Rebirth, end of the world, time travel, escape famine, make money!

Father Liu patted Luo Hong on the shoulder and consoled him, "Hahaha, yes, yes, you can do it. If you pass the exam and become a scholar, it will be of great benefit to us."

"No matter which dynasty it was, officials had a higher status than businessmen."

"Okay, the matter of being an official is up to you. Later, you can take the children to learn. If it really doesn't work out, go to Wan Tongsheng's school in front to study."

"I won't go. The children can be sent over."

"I have inquired about Wan Tongsheng before. He is a Tongsheng who has not even passed the examination for a scholar. On the one hand, he opened this school to earn some money to supplement his family income, and on the other hand, he would have time to read books and prepare for the examination for a scholar. He teaches the children there for a maximum of two years, and after two years, they will be sent to the town or county school. The main reason for sending children from nearby villages here for enlightenment is that his fees are cheap."

"I've talked to him about this a bit. Our village is more than an hour away. There's a town among four villages. There's a relatively large school there. The school was opened by the town, and three scholars were invited to teach. Being a Tongsheng is not considered an official title. Only being a Xiucai is. Despite this, many people still fail the Tongsheng exam. They were all eliminated in the first round."

Father Liu nodded. "Yes, I asked around. The tuition in the town's school is much higher. Not many people in the village can afford the cost of writing brushes, inkstones, and paper. So there is only one school in four villages in the town. The school has three classes, and each class has no more than 30 students. Our modern classes have fewer than 40 or 50 students."

Luo Hong also nodded: "I plan to go to the town to ask at the beginning of the year, and then I will learn about the time and conditions required for the exam. If it doesn't work out, I will sign up in the town to study for a while. I will send the children at home to Wan Tongsheng for enlightenment first. I will make plans after I understand it clearly. There is a public county school in the county, and there should be no tuition for those who pass the exam. But you have to prepare the pens, inkstones, paper, and books yourself. These are the biggest expenses."

"Money is not a problem, just go study and take the exam without worry. I have found out that Wan Tongsheng will start classes on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. You can find time to ask the village chief later at the town school. It's not a good idea to ask Wan Tongsheng about this kind of thing."

"Well, you can sign up the kids then. When the new year comes, I will continue to teach everyone how to read when I come back in the evening. Whether you are doing business or doing anything else in the future, learning how to read is always a good idea."

"Didn't we agree on this before? You will be in charge of everyone's studies here. We also said before that we would open a school of our own."

"Before I pass the imperial examination, our own school can only teach our own people. No one from outside will sign up."

"I didn't say we're going to recruit people from outside. The number of people we have is definitely not enough. I plan to buy some more people back at the beginning of the new year. Let's talk about these slowly."

As they walked, they came to the boundary marker on the hillside. On the other side of the boundary marker was another higher hill. Father Liu wanted to buy it together, but his financial situation did not allow it.

Money makes the world go round. Liu's father gave the county government's household manager some silver, saying that he was also interested in buying the hill. If anyone wanted to buy it, he could let him know. If he could buy it at the same price, he would sell it to him. No matter when, as long as he bought the hill, he would give him 20 taels as an introduction fee. The household manager agreed at the time. As for whether he could do it later, it all depended on how attractive the price he offered was. If someone offered a high price, he could only let it go.

However, there is a reason why no one has bought this hill. The hill is not suitable for growing crops. It is only suitable for people like Liu's father who want to plant fruit trees and some sweet potato vines, or to enclose it and raise chickens and ducks.

"Brother Liu, this swamp is a big project!"

"Yes, although it is a big project, once it is planned out, it will definitely bring us great surprises."

"Just think it over. I can't give you any advice on these."

"Of course, I asked Xiaolu to help me draw the blueprint. Xiaolu has learned sketching, so I told her my idea and asked her to draw a rough blueprint for me first. Weizhong, Liu Hao, and Sun Zeyuan, you can all take a look and give some opinions when the time comes."

The few people who were called followed them as soon as they arrived, and listened to the conversation between the two along the way. Father Liu and Luo Hong were like the patriarchs of the family.

"I understand, Uncle Liu."

"I see, Uncle Liu. I also learned drawing in college, so I can help you when the time comes."

Luo Hong didn't know that they had just talked about the imperial examination when he suddenly thought of a question, "Old Liu, your surname is a bit complicated. We'll ask around later. They call you Uncle Liu, and I don't know if it violates some taboos at that time. You know the ancient king, the national surname of this dynasty, but the king must have those, and Uncle Liu is afraid of colliding with the king. You know that Wang and Huang in ancient times were surnames that were passed down later. If it violates a taboo, you have to change your surname."

Father Liu didn't care.

"It's okay, just stop calling me Uncle Liu and call me Uncle Yi from now on. We went to the county government to handle household registration, and the people in the household registration office didn't say they wouldn't do it, so there shouldn't be a problem with the surname. Just be careful with the way you address me, and I'll take the initiative to call you Renyi when I go out. I don't care about surnames, and I only have two daughters, so it doesn't mean I can't inherit without a son, and I don't have to pass on my surname."

"Brother Renyi, you are right..." Luo Hong made a thumbs-up gesture.

"Uncle Renyi..."

"Uncle Renyi..."

"Uncle Renyi..."

"..."

Luo Hong was right, no matter where they were or what abilities they had.

A strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake, and the arm cannot twist the thigh.

The rules that should be followed must still be followed.

Father Liu could obviously accept this logic. "Okay, Caixia and Caiyu should be more careful in the future. If it really doesn't work, just take their mother's surname. I can also be a live-in son-in-law and take the wife's surname."

"Since this surname has been registered by the government, there shouldn't be any big problems. The Ohara Dynasty that I learned about before was similar to our time, a country with a large number of ethnic groups. Moreover, the centralization of power is not as centralized as imagined, and the power of the vassal kings in each state is still quite large. So the titles of these princes are the ones that need to be considered."

"It's always better to be careful."

The group walked along the official road at the foot of the mountain for a circle and a half. There were still two hills ahead, so it was unrealistic to walk the entire round trip.

In this way, it took more than an hour to go back and forth.

Father Liu said, "You guys go back first. It's still early for dinner. I'm going to the village chief's house to chat. Lao Luo, let's go together."

"Dad, you guys go ahead, we'll go back and cook. Come back quickly after you finish chatting, don't rush for mealtime, it will make things difficult for others." Liu Caixia reminded.

"understood!"