After breakfast, Pan Zhongzhan came in a hurry and took Zhao Hao to meet Liu Zixing and other local gentry, and went around Chaozhou City to select a site.

Fortunately, it was a cloudy day with a sparse wind, so Master Zhao wouldn't melt in the sun.

According to the tastes of trendy people, an elegant institution of learning, such as an academy, must of course be built in a place with beautiful mountains and rivers. This will not only be conducive to learning, but also have good feng shui, which will ensure academic success.

However, due to the security issues in Chaozhou, we did not dare to go far away from the capital city, and had to choose a location nearby to ensure the safety of teachers and students.

Therefore, Liu Zixing recommended three locations with excellent feng shui, quiet and beautiful scenery to Zhao Hao as options.

One is Jinshan, located in the northern corner of the city. Although the mountain is not high, the scenery is very beautiful, and many literati and poets have left their marks. Moreover, the mountain is like the city behind, with Hanshan to the east, Hulushan to the west, Fenghuangshan to the north, and the city streets to the south, so the feng shui is also the best.

The other is the West Lake, located outside the northwest wall of the prefectural city. It was originally a tributary of the Han River, stretching for more than ten miles. In the Tang Dynasty, the North Dike was built to cut it off from the Han River, turning it into a large rectangular lake. When the Chaozhou City was built in this dynasty, it was turned into a moat.

There is also a Hulu Mountain beside the West Lake. The mountain is green and the lake is green, and the lake is close to the mountain. The scenery is naturally excellent. One of the eight scenic spots in Chaozhou, "West Lake Fishing Raft", refers to this place.

Oh, by the way, Jinshan is also one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Chaozhou, and is beautifully named 'Jinshan Ancient Pines'.

After enjoying the beautiful scenery of lakes and mountains, Mr. Zhao came to the third alternative. It is also one of the eight scenic spots in Chaozhou. It is located in the southeast of the city, Fenghuang Island on the Han River. It is known as "Fengtai Timely Rain".

Accompanied by everyone, he climbed up the Phoenix Tower, which was more than ten meters high, and looked out from the River-Watching Pavilion. He saw the vast blue sky, the leisurely white clouds, and the endless peaks in the distance; he looked closely at the three mountains surrounding the ancient city; he looked down at the river water coming through the bridge and splitting into two streams at the Phoenix Island. It was exactly the scene of 'three mountains half-hidden in the blue sky, and Egret Island divided by two waters'.

At this time, there was a gentle breeze and the river breeze was blowing, and the summer heat was gone. Mr. Zhao was in a good mood and praised this as a really great place.

"The original name of this sandbar was Lao Ya Zhou. The former governor visited the island many times and loved its beautiful scenery. He said that this must be the place where the phoenix lives, not where the old crows fly into the forest. So he changed the name to 'Phoenix Island' and built this Phoenix Tower." Liu Zixing, the tour guide, said proudly: "Of course, this Phoenix Tower is mainly used to observe the enemy situation."

"Yeah." Zhao Hao nodded and smiled: "Even if there is no enemy, climbing high and looking far can also inspire ambition."

Seeing that Mr. Zhao liked this place, Liu Zixing suggested that the lunch should be held on the Phoenix Terrace. Zhao Hao readily agreed, so the accompanying servants carried food boxes, tables and chairs to the stage, set up tables, chairs and wine utensils in the Wangjiang Pavilion, and then put out the exquisite dishes in the food boxes one by one.

Although Chaozhou was poor, the wealthy families were not poor at all. They had special cooking boats with top chefs, perfect cooking utensils, and the freshest and most precious ingredients. This ensured that the gentry could still have a grand feast anytime and anywhere when they traveled.

If we simply compare enjoyment, these Chaoshan guys are no worse than those rich guys in Jiangnan.

But Bibi's power is not as good as hers.

The whole family hasn't produced a Jinshi in several years. It's just a waste, okay? This person can only be bullied to death in the court!

After three rounds of drinking, Liu Zixing could not wait to ask, "Do these three addresses appeal to you, young master?"

"Well, not bad, both are good." Zhao Hao nodded with a smile and praised: "Spring orchid and autumn chrysanthemum, each has its own strengths."

"So which one should we choose? Sir, do you have a plan?" the gentry asked hurriedly. They had inquired from many sources recently and knew that the real owner of Jiangnan Group was Sima Yanei, who was not yet 20 years old.

"Alas, the most troublesome thing for me is to make multiple-choice questions." Zhao Hao took a sip of the glutinous rice wine in his cup and said with a smile, "So I want them all, ok?"

"Wow." Liu Zixing was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth. "But the young master wants so many places. Do you have any other arrangements besides running a school?"

"Why would I do something like that?" Zhao Hao shook his head, put down his wine cup and said seriously, "These three places are of course used for running schools."

"Can a college of learning use all of that?" A gentleman blurted out, "Phoenix Island alone is as big as the city."

"Who said we're only opening one academy?" Zhao Hao shook his head and smiled, "In order to quickly reverse the current situation of backward local cultural and educational undertakings, our Jiangnan Education Group has tailored a package of education revitalization plans for Chaozhou Prefecture."

"A package...education revitalization plan?" Liu Zixing and others asked with interest, "What does that mean?"

"The goal is to comprehensively improve the cultural level of local scholars and the basic quality of the labor force. The plan is divided into five parts..." Zhao Hao raised his right hand and clenched his fist, saying: "Make a fist with five fingers, and you will have strength when you fight together!"

"I'd like to hear the details." Everyone listened attentively.

"The first one is the Chaozhou branch of Yufeng Academy, which is what everyone is most concerned about. Since Mr. Hou said that this is the habitat of the phoenix, then I think this academy should be located on Phoenix Island, and its name should be Phoenix Legend... Oh no, how about Phoenix Academy?" Zhao Hao began to list them all.

"What a good name, what a good start!" The gentry clapped their hands excitedly and said, "A golden phoenix has flown out of Chaozhou, so let's call it Phoenix Academy!"

"Besides, when students go to Fenghuang Island, they will be separated from the hustle and bustle of the capital city by a river, and can study with greater peace of mind." An old scholar echoed. From the sound of it, it seemed that there must be a playboy in the family who was unwilling to concentrate on his studies.

"Of course, in order to ensure the quality of teaching, the threshold of Phoenix Academy is still quite high. But you don't have to worry, our academy also has an affiliated middle school and an affiliated primary school, which is a one-stop education model." Zhao Hao introduced:

“That is to say, your children can receive the most scientific education from the beginning. As long as they can graduate successfully, most of them can enter Phoenix Academy.” Zhao Hao paused and said, “Considering that the children are still young, they will study on a day basis. I think it would be better if these two schools were built in Jinshan.”

"Hahaha." A group of Chaozhou gentry were extremely grateful and expressed their willingness to donate money to support education so as to guarantee their children's places.

~~

"What about the West Lake? What kind of school is going to build, sir?" Liu Zixing asked curiously.

"We in Jiangnan Education have always adhered to the concept of elite education, basic education and vocational education, three arrows at the same time." Then I heard Mr. Zhao talk eloquently: "One flower blooming does not make spring, but a hundred flowers blooming together make the garden full of spring. Only when the people of Chaozhou can also be literate, well-educated, and master higher labor skills, will Chaozhou really change greatly."

"Is that so..." The enthusiasm shown by the gentry was not as good as before, and it was obvious that they had no interest in letting a hundred flowers bloom.

"These free schools for ordinary people are not intended to cultivate scholars." Zhao Hao suppressed his anger and said slowly and firmly:

"Don't be short-sighted. Our practice in Jiangnan has proved that establishing basic education and literacy education is the fastest way to change the poor and chaotic appearance of a place."

"You are actually not poorer than the rich people in Jiangnan, but why do you still envy Jiangnan? Is it because the clothing and cultural relics there are more prosperous than in Jiangnan, and the literary talent and elegance are the best in the country? I think it is more because the food, clothing, housing and transportation there are all exquisite. Rouge, powder, calligraphy and painting, cultural relics, and all kinds of toys, there is everything you can think of, right?"

"Hehe..." Everyone laughed awkwardly, obviously hit the nail on the head. Place names like West Lake and Phoenix Terrace were enough to show their admiration for Jiangnan...

"All the beauty of Jiangnan cannot be created or maintained by scholars and officials alone. It also depends on culturally cultured craftsmen, and requires a large number of citizens with a certain level of education, entertainment needs, and a certain amount of spare money. Don't you want Chaozhou to be as prosperous as Jiangnan in ten years?" Zhao Hao said in a lustful tone:

"Who benefits the most from this process? Of course, it's you. With your vision, you must understand that a rising tide lifts all boats."

"Yeah." The group of wealthy people were finally tempted. They thought that they couldn't offend Mr. Zhao, so they might as well just treat it as a good deed.

"So, the purpose of setting up a free school is to cultivate future skilled craftsmen and citizens?" Liu Zixing asked, grasping the key point.

"Yes, our Jiangnan Group will soon open many factories in Chaozhou. These factories use more advanced production technology and more scientific management methods, and their production efficiency is many times that of traditional workshops. However, they need workers with a certain cultural foundation, and they have to spend a lot of effort to train skilled workers. So this is for both Chaozhou and ourselves." Zhao Hao said lightly:

"So a Chaozhou Vocational and Technical School will be established at the foot of Hulu Mountain by the West Lake to train our own skilled craftsmen."

"Is that so?" The eyes of the gentry all lit up. Chaoshan people have an innate sense of money. They heard a once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity from Mr. Zhao's words.

I mentioned the story of Chaozhou people going to Southeast Asia some time ago. It can be said that "everyone in Chaozhou had trade with foreigners". How could these wealthy and powerful people not know that overseas trade could bring wealth?

In fact, a considerable part of their family's wealth comes from remittances from clansmen doing business overseas!

So they dreamed of participating in overseas trade. However, the three links of overseas trade, production, transportation and sales, the first two, which are also the most profitable links, are monopolized by Jiangnan industry and commerce, and by the sea owners and Portuguese, so they can't get involved.

The tribesmen had no choice but to leave their homeland and go to Southeast Asia to get a share of the overseas sales. On their return journey, they might encounter pirates who would rob them of all their hard-earned money.

Judging from what Mr. Zhao said, does he want to turn Chaozhou into a production base for export goods?

That's exactly what they've always dreamed of!