227 Start of School

When the two gentlemen arrived at Qingchuan, they were satisfied to see that the county school had indeed prepared a unique courtyard for them.

The teachers were already in place. Zhou Jia asked the bailiffs to go to the village to publicize that the county association would waive the tuition fee for the poor families who were unable to send their children to school. The children who entered the school for free had to have the village chiefs of their villages and respected elders serve as guarantors. They were not allowed to cheat. Once someone reported them, they would be expelled from the county school and had to make up for their tuition fees.

Zhou Jia even sent people to post recruitment notices at the city gate. Before long, the list of children from the county to the villages was sent to the county government. There were nearly a hundred poor children and more than 40 children who went to school at their own expense. A total of 136 children were recruited.

The county school was completed at the end of May and the beginning of June. The state government still had not sent an overseer.

Zhou Jia decided not to wait anymore. He got someone to inform the parents to start the admission procedures from the sixth to the eighth day.

Scribe Tu went to hire three women in their fifties to help cook and manage the children’s accommodations.

After the families of the children verified their household registers with the government office, they sent the child to the county school with anticipation and reluctance.

Li Yu’s newly opened shop, Li Ji’s Literary Room Encyclopedia, also took advantage of the opening of the county school.

On the ninth day of the new year, Zhou Jia brought the people from the county office and two teachers to pay their respects to the wise sages. After that, they held the opening ceremony. The lively scene attracted the citizens of the entire county to go to the East District. The entrance of the county school was filled with people, and the walls of the county school were also filled with people. Even the New Year’s opera was not as lively.

Zhou Jia did not keep anyone out. He said excitedly to Mr. Qian, “The reopening of the county school is a big deal in Qingchuan County. Let everyone be happy together.”

Mr. Qian looked at the lively scene and praised, “Sir, you’re enjoying yourself with the people.”

Li Yu and Mr. Wen stood at the entrance of the newly renovated shop. They smiled at Zhou Jia, who was standing at the entrance of the county school opposite them. Mr. Wen said to Li Yu, “Xiaoyu, look at Xiao Xi’s smile. It makes me feel comfortable.”

“Yes! His smile is so beautiful.” Li Yu thought of how Zhou Jia had always looked depressed in the past behind her back. Ever since he returned to the capital to take revenge on the two women of the old residence, he had lost his gloominess and gained sunshine. It seemed that he had really let go of his sad past.

Zhou Jia saw Li Yu and Mr. Wen standing at the entrance of the shop. He greeted Lieutenant Yu and strode towards Li Yu. He asked with a smile, “Sir, Yu’er, have you gone to the county school to take a look?”

Mr. Wen smiled. “I’ve seen it. It’s well built. Everything else is good, but there aren’t many teachers.”

Zhou Jia spread out his hands and laughed self-deprecatingly. “It can’t be helped. Qingchuan is a remote place! You saw that the state government didn’t send anyone to coach. Mr. Tu, Mr. Qian, and I took turns coming to the county school to help teach.”

Li Yu recalled the private school that Zhou Jia had organized in the past. A student’s school fees for a year were four taels of silver. At that time, would Zhou Jia think that he would teach for free?

Mr. Wen teased, “Then these children are blessed. The county magistrate teaches them personally.”

Zhou Jia smiled proudly. “That’s true! It’s rare to see a teacher like me.”

Li Yu smiled and said to Mr. Wen, “In the past, Ah Qing studied at his place and he even charged me four taels of silver for school fees!”

“Really? Tell him to refund the money!” Mr. Wen burst out laughing.

Zhou Jia looked wronged. “I didn’t know that you were my future wife at that time. Otherwise, how would I dare to collect money?” As Zhou Jia spoke, he looked into the shop again. “Where did Ah Qing go today? The county school is so lively, but I didn’t see him?”

Li Yu pointed at the slope behind them and smiled. “He’s watching the corn harvest in the cornfield behind!

“The corn has already been harvested? Let’s go and take a look.”

“Okay.” The few of them walked excitedly towards the slope behind the manor. This was the first time Zhou Jia had come to the cornfield since he planted the corn. Outside the fence, he saw corn that was taller than the fence. Zhou Jia said in shock, “Yu’er, is this really food? How can it grow so high?”

Li Qing, Ruyi and Yang Wei emerged from the cornfield and stood by the fence.

Li Qing smiled and said to Zhou Jia, “Brother-in-law, there are two or three corn cobs in a stalk of corn. They’re almost a foot long. I like them just looking at them. There are also soybeans planted in the ditch. We should be able to harvest one or two stones of beans.”

“Really?” Zhou Jia stepped into the cornfield and saw the corn growing on the corn stalks. He said excitedly to Li Yu, “Yu’er, you and Ji Xiang have done a great job. Such good grain seeds can probably yield 80 to 90 stones of food per acre.”

Li Yu smiled and said, “Although it’s my first time planting, my land is fertile enough. I should be able to collect that much. After we’ve harvested this season, I’ll carefully choose the seeds and plant them for another season. I’ll use the hillside land for two seasons a year. The food should be enough.”

Everyone stood in front of the cornfield and looked at it expectantly, anticipating the final result.

Before Zhou Jia left, he instructed Yang Wei and Ruyi to watch the cornfield carefully before the harvest and not spread the news. Otherwise, the seeds would be stolen by unknown people.

Yang Wei and Ruyi knew that there were only these two acres of seeds. If they were ruined, the loss would be immeasurable. The two of them promised, “Master, don’t worry. We won’t go anywhere. We’ll also look after the farm.”

Li Yu said in relief, “We’re at ease! We know that you guys are reliable. Ruyi, did Xiaoyu let Sir take her pulse? Are you really planning to go through confinement in the manor?”

Ruyi touched his head and smiled embarrassedly. “When Old Master came, he took a look at Xiaoyu. The mother and child are both very good. We haven’t thought about where to do the confinement. There are still more than two months before she gives birth!”

Li Yu thought of medical technology in the modern world and felt that people in this era had to go through birth with the feeling that they were at the gates of hell and in the human world. Perhaps, two lives would be lost.

She instructed Ruyi, “Think about it early and hire a midwife in advance. We’ll go back to the city.”

Ruyi nodded and watched them get into the car and return to the city.

Li Yu and the others chatted along the way and returned to the county office. Just as they got out of the car, they saw Yu Hui running over in a panic. She said to Mr. Wen, “Doctor Wen, I don’t know what happened to my mother, but she suddenly fainted. Please help me see what happened.”

“Ah Qing, go back and get my medicine box!” Mr. Wen instructed Li Qing. Then, he turned to Yu Hui, who was crying non-stop and said, “Don’t be anxious. How long do you think your mother has been unconscious? Have you invited a doctor?”

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