This was Master Lu's first visit to the county magistrate. Upon arriving at her home, he was somewhat reserved and said:
"This old man has met with the County Magistrate."
"Master Lu, please excuse the formalities and have a seat. May I ask what brings you here today?"
Jiang Yue politely inquired directly what business the other party had with her.
With a gesture of his hand, he indicated that tea should be served. Qiuhua, who was standing to the side, served the fragrant tea and then stepped back to wait outside the main hall.
After careful consideration, Master Lu consulted with the old village chief before coming. Knowing that the county magistrate was a decisive and efficient person, he stroked his beard and began to explain his purpose:
"Your Excellency, I have been serving as a teacher at the school in Wu Family Village for almost five years now. Through my observations over these years, I have found that not all children are suited for education..."
"Those truly suited for the imperial examination path are one in a hundred. The rest, after graduation, are lucky enough to find jobs like bookkeeping or copying in towns or counties—that's already difficult enough. Most of the students..."
Returning to the countryside, boys get married and have children when they reach a certain age, and girls get married and have children when they reach a certain age.
Master Lu recently returned to his hometown of Yunshui County and brought his family to live in Wujia Village.
He heard that a school called "Unity of Knowledge and Action" had opened in Yunshui County. Driven by curiosity, he went to the school to meet the dean, where he saw a different teaching method.
Teaching should be tailored to individual needs, and education should be provided to all without discrimination.
This is the motto of the Institute of Unity of Knowledge and Action.
He was deeply impressed after the visit.
The classes are divided according to students' specialties. For example, there's an embroidery class for those who love embroidery, and a class specifically for those who love horseback riding and archery...
The variety of ideas was so profound that it was like a revelation to him!
Although the school in Wujia Village is not as large as the Zhixingheyi Academy, and there are not as many teachers as there are in Zhixingheyi Academy, it is still worth trying this kind of teaching!
Jiang Yue listened attentively to Master Lu's account of his experiences, her fingers lightly tapping the table—a habitual way she thought.
Unexpectedly, in this era, some people have already taken the lead and broken the traditional teaching methods!
This Dean Han truly embodies the principle of putting knowledge into practice; he is no ordinary person.
"Your Excellency, I humbly request your assistance to expand the school, add more courses, and hire more teachers to impart skills to students with different interests and hobbies. A single spark can start a prairie fire. I believe that in the future, these seeds will propel Wu Family Village, Your Excellency, and Tianyao to new heights..."
As expected of Master Lu, his words were not only not pedantic, but also carried a hint of seduction.
Jiang Yue looked at Master Lu, who had risen to bow, and remained silent for a few seconds before giving her answer, as he waited anxiously.
"Can."
"However, I have one condition."
Doing good deeds anonymously is not Jiang Yue's style.
She could provide financial support and long-term assistance for the expansion of the academy.
However, she prioritizes selecting talent for all aspects of the academy's operations, including post-graduation arrangements for students, making them her "think tank."
She wants to be the principal!
"Your Excellency, don't just ask for one condition, you can ask for ten or a hundred, whatever you wish."
All I want is to cultivate more outstanding students, each with their own expertise, to benefit Wujia Village, to give back to Wujia Village, to benefit the people, and to give back to the people…”
Master Lu smiled. In other words, to put it bluntly, the academy was essentially established by the county magistrate, and everything was decided by him.
Even if other local gentry donated a large sum of money, they wouldn't have such authority.
But in Wujia Village, everyone was 100% obedient to the county magistrate!
The old village chief has retired, and although the new village chief is decent, he still falls far short of the prestige of the county magistrate...
“Alright, let’s not delay. I’ll arrange for someone to gather the village chief and clan elders so we can jointly plan the Wu Family Village School, the next step in this grand plan for the next century.”
Jiang Yue is a woman of action; if she thinks of something, she does it.
We must be efficient and not fall behind.
Master Lu was overjoyed and repeatedly agreed.
Soon, the servants notified everyone to gather in the main hall of Jiang Yue's house for a meeting.
On the octagonal table, in the center are newly laid-out writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
Under Jiang Yue's instruction, Master Lu completed the current layout of the school.
“The school is indeed too small now. In recent years, the villagers’ lives have improved, and they are happy to send their children to the school to learn to read and write. The two school rooms that were originally built are really not enough.”
"Over the past few years, students have graduated one after another, and more or less found jobs, improving their families' financial situation. Word spread quickly, and people wanted to send all their children here. However, the quality varies, and some children clearly don't want to learn to read..."
After the two teachers finished speaking, the old village chief, the village head, and the other two clan elders all nodded in agreement.
That's true; the start of the school year and student recruitment season are the most annoying times.
It wasn't just the teacher who was annoyed; they were annoyed too.
Some people give red envelopes as gifts, hoping to get their children into school.
So annoying!
"Gentlemen, my workload has lightened considerably now. Therefore, after Master Lu came to inform me of everything, I have a plan concerning our Wu Family Village, a plan for the next century. Hence, I urgently request that you all come together to discuss its feasibility..."
After Jiang Yue and the others finished speaking, she began her "performance".
The dean, who practices what he preaches, has already taken the plunge and she can follow suit.
Now, apart from her daughter's marriage, nothing weighs on her mind anymore.
She has money, and she has fame.
Now, she can focus on other things!
"Please speak, Your Excellency."
We're all ears!
"We support it!"
"We'll do as you say~"
......
Jiang Yue funded the expansion of the school to twice its original size, adding six new classrooms, each accommodating fifty students.
The two classrooms, serving as the starting point for traditional knowledge education, were still taught by Master Lu and Master Qian in rotation.
We are also recruiting two special instructors, one male and one female. The female instructor will teach embroidery and must have superb embroidery skills!
This point must be made by women, as most students learning embroidery are also women, which makes it more appropriate.
The other teacher teaches agronomy, planting techniques, weaving skills, and common sense about life and interpersonal relationships. He doesn't necessarily have to be a scholar or literate, but he must have a wealth of common sense about life.
In addition, she served as principal and taught science, a completely new field, which could be described as a miscellaneous subject, allowing for free and random teaching.
She funded the construction and planning of the school, and she's determined to be the principal!
"I have no objection."
"I have no objections."
I agree!
I agree!
"We have no objection~"
After hearing the plan, everyone present unanimously agreed.
In particular, the former and current village chiefs witnessed firsthand how Jiang transformed from an ordinary woman into a county magistrate.
They may not believe in the feasibility of a plan proposed by others, but they absolutely believe in the success of Lord Jiang!
"Thank you all for your kind words. Now, let's get started on the preparations!"
Jiang Yue clasped her hands in a fist and bowed, then assigned tasks to everyone...
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