Chapter 40: Digging Up Ancestral Graves (Part 1)

  The painter Liu Jing looked at these two paintings: "Jiulang, can such a house be built?"

  "Let you draw, just draw, who cares if it can be built or not?" Song Jiudao said. In fact, its technical content may not necessarily reach the technical content of that Double Rainbow Bridge. However, wanting to build it is not easy either, this needs to come slowly, Zhao Kuangyin will give him the management of Hezhou for fifty years, outside Dongshuimen, after careful measurement, the future usable area can reach nearly 39 hectares, nearly 2.5 million square meters, saying big is not big, but saying small is absolutely not small.

  It's nothing to put in the past, I heard that a second-tier city has a total building area of over 180 million square meters, but it's not good to compare with the past and this life. In the past, the local population of Shanghai plus the floating population had an area of 400 million, which is more than three or four times the entire Song Dynasty now, while Shanghai's area is only equivalent to half of the area of several counties in Beijing.

  In this era, it is a considerable area, equivalent to seven or eight blocks in the city, three or four times larger than Cai Jing's mansion in history. But that's not the main point, the main point is geographical factors! There is Bian River, Dong Water Gate, and the capital city, what is it equivalent to? Pudong!

  But if managed properly, it is the core area of Pudong.

  Let's take it one step at a time, involving many high-tech things in this era.

  "Paint another picture."

  Four painters had no choice but to put up with the situation, as they relied on others for their livelihood. Moreover, the salary was quite high, with a monthly income of six taels of silver, which was even higher than Zhu San's salary by one guan, and equivalent to five or six times that of an ordinary private school teacher.

  Song Jiu paints whatever he wants.

  Whether it can be created is Song Jiuyi's business, otherwise where does a term come from: Heaven and Earth!

  Song Jiuyang took the painting into the house and locked it up. The bridge came out fine, but this positive store had to be done in advance, digging someone's ancestral grave!

  Lock the house, the front is open all day, but the back rooms are not allowed to be seen, there are some things that can't be exposed for the time being, and also some money and silk. Moreover, the two doctors Yan and Zhang have a strong corrupt taste, and they attach great importance to elegance, leading their students to renovate the small garden in the backyard, which now looks pleasing to the eye. After class, the two doctors sit in the pavilion drinking tea and reciting poetry, and some students also come to the small garden to read books or play. With more people, it becomes chaotic.

  Fortunately, as summer gradually arrives and the weather gets hotter, there are fewer onlookers. Instead, some tourists from outside come to watch, but they absolutely won't be allowed into the small garden behind, that's a private area!

  Tell Zhu San and Dr. Yan Zhang, we can't have holidays every day, many people are clamoring to add classrooms, and some even say that if we pay you more, isn't it just a few households living next door, can get one yuan rent per month? We agreed. Let them find another house to rent, and we'll pay to renovate the houses of those tenants, reconnect them, and build more classrooms. Zhu San's face turned black, Song Jiu didn't agree. Finally, someone said that if it really doesn't work, we can buy a vacant lot in the river area, build a new courtyard for you, and relocate the tenants. The ownership of the courtyard is still yours. What do your few tenant households do? Two households sell small groceries, two households sell bitter labor, one household sells dog skin plaster... what kind of place is this? A scholarly family!

  The words had barely fallen when Song Jiu and the other students were driven out together.

  Song Jiuxu is a bit better, those students are from good families! They're all descendants of laborers. Can you bear to listen?

  Can't suspect their kindness, not only do they want to send people over to learn this new arithmetic and accounting method, but also want Song Jiu to teach the children in the river. However, the problem is that Song Jiu can't be divided into two.

  The subject must be taught by him, accounting must be taught by him, practical exercises can be divided a little, arithmetic Dr. Zhang intervened, but the effect is not great, Song 9 also dare not put it down, and his own messy affairs, at present teaching two classrooms of students are struggling, still expanding recruitment? Looking for trouble.

  The big sun shines brightly and hurts people's eyes, hanging high in the sky.

  Cicadas sang weakly among the trees, and the leaves seemed to be unable to withstand the high temperature, drooping one by one, hanging on the branches.

  However, the sound of students reading "Three Character Classic" and "Analects of Confucius" occasionally came from the courtyard, which comforted Song Jiuxin. The newly divided class did not conduct a separate examination on arithmetic, material science, accounting, and law for the time being. What is called "essence" should not be taken seriously, mainly relying on the ability to recognize characters, they were divided into two classes of students.

  Actually, Song Jiuxian was afraid that the students would become complacent if they thought they had a bright future ahead of them. So he used the method of dividing the class to stimulate the students to study hard. Dr. Yan Zhang praised this approach. Originally, Song Jiuxian and Zhu San were supposed to teach the classics, but in reality, their main goal was to teach the students to recognize characters and write. After Dr. Yan and Dr. Zhang arrived, they began to implement a more formal education system, starting with teaching the Thousand Character Classic. Some of the students were clever and could basically master the characters in the Thousand Character Classic, so it wasn't necessary to continue teaching it to them. Therefore, dividing the class was a way to differentiate between the students: one group would continue to study the Thousand Character Classic, while another group would start learning the Analects of Confucius.

  Luckily it's just a year, otherwise after five years of teaching, these students will become what kind of freaks? Do they want to be all-around talents?

  "Everyone, gather in the front yard," Song Jiu shouted.

  Dr. Yan put down his teacup and asked: "Jiulang, what are you going to do?"

  "There is something important to announce."

  Gathering the students in the front yard, Song Jiu stood under a large Chinese scholar tree and said to the 120 or so students: "Everyone, you are all young talents from the river, among whom some were my playmates when I was young. As for Mr., I won't mention him, but I have never shown off this qualification to you either. The two doctors are the ones who show off their qualifications."

  The student wiped his sweat while laughing loudly.

  In fact, Song Jiu enjoyed learning very much, but they also revered Dr. Yan and Dr. Zhang, who were famous Confucian scholars and officials of the Imperial Academy, where they taught the children of court nobles. So although Dr. Yan and Dr. Zhang made concessions, Song Jiu's rallying power was still no match for them, leaving him speechless.

  Song Jiuxiao smiled slightly and said, "You two doctoral students were originally brought here by Hu Xingtou to learn from me and help with the accounting on the dock. I didn't expect many people to ask Hu Xingtou for favors, so he brought you all together. You are all my fellow villagers and playmates from childhood. Because of some things my father did, your parents have been very polite to me since we were young. Even when they were struggling financially, they would occasionally buy a few fruits and give them to you to eat. When I arrived, they immediately gave one to me. So I couldn't bear to refuse, that's why I took all of you in that day."

  Dr. Yan and Dr. Zhang exchanged a glance, their expressions solemn. No matter what, one must have a conscience when being human.

  "The imperial court, upon hearing the news, continuously sent over books, brushes, ink and paper, and even dispatched two esteemed scholars to teach you. Later, they added another classroom. The imperial court was also newly established and had limited financial resources and manpower. Therefore, during the second recruitment, only sixty or so students were accepted. However, there were over five hundred people who came to register. You have been admitted, and the imperial court will make use of you; even if they don't, various merchants will covet you. What about those young men who were rejected? I've eaten the fruits given by their parents, and I played with them when we were young. Two of their fathers even followed my father to the battlefield and sacrificed themselves one after another. Their mothers remarried or became prostitutes in order to raise them; it was only ten-odd days after the expansion that I learned about this matter. You are studying, you have a bright future ahead of you, but theirs remains a dark one. What do you think? Every time I think about this, my mood becomes very low."

  It's touching, many students' eyes are red, some ask: "Jiulang, what can we do?"

  "Return! The imperial court has given you an opportunity, and now it's time to repay the country. You have squeezed out the future of other young men in the river, so you must repay the river. Therefore, I have an idea in my mind, I give you a year, one year later, listen to each of you go your separate ways. Why? Because your families are struggling, and you can't drag on for three or five years. However, if you want to learn knowledge well, three to five years is only enough to learn the surface, I want to keep twenty students, one year later, continue to study here, until three to five years later. Then, with the strength of the teachers, we will expand our recruitment of students, let more young men from the river come to school, and have a brighter future. Also, it is to change the river, which requires some students to assist me in developing new things, of course, I will pay salaries, but I want to sign a stricter confidentiality agreement, from now on, you are temporarily not allowed to enter the imperial court's vision. We will bring the people of the river together and let them live a better life together. This is the return, this is what my teacher said, 'as a person, one cannot forget their roots.'"

  At this point, almost all students asked to stay together.

  That's impossible, Song Jiu only asked for twenty students to assist, and if there were more, he couldn't afford it either. Moreover, even if they didn't have the qualifications, he might not look up to them. This qualification is not about literacy skills, but rather about arithmetic and material understanding ability. The salary is also considerable, but let's not talk about that now, first shock then delight, only then can one be truly convinced.

  "Everyone, you can't be impulsive and act on emotions. This matter needs to be discussed with your family members. Give me an answer tomorrow." Song Jiu said as he dismissed the students.

  Dr. Zhang nodded and asked, "Jiulang, are you really planning to build a college?"

  "That's natural, although my behavior is quite different from yours, but when have I ever spoken deceitfully?"

  "What's wrong with you?"

  "Dr. Yan, what is the capital city? The capital city should not only be a political center, but also a military center, cultural center, commercial center, economic center, and educational center. The Taiyi Academy is high above, proudly standing apart from the world, which is not good either. Laozi teaches transcending the world, while Confucius teaches entering the world. May I ask if the Taiyi Academy studies the way of Confucius or the way of Laozi? Are you studying the way of Confucius or the way of Laozi? Knowledge can be far away from politics, but it cannot be far away from the country."

  Although the words were rough, the meaning was not; both of them fell into deep thought.

  It is actually a continuation of the Wei and Jin dynasties' style, including the Song Dynasty, as long as it is high-sounding and doesn't ask about worldly affairs, and has one or two articles passed down to the secular world, that's all. Like Lin Hejing later on, when his name was mentioned, both Emperor Zhenzong of Song and Emperor Renzong of Song would sit up straight with respect. However, if a gentleman does not enter the world, those who do are petty people, can this world be good?

  The next day, Song Jiu began accepting registrations from scholars.

  Against his expectations, more than 80 students signed up, almost four-fifths of the total. It's possible that they were acting on impulse, and their families were also acting on impulse. But it wouldn't be as bad as they imagined, Song Jiu selected 20 students with higher aptitude for mathematics and took them to his bedroom, saying: "You look first."

  Let them see the contract. The first clause must follow Song Jiu to study for three to five years, and then assist Song Jiu in teaching other students, that is, can only be a teacher for life.

  The second article is that when working with Song Jiuyi to develop various things, it must be kept confidential. Without the permission of Song Jiuyi, it cannot be revealed to anyone. Otherwise, a compensation of one million yuan will be required for the loss. This is a joke. I'm afraid that at this time, there are not even a few households in the entire capital city with assets worth one million yuan. But what can be done? If the secret is leaked out, should they be flogged and exiled? There is no such law of Song. However, once the contract is signed, if the secret is revealed, the debt will be pursued at that time, and the government cannot intervene.

  The third article is compensation. Once the contract is signed, the first year is mainly a learning period, with one bundle of money provided each month to support their family and let them feel at ease. In the second year, the monthly salary is two bundles of money, in the third year it is four bundles of money, in the fourth year it is eight bundles of money, in the fifth year it is sixteen bundles of money, and in the sixth year it is thirty-two bundles of money. Afterwards, based on income, there will be a floating increase of 200% to 300%, which means that the highest annual salary can reach over 1,100 bundles of money, almost equivalent to the annual salary of a fourth-rank official in the imperial court.

  Article 4 still rewards, under the premise of not leaking technology, they are allowed to accept imperial edicts, assist the imperial court, and can also accept official positions in the imperial court, but cannot accept official positions. Once you become an official, you can't be a scientist or teacher anymore.

  It has surprised twenty students, that is, a year later, when they arrived at the imperial court, what can they do? Just a small official. What kind of difference is there in the scattered official positions? Who dares to think about it? Song Jiudou didn't think deeply about it either.

  However, Qin Wanzi worriedly said: "Jiulang, one person is thirty-two strings of money, twenty people are over six hundred strings of money, and in a year it's several thousand strings of money. You..."

  Li Zhudao said, "Jiulang, don't worry. Since we've decided to stay, let's not forget our roots. Let's get rid of that 16 taels and 32 taels of debt. If we can earn 8 taels per month, our family will live a good life."

  Twenty people dissuaded him one after another.

  Song Xin sighed, it seems that there are still many people in this world who have a better conscience than me. Shaking his head, he said: "If we can't even afford to pay this salary, how can we let the two or three thousand households by the river live a good life? Don't worry, we'll bring the contract and go to Kaifeng Prefecture."

  Yuansan Shu said: "What are you doing at Kaifeng Prefecture?"

  "I'm afraid that after you've studied for a few years and become well-versed in your fields, the imperial court will forcibly recruit you, so this contract must be signed personally by the Second Highness. Also, go discuss with the Second Highness and have him dig up someone's ancestral grave for me."