Chapter 88
After handling the escaped prisoner, Yang Zhengshan finally had the time to meet with Lu Wenxin and Lu Wenhua.
In the study, the two brothers stood nervously in front of Yang Zhengshan.
Yang Zhengshan poured them two cups of tea and said, “Come, sit down, and let’s talk!”
His tone was very kind.
Previously, Lu Wenxin and Lu Wenhua had shown great respect to Yang Zhengshan as their uncle.
In the original body’s memories, the Lu family would send many festive gifts to the Yang family every year, which was a token of affection from Lu Songhe, the old father, to his daughter.
However, neither the two elder uncles nor the younger cousins had ever shown dissatisfaction towards the original body’s husband and wife.
Especially Lu Wenxin, who was always the one to send the festive gifts to the Yang family.
Lu Wenxin was very close to both his aunt and uncle.
Yang Zhengshan did not inherit the original body’s emotions, but he did inherit the memories, knowing that those friends and family were genuinely kind-hearted.
Therefore, he was also willing to take care of the Lu family’s children.
The two brothers sat down, and Yang Zhengshan said, “Wenxin, go find Minghao and take over the ledger from him. From now on, you’ll be in charge of the accounting department.”
“Wenhua, go find Old Li and take over the needlework and charcoal workshops from him.”
As Yang Zhengshan lacked literary officials, Yang Mingwu and others had to take on multiple roles. However, Yang Zhengshan had already thought it through and planned to recruit more literary officials to reduce the burden on Yang Mingwu and others.
“Get familiar with the situation first, don’t rush. Be cautious when handling matters!” Yang Zhengshan instructed.
“Yes, Uncle, we’ll do our best!” Lu Wenxin said solemnly.
Yang Zhengshan smiled, “I naturally believe you can do a good job; otherwise, I wouldn’t have let you take over!”
Hearing this, Lu Wenxin and Lu Wenhua both smiled.
After arranging for the Lu family’s two brothers, Yang Zhengshan called over Yang Mingcheng and gave him 200 taels of silver to speed up the construction of the horse farm.
With money in hand, he could put his mind at ease.
Lu Er’s 2,000 taels of silver were truly a timely rain.
Without those 2,000 taels, the horse farm might not have been completed until next year.
Now, Yang Zhengshan could finally take it easy and focus on his work.
After being busy for half a day, Yang Zhengshan finally had some free time.
“Is there anything that displeases you, Sir Liu?” Yang Zhengshan asked in the study.
“Not at all! They’ve been very obedient these past two days, staying in their courtyard and hardly going out,” Yang Minghao replied.
The Liu family had more than 30 people, and Yang Zhengshan had assigned them four small courtyards to live in.
The newly built houses in the garrison were all main houses with three rooms and side houses with four rooms. Each small courtyard could accommodate ten people, which was quite cramped.
Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment, “Let’s go meet Sir Liu!”
When they arrived at the small courtyard where Liu Yuanfu resided, Yang Zhengshan lightly knocked on the door.
The small courtyard had a door, but it wasn’t a wooden door; instead, it was a gate made of tree branches as thick as fingers.
It wasn’t that Yang Zhengshan didn’t want to give everyone a good wooden door; it was just that making wooden doors took time, and he was renovating too quickly, unable to produce a batch of wooden doors in time.
Standing outside the door, Yang Zhengshan could see everything inside the courtyard.
At this moment, Yang Zhengshan saw Liu Yuanfu, the old man, sitting on the threshold of the main room, holding a copper smoking pipe, and enjoying himself.
Yang Zhengshan was slightly surprised; where did this old man get the smoking pipe and tobacco?
He knew what the Liu family looked like when they first arrived; they only had tattered clothes on their bodies and nothing else.
This copper smoking pipe wasn’t cheap; it would cost at least two or three taels of silver.
Upon hearing the knocking, Liu Yuanfu raised his head, looked at Yang Zhengshan, then didn’t say a word, just kept smoking with a lazy expression.
Yang Zhengshan was speechless.
This old man was being quite unreasonable!
In Yang Zhengshan’s territory, he didn’t even give face, and now that he’d knocked on the door, he didn’t even let him in.
Yang Zhengshan helplessly knocked again.
Still, no response.
He knocked again!
Still, no response!
He knocked again!
Yang Zhengshan knocked continuously for seven or eight times.
Liu Yuanfu finally couldn’t bear it, glared at Yang Zhengshan, and said, “If you want to come in, just come in. Why are you knocking on the door?”
Yang Zhengshan looked at him, “Sir, you didn’t let me in, so I couldn’t just barge in.”
“This isn’t my official residence, so I should be in charge, right?” Liu Yuanfu looked at Yang Zhengshan disdainfully.
Yang Zhengshan was speechless again.
I knocked on the door as a courtesy; couldn’t you at least say something?
“Junior Official Yang Zhengshan of the Welcoming River Garrison pays respects to Sir Liu!” Yang Zhengshan pushed open the door and entered the courtyard, bowing in respect.
At this time, a middle-aged man in his 40s walked out of the east wing.
“Guilty subject Liu Zhe pays respects to Lord Yang!” Liu Zhe wore a rough hemp robe, which, although wrinkled, still exuded an air of elegance.
He had an air of nonchalance, neither servile nor overbearing.
“Ah, Brother Liu, long time no see! Haha~~” Yang Zhengshan, seeing someone finally willing to talk to him, didn’t bother with Liu Yuanfu anymore.
Liu Zhe was taken aback by Yang Zhengshan’s words; he was Liu Yuanfu’s eldest son, and although he considered himself well-read, he didn’t have any fame outside.
If he were in the capital, it would be normal to hear of his name, but in this remote and poor area, saying “long time no see” was just flattery.
“You’re too kind, Lord Yang. What instructions do you have?” Liu Zhe asked humbly.
Yang Zhengshan glanced at Liu Yuanfu, who was still smoking, and said, “I have a request for Brother Liu.”
“Don’t mention it, Lord Yang. Just give the order!” Liu Zhe replied.
“I’ve built a school in the garrison and would like to ask Brother Liu to take charge of it,” Yang Zhengshan said.
In reality, he wanted to ask Liu Yuanfu, but the old man didn’t seem like someone who would be easy to talk to, so he turned to Liu Zhe instead.
Liu Zhe was taken aback, “A school? This… ” He looked at Liu Yuanfu, who was still smoking, not saying a word.
Yang Zhengshan laughed, “The school is divided into two parts. One part is for the soldiers, where they’ll learn to recognize characters and do basic arithmetic. The other part is for the children in the garrison, as I want to give them a way out.”
“Even if they can’t attend school, basic literacy is still useful. Of course, if there are talented individuals, I’ll support them in pursuing further education!”
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhe’s heart was moved.
As prisoners, they should be controlled by Yang Zhengshan, and they couldn’t refuse his orders.
Compared to doing hard labor, being a teacher in the school was much more relaxed and respectful.
“Can I do it?” Liu Zhe asked hesitantly.
They were prisoners; shouldn’t they be unsuitable for this kind of position?
“It’s a waste of Brother Liu’s talents to just teach a group of children. As long as Brother Liu is willing, there’s no issue,” Yang Zhengshan said with a smile.
“Then I’ll thank Lord Yang!” Liu Zhe hesitated for a moment before agreeing.
As for Liu Yuanfu, the old man just sat there, smoking, not saying a word from start to finish.
“Cough, cough… Ah, yes. The school will provide free education, so Brother Liu’s salary will be paid by the government office. It might not be very high,” Yang Zhengshan said, trying to sound apologetic.
“Free education?” Liu Zhe was taken aback by Yang Zhengshan’s words.
“Yes, the soldiers are all poor, and it’s hard for them to afford education. That’s why I’m providing it for free,” Yang Zhengshan explained.
“I see. How many students will there be in the school?” Liu Zhe asked again.
“There won’t be too many in the beginning. About 40 kids between 8 and 10 years old,” Yang Zhengshan replied.
The school was just starting, and many things were still imperfect. For now, it was just a trial run.
Eight to 10-year-old children were the most suitable age, not too old or too young, and easier to manage.
As for the soldiers’ school, Yang Zhengshan didn’t plan to hand it over to others to manage. He had higher expectations for the soldiers’ school, so he would take charge of it himself.
“Lord Yang is truly magnanimous!” Liu Zhe looked at Yang Zhengshan with admiration.
Letting the soldiers’ children attend school for free was something Liu Zhe had never heard of before.
To say that free education was unprecedented would be an exaggeration, but it was definitely a rare occurrence.
Yang Zhengshan smiled, not explaining further.
Reading and writing were very common things in his previous life.
However, since coming to this world, Yang Zhengshan would also adapt to local customs.
Some things he wouldn’t do too much, too soon.
He established this school not just out of kindness but also for his own plans.
He wanted to cultivate a group of talented, capable, and disciplined soldiers as the foundation for his future in this world.
In the past, in Yangjia Village, he had similar plans, which was why he had educated Yang Mingwu and others, teaching them to read and write, and supporting the establishment of the clan school.
Now, his thoughts were even clearer. He couldn’t guarantee that every soldier would be literate, but he would require every low-level military officer to be literate and have some military knowledge and skills.
Training, education, and more – all were for cultivating more talent.
Yang Mingwu and others had their accomplishments today because of his cultivation, and in the future, he hoped to have more people like Yang Mingwu around him.
“Brother Liu’s salary will be three taels of silver per month. How does that sound?” Yang Zhengshan asked.
“It’s… actually, I can do without the salary,” Liu Zhe said, feeling that this was a very meaningful task, and as a prisoner, he shouldn’t ask for a salary.
Yang Zhengshan smiled, “Brother Liu, you have family to support, and you still need silver coins.”
“Besides, the school still needs some teachers. I hope Brother Liu can let your brothers and nephews take on teaching roles!” Yang Zhengshan added.
It was a rare opportunity to get a fat sheep, and Yang Zhengshan naturally wanted to shear more wool.
The Liu family might not be a family of literati, but there must be some who were well-read.
“I have no issues with that, Lord Yang. I can help you find suitable candidates!” Liu Zhe agreed readily.
“Six people should be enough, including yourself,” Yang Zhengshan said.
In his plans, the Welcoming River Garrison school would eventually have around 200 students. The Three Mountains Garrison, the Xiangyuan Garrison, and the Lin River Garrison would also have schools, but that would have to wait until next year.
For now, he didn’t have the time or energy to do so much.
Six teachers would definitely not be enough, but Yang Zhengshan didn’t plan to select all of them from the Liu family; he needed to be cautious.
Some things couldn’t be tied to one string; otherwise, it would become a constraint.
In the short term, it wouldn’t be a problem, but in the long run, the school wouldn’t necessarily be under his control.
“Thank you, Lord Yang, for your kindness!” Liu Zhe bowed in gratitude.
“Hehe, I should be the one thanking Brother Liu for your help!” Yang Zhengshan quickly returned the courtesy.
After that, Yang Zhengshan took his leave, glanced at Liu Yuanfu once more, and didn’t bother with him anymore.
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