Chapter 142 Chapter 142 Setting up a village school
After the banquet, Fu Wenxiao was kept by the village chief and clan leaders to discuss matters concerning the village school.
Ever since they received Yu Li's money to build a village school, the village chief and the elders began to discuss the location of the school.
The village chief said: "We have found a good place to build a village school on the empty land next to the ancestral hall. The children in the village will go to school here in the future."
The terrain around the ancestral hall is open and it is also the best geographical location in Qingshi Village.
In the words of a fortune teller, this is a Feng Shui treasure land.
Now that the village school is being built here, no one in the village objects. After all, such a Feng Shui location is perfect for building a village school, and all their children will come to the village school to study in the future.
Reading has always been the most sacred thing in people's hearts, and its importance is almost the same as the worship in the village ancestral temple.
The site for the village school has been chosen, and then the next step is to deal with the related matters of building the house.
The village chief is keeping an eye on these things, so Fu Wenxiao and Yu Li don't need to worry about them. What the village chief and others are more concerned about right now is the gentleman's problem.
"This is the gentleman..." The village chief asked hesitantly, "Wen Xiao, do you have any candidates?"
The elders stared at Fu Wenxiao. They had an idea that Fu Wenxiao, a scholar, was the most suitable candidate for the position of gentleman.
If he were to teach the children in the village, he should be able to produce a few scholars, right?
I wonder if their grandchildren will be able to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar in the future?
Of course, they were just thinking about it, but they didn't dare to expect Fu Wenxiao to return to the village to teach the children. They heard that he would have to take part in the provincial examination in the future and had to concentrate on his studies, so he would not have time to teach the children in the village.
As for the candidate, they still hope for someone better to teach.
Fu Wenxiao said, "It's easy to hire a teacher. The children in the village school are all illiterate. Currently, we are just teaching them to read and write. Anyone who can read a little can teach. There is no need to hire a scholar or a student. Of course, I will first examine the other party's level and then ask them to come and teach the children."
Hearing this, the elders opened their mouths, wanting to say something but stopping themselves.
They didn't expect Fu Wenxiao to be a teacher in the village school, but they were naturally disappointed when they found out that the teacher they invited was not even a student, let alone a scholar.
In the eyes of the world, of course, scholars with official titles have better knowledge, and people can be more confident in letting them teach their children.
But as Fu Wenxiao said, the purpose of running a village school is not to allow these children to take the imperial examinations or something, but to let them read and learn to read, otherwise girls would not be allowed to enter the village school.
If a child wants to take the imperial examination in the future, he or she will have to find a teacher for himself or herself.
The village school only lays a foundation for them and it is impossible for them to take the imperial examination right away.
Fu Wenxiao saw the disappointment of the elders, but his expression did not change.
He knew that Yu Li's purpose in building a village school was more to enable the children in the village to read and write, regardless of whether they were boys or girls, so that they would have the opportunity to read and write, not to train some scholars or juren.
To be frank, what do these people have to do with her? What does the village have to do with her?
When Fu Wenxiao left, the village chief went to see him off in person.
The village chief whispered, "Wen Xiao, don't worry about it. The elders just want more scholars to come out of the village. They value the invited teachers more..."
He felt embarrassed when he said this.
How could he not know what the elders were thinking? Once the village school was built, there would certainly be many descendants of the elders attending the school. They naturally hoped that there would be a scholar in their family who would pass the imperial examination or become a scholar in the future so as to revitalize the family. They naturally attached great importance to the village school.
However, they had no idea that the teacher invited by the village school was not a man of official title, but just a literate scholar. The gap was too big, so they naturally felt uncomfortable.
The village chief thought it was nothing.
Just like Fu Wenxiao said, it's just teaching those children to read and write, why do we need those scholars with official titles to teach? It costs a lot to hire such a scholar. Even if Yu Li said that she would pay later, he didn't want to treat her as a sucker. If he kept asking her for money to support the village school, this friendship would wear out sooner or later.
Don't be too short-sighted.
The village chief still hopes that the village can maintain a good relationship with Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao, and that even if Fu Wenxiao becomes successful in the future, he will not forget Qingshi Village.
Fu Wenxiao hummed calmly and told the village chief what was in his heart: "Village chief, this village school was actually started by Li Niang. She is from Qingshi Village and she has the village in her heart. She wants Qingshi Village to be better. She is willing to pay for it. This money is also earned by her hard work."
The village chief exclaimed, looking at him in surprise, "This, this money was earned by Li Niang? How could she earn so much money by herself?"
Could it be that Li Niang could earn so much money in a year by slaughtering pigs in the county town?
The village chief really thought that the money came from the Fu family. After all, the Fu family was famous for being wealthy.
Fu Wenxiao's lips curled up, "This is the reward from the government." He said implicitly, "This year, Li Niang has done a lot of things for the government."
The village chief was so frightened that when the matter involved the "government", even he did not dare to ask anything.
Although he didn't know how a girl like Yu Li could work for the government, Fu Wenxiao wouldn't lie to him about this. If it was true...
"Wen Xiao, don't worry." The village chief assured, "I will definitely run the village school well and will not let Li Niang down."
At this moment, the village chief seemed to understand why Yu Li proposed that all boys and girls in the village could attend the village school. It turned out that Li Niang felt sorry for the girls in the village.
When he thought about how Li Niang lived in the Yu family before she got married, he understood.
At the same time, he also decided to go back and warn the elders not to be too greedy.
Since this village school is funded by others, you should not interfere in its affairs. If you are really dissatisfied, you can pay for it yourself. You can definitely run a village school that suits your wishes. It is no problem even if you want to invite a scholar to teach the children in the village.
When he saw Yu Li, the village chief solemnly assured her: "Don't worry, Li Niang, I will keep an eye on it when the village school is built."
Yu Li was a little confused, but she was happy with the village chief's attitude.
"Well, I feel relieved to leave it to the village chief." She said, "When the construction starts here, I will come to take a look when I have time."
Although she handed it over to the village chief, she never thought of leaving it alone. In the early stages, she always came to keep an eye on it to ensure that no one would waste her money. Every penny she gave would be used wisely.
After hearing this, the village chief thought she knew what the elders were thinking and felt a little uncomfortable.
He smiled and said, "That's good."
At this time, Fu Wenxiao also said: "Village Chief, if I have time in the future, I will occasionally come back to teach the children in the village."
The village chief was very surprised and said yes repeatedly.
If Fu Wenxiao came back to teach the children in the village school, no one would be unwilling, and some would even be eager to send their children over.
**
Shortly after the banquet, Qingshi Village started building houses in a bustling manner.
It happened that the busy farming season was over, and the people in the village were not so busy, so many people came forward to help.
After hearing about this, Yu Jin generously asked someone to send a basket of rice balls made from mixed grains as breakfast for the villagers who were helping to build the houses.
The weather was not too cold now, and the multi-grain rice balls were still hot when they were sent back. Everyone enjoyed eating them very much.
"Is this the rice ball that Jin Niang and the others sell? It's delicious, and there's even meat in it."
"I don't know what kind of meat it is, but it tastes delicious and doesn't taste like pork."
"It doesn't matter what kind of meat it is, as long as it tastes good."
“…”
Everyone squatted together and ate rice balls. After eating the rice balls, they went to build houses with great enthusiasm.
Whenever they thought about the fact that after the village school was built, their children would come here to study and learn to read, and that they would have a free lunch every day and that their family could save a lot of food, they were happy and worked harder and harder, hoping that the village school would be established quickly.
Of course, the person everyone was most grateful to was Yu Li.
"I heard that this village school was built with money from Li Niang."
"Li Niang? Didn't the Fu family pay for it?"
"The village chief said that Li Niang paid for it herself. She earned the money. I heard that she made a lot of money in the county. And the idea of setting up a village school was also proposed by Li Niang. I heard that she loved the girls in the village and wanted them to learn to read and write. Moreover, the girls only need to go to school for half a day, so it won't delay them from going home to work. If there is not much work at home, they can go to school for a whole day."
"Why should we feel sorry for those girls? After they grow up and get married, they will belong to someone else's family. Whether they live a good life or not is their business."
"Hey, don't say that in front of Li Niang. She won't be happy."
"That's right. Think about how Li Niang lived before she got married. It's understandable that she feels sorry for the girls in the village."
…………
While the villagers were working and chatting busily, Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao also arrived.
The village chief accompanied the two men to watch the villagers build houses.
Almost everyone in the village came to help with the work, including men, women, young and old. Some older people who were unable to do physical work picked up stones nearby and piled them on the ground, preparing to pave a gravel road so that the children's shoes would not get wet when it rained.
With more people, houses can be built faster.
When Yu Li and the others came over, they found that the foundation had been laid.
The village chief said with a smile: "Everyone is very concerned about the village school. At this speed, it will probably be completed in about ten days."
The building of this village school was not very particular, the main thing was that it was spacious, and two or three rooms would be enough, so it didn't take much effort and was built quickly.
Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao took a look and did not stay in the village for long, so they returned to the county town.
The main reason is that Fu Wenxiao wants to go to the county town to find a teacher.
In fact, he didn't need to look for one. He just needed to spread the word that he wanted to hire a teacher for Qingshi Village and was willing to take time to give guidance to the other party's writing. Many people would come, even a scholar.
Fu Wenxiao did not want to find a scholar for the village school, as it would be a waste of talent, and the first person to be rejected was the scholar.
It is possible for a Tongsheng.
Soon, a middle-aged student with a gentle personality and great patience was chosen as the teacher of the village school. He was signed a contract with the teacher for a period of one year, and would take up the position after the village school was built.
When Fu Wenxiao and Yu Li returned to the village to check on the construction of the village school, Fu Wenxiao told the village chief and clan elders that a teacher for the village school had been found, and it was a student.
The elders of the clan were overjoyed. They didn't expect that it was a student. They thought he was just a literate scholar.
There are many scholars these days, and anyone who can read can call himself a scholar.
But most of the students wanted to take the exam to become a scholar. They would not teach the children in the village or be teachers for others to avoid getting into a lot of trouble.
Just like Yu Lao Da back then, after failing the exams for more than ten years, he placed his hopes on his two sons. He would rather work as an accountant in a rice shop in the county town to earn money for his two sons' education than go back to the village to run a village school to teach children who had nothing to do with him.
This is also the reason why the villagers never thought of looking for Boss Yu to be their teacher.
Just when the village school was almost built, Yuqin got married.
On the day of Yu Qin's wedding, Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao happened to return to Qingshi Village.
Seeing them, someone asked, "Li Niang, why are you back? I heard that today is the day your Qin Niang is getting married, aren't you going to the wedding?"
Yu Li said: "We have to discuss the village school lunch with the village chief and others later, so we don't have time to go over."
When everyone heard this, they no longer cared whether Yuqin was getting married today or not, and they all asked what was for lunch.
This lunch concerns their children, and everyone is very concerned.
Yu Li said: "I will let the village chief tell you after I discuss it with him, but don't worry, the children will definitely be well fed."
How can you study if you don’t have enough to eat?
"Okay, okay." The villagers said enthusiastically, "Li Niang, just go and do your work, we won't bother you anymore."
After the two men left, the villagers continued to build houses and chat.
They were all talking about the free lunch in the village school. Everyone knew that food was precious these days, but in fact they didn't have any expectations about how good the lunch would be, as long as the children were full.
After chatting for a while, they talked about Yuqin's marriage.
"I heard that Qin Niang married into the Yang family in the county town. The Yang family is in the porcelain business and is very rich."
"No wonder Aunt Yu and her family were so eager to go to the county town a few days ago, saying they wanted to attend their granddaughter's wedding. They both looked very happy."
"If I am happy, De Ge'er and Li Ge'er won't have to worry about not having money to continue taking the imperial examinations. The Yang family will definitely help them. Maybe they can take the exams for more than ten years like Boss Yu without any problems."
"Why is it okay? The Yang family is not a sucker. It's okay for them to take the exam for a few years. If they can't pass it for more than ten years like Boss Yu, they should just give up and concentrate on finding a job to earn money to support the family. Don't always think about being supported by others."
"That's right. Just think about how Li Niang and her sisters have been living these years in order to support the eldest son's education. It's pitiful to think about it."
When everyone talked about this, they all thought of the life that the second branch of the Yu family lived in the past. The second branch of the Yu family and his wife were like old oxen, and the four daughters of the second branch were pale and thin, starving like refugees.
When they thought about it this way, they felt that the eldest wife of the Yu family was really something they didn't know what to say.
**
It was already afternoon when Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao returned to the county town.
They met the sisters Yu Jin and Yu Yin on the street who had just returned from delivering goods.
The two sisters shouted happily: "Sister, brother-in-law!"
Yu Li looked at them and said, "Are you tired? I'll treat you to tea."
The two sisters happily agreed.
Yu Li took his two sisters to a teahouse to drink tea and eat snacks, where there was a storyteller telling stories.
Fu Wenxiao glanced at the storyteller and a smile appeared in his eyes.
The Yu Jin sisters had just finished delivering the goods and were very hungry, so they ate the snacks on the table as their meals.
While eating, they talked to Yu Li and asked, "Sister, did you go to Qin Niang's wedding today?"
"No." Yu Li said, "Xiao Ge'er and I will go back to the village to discuss the village school lunch with the village chief."
Hearing this, Yu Jin and Yu Yin couldn't help but look at her.
"We didn't go either." Yu Jin said, "A Yin and I went to deliver the rouge and powder that had just arrived from the city to the county magistrate's wife today. We just came back and didn't have time to go."
Yu Yin looked down at the teacup and said nothing.
Yu Li said "oh" lightly.
The three sisters were silent for a while.
After a long while, Yu Jin said, "But my parents took my younger sister away."
It would not be good for no one from the second house to go, so Yu Laoer and his wife finally brought Yu Zhu with them to show up.
As for the three sisters Yu Li, they all had their own things to do, so they didn't go.
After sitting in the teahouse for half an hour, the sisters separated.
Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao went home together.
When they got home, Zhou had already prepared dinner and invited them to come over for dinner.
Zhou was very concerned about Yu Li and asked, "Mother Li, how is the village school going? You are so busy every day, you should take care of yourself."
When Yu Li worked in the butcher shop, Zhou was worried that she wouldn't get enough rest. Now that she no longer works in the butcher shop, she has even more work to do.
During the day, she would go to her sister's shop to help, and then take time to teach her sisters to read and write.
Now that the family is no longer short of money, she doesn't need to go out to make money. She now concentrates on teaching her younger sisters to read and write, and wants to teach them first. From time to time, she also goes to the village to check on the progress of the construction of the village school.
Zhou sighed in her heart, and looked at Yu Li with a look that was both relieved and distressed.
She knew that Li Niang was a person with great righteousness in her heart, otherwise she would not have given money to Qingshi Village to set up a village school and provided free lunch, just so that the girls in the village could go to the village school and learn to read and write.
Yu Li was eating and said, "Mom, I'm not busy. Jin Niang and the others are very smart and can learn once taught. Even if they don't know how to do it, I can teach them a few more times. There are no busy things in the village. I just go and take a look. I don't have to do anything."
Once things get on track, she won't have to be so busy.
Now, even Sun Zheng and Liu Shi have learned to read.
Because Yu Jin said that if her business grew bigger in the future, she would ask them to help manage the shop. How could they manage it if they couldn't even read?
As soon as these words were spoken, both Liu and Sun Zheng were willing to follow suit.
At night, Yu Li stayed in the study, organizing the lessons he would teach his sisters tomorrow, and at the same time reciting the pinyin he had memorized.
Although she thought her sisters were very smart, she knew that they actually had a hard time learning because they were unwilling to admit defeat and had a sense of urgency that forced them to grit their teeth and study hard to catch up.
This reminded her of the time when she learned to read in her previous life, when she started with pinyin. If she had the help of pinyin, learning to read would definitely be much easier.
When Yu Li finished writing down the pinyin, he looked up and saw Fu Wenxiao standing beside him.
"Li Niang, what is this?" he asked curiously.
"Pinyin."
Yu Li briefly explained to him the usage of Pinyin. Even so, he quickly realized the usefulness of Pinyin and his eyes lit up.
"Li Niang!" Fu Wenxiao couldn't help but hold her hand. "With this pinyin, it will be much easier for beginners to recognize characters."
At that moment, he even thought of a lot.
Fu Wenxiao was extremely excited and couldn't help but pick up the pinyin she had memorized and study it carefully.
While studying, he asked Yu Li some questions.
In less than half an hour, he had almost mastered the pinyin and could even use it flexibly.
Yu Li sat there to rest, drink tea and eat snacks, watching him use pinyin flexibly, and once again sighed that this man is truly a genius.
Geniuses are also quick to accept new things.
After Fu Wenxiao finished reading the pinyin, he turned to her and smiled, "Li Niang, are you going to teach this pinyin to the children in the village?"
"Yes." Yu Li nodded, "This way they can learn to read faster."
Fu Wenxiao thought for a moment and said, "I'll go teach them."
Pinyin is useful, but I am afraid that those stubborn and pedantic scholars will reject it, or even denounce it as a heresy and will be unwilling to accept it.
Fu Wenxiao always speculated on people's hearts with the greatest malice. He understood the mentality of those scholars very well, and he knew without a doubt how many people would oppose it.
In that case, there is no need to talk to them too much. Pinyin is not meant to be taught to them anyway, but to be taught to the common people who cannot read a single word.
Even so, Fu Wenxiao didn't want Yu Li's efforts to go to waste.
The next day, Fu Wenxiao took Pinyin to visit the Wang family.
Yu Li didn't know what he was doing at the Wang family, so she took Pinyin to find her sisters.
Sure enough, after learning pinyin, Yu Jin and her classmates became more enthusiastic about learning and learned to recognize words faster.
Everything is going in the right direction.
Suddenly the weather started to get colder.
The village school has been established. On the first day of classes, Ge, Zhu and Peng, the yamen runners, made a special trip to Qingshi Village.
The village chief and elders came over to receive them.
Everyone was trembling with fear, afraid of accidentally offending the officers. Even the other villagers shrank their necks and dared not say a word. The curious children were restrained by their parents.
Ge Yayi saw it all and snorted in his heart.
They came here today because Yu Jin told them that this village school was funded by Yu Li, and they would definitely strongly support whatever Boss Li wanted to do.
"You are welcome." The yamen runner Ge said cheerfully, "We came here today to see this village school. I heard that the village school was funded by Miss Yu. Miss Yu has done us a favor, and we are very concerned about the village school she founded."
Everyone in Qingshi Village was stunned.
What?
Who did the officer say had done them a favor? Was he talking about Li Niang? Could it be that this village school was really funded by Yu Li himself, as the village chief said?
The village chief suddenly had an idea and asked hurriedly, "Sirs, do you know Li Niang?"
"Yes." Ge Yayi said calmly, "Miss Yu has helped us a lot and has also made an appointment with the county magistrate. We have all received her kindness, and her affairs are our affairs."
Then he said to the village head and others earnestly that they should run the village school well and if they had any difficulties in the future, they could go to the county town to find them.
The yamen runners Peng and Zhu also looked friendly and smiling.
But the villagers did not dare to relax. People have always been reluctant to fight against officials. Although they were only yamen runners, they were already very important officials to these villagers who had never seen the world.
Ge Yayi and his companions did not stay in the village for long. They just took a walk around and then left.
After they left, the village suddenly became lively.
Now, Yu Li's image in the villagers' minds has changed. He has become more powerful than the scholar Fu Wenxiao. Although they couldn't figure out how Yu Li had done favors for those yamen runners, the attitude of the yamen runners let them know that Li Niang was very powerful anyway.
Even those elders who originally wanted to secretly interfere in the affairs of the village school by relying on their status as elders now dare not interfere.
They didn't dare to go against Yu Li.
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