The craftsman that Butler Li found was not a successor of a centuries-old craft.
The math teacher was an accountant whose family owned a shop in the county town. For the past few years, he had been in charge of the accounts for the estates and shops in the county, and he worked with Manager Tong and the others as a money accountant.
The embroiderer was hired from the largest embroidery workshop in the county to teach some simple embroidery techniques and color matching.
The embroidery shop also thought that once the children from the academy finished their apprenticeships, they could take on jobs from the embroidery shop, which would benefit both parties.
Otherwise, supporting a large number of embroiderers would be too expensive and a heavy burden.
However, the village women's skills were generally not good enough to meet their requirements.
Now, with this school, the children have learned a skill, and they have embroiderers. How wonderful!
Brother Mu will teach us about farming.
With everything prepared, the school can begin enrolling students.
Mu Yi'an asked Steward Li to gather all the long-term and short-term laborers on his estate and told them about the free school.
"Is this true? Children can learn a trade in a free school, without paying any fees or having to do unpaid work?"
"Yes, my wife is a seventh-rank lady personally appointed by His Majesty. The Emperor's grace is boundless."
To express my gratitude to God, my wife specially opened a free school on the estate.
It teaches literacy, arithmetic, and new farming methods. It also accepts girls aged eight to ten to learn embroidery.
The children sent here must study diligently and not slack off or waste their time.
Regardless of the subject, failing three assessments will result in disqualification from further study.
Each craft has a limited number of slots available.
The lady said that you performed well while working on the estate, so the first batch of places will be reserved for your child.
Butler Li acted as the sole representative, and Mu Yi'an did not appear in person.
This title was something she and Jiang Shuyun had agreed upon.
Jiang Shuyun didn't enter officialdom, and Shao Ming and his brothers were still young and didn't need these titles.
Moreover, if things aren't handled properly, it can easily lead people to misunderstand and think they're trying to win people over.
Therefore, using Mu Yi'an's name was still to express gratitude to Heaven, and no one could say anything about it.
This is the charitable heart of women confined to their homes; they want to do good deeds, which is similar to distributing porridge and medicine, but not entirely the same.
The villagers didn't understand all the intricacies; they only knew that if the children learned a trade, they could work and earn money in the future.
Everyone eagerly signed up, and, as Butler Li said, the school would only be open for one morning, so the children could go home and help with chores in the afternoon.
You should know that if a child wants to learn a trade, he has to be an apprentice to a master for several years. Not only will he not be paid, but he also has to pay for the four major festivals and eight major gifts throughout the year.
Learning a skill takes three to five years, and you don't get paid until you've mastered it.
Butler Li and Brother Jiang recorded each family's information: the child's age, whether they could read, what trade they learned, which village they lived in, and how many people were in the family...
Mu Yi'an made a detailed checklist to prevent anyone from causing trouble and to understand the specific situation of each family.
When we need people in the future, we can easily find suitable candidates.
The long-term workers who came to sign up generally had three to five children in their families, not just their own, but also those of their siblings.
At this time, most families lived together as a whole, and the majority did not separate their households.
Butler Li and Brother Jiang compiled the list together and told them to come and see it tomorrow afternoon, and that the selected children should come to class the day after tomorrow morning.
Everyone watched with bated breath as Butler Li and his team went inside with the list before reluctantly leaving, hoping that their own child would be selected.
Mu Yi'an was also thinking about buying a capable old woman to help Huang Daya take care of the girls learning embroidery, so that nothing would happen to them.
After careful selection, Steward Li and his team chose fifteen children for the literacy class, twelve for the arithmetic class, fifteen for the farming class, and eleven for the embroidery class.
Mu Yi'an received the final list and then looked at the family information recorded at the end.
"Butler Li, you've done a good job. Make another copy of this list for Xu An to refer to if he needs to hire people in the future."
Let's keep a copy on hand, just in case.
How's the brokerage business? Are there any suitable candidates?
Manager Wei needs manpower, and the area in the mountains will gradually expand.
There are suitable fields at the brokerage firm; we should buy them all.
Therefore, the personnel remaining there must have been selected.
Mu Yi'an couldn't stay here for long. Once the school started and there were no problems, she would return to the prefectural city.
"The school starts tomorrow. If everything goes smoothly, the next step is to go to the brokerage to select people."
Butler Li was also anxious; there were too many things to do, and he was constantly busy.
"Okay, let's get things sorted out at the school first. As for the brokerage firm, they'll come over if they find a suitable one."
Mu Yi'an also knew that Butler Li was very busy.
There's nothing we can do. We have a lot of people in the family, but only a few are truly capable.
Li Li and his team are about to mature, and once they are capable of handling things independently, we will have enough manpower.
The list was announced in the afternoon, bringing joy to some and sorrow to others. Those selected wept with happiness, while those not selected hoped to be chosen next time.
The next day, Brother Jiang arrived early.
The quota was finalized yesterday; there were over fifty people, including a few gentlemen, who seemed a little nervous.
This school is different from his previous schools. He's not worried about the content of the lessons, but he's afraid of mismanagement.
Before long, the children on the list arrived one after another. The youngest was seven or eight years old, and the oldest was fourteen or fifteen.
Brother Jiang looked at the group of children, his eyes filled with expectation and light.
Without rambling on, he explained the school's rules: anyone who violated them would lose their opportunity to learn.
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