too short to be used in the next two days and pick up a piece."
An Qi nodded, and then became curious: "Is it really useful? Have you ever seen it before?"
"It's very useful, especially when I'm giving a lecture. You can write and erase at the same time. It's very convenient. You'll know when I get it in a couple of days."
…
In Shezhou city, there were officials on duty at the provincial government office. Concubine Fan was worried about the local school, so she went in to take a look when she returned, but Chief Secretary He had not yet left the office.
Concubine Fan did not wait until the next day and directly asked someone to invite He Changshi to the hall for a talk. There was a distinction between men and women, and a seat was chosen that could be seen by the clerks on duty at night.
When He Changshi heard that Concubine Fan came to invite him, he was a little surprised at first. But after the two of them exchanged greetings, Concubine Fan stated her purpose directly and told him about what she had seen and heard in Daxing Manor.
The sand table was used as paper, the wooden sticks were used as pens, the bamboo slips were used as books, and the teacher copied the lessons. The local gentry was asked to donate the desks voluntarily. This was what Fan Fei Niang learned from Daxingzhuang about running a good local school.
"In this way, the cost of children's education will be almost zero, and the government will only need to pay the teachers' salaries. It should be possible for a village to find one or two gentry who are willing to contribute a little to the village school, right?"
He Changshi pondered over Concubine Fan's words.
"If we only recruit young children to study, and the rural schools run by the imperial court are not closed, it will cost the common people almost nothing, and it won't interfere with their farm work. It is indeed feasible. But..."
"Just what?"
"It's just that it's difficult for the teacher to copy the book for me."
"Why? You don't want the government or the gentry to pay for the pens and ink?"
He Changshi smiled and said, "Madam, do you know that in the larger states there is actually a profession called bookkeeper?"
"A hired clerk?" Concubine Fan shook her head. She grew up in the boudoir and was not very clear about what was going on in the market.
He Changshi said: "This is an old profession. Scholars from poor families copy books for others to earn some money to buy paper and pens or to supplement their family income. Before the big job, they were called Jingsheng, and some were called copyists."
Fan Fei Niang understood: "You mean, there are teachers in the village school who make a living by doing this, and they won't copy books for nothing?"
He Changshi nodded, "In fact, among the four rural schools that were opened earlier, two of them had teachers who sold primers themselves. A copy of Thousand Character Classic was sold for 750 coins, which was 50 coins cheaper than the market price. But how many villagers could afford it? When they heard the price of this book, they were so scared that they wished they could run away with four legs. So far, there are few students in those two schools."
The Chief Secretary was the assistant to the Governor. When the Governor was away, he could take charge of the affairs of a state, but most of the time he helped the Governor share the responsibility of education. There were several rural schools, but only a few students. No one read the books that did not require tuition. Naturally, he would go to visit them. The people he asked shook their heads like rattles and said they could not afford to study!
Concubine Fan’s brows were almost knotted.
The maid Xiaofeng said, "Madam, how about we help copy some of them?"
He Changshi shook his head after hearing this: "Miss Xiaofeng, there are one state, five counties and thirty-three townships. How many volumes of books can you copy?"
Xiaofeng was suddenly speechless.
Concubine Fan was also speechless. Copying books was not that easy. However, as she pondered, she thought of the light coming from the old classroom in Daxingzhuang just now, and her hesitation disappeared.
"Copy it. Little things add up to something great. Someone has to start first."
He then began to pace in the hall again, but after walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and turned to ask, "He Changshi, is it feasible to ask the gentry to donate the desks for the classrooms, and for the primers, the government can provide the bamboo slips and writing brushes, and ask the students of the state and county schools to help copy them?"
He Changshi was stunned for a moment, then stood up excitedly: "It's feasible, it's feasible!"
The more I thought about it, the better it seemed: "This is a good idea. We can implement this idea in all the township schools in Shezhou!"
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