Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 419 Rich and Powerful (Debt Repayment Seventh Change)

Entering 1904, Bigwig Town was developing faster and faster.

After nearly three years of breeding, farms around Johannesburg are finally able to supply meat products to the outside world. Earlier this year, the Agricultural Association began to supply pork and beef to the Johannesburg Mining Union, which further reduced the order of the Cape Agricultural Association.

It should be noted that the Mining Union has almost stopped buying vegetables and grain from the Cape Agricultural Association before, and the locally produced potatoes in Johannesburg have already filled this gap.

At one point, Roque was also worried about the farms around Johannesburg, worrying that the production of potatoes would be too high, which would affect the enthusiasm of farmers for production.

Now this problem has been basically solved. After using potatoes to produce vodka, the consumption of potatoes has increased greatly, the output of wineries has been rising steadily, and farmers are enthusiastic about planting potatoes. Potatoes have become an important income for many farms.

In addition to potatoes, the number of livestock on the farm has also increased significantly. Here I have to mention the hard work of the Chinese. Many farmers take care of livestock as if they are their own children. In Johannesburg, if there is no farm in Johannesburg A few cows, plus a hundred sheep are ashamed to call themselves a farm.

Relatively speaking, Rock's own farm is progressing slowly.

After all, planting medicinal materials is different from other economic crops. The growth cycle of medicinal materials is relatively slow. If you grow potatoes, you can harvest them in four to five months. It is normal to plant medicinal materials and harvest once every two or three years. The investment has not yet reached the harvest time.

Rock is not in a hurry, and has a full understanding of medical research. If he can see results within ten or eight years, Rock is already satisfied, and this little investment is nothing now.

Besides the farm and the factory, Rock's main concern was the school for the children of the miners.

There are now more than [-] students in the school for the children of miners. Basically all the local school-age children in Johannesburg are studying in the school for the children of miners. The city government and the Governor's Office know this data, but no one will take the initiative to publicize this, otherwise it will appear to be Deland The education association in Sva is incompetent.

The school for the children of miners needs about 4000 pounds per month. There is no fee for the children of miners to enroll, and the fee for the children of farmers is halved. Except for the subsidy from the city government, Rock's monthly expenditure is about [-] pounds.

In the eyes of many people, this fee is unnecessary. Even if education is valued, there is no need to spare so much money.

Roque also did not explain that the importance of education does not need to be emphasized. It is now 1904. Ten years later, the first batch of second-generation Chinese should have been cultivated, and they can be used by then.

Taking a step back, four thousand pounds a month is really nothing to Rock. With the backing of the Rand Bank, the gold in the Rock Gold Mine can be exchanged into British pounds at any time. For 4000 pounds, it is only 30 kilograms It's just gold. The monthly gold output of the Rock Gold Mine is now stable at about ten tons. Even if the cost is increased tenfold, Rock can still afford it.

The point is, Rock is willing to spend.

In terms of money, Stoudemire is richer than Rock, but Stoudemire did not engage in compulsory education in Rhodesia.

This does not mean that Stoudemire is not willing to spend money. Stoudemire, like most people in this era, does not realize the importance of education.

In other words, Stoudemire is aware of it, but Stoudemire will not take the initiative to promote compulsory education. This is also the consensus of all nobles. Anyway, children of nobles can go to schools for the children of nobles. .

After Phyllis returned to Johannesburg, she did not obey Rock's arrangement, and honestly stayed at home to raise her baby.

In her second week back in Johannesburg, Phyllis went to Bigwig Girls School and returned disappointed.

In Phyllis's words, the current Bigwig Girls' School is more and more similar to Brighton Rodin in the UK.

Brighton Rodin is an aristocratic girls' school. It has always been known for its strict requirements. All the students it cultivates are ladies, and they are impeccable in terms of etiquette.

But Phyllis doesn't like this model. Phyllis prefers the open model of the miners' children school, which is more conducive to the growth of students.

From a general point of view, the polarization of students in schools for the children of miners is very serious. Students with good academic performance are not inferior even if they are placed in aristocratic schools in the UK. They are organized into separate classes. There are the best teachers and the most superior learning conditions, which are regarded as the key training among the key points.

Students with poor academic performance have not been abandoned by the school. Even in elementary school, the school has begun to consciously cultivate students' hobbies. Some people like machinery, some people like the army, some people like medicine, etc., etc. It doesn't matter, the miners' children school will organize students to visit every once in a while. If students are not interested in continuing their studies after graduating from primary school, then they can choose different occupations according to their hobbies.

By then, there should already be vocational education in Bigwig Town, just like Nyasaland now.

Phyllis is very much in favor of Rock's plan. Not everyone is eligible to go to Oxford and Cambridge. The situation in Johannesburg and the UK is still different. There are more than 3 million people in the British Empire, and there are now dozens of local universities. many.

The Chinese in Johannesburg and Nyasaland now add up to 60, and a comprehensive university is enough.

In Rock's vision, the university would definitely be in Nyasaland.

"In three years, at most within three years, our university will start enrolling students. Of course, it is mainly engineering now. In the future, we will add liberal arts departments appropriately. Don't be superstitious about the local Oxford and Cambridge." Rock is confident, this That was the case with Oxford and Cambridge for a while. As long as Rock is willing to spend money, he still has a chance to catch up.

Just three days ago, Philip reminded Rock that at the right time, Rock can go to the UK to study and get an official academic certificate, which will be more conducive to Rock going further in the future.

Rock is not superstitious about this, but it is undeniable that there are indeed many people who will go to university to study after success to make up for their shortcomings.

This is what Cecil Rhodes did at the beginning. In the eight years from 1873 to 1881, Rhodes spent nearly half of his time returning to Oxford University to study economics and philosophy in addition to engaging in economic speculation.

Philip hopes that Roque can also improve his cultural level, so that no matter what the future of southern Africa will become, Roque can participate in it.

Rock's ideal must be bigger than Philip's.

Most British people should very much hope to enter Oxford to study. Roque has such an opportunity. As long as Roque applies now, Oxford University will be happy to accept a baron for admission.

But Roque didn't want to do this. Roque himself had already studied at a university, so he didn't need to go to Oxford to be gilded. Now Roque wanted to mass-produce highly educated talents, so that the future of the Federation of South Africa could be guaranteed.

"Honey, I'm so proud of you!" Phyllis held Rock's hand affectionately.

Rock laughed loudly, what is the point of this, the Federation of South Africa has not yet been established, it is too early for Phyllis to be proud now.

"If possible, I still hope that you will devote more energy to Bigwig Public School. It would be a pity if you don't ask about it." Phyllis also had a request. attention is indeed on the decline.

"How is it possible? Bigwig Public School is the business card of our Bigwig Town. There are people in the entire Transvaal and even Cape who are willing to send their children to Bigwig Public School. Do you know? Bigwig Public School is now profitable .” Of course Rock would not ignore it, but he was not as concerned as before.

Compared with the school for the children of miners, Bigwig Public School received too much attention. It was also because there was not even a single school in the Transvaal at that time, so the attention that Bigwig Public School received far exceeded Rock's expectations.

In that case, Rock was almost forced to set up a school for the children of miners, so that the proportion of Chinese students would not be so concerned.

In the current Bigwig Public School, boys’ and girls’ schools combined, there are only about a hundred Chinese students, all of whom are permanent residents of Bigwig Town, and the other students are all white, and there are even more British than Boer.

Each of these white students paid more than [-] pounds a year for tuition. Even so, there were still many who were willing to send their children to Bigwig Public School, but were turned away because the conditions were not up to standard.

Just after the start of school this year, the tuition fees received by Bigwig Public School have exceeded [-] pounds, which is enough to meet the operating expenses of Bigwig Public School for the whole year. Don’t forget that Bigwig Public School will receive at least [-] pounds in the second half of the year. , This level of profitability, except for gold mines, is one of the few companies in Johannesburg.

Education is indeed very profitable, especially private schools that are sought after, and their ability to attract money is really strong.

Speaking of which, Bigwig Public School is actually the first profitable business under Roque's name besides the Roque Gold Mine, which really didn't even occur to Roque.

"Yeah, it's funny to say. In the past, everyone focused on gold mines. No one ever thought of establishing a school. Even if it is established now, it will be very difficult to catch up with Bigwig. This is a terrible thing. You must pay attention to the sustainable business industry.” Phyllis is indeed a good hand in managing family finances, and now she has discovered the importance of the education industry.

"Then you can manage Bigwig Public School and earn some pocket money for yourself." Rock doesn't care about the money. Although it's a lot of money, Rock won't be dazzled by the colorful flowers in front of him.

"This - do you know that the annual tax revenue of the city government has not exceeded [-] pounds!" Phyllis's expression was about to collapse. People with deep pockets are different.

(End of this chapter)