Chapter 58 Chapter 58 Compulsory Education and Shopping
After the simulation ended, Zhu Dan did not rush to start the second simulation. Instead, he carefully recalled everything that happened in the simulation and thought about what went wrong.
"Cocoon-breaking Pill, Cocoon-breaking Pill...break out of the cocoon and become a butterfly!" Zhu Dan's eyes lit up, she finally understood the reason.
The essence of the cocoon-breaking pill is that one must break out of the cocoon to become a butterfly. In contrast to Empress Lü, who provided luck, she only truly became Empress Lü after experiencing a series of hardships and once held the power of the Han Dynasty.
Without these hardships, it is uncertain whether she could reach such a high position again.
Zhu Dan certainly acknowledges Lu Zhi's talent, but it is obvious that history is like this. Only by taking this path can one break out of the cocoon and become a butterfly.
Lu Zhi's luck was her luck, but it can also be said that it was not hers, but the cognition and summary of her by later generations.
Zhu Dan had some realization that he could not judge a person based on what he saw and knew, but should be more inclined to the image of a two-dimensional person who just followed the crowd.
Zhu Dan decided to verify his guess.
With a wave of his hand, the second simulation begins.
This time she set a series of hardships for the soybean seeds.
First, there was drought. The scorching sun hung high in the sky, drying and cracking the ground. However, the soybean seedlings grew greener and greener despite the scorching heat, as if they had absorbed the sun's heat, and soon they bloomed.
Zhu Dan quickly changed his thinking and changed the drought to flood.
The sudden heavy rain flooded the land and washed away the soil. The soybean seedlings crawled down, as if they were withered by the rain.
Zhu Dan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly realized that this was not reality, but just a simulation.
The farmers couldn't bear to see such a tragic situation. They almost wanted to use the sand table pill, but fortunately it was just a simulation.
The rain spread up little by little, and just when Zhu Dan thought that the soybean seedlings would be completely submerged, it actually straightened up little by little in the wind and rain.
The leaf stalks that were originally blown off have grown new ones, and they grow very fast.
Zhu Dan became interested and wanted to see its limits.
It was finally confirmed that soybean sprouts can grow to the height of a person. Even if they can grow higher, they are just pure bean sprouts and cannot bear fruit.
The bean sprouts were one meter tall, which was just right. After they bloomed, the soybeans they produced were indeed as big as grapes.
Zhu Dan's mind turned, and he used his spiritual power to crush it, feeling it carefully: "It seems to have quite a lot of oil content."
She has always wanted to use soybeans to extract oil.
It was not known whether it was a coincidence or her idea was integrated into the elixir, causing the soybeans soaked in the elixir to undergo such a gratifying change.
But either way, it's good news.
After confirming that the Cocoon-Breaking Pill required some suffering to be effective, several methods of suffering emerged in Zhu Dan's mind.
However, what Zhu Dan wanted to verify was not these.
She took soybean seeds as big as grapes and planted them. This time she did not soak them in elixir. She wanted to see if these soybean seeds would inherit the habits of their elders and become stronger when faced with adversity.
If it was really as she guessed, she could just cultivate a special batch of seeds and plant them specifically in unsuitable hillside sandy land and other inferior fields.
Zhu Dan suddenly smiled and said, "Maybe I can go develop the desert now."
She imagined that in the future people would be able to plant trees in the desert and turn it into an oasis. Now, she didn't know whether the desert had appeared, but she could rely on this approach, such as saline land.
Zhu Dan used up all the simulation times and basically confirmed the effect of the Cocoon-Breaking Pill.
It’s a pity that the Cocoon-Breaking Pill can only be used once.
Zhu Dan couldn't soak the harvested grape-sized soybeans in the Cocoon-Breaking Pill again, as that would destroy its original genetic advantages.
In comparison, the second generation seeds that were not soaked in the Cocoon-Breaking Pill and were dropped into difficult and harsh fields performed even better.
Zhu Dan didn't quite understand why this happened at first, but after analyzing Lu Hou's descendants, he understood.
Empress Lü protected Liu Ying too well, so Liu Ying was incompetent. King Dai Liu Heng, born to Bo Ji, was feared by Empress Lü and remained unknown in the palace. He was even targeted after he became a vassal. However, he became a wise ruler.
He was not born to Empress Lü, and he also grew up through hardships.
Although, Zhu Dan would like to say that this proves the saying that jade cannot be made into a useful object without being polished, but if we simply comb through history, it does correspond to the effect of the Cocoon-Breaking Pill.
After figuring out the Cocoon-Breaking Pill, Zhu Dan began to develop the valley where spiritual plants grew.
The valley is generally bowl-shaped, not too big, but just right for Zhu Dan to do his work.
At worst, there is Zhang Liang, who can use his luck to refine the sand table pill and stir up whatever trouble he wants in the valley.
Time passed bit by bit as Zhu Dan ran back and forth. During this period, Yun Qiu followed Lu Zhi, and she also fell into misfortune after her luck was extracted.
It was just her own bad luck, and unlike Xiahou Ying, she did not implicate the people around her.
Zhu Dan thought of how Xiahou Ying rescued the children who were kicked out by Liu Bang time and time again. From Liu Bang's perspective, it was Xiahou Ying who implicated him, and he wanted to kill her, which was a coincidence.
Maybe it wasn't the emperors and ministers of the Han Dynasty who were special, it was just Xiahou Ying who was special.
In the third month after Zhu Dan arrived in Pei County, people came from Xianyang.
There were two groups of people. One group was officials who came from Xianyang and came specifically to start three years of compulsory education.
Yes, compulsory education. All children over the age of six, regardless of whether they are nobles or from Guizhou Province, must go to school and learn pinyin, basic common characters, and arithmetic within three years.
A more popular description is literacy.
After three years of literacy classes, they are only nine or ten years old. Regardless of gender, they can be considered as labor force and it does not prevent their families from doing work.
If someone performs well during these three years, he or she can be recommended to study in a higher institution in Xianyang.
At this time, a place similar to the Jixia Academy had been built in Xianyang, but it was not called that name, but was called the Imperial College.
In the Imperial College they can learn more in-depth knowledge and will have two options in the future. One is to be sent to the grassroots level to serve as officials of the Qin Dynasty. If they can make political achievements, they can climb up step by step.
The second is to transfer to a research institute to engage in technology.
At this time, the Qin Dynasty already had a barbaric spirit, unlike the later generations where everything was inferior except reading. Ying Zheng accepted very smoothly that the technicians would bring them huge profits.
Then of course we have to establish a school to screen out such people and train them carefully.
Therefore, it is normal to treat nobles and common people equally.
Ying Zheng was not like the emperors of later generations, who had a very clear awareness of suppressing clans and promoting the poor. He just listened to Zhu Dan's words.
How can the number of nobles be compared with that of the common people?
Even if the conditions of the common people are not as good as those of the nobles, as long as they are well fed and watered from a young age and cast a wide net to catch fish, they can always catch a few good fish with potential.
The developing Daqin is in great need of talents.
Zhu Dan did not interfere in this matter. When those Qin officials came to pay their respects to Zhu Dan, the national teacher, she only told them to do their job according to the rules and not to treat them specially just because they were in Pei County.
Although Zhu Dan thought that Liu Bang's brothers were from Pei County and they were all founding heroes of the Han Dynasty, and maybe the average IQ of this place was higher than others, Zhu Dan didn't want to start this conversation.
She will not stay in Pei County and Xianyang only, but will definitely travel all over the Qin Dynasty in the future.
Is it because every place she goes to is special? Zhu Dan doesn't like to be special in this way.
Because Zhu Dan spoke so frankly, the Qin officials never bothered him again. Instead, they bought the land near the county government office and started building a school.
Labor was cheap, and with the help of mature cement, the school was built quickly and was completed in just half a month.
The floors are all uniformly two-story, but the area is very large, with rows of concrete houses close together.
Unlike the current situation where the land is vast and the population is sparse, people can build any size yard they want as long as they have money to buy enough bricks and tiles. The buildings in the school are all small houses.
Especially those used as dormitories, which are even smaller.
And unlike the single beds in later generations, they were all large bunk beds that could accommodate more than a dozen children in one room.
——Because students start school at a relatively early age, there are more dormitory managers to take care of them.
There were two groups of people coming from Xianyang, one was officials who ran schools, and the other was merchants who sold goods.
They brought many novel products to the market and turned it into a large supermarket.
Zhu Dan gave his men a day off that day, and planned to go explore this new city himself.
Unexpectedly, I met Lu Zhi again in the market. She was holding her two children. A step behind her was Widow Cao, who was also holding Liu Fei.
Lu Zhi was also a little surprised to see Zhu Dan. She was about to step forward to say hello, but saw her shaking her head.
Lu Zhi immediately understood what Zhu Dan meant, but she didn't go forward. She watched Zhu Dan walk around the market and leave without buying anything.
She was not surprised. If nothing unexpected happened, these new things were created by the national master.
Yun Qiu and his group brought them with them when they came to Pei County from Xianyang. The ones used by the imperial master were naturally the best, so how could he be interested in these inferior products?
"Madam, look at that pot!" Widow Cao's somewhat excited voice brought Lu Zhi back to her senses. She looked in the direction she pointed and instantly knew why the other party was so excited.
"Is that an iron pot?! How dare these merchants bring iron pots to sell?" Lu Zhi was shocked. She took a few quick steps and found that there were quite a few iron pots on the stall.
There are two models in total, one is smaller and can cook for five or six people, and the other is larger and can cook for more than ten people.
Although there were only two styles, Lu Zhi keenly noticed that the sizes of the iron pots were almost the same, as if they were carved from the same mold.
She vaguely guessed why iron pots were circulating on the market.
They were brought to Pei County openly by merchants. I'm afraid that iron pots are no longer a rarity in Xianyang, as they have very mature technology for making them.
"Madam, let's buy a pot." Widow Cao looked at Lu Zhi expectantly.
Ever since she became a cook, she has developed a greater love for cooking. She originally thought that such a good iron pot was only owned by the imperial masters, but unexpectedly, it was sold in the city. She couldn't help but said, "I have saved some money from working for the past two months."
Lu Zhi nodded immediately.
Widow Cao earned a lot of money, and as the imperial teacher, she had cultivated many confidants. She was no longer as poor as before, and even had to tolerate her children's craving for meat.
After thinking for a while, Lu Zhi said, "Since there are two types of iron pots, let's buy one each. The small one is used to cook at home, and the big one is used when my husband's brothers come over."
Their family was different from other families. The head of the household was good at making friends. Lu Zhi often needed to entertain, so it was convenient to buy a big pot. Anyway, the price he shouted was not expensive.
"It's not easy for merchants from Xianyang to come here. Let's go and take a look. If there are more good things, buy them all."
Widow Cao agreed with some excitement, her eyes sore. Their family was no longer the same as before. They no longer had to worry about money like before. No matter how hard she and her wife worked, they could not make it.
Because she and her wife had a decent livelihood, and her husband also had a decent job, they could bring back half of their monthly salary for household expenses, and their life became comfortable in an instant.
From time to time, you can have at least one fish to eat.
Ying'er also complained that she was tired of eating stewed fish with tofu and urged her to make some new dishes.
"My dear, look at this soap! It's incredibly useful for washing hands and face. Every time we go to the stove, we have to be watched by the steward and washed." Widow Cao pointed to a row of soaps in various styles and said mysteriously, "It's said that this was instructed by the Imperial Master. He said there are invisible bugs on our hands that can't be cleaned away by just washing with water."
"This lady is quite knowledgeable!" Although Widow Cao lowered her voice, the stall owner still heard her and gave her a thumbs-up. "Isn't that right? This soap is selling like hotcakes in Xianyang. Rich families often use flower soaps or medicated soaps, and ordinary people will also buy one or two bars of homemade soap."
The stall owner introduced the products and said that he didn’t have much money and didn’t dare to buy the most expensive ones.
As soon as they appeared, they were bought by the wealthy families. There were also girls from noble families who would make their own soaps, using the finest flowers and herbs. Competition was rampant, and there was no one who could stand out.
When Lu Zhi heard the stall owner introduce the prices of flower soap and medicated soap, she couldn't help but be amazed.
Although their family was well off and Liu Ji had given her half a gold bar not long ago, she was reluctant to give away things like soap, which were consumables that had to be used every day.
The goods brought in by the stall owner are not very precious, but they are sold at such a high price. I wonder how extravagant those people in Xianyang are.
Do you wash your hands with gold every day?
Unlike Widow Cao, Lu Zhi was not a kitchen person and was not particularly particular about this aspect, but she also learned a little about soap from Zhu Dan.
If you are not looking for skin whitening and rejuvenation and just want to disinfect, you can use ordinary soap.
Although their family was well off, Lu Zhi was unwilling to spend a lot of money to buy flower soap and medicated soap. In the end, she only bought some earth soap, so that everyone in the family could use one.
After picking the soap, Lu Zhi suddenly heard a commotion. When she looked up, she saw a lot of people gathered around a stall.
She was also curious, but thinking about the crowds of people and the fact that they were carrying children, she moved her eyes and asked Widow Cao to go and see what was going on, while she looked after the three children.
When Widow Cao came back, she looked dazed, and the excitement and shock on her face was even greater than the iron pot she saw in the market.
"What's on sale there?"
"It's something called a mirror. This mirror is very clear and can reflect a person's face more clearly than in water or in a copper basin."
"Mirror?" Lu Zhi couldn't imagine it for a moment.
"What they brought were just some palm-sized mirrors. It is said that there are also those that can reflect half of the body or the whole body. However, such large goods are all in the hands of big merchants. They were never brought to the market. They were all intercepted by the nobles in advance." Widow Cao felt very sorry.
But Lu Zhi thought it was normal. Even if such a good thing was put in the market, not everyone could afford it.
Although she was curious, Lu Zhi did not go over and did not compete with those noble girls who were dressed unusually.
He turned and went to another stall.
"These are..." She squatted down, carefully picked up a booklet, and saw the words "Pig Farming Guide" on the cover.
The characters used are not small seal characters, but simplified characters that children should learn when they go to school.
With just one glance, she determined that this must also be the masterpiece of the national teacher.
Sure enough, as the stall owner continued to introduce the books, Lu Zhi's expression became more serious, but her eyes became brighter. In the end, she ignored the high price quoted by the stall owner and bought one of all the booklets.
Widow Cao was shocked: "Madam, all these can buy a mirror, right?"
The efficiency of papermaking is not very high at present, and there is even less good paper available for printing, not to mention that all the officials in the court want to use this paper to print classics and their own knowledge.
Although Zhu Dan insisted on printing this practical booklet even if it meant losing money, for the merchants at that time, the more expensive thing was the cost of shipping it.
Widow Cao felt that it was not worth spending so much money on such paper that was not suitable for eating or drinking. She could not recognize the words on the paper.
She wanted to buy a mirror rather than these papers.
Lü Zhi shook her head: "That mirror can't be compared with these."
She didn't elaborate on the importance of knowledge, but simply said, "Soon, my three children will be going to school. Let's use this character to enlighten them first. If they can catch the teacher's eye and be recommended to go to Xianyang in the future, it will be their good fortune."
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