Chapter 644 Extra - Childhood Sweethearts (I)
After celebrating Zhuang Qingning's birthday in Qingzhu Garden, Chu Jinzhou helped her and Zhuang Mingli prepare for their respective schools as he had said to Zhuang Qingsui that day.
Because Zhuang Mingli had once studied under Fan Wenxuan, and he passed the imperial examination at a young age, making him the youngest scholar in the entire county, his reputation spread far and wide, so many people came to the school, and the school was organized very smoothly.
But things were not so smooth for Zhuang Qingsui.
The people in and around the town are all ordinary people. In the eyes of ordinary people, for a girl to go to school, firstly, she cannot pass the imperial examination and have a bright future, secondly, she will waste time working to make money, and waste a lot of money on pens and ink. It is really the most disadvantageous thing and it is really unnecessary.
There are also some well-off families who are willing to let their daughters learn to read, but such families think it is inappropriate to let their daughters show up in public, and would rather let literate elders or invite a female teacher to come to the family to teach the girls in the Taoist clan to read.
For a while, the school prepared by Zhuang Qingsui was deserted, and there was not even a single person signing up.
"How about setting up this school in the county?" Chu Jinzhou suggested, "Many people in the county have a broader vision and are more willing to let their children have a better future. Even if they don't take the imperial examination, they would rather let their daughters learn more words and gain more knowledge."
"That's the truth."
Zhuang Qingsui frowned, "It's just that my original intention was to broaden the horizons of ordinary people and let them know the benefits of reading. If I open a school in the county, the people in the county are originally more knowledgeable. Although I can also teach and educate people, it feels a bit off from the original plan after all."
Zhuang Qingsui's life since childhood can be described as rough and full of twists and turns. She strives to enable the grassroots and the poorest people to have more knowledge and ideas to live a better life.
Chu Jinzhou could also understand these thoughts.
After thinking for a while, Chu Jinzhou raised his head and said, "Sister Sui's idea is good, but many concepts and ideas have been in a person's mind for a long time. It is not easy to change them. We have to take it slowly."
"You just said that many people in the county are more knowledgeable and open-minded. If you accept these people as your students, they will become your living signboards. When others gradually discover the benefits of studying, more and more people will send their students to class."
"When the people in the village see what is happening in the county, they will probably think that this is the trend of the times, and will gradually accept it and be willing to send their daughters to school. Gradually, when everyone is proud to send their daughters to school, your goal will be achieved."
"It's just like the pattern of this cloth. Ordinary prefectures all look up to the capital. If something is fashionable in the capital, everyone will rush to buy it. County towns look up to prefectures, and the same is true for villages. Seeing that the county towns are all doing the same, they will also try to keep up with the fashion."
"But this will take a very long time. Perhaps you alone cannot accomplish your goal. You need to do this for many years. After a hundred years, there will probably be a big change."
"Brother Jinzhou's words make sense." Zhuang Qingsui nodded vigorously after thinking for a while, and said a little embarrassedly, "I am also a little impatient, thinking of reaching the sky in one step. Everything needs to be done slowly, otherwise it will be like drinking poison to quench thirst."
"Nothing goes smoothly, and people don't have foresight. If everyone can see things so clearly, then everyone is a saint, right?"
Chu Jinzhou comforted him, "It is very rare to be able to listen to other people's opinions and correct them in time."
"It's just that opening this school in the county town will inevitably cause a lot of trouble. Fortunately, Mingli is not that busy now, so I can help you with your affairs."
Hearing Chu Jinzhou say this, Zhuang Qingsui felt warm in her heart, "Thank you, Brother Jinzhou."
"Are you so polite to me?" Chu Jinzhou smiled and saw the two shallow dimples on Zhuang Qingsui's round face, which were very cute. He subconsciously reached out and pinched them.
Zhuang Qingsui's face turned red and he subconsciously took two steps back.
Only then did Chu Jinzhou realize that his previous action was inappropriate.
Boys and girls are supposed to sit at different seats from the age of seven. Although he and Zhuang Qingsui have been classmates since childhood and grew up playing together, such intimate actions are inappropriate for adult men and women.
"Sister Sui, I..." Chu Jinzhou apologized with an embarrassed look on his face, "I just thought of it as when we were little and were used to playing around..."
"I'm so sorry..."
After saying this, he bowed deeply.
"Nothing, nothing." Zhuang Qingsui patted his cheeks and forced a smile. "I can only blame my face for being too fat. My sister pinches me every now and then when she sees me."
"Thinking back to the time when you guys always pinched me, I always thought that the reason why my face is a little fat now is because you guys pinched it and made it swollen. The swelling won't go down, so it keeps getting fatter..."
Such witty words made Chu Jinzhou couldn't help laughing.
After discussing the matter of opening an academy in the county, Zhuang Qingsui and Chu Jinzhou began to get busy.
On one side is the younger sister of Princess Ninghe, and on the other side is the younger brother of the current Prince of Qi. Moreover, establishing an academy is a good thing that will benefit the court and the people. The current county magistrate Ding Gaochang has expressed great support for this.
With the help of Zhuang Qingning and Chu Jinnian, the academy soon took shape and began to recruit students normally.
As Chu Jinzhou said, it was much easier to recruit students in the county town than in the villages and towns, especially since the county government posted a notice stating that the tuition was only half of that of an ordinary academy, and the top three students admitted each year could be completely exempted from the tuition. After waiting and watching for a while, everyone sent their daughters, aged six or seven, or seven or eight, here one after another to study and learn to read.
The number of students enrolled was two or three times more than expected.
But when there were so many people, Zhuang Qingsui started to worry.
She is the only teacher in this academy and there is no way she can teach so many students.
Chu Jinzhou is a ready-made teacher, but this is a girls' academy after all, and it would be somewhat inconvenient for Chu Jinzhou to be a teacher here.
Just when Zhuang Qingsui was worried, two people came to the academy.
"Senior Sister Ma, Senior Sister Liu, why are you two here?" Zhuang Qingsui was surprised and happy when he saw Ma Qiuling and Liu Ruoxue standing in front of him.
"I heard from the teacher that you opened a school here and quietly became a teacher. We two came to see if you have any vacancies and whether we can ask for a bowl of rice to eat."
Ma Qiuling smiled and joked.
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