Chapter 88

"Uncle!"

After dealing with the matter of exiling the prisoners, Yang Zhengshan finally had time to meet Lu Wenchun and Lu Wenhua.

In the study, the two brothers stood in front of Yang Zhengshan, excited but nervous.

Yang Zhengshan poured them two bowls of tea and said, "Come on, sit down and talk!"

His attitude is very kind.

Because Lu Wenchun and Lu Wenhua used to respect him as their uncle.

In the original body's memory, the Lu family would send many holiday gifts to the Yang family every year. This was the love that the old father Lu Songhe had for his daughter.

However, neither the two brothers-in-law nor the nephews had ever been dissatisfied with the original couple.

Especially Lu Wenchun, he was the one who went to the Yang family to deliver holiday gifts.

Lu Wenchun is very close to both his aunt and uncle.

Yang Zhengshan did not inherit the original body's emotions, but he inherited the original body's memories and knew that those relatives and friends were sincere.

So he was also willing to take care of the children of the Lu family.

The two brothers sat down, and Yang Zhengshan said, "Wenchun, go find Minghao later and take the account book from him. You will be in charge of the accounting office from now on."

"Wenhua, go find Old Li and take over his needlework and charcoal workshops."

Since Yang Zhengshan lacked clerks, Yang Mingwu and others had to take on multiple duties. However, Yang Zhengshan had already made up his mind that he would recruit more clerks to reduce the burden on Yang Mingwu and others.

"Get familiar with the situation first, don't be too impatient, and be more cautious in doing things!" Yang Zhengshan instructed.

"Yes, uncle, we will do our best!" Lu Wenchun said solemnly.

Yang Zhengshan smiled and said, "Of course I believe you can do it well, otherwise I wouldn't let you come here!"

Hearing him say this, Lu Wenchun and Lu Wenhua both laughed.

After arranging the two brothers of the Lu family, Yang Zhengshan called Yang Mingcheng again, gave him two hundred taels of silver, and asked him to speed up the construction of the horse farm.

I have money in my hand and don’t panic.

The two thousand taels of silver from Master Lu was like timely rain.

If it weren't for the two thousand taels of silver, the horse farm would probably not be able to reach full scale until next year.

And now, Yang Zhengshan can let go and do his best.

After being busy for the whole morning, Yang Zhengshan finally had some time to spare.

"Is there anything that Lord Liu is dissatisfied with?"

In the study, Yang Zhengshan asked Yang Minghao.

"No! They have been very well behaved these two days. They have been staying in the yard and hardly come out." Yang Minghao said.

The Liu family had more than 30 people, and Yang Zhengshan allocated four small courtyards for them to live in.

The newly built houses in the tunbu are all small courtyards with three main rooms and four side rooms. If ten people live in a small courtyard, it seems a bit crowded.

Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment and said, "Let's go and meet this Lord Chief Censor!"

Arriving at the gate of the courtyard where Liu Yuanfu lived, Yang Zhengshan knocked softly on the wooden fence door.

Although the courtyard has a door, it is not a wooden door as explained, but a fence door made of branches as thick as fingers.

It’s not that Yang Zhengshan doesn’t want to install a good wooden door for everyone, but it takes time to make wooden doors. He is working too fast here and doesn’t have time to get a batch of wooden doors out.

Standing in front of the door, you can see everything in the yard through the wooden fence.

At this time, Yang Zhengshan saw the old man Liu Yuanfu sitting on the threshold in front of the main room door, holding a copper pipe and smoking with great enjoyment.

Yang Zhengshan was a little surprised. Where did this old man get the pipe and tobacco?
But he knew what Liu looked like when he came over. He had nothing on his body except tattered clothes to cover his body.

This copper pipe is not cheap, it costs at least two or three taels of silver.

Hearing the knock on the door, Liu Yuanfu looked up, then said nothing, drooped his eyelids, and smoked his cigarette.

"..."

Yang Zhengshan was speechless for a while.

This old man is a bit ignorant!

In his territory, they didn't even give him any face. They saw him knocking on the door, but they didn't let him in.

Yang Zhengshan had no choice but to knock on the door again.

Still ignored.

Knock again!

Still ignore!
Knock again!

Ta da~
Yang Zhengshan knocked seven or eight times in a row.

Liu Yuanfu couldn't bear it any longer and looked up at Yang Zhengshan.

"Come in if you want to. Why do you keep knocking?"

Yang Zhengshan looked at him and said, "The old man won't let me in, I can't just force my way in!"

"This is not my residence. How can I make the decision?" Liu Yuanfu looked at Yang Zhengshan with disdain.

Yang Zhengshan was speechless for a while.

I knock on the door out of courtesy, you should say something whether you can make the decision or not!
"Your humble servant Yang Zhengshan, the defense officer of Yinghe Fort, greets you, old gentleman!"

Yang Zhengshan pushed the door open and walked into the yard, clasping his fists and bowing.

At this time, a middle-aged man in his forties walked out of the east wing.

"The criminal Liu Zhe pays homage to Lord Yang!"

Liu Zhe was wearing a linen Confucian robe. Although the clothes were wrinkled, they looked elegant on him.

Free and easy, neither humble nor arrogant.

"It turns out to be Brother Liu. I've heard of your name for a long time. Haha~~" Yang Zhengshan saw that someone was paying attention to him, so he no longer paid attention to Liu Yuanfu, the stinky old man. I've heard of your name for a long time!

Liu Zhe looked at Yang Zhengshan in surprise. He was the eldest son of Liu Yuanfu. Although he considered himself to be well-read, he was not well-known outside.

If you were in Kyoto, it would be normal to have heard of his name, but in this bitter and cold borderland, saying that you have long heard of your name is a compliment.

"Does Lord Yang have any instructions?" Liu Zhe lowered his attitude and asked.

Yang Zhengshan glanced at the stinky old man who was still smoking and said, "I have something I want to ask Brother Liu for help."

"I dare not. Sir Yang, if you have anything to say, just tell me directly!"

"I have built a school in the garrison, and I would like to invite Brother Liu to take charge of the school!" Yang Zhengshan said.

In fact, he wanted to invite Liu Yuanfu, but it was obvious that the old man was not easy to talk to, so he could only settle for the second best and invite Liu Zhe instead.

Although Liu Zhe did not hold an official position, he did have some achievements and was a legitimate juren.

"School? This~~" Liu Zhe looked at Liu Yuanfu. Liu Yuanfu looked like he was asleep, with drooping eyelids and not saying a word.

Yang Zhengshan said with a smile: "This school is divided into two parts. One part is prepared for the soldiers. We only need to teach them to read and count. The other part is prepared for the children in the garrison. It's not easy to be a soldier. I also want to find a way out for them!"

"Even if you can't go to school, it's good to learn to read!"

"Of course, if there are promising talents, I would also like to support them to continue their studies!"

Hearing this, Liu Zhe couldn't help but be moved.

They are criminals now. Logically, they should be under the control of Yang Zhengshan after arriving at Yinghe Fort. No matter what Yang Zhengshan asks them to do, they cannot refuse.

Compared to doing hard and tiring work, being a teacher in a school is undoubtedly easier and more respectable.

"Can I?" Liu Zhe said somewhat unconfidently.

They are exiled prisoners, so they are not suitable to be teachers!
"It would be a waste of Brother Liu's knowledge to educate a group of children. As long as Brother Liu doesn't mind, there is naturally nothing wrong with it." Yang Zhengshan said with a smile.

"Then I would like to thank you, Lord Yang!" Liu Zhe agreed after a slight hesitation.

As for Liu Yuanfu, the old man was like a chimney. From beginning to end, he didn't even raise his eyelids except for puffing out smoke.

"Ahem~~" Yang Zhengshan coughed lightly and said with an apologetic look: "Children in the garrison can go to school for free, so the teacher's tuition is paid by the government, and this tuition may not be very high!"

"free!"

Liu Zhe didn't care how much the tuition was. Instead, he was very surprised when Yang Zhengshan said it was free.

"That's right. Military households are all from poor families. If we ask them to pay for their education, I guess few of them can afford it." Yang Zhengshan said.

"How many students will there be in the school?" Liu Zhe asked again.

"The first batch won't be too large. There should be more than 40 people, all children between eight and ten years old!" Yang Zhengshan said.

The school is newly established and many things are not perfect yet, so it is only open on a trial basis now.

Children between eight and ten years old are most suitable, as they are neither too big nor too small and are easier to manage.

As for the soldiers' school, Yang Zhengshan never thought of handing it over to other people to manage. He had higher expectations for the soldiers' school, so he would take charge of it personally.

"Lord Yang is so generous!" Liu Zhe looked at Yang Zhengshan with admiration.

Allowing children of military households to go to school for free was the first time Liu Zhe had heard of such a thing in his life.

It is true that there is free education, but these are benefits provided by big families to their members.

Yang Zhengshan was the defense officer of Yinghe Fort, and the military households in the fort were all his subordinates. It was already a righteous act by Yang Zhengshan not to exploit them, and he even thought of providing them with opportunities to study. This was more than just righteousness.

Yang Zhengshan smiled and did not make any excuses.

Reading and writing seem to be very common things.

After all, he came from an era when illiteracy was virtually nonexistent.

However, since he has come to this world, Yang Zhengshan will adapt to the local customs.

There are some things he won't do too much of.

The reason why he established this school was not entirely out of kindness, but also to plan for his own future.

He wanted to train a group of knowledgeable, strong, disciplined and capable soldiers as the foundation for his survival in this world.

In fact, he had planned this way when he was in Yangjia Village, so from the very beginning he carried out literacy training for Yang Mingwu and others, taught them to read and write, and also supported the Yang family in establishing a clan school.

Now his ideas were clearer. He could not guarantee that every soldier was literate, but he would require every grassroots officer to be literate and have certain military qualities and knowledge.

Whether it is training or school, it is all for the purpose of cultivating more talents.

Yang Mingwu and others are where they are today because of his training. He hopes that there will be more people like Yang Mingwu around him in the future.

"Brother Liu's tuition fee will be three taels of silver per month. What do you think, Brother Liu?" Yang Zhengshan said.

"Well, actually I don't need the tuition fee!" Liu Zhe felt that this matter was very meaningful, and he was an exiled prisoner, so he shouldn't ask for any tuition fee.

Yang Zhengshan smiled and said, "Brother Liu also has a family to support, so he still needs money."

"Besides that, the school still needs some teachers. I hope Brother Liu can let his brothers, nephews and nephews enter the school as teachers!"

It's rare to have a fat sheep, so Yang Zhengshan naturally wants to get more wool from it.

The Liu family doesn’t dare to say that everyone in the family is a scholar, but it seems that there must be quite a few scholars.

"No problem. Lord Yang needs a few people. I can help Lord Yang consider it!" Liu Zhe agreed readily.

"Except Brother Liu, six more will be enough!" Yang Zhengshan said.

In his expectation, there would be about two hundred students in Yinghebao School. Schools would also be built in Sanshanbao, Xiangyuanbao and Linguanbao, but they would have to wait until after the New Year. Now he really couldn't spare the time and energy to do so many things.

Six gentlemen are definitely not enough, but Yang Zhengshan does not plan to select all of them from the Liu family. After all, he is not familiar with the Liu family, and he has to be wary of them.

Some things cannot be hung on a rope, otherwise the rope will become a hindrance to oneself.

There won’t be any problems in the short term, but over time, this school may not belong to anyone anymore!
"Thank you, Lord Yang, for your care!" Liu Zhe bowed and expressed his gratitude.

"Haha, I should thank Brother Liu for his help!" Yang Zhengshan quickly returned the greeting.

Then Yang Zhengshan said goodbye. Before leaving, he glanced at Liu Yuanfu one more time, but unfortunately Liu Yuanfu ignored him and he was too lazy to make himself look bad.

(End of this chapter)