The late Ming Dynasty in the living room

Chapter 159 Principal Fang's Night Patrol (Part ) Taking Out "Candy"

People in later generations often say that one should be good at listening to other people's opinions so that one can remain humble and keep making progress.

It is obvious that Fang Yu is such a person who is good at listening to opinions.

Chen Agui's reminder was timely. According to convention, discipline in the class was lax and class leaders should not be mixed together with other "ordinary people" when punishing them.

Fang Yu glanced at Chen Agui approvingly and said apologetically, "You are right. It was I who neglected it."

"It is stipulated in the student handbook that class leaders have the responsibility to assist teachers in managing the class. Just now, when the students of Class 6 were cursing and besieging Teacher Wang, the class leaders did not stand up to stop them, but participated in it. Therefore, after the four class leaders were given a serious demerit, they should be fined and their labor wages should be confiscated for one month, and they should be beaten with a stick... five more times to avoid delaying their work."

(For example, the shameless sentence "Teacher Wang, those are human lives" was shouted out by the monitor)
After listening to this, Chen Agui finally burst into tears.

Young Master...he really listens to advice!

Chen Agui also felt that the gazes around him had softened a lot, but three of them became particularly hot, and the owners of these three gazes seemed to want to jump up immediately and tear him to pieces alive.

The time for people in Xincheng (generally speaking) is different from that for people in other places. At this time, the city gate of the county town had already been closed. Pang Tiande and several guards were leaning against the wall of the city gate, drowsy.

The county town was in complete silence.

However, in Hongjia Village, Hongqi had just taken out a piece of Sister Ma's peanut candy from his pocket. He, his wife, and Xiao Naughty were sitting on the bluestone slabs at the door of their house in the moonlight, happily sharing it together.

Crossing two rainbow bridges, Lao Liu stood with the craftsmen on duty tonight. Holding a cup of coffee in his hand, he asked the craftsmen, especially the waterwheel operator, to be fully alert and ensure the yield rate at night.

"Compared to daytime, it can only drop by 3% at most. If that doesn't work, just drink more of this." Lao Liu raised the coffee cup in his hand and said seriously.

The nearby second canteen is still busy. After preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner, the canteen also prepares an extra midnight snack.

People who work at night have a particularly high physical strain, but their food intake is far less than during the day, so the midnight snack arrangement must focus on nutrition. Tonight they prepared millet porridge with wolfberry and beef stuffing, and winter melon soup with meatballs. Chef Xiao Cai had handed over his shift at 8:30, but he was still wandering around the kitchen like a ghost, which made others very stressed.

In the northern part of the brick kiln, Yang Shuban didn't dare to sleep with the beggars. He leaned against a brick wall, holding a wooden shovel tightly in his hand. Whenever there was a slight movement nearby, he would open his eyes suddenly...

At the quarantine point outside the west gate, Liu Dabo was sitting on the ground crying because he had begged and pleaded but failed to get into the patrol team tonight (the refugees in the quarantine area patrolled by themselves, in shifts of five). It was not because he particularly liked serving the refugees, but because he had to work at night to have a midnight snack. The damn Henan people excluded us Shandong people. Liu Dabo saw the five Henan people laughing and talking with tears in his eyes, and he was very angry. He secretly made up his mind that after the quarantine was over, he must find a job that worked day and night so that he could have four meals.

Four large torches were lit on the security team's training ground. Gao Er stood in the middle with his hands on his hips, accepting the worship of the security team members.

"Master Gao is mighty!" "Master Gao, may you live for thousands of years!" "Master Gao has made unparalleled contributions!"

Among them, the voice of Senior Gao was particularly excited: "All other departments are reactionaries! The Security Department is invincible, and Director Gao is invincible!"

The tailor shop was not closed yet. Liu Jiandao was holding the account book and carefully comparing the clothes he had cut today. The young apprentice said carefully: "Master, the master of the Wang family sent a message. He wants you to come to our house in person to make two summer clothes for yourself. The wages are 30% higher than last year..."

Without even looking up, Liu Jiandao interrupted, "Have you finished the pattern for the brocade jacket with water patterns that you prepared for Miss Xiu?"

The apprentice was stunned for a moment and said, "I looked for it during the day, but I didn't see any reminder from Manager Zhao."

Liu Jiandao closed the account book in annoyance and said to the apprentice, "When did I say that this was ordered by Manager Zhao? There are fashionable satins and fashionable styles out there, and we have to rush to make one for Miss Xiu. This is a routine. We will make it whether Manager Zhao has placed an order or not!"

"You're asking me about the Wang family's one or two door-to-door business? Even Old Cai and his people don't go."

"The shops in the county are all very busy. Which master would quit his job to take a few days' wages? You are such a grown-up, do you still have any brains?"

Closer to the collective shack, Li Shun made a cart for his old mother. The wheels were wrapped with a circle of soft white stuff, which was the skin of a mythical animal he begged for from the logistics department. Wrapping the wheels with the skin of the mythical animal greatly increased the lifespan of the wheels (wheels in ancient times broke very quickly), and the comfort level in particular was incomparable to before.

Taking advantage of the cool night, Li Shun pushed his old mother out for a ride along May 3rd Avenue (the name of the cross road in the city, the day of the crossing was May 3rd) all the way to the collective shacks. He saw that the outside of the outermost shack was crowded with people. He knew that the get out of class was over now, and these people did not go back to sleep or go out for a stroll, but were all crowded here. Either there was something exciting there, or the boss was there!
Before Li Shun could make any move, his old mother began to give orders anxiously: "Is it the boss who came? Shunzi, hurry up and push me over to take a look!"

As of today, there are 5671 people on the roster of the new city, which will soon catch up with Laishui County. (The county town has about people living in it.)
Among them, there were 387 people from Xincheng, that is, former refugees; 1154 county residents who worked (none of them resigned); 209 beggars and ruffians who were rounded up in the northern part of the brick kiln (the extra ones were captured by Min Wengong when he cleaned up the Guandi Temple, the old nest of the Beggar Gang); originally, there were 673 official craftsmen and their families in Xincheng. After Yang Wenyue heard about Xincheng's endless thirst for craftsmen, he used his power as governor to send three batches of official craftsmen from Qingyuan, Mancheng, Wanxian, Anzhou, Ansu and other places farther away, including two master craftsmen belonging to the governor's office. These people, together with their families, totaled 2152 people;
There were three groups of new refugees, totaling 755 people; the registered laborers in Hongjia Village included women, middle-aged and elderly people, totaling 274 people; in addition, there were a small number of people recruited from outside the canteen, tailor shops, scholars and students in schools, and the imperial palace twelve-person team, totaling 67 people. (Originally, there were six people including Empress Zhang and Zhang Dehai, but Chongzhen was afraid that Fang Shenzi would not eat well, so he sent four imperial chefs; in addition, Empress Zhang could not handle the full-day classes alone, so two educated female officials were transferred from the palace... They were pretty)
These 5671 people may be the happiest people of this era. They are no longer anxious, have enough food and clothing, and are safe.

Even if the sky outside collapses, the new city will not collapse because there are gods in heaven.

They are very busy every day, but they always have sweet dreams at night. It may be because the Son of God is right beside them, or it may be because there are so many magical weapons in the new city that those horrible nightmares are blocked outside the new city.

In fact, it is far more than these 5671 people who have been changed. The Rural Poor Population Protection Fund is preparing to force rent reduction in the township. The landlord Zhong Shangwei of Hongjia Village has signed a rent reduction commitment (Zhong Shangwei signed it in the cell), promising to set the rent of the land under his name at % starting from the autumn of the th year of Chongzhen. Zhong Shangwei said with tears in his eyes: "Lady Pan, I am willing to sign this commitment letter sincerely. I have done many evil things in the past, but now I have repented. If I can still get out, I must do more good deeds, repair bridges and roads, provide relief in disaster years, and help the lonely and the elderly to atone for the sins I have committed in this life..."

Also in Laishui County, every shop and workshop is hiring because of the huge orders from the Logistics Department and the Weapon Manufacturing Department. I heard that it is difficult to find people to do the job with a salary of seven cents a silver dollar. Even the stingy Carpenter Wang and the shopkeeper Hao in the shoe shop know that they have to pay the apprentices, otherwise they will be poached by other families if they are not careful, and the energy spent on training them will be wasted.

The 5671 people in the new city who work as hard as worker ants are an amplifier that changes the entire Laishui County. If the number of people here increases tenfold one day, they can change the entire Baoding Prefecture. If they increase a hundredfold, they can change the entire north. (Of course, they must be stable, reliable, and preferably skilled)
One day, the world will be renewed. No matter whether it is the farmer Hongqi who is content with his own life, the landlord Zhong Shangwei who pretends to repent in order to get out of prison as soon as possible, or the carpenter Wang who is racking his brains to think of how to exploit his apprentices, they are actually already in this force that will change the world. They are actually as important as such influential figures as Sun Chuanting and Yang Wenyue, although they are unaware of their own importance and future history will not reward them with a monument.

Fang Yu was now standing in the classroom of Class 51. There were people sitting obediently below the classroom, and more than people were gathered outside the door.

He knew these people worked very hard, but somehow it was more difficult to get them to sit down and learn a few words than to get them to work overtime.

They clamored that sixty words was too much homework.

How could sixty words be too much? It took them at most twenty minutes to copy the words from the blackboard, and even Ah Xiu's little arms could write a hundred words in an hour.

To put it bluntly, they just don't like sitting here and listening to Mr. Wang chanting sutras. They don't understand why they have to sit here and listen to others chanting sutras. The people in Class 6 don't understand, and the people in Class 5 don't understand... Their resistance is the same.

Fang Yu could not say that educated people were more efficient, more obedient, and easier to manage. There was another more important thing. Mingtong Express had already been established. When the time came to deliver letters to Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and Huang Taiji, wouldn't they have to pick people from among them? Although there were already more than 5,000 people in the new city, Fang Yu could trust the "old brothers" who had walked with him to Laishui County to establish the new city, that is, the more than 300 people in and outside the classroom now. The messenger must be literate, and more such people must be trained. Who knows if the person sent there will be a meat bun hitting a dog, and never return?

They couldn't be told the truth. Especially when they were delivering letters to the King of Rebellion and the Tartars, how scary it would be to tell them, right? Now there were rumors that the King of Rebellion would boil people in a pot at any time, and the Tartars were even more murderous. Even if they had the blessing of Empress Pan, they didn't dare to go for a while, and had to slowly "persuade" them.

Fang Yu also knew many famous quotes from later generations that encouraged learning, such as the CCTV version of "We cannot extend the length of life indefinitely, but we can increase the thickness and width of life, and reading is the best way to do that", and the Japanese version of "Books can take you where your feet can't, and where your eyes can't reach"...

These words are all good, but unfortunately they are of no use to the people in front of me.

If you want to entice them to read and write on their own initiative, you have to directly take out the "candy".

Fang Yu glanced at them, then knocked on the blackboard twice and said, "Someone asked Teacher Wang before, what is the use of learning these things and what benefits can be gained. Now I will answer you on behalf of Teacher Wang."

The classroom was completely silent, even the lowest voices had stopped. Fang Yu counted on his fingers and said, "First, you can earn money by learning this. The New Town Management Office will issue salary adjustment regulations. Anyone who has obtained the [Primary Academic Certificate] will receive a technical subsidy of one or two taels of silver in addition to their monthly salary."

Of course, knowing how to read is also a kind of skill. Currently, there are many people who enjoy technology subsidies, such as Liu Jiandao, Old Man Fan (who himself refused to receive it), many craftsmen in the Ordnance Department, and teachers in schools. Of course, their subsidies are far more than one or two taels of silver.

Except for Mr. Wang who complained a little about the name of "technical subsidy", everyone else was delighted. One tael a month, twelve taels a year, wow! This is a lot of money!

Fang Yu opened his second finger and continued, "Those who get the [Primary Academic Certificate] can get a house first. The construction team is very busy. There are many houses to be built. Currently, there are more than 120 workshops in the weapons department that need to be updated and renovated. Later, warehouses and guesthouses will be given priority. No more than 120 houses can be built within this year. 80 of these houses are reserved for you. How will they be divided when the time comes? Just pick from those who get the [Primary Academic Certificate] according to the test scores. Whoever scores higher will get to live in a new house!"

(1. The workshops near the river are built at the best level because they are prone to fire; 2. The 120 houses only refer to the southern area, and the northern area is also being built at the same time)

"Wow!" Even though they tried their best to control themselves, they couldn't help but make a noise.

This bomb is more powerful than 12 taels of silver. After knowing that they would be allocated large brick and tile houses, their hearts were already filled with weeds. The longer they lived in the collective shacks, the more they felt disgusted. It was really enough!

And only if you have a house can you find a matchmaker to propose marriage, right? Who among them doesn't want to have a wife and start a family? This one can't wait! Not only can those who are at the back of the queue not live in a house, but even the good girls in the county have been taken away by others!

It seems that we really need to study hard! Many people thought so in their hearts. They suddenly no longer resented that Mr. Wang assigned them twice as much homework as others. This is a good thing! If they do more homework than others, they will definitely do better than others in the exam.

Old Student Wang raised his head amidst apologetic gazes, with an unfathomable look on his face. Combined with his long beard, he looked just like the illustrations of Du Fu and Xin Qiji in textbooks.

The students in Class 5 and Class 4 outside had already panicked.

For example, in Class 5, Teacher Cai also assigned 60 words as homework before, but they reduced it by half due to their own protest. They were quite proud of it, but now they will definitely ask Teacher Cai to give them more homework tomorrow.

Before he finished talking about the benefits, Fang Yu continued to spread out one finger and said, "Only those who have obtained the [Primary Academic Certificate] are qualified to be cadres. To be a cadre, you must be able to read the roster and documents, and be able to write reports. This is the minimum requirement. The New City Management Office will issue the rules for the appointment and removal of cadres. After half a year, anyone who does not have the [Primary Academic Certificate] will not be qualified to serve as a deputy director of a department or a higher position (including team leader and deputy team leader. Currently, the construction team and road repair team are directly under the jurisdiction of the New City Management Office). In other words, if you want to have a taste of being a cadre in this life, you must pass the exam first."

……

Fang Yu carried A Xiu and left the shanty town, but the people behind him were destined to suffer from sleeplessness tonight.

Class six.

Inspired by the young master, Chen Agui decided to study hard in the future.

He spread out his homework book on his knees, holding the brush in his fist and writing furiously. Chen Agui would not be satisfied with a homework of 60 words, he would write 100 words! Hehehe!
Chen Agui's heart was beating fast when he suddenly felt the lights dim. He looked up and saw the squad leader Liao Heizi, the study committee member Hu Jincai, and the discipline committee member Cheng Sanban standing in a row in front of him.

Chen Agui felt very uneasy, and he quickly explained: "Mrs. Pan is my witness, I didn't mean that. I was fined half a month's salary like you. Brothers, we should be reasonable. We are all class leaders and well-educated people. We can't be impulsive."

Squad leader Liao Heizi shouted to the back, "Did you bring the quilt?"

Soon, a lackey brought over a dirty green cotton quilt with many large holes in it. Chen Agui recognized it at a glance. It was the "relief supplies" that the county had sent to them when they first arrived in Laishui County.

What was the point of using the bed quilt in this weather? Chen Agui was very confused.

He wanted to ask, but before he could open his mouth, the monitor and the study committee member covered his head with a quilt, and then many fists and many pairs of big feet fell on him like a rainstorm.

"Chen Agui, you bastard, I'm going to get rid of this harm to the people today!" This was the squad leader scolding.

"You've caused so much trouble to us! What nonsense are you talking about with such a big mouth? You bastard, look at me kicking you!" This was the scolding from the study committee member.

Chen Agui could no longer hear what the discipline committee member was scolding in the back because he was covered with a quilt, and the noise of punches and kicks was too loud.

We brothers still know the rules and know that beating someone with a quilt won’t hurt, Chen Agui thought.

Outside the shack.

Li Shun pushed his old mother back to his residence. He was silent along the way and seemed to be worried about something.

As the saying goes, no one knows a child better than his mother. The old mother patted his hand and said, "Go and sign up for night school tomorrow. I have learned all the bamboo work in the shop a long time ago. If you don't finish it during the day, your family and I can do it slowly. You just go to class."

Li Shun was embarrassed: "Mother is not in good health, how can I let her do these chores... My son is just daydreaming. Reading and writing are not that easy. It will be a waste of effort..."

The old mother stared at Li Shun, looking at him as if he were a fool. She said, "Do you think I asked you to study for that 10 taels of silver? Or so that you can become an official?"

Li Shun was puzzled.

The old mother sighed deeply and said, "The Dong family is a person from heaven, with the best heart. You didn't understand what he said today... The Dong family is in trouble, and he needs some people who can read and write to help him, but he is unwilling to say it clearly. Alas, we can't repay the Dong family's kindness in this lifetime. No matter what the reason is, this is always an opportunity. Why worry about wasting your efforts?"

(End of this chapter)