After traveling through time, I led the whole village to become rich!

"I am wearing it!" The child heard this and pulled open the outer collar of his shirt, revealing the clothes underneath. "I wear it underneath. This way I can keep warm and won't get my new clothes dirty."

"Then why don't you wear shoes?" Wu Deyong asked again.

The child replied: "The shoes are too new, I don't want to wear them."

Ye Hongyun asked, "Aren't you cold without shoes? Won't your feet get frostbite?"

The child replied, "It's okay. I've already got frostbite. It will be fine when the weather gets warmer."

Zhang Hulan said, "You'd better put your shoes on. Otherwise, the county magistrate will think I'm mistreating you, and then he'll punish me, which will be very troublesome."

Zhang Hulan pointed at Wu Deyong and Ye Hongyun and introduced them, "These are our county's magistrate and his wife. After hearing about you, the magistrate and his wife came to visit you."

The child was startled and quickly knelt down and kowtowed, "I greet the County Magistrate... I greet the County Magistrate's wife..."

Wu Deyong helped the child up, patted the child's shoulder gently, and said, "Since you are here, you should work hard. Madam Zhang is a very good person. It is your blessing to have Madam Zhang take you in."

The child nodded heavily, "Yes, we will work hard! We will remember Madam's kindness."

The child's voice was very loud. When I heard him calling "County Magistrate" and "County Magistrate's Wife" and kneeling down, all the children nearby knelt down and kowtowed.

Wu Deyong asked everyone to stand up. Then he saw what was planted in the field and asked Zhang Hulan, "Are these lotus roots?"

Zhang Hulan nodded, "Yes. I'll send someone to Jiangyuan Prefecture to buy some seeds."

Wu Deyong was also curious about why Zhang Hulan planted so many lotus roots.

Zhang Hulan explained it again, and Wu De's eyes flickered.

"Zhang, are you serious? Can this thing really make vermicelli?"

Zhang Hulan said, "It should be possible. I'll know after trying it after the harvest in the second half of the year."

Wu Deyong said, "Yes, if vermicelli can really be made, I will promote it vigorously. This may help increase the income of the people in this county."

"To be honest, some of our villagers will also join us in planting. They can sell the lotus roots to me, or they can make vermicelli and sell it themselves. This way, everyone can make some money."

Upon hearing this, Wu Deyong looked at Zhang Hulan approvingly and said, "Ms. Zhang, your idea is excellent. If this were to work, the lives of the people in our county would be much better. You're not only thinking about your own livelihood, but also wanting to bring everyone along. This is truly a righteous act."

Zhang Hulan quickly waved her hand modestly, "Your Excellency, I appreciate your kind words. I simply thought that life is not easy for everyone. If I could find a way to make money from these lotus roots, it would be better than trying to make ends meet by tending to these few acres of meager land."

Zhang Hulan then went on to talk about the many benefits of dry lotus roots: they are not picky about soil, have high yields, are drought-resistant, and are free of pests and diseases.

Wu Deyong felt that the lotus root was indeed a good thing. When Zhang Hulan grew it this season, if it could really be used to make vermicelli, he would definitely promote it to the whole county.

Wu Deyong and Ye Hongyun followed Zhang Hulan around the farm and then prepared to go back.

Ye Hongyun said, "I'll have someone send some frostbite cream to those children later. It's my little token of my appreciation."

Zhang Hulan led the children to express their gratitude: "Thank you very much, Madam!"

Ye Hongyun waved his hands and said, "What's there to thank me for? I haven't done as much as you have."

Wu Deyong also said: "Is there anything you need help with? If so, please let me know."

Zhang Hulan didn't hesitate at all and asked with a smile, "Anything is fine?"

Wu Deyong said hurriedly, "Don't go too far. I will help if I can, but I won't agree to help if I can't."

Zhang Hulan thought for a moment and said, "Sir, County Magistrate, to be honest, I do have something I would like to ask for your help."

"What's the matter? Tell me."

Zhang Hulan said, "Sir, there are no schools in the villages near Daping Village. I want to open a school in Daping Village so that children from nearby villages can study."

"You want to open a school?"

Wu Deyong and Ye Hongyun looked at Zhang Hulan in surprise.

Zhang Hulan nodded, "Yes, I want to open a school in the village.

There are many children in the nearby villages, but very few of them go to school.

Firstly, the family conditions did not allow it, and secondly, there was no school nearby.

I think children still need to study. I don’t expect everyone to pass the imperial examination and become an official, but it’s good for them to know more words.

Many people say that the people are ignorant. The vast majority of them have never been to school and have not learned any profound principles.

If the people were allowed to receive education and learn etiquette and moral principles, would they still be ignorant?

It’s not that people don’t want to study, it’s that they don’t have the opportunity.

Take our Daping Village for example. This year, if you follow me to grow lotus roots, you can earn some money by the end of the year. In addition, if I hire villagers to work, they can also earn some money.

Now that their families are better off, they probably also want their children to be able to go to school.”

Zhang Hulan pointed at the dozens of children working in the fields and said, "As for them, if conditions permit, I plan to let them work half a day and read half a day every day.

Children are the future of a country. Maybe one of these children will become a scholar in the future.

If this scholar is really promising, he might be able to cultivate talents for the court.

To set up an enlightenment school, at least there must be a scholar as the teacher.

I'm afraid no scholar would be willing to come to this remote place to teach.

So I would like to ask for your help, sir, to see if I can invite you here."

Wu Deyong once again looked at Zhang Hulan with new eyes. This village woman's ideological awareness was truly extraordinary. Was she even thinking about cultivating talents for the imperial court?

It’s just that it’s difficult for a poor family to produce a noble son, so Wu Deyong didn’t say this out loud.

Of course, the emperor hopes that all his subjects are talented, and some scholars also hope that the whole world is full of students.

But some aristocratic families wouldn't think so, and they wouldn't allow such a situation to happen. They wouldn't mind one or two, but if too many of the poor nobles came out, they would object, as it wouldn't benefit their family at all. Unless those poor nobles joined them...

It was just a small village, and Wu Deyong felt that it was difficult to produce any talents, so there was nothing wrong with setting up a few more schools.

Wu Deyong said, "I'll ask for you, but I don't think any young scholar would be willing to teach in the countryside.

I will post a notice outside the county office first. If no one is willing to come, I will help you find someone else."

Zhang Hulan quickly thanked him: "Thank you very much, sir!"