After returning to the estate, Mu Yi'an instructed Steward Li to find some craftsmen.
Mu Yi'an thought that the school on the estate should not only teach children to recognize characters, but also teach them some other skills.
Now that we've decided to open such a school, we can't let it fizzle out or become just a superficial project.
Steward Li has been sent out to find a skilled craftsman, while Steward Wang and Xu An remain at the estate.
Manager Wang was in charge of the fields, and Xu An was in charge of the school.
Previously in Fucheng, teaching children to read was done by simply setting up a shed in an open space and placing tables, chairs, and benches there.
However, this school is intended for long-term use, so it cannot be too rudimentary.
There is still open space on the estate, but the location is not suitable; it is too close to the breeding farm.
The smell isn't very pleasant. Also, outsiders can't always be coming and going from the farm, as they might bring in harmful substances that could cause the livestock to get sick.
Finally, Mu Yi'an decided to use the outer courtyard of the compound as a school.
The hanging flower gate is locked from the inside. When they come over in the future, they can stay in the inner courtyard and enter and exit through the rear building.
Now, the newly arrived Zhao Daju family lives in the back building, and Xu An also temporarily lives in the back building.
The school is currently being renovated. Steward Li and the male servants, including Zhao Wu, are living in the outer courtyard. Sister Fang and Sister Li, along with the female servants Li Mei, Yun Duo, and Mianhua, are living in the inner courtyard with Mu Yi'an.
The manor on the estate is quite large. The original study in the outer courtyard was used as a study for Brother Jiang.
The other rooms can be used as classrooms.
Mu Yi'an plans to set up several subjects, including mathematics, literacy, embroidery, and agriculture.
If you master arithmetic, you can select the best students and hire them into your own shop.
Embroidery is mainly about giving girls an opportunity to have a skill that allows them to earn money.
No matter the time, if a woman has certain ways of making money, she will have a certain say.
Mu Yi'an thought that, under the current conditions, he could spread some methods that could increase yields so that farmers could have an easier time.
We can also talk about the knowledge of Chinese herbal medicines and how to cultivate them, so that they have another way to make a living.
Mu Yi'an has already bought a piece of mountain land near the manor, which is more than 3,000 mu.
It's not really a mountain, just a large hill, less than 300 meters above sea level, with no decent trees, just some shrubs.
Fortunately, there is a large pond at the foot of the mountain, which can provide a water source.
The newly purchased mountain land is less than three miles from the village. Mu Yi'an had his eye on it for a while, but he didn't have the money back then.
Later, I went to the prefectural city, got pregnant, gave birth, and took care of the child, and then I forgot about this whole thing.
It was during this trip back that Mu Yi'an saw that mountainous area by chance, and it reminded her of it again.
Have Steward Li check it out; it really is listed in the brokerage firm and is for sale.
Mu Yi'an acted decisively and bought it.
Mu Yi'an made a good profit from cotton last year, but she has no plans to open a shop.
We still need to buy land, whether it's fertile farmland or mountainous land, it will be useful.
Mu Yi'an didn't want to move far away to settle down. She and Jiang Shuyun didn't want to leave the city, even if their children became successful and settled down in the capital.
Mu Yi'an doesn't like the weather in the north. The winters are too cold, and the spring and autumn are too dry. Only the summers are a little better.
In both her past and present lives, she has lived in warm places, so they will continue to live in the prefectural city in the future.
Once Jiang Shuyun retires from the academy, they will live out their retirement years.
We've gone off-topic.
After buying that piece of mountain land, Mu Yi'an went to see it.
On the hillside, clear away the shrubs to create gaps where you can plant astragalus.
Fruit trees and watermelons can be planted on the hillside; the soil quality is quite good.
Organizing this area would be a huge undertaking, and she has already sent word to Manager Wei to come over.
There's nothing going on in the prefectural city; the estates and shops have all stabilized.
When Song, the accountant, checks the accounts carefully, there are basically no mistakes.
Manager Wei has experience growing cotton in the Northwest, so there shouldn't be too much of a problem if he comes here to take charge of this mountain area.
Mu Yi'an also asked Steward Li to find a real estate agency, and if there were any fertile fields for sale around the mountains, she would buy them as well.
With more land, it became a large estate.
On this mountainous side, we need to wait for Manager Wei to arrive before we can start construction.
Meanwhile, at the school, Xu An had already found a carpenter to do some basic repairs on the outer courtyard.
In the room where literacy was taught, a large blackened wooden board was used for writing.
Tables and benches were also purchased; they were made of ordinary wood and in a simple style.
Mu Yi'an didn't plan to recruit too many people at once; a maximum of fifteen people per room.
The room for mathematics was arranged much like the room for literacy, the only difference being the room for embroidery.
Mu Yi'an plans to recruit girls around ten years old to learn embroidery. Girls who are too young will learn too slowly, and girls who are too old will be subject to the strict separation of men and women.
In ancient times, it was customary for boys and girls not to sit together after the age of seven, which applied to wealthy or official families.
In ordinary villages, there aren't such strict boundaries. Girls can't stay indoors all the time; they still have to work.
Even if they didn't work in the fields, they still had to go to the river to wash clothes and cut pig feed; there was always work to be done.
However, even in the village, girls who reach the age of thirteen or fourteen must be careful not to have close contact with boys.
Reputation is still very important.
As for farming, Mu Yi'an plans to have her older brother talk about it. Just the composting process alone could take a long time to explain.
We can talk about fruit tree grafting, herb cultivation, livestock breeding, and so on.
With the general direction determined, the rest can be left to the subordinates.
These past few days, Mu Yi'an has been accompanying a few girls to classes.
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