After traveling through time, she still led the villagers to make money as a county magistrate

After dinner, Gu Niannian called the housekeeper and said, "The soil I brought back yesterday, have someone burn some ashes to cover it."

She thought that no matter what, the land must be fertile first. After all, only when there are enough nutrients in the land can the crops in the fields be nutritious.

Regarding the problem of low yield, she is trying to write down the knowledge about hybrid rice stored in her mind.

Isn’t it because of that grandfather that we can fundamentally guarantee rice production and meet people’s daily food needs in modern times?

Fortunately, she majored in agriculture and had systematically studied hybrid rice. She had also been working on this topic for the past two years as a village official.

However, no matter how much her brain can store and how much knowledge she has, she still needs to think, write and practice at the same time. This is why she brought back rice and sugarcane, so that she can practice and gain true knowledge.

Another benefit of writing it down is that it can be spread better.

If Gu Niannian had to do everything herself, she would be exhausted and inefficient. In this era, the best way to spread information is through writing. After all, in an era without the Internet, only paper media can be used.

"We still need to run schools. Otherwise, there are too few people who can read and write. Even if she writes a book, it will be of little use."

After thinking about this, Gu Niannian went out and went straight to the county government office. She had to ask about the school situation there.

Zhang Da saw him running over in a hurry, thinking something had happened, and asked hurriedly, "Sir, is there something wrong?"

Gu Niannian took a breath and said, "I want to ask about the school situation here."

Zhang Da, "Every county has its own county school, and every township has its own township school"

"The county school is usually for those who have passed the Tongsheng exam and are preparing for the Xiucai exam. There aren't many people, probably around 40 or 50."

"As for the village school, there are introductory classes for children, which are for children aged five or six. The advanced classes are for children around ten years old, who have some basic knowledge and are preparing for the Tongsheng exam."

"Some older people also want to study for two years, learn a few words, and do some accounting work, which can be considered a way out."

Gu Niannian, "Do many people in the village go to school?"

Zhang Da, "Even those with extra money at home have to live frugally to afford the money spent on studying, let alone a farmer who relies on a few acres of thin land to make a living."

In fact, she could guess this was the situation without Li Jing saying it, but she still asked to get confirmation.

"Some big families would set up charity houses and provide free schools for their children."

"But even if the restrictions are reduced, the pens, inkstones, and related books are still a considerable expense. This part of the expenditure depends on whether the family is strong enough and whether the child is a good student."

Gu Niannian also understood that human nature has not changed. After all, people still understand the principle that if one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit.

Especially for large families, it goes without saying that having an official can bring them benefits, and even making things go much more smoothly.

Therefore, in ancient times, it was still possible for the entire family to mobilize the resources to support one person's education.

If you don't look at anything else, just look at your own family and you will know that ever since the government sent the news that my brother had passed the imperial examination and the letter of appointment, the number of people coming to visit has obviously increased several times more than before.

She heard that the usually high-handed Zhou family had also come to congratulate her. She only saw her adoptive father grinning from ear to ear during those few days.

But the problem now is that scholars don’t farm, and farmers don’t have money to study.

Gu Niannian thought for a moment and said, "If I set up a village school in every village, how much would it cost?"

Zhang Da didn't understand what Gu Niannian meant when he heard him say this. "It's true that the local exam pass rate is the performance of the local county magistrate. The county magistrate can arrest students from the county school to open a convenient door for some outstanding students. How can he arrest them from the village?"

"Not only is it expensive, it's also incredibly time-consuming. By the time those people are able to take the exam, I'm afraid he, the county magistrate, will have already disappeared, leaving the next county magistrate to reap all the benefits. Who would do such a thankless task..."

But he said frankly, "It is extremely difficult to open a village school. First, there is the problem of money. There are vacant houses in the village, but they need to be repaired. There are also tables and benches that need to be purchased or made by carpenters. There are also books, pens, ink, paper, and inkstones. The second is the problem of teachers. There are very few families in the village who can read and write, let alone teachers who can teach and educate people."

"If we go to the county to recruit a teacher, not only is the journey long, but not every family can afford a carriage. Moreover, I'm afraid the wages will be higher than usual for people to be willing to go."

Gu Niannian thought about it carefully and realized that this was indeed the case. It is not easy to recruit teachers in some remote mountainous areas nowadays, and retaining them is even more difficult, not to mention in this era of backward economic environment where transportation can only be done on foot.

However, Gu Niannian has always believed that there are more solutions than problems, and she can always come up with a way to have the best of both worlds.

The air fell silent for a moment. Zhang Da thought the adults, after listening to his analysis, understood the difficulties involved and decided not to proceed. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If a village school were established, the county government would have a lot more work to do, considering there were forty villages in the entire county.

Not only are there more things to do, but the county government also has less money. It goes without saying that the county government will have to provide manpower, money, and effort to run a village school.

In fact, it would be great if this thing could be done. The only thing is that I am afraid that after spending money and effort, the thing cannot be done. I will not only not get any fish but also get into trouble, which is not worth it.

Zhang Da has always adhered to the principle of being an official: the more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make; and if you do nothing, you make no mistakes.

"There are two things we need to do now. First, you need to find out how many people in each village can read and write, what their literacy level is, and how many characters they know. Second, you need to find out how willing each household in each village is to enroll their children in school. If the parents themselves want to learn to read and write, that's fine. How much tuition is required for them to enroll?"

Zhang Da, who had just been daydreaming, was brought back to reality by Gu Niannian's two things. He looked incredulous and asked, "Sir, are you really going to open a village school?"

Gu Niannian, "Could it be fake?"

After chatting for such a long time, Gu Niannian realized why someone was missing today, "Why is Lord Li not here today?"

It's not Gu Niannian's fault for asking. If we talk about the most diligent person in the county government office, it's Li Jing. He works there almost every day and is almost in charge of the county government office. His name really lives up to his dedication.

Suddenly, such a huge workload fell on him, and he even spoke in a daze, "Him! Her mother arranged for him to go on a blind date."

Zhang Da thought, "If I had known about this, I would have found a reason not to come. It's a rare opportunity for me to be dedicated to my work, and now I have to deal with something like this."

Gu Niannian, "It's time for him to get married"

"That's right! We are the same age. My son is old enough to help with cooking, but his wife is nowhere to be found."

"But it's strange, has this kid suddenly come to his senses? His mother said before that she would arrange a fortune teller for him, but he never went. I also introduced him to several fortune tellers, but he never went. He just comes to the government office every day," Zhang Da said doubtfully.

"Maybe I met a girl I like!" For some reason, Gu Niannian felt a little empty when she said this.

"Maybe. Although the girl from the Xie family is a bit more lively, she is indeed as pretty as a lotus emerging from the water."

"It's better for this girl to be more lively. She can eat two more bowls of rice just by looking at her. The one in my family is lifeless all day long and only knows how to obey and do as she is told. She is really boring," Zhang Da said and shook his head.

Gu Niannian, of course, couldn't stand his words derogatory towards women, and she immediately retorted, "You think he's boring and that she's just following your instructions. Have you given her enough love and freedom to be lively?"

"You men are like this. You want women to be dignified and virtuous, lively and cute, obedient and considerate. You want this, this, and more. Why don't you just go to heaven?"

Zhang Da didn't expect that the master would lose his temper so much and complain about his wife. He had complained about this to the county magistrate in the past, and the county magistrates all expressed their sympathy. Some of them even went to seek comfort with other women. This had never happened before.

Zhang Da was stunned by this, and it took him a long time to react, "Sir, you are a man too!"

Gu Niannian coughed and changed the subject, "Xie family? Xie Zhiyao from the Xie family pharmacy?"

Zhang Da nodded blankly, "Yeah"

Gu Niannian, "When doing things, use the help of others if possible. All the village heads have mobilized. There is strength in numbers. If you have any financial difficulties, tell me. Don't carry it all by yourself."

Gu Niannian is very familiar with the method of giving a slap in the face and then giving a sweet date.

Of course, Gu Niannian knew that Zhang Da was not a bad person, he was just a little lazy and didn't dare to take responsibility. Her thoughts were just the thoughts of most men here, and no matter who it was, she would slowly change his mind.