In the sweltering summer heat, the cicadas chirped incessantly.
The village school is nearing completion, and laborers on the ladders are going up and down the rooftops to check for any omissions or deficiencies.
"The third brother hands over a brick!"
"Hey, here it comes~"
"Old Li, hand me a tile, I'm missing one here!"
"Hey, here it comes~"
......
The scene was well-organized, and looking around, six or seven rows of school buildings stood at the entrance of the village, which was quite a sight.
Lang Lang's clear voice made passing villagers stop and listen.
"To learn and then practice what you have learned is a pleasure indeed."
"Isn't it a joy to have friends coming from afar?"
The students in the two classrooms swayed their heads and bobbed, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
"Your Excellency, you've arrived!"
"Hmm, let me check on the progress."
"Reporting to the county magistrate, the new school has been fully constructed. Please give me three more days to complete the surrounding walls, and it will be finished."
"Engineer Liu, you've worked hard. It's hot. If it gets too hot, tell the workers to come down and rest. Be careful of heatstroke."
"Oh, thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Please feel free to move around. I will continue to give instructions."
"good."
......
After exchanging pleasantries with the foreman, Jiang Yue began to walk around the new school building.
Two months have passed in the blink of an eye, and now it's mid-June, with the sun shining brightly.
We were already drenched in sweat from the long walk.
"My lady, if you don't mind, please come and have a melon. It's been chilled in well water, so it's nice and cool."
An old woman working in the canteen called out, her face full of warm smiles.
Jiang Yue nodded, not wanting to be impolite, and went to the shady side of the cafeteria, where she found a stool to sit down.
"Aunt Zhao, are you the only one working in the canteen?"
"Reporting to the county magistrate, there is another helper. She brought this melon from home. Her mother-in-law is sick today, so she took the day off to take care of her at home."
Granny Zhao smiled and deftly cut the melon into pieces while answering the county magistrate's questions.
"From now on, I will be the principal of the school. Please call me Principal Jiang."
Jiang Yue took the melon, finished speaking, took a bite, and said, "Mmm, sand melon, sweet."
"Hey, Principal Jiang, everyone's talking about it. They say our village school has been expanded into a full-fledged school, and you're the principal..."
Although Granny Zhao didn't know what the principal did, she could tell just by hearing it that he sounded impressive.
Thanks to Magistrate Jiang, the women of Wujia Village have all seen their status at home improve!
"Aunt Zhao, there will be more and more students in the future, so you'll have to keep an eye on the food safety in the cafeteria."
Jiang Yue ate two pieces of melon and then dared not eat any more.
It's too sweet; she's afraid eating too much of it will cause diabetes.
"Don't worry, Principal. I'm an old woman with sharp eyes, I'll make sure the food is kept under close watch!"
Aunt Zhao patted her chest confidently, as if this were an extraordinary job.
Indeed, food safety is extremely important.
Jiang Yue offered a few more words of encouragement, then got up and left. Everything was thriving; it was wonderful.
Everything is ready except for the final touch.
The notices recruiting new teachers for Wujia Village School were posted all over Taohua County and Taohua Town, but many people saw them and didn't understand why.
Jiang, the county head, is hiring teachers for the school in Wujia Village.
These are the job requirements~
We do not seek a scholar's birth, but only a skill; we teach according to aptitude.
It's strange, yet also very novel.
Those who met the requirements thought about it, peeled down the job posting, inquired about the location of Wujia Village, and went to apply for the job.
Those who did not meet the requirements were filled with regret, as if they had missed out on a great opportunity.
Free meals and accommodation, monthly allowance of one or two taels of silver, 13th-month bonus at the end of the year, and a mystery year-end bonus...
Wow, this is a really great job!
As the tables, chairs, and benches were moved in, the selection of the new gentleman officially began.
Approximately three hundred men, women, and children came to apply for the job, most of them hoping to get by and make a living.
A small number of truly talented individuals, after three rounds of interviews, ultimately stood out as the three best candidates.
Lin Yueniang, aged forty-two, was widowed and had no children. She used to be a master embroidery artist in Jinling, teaching embroidery and needlework. She was skilled in seven embroidery techniques and mainly trained embroiderers for the workshop.
She's getting old this year, and the new manager of the embroidery shop dismissed her because she thought she was too old.
Having no one to rely on, she had no choice but to return to her hometown, where she happened to see the notice and came to apply for the job.
I don't ask for great benefits, I just ask for someone to take care of me in my old age and see me off in my final days
Ding Yuandao, aged forty-five, was from Taohua County. His family had inherited the skills of making lanterns, weaving baskets, raincoats, and straw sandals. He had only one daughter, but she married an unsuitable man and became pregnant out of wedlock. She then died from postpartum hemorrhage, leaving behind a grandson to depend on for survival.
My grandson grew up being fed by many families. Not long ago, he met Wu Dashi, who worked odd jobs at a hot pot restaurant. Seeing the notice posted there, he encouraged his grandfather to apply for the job...
Zhou Fangming, twenty-seven years old, was born into a poor family and has never married.
This person is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, astronomy, geography, and so on!
He's just a bit dull and finds it very difficult to have conversations with him.
Thinking they had struck gold, Master Lu and Master Qian discussed the Four Books and Five Classics with him, only to find that he knew nothing about them.
No wonder this person couldn't advance further in the imperial examinations...
Jiang Yue, however, felt that this person could stay and teach some different things.
Let Master Lu and Master Qian teach us the Four Books and Five Classics.
All three gentlemen have been accepted. The selection is complete. The recruitment notice is hereby cancelled.
Apart from Lin Yueniang, who has a separate dormitory room, the other two are settled in one dormitory room.
They were given a day to familiarize themselves with the school, and then they received wooden badges representing their identities. From now on, their new position was teacher.
Before the summer vacation, Jiang Yue gave instructions to have the new teachers start their subjects, alternate class hours, discuss the course schedule, and submit it to her for review.
Finally, what was presented to her was a revised timetable: three classes in the morning, each lasting one hour, with a short break between classes, until school ended at noon.
There are four classes in the afternoon, and so on, until school ends in the afternoon.
The five teachers are: Teacher Lu, Teacher Qian, and Teacher Lu, who are teachers of traditional Chinese culture.
Lin, the needlework teacher.
Woodworking teacher, Teacher Ding.
Teacher Zhou, a calligraphy and painting teacher.
Seven classes a day, five days a week, the schedule is packed full.
Jiang Yue looked at it for a while and then made several corrections with a vermilion pen.
On Monday and Wednesday, we attended one class on traditional Chinese culture and had an extra free class. On Friday, all afternoon classes were cancelled and replaced with miscellaneous classes.
After the new timetable was finalized, it was copied again by Mr. Lu, whose handwriting was beautiful, and posted on the wall that students could see as soon as they entered the school...
After class, the students gathered around to look at the new timetable.
In addition to the original two teachers, the school now has three more, no, four more teachers!
A needlework teacher? The interested girl instantly became interested.
A woodworking teacher? A mischievous boy who doesn't like studying gets all excited and jumps up and down!
Are calligraphy and painting teachers referring to the kind of calligraphy and painting they understand?
Miscellaneous studies? What would Principal Jiang, the county magistrate they all knew so well, teach them?
I can't wait, but I also have to wait for next week to arrive step by step...
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