Chapter 173 2/3

The men paused, finding the arguments reasonable.

In the southern part of the county, a woman who had arrived in Chongcheng County six years ago to escape famine and had been forced to engage in illicit activities to survive spoke to her daughter again, “Ah Yue, wait a few more days. Li Xiucai’s school will start enrolling students soon. When the time comes, you go alone. Don’t let anyone know I’m your mother. When you get there, kneel down and beg him. No matter what, you must get in and study.”

“Mother…” cried the girl named Ah Yue.

The woman touched her daughter’s dark face, “Ah Yue, once you’re in school, you can clean yourself up. No, clean your face before you go. When you get there, if there are decent men, choose one to marry… You don’t need to worry about me; I’ll be fine! Just tell people your parents are gone.”

When they first arrived in Chongcheng County six years ago, her daughter was still young, only seven or eight years old. But she had consciously hidden her daughter, dressing her in worn and dirty clothes for years and smudging her face with ash.

She feared her daughter would end up like her.

Now, an opportunity presented itself… she wanted her daughter to enter Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop and become a glamorous embroiderer.

On the western side of the county, near the docks.

An old beggar who had raised a scar-faced girl he found spoke to her, “Little beggar, I heard that Li Xiucai’s school is enrolling students, and it includes meals and accommodation. You should give it a try. If they accept you, you won’t have to beg anymore!”

In the north of the county, in a large household where the servants lived, in a dark and damp house, a man spoke to his skinny son, “Boy, I heard Li Xiucai’s school is enrolling students. You should go. From now on, you’ll have to fend for yourself!”

Similar scenes played out both inside and outside the county.

Near Chongcheng County, in a makeshift hut, lived a family.

The man worked as a tenant farmer for a large household to make ends meet, while the woman… considerably older than the man, was originally a widow from nearby. She had been driven out by her in-laws and had nowhere to go, so she lived with this man.

She also brought with her a son and a daughter from her previous marriage.

The man didn’t mind the fact that the woman was older than him; as long as there was a woman, he was content. However, he couldn’t stand the two burdens the woman brought with her.

That day, when he returned home, he said to the woman, “I heard Li Xiucai has opened some kind of elementary school. Let your children sign up. They shouldn’t be freeloaders at home all day!”

The woman dared not refuse and could only nod silently.

In a village a bit far from the county, the village chief walked into a dilapidated house and spoke to a young boy who was cooking porridge in a clay pot, “You little rascal, I’ve found a good place for you.”

“Where?” The boy looked at the village chief curiously.

When his mother was giving birth to his younger brother, both his mother and brother died.

His father remarried shortly after, and his stepmother initially treated him well. However, after giving birth to two sons of her own, she began to dislike him, beating him, scolding him, and withholding food from him.

His father didn’t care about him, treating him as if he didn’t exist… Their land was small, and his father wanted to leave it to his two younger brothers, not him.

He had no choice but to run away from home, living in the dilapidated house at the edge of the village, catching fish and gathering wild vegetables to fill his stomach.

The boy had been wanting to find some work, but where could he find it? He had been searching for a long time with no success.

“There’s going to be a new school near the new dock. The school provides meals and accommodation. You go there to study. When you graduate, you can work at Juewei Restaurant.” said the village chief.

The village chief felt a bit sorry for the child and came to inform him.

He couldn’t bear to send his own children to that school, but for this child… that school was a good opportunity.

“Is there really such a good thing?” The boy was overjoyed.

His father completely ignored him, and his stepmother wished he would die sooner… He hadn’t had a proper meal in a long, long time.

If there was a place to eat and sleep, that would be great!

Such things were happening all over Chongcheng County.

Because of some people’s criticisms, almost everyone in Chongcheng County knew about the existence of “Chongcheng Elementary School,” and countless people were eagerly waiting for the school to enroll students.

This was especially true for the people of Maioqian Village.

The people of the county said that Li Qingzhi’s school was no good, and the people of Maioqian Village knew about it, but they didn’t care at all.

“The people in the city are bad! They say this to prevent others from registering, so they can register themselves, right?”

“Definitely!”

“After my daughter went to Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop, she changed completely. My son has been wanting to go. This time, we can’t miss it.”

“My sister’s daughter dreams of going to Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop. This time she finally has a chance!”

…

The people of Maioqian Village all wanted to send their children there.

As for enrolling both boys and girls in the school…

“I went to see it. The male students study on one side, and the female students study on the other side. They’re in separate buildings.”

“That’s right, they don’t live together.”

“After graduation, they can make money! Anyone who doesn’t go is a fool!”

…

However, among them, some felt that sending girls to study was meaningless and benefited other families, but… it didn’t cost anything to study! So why not go?

It would also save on food at home!

Moreover, no matter how much it benefited other families… those who sent their daughters to Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop had already received money from their daughters!

In the blink of an eye, it was the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the day Li Qingzhi’s school began enrolling students.

Li Qingzhi initially recruited fifteen teachers, but after spending some time with them, he found that one of them had some issues and sent that person away.

This teacher… just thinking about him made Li Qingzhi feel a bit nauseous.

The students who came to study could stay at the school. He was worried that some students might not have bedding, so he had the female workers from Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop make some quilts.

Jin Ye Embroidery Workshop was already recruiting workers, and the place was chaotic and crowded. These female workers came to the school to make quilts, but one of the male teachers kept going over to harass one of the female workers.

Fortunately, Li Qingzhi had instructed these female workers to keep an eye on the female students at the school and not to let them be deceived

 by male teachers or male students. He also told them that if any teacher did something inappropriate, they should inform him immediately.

These female workers were very obedient and informed him of the incident right away, and he didn’t hesitate to send that teacher away.

Now, there were only fourteen teachers left in the school, and if any teacher had any issues, there was no one to substitute… But fortunately, temporary replacements were possible, and they could recruit a few more teachers.

On the day of enrollment, Li Qingzhi arrived at the school early in the morning.

He thought he was early, but to his surprise, several children were already waiting at the school gate. Not only that, when they saw him, one of the girls, about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a bundle on her back, knelt down directly in front of him, “Mr. Li, please accept me!”

The girl spoke with the same accent as the original owner, like someone from Yuxi Prefecture… Li Qingzhi was stunned and didn’t immediately help her up. Then he saw several others also kneeling down, “Mr. Li, please accept us!”

Li Qingzhi: “…”

Li Qingzhi let these children waiting at the gate enter first and asked the girl a few questions.

The girl said her name was Ah Yue, she came here as a refugee, her father died on the way, and now she has nowhere to go, hoping Li Qingzhi will keep her.