Chapter 961: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 961: The School Opens and Another Freeloader Arrives (2)
This sort of thing was nothing new to the two instructors—it was an unspoken custom of the profession. After thanking the villagers, they accepted the gifts. As for those who brought nothing or simply forgot, they didn’t show the slightest displeasure. It was, after all, a matter of personal choice, and forcing it would only make it awkward.
Seeing the teachers accept the gifts, the villagers actually felt relieved rather than regretful. After successfully enrolling their children, they happily sent them into the bright, spacious schoolhouse and headed home with smiles.
Mo Yan, who had been pulled in to help, fully understood the villagers’ mindset. In her past life, many parents would give teachers gifts during holidays in hopes that their children would receive a little extra attention. Originally, it wasn’t a big deal, but over time, the practice became corrupted—some teachers with poor morals began using it to line their own pockets, leading to scandals.
However, after spending a few days with these two teachers, Mo Yan had developed a basic understanding of their characters. They were very disciplined in maintaining their moral integrity and would never resort to exploiting students for money.
When it came time to recruit instructors, the village elders had unanimously agreed that a teacher’s character was the most important quality. If a teacher wasn't upright, how could they possibly raise good students?
Mo Yan noticed that close to a hundred children had come to register, most between the ages of six and ten. Very few were older than ten. She gave it some thought and quickly understood why.
Children over ten were already considered half a laborer—they could contribute to household income through farm work, so most families wouldn’t consider sending them to school.
Another reason was that most families simply couldn’t afford to send two children to school at the same time. Though the tuition wasn’t high—just 500 wen a year—the cost of brushes, ink, paper, and books was steep. Even a conservative estimate would put those yearly expenses at three to five taels of silver.
If two children attended school, the cost would be close to ten taels a year. For the many poor families in these villages, even saving five taels a year was difficult, let alone ten. That kind of money was an astronomical figure in their eyes.
Families of modest means would never dare send two children to study. Even sending one child likely required careful consideration and a difficult decision.
Parents weren’t naive—they knew that studying didn’t guarantee their child would become a xiucai or juren, let alone rise to the ranks of officials and bring glory to the family. Most just hoped their children would learn to read and write, and maybe get a job as a clerk in the city. That alone would spare them from a lifetime of backbreaking farm work.
Furthermore, many believed that having a scholar in the family brought a touch of refinement. Even if the son didn’t succeed, perhaps his presence would influence the grandchildren. Who knew—maybe, in time, a star of literature might rise from their household?
Both instructors were highly responsible. While Mo Yan handled the registration and fee collection, they chatted casually with the children. Though it appeared to be idle talk, a few simple questions were enough for them to grasp each child’s personality and thinking patterns. This gave them a foundation to teach each child in the most suitable way.
It took the three of them an entire morning to sort out the registrations. After tallying the numbers, they found a total of 123 children from several villages had enrolled, and all the tuition fees were paid—amounting to 61 taels and 5 qian of silver.
After covering the instructors’ pay, the remaining money would be enough to maintain the schoolhouse throughout the year.
When the registration day was first set, the village elders had unanimously requested that Mo Yan manage the tuition funds. First, because the Mo family didn’t lack money and wouldn’t be tempted to embezzle; second, because the Mo family had shouldered the bulk of the costs to build the schoolhouse—letting Mo Yan handle the money was something no one could object to.
(End of Chapter)
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