Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't come here to talk about the tea, but since they saw it, they might as well mention it. After the old man was promoted, he didn't have much to do other than teaching others and fishing. When they heard Zhang Xiaobao mention so much tea, some of them still remembered it and agreed one by one.
"Xiao Bao, we can talk about the tea. Tell me about your family." The old man remembered the tea and asked Zhang Xiaobao about Huayuan County. After all, his nephew was earning money there.
"It's alright. There's a lot of money in the yamen's account. We won't be able to use it all in a short period of time. We'll repair the mountains and roads. After this year's autumn harvest, the people's lives will be much better. Grandpa Bi, in a few days, some scholars will come here.
Zhang Xiaobao didn't hide the things in the county from the old man. He mentioned some things and told him the details.
The old man listened to them and asked about the food and drinks of the people when they were working. After he understood, he said happily, "It seems that Huayuan County will become a Shang County next year. It's good to be a Shang County. Not only will you be promoted, but there are also other benefits. You heard it. Tell me, what other benefits are there?"
The first part of the old man's question was directed at Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. The second part of the question was directed at the young men who were still standing there respectfully.
The person who talked about Zhang Xiaobao just now was reprimanded by the old man. Now that he heard what the old man said, he finally knew that he couldn't afford to offend these two kids. Now that he was asked, he decided to show off. So he answered first, "Minister."
"I'm not a minister anymore." The old man didn't want to hear this title now.
"Elder Bi, if you are promoted to a county, not only will you be promoted to a county magistrate, but you will also be promoted to a county magistrate. This way, when you are promoted in the future, you can only be promoted to a higher position. This is the benefit." This person changed his words quickly and emphasized the official's rank.
The old man nodded and then shook his head. "Anything else? Even if County Magistrate Zhang is not promoted in the Shang County, he will definitely have a good official position in the future. This is not important. "
"More? Also, in Shangxian, the bailiffs in the yamen are allowed to carry knives, so the commoners don't dare to cause trouble. "The person added.
"Anything else?" The old man was a little disappointed. This person was always talking about promoting people and not daring to cause trouble. This was not what he wanted to hear.
That person moved his mouth in panic, but in the end, he didn't say anything. The people beside him also thought of these two points. The old man sighed. These people didn't care about the common people at all. If such people were really reminded, they might become like Jia County Magistrates from Sanshui County or Huayuan County Magistrate Wen from Huayuan County.
The old man looked at Wang Juan and said, "Cuckoo, tell them, what's the benefit of being promoted to a county?"
Wang Juan nodded. "Grandpa Bi, we have to start from why we can be promoted to a county. A county needs to send more money to the imperial court, have a large population, and have some places to educate the commoners, such as academies, schools, and so on.
In other words, to become a county, we need to have money. Not only do we have to send more money to the imperial court, but also the commoners. That way, we can do more business and pay more taxes. If the commoners have money, their lives will be better and they can send their children to school.
This is the most important point. Whether a foreign official is good or not depends not on his knowledge, but on what he can bring to the commoners. Grandpa Bi, am I right? "
Wang Juan could have said it more clearly, but she was a child after all, so she had to pretend to be young. Fortunately, the old man was not young, so he didn't have any psychological burden to pretend to be young.
"Yes, Cuckoo knows more. The benefit of being a county is actually the benefit of the commoners. Listen carefully. In the future, study hard in the academy. Don't just learn how to take the imperial examination, you also need to learn how to do something practical for the commoners."
The old man liked Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan from the bottom of his heart. They were sensible, smart, and filial. It seemed that all the good qualities that could appear in people could be seen in these two children. They were not as naughty as other children. Since he saw them, he didn't see them do anything wrong, nor did they cry endlessly after falling down.
At this time, when he heard Wang Juan say the same thing he was thinking about, he happily patted Wang Juan's head and gave a few words of advice to the people standing there.
They really didn't expect that the benefit would be like this. It was not about what they could get, but about the commoners' lives. These were not important, but the last sentence was important.
"Master Bi, you mean, we can go to the academy to study?" The person who spoke just now asked happily.
"Yes! Teaching without discrimination. Although you are not good at learning and think less about the commoners' lives, this is what the academy wants to teach. In the future, the monthly exam will test you on this. If you are below average for three months, then you don't need to study anymore. "
The old man suddenly thought of this. He originally planned to teach students like other academies, but now he found that many people were only good at learning, but bad at other aspects. When he decided to teach them, it would involve some content in this aspect. In the future, anyone who graduated from the academy, whether they were officials or scholars, must always remember this.
The monthly exam was not too difficult. There were two levels above that. As long as you didn't slack off, you would not be bad.
The few people stood there and nodded vigorously. They would think about the future monthly exam later. Being able to enter the new academy was what they were looking forward to. It was good that the Minister retired, but he could still contact people in the imperial court. No matter how good his knowledge was, he still needed someone to recommend him. When the time came, they would have to submit an invitation, but compared to the old Minister's words, it was far worse.
"Xiao Bao, are you still here to learn 'Literary Selections' today?" The old man didn't care about the happy people and asked Zhang Xiaobao.
Zhang Xiaobao waved his hand and said, "Not now. I will go home and learn from my father. In the future, if there is something I don't understand, Cuckoo and I will write to Grandpa Bi to ask. Grandpa Bi, when you are free, you should go to Huayuan County to have a look. The Yaowang Mountain there is good. There is also the Fragrant Mountain. My family plans to build a big lake at the Yaowang Mountain. The scenery there is even better."
"Okay, good child. Then accompany this old man to fish for a while. I will use the fish I catch to cook something for you to eat."
The old man didn't force Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan to learn. The two children were already very hardworking. Some things that people in their twenties couldn't understand, they had already started to understand.
The old man spoke casually, and Zhang Xiaobao answered casually. However, the people standing there were different. They suddenly felt a great pressure on them. How old were the two children? They were already learning 'Literary Selections'. Did that mean that they had already learned the simple Thousand Character Classic? They had also memorized the Analects of Confucius?
"Okay, we will eat the fish that Grandpa Bi caught in a while. Literary Selections. Now, my father asked me and Cuckoo to stop for a while. When we learned 'If there is a person in the Xishan', we can't quite catch up. The words are difficult to understand. Cuckoo and I are reciting 'Erya'. We will return to learn when we are almost done."
Zhang Xiaobao told the old man about the progress of his and Wang Juan's learning. Wang Juan nodded at the side.
The old man smiled comfortably and said, "Good. It's good that you know not to force yourself to learn. If there is something you don't understand in the future, remember to write a letter to ask. Just go to the two county's official stops. It's faster."
This time, those few people were completely stunned. They had only learned the First Poem Scroll, but these two little brats had actually learned the First Poem Scroll, and the Mountain Ghost Scroll. They had even deliberately stopped to recite Erya. Could it be that the children of the top scholar were so powerful?
"Grandpa Bi, let's go back and eat after fishing for a while. I caught a big fish and ate the meat. There are still fish bones left. Together with the fish maw that I saved, we will eat minced fish maw tonight. We will roast part of the fish bones and steam the rest for Grandpa Bi. In the future, you have to eat more often. It's good for your health."
Wang Juan began to talk about her fishing. When she talked about the fish bones, she suddenly remembered that these things also contained calcium and had the same effect as beef bones.
The old man listened happily. After Wang Juan finished talking about the whole process, he said, "Eat. Cuckoo said to eat, then I will eat in the future. Ever since I came to Zhuangzi, this old man's body is getting better day by day. He even specially made a menu for me. You two are so considerate."
The old man sighed with emotion and began to fish again. The few people did not intend to leave and stood there respectfully. Zhang Xiaobao took out some soybeans that were popped from the popcorn pot and shared them with Wang Juan and the old man.
He said, "Grandpa Bi, in a few days, the people who participated in the individual competition will come. Coincidentally, the academies will be opened at the same time. Grandpa Bi can see what they are like. If there are good people who do not have an official position, please stay. In the future, we can build more academies in other places and compete with each other often.
They can learn from each other. "Zhang Xiaobao said with a lisp while chewing the soybeans.
The old man looked at Xiaobao and suddenly laughed. "Now your family is going to make money again. They may not be able to spend much money on the competition, but there will definitely be some people who will come to watch the fun. Especially those with daughters who are waiting to be married off, they naturally won't miss this opportunity to choose a son-in-law. Tell me, what are your plans?"
"Hey, hey, hey, Grandpa Bi, you can't always think like this. My family organized this competition. It's troublesome to organize it, but it's also a kind of labor. Of course, you have to get something out of it. In fact, my family will spend a lot of money. My father is going to build more schools in Huayuan County and Sanshui County.
When the children are young, they will study in the school first. When they grow up, they will enter the academy. The school needs someone to teach them. Some people who did not pass the exam and have no money can be found to teach the children. During the teaching, they can revise what they have learned before. They can also eat and live and get some money. "
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