Chapter 349 Running a School

As expected, the old village chief kept his word. He turned around and summoned everyone for another meeting. He specifically used Qiao Laosi as an example and delivered an impassioned speech.

The content is nothing more than what changes in status will occur after passing the exam to become a scholar or a successful candidate, how much benefit will there be, and how much glory will the whole family and the whole village benefit from.

These farmers, who have been cultivating the land all their lives, used to know that only those who passed the examination could be called "Master". I heard that a scholar could not kneel before an official. In the eyes of ordinary people who would kneel down when they see big and small officials, this was a kind of shamelessness. The glory of God.

After hearing that there are so many benefits after passing the exam, not only can you be exempted from corvee taxes, but you can also receive a salary from the court, and you can even become an official, leaping from poverty to official status.

This is not only a false name for the glorious ancestors, but also a great thing for the whole family to ascend to heaven!

For a time, the villagers who had children at home were all excited and eager to send their children to school.

What does it matter if they work harder as elders? As long as the children are promising, there will no longer be a need for generations of ancestors to work hard with their backs to the earth and rely on the sky for food!

However, the news about the school that Qiao Ran found was still not very optimistic.

Shopkeeper Chen once told her that about ten miles away from the mountain road to the left, there was a large village with mixed surnames named Zhangshu Village. There was a school there, and people from other villages should not be refused to study.

As a result, Qiao Ran went over to inquire and found out that there was indeed a school in that village, but it was run in a dilapidated ancestral house. There were more than 20 students and only one old boy was the teacher.

The old boy had been taking exams for most of his life, but had not been able to pass the exam, so he had to make a living by teaching in the village and earning a meager salary.

Moreover, Laotongsheng is too old and has limited energy. It is very difficult to teach dozens of students with varying levels of skills. They usually have classes together, teach a few words casually, and let them memorize and practice by themselves. As for the students How much he can accept and how much he can learn is none of his business.

Most of these students have some extra money at home and want their children to be able to read a few words so that they will not be able to read even a single character. Some want their children to learn how to read and then work as bookkeepers to make money. Few want their children to study seriously and take the imperial examination. of.

Even if there were, conditions would not allow it, and at Lao Tongsheng's level, he would not be able to teach many students.

After Qiao Ran found out more about it, she was very disappointed.

Going to such a school is a waste of time.

If he could only recognize a few words optically, his younger brothers and sisters would have already followed his fourth uncle and learned to recognize many words. Even the three five-year-old little Douding could do it.

It seems that the school in Zhangshu Village is not accessible.

But in the nearby villages, except for Zhangshu Village, no other village has its own school. Richer families directly hire private teachers to teach their children at home.

Qiao Ran also thought about finding a private tutor, but what would the other children in the village do?

The old village chief has mobilized everyone's enthusiasm. Many families have regarded the Qiao family as role models, and they all hope to follow their family and prosper and live a good life in the future.

Qiao Ran thought for a while, and then discussed with the old village chief to set up a school in the village. She would find the master, and everyone would go out together.

After listening to Qiao Ran's analysis, the old village chief also felt that it was not safe to study in a school in another village, and the school was not reliable.

The old village chief was a little unsure about setting up a school in his own village:

"Ran Yatou, how much does it cost to set up a school? Is Master's training expensive?"

Qiao Ran told the old village chief what she had learned:

"Grandpa, village chief, I'm thinking that we haven't built the house yet, but it won't cost much to buy some more linoleum and put up a few tents. As for Shu Xiu, the old boy in Zhangshu Village received a Students get a piece of bacon and a bucket of rice a year. I would like to invite a scholar to come to our village to be a teacher. He will earn one tael of silver for a year and include food and accommodation. What do you think?"

One tael of silver per child was certainly a huge sum of money for the people of Qingshui Village in the past. If they were still in their hometown in Qingzhou, no one would be willing to spend so much money to send their children to school.

But now, every family has at least dozens of taels of silver saved from the skins they hunted and sold along the way, and as many as one or two hundred taels.

Spending a tael of money to send your children to school is not a big burden for them now.

However, after all, they have just arrived here, and they will have to spend a lot of money to build a house, buy furniture and supplies, etc.

If a family with many children sent them all to school, Shu Xiu would have to pay several taels of silver. He would still feel bad, right?

The old village chief was thinking. He had to think about the future livelihood of the whole village.

"Ran Yatou, it stands to reason that you took us hunting and sold so many skins along the way. Everyone has saved some money, but this Shu Xiu only has one tael of silver for each child. How many children are there at home? Yes, this burden is not small. Do you think it can be replaced by something else? For example, after we collect the grain, we also give a few buckets of rice as a bundle."

Qiao Ran also understood how difficult it was for everyone right now and said:

"Grandpa, the village chief, I am just proposing this now. Specifically, we need to find a suitable master first and see what he wants. Otherwise, let's do this first and count how many families in the village are willing to send their children to school. Yes, how many children are there approximately? If there are more children in school, there should be less Shuxiu. If there are too few children in school, the master will not be happy if he comes to teach and only earns a few taels of silver a year. I asked Well, a private school teacher’s monthly salary is about one to two taels, which is more than ten or twenty taels a year. If our village can have twenty or thirty children going to school, then each person’s income should be less."

The old village chief also understood this and agreed with Qiao Ran's method: "Okay, I'll ask everyone first to see how many children plan to go to school. There are several children in your family. , if the whole village gathers 20 or 30 of them, we will definitely be able to get one.”

"Okay, then please ask the village chief to do some statistics. If there are enough for thirty students, I will go and talk to the master and ask Shu Xiu to restrain himself."

"Okay! Okay! That's too much trouble for you, Ran Yatou. Alas, since we came here, we are unfamiliar with the place and have seen very little of the world, so there is no one to take care of us. We really have to rely on you for everything. If the people in the village don't remember your kindness, I won't be able to let them go even if I'm an old man."

"Grandpa, village chief, don't say such things. I mainly think about my children. Anyway, they all have to hire a wife. If the villagers want to join us, then we can set up a school. If no one is willing, then my family can hire one." Mr. Private School. Whether you want to open this school or not depends on your wishes."

"Okay! Okay! Anyway, grandpa knows that you always think about the people in the village, and I have to let them know this. Then I will go and total the number of people first, and report back to you later."

"Okay, tomorrow I will send my fourth uncle to the academy. I will also go into the city to find out if there are any scholars who are willing to teach here. Grandpa, just tell me the number of scholars tonight."