ushernet Chapter 117 School
Chapter 117 School
"Old man, hurry home and see, Jiaojiao says she wants to build a school for the village." As soon as Aunt Li said this, everyone in the yard jumped up like startled fish.
Before the village chief could even process the news, Third Uncle spoke up, asking, "Little Li, are you serious? You're not joking?"
"No, no, Third Uncle, that's what Jiaojiao said, and she even gave me a hundred taels of silver." Aunt Li quickly waved her hand and showed everyone the silver in her bosom.
“This is a huge matter, I can’t make the decision myself, so I came to find my husband. Old man, come home with me quickly, Jiaojiao is waiting at home.” As she spoke, Aunt Li stepped forward and pulled the village chief away.
"Wait, we're going too," Uncle San said, leaving the courtyard first. The other elderly people quickly followed, moving so fast that they didn't look like a group of people in their sixties. Aunt Li and the village chief had to walk quickly to keep up with Uncle San's pace.
When the group arrived at the village chief's house, they saw Song Jiaojiao and asked, "Wang Chi's wife, is it true that your aunt said you want to build a school for the village?"
Song Jiaojiao was surprised that this matter had attracted so many elders, so she quickly stood up and came to her third uncle.
“It’s true, Third Uncle. Please sit down. We’ll talk about it slowly. We need your advice on how to fix it and where to fix it.”
Song Jiaojiao helped her third uncle sit down, and Qiuju and Zhang Mama quickly brought out chairs from the main hall for the elders to sit down.
After everyone was seated, Song Jiaojiao spoke up, "It would be best if the school could be built in a quiet place so that the children can study in peace. Also, I hope that not only the boys in the village can learn to read, but also the girls."
Women had a low social status in those days. Most schools only accepted boys, and only wealthy families would hire female teachers to teach their daughters to read.
Upon hearing this, the village elders were even more surprised. "Women wanting to learn too? How can that be allowed?" some of the more stubborn elders objected.
"Women come to study? How can that be? From ancient times to the present, women have never gone to school. Besides, a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. Women should just stay at home, be good wives and mothers. What's the use of learning to read?" The old man looked disapproving.
Song Jiaojiao spoke again, "I hope women can learn to read so they can better support their husbands and raise their children. Think about it, wouldn't a well-mannered and educated woman be better able to teach her children? Besides, if a woman can read and do arithmetic, she can find a good job."
Take my workshop as an example. If Aunt Li and Sister Sun couldn't read or do arithmetic, I wouldn't have let them manage the workshop for me. The workshop has to deal with outsiders every day, and it also requires reading and keeping accounts. If they can't read, no matter how good or outstanding their leadership skills are, they can't take on the job. Wouldn't that be missing out on a good opportunity? You know, Aunt Li's wages are three times that of ordinary workers.
After Song Jiaojiao finished speaking, the elder who had just objected didn't say anything more, but just stood aside, seemingly lost in thought.
“Jiaojiao, don’t worry too much. This old man is just worried that the women in the village will become too ambitious once they learn to read. His second son’s wife was like that, and she ended up running off with someone else. Putting all that aside, where do you think the school should be built?” The village chief took out a map of the village and spread it on the stone table.
Song Jiaojiao hadn't expected there to be such a reason, and looked at the elder with some guilt. Then she looked towards the village branch.
It would be better to build the school in a relatively quiet place, but not too remote. There was a house not far from the big tree in the center of the village; Song Jiaojiao knew that a house that had been torn down meant there was no one to inherit it, or it was a house sold by a villager. Song Jiaojiao thought that area had a relatively large area, which seemed quite good.
“Village Chief, Third Uncle, what do you think of this place? It’s not too far from any of the houses in the village, and it’s spacious enough that it won’t be too noisy,” Song Jiaojiao said, pointing to the spot she liked on the map.
Several elders nodded in approval after seeing it; it was indeed a good place.
"This place? It's nice. It used to belong to a wealthy villager. Later, his family became rich and moved to Nanning County, so they sold the house to the village. The house here is nice, all red bricks and blue tiles, with a total of five rooms. When you were planning to buy land and build a house, Jiaojiao, I recommended this place to you."
Song Jiaojiao forgot that at the time, she wasn't familiar with the villagers and didn't want to get too close, so she didn't choose a particular place.
"In that case, we don't need to build a special house. We just need to tidy up the inside and choose two bright rooms to use as classrooms. The remaining rooms can be used as dormitories for the teachers." Song Jiaojiao thought that not having to build a separate house would save a lot of money, and the hundred taels of silver could be used to buy primers.
"Yes, that's right. My son runs a general store in town. I'll have him inquire around to see if there are any teachers willing to come and teach, and how much they should be paid per month."
"Let's give the same monthly salary as the schoolteacher in town, three taels a month. It doesn't have to be a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations), it can be a Tongsheng (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations). It's mainly for the children's early education. If we really find that a child has a talent for studying, we'll send him to town to study. If he passes the Tongsheng exam, I'll give him a reward of 10 taels, Xiucai 50 taels, and if he passes the Juren exam, I'll give him a reward of 100 taels."
No one expected Song Jiaojiao to receive a reward. This reward is uncertain. It seems that if the children in the village don't study hard, they'll probably have to go home and get a beating, or even a mixed doubles beating.
“Alright, let’s do it as Wang Chi’s wife says. Shuisheng, you have to handle this matter carefully. The future development of the village and whether we can bring glory to our ancestors depend on this.” The Third Uncle made the decision immediately and did not forget to instruct the village chief.
Third Uncle's gaze towards Song Jiaojiao grew even more amiable. "Wang Chi's wife, I knew you were a good person, it's just a pity..."
Song Jiaojiao instantly understood what her third uncle hadn't said aloud, and thought to herself: ...I don't think there's anything to regret about having a painless childbirth.
"Don't worry, Uncle. This is my duty. I will keep a close eye on it. I will go and inform the village later. We can start work tomorrow. We will prepare early and wait for the teacher to be found so that the children in the village can go to school."
"Uncle Wang, don't restrict the village children's schooling. If people from other villages want to study here, then charge them two taels a year. It would be best if all the children under ten years old in the village could come to study. There won't be too many, just half a day is enough. They can also help with some chores at home during the other half of the day." Song Jiaojiao also thought that when people from other villages heard that there was a school in Qingshui Mountain, they wanted to study here. It wouldn't be good to refuse them. Several nearby villages have marriage ties with Qingshui Village, so she couldn't make any absolute statements.
"Hey, I hadn't thought of that before you mentioned it. Okay, let's do it that way." After saying that, the village chief went out, eager to tell everyone the good news.