I'm in the Red Mansion

Chapter 192: Baoyu is beaten, and Jia Mu is furious

After seeing Jia Huan off, Jia Cong called Xue Da and asked him to inform the clan elders to hold a clan meeting tomorrow.

By the next day, all the elders of the clan had arrived.

In Jia Zhen's time, clan meetings were rarely held.

They were not really used to this new clan meeting.

After everyone arrived, Jia Cong couldn't help but say, "I called you all here because I want to discuss a problem."

"Now that the grandfather of Dairu is old, he no longer has the energy to manage the clan studies, which has led to the clan studies being in a state of chaos."

"The children of the clan, apart from learning some naughty things, have not made any progress in their studies."

"If this continues, it will destroy the foundation of my Jia family."

"So, I thought, first of all, to hire two learned gentlemen to give lectures."

"Second, we must strictly follow the rules of the clan school. Anyone who excels will be rewarded."

"Anyone who does not study hard and does not listen to the teacher's teachings will be severely punished. In serious cases, they will be expelled from the school directly."

"Of course, this is just my preliminary plan. The specific details still need to be considered."

"I wonder what the elders think about this?"

After hearing Jia Cong's words, the elders discussed it.

Everyone thinks this is a good thing.

The Jia family's academic system has been in a state of chaos for a long time, but when Jia Zhen was alive, he never took care of it.

Even Jia Zheng, the second master of the West Mansion, although he loved reading, had never cared about the affairs of the clan's school.

Nowadays, there is only one issue that these elders are concerned about, that is, whether it is hiring a teacher or rewarding those with outstanding performance, it costs money.

And where does this silver come from?

If there are more students in the future, this amount of money will not be a small sum, and the clan may not be able to afford it.

After all, it’s still a question of money.

Jia Cong thought about it and said, "I will pay for this sum of money. There is no need to use the money from the government."

Upon hearing this, all the elders applauded.

In fact, the silver is limited, and one thousand taels of silver a year is not enough.

However, Jia Cong was unwilling to be the scapegoat.

I'll just take responsibility for it for now, as there's still a lot to do this year.

For example, there are several farms managed by Wu Jinxiao, as well as other farms and some shops.

I don’t know how much of it has been hollowed out by termites.

Now that he is the housekeeper, naturally he has to dig out all these parasites.

After going through this round of checks, you will naturally have money.

No matter how much silver he has taken out now, he will naturally have to replenish it when the government has silver.

Now that the discussion is settled.

Next, Jia Cong began to promote reforms in clan studies.

Jia Cong first found Jia Dairu with gifts. He had great respect and gratitude for this old scholar.

No matter how knowledgeable he is or how perfunctory his teaching is, it is extremely good for him.

Jia Cong always remembered this kindness.

After finding Jia Dairu, Jia Cong promised that he could spend his old age at home and no longer have to manage the clan school.

The annual amount of silver is still not small, and it is one hundred taels more than before.

The one hundred taels of silver were paid privately by Jia Cong.

When Jia Dairu heard this, he was naturally very happy and agreed immediately.

Then, Jia Cong asked his senior brother Feng Ziying to help find two experienced and reliable teachers to give lectures.

Then he asked Xue Da to send two people to maintain order in the clan school.

Anyone who disrupts the classroom order, disobeys the teacher's instructions, or fails to complete the homework assigned by the teacher will be spanked on the palm of the hand or hit with a stick depending on the severity of the offense.

At the beginning, almost everyone in the school was beaten.

Even Jia Baoyu could not escape being beaten because he did not complete the homework assigned by the teacher. Jia Huan was also beaten because he was distracted in class and did not listen to the teacher's instructions, and he did not complete the homework assigned by the teacher.

Jia Baoyu was only hit on the palms of his hands ten times, while Jia Huan was hit fifty times, and his palms were swollen.

However, even though he was beaten, Jia Huan was still very happy in his heart.

Mainly, he was happy to see Baoyu being beaten.

This is the first time that Baoyu has been beaten in all the years he has been in school.

Never been beaten before.

Baoyu started crying after being hit ten times on the palm of his hand.

He didn't cry even after being beaten fifty times.

Humph! He always scolds me when he has nothing to do!

It turns out he is even worse than me!
After returning home, although Jia Huan felt severe pain in his palm, he did not dare to tell Aunt Zhao.

Although Aunt Zhao loved him, she didn't spoil him.

If I heard that he was beaten at school, I would definitely beat him again.

When Jia Baoyu returned home, he immediately went to find his grandmother and cried to her.

When Grandmother Jia saw that Jia Baoyu's palms were swollen from being beaten, her heart almost melted with pain.

Suddenly, anger rose in my heart and fire started to build up in my courage.

She immediately ordered someone to call the gentleman over.

But at this moment, Jia Zheng stopped the servant from calling for help, and walked into the house, trying to persuade him:
"Mother, I think the school is doing well."

"Baoyu was beaten because he didn't finish his homework. I asked someone to find out, and almost all the students in the school, from the top to the bottom, were beaten."

"Baoyu was only hit on the palm of his hand ten times, which is considered light."

Hearing this, Jia's mother couldn't help but say angrily: "How can they compare with Baoyu?"

Jia Zheng said again: "Mother, every time I disciplined Baoyu, you always protected him. Now you still want to protect him? How long are you going to protect him?"

"We can't let him live among women forever, can we? He's grown up now, what will happen in the future?"

"Cong is only one year older than him. He has already entered school and will take part in the provincial examination this year."

"Is Baoyu worse than him? If Baoyu concentrates on studying, will he not be able to enter the school?"

"Don't you want to see Baoyu become a successful person?"

Hearing this, Grandmother Jia fell silent.

As the old lord of the Jia family, why does Jia Zheng need to explain such truth?

How could she not understand?

However, when it comes to Baoyu, she will not think about the reason.

But Jia Zheng had already said everything, so it was difficult for Grandmother Jia to object any further.

In fact, didn’t Grandmother Jia also want to see Baoyu become successful?

She even felt that Baoyu was ten or a hundred times smarter than that evil beast in the East Palace.

Since the evil beast from the East Palace could pass the examination and become a scholar, if her Baoyu were allowed to take the exam, wouldn't he be able to pass and become a juren or even a jinshi?

Standing next to him, Jia Baoyu, upon hearing this, felt his heart pounding and he lost all hope.

With tears in his eyes, he looked at Lady Jia pitifully.

At this time, Grandmother Jia finally hardened her heart and stopped looking into Jia Baoyu's eyes.

Jia Zheng shouted, "You damned beast, why don't you go back to your room and do the homework that the teacher gave you today?"

"If you get beaten again tomorrow, come back and watch your skin!"

After being scolded by Jia Zheng, Jia Baoyu was frightened like a mouse avoiding a cat.

He quickly replied "yes", but after standing up, he was reluctant to leave.

Grandmother Jia couldn't help but said, "Baoyu, go back and do your homework first. It won't be too late to play after you finish it."

Hearing this, Baoyu finally gave up and said with a look of grief, "Yes, Grandfather."

(End of this chapter)