"Yes, you can rest easy and you will have a good life with the Senate." Hou Qing continued, "I heard that the leaders want to promote fish farming technology in Guangzhou according to local conditions. Although you have gone ashore, you can't compare. Those who have been farming for generations on the shore, it is difficult for you to learn farming now. As for raising fish, it will not be too difficult for you to learn."
He Lizhi touched his chin and looked a little worried, "The chief doesn't know. Fish farming is not a simple matter. The fish flowers in Guangfu are fished from the sea (Xijiang), and the only way to fish fish flowers is in Jiujiang Township. The people only know that it has been a monopoly for hundreds of years. If the chief minister wants to promote fish farming, I am afraid that the cooperation of Jiujiang people is indispensable."
Principal Tian said: "The chief can do everything better than others. Maybe there is another way."
"any solution?"
"I don't know either..." Principal Tian replied. His mind is still on recruiting students. Anyway, this
Hou Qing looked at He Lizhi, and He Lizhi said, "Let me think of a solution. Let's go to Sister-in-law Zhou's house and have a look."
When the three people left the Maokeng construction site, they found that many villagers and children in the village were surrounding Zeng Salmon and a strange man, as if they were writing something.
"Wow, it's so beautiful!" A child shouted, and the crowd of onlookers also burst into admiration.
"Do you know how to read? Just say it looks good." The villagers nearby shouted.
"Why don't you know each other?" the child defended, "Winter is passing and spring is coming, everything is east, west, northwest, suffering, rivers and rivers celebrating life..."
"Hahahaha..." Everyone burst into laughter.
"It's 'Winter has passed and spring has come. Happy farewell to the old year in the southeast and northwest. The country is great. After all the hardships, the joy comes, and we celebrate the new life by looking at the lakes, seas, and rivers.'" said a child.
"Can you teach me to write?" asked a child.
"Sir, please write one for me..." Another villager asked, "I have moved a house, and I want to put a couplet on the door!"
Kuang Lu was in a good mood today. She was tired from traveling these days and had no chance to write with pen. Although the pen and ink paper she brought was poor, she could still practice her brushstrokes. He immediately joked: "My words are not in vain. You can exchange them for a pair of couplets."
"Don't worry, there are so many fish," everyone heard, and they all went to get dried fish and salted fish. Kuang Lu didn't mind it either, so he just scrawled it on the red paper. Anyway, writing couplets was a basic skill for literati, and the words and sentences were all ready-made. He knew that most of the people here were illiterate, and the knowledge of the thieves was also very limited. Allusions were used in articles. If someone deliberately picks up chapters and excerpts to find fault, it will cause trouble for themselves. So I use common clichés of auspicious words.
Hou Qing and Tian Liang looked at each other. The attire and temperament of the man in front of them, especially the beautiful regular script, were better than anyone they had ever seen. It would have been impossible to write without the guidance of a famous teacher and hard training since childhood. from. Anyone with a discerning eye would know at a glance which family this man must be. Why would he come to a fishing village to write couplets?
Tian Liang's face suddenly turned red when he thought that as the principal of Nanhai National Demonstration School, he not only often wrote typos, but also wrote crookedly. He was really embarrassed to take out his hands.
Hou Qing discovered it inadvertently and asked with concern: "Ah Liang, why is your face so red? Do you have a cold and a fever?" As he said this, he put his hand to Tian Liang's forehead and touched it.
"No, I'm not sick..." Tian Liang replied in a panic, but his face became even redder.
He Lizhi had already asked Sister-in-law Zhou to discuss the matter of the eldest son of her family studying. As she was talking, Sister-in-law Zhou started to cry and said, "I know this is ruining his future, but if you let him go, what will he eat?" ? There are three younger siblings at home, and they also have to eat! This is our fate!"
Tian Liang and Hou Qing knew that Mrs. Zhou was telling the truth, but at this moment they could not think of any other way except asking the villagers for help.
He Lizhi whispered to Zeng Salmon for a while, walked to the middle of the crowd, cleared his throat, and said: "Dear fellow villagers, the village is very lively today. The chief sent someone to help us repair the public toilets. The boy from Sister Zhou's family was the best in the exam. You can go to the school run by the chief, which is a major event in our village. However, everyone knows the situation of Sister Zhou’s family, so everyone should share their thoughts. "
"Litchi, why do I feel that reading is useless?" a villager replied.
"Yes, the chief exempted us from the fish lesson and allowed us to go ashore. That's enough."
…
Everyone said something to each other, but no one expressed their willingness to help Sister Zhou's family.
He Lizhi felt very embarrassed and looked at Hou Qing and Tian Liang carefully.
At this time, Tian Liang had calmed down, and he decided to ask the young man from the aristocratic family in front of him for advice, "Sir, you are good at handwriting. You must be a scholar. I am a soldier and I don't know how to speak. Can you please Tell me about the benefits of reading?”
Tian Liang's behavior surprised Kuang Lu. She didn't expect that this fake Kun would come to ask for advice. He probably understood the current situation. Kun Thief was recruiting students regardless of their origins, which was in line with Confucius' idea of "there is no distinction between education and distinction."
It’s just that studying has not been affordable for the poor since ancient times. After all, the family needs more than ten acres of fertile land to be able to support a scholar. The so-called "poor strategy, rich and conscience". These villagers were originally just households wandering on the water. Their livelihood was difficult and they had little friendship with each other. Now they became fellow villagers just because the thieves allowed them to go ashore to build houses. It is impossible to expect them to help each other at this time. No one would care about such great principles as "establish a mind for the heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the living and the people, carry forward the unique knowledge for the past saints, and create peace for all generations".
Kuang Lu straightened her clothes and said, "There are many benefits to studying. You can be an official, a local official, or be an apprentice in a shop. At worst, you can also train young boys in the countryside and live without worries about food and clothing. It's no better than Is it easy to dig for food in the water and soil? For example, when everyone saw that my Spring Festival couplets were beautifully written, they all wanted one. In this short time, I got dozens of fish. This is still in the countryside. If it were in Guangzhou, If you are not close friends and relatives, you will definitely not be able to get a few taels of silver as writing fees."
The villagers laughed again after hearing this. This man had such a loud tone that a couplets cost several taels of silver in polishing fees!
Seeing that this group of unruly people didn't believe it at all, Kuang Yan wholeheartedly defended his young master and said loudly: "It's really a summer insect that cannot be said. My young master is the Kuang family of Dali, a scholarly heirloom. Even Mr. Qiu Tao can't put down his calligraphy and painting." , I feel inferior to myself, you know nothing!"
"So outrageous! Who is Mr. Qiu Tao?" someone asked.
"Mr. Chen Ji, the Minister of Rites, gave birth to Mr. Zi Zhuang!" Kuang Yan said.
No one spoke now, everyone looked frightened, and no one dared to speak.
Although the common people at the bottom of the class don't know much, they still know a little about the top gentry in the area. Chen Zizhuang's father's family and mother's family were both wealthy families in the South China Sea. Their family members had been officials for many generations. Another example is Foshan Li Daiwen, who was promoted to the right minister of household affairs. The Li family is the well-deserved number one family in Foshan Fort.
The atmosphere of silence was a bit awkward. Tian Liang was already clumsy and not good at words, so he suddenly felt at a loss about the situation. Fortunately, Hou Qing helped him out.
Hou Qing's voice was not loud, but she had the penetrating power unique to women. "Folks, the chief of the Song Dynasty is better than others in everything he does. It is the result of reading more. The chief sent a literacy team to teach everyone how to read and send your children to school. , I just hope that you will live a better life and no longer be bullied by others. After a while, the chief will send agricultural technicians down to teach you how to raise fish. Don’t laugh, if you don’t study, you can’t even raise fish as well as the chief. Since Mrs. Zhou Children have this opportunity to go to school, which represents the hope of our whole village. Distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. We have all gone through hardships, so please support each other."
Everyone remained silent. Kuang Lu was secretly amused. I thought that although your intentions were good, you were seeking the skin of a tiger. The Dan family has no clans, and the improvised village is just a gathering of people. Who can respond to a few calls from the village elder? He also felt that it was a pity that the child did not go to school - even though he was studying in Australia - and he immediately said: "These dozens of kilograms of fish are considered as my donation. I sold them to the elder brother of Sister Zhou for living expenses."
When he appeared, Zeng Salmon felt that his face was bright, and he immediately responded: "Look, everyone! The guests are all helping Sister-in-law Zhou. We are all from the Dan family, so we must have something to express! Let me express my position first, Although I don’t have any money, if there is anything I can use, I will definitely contribute.”
At that moment, someone else said: "Doctor Hou saved my life. Whatever she says is what she says. I really can't do anything! Tell me how you want me to help? You have to work hard to count me in!"
"Count me in!" Several more people responded.
He Lizhi also struck while the iron was hot and said: "I see, there are a total of eighty-five households in our village. No matter how big or small, each household produces five kilograms of fish every month. The money collected from the village is sold in the town, and the money received is Everyone has given her eldest son a living allowance. In the future, when her eldest son becomes successful, let him repay everyone. What do you think?"
Five kilograms of fish per month was not a lot, but everyone thought it was acceptable and agreed. Sister-in-law Zhou was so grateful that she brought her children to kowtow to Kuang Lu.
Kuang Luxu raised his hand and said: "There is no need to kowtow. I just hope that he will study hard in the future and never forget to repay his father and fellow villagers who helped him here!"
After saying that, he greeted Zeng Salmon and was about to leave, but was stopped by Tian Liang. Kuang Lu was wary, thinking that his identity had been exposed and this stupid fake Kun was going to do him harm.
Who would have thought that Tian Liang said to him naively: "Mr. Kuang's handwriting is really good. He must have read a lot of books. I am Tian Liang, the principal of Nanhai National Model School. Our school has just been established and there is still a shortage of teachers. We are currently in the process of Recruiting the right teachers, if you can come to school and teach children to write, it will definitely make our school run better."
(End of chapter)
