Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Everyone had already made up their minds, but no one was in a hurry to leave.

This novel tune, never heard before, was indeed captivating.

Unexpectedly, Fang Zheng Yi was not only proficient in poetry but also possessed terrifying talent in music. Truly, he had a way with learning!

Moreover, Fang Zheng Yi had just said that he would remain at Yucai Elementary School afterward.

Only after listening to the entire tune did everyone line up and leave the classroom, eager to return home early and send someone to register before the crowds arrived.

Once the crowd dispersed, Li Yuanzhao jumped onto the podium and asked, "Lao Fang, why did you set the tuition so low this time?"

Fang Zheng smiled: "Low? This is just the first semester, and it's only the admission fee."

"Uh, what do you mean by admission fee?" Li Yuanzhao suddenly realized that Fang Zheng Yi had indeed said 'admission fee' just now, not 'tuition fee'.

"The so-called admission fee is the qualification for entry. Subsequent tuition fees, miscellaneous fees, textbook fees, tutoring fees, medical fees, spring, summer, autumn, and winter excursions..."

Fang Zheng Yi rattled off a dozen items as if they were treasures.

"And spring/summer custom uniforms, school store income...."

Li Yuanzhao's expression grew stranger and stranger as he listened. It seemed his understanding was too shallow. He hadn't expected so many ways to collect fees.

"What's a school store?"

"Just think of it as a small stall. Our Taoyuan County's premium school store will definitely fatten up the students!" Fang Zheng Yi grinned.

Small hamburgers, small fries, and children's meals with toys – wouldn't he provide those for the kids? He could even make spicy sticks!

Li Yuanzhao fell silent, suddenly feeling that Yucai Elementary School wasn't as wonderful as he had thought.

Was this really teaching and nurturing people? Weren't these just plump little lambs waiting to be slaughtered?

"At this rate, how much money can you earn from one student in a year?"

"I think... at least five thousand taels? For six years," Fang Zheng Yi estimated.

"Thirty... thirty thousand taels?! You wouldn't do this to my son, would you?" Li Yuanzhao stammered.

"What kind of relationship do we have? If the Imperial Grandson is really sent here, wouldn't we have to cultivate him with great care? Besides, Your Highness, you're overthinking it. I'm doing this for the good of the children. It's just that the tuition is a bit high," Fang Zheng Yi said. "This is a private school, and we even have bilingual teaching. Is spending five thousand taels a year expensive?"

"Where does the bilingual come from?"

"Vernacular and Classical Chinese, isn't that bilingual?"

"..." Li Yuanzhao twitched his lips and asked, "Why didn't you mention those miscellaneous items just now? It'll be troublesome to collect money later."

"If I said it in advance, I would have scared everyone away. How could the school open then?" Fang Zheng Yi said persuasively. "Does Your Highness know a story? If you put a frog in boiling water, it will jump out immediately. But if you put it in warm water and slowly bring it to a boil, it will no longer have the strength to jump out."

"Recruiting students is the same principle. First, use a low threshold to attract students, and then in the second semester, announce that due to the excessive number of children applying for admission, we can only screen students by raising prices to ensure the quality of teaching. In this way, students will first experience the goodness of Yucai Elementary School and become inseparable from the school and the group. On the other hand, parents will be more willing to accept the price increase later!"

Fang Zheng Yi stood with his hands behind his back, feeling pleased with himself.

Although this recruitment method was a bit despicable and the tuition fee was a bit exorbitant, he believed it was definitely worth it. Students from Yucai would surely possess a completely new outlook for the future.

In addition to learning traditional culture, there were also teachers from Dongjiao University lecturing, comprehensively cultivating scientific thinking.

Not only would they learn in class, but they could even use the laboratory for various operations under the guidance of teachers.

Moreover, he didn't plan to keep the school's recreational facilities unchanged. The projects that became boring would have to be renovated!

After all, his own son was also there. He couldn't let him play the same few projects for several years, could he?

With such specifications and such conditions, even 21st-century students would drool with envy!

These future stars in the court would surely lead a new era. This was what it meant to start from the cradle.

Five thousand taels of silver could potentially cultivate a future trendsetter? It could only be said to be a great deal!

Moreover, he didn't plan to keep all the tuition fees he earned in his own pocket. He could use the money from the rich to engage in affordable education among the common people.

This was considered common prosperity!

Li Yuanzhao licked his lips: "What you said seems to make sense, but you said it backward. Frogs can't get out when they fall into boiling water, but they jump out when you boil them."

"Nonsense!" Fang Zheng Yi was doubtful. The tried and tested frog-in-boiling-water method from later generations was reversed by you? Unreasonable!

"I've boiled them."

"? ? ? What are you boiling that thing for? Do you have any humanity?"

Li Yuanzhao smiled triumphantly: "I've boiled so many things that you can't even imagine!"

"Your Highness is truly talented..."

Fang Zheng Yi felt a chill all over his body, and Li Yuanzhao asked again: "However, have you ever considered that some honest officials might not be able to afford this tuition fee if it's so expensive?"

"First of all, we assume that there are no such officials in the central government."

"Then, if a miracle really happens, I have also prepared a second plan, which is to offer discounted admission for buying school district housing. If there is really such a demand, I can delineate a piece of land in Taoyuan County, where those who buy school district housing can enjoy tuition fee reductions, and if they don't have money, they can give me an IOU first, which can be considered a win-win situation."

"Houses in Taoyuan County... The school district is in the capital, is that reasonable?" Li Yuanzhao felt it was a bit absurd.

"It's very reasonable, because they are all my properties. This is called a family bucket."

Hiss! Lao Fang earns money as if he's playing, it's really envious....

Li Yuanzhao fell silent again: "If I send my son here, would that be considered advertising for you? Give me a share."

"No problem."

Li Yuanzhao nodded in satisfaction, feeling much more balanced now.

"Then what are we going to do next? It doesn't seem like there's anything else to do here."

"This afternoon, many officials will definitely take the initiative to sign up. If Your Highness is willing to accompany me, then we can do it together."

"After the registration ends tomorrow, I plan to start school at the beginning of next month. In addition, I have to go to Dongjiao University the day after tomorrow. Your Highness can go with me, I guarantee you won't regret it!"

"Heh, then I shall wait and see!"

...

That afternoon, the situation was as Fang Zheng Yi had expected.

Almost all the officials who had come to participate in the enrollment fair in the morning sent their family servants to register.

The scene was so lively that long queues formed, for fear of falling behind.

After all, those who could come to the conference were all prominent figures in the court, and many people's status would reach its limit there in their lifetime.

They could only hope that their descendants would be able to make a name for themselves.

The most these people had at home were children, and they had as many eligible children as they wanted.

Due to the limited number of places, some families wanted to register three or five children together, which also caused conflicts.

Until Fang Zheng Yi announced on the spot that each family could only select one student, and those who wanted to register more could first pay the admission fee and then have the school select one student after the entrance examination, the storm subsided.

The reason for doing this was actually beneficial. If there were many children in a family and only one came, wouldn't the others be upset when they saw it?

There would definitely be more enrollment later, which was equivalent to giving a head start to future price increases for enrollment!

In half a day, the first batch of students was full, so that no one registered the next day.

At this point, the enrollment fair came to a successful end, waiting only for the students to start school...

......