Shipin Dalizheng

Rong Tang pressed his hand down again.

"While everyone is here, let's discuss this matter today to prevent similar situations from happening in the future. This morning, our village almost lost a girl. Don't think girls are unimportant. I'm telling you today that in Rongjia Village, boys and girls are equally important. They are all our own children and are precious. Do you understand?"

Of course, there were people who responded, and the Eighth Master's family was particularly loud, which attracted the approval of others.

"So after the school is built, all children in the village, regardless of gender, must go to school to learn to read and write. As children grow older and become the family's labor force, the time can be reduced appropriately, one or two hours is fine. Adults will also hold literacy classes. Every month and every quarter, there will be a character recognition test. For each additional character recognized, I will reward one cent from my dividends, with a maximum of two thousand characters."

The adults and children in Eighth Master's family had been studying for a while and knew a little bit about it. Eighth Master raised his hand and asked, "Prince Tang, my grandchildren know a little bit about it now. Can they receive the award now?"

"Yes. But I have to be frank. If you have daughters at home, they must also be allowed to learn to read. If your daughters can't go, your sons can't even think about getting in. Also, not everyone can get this reward. I'm only giving it to the top 100. Don't think that if you have a maximum of 2,000 words, you'll get it sooner or later. The fact is that if you're slow in learning to read, you won't get the reward. Do you understand?"

"I understand!"

The responses were loud and unanimous, and I had never heard clearly that going to school was not only free, but I even paid for it. But these were all benefits given by the prince, and only a fool would not want them.

"Another question, regarding the marriage of boys and girls, I personally suggest not arranging marriages for children so early. It's too far out, and who knows what will happen. The uncertainty is that it will cause unhappiness between the two families. Also, the children in our village are precious. When discussing marriages, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, you must find out the family traditions and character of the family, so as not to let the children's marriages have a negative impact on their lives. Especially when choosing a husband for a girl, you must be very careful. I would like to criticize the Third Grandma here..."

The Third Grandma had just vented her anger on Daya, and her heart was hot. What she said made her lips tremble and her eyes red.

"When Third Grandma heard her granddaughter was wronged, she scolded her own child without asking any questions and then offered gifts to the wrongdoer to apologize. This is wrong. Everything has its right and wrong. You can't blindly wrong your own child just because the other party is of higher status. If you push your child to the limit and make her unable to survive, will she be sad? Not at all. They will only applaud and marry a new wife. It will always be your family who are sad. Third Grandma, if Daya died today, would you be sad?"

The Third Grandma thought that Prince Tang was going to embarrass her, but in the end he still left her with dignity. She cried, "I know. It's my own child, how can I not feel sorry for him?"

"So if you want to do good for your children, you have to think twice before you decide whether the children will really be well. Don't think that breaking off an engagement is a big deal. Children in our village are precious. When they learn to read and write, both boys and girls will be knowledgeable and capable, and they won't have trouble finding a marriage partner. Also, I have to seriously criticize Daya. Why did she jump into the river to commit suicide when it was such a big deal? If you have any problems in the future, tell the village and they will solve them. If they can't solve them, come to me. As long as you don't steal, rob, or break the law, I will protect you. If anyone tries to commit suicide again, your whole family will be punished. Do you understand?"

The villagers looked at each other, but after thinking about it, they realized that Prince Tang also cared deeply about the villagers, and worrying about them would not benefit him at all.

"understood."

"Well, there are things to criticize, but there are also people to commend. Let's let the Jindou family step forward."

Aunt Ma stood there obediently, shouting whatever people called her. She was most afraid of being caught doing something wrong. When she heard her name called, she was startled, thinking she had made a mistake.

Until her son pushed her, "Mom, Prince Tang wants to praise you!"

She came back to her senses, walked forward, and smiled ingratiatingly at Rong Tang, "Prince Tang, hehe, hehe!"

"Aunt Jindou performed very well today, working hard to vent her child's anger, especially the way she scattered the copper coins. Mr. Hong accepted the copper coins, which was equivalent to acknowledging that this was the price for peeing on him. Great. Chuncao, reimburse Aunt Jindou for the copper coins she scattered, and reward her with two jars of sweet wine."

Ma was overjoyed. She had thought the copper coins had been wasted, and was feeling bad. She was thinking of asking the Third Master's family to return them later...

cough cough...

"Aunt Jindou has her shortcomings, but she has improved a lot over time. I now nominate Aunt Jindou as the Women's Director of Rongjia Village, in charge of..."

Everyone was stunned, and Ma was also confused. Was this a compliment or a criticism?

Rong Dajiang asked, "Prince Tang, what is the Director of Women's Affairs?"

Rong Tang touched his chin and explained this modern grassroots management position to them.

"I have to say something extra about this. For many years to come, our Rong family will have endless work to do, and everyone will be busy. Remember, only when there is work can there be food to eat, and family unity is the key to quickly getting out of poverty and becoming rich, so it is necessary to reduce family conflicts. Although I don't like to pry into other people's affairs, some family gossip will still reach my ears. Those who beat and scold their wives, treat daughters harshly, and are unfilial to the elderly are not isolated cases. From now on, Aunt Jindou will be in charge of this aspect. If you are not convinced and unwilling to abide by the rules, don't even think about working, and your whole family will starve. Aunt Jindou, your wages will also come from me."

At this moment, Ma was finally shaken. She put her hands on her waist and agreed, "Yes, Prince Tang, whether it's a husband beating his wife or a mother-in-law scolding her, I promise to make her obedient."

It’s not that all the men present were good men, but they all generally believed that beating their wives was justified. Some people were really dissatisfied and wanted to refute it, saying that this was an old custom passed down from their ancestors, but they were all scared when Rong Tang glanced at them.

"From now on, when our workshop recruits workers, not beating your wife will be a hard requirement. Uncle Dajiang, please write a notice and post it, and also inform the villages willing to come to our village to work. I don't have time to explain the reasons to them, so just consider it as eliminating unstable factors. Unless the wife in that family is vicious and unfilial, that's another matter."

Rong Dajiang agreed and started writing.

"And Rong Dahanzi, where is he? He did a good job today, and it's a relief. I'll personally reward him with 50 kilograms of food. Let him come to my yard to collect it after he leaves."

The villagers were also happy for Dahanzi. He was a poor man, and 50 kilograms of food was enough for him to eat until the new sorghum was harvested.

"Where's Dahanzi?"

I asked around but didn't see anyone. I thought he always stayed away from people, and no one would take him seriously, as I didn't know where he had gone.

"Okay, that's enough. I'll add new rules later if I think of any. Let's get busy."

Rong Tang was thirsty after talking so much. When the crowd dispersed, he thought of going back to drink some tea. But then he saw Mayor Gao holding up a scroll and giving him a flattering smile. "Mr. Rong, here, here."

Rong Tang thought he was hallucinating. Rong Lizheng? Did Rongjia Village have a Lizheng? Was it Uncle Dajiang who got promoted?

He turned around to look for Rong Dajiang, but didn't see him.

"Rong Lizheng... Rong Shizi, it's you. I'm here to see you."

Rong Tang pointed at his nose and walked over. "Looking for me? The head of the village?"

Mayor Gao opened the scroll and cleared his throat. "Rong Tang of Rongjia Village, listen to my order. Rong Tang is hereby appointed as the village head, responsible for the management of the seven villages of Rongjia Village, Caojiaao, Shangtiangang, Xiatianwa, Yushuwan, Niutou Village, and Mamian Village. This is stamped by the county government."