Chapter 425 East Wind
"Sir, aren't you planting white clover? Why not plant it in the fields?" The children were puzzled.
Su Ying planted the soaked cotton seeds in a wooden grid filled with soil.
"This is called seedling cultivation. It's the same principle as transplanting rice seedlings. Let the seedlings grow to a certain size first, and then transplant them. This way the survival rate is high," Su Ying explained.
"How long will it take before we can transplant them?" the children asked.
"About a month, about the same time it takes to grow rice seedlings." Su Ying patted the dirt on her hands. "Okay, let's go see if the silkworms have hatched."
Whoosh, the children ran away, continuing the grouping from last year. The children were matched with big and small, and new and old, with the children from Rong County interspersed among them.
Rong County was filled with poverty, but when the children arrived in Wu County, they felt like there was gold everywhere.
Here you can learn how to make vermicelli, extract soybean oil, make soy sauce, and grow honey.
He was a spoiled child at home and the son of a prominent family in Rong County.
When I arrived in Wu County, I realized that the things I treasured were actually very common here.
The Su family had meat for every meal. Every meal consisted of stir-fried dishes or big fish and meat. They were even more powerful than the county magistrate.
There is also brown sugar. The wet nurses have brown sugar eggs to eat every day. In Rong County, they can only eat it during the New Year.
This gap between the rich and the poor! It brought a great shock to the children!
They learned everything very seriously, including using an abacus, Arabic numerals, calculations, etc. Many of them overturned their cognition.
The Ministry of Personnel approved the official document of Rong County and formally appointed Liu Zhang as the ninth-rank upper county magistrate and Song Wansan as the ninth-rank upper county magistrate.
Rong County selected a group of hardworking and simple villagers to learn how to make vermicelli. After they returned, each village raised funds to set up a vermicelli factory.
Wei Axiao signed a contract with the Fulon Caravan and the vermicelli factory to collect vermicelli on their behalf.
Seeing that vermicelli sales were guaranteed, the villagers rolled up their sleeves and worked hard.
The vermicelli was white, delicate, crystal clear and tough, of excellent quality. After Wei Axiao received it, he immediately sent it to the Fulon caravan.
In less than a month, the villagers in Rong County tasted the sweetness.
Some shrewd villagers grow mung beans in the fragmented plots of land in the fields. The climate in Lingnan is warm, and they can harvest two crops a year.
If you add up all the small amounts, you can get a lot of returns.
Years ago, Su Laosan and his gang of people from the Grain Bureau chased us and plowed the land again and again. Now it was just the right time to divert the labor to build roads.
The repair was done near home, and they also provided a lunch, two bowls of dry rice per person. The men ate their fill and worked quickly.
There is a quantitative assessment of daily labor, with a minimum completion amount, and people come back to check and inspect the quality.
It is impossible to make a few more days' meal by slacking off or cheating.
The manager also said that after the road is built, those who are capable and work hard will be taken away to work in other places and get paid.
Who dared to slack off? They all worked hard, hoping that the road would be appreciated by the manager once it was built, so they could earn some money to take home during the slack season.
The people of Rong County feel that they have hope for the future and their faces are full of joy.
Especially the children of the officials, who studied with Master Xiao Su and learned a lot of skills, will go out to study in September.
If you are lucky enough to get into mathematics in Chang'an, wow! That would be a great honor for your ancestors!
The first person in the family to leave Lingnan and settle down in Chang'an!
Everyone is full of motivation and passion.
When students came to Rong County to start schools, the officials cooperated with them.
It’s almost like posting slogans on the streets, “Rong County is my home, and its development depends on everyone!”
The county school was established quickly, but there were few students enrolled.
The children of officials who had money to go to school were all sent to Su Ying. She was going to study abroad in September and was unwilling to take them back.
Not many others can afford to go to school.
The students did not expect this situation, so they thought of mobilizing the children of civilians and villagers to study.
The poor were very happy when they heard about studying. Who wouldn't want to have a scholar in their family? But when they thought about the high salary, they shook their heads.
"We don't charge tuition and will teach children for free!" The students were very enthusiastic.
But the poor people still shook their heads. They would feel uneasy if the teacher did not stop practicing. Besides, pens, ink, paper and inkstone were expensive and they could not afford them. They were luxuries for the poor.
The students were very frustrated and returned to the county government office in a depressed mood.
Isn't it said that people in Lingnan are eager to study? If they don't accept the training, then no one is willing to come!
No one could figure out why this happened.
Liu Zhang and Song Wansan were also anxious. It was rare to have a free teacher willing to teach. If they missed the opportunity, they would miss it. They had to set up the county school.
I went to Huanggou Village to ask Su Ying what I should do to run the county school.
"I think it's not just your Rong County. Other counties are facing the same situation." Su Ying thought for a while and said.
Unexpectedly, the imperial court issued an order to support teaching in Lingnan so quickly, and scholars from poor families also responded positively.
The number of teachers increased suddenly, but the poor faced the dilemma of not being able to afford education. If the county government and the state government did not solve the problem, the effectiveness of the teaching support would be greatly reduced.
“How about this, we run the school in two ways!
First, the county school is open, and those who are able can send their children to study there. The county government has introduced an incentive policy, and the top three students will receive scholarships to encourage everyone to send their children to study there.
Second, some students went to rural villages to carry out literacy work and teach children common Chinese characters;
If a child has outstanding qualifications but is unable to study, he or she will be admitted to the county school after assessment and various tuition and miscellaneous fees will be waived.
If he has a bright future, he will be the pride of Rong County.
This will not only save teachers but also improve the children's foundation and tap into potential talents that have been missed among the people."
"That's great, Lord Su, this is a good idea!" The troublesome problem was solved at once, and Liu Zhang felt much more relaxed.
The imperial court strongly supported Lingnan, but I failed to seize this opportunity. What a pity it was missed!
Liu Zhang also came from a poor family, so naturally the opportunity to study was rare!
If the county school cannot afford to run, students will go to other state capitals, and it will be almost impossible to get them to come in the future.
"I'm going to the provincial capital to find Hu Changshi. The provincial government's official school can't just sit back and watch. It should also do its part to support the counties with books and teaching materials for free!" Su Ying said, tapping the table lightly.
Logically, these problems should be solved by the official school of the prefecture, not by her, a seventh-rank inspector.
Wuzhou used to have a governor but no chief secretary. Now County Magistrate Hu has been promoted to chief secretary, while Governor Lu has been transferred to be the governor of Guangzhou and concurrently the governor of five prefectures.
The court has left the position of governor vacant again and has not yet decided on a candidate. Now Wuzhou's Hu Changshi is in charge of the government, and Jiang Sima is in charge of the military.
"That's great! Lord Su is really thoughtful!" Liu Zhang was overjoyed. In this way, he could save a lot of expenses.
In ancient times, studying was a considerable expense. Not only were pens, ink, paper, and inkstones expensive, but books were also extremely rare. Why were the common textbooks only a few classics?
Printing is not easy, but a carved edition of a classic book can be passed down through generations, and the edition remains even after the person is gone.
"County Magistrate Liu, Rong County is poor, and it's difficult for children to study. It would be better to offer a few practical courses, such as abacus, road and bridge construction, and smelting.
Not all children take science exams, but learning some practical skills will enable them to make a living and support their families in the future."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
