397 Arrival of the Teachers
The villagers tried their best not to trouble Old man w.a.n.g’s family with the school matters. They were initially short of money, so everyone gathered their money together.
There was no need for carpenters and masons. They also went to look for people that was familiar with the work.
However, at the last step, they had no choice but to let the w.a.n.g Family deal with it.
Now, in the entire Hu Family Village, other than the w.a.n.g Family, only Old Master Hu could manage the matter of inviting the teachers.
Old Master Hu was only a county scholar. His personality was pure and straightforward. Ever since he failed the imperial civil service examination when he was young, he had lost contact with the other scholars in the past.
It was not impossible to invite those people to be teachers, but it was unknown if he could succeed.
Old Master Hu once said, “If it’s for the children, not to mention letting me give up this old face, it’s not impossible for me to give up all the money in my family.”
In Old Master Hu’s opinion, the fact that the villagers had the awareness to send their children to school meant that their village was about to rise.
There were dozens of children in the village, and about 40 of them were going to school. The rest were either too old and had to work for their families, or they were girls.
Because there was a Little Ah Yu in the village, no one objected to sending their girls to school.
In any case, it was a school in their own village, and the village would help pay their tuition fees. They only needed to cover a small portion of it, so it would be a waste not to learn.
Unfortunately, those girls were unwilling to go.
“What’s the use of studying?” An older girl said. “The w.a.n.g Family’s Ah Yu is so smart. I heard that everyone in town likes her, but although she’s learned so much, she still can’t go to the Imperial Examination like the other boys in the future. Isn’t that a waste of money?”
There was also a young girl who said, “Compared to studying, I still like needlework more. My mother said that girls should learn more about sewing and mending. In the future, when they go to their in-laws’ houses, they won’t suffer losses and won’t be looked down upon.”
Although their family’s conditions were better and they had some money now, they had saved everything for their brothers’ marriage.
How could there be money to give them to spend?
Even if they married well in the future, they would not be able to avoid marrying a farmer.
Studying was indeed not very useful in such settings.
The w.a.n.g Family was different. Now that the w.a.n.g Family produced a county scholar, their family would be exempted from 30 mu of taxes. They would no longer have to partic.i.p.ate in the conscription in the future and could save a lot of money and manpower.
If they used this money to buy land or give it to Ah Yu as a dowry, they would have the confidence to face their in-laws.
Old Master Hu originally did not like girls studying. He was someone who had read the books of the sages. Most of the teachers he had once been taught by were pedantic and looked down on girls.
Even Old Master Hu’s thoughts were not completely open.
It was Old Madam w.a.n.g who specially talked to Old Master Hu about it. In addition, their Ah Yu was indeed extraordinary.
Later on, Old Master Hu thought that it was just a matter of arranging more tables and chairs for the children.
If a girl really gained some knowledge, she could improve the atmosphere of the family. It would be a huge benefit.
Old Master Hu had also tried to persuade the girls by going door to door, but the effect was not good, so he ignored them in the end.
Each family had their own fortune. If they interfered too much, they would be hated.
Old Madam w.a.n.g found Old Master Hu and told him that the teachers that Lord Zhang had introduced might arrive in a few days.
Only then did Old Master Hu feel relieved.
The teachers that Lord Zhang had found were definitely better than the cla.s.smates he knew.
Actually, Old Master Hu was not considered a bad student. However, there were only so many positions for the imperial civil service scholars. If others went up, the others had to go down.
“We’re about to be busy with farming. After a month of farming, I hope those teachers can all arrive.” Old Master Hu calculated. “I think the other private schools have been divided into grades. There are three grades for each hall, and two teachers for each grade. We’ll do the same. However, there are too many children. If there are only six teachers, I’m afraid the teachers will be exhausted.”
Since this matter concerned the school, Old Master Hu couldn’t care less about the rules of not talking to women.
Over the past year, Old Master Hu’s opinion of Old Madam w.a.n.g had long changed greatly.
Naturally, there were fewer pedantic scruples.
Old Madam w.a.n.g said, “They set up three upper, middle, and lower grades according to the academic situation of the students. However, those students already have a foundation. Who do you think are the students who come to our school to study? I’m afraid they’re all illiterate. There’s no need to set up an upper and middle grade cla.s.s. We’ll just set up a lower grade cla.s.s first. If there are six Teachers, they’ll be divided into six small cla.s.ses. Each cla.s.s will have at most 30 students. I think it should be enough.”
Old Master Hu: “Only one teacher to teach 30 students? Isn’t that too much?”
“Do you think those people will all continue to study obediently after coming to the school?” Old Madam w.a.n.g shook her head. “I’m afraid most of them won’t be able to hold on. Studying is a bitter task, it’s not any easier than farming. Those children might be able to endure the boredom of digging in the fields, but they might not be able to endure studying in the school for a few hours.”
At that time, half of them would probably be scared away. In the end, there might only be about 10 students in each cla.s.s.
Any teacher with some ability could easily suppress them.
If they could not suppress the kids, they could either chase the troublemakers away or stop being teachers.
Seeing Old Madam w.a.n.g speak so confidently, Old Master Hu could not help but believe her.
Actually, he still had some doubts.
Could it be that there would really be students who would not value a chance at education?
In Old Master Hu’s youth, the entire Hu Family Village had gritted their teeth and sent three children to study. Unfortunately, the other two could not learn well and the cost was too high. In the end, he was the only one left.
Later on, Old Master Hu studied all the way up. Even their slightly prosperous family could not take the cost.
Even the cla.s.smates he met were all tightening their belts to study. Everyone cherished the opportunity to study very much. Once they failed the exam, their families would no longer have the resources to support them to take the exam again.
Hu Family Village could be considered the first case in history. They had to bear all the tuition fees for the students in their village. Those students’ families only needed to give the teachers some small gifts during the new year and festivals.
The important thing was the intentions, so it naturally did not cost much.
The people from the other villages did not have this benefit, but Village Chief Hu and the others had long decided that if the teachers asked for too much money, their village would quietly bear a portion for the kids.
“If they have such unique conditions. There’s no reason not to cherish it.”
Hearing Old Master Hu’s words, Old Madam w.a.n.g only smiled and did not say anything.
As expected, the officials were conscientious. They patrolled the school and even seriously raised a few suggestions for the villagers to start the modification.
Seeing that the villagers were intensifying their modifications, they guarded the village for two days before returning to report.
Two days later, more than ten officials escorted eight teachers all the way to Hu Family Village.
Other than these officials, there were actually more than ten people dressed as servants.
They were either riding horses, carrying luggage, or holding fans as they surrounded the two carriages at the front.
The people from Hu Family Village were stunned.
Little Ah Yu was the first to see them.
She had originally followed Hu Xiaotong and Liang Xue to the mountains to pick herbs. Just as she reached the village entrance, she saw a vast group of people.
She, who had come to watch the show, widened her round eyes. “Big Brother Tong, they seem to be performing a big show there!”
Hu Xiaotong hurriedly covered Little Ah Yu’s mouth.
At the side, Liang Xue could not help but laugh.