Chapter 16: Such a casual attitude towards education, so understated…
Such a casual attitude and nonchalant tone sent chills down Lin Fengzhi's spine.
She realized once again with crystal clarity that this was a feudal society with a clear hierarchy. All the changes she wanted to make depended on power; she could not passively allow the times to change her. She had to actively step into it and become a trendsetter.
She also had to be grateful that this was the Qin Dynasty. While feudalism certainly deprived women of many precious rights during the Qin Dynasty, the constraints on women were far less severe than during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. They were not completely confined to the family and still possessed a strong social nature, able to engage in various social activities and aspects of social life, such as agricultural production, handicrafts, medicine, physiognomy, and literature.
Furthermore, the Qin Dynasty was in the early stages of feudalism, not far removed from antiquity, and clan traditions (such as gender equality and widespread female activity) were still largely preserved. It can be said that the social environment and behavioral norms of women in the Qin Dynasty, and even later the Han Dynasty, were vastly different from those of women in later periods.
Take the Qu family as an example; the one with the strongest voice is the clergyman Qu He.
Among the Koruo people, before the advent of shamans, Anlai was in charge. And among the shamans, people trusted female shamans more than male shamans.
Perhaps noticing her unusual expression, Qu He keenly sensed something was wrong and explained to Lin Fengzhi, "Those who intend to divide the clan shall die. I originally intended to offer their heads as an apology, but I suppose you wouldn't like that, so let's leave it at that."
Lin Fengzhi snapped out of her reverie, the thought of bloodied heads making her politely decline. She didn't comment much on the internal affairs of the Qu family; in her heart, she preferred having one more female leader than one more man.
She simply said, "Remember to come with the shamans from the Xiang River basin in six days."
"Can't I come these next few days?" Qu He asked.
Lin Fengzhi: ?
Is it that urgent?
Lin Fengzhi was speechless for a moment. She had just planned her itinerary for the next few days, and Qu He was not on it. But seeing Qu He's serious and sincere expression, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.
No, what I said yesterday at Xiangjun Temple about following him wasn't just a temporary measure, it came from the bottom of my heart. After thinking about it, it wouldn't hurt to have Qu He follow me for the next few days, so Lin Fengzhi replied, "As you wish, but you must first take care of the affairs of the Qu clan."
"Of course." Qu He perked up and replied quickly, as if afraid that Lin Fengzhi would change her mind. She was eager to show Lin Fengzhi what she had to say: "When I came, I saw the Great Witch Clan people picking and retting hemp. Does the Great Witch also need some silk hemp?"
Lin Fengzhi glanced at her with considerable surprise, truly not expecting Qu He to be so observant. However, hemp harvesting wasn't a secret; once the Zhao clan's people arrived, even more people would join the weaving process.
Weaving is not just about sitting in front of a loom; it also involves processes such as harvesting hemp, retting hemp, boiling and scouring hemp, separating fibers, and spinning yarn.
Once the loom starts operating, it will require a continuous supply of raw materials—hemp. Lin Fengzhi had also considered taking the route of becoming a county magistrate, but since Qu He had suggested it, he would listen to it first.
She immediately replied, "We do need silk and hemp, and not just a little. Bring as much as you have here, and we'll pay whatever the market price is."
Qu He was slightly taken aback, then quickly calculated in her mind the silk and hemp stored in the Qu clan, even including the unharvested silk and hemp in the fields. She gave Lin Fengzhi a number.
Lin Fengzhi accepted them all.
She then added, “The Qu family has some influence in the old Chu territory over the years. If the Great Shaman needs a large quantity, I can help him make connections between various counties.”
Lin Fengzhi readily agreed and gave Qu He a deposit.
After Qu He left, Lin Fengzhi led Yong and his group to inventory the valuables; the wealth was truly impressive. This batch of gold and silver even made Lin Fengzhi want to challenge the Great Shaman again.
She divided all her money into three parts: one part was distributed to the people of her tribe, and the other part was used to support those suffering from schistosomiasis.
As mentioned before, in this era, schistosomiasis cannot be completely cured; treatment can only be achieved through existing medications and diets. Patients must be extremely careful about their daily lives, including their clothing, food, housing, and transportation, to prevent infecting others.
Those suffering from schistosomiasis contracted the disease while the entire tribe was out hunting for gold, so Lin Fengzhi certainly couldn't ignore them.
Yong and the others had no objection to how the money should be used.
I only had a slight doubt about the last sum of money; I really couldn't figure out what it was for.
Lin Fengzhi smiled slightly, just as Qi came in from outside. She said, "Qi, you speak."
Holding a small stack of bamboo slips, Qi explained to his elder brother, who looked puzzled, "The shaman told me yesterday that you were there too, elder brother. But you and Shengkuan were talking about something, and you seemed very engrossed in the conversation."
Yong scratched his head. Sheng Kuan was showing off the carousel that Lin Fengzhi had given him. After showing it off, he pulled Yong to discuss the working principle of the carousel.
Yong tried several times to say that Lin Fengzhi had instructed him to make the revolving lantern, but he never got a chance to speak.
How could anyone notice what Lin Fengzhi and Qi were saying?
"The shaman said that this money should be used as a reward so that everyone in the tribe can learn to read and write with me." Qi flipped through the bamboo slips in his hand, picked out a simple and basic one, and opened it in front of everyone: "I don't expect everyone to have a high level of knowledge. It's enough to know some characters and be able to help the tribe. If anyone wants to study further in the future, the shaman said that he will invite a teacher for everyone at that time."
Yong exclaimed, pointing to himself, "Do I have to learn too?"
Qi, wielding the chicken feather as if it were an imperial edict, was quite smug and gave a heavy "hmm": "Of course, elder brother, you'd better learn from me."
Yong was reluctant. He had witnessed Qi learning to read as a child, and the scene was horrific; he didn't want to recall it. He racked his brains and found a loophole, questioning, "How can you teach us all by yourself? There are so many people in the clan. It can't be you teaching us."
"Hehe. Wu also said not to worry, she will handle it. Big brother must learn from me first, I will definitely teach you well."
Yong narrowed his eyes, increasingly convinced that it was just as he had imagined.
“Didn’t Shengkuan give you the Mo Jing? You can’t even read the Mo Jing, so how can you study it?” Lin Fengzhi seized on the sore spot and struck precisely: “There are also clan documents and account books. You can’t read, so you might get tricked into signing contracts without even knowing what they are. After you learn them, you can go to more distant places to buy things, and we don’t have to be confined to the Xiang River basin.”
Upon hearing Sheng Kuan's name, Yong's heart stirred. Moreover, Lin Fengzhi had mentioned the tribe he valued most. He was at a loss for words and compromised, saying, "The shaman is right, I will learn."
Lin Fengzhi has also given deep thought to the issues of universal education and the distribution of money.
She could distribute the money to her people, but not all of it. The illiteracy rate among the Keluo people was an alarming 90%; literate individuals were few and far between. A portion of the money could be used as an education fund to encourage more people to strive for a better life.
No matter how tough life gets, we must not let our children suffer; no matter how poor we are, we must not neglect education.
In the future, the people of Keluo can't keep doing hard fishing and hunting, and just pray to God for good weather and a good harvest to eat in the mountains and fields. They must have a skill to rely on.
In an era when literacy rates were shockingly low, being able to read and write already put one ahead of many. Perhaps some of them would excel in their studies and even become officials in the future.
Lin Fengzhi knew some people wouldn't want to learn, so she made two preparations. For adults, she offered corresponding interest courses, such as how to compost, how to cleverly set traps for hunting, and how to weave cloth efficiently.
As for the kids, haha, they're at the perfect age for learning! Let them all go to school! Anyway, she's rich now, she'll give them free education, and they can be her beasts of burden when they grow up!
Those who excelled in their studies were rewarded with that sum of money, and the profits from the looms were also used to fund education.
Do you even realize how valuable today's children are, the pillars of tomorrow's society?
Lin Fengzhi opened a bamboo scroll and saw the small seal script on it. She immediately thanked the original owner, Qing, for her diligence. Qing practiced shamanistic arts and had to memorize prayers; it was impossible for her not to be well-versed in them. She was one of the few literate people among the Keluo people, but unfortunately, all the literate aspiring shamans had died because of the shamanistic system.
Lin Fengzhi explained the clan's education plan to everyone present, especially Yong and Qi. Yong was the leader of the younger generation of the Keluo people, and Qi was the implementer of the education plan.
When granaries are full, people naturally learn etiquette. Having money to eat well and be well-fed naturally leads to engaging in activities that enrich the spirit.
There was one more thing she didn't mention: she had never forgotten the grand vow she made on the first day of her journey.
She never forgot the deceased original owner, Qing. To free the Keluo people from their entanglement with so-called gods, material resources were fundamental, and education was essential. Weaving was also one of her attempts to bring about change for the Keluo people.
Both Qi and Yong said there was no problem. Qi even wanted to start the course today; he was very enthusiastic and couldn't wait.
"By the way, Wu, An told me to buy some things when I came back from the Qu family. I'll call a few skilled people from the clan to go shopping later. Do you see if there's anything else you need to buy?"
Yes, of course there is.
Lin Fengzhi gave him a list.
Yong glanced at it and immediately asked, "Do we need to buy so much meat?"
Lin Fengzhi nodded.
She's been here for over half a month, and the night blindness she was diagnosed with at the beginning still hasn't been resolved. She didn't make a big fuss about it before, firstly because she was new and unsettled, secondly because she didn't have the time, and thirdly because she was afraid that exposing the gold in the gold panning river would lead to everyone being wiped out.
Now that the Qu family has the money they've earned through legitimate means, they naturally need to start improving the living conditions and health of the clan step by step.
Through her observations, she discovered that, besides herself, a considerable number of other people in the tribe also suffered from night blindness.
This was inevitable. In ancient times, resources were scarce, nutrition was insufficient, and the intake of trace elements was inadequate, making people prone to all sorts of illnesses.
Night blindness is also easy to treat; just eat more animal liver and egg yolks.
The Keluo people's diet is indeed not nutritionally balanced; their meat mainly comes from fish and domesticated poultry. Their poultry-raising skills are also quite poor, resulting in small, thin animals.
"Take a rest for a while, and don't forget to bring a thank-you gift when you go to the county later."
Yong didn't say anything more. He went home to rest for a while, but he couldn't stand Qi constantly talking about his teaching plan and using him as a guinea pig to try out how to teach.
He didn't rest for long before taking the money and people with him and heading back to the county.
A note from the author:
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*Views on Women in the Qin and Han Dynasties_Cui Rui
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