Chapter 799 The Benefits of Reading
Compared to the powerful and wealthy who are furious about the new compulsory education policy, the common people are undoubtedly more concerned about their children going to school for free.
In fact, many people do not plan to send their children to school even if they know it is free.
It’s not just because they think their children are not good at studying, but more importantly, once their children go to school, the family will have one less labor force.
For the common people of this era, it is more practical to let children help with housework than to let them go to school.
As a result, there has been a lot of discussion among the people recently surrounding this matter.
"Old Zhao, what do you think about letting your child go to school?"
In a teahouse beside a field outside the city, a group of tanned farmers took advantage of their lunch break to order a pot of the cheapest herbal tea and chat while resting.
This matter has been spreading around the city recently. Some people say it is good, while others say it is not.
They were a group of farmers who had lived for so many years and could not even read a single word. They had no idea whether this was a good thing or not, and they were always conflicted in their hearts.
Nowadays, when a group of people get together and have nothing to do, this undoubtedly becomes the best topic of conversation.
Hearing this, the farmer called Lao Zhao drank the herbal tea in the bowl, wiped the corner of his mouth and then spoke nonchalantly.
"Forget about that brat in my family. What's the point of studying for people like us? It's better for him to stay at home and help with some work. As long as we cultivate the fields well, we won't starve to death."
Lao Zhao's words undoubtedly expressed the thoughts of many farmers and received support from many people. In their opinion, it is more reliable to farm than to study.
The atmosphere at the scene made many people who wanted to let their children go to school waver.
Just then, a voice rang out from the next table.
"That's not right."
As the voice sounded, a figure at the next table stood up and walked over.
Hearing the objecting voices, the farmers at the table subconsciously looked over, and soon, a figure in a linen robe appeared in their field of vision. The man looked to be in his thirties or forties, but he was neatly dressed and had an extraordinary demeanor, so they did not dare to look down on him, and even his speech was no longer as rude as it was at the beginning.
"What is this gentleman's name?"
The other party smiled slightly after hearing this.
"My last name is Kong. I don't mean to offend you. I just happened to hear what you were talking about and wanted to say a few words."
It was obvious at first glance that Mr. Kong was not an ordinary person. At this moment, these farmers really wanted to hear what he had to say.
"Sir, please speak."
After listening to this, Mr. Kong began to speak slowly.
"Your Majesty, you value talents the most. There are not many people in our Great Zhou who can read and write. The purpose of introducing compulsory education is to increase the number of people who can read and write in the country."
"In the past, ordinary people like us had no way to study, and even if we had a way, we might not have enough money. Now, Your Majesty has directly put this way in front of us and waived the fees. It can be said to be a great favor."
After hearing these words, the farmers around nodded subconsciously.
But Mr. Kong could see that although these farmers agreed with him and knew that this was a good thing, many of them still felt that it was more practical to leave their children at home to do farm work.
He was not annoyed by this, but continued to speak slowly.
"In this new policy, His Majesty specifically mentioned children under the age of twelve. Think about it, what kind of help can these little brats under the age of twelve provide? How much work can they do? At best, they can just run errands, lend a hand, or do some odd jobs. Even if some of them are a bit naughty, it's good enough if they don't cause trouble for us. If they stay at home, we will have to worry about them."
"Sending them to school doesn't cost us money anyway, and there are teachers in the school to help take care of them, so we don't have to worry about them. We can also teach them to read and write. Isn't this a good thing?"
Putting aside what he said before, Mr. Kong's words really touched the hearts of many farmers, making them nod their heads subconsciously.
"Indeed, it's good enough for these little kids not to cause trouble for us. How much work can we expect them to do?"
“That’s true.”
"What you said makes sense, sir!"
Seeing that the effect was gradually taking effect, the smile on Mr. Kong's face became more obvious.
"Besides, if those rascals at home can really learn something from school and learn to read and write, they can easily find a department and get a clerical job. They can earn as much as you by just writing and taking notes every day. The most important thing is that they can live an easier life than you!"
"Not to mention that if you do this kind of work for a long time and perform well, you can get promoted and your salary can increase. Isn't it better than tilling those few fields for a lifetime?"
When he was halfway through his words, many farmers present had already wavered.
Now, when they heard that their children would have an easy job and get promoted and get a raise after going to school, many farmers slapped their thighs and made the decision on the spot.
"I've decided. I'm going to let Ergou go to school!"
"I've made up my mind too. I'll send Tiedan along as well. Tomorrow morning, I'll take Tiedan to sign up!"
“…”
At this moment, Mr. Kong's words can be said to have clearly explained the financial benefits of studying.
The most important thing is that he made it clear that sending their children to school is not a loss for them anyway.
This made the farmers, who were originally worried about the dispensable labor force, make up their minds.
At the same time, inside the teahouse, although Mr. Kong was chatting with the farmers at the table, actually everyone in the teahouse was listening, and now they were secretly writing down those words.
Mr. Kong saw all these movements and was secretly satisfied in his heart. This was exactly the effect he wanted to achieve.
He didn't stay in the teahouse for long after that. He paid the bill and left.
After walking for a while, a young man ran over quickly and bowed respectfully to Mr. Kong.
"Minister, the people we arranged have already gone through all the tea shops nearby, and the results are good."
At this moment, the Mr. Kong walking on the road was Kong Daqian. After that incident, Zhou Xu did not treat him unfairly and directly appointed him as the Minister of Propaganda.
He is mainly responsible for various publicity work, including the promotion of his various political decrees.
By the way, storytellers are also subordinates of the Propaganda Department.
After listening to his subordinates' report, Kong Daqian showed a satisfied smile on his face.
"Well done. Let's go to another place to continue the promotion. We must do a great job on the task His Majesty has assigned us this time! Only in this way can we live up to His Majesty's expectations of us!"
(End of this chapter)
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