Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

The village heads probably didn't know that the adults were going to set up enlightenment classes, so naturally they signed up both boys and girls.

Shen Zheng nodded with satisfaction after hearing this: "That's right."

"hiss!"

The village heads took a deep breath when they heard this, and said in disbelief: "What the adults mean is..."

Shen Zheng nodded, looked straight at them, and asked, "Why not?"

The village heads immediately came to their senses. The deep-rooted ideas of the past still made them feel unbelievable at first. But then they changed their minds and realized that even for physical work like carpentry apprentices, several women were selected. It was just an enlightenment, so why couldn't girls be selected?

Apart from anything else, every family of theirs has a daughter, granddaughter, or great-granddaughter.

Zhang Lizheng of Qingyuan Village quickly responded: "Boys and girls are the same! I have no intention of looking down on girls!"

He couldn't help but think, if his daughter-in-law got pregnant and gave birth to a well-behaved and cute granddaughter, how could their family not love her?

A girl could be born from any mother's womb, and they had no reason to look down on her.

And now Lord Shen has made them understand that women can also hold up half of the sky... No! It's the entire sky.

Now Lord Shen is their heaven.

The more they thought about it, the better it was. However, they still had some concerns in their hearts. After hesitating, they asked, "Sir, we are peasants, but we have heard that those families with aristocratic backgrounds teach their children to read. Basically, they let the children be influenced by what they see and hear from a young age. I am afraid that not many children can learn from our enlightenment class..."

"Yes, sir... I am not ungrateful, but you have done a lot for us. If they fail to learn and become talented and cannot repay you, I will be ashamed to death."

The village heads had not received much education, but they knew that studying was not something that could be achieved overnight. They were extremely terrified that the adults were willing to devote themselves to educating the children.

Shen Zheng shook her head and said seriously, "Perhaps I didn't make my words clear just now. I said I hope the children can read and have knowledge, not that they can write articles and become high officials. Do you understand the difference?"

Everyone was thinking with their heads down, Shen Zheng continued, "These are two completely different things. Now that the emperor is wise, children's education will gradually become more popular in the future, and being able to read and do simple arithmetic is the basic."

Yu Zhengqing nodded in agreement. What she said was indeed true. The emperor had the courage to expand the imperial examination system and would not limit himself to this.

Seeing that the village heads seemed to have understood, Shen Zheng continued, "What you just said about 'success' is too general. In the eyes of you and the people, what does success mean? Is it about becoming a high-ranking official or making a lot of money?"

The village heads were immediately confused by her question and stammered, "Not necessarily... We think that those who have insights, their own ideas, and abilities should also be considered talented?"

"Yes." Shen Zheng answered affirmatively, "Live in the present, seize the opportunities in front of you, as long as you are satisfied with the results of your efforts, you will succeed. Maybe some people will think this is false, but the most taboo thing in life is to compare yourself with others."

Yu Zhengqing felt like she had poked him again and chuckled for no reason.

Then she continued, "The higher you go, the more you see, and the more you want to satisfy your heart. So the most fundamental purpose of sending children to school is not to make them achieve great things, but to let them find their true selves."

The village heads opened their mouths wide when they heard this. It was so profound... No one had ever told them this before.

Seeing them looking stupid, Shen Zheng chuckled and said, "The introductory class not only teaches them to read and write, I will also work with the teachers to develop a teaching plan that will cover everything from reading and arithmetic to Shanhaihuashuo and handicrafts. When they are in the introductory class until they are ten years old, they may know what they want to do."

Yu Zhengqing echoed, "Think about it. There will be many businessmen in your county in the future. Just to give you an example, when you do business with others, can you read and calculate? If you can't even use an abacus properly, do you think you have to accept whatever others say? You might get cheated out of money and still be happy."

He said this so bluntly that the village heads blushed and wanted to refute but dared not.

They are not very good at math, but they are not that stupid...

Shen Zheng chuckled. "Master Yu's words are rough but true. Five or six years old is the time to develop character. I don't want the young trees in our county to grow crooked from a young age. If someone is really interested in studying and makes a name for himself in the future, it will be a good thing for the county."

She paused, then continued, "It doesn't matter if you can't read it. The world is so big, and not everyone has to be a big shot. Besides, there will be many places in the county that need people in the future. In short, it doesn't matter what happens."

"Sir...little man, little man..."

The village heads were all so excited that they felt honored to be chosen by the adults.

Sending a child to school? This was something they would never have dared to dream of in the past, but now it has become easy for everyone in the surrounding area. No, no, no, the people in this world! Who wouldn't envy them in Tong'an County?

"Your Excellency's kindness is great, and I am so shameless..."

When Shen Zheng saw that they were about to cry, she got goosebumps all over her body and quickly waved at them.

"Okay, okay, these are what you deserve. Count them again in the next two days and give me the exact number of people so I can plan ahead. Don't forget about the yield per mu, keep it tight."

"Yes! Sir!" At this time, the village heads were extremely excited, as if they were injected with chicken blood, and their voices were so loud that they seemed to blow the roof off.

After a while, Shen Zheng said again: "Don't spread the news yet. I will recruit teachers in the next two days. When I sell all the grain seeds, I will release the news together with the county school news."

Yu Zhengqing turned around and asked, "Do you need me to help you find the master?"

He thought that the little fox would do the same as last time, and after some twists and turns, it would set its sights on him.

Shen Zheng waved his hand to let the village heads go home, and then said after they left: "For children's enlightenment, it is not necessary for the teacher to be knowledgeable, but just a person of good character, patient, interesting and able to teach. I will order Xu Zhubu to issue a notice tomorrow to recruit teachers from several counties. As long as the salary is good, we should be able to find suitable people."

The more Yu Zhengqing looked at Shen Zheng, the more satisfied he became. He nodded and said, "That's right. The teachers I found for you last time were all well-educated. But children's personalities have not yet been formed, so it's not enough for a teacher to just have knowledge."

What he said was right. The imperial examination requires comprehensive knowledge. When it comes to teaching people knowledge, gentlemen with honors are naturally popular.