Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 313 First Lesson
“The youngest among you is already five years old, and in my eyes, you are all sensible children.

Today is the first day of our school, and I will be the one teaching the first class."

Meng Changqing said loudly: "I have a question for you. Listen carefully, what is the difference between our Beishan County and other counties?"

After Meng Changqing finished speaking, the children below looked around. An older girl answered, "My mother said that women in our county also have farmland, but other counties don't."

"Yes, that counts as a little, what else?" Meng Changqing continued to ask.

The girl looked embarrassed and obviously couldn't answer. At this time, another child answered: "The land was divided early, and children of a few years old could have their own fields."

Meng Changqing nodded, "That counts, what else?"

The children in the classroom looked around and didn't know how to answer, and the adults standing outside couldn't answer either.

Someone asked the person next to him, "What else?"

The person being asked smacked his lips and shook his head, "I don't know."

At this time, a young man who was sitting near the front stood up. He was wearing a relatively respectable long gown and had a book in front of him. It was obvious that he had been to school before. He seemed to know what Meng Changqing wanted to hear.

"Sir, I think the biggest difference between Beishan County and other counties is that Beishan County has you. You are dedicated to the people and dedicated to the public. You are a rare good official."

Meng Changqing smiled after hearing what he said, but said, "Sit down, this doesn't count."

"Since you can't tell me the most important difference, let me tell you." Meng Changqing paused here, then said loudly: "Poor, poor!
This is the biggest difference between our Beishan County and other places. We are extremely poor! "

She exhaled lightly, lowered her voice slightly, and continued: "Most of you have never been out of your homes and have never seen the prosperity outside, nor do you know how poor our Beishan County is.

You think that everyone eats the same millet rice and wears the same coarse cloth, and that being able to have enough food and clothes is good enough. But I tell you today that this is not the case.

There are people in the world who complain that chicken, duck, fish and meat are not fine enough, and that the patterns of silk are not fashionable enough. Even if boxes of jewelry are placed in front of them, they are too lazy to even look at them. And you, you don’t even know what jewelry looks like or what silk feels like. Killing a chicken in your home is always a big event.

There are such huge differences between people.

I ask you, do you want to eat meat?"

The forty-six children in the room all gave the same answer: “Yes!”

"Do you want to be like those people I mentioned, eating meat and wearing nice clothes every day?"

The child’s answer was even more intense, “Yes!”

Meng Changqing asked them, "Why don't your parents feed you meat and buy you nice clothes every day?"

A sensible child picked his fingers and answered, "We have no money. We have to sell the chickens we raise to exchange for salt."

"Yes, we have no money." Meng Changqing said to the child who lowered his head, "Child, your family is not the only one like this. Most families in our Beishan County are like this. Those who raise chickens and ducks at home will not easily kill them for you to eat unless they encounter a major event. They have to take them to the market to exchange for money to supplement their family income.

It's not that your parents are reluctant to give it to you, they won't eat meat behind your back, right? In fact, if there is meat at home, they have to leave it for you.

Our Beishan County is so poor.

So I said we are so poor that you can’t even afford meat, but have you ever thought about why Beishan County is so poor? "

This question is even more difficult to answer. It’s not just the children who are in the same situation, it’s the same for adults out there.