Li Yan returned to her room and began to sort out a series of issues related to opening a school. Teaching buildings, teachers, books, paper and pens were all issues that had to be faced before building a school.
For children, the biggest problem is books, paper and pens. If these problems are not solved, it will be difficult for villagers to send their children to school to study and learn to read.
As for the use of the land for the school, she could discuss it with the clan leader. However, Li Yan had no idea about the teacher at the moment and planned to discuss it with her father after he returned.
After sorting out her thoughts, Li Yan came out of the room and saw her father sitting in the main room teasing the child.
Li Yan walked over to her father in surprise and found a small stool to sit down beside him. "Dad, you're back? How did you deal with yesterday's incident? Was the person who stole the relief food arrested?"
Li Erlang nodded. "The yamen runners found Muramasa's home, but he hadn't returned. When we asked his family, they all said he had gone to the county yamen and hadn't returned yet. We were just about to send someone back to report, but we didn't expect Muramasa to actually come back!"
"Did Muramasa come back alone? Or did he also bring back relief food?" Li Yan asked.
"I came back with relief food!"
"What a coincidence! Could it be that this village was delayed on the way?"
"That's exactly what Muramasa said. He said the ox cart suddenly broke down halfway through the journey, so he had to stay overnight at a nearby acquaintance's house while he got the cart repaired! That delayed his return trip!"
Although Muramasa explained it this way, what was the truth? Li Yan understood her father's implication: "But Muramasa lied?"
Li Erlang nodded, then shook his head: "It's true that the ox cart was broken, but he also did something sneaky!"
It was understandable that the ox cart had broken down on the way and relief food could not be distributed in time.
But Muramasa acted too guilty, his eyes were evasive, his expression was nervous, and his answers were halting.
Yang, the yamen runner, immediately felt that there was something wrong with this man. They were used to seeing all kinds of people, and even the common people who were afraid of the officials would not have such a wandering look and a guilty look.
Yang, the yamen runner, immediately sent someone to verify the family where the village chief stayed overnight, and ordered the officers to take them to the county government office. He also ordered people to open the relief food on the ox cart and prepare to inspect it on the spot.
The wheat that should have been full of golden grains was replaced with yellow and moldy coarse grains.
Seeing that the truth was revealed, Muramasa confessed everything in a hurry!
The relative where he stayed saw the good wheat on the ox cart and heard that grain merchants were buying grain at high prices, so he came up with the idea of replacing one thing with another to make a profit.
"Muramasa and his relative were caught stealing relief grain. His Excellency was furious and had them both severely punished and imprisoned on the spot. He will report them to the prefect. The lightest punishment is exile!"
After hearing the whole story, Li Yan shook her head helplessly. It turned out that as long as there was profit, there would be people who would take risks and disregard the law.
"The food is ready, you and your daughter should stop talking." At this time, Lin came out of the kitchen carrying the food.
The father and daughter stopped talking at this point. Li Yan then stood up and went to help her mother set the table.
The meals in the county government office were all big pot meals without much oil, and coupled with the busy official duties, Li Erlang basically just ate a simple bite. Now, smelling the colorful and fragrant food, he felt even more hungry, and it tasted very sweet.
Seeing her husband eating with gusto, Mrs. Lin, who was originally a little unhappy, also ate a few more bites.
After the meal, Li Yan brought out the mint drink that had fallen into the well and told everyone to help digest the food.
After taking a sip of the cool drink, the refreshing scent of mint sweeps across your mouth, making you feel refreshed.
"Is this the new food you mentioned? It's really good for cooling off!"
"This is just a drink that comes with it. The shop also has sour plum soup and milk tea. It's a pity that there is no ice at home, so I can only hang it in the well water to get a little coolness."
"This is very good. If it's too cold, it will hurt the spleen and stomach."
Having not been back for several days, Li Erlang chatted with his daughter in a casual manner.
Lin and Li Xiaomei didn't disturb them. They cleared the dishes away and washed them themselves, leaving the father and daughter to have a good chat.
"By the way, Dad, do you have any teachers who are willing to come to our village to teach? I plan to build a school in our village. If possible, I hope all the children in the village can come to school!"
Li Yan then told her father what happened in the village today.
"Dad, I've thought about it. Instead of letting the children in the village do nothing in their spare time, it's better to send them to school and teach them how to read and write. I don't have the illusion that all these children in the village can pass the imperial examinations and become officials, but at least they can learn to read and do arithmetic. This is enough for them who don't have to travel far!"
There is one point that Li Yan did not mention. If Rongcheng is to truly develop, and even the entire Northland is to develop, in addition to attracting foreign merchants, we must also cultivate local people.
Li Erlang was stunned when he heard his daughter's words. He knew too well the importance of reading and writing.
Because of illiteracy, many people could not understand the notices posted on the city walls. The notices clearly stated the decree to reduce taxes, but in those remote villages, the landlords and gentry said the exact opposite news.
If you ask why they dare to deceive so blatantly, it is simply because they take advantage of the other party being blind!
"Your idea is quite good. I will find a way to deal with the Master's affairs!"
"Dad, the teacher's character cannot be too old-fashioned. I want to teach everyone in the village who is willing to learn to read, regardless of gender." Li Yan told her father her request.
His daughter's request did make Li Erlang feel a little embarrassed.
It is not difficult to find some scholars to enlighten the children, but the difficulty lies in the following requirement.
Li Erlang pondered for a long moment before saying, "My father has a classmate who is over fifty years old and still a student. Why don't we go ask him tomorrow if he's willing to take over?"
Li Yan nodded. She knew that this was not something she could accomplish alone and needed to take her time. "I'll leave the matter of finding a teacher to Dad first. Tomorrow I'll go to the clan leader and ask him to allocate a piece of land to build a school!"
At night, after a few days of separation, the couple spent some time together. Lin nestled in her husband's arms and talked about her daughter's plan to hire a teacher.
"Speaking of hiring a teacher, I think my eldest brother is the most suitable!"
Li Erlang stroked his wife's back from time to time, and said in a hoarse voice: "Let's wait and see what these children can learn in the end!"
Lin also knew that learning to read and write is not a one-day job. It is useless to think too much about whether these children can persist or just learn a few words.
Never mind, it’s not too late to bring it up after everything is settled!
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