Chapter 166 2/3

“Yes, let the children absorb some of Li Xiucai’s talent!”

…

At first, Li Qingzhi thought they weren’t eating because they were too concerned about their families, but it turned out… they were associating it with absorbing talent. Some even came to ask him how the dumplings were made…

They were reluctant to eat the dumplings he made but were willing to eat the ones they made themselves.

Li Qingzhi laughed and explained the recipe to them, then continued to enjoy his dumplings.

The dumplings made by Li Qingzhi were quite large. Li Damao and Li Ermao couldn’t eat more than four each, while Li Laogen managed to eat ten in one go, commenting, “What a waste, these are clearly vegetables, yet they’re being eaten as a meal…”

Li Qingzhi responded, “Dad, have you forgotten about the times when you only ate preserved meats and skipped meals?”

Li Laogen fell silent.

After satisfying their hunger, in the afternoon, Li Qingzhi went to the new school again.

The building was almost finished, but the customized tables, chairs, and furniture ordered from the carpenters were not yet completed.

Initially, due to lack of funds, Li Qingzhi planned to make the tables and chairs very simple. But now he had money!

He specifically hired carpenters to make the tables, chairs, and beds for the students.

There weren’t many carpenters in Chongcheng County, so it would take some time to make these items, but he wasn’t particularly rushed.

Li Qingzhi planned to recruit students by the end of the year and have them start school next year. Before that, he needed to find teachers, develop textbooks, and design the curriculum…

Starting tomorrow, he would be busy again!

That evening, Li Qingzhi went to bed early, holding Jin Xiaoye, and said, “Xiaoye, those female workers from Miaoqian Villagehave been working with us for a long time now, and they’ve honed their skills. Shouldn’t we start paying them?”

Until now, Jin Xiaoye had never paid the female workers from Miaojian Village. However, she had given them many things, including occasional money.

For example, during the lantern festival, she gave them pocket money. She also paid them when they took turns to set up stalls at the new dock.

In addition, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, she gave each of them two hundred wen, and right after Li Qingzhi passed the exam, she gave them another two hundred wen each.

But now… it was indeed time to start paying them.

With the weather getting colder, there were no visitors to the night market at the new dock, so they no longer set up stalls there, and the female workers couldn’t earn the extra money from helping out.

“I’ve been thinking about this. Should we pay them the same as the female workers from the county town, but deduct the cost of breakfast and dinner?” Jin Xiaoye asked Li Qingzhi. The female workers recruited from the county town didn’t have breakfast and dinner here, so if they were paid, fairness needed to be ensured.

Li Qingzhi said, “That’s a good idea! Xiaoye, now that we’re paying them, we should also have some expectations of them… from now on, let them attend half of our enlightenment classes in the morning and another half at noon. What do you think?”

Li Qingzhi had always wanted these young female workers to learn how to read, but he didn’t have time to teach them before.

Now that he had time… he could teach them and write the enlightenment textbooks at the same time.

Of course, he was still a man in this era, so it would be better for Jin Xiaoye to teach the female workers while he collected data on the side.

In the past, Jin Xiaoye might have thought it unnecessary for these female workers to learn to read.

After all, it was time-consuming, and these girls wouldn’t benefit much from learning to read, unlike her, who planned to start a business.

But recently, she had more and more things to do and wanted to find some helpers. It wasn’t appropriate to hire male shopkeepers for the embroidery workshop… so if these female workers could read, it would be great, wouldn’t it?

Jin Xiaoye agreed, and the next day, she told the female workers from Miaoqian Villageabout this.

They were all very happy to be paid, but when Jin Xiaoye mentioned that they must learn to read, some of them were puzzled.

Why should they learn to read? They weren’t taking the imperial examinations!

In their village, there were hardly any literate people.

Jin Xiaoye said, “If you can learn to read and do accounts, you can become shopkeepers, and your wages will be as much as Jin Niang, Sister Wang, and Mrs. Xu.”

The eyes of the female workers from Miaoqian Villagelit up at once.

As Li Qingzhi began compiling textbooks and Jin Xiaoye started teaching the female workers from Jin Xiaoye Embroidery Workshop to read, in the provincial capital, the Shen family’s bookstore had already typeset all of “Water Management Strategies” and begun printing.

The head of the Shen family asked for twenty copies of “Water Management Strategies” to be bound first and then packed into boxes along with twenty sets of “Chronicles of Fleeing the Disaster,” ready to be presented to Governor Zhang.

When Governor Zhang learned that the head of the Shen family had arrived, he immediately welcomed him in. Behind the head of the Shen family were two servants carrying a box.

“What is this?” Governor Zhang asked.

The head of the Shen family opened the box. “Governor, these are ‘Chronicles of Fleeing the Disaster’ and ‘Water Management Strategies’! My bookstore has already printed them and prepared twenty sets for you.”

Governor Zhang took a glance and found that the box indeed contained beautifully bound copies of “Chronicles of Fleeing the Disaster” and “Water Management Strategies.” He picked up one and flipped through it, finding no errors whatsoever.

The quality of these books was much better than the “Record of Injustice” they had printed themselves.

“Thank you,” Governor Zhang said. He happened to need some books to give as gifts.

“No need to thank me, Governor. These books have already started printing. After they’re printed, I will take the first batch to the capital. The second batch will be sold in the provincial capital after my fleet leaves Jiang’an Province for half a month…” The head of the Shen family explained his plan.

He intended to start selling the books half a month later to prevent someone from buying them and rushing to the capital ahead of his fleet.

Half a month later… his fleet would have reached the capital!

The head of the Shen family continued, “This time, I will go to the capital with the fleet. Governor, is there anything you want me to bring to the capital?”

“No need,” Governor Zhang said. He usually corresponded with his friends by letter, and those letters could be sent through relay stations. There was no need for the head of the Shen family to specially deliver them.

The head of the Shen family reminded Governor Zhang, “Governor, this time I will visit Grandpa Lu… Shouldn’t you send him a letter or some gifts?”

When

 Governor Zhang heard this, he knew what the head of the Shen family was thinking.

He didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Looking at the books in the box, Governor Zhang said, “I do have something to give to Grandpa Lu. Please wait a moment.”

Governor Zhang planned to give Li Qingzhi’s manuscript to the head of the Shen family to present to Lu Qingxi.

There wasn’t any particular reason, mainly because Li Qingzhi’s handwriting was so beautiful and likable.

Giving this manuscript to Lu Qingxi would be equivalent to giving it to the emperor… he believed the emperor would like it and might even favor the ‘Solitary Wanderer.’

The current emperor was knowledgeable and appreciated knowledgeable people.

Governor Zhang had already sorted out Li Qingzhi’s manuscript. He neatly folded it and handed it to the head of the Shen family. “This is the original manuscript of ‘Chronicles of Fleeing the Disaster.’ Please give it to Grandpa Lu.”

The head of the Shen family didn’t react immediately. Governor Zhang didn’t write a letter but gave him the original manuscript of “Chronicles of Fleeing the Disaster”?

What did he mean by this?

The head of the Shen family wanted to further climb the social ladder, but Governor Zhang had already seen him off.

He could only take the manuscript back home and tell his wife about it.

His wife became interested. “Bring me the manuscript to have a look.”

The head of the Shen family immediately handed the manuscript to his wife.

As soon as his wife opened it, her eyes lit up, and she couldn’t look away.