The ingredients Li An had prepared were plentiful and plentiful. He had bought as many as 50 pigs, 100 grains of rice, and 100 kilograms of vegetables. In short, Li An would not let anyone who came to attend the ceremony go hungry. Everyone would be able to eat and drink to their hearts' content.
Before the Start-of-Term Ceremony ended, the playground was filled with tables and chairs, which were prepared for the parents. Onlookers could also come over to eat. Not far away, the two-story building was also filled with tables and chairs, which were prepared for the officials with status. The dishes were also relatively better.
The parents and onlookers who came to attend the opening ceremony were overjoyed. They did not need to spend a penny, but they could eat a big meal. Moreover, it was a meal of high-quality delicacies. So, how could these people not be happy? Not to mention how happy they were.
"That's great. I just came to take a look and got a meal. It smells like braised pork, scrambled eggs, and … anyway, it's all delicious, hehe."
"Yes! Yes! I also came to take a look. My child is only three years old. He's not old enough. When he's old enough, he'll definitely be sent to school here. "
"Not only does the child not have to spend a penny to go to school here, but he can also have a meal at noon. It's really great that there's such a good thing in the world."
"I heard that Assistant Minister Li is only opening the first school. It's open to students from five miles away. Later, many more schools will be built in the capital. I heard that at least 500 free schools like this will be built, and maybe even more."
"So many! So, the child won't have to spend money to go to school in the future! "
"Of course, it's free. I heard that this is a mandatory rule of the imperial court. If someone doesn't send his child to school, he'll be punished."
"It's so serious! But, who won't agree to such a good thing? Only a fool won't send his child to school here. Anyway, it's free and he can have a meal at noon. "
"I wonder how much he can eat at noon. Will he be full?"
"What are you talking about? Assistant Minister Li is not short of money. He'll definitely eat as much as he can. "
"Yes, that's right. He'll definitely be full."
"In the future, if he doesn't eat breakfast, he'll eat more for the whole day. Hehe."
"He can't be so stingy! Skipping breakfast is not good for the child's health. Can he still learn to read? "
"It's okay. He won't starve to death without a meal."
A group of poor people chatted while waiting for the dishes to be served.
As soon as he heard the content of their conversation, he knew that they were poor people. They actually chose not to eat breakfast in order to take advantage of others. This kind of behavior was very common among poor people. The poorer the person, the more likely they were to choose such behavior.
......................................
. and these poor people were all very good at saving money. As long as they could save money, they wouldn't care too much about their health. If they could eat salted vegetables, they wouldn't eat vegetables. They would eat whatever was cheap. Skipping breakfast was also a way to save money. At least, when there was a big banquet at noon, they definitely wouldn't eat breakfast. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to eat much when they were seated. That would be a big loss.
As for later, when their living conditions improved, there was an even more serious phenomenon of skipping breakfast. That was completely caused by sleeping late. Some people who liked to look good wanted to lose weight. This had nothing to do with saving money.
But whether it was to save money, to lose weight, or to lose appetite after sleeping late, skipping breakfast was a very wrong behavior. Breakfast could provide a person with the most basic living energy. It was necessary to eat. Skipping breakfast would cause serious consequences. It could even cause gastric problems. When gastric problems occurred, many people were afraid that it would be too late for regrets.
Breakfast was not only a must, but it also had to be eaten well. The most important meal of the day was breakfast, but many people put the cart before the horse. They treated breakfast as the least important meal. This was an extremely wrong behavior. It was also a behavior that had to be corrected. They must treat breakfast as the most important meal of the day. They absolutely couldn't choose to skip breakfast for any reason.
The first to be served were naturally cold dishes. There were vegetarian dishes and braised meat. The fragrant braised meat was very appetizing. Smelling it was even more appetizing.
These poor people naturally wouldn't be polite. They picked up their chopsticks and started eating. Although they were adults, they still ate very tastelessly. They were just short of snatching.
During the meal, the children were not separated from their parents. This was also convenient to take care of. However, this wouldn't happen in the future. The food in the school was specially prepared for the children. These adults wouldn't have the chance to come over to eat again. This was the only time.
Because there were too many people, there were more than a dozen people sitting around a table. Therefore, there was also a lot of food. There were more than a dozen cold dishes and there were also more than a dozen hot dishes. Finally, there was a large bowl of white rice. Everyone who came was given as much as they could eat.
On the second floor, there were only a few small officials around Ang Lee. The rest were all big merchants. Ang Lee specially asked them to come over and eat with him. There were some things that Ang Lee had to explain to them clearly.
"Is the food delicious?"
Ang Lee looked at the crowd and asked.
"Delicious, delicious, it's all delicious food."
"It's delicious, very delicious."
The people of the Great Merchant Alliance said with a slightly uneasy expression.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "You have seen it today. I funded the establishment of the public welfare school and it is warmly supported by the people. The people are very supportive! This shows that the people also want their children to learn the most basic knowledge. "
"Yes! Yes! Assistant Minister Li is right. "
Everyone quickly nodded in agreement.
Ang Lee continued, "The imperial court has decided to let all the children in the Tang dynasty be able to enter the school to learn the most basic knowledge. For this reason, a large number of schools will be built all over the country. Just in the capital alone, there will be more than 500 schools. This is not a small expense! The national treasury is under great pressure. Therefore, if you can help, the imperial court will not forget you. The daily management and naming rights of the school will be decided by you. What do you think? "
"Since Assistant Minister Li has said so, we naturally have no reason to object. However, our financial resources are limited. If we are responsible for the education of more than a thousand children and also take care of their meals, the pressure is really great."
A merchant said.
In fact, they had a lot of financial resources. Even if they followed Ang Lee's standards to build ten schools, it would be easy. However, among these merchants, there were still some who were very stingy. It was not that they did not want to do charity, but they did not want to spend too much, or they liked to make a one-time investment instead of a continuous large investment. For example, if they donated 100 kilos of grain, there would be no burden in the future. However, if they were to build a school, not only would the one-time investment not be small, but it would also require continuous investment in the future.
For a wealthy merchant who pursued fame, a little continuous investment was nothing. Maybe someone would repay him in the future. However, some merchants did not care about fame, they only cared about money. Therefore, they were naturally unwilling to continuously invest money in charity. In addition, there were also some big merchants who seemed to be very rich and had a lot of assets, but in fact, they were surrounded by crises. Their capital chain could break at any time, and once the capital chain broke, the chain reaction would be imaginable. These merchants who were not confident were naturally unwilling to do charity.
No matter what the reason was, there were always many merchants who were unwilling to do charity, and Ang Lee obviously would not force these rich merchants to do charity. Ang Lee was an official of the imperial court, not a bandit, so he would not make things difficult for them. It was just a suggestion. It was best if they were willing to build a school, but if they were unwilling, he would never force them. After all, everyone had their own aspirations. Ang Lee did not have the time to investigate the situation behind these seemingly glamorous merchants, and he could not figure out who was really rich and who was fake. However, the number of merchants was so large that as long as a small number of them were willing to invest in a school, it would be enough. Some of them would at least give a little.
In addition, even if a big merchant fully invested in a school, he could still absorb the money of other merchants. He could still make a merit book and write his name at the top. Then, he could write the name of whoever invested in the school. He could even write the amount of money clearly to encourage more people to invest in charity.
There were stingy merchants, but there were also generous ones. After this stingy merchant complained, a merchant immediately stood up and said very generously, "Assistant Minister Li, don't worry. I have long wanted to invest in a school, but I haven't thought about how to do it. Now that Assistant Minister Li has set an example, I will follow you closely. Tomorrow, I will go to the government office to learn the details and immediately start the school."
"I am also willing to invest in a school by myself and share the worries of the imperial court."
Immediately, another person came out to support him.
Seeing that most people were very supportive of universal education, Ang Lee was naturally happy in his heart. This showed that everyone was very optimistic about him and the universal education.
"You are all the pillars of the Tang dynasty! It is said that among the scholars, farmers, businessmen are ranked last. But if there were no merchants, how could the world be rich and prosperous? The prosperity of the Tang dynasty is due to you merchants. You are all the meritorious ministers of the Tang dynasty. You are all meritorious ministers of the prosperity of the Tang dynasty. You are all meritorious ministers. "
Ang Lee praised very happily.
When the merchants heard this, they were so happy that they all smiled from ear to ear.
"Assistant Minister Li, you are joking. How dare we take the credit? This is all Assistant Minister Li's credit."
"It is His Majesty's good fortune. It is His Majesty and the ministers who ruled the country well. We merchants dare not take the credit."
"We are just doing business. We didn't produce anything. We really dare not take the credit."
The merchants all smiled modestly and seemed very happy.
"Meritorious, meritorious. Merchants are meritorious."
Ang Lee said with a smile.
Although merchants did not create anything, except for a few occupations such as workers and farmers, most of the remaining occupations in the world did not create anything. But it did not mean that they were worthless.
For example, the officials who ruled the empire, the army who protected the country's security, the yamen runners who maintained social order, the teachers who educated students, and the doctors who saved the dying and helped the injured. These did not create anything, but they were very valuable. The value of their existence was very high.
Merchants were naturally a very important occupation. If there were no merchants in the world, the world would no longer be prosperous. Although all the goods in the prosperous world were made by the workers and farmers, if there were no merchants buying and selling in the middle, the workers and farmers would not have the motivation to produce material wealth. If they produced it, there would be no use. It was the merchants who stimulated the prosperity of the whole society step by step. The merchants' contribution to the prosperity of the society was indispensable. Ang Lee was very clear about this point. Therefore, Ang Lee was very certain that merchants were a very important group and a group of people who deserved respect. They should not be described as profiteers. In addition, letting the merchants do charity was also to help the merchants establish a good image. It was conducive to calming the hatred of the rich in the whole society and was conducive to the better and faster development of the society.
"You must know how to act according to your ability. Those who have a lot of money naturally don't have to care. You can recruit ten thousand children and raise them. Those who don't have much money can cooperate with others to set up a school! In addition, it is not necessary to provide lunch. As long as you recruit children from nearby, there is nothing wrong with letting them go back to eat. The poorest, donating a penny is also a contribution. Of course, if the donation is too low, there is no need to write it on the school merit book. It must be at least ten times the amount. Don't you think so? "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
"Hahaha!"
The merchants were amused. No matter how poor the merchants were, it was impossible for them to donate a penny. Even if they donated a lot, they would feel that it was too little. At least ten times the amount should be at least ten times the amount. Only then would they have some face.
The reason why Ang Lee said so little was to reduce the psychological pressure of the merchants. He told these guys that even if they did not donate money, they would not be embarrassed. He told them to relax and not to have any psychological pressure. It would not be good if there was an accident because of psychological pressure.
After Li An's explanation and persuasion, most of the big merchants expressed that they would bear all the expenses of a school alone. Only a few merchants were unwilling to do so. After some discussion, they decided to join forces to take charge of a school. In this way, their pressure would be reduced by a lot, and they wouldn't feel so pained.
This opening ceremony was very successful. Ang Lee was very happy, and all the people who came to participate were also very happy, especially the passers-by who got a free meal. They were the happiest. They may have never eaten such delicious food in their lives.
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