Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 627: Mobei County School

During the prosperous period when paper was very expensive, bamboo shoot shells could be spread out and dried and used as paper, and the effect was quite good.

In the past, bamboo shoot shells were the best material for packaging tea leaves, brown sugar, and white sugar. They are naturally breathable, moisture-proof, and mildew-proof. They can also be used to wrap rice dumplings.

The cut edges and corners of the bamboo shoots and flower buds are not wasted. Those that can be dyed are collected and made into dye liquid, which is used to dye a small batch of rabbit hair yarn.

The bamboo shoots are dyed and filtered out, and the flower buds are collected again and used for fermentation and composting. They must be squeezed and fried thoroughly, and no raw materials should be wasted.

Recently, in addition to taking students to study in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue, the Imperial College is also preparing to build a primary school. The official in charge of this is Fu Siye.

After his inspection in Mobei, he had already submitted a memorial to the emperor and went to the Ministry of Rites to file the application. Earlier, when he came to see Hualei, he also confirmed that he was preparing for this matter.

There is no big problem with this filing, it is just a matter of time. Before coming here, Emperor Shengwu had already verbally agreed to open a school in Mobei.

However, the cost of opening a school can only be applied for after being registered with the Ministry of Rites, so it is not known when the special funding from the court can be obtained.

This is also another aspect of Emperor Shengwu's dog nature. Ever since Hua Lei knew that Fu Siye was now in a situation where a skilled cook could not cook without rice, she felt that Emperor Shengwu did this on purpose.

There are banks in Mobei, so why do we need to go to the capital to approve money? It's nothing more than trying to fleece the noble families in the name of opening a school, so as to save money for the national treasury.

Of course, Emperor Shengwu himself would not think so. He would definitely call it a secret assessment. Therefore, I have to cater to his preferences and be more active.

Hua Lei had already secretly prepared the money and thought of many countermeasures.

Hua Lei knew both Fu Siye and Rong Jin. Hua Lei worked at Yuanying Manor in Shangjing City, and was currently supplying food to the Imperial College's dining hall.

Hualei was also good friends with Gui Jijiu, and Fu Siye also admired Hualei very much. At that time, in the Ten-Li Osmanthus Forest, Fu Siye even let Hualei win the first prize in calligraphy.

Mobei was planning to build a primary school. Minister Zhang, Minister Li, and some officials from the Hanlin Academy all helped, including Rong Jin.

At that time, officials had different opinions on how to recruit students. Someone suggested that no matter who you are, as long as you pay 15 taels of silver, you can send one of your children to the school, similar to the private schools in the past.

Some officials also suggested that only children of school age from wealthy families near the town should be recruited, and each child could enter the school by paying a tuition of five taels.

However, this suggestion was opposed by Fu Siye, who hoped that in addition to these rich children, each village could select 20 children with comprehension, and pay the most basic two taels of tuition every school year to enter the school.

As long as the tuition fees paid can maintain the basic operation of the school, it will be fine.

Hualei and Rongjin both agreed with Fu Siye's suggestion. In the Great Sheng Dynasty, especially in Mobei, there were very few people who could afford to send their children to school.

The purpose of the Imperial College opening a school in Mobei was to educate the people. If the tuition and threshold were still set high, making the people daunted, then the meaning of the Imperial College opening a school in Mobei would no longer exist.

If Mobei is to develop, it is imperative to allow more people to go to school. Even if they can only learn their own names and the simplest mathematics, they are much better than those who are illiterate.

If every village could have someone who could read and count, or even if there was a student or a scholar, it would definitely be beneficial to the village.

After debating for a while, they finally decided to follow Fu Siye's suggestion.

However, the school encountered many problems during the pre-registration process. Even if one could enter the school with only two taels of silver, it was still beyond the reach of the children of the common people in Mobei.

The only ones who could really sign up were the wealthy locals who had plenty of money. However, the wealthy locals didn't care about the tuition at all.

Looking at the list of students who were all from wealthy families, Fu Siye looked unhappy. It was not that he disliked these students, but there was really no child who signed up from the dozen or so villages under the Mobei County Government.

Moreover, if the children of wealthy families were also required to pay the tuition fee of two taels of silver, it would not be enough to cover the initial cost of purchasing desks and chairs for the school.

Moreover, although the school building was provided free of charge by the county government, it still cost money to repair it. Fu Siye had no money, so the matter came to a standstill.

Looking at Fu Siye who was in trouble, Hua Lei guessed what Emperor Shengwu was thinking and made a suggestion. The cost of repairing the school and the needed desks and chairs should be voluntarily supported by the aristocratic families and wealthy people in the town.

Students were divided into classes according to their needs. Those who needed to take the imperial examination, which was more difficult, were placed in the same class, with higher tuition fees, and were taught by masters with higher teaching skills.

The children who were to be enlightened only learned the simplest literacy and arithmetic. Each village only accepted ten of them, and students from the Imperial Academy gave them enlightenment. The most basic tuition was two taels of silver, but only one tael of silver was charged as tuition.

The remaining one or two bundles of money were used to offset the children's work in the school. Every ten days, they had to do five days of cleaning in the school, or cut five bundles of firewood, or do other things assigned by the teacher.

If the villagers cannot afford the one or two taels of silver as a subsidy for the time being, Hua Lei, in the name of the Zhenbei Marquisate, launches an activity similar to the "student loan" in the previous life.

This was also what Hua Lei and Rong Jin had discussed in advance. The one or two bundles of Xiu for the selected children would be paid to the school by the Zhenbei Marquis' Mansion.

Within a year, the child's parents can work to pay off the 1 tael of silver, without interest. According to the wage of 25 wen a day, that is, within a year, they need to help work for 40 days, and the 1 tael of silver will be paid off.

Of course, you can also use other exchangeable things to make up for it, such as a bundle of firewood for three cents, three eggs for five cents, and this exchange method can be paid off within a year. You can continue to borrow the same amount of silver next year.

This means that the children can go to school for free, half of the tuition will be paid by the children's work in the school, and the other half will be paid by the parents' work and the Zhenbei Marquis' Mansion. And it is interest-free, so the pressure is much less.

Once the news came out, the original number of ten lists for each village was no longer enough. Everyone knew how difficult it was to get into the Imperial Academy.

Moreover, in this way, it is equivalent to the child earning one tael of silver every year, or paying only one tael of silver as tuition per year.