It wasn't that Madam Qin didn't want to send her daughter to the academy; there were women studying there, too. It was just that the academy was quite crowded, and Madam Qin didn't want her daughter to be under so much pressure, so she simply sent her to Nanlu Women's College.
Previously, the daughters of the Cen family had boycotted Nanlu Women's College because they felt that Nanlu Women's College was teaching students miscellaneous books.
Because of this, Nanlu Girls' College became popular for a while.
Later, other colleges began to teach that knowledge. Some were even more famous than Nanlu Women's College. Nanlu College seized the opportunity and started early, which made it easier to be remembered.
After much deliberation, Madam Qin finally chose this particular academy. She was drawn to Nanlu Women's College's boldness and openness; only by being more relaxed could the academy possibly offer something.
She was afraid of those who claimed to teach knowledge but were actually selling dog meat under a sheep's clothing. She couldn't play with her child's future and had to choose carefully.
When Madam Qin Dashao sent her daughter to Nanlu Women's College, she came back and saw her eldest sister-in-law. Her eldest sister-in-law married into the Gao family, a prestigious family. Two years after her eldest sister-in-law's marriage, her husband took a concubine.
At that time, Gao Qinshi had changed slightly.
When the Liu family was raided, Gao Qinshi returned to her parents' home and asked if she wanted to take a concubine for Young Master Qin. The Qin family initially refrained from doing so because they felt that doing so would be like adding insult to injury.
Madam Qin did not send any women to Young Master Qin, and Young Master Qin did not sleep with any maids.
Gao Qinshi also said a few words at the time, saying that her family was too kind to Madam Qin. This time, Madam Qin gave Madam Qin a maidservant. As soon as Gao Qinshi found out, she came over.
"Oh, that's how men are." Gao Qinshi came to Madam Qin Dashao's side. "How many men don't take concubines? A maidservant is nothing. You've been married for so long, and he hasn't had anyone who stayed with him for a long time. As women, we'd better not be too jealous."
Madam Qin knew that her eldest sister-in-law came to laugh at her. Her mother-in-law had sent a maid to her husband, and some of the maids had become concubines.
Madam Qin also knew that many families were like the Gao family.
"Even if she is just a concubine, she can't surpass you. What's more, your child is older than mine at that time." Gao Qinshi still remembered what Mrs. Qin had said to persuade her.
Things change, and this time it was Gao Qin's turn to say this.
"Didn't you say that at the beginning?" Gao Qinshi said with a smile, "We, as the principal wives, should be more magnanimous and not force our husbands to have affairs outside. Now that we have a son, we don't have to worry too much about whether the man is a man or not, right?"
"..." Madam Qin Dashao was helpless. She had indeed said such words at the beginning.
At the beginning, the eldest sister-in-law came back home when her husband took a concubine. Even though Gao Qinshi did not make a fuss at her husband's house, she was still unhappy, so she went to her parents' home to talk about it.
Gao Qinshi sincerely felt that Madam Qin's current situation was better than hers at the beginning, and Madam Qin should be satisfied.
"What do you think of Nanlu Girls' College?" Mrs. Qin changed the subject.
"That's right," Gao Qinshi said. "The dean there is more open-minded. Although other colleges offer those courses, they don't open up so easily. The other colleges' main priority is to ensure that their daughters can marry into good families in the future. Nanlu Women's College strives to ensure that some of them can be admitted to the academy and become female officials."
The slogan of Nanlu Women's College is different. The college also spent a lot of money to hire some new teachers.
"My daughter will go there too." Gao Qinshi didn't say any more about whether the maids were concubines or not. In fact, there was no such hatred between the two of them. She was just thinking about what Madam Qin had said to persuade her in the past, and she was unhappy. That's why she said these words, "Why don't you let your child go to the school at the research institute? The teaching there may be quite different."
"A lot of people go there. Not everyone with money can go." Madam Qin said, "Some people who didn't pass the exam still go to other places to study."
"That's not necessarily true. There are special places there. As long as you pay enough money, you can go in." Gao Qinshi had inquired about it a long time ago, but the Gao family did not intend to spend so much money to let their children go to the research academy. They said that if the children could not pass the exam, then no matter how much money they spent, it would be useless.
It’s not like the Gao family can’t expand their network from other places, so there’s no need for them to squeeze in.
The main reason is that many powerful people want their children to go, such as those in the Marquis' Mansion and the Duke's Mansion, so the Gao family will not join in the fun.
Those who were talented enough to take the imperial examinations mostly studied at the Imperial Academy, while those whose families preferred other subjects could try their luck at the academy.
"Your younger sister is Princess Rongning. Ask her. Maybe you can squeeze it in without spending so much money." Gao Qin said.
Gao Qinshi did not ask Madam Qin to find a way for her children. Didn’t she see that Madam Qin’s children did not go to the academy?
"Rongning went to Hainan," said Madam Qin. "There's no need for the eldest sister to go to the research institute. She'd be stressed there. People say she's the niece of the director of the research institute. It would be better for her to stay at Nanlu Women's College."
"Don't the people in Nanlu know that she is the niece of the director of the research institute?" Gao Qin said.
"At least Nanlu Women's College isn't Rongning's," said Madam Qin, "so others don't have to worry about Rongning suppressing the principal."
Mrs. Qin Dahao considered many issues before finally letting her daughter stay at Nanlu Girls' College.
"You can arrange it however you want," Gao Qinshi said. "Other people's wisdom cannot become our own wisdom."
No matter how smart Princess Rongning is, it is impossible for her relatives to become smart just because of this.
Gao Qin thought that if that were really possible, then Madam Qin would not be sitting here now.
In Hainan, Miss Xue Er had just finished her confinement. She had heard that Liu Yulian had been buying land there, some of it barren, some near the sea. The land near the sea had a high salinity, so few people grew crops there, and the land there wasn't very valuable.
The seaside is humid and living there for a long time can easily lead to rheumatism.
People in ancient times didn't like living by the sea very much, unless they wanted to make a living by fishing, they had no other choice.
"How do we buy the land over there?" asked Miss Xue Er.
"Few people buy the land over there." Liu Yulian said, "It's a good time to give it a try, so it won't be a waste."
Liu Yulian was trying to formulate a solution for high-salinity fields, allowing crops to grow there. She only needed to pay more attention to fields that others considered difficult to grow, while other ordinary fields needed less attention.
"If you use your own money, it's fine," Liu Yulian said. "If you use the institute's money, then you have to think about it. The institute's money doesn't just come from the wind. Of course, they also need some good land, at least to ensure daily food and drink."
Liu Yulian doesn't think the research institute has to buy bad land just to do research. They can study bad land when doing research, but there's no need to buy more of that kind of land.
If those people cannot change the land in a short period of time, wouldn’t it be a waste of the institute’s money?
"I'll buy some too." said Miss Xue Er.
"Look for yourself and decide which one to buy. There's a lot of wasteland here, so it's better to buy something better." Liu Yulian said, "It's a good deal."
"Then why did you buy those lands with high salinity?" asked Miss Xue Er.
"Use liquid medicine to change it little by little." Liu Yulian said, "But it's difficult to change them one by one. This place is close to the sea. We still have to use seeds that are tolerant to high salt levels. That's the only way. The wind is strong here, and there are many strong winds in the summer, so we have to pay attention to it."
"You just like challenges, don't you?" Miss Xue Er said with a smile, "Our family won't buy so much land near your side. We'll just buy some and then buy land elsewhere."
"Well, planting rubber and other things." Liu Yulian said, "Things that can make money."
"People who don't know you would think you are a businessman." Miss Xue joked.
"Everyone needs money," Liu Yulian said. "Researchers don't all have to live in poverty. That's not good. No one will do research in the future. As long as you don't steal or rob, it doesn't matter."
"We still have to stay here for several years." Miss Xue Er said, "We may not go back in the future. We may stay here for the rest of our lives."
"It may not be a bad thing here." Liu Yulian said.
Ever since Second Young Master Mei's former concubine, Jiang, arrived in Hainan, she had bought a lot of land. Furthermore, she had also started a business.
Jiang's brother was exiled to Hainan, leaving him with many things to do. Her brother's maid gave birth to a boy, so Jiang had to make more plans for herself. She couldn't rely on her parents' family, nor could she always work there.
Jiang had to rely on herself. The people here were mainly migrants, and different places had different customs. In some places, women were also very capable, so Jiang hired them to do things.
It's not easy for women. Jiang Shi couldn't control her own life in the beginning, so she became the concubine of the Second Young Master Mei. Jiang Shi did plot against the Second Young Master Mei's wife. She wasn't particularly kind, she just did different things in different identities.
"Miss, the embroiderers you asked me to find have been found." said the maid.
"Let them go to the workshop," Jiang said, "and let them make the embroidery according to the pattern."
Business at Jiang's shop wasn't that good at first, but it's only recently started to pick up. Gradually, more people are coming here, and those people are making some money, which is how businesspeople survive.
"Let them keep an eye on us if they need to," Jiang said, "and don't let them cause any trouble."
Some women's families are not good people, so their husbands come to make trouble.
Since Jiang Shi took in such women, she would find ways to protect them. The government didn't necessarily care about so many things, and sometimes the government would just try to smooth things over.
Some women bring some money home every month, so their husbands' families treat them much better and their status in the family improves significantly.
"Miss, you are so kind to them," the maid said, "some of them even ran away to other weaving workshops."
"Let them run away," Jiang said. "They are responsible for their own choices."
Jiang Shi couldn't care less about all that. This wasn't a charity. She would help those she could, but if someone wanted to run away, Jiang Shi couldn't do anything about it.
The Jiang family is not the only one doing business in Hainan, there are others as well.
Jiang Shi lived not in the same house as Madam Jiang, but in the house next door. She didn't want to live in her parents' home, to avoid unnecessary trouble, so she started her own business and managed her own finances.
In order to prevent those people from bullying her, a weak woman, Jiang also hired several guards.
On this day, Mrs. Jiang had dinner with Jiang Shi, and Mrs. Jiang asked Jiang Shi about her future plans.
"You're not young anymore. It's time to find someone to remarry, so go ahead and find someone." Madam Jiang said, "You have your own ideas, so it's hard for me to decide for you directly."
Mrs. Jiang once wanted to settle down for Jiang directly, but Jiang was unwilling.
"Don't be in a hurry." Jiang didn't want to be a woman who relied on a man to live. She could live without a man.
"Don't worry. You keep saying there's no rush day after day." Mrs. Jiang was afraid that Jiang would always be like this.
"My brother has a son, and you have a grandson." Jiang said, "It doesn't matter to me."
"What good is it for you to be alone?" Mrs. Jiang said, "You're still running that women's college, letting those girls have sex and only providing them with one meal a day. I wonder how long you can keep doing that. Those people..."
"We'll do it as long as we can." Jiang interrupted Madam Jiang, "Some people really aren't that good, but I want to give it a try."
Jiang hopes that poor women will have more choices in the future, and that their families will see that they can make more money, so they can find better husbands.
"It's not a lot of people, just a few. They'll have to work for me in the future, so they owe me money." Jiang said, "Not everyone is willing to send their daughters here. They don't want their daughters to work for me for a few years for nothing. It's better to let their daughters get married sooner."
It was difficult for Jiang to change the fate of all the girls, and she also had to prevent those scoundrels from coming to her house, so she imposed restrictions. Some parents truly wanted their daughters to be well, but they didn't have the means. They knew that as long as their daughters worked for a few years at the school run by Jiang, they would be willing to send their daughters to it.
It wasn't that Jiang Shi didn't want to help more women, but she didn't have that much money, so she chose to help some people. If there were one or two clear-headed people in the family, they would know what to do.
If everyone in the family is not clear-headed, then it will be of no use.
"Study for three to five years, learn a few words, and you can do other things." Jiang said, "Don't they have women working at the research institute? We're not the only ones here."
“…” Mrs. Jiang felt that her daughter had changed a lot. If she had known that her son’s affair would be discovered, and that it would be discovered so soon, she might not have let her daughter marry into the Mei family.
If my daughter had not married into the Mei family, she would not be like this.
No matter how much Mrs. Jiang regrets, it's no use now.
Jiang Shi had already realized how difficult life was for women in this world. If a man married, he could take a concubine, and she might even be that concubine. There were disputes between wives and concubines, each of them craving more favor and the inheritance their children would receive.
"I'm full, let's go back first." Jiang said, "I still have to check the account book."
"Go, go, go, go back and check the account book." Mrs. Jiang waved her hand. This was what her daughter did when she didn't want to talk to her anymore.
Mrs. Jiang was worried because she was afraid that her daughter would never get married.
Hainan is a big place, but the Jiang family and the others live in the same small town as Miss Xue and her friends. Hainan is a backward place, and there are not many businesses here.
Jiang had come here because she saw the people from the research institute there and thought it had more development prospects. Even though this place wasn't prosperous yet, it was bound to be so soon, as the yields from the fields here showed.
The court will allow more people to come, and some will come on their own initiative.
Jiang wanted to seize the opportunity first. It didn't matter if the first few years were difficult, she could arrange for people to go out and do business.
One day, Liu Yulian and He Xiyuan were walking down the street when Jiang saw them from a distance. Jiang didn't approach them, as she had no connection to them. Even if she did, it wouldn't be a good one.
Jiang Shi was once the concubine of the Second Young Master Mei, and had troubled Liu Yuqin before. Jiang Shi knew how annoying she was to these people, so she didn't approach them.
"Miss." The maid spoke when she saw Jiang standing there in a daze.
"Go in." Jiang came back to his senses.
Liu Yulian and He Xiyuan walked down the street. They realized the food here wasn't as good as in Beijing, but it wasn't bad either. They had a lot of different kinds of food.
"Do you want to open a shop?" He Xiyuan thought of Liu Yulian who once opened a shop by the sea.
"No, as long as I have a farm," Liu Yulian shook her head. "I can't just open a restaurant in every place I go, and I don't have that much time to train chefs."
Opening a restaurant is no easy task. Liu Yulian doesn't just focus on money; she also has to consider costs. It's not like she can just give her a recipe. Liu Yulian doesn't plan to open a restaurant in Hainan for the time being.
"This town isn't big, we'll soon reach the end." He Xiyuan sighed. They hadn't walked far when they were about to reach the other end of the town. "Do you want to go somewhere else?"
"It will become very big in the future." Liu Yulian said, "In the future, this place will be very prosperous and more people will come here."
In the northwest, Mrs. Huo's clothes weren't thick enough, and she hadn't prepared much beforehand, so she just hid under the quilt. She also hadn't prepared enough firewood, so it was difficult to burn it to keep warm.
It was obvious that the Liu family had lived well before, and Mrs. Huo thought that things would be fine too, but various problems always arose.
Mrs. Huo didn't dare use too much firewood, fearing that she would run out of it later. She could buy some firewood from others, but not everyone was willing to sell firewood at this time. No one wanted to go into the mountains in such cold weather, especially on a snowy day.
The kang here was also cold. Mrs. Huo missed the heated kang. No matter how hard her life was in her past life, it was not as hard as it was now. Mrs. Huo hid in her bed and cried. She was sad.
"Why is it so cold?" Mrs. Huo muttered.
Liu Yanqing, from the fourth branch of the Liu family, saw his daughter walking unsteadily and was afraid that she would fall.
"It's cold outside, play for a while and then come inside." Lin Xiaowan said.
"She was wearing thick clothes." Liu Yanqing said.
"Everyone's dressed warmly, but someone still caught a cold." Lin Xiaowan looked at the father and daughter in the yard, "Be careful. It's okay if you're sick, but children can't stand it."
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