newbobooks Chapter 460: Mr.'s Tuition
Chapter 460: Mr.'s Tuition
Xiuying smiled faintly and said, "Old Village Chief, you really have a long-term vision. Shenghui is willing to stay in the village to teach, which is really a great thing. I think once everyone knows this news, they will definitely be happy to send their children here."
However, when it came to this, the village chief and Li Shenghui's brows became more and more furrowed.
Xiuying noticed something was wrong with the two of them and asked, "Old Village Chief, if you're having any troubles, why not tell me and let me know. Let's work together to find a solution. Maybe I can help solve it."
The old village chief sighed heavily and said with difficulty: "We plan to build an adobe house for the children to study. Although the money in the village public account is barely enough to build a house, it is not a small amount of money to buy tables and chairs, pens, ink, paper and inkstones. In addition, we have to give Shenghui..." When the words came to his lips, the old village chief found it difficult to speak and his face showed embarrassment.
Xiuying, always perceptive, immediately understood the village chief's concerns and said with a smile, "It's not that difficult. Shenghui works tirelessly to teach the children, and we can't let his efforts go to waste. Besides, every household in the village is much better off now than before. I'm sure everyone would be willing to give some money as a stipend for the teacher."
The old village chief's brow was still tightly furrowed, showing no sign of relaxing. He said helplessly, "We are in the countryside after all, and the children's situation is different from that in the city. Children in the countryside have to work in the fields with their families at the age of five, unlike children in the city who can concentrate on their studies. Shenghui and I have already discussed it, and we plan to teach the children during the slack season. We thought we would charge twenty cents per child, so that the villagers can afford it."
Xiuying thought for a moment and said, "During the slack season, there are at least one or two months in the first half of the year, and two or three months in the second half. Twenty wen per child is really too little. Shenghui is a student, after all, and will soon take the exam for the title of scholar. His knowledge is obvious. In my opinion, twenty wen per child per month is the right amount."
The old village chief and Li Shenghui were in disbelief when they heard what Xiuying said. Twenty wen a month for one child, and if there were ten children, that would be two hundred wen a month. For them, this was a sum they could not even imagine.
The old village chief was so excited that he stuttered a little: "This...this is too much, how about less?"
Xiuying explained seriously, "Studying is not an easy thing. If the tuition is too low, children and parents will not know how to cherish this hard-earned learning opportunity.
Think about it, if you go to a school in the city, it would cost 200 wen a month. And, the price we set at 20 wen per person a month is really not expensive for our village. As long as a family wants their child to go to school, they can bite the bullet and send their child here."
The old village chief still looked hesitant. After all, they were all from the same village, and as the village chief himself, he had some concerns.
Li Shenghui noticed his father's embarrassment and quickly spoke up, "I think Sister Xiuying is right. If the tuition is too cheap, people will inevitably think that studying is unnecessary. Besides, the children in our village have always been wild and used to running around in the mountains and fields. If there is no reasonable restraint, it really won't work."
Seeing this, Xiuying struck while the iron was hot and said, "Okay, it's settled. Let's hurry up and build the village school. It's the off-season right now, and there's plenty of labor in the village." Having said this, Xiuying paused briefly and continued, "Let's also build Qingfeng's house at the same time."
The old village chief wholeheartedly supported Qingfeng's decision to settle down and build a house in Futian Village. His expression brightened, and he said, "Okay, then let's not delay any further. Let's gather everyone in the village and discuss both the village school and Qingfeng's house, and get everyone's opinions."
As he spoke, the old village chief looked at Xiuying, a hint of unease in his eyes. In fact, he was really unsure about building the school and even felt a little guilty.
Although his original intention was to consider the future of the children in the village, selfishly speaking, he also hoped that his son could stay in the village and be with him all the time.
Dang Dang Dang...
The familiar sound of the gong rang crisply under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village. When the villagers heard it, they stopped what they were doing and slowly gathered towards the old locust tree.
Xiuying's family had just held Taohua's coming-of-age banquet yesterday, and it had been a truly lively occasion. Now, only a day later, the gong had been struck again, and everyone was curious, wondering what was going on today, and so they began to speculate.
An aunt spoke first: "I heard that Xiuying's Qingfeng is back. From what I see, I guess Xiuying's family is going to marry Qingfeng off."
An old man nearby said, "Isn't Taohua already engaged? The ceremony was so grand. Could it be that the Chen family can't wait and want to marry Taohua as soon as possible?"
A young man shook his head and said, "I don't think so. The weather is getting colder, and I heard that people in the city like our sweet potato noodles more and more. I think maybe Xiuying wants us to increase production."
The village chief cleared his throat, coughed twice, and said loudly: "Everyone, be quiet!"
Instantly, the scene fell silent. It was the end of the year, and the weather was growing colder. The villagers were all thinking that the village gathering at this time might be about some important matter, and no one wanted to miss out on any good thing.
The village chief glanced at everyone and said slowly, "I called everyone here today mainly because I want to discuss two things with you.
First of all, Xiuying's Qingfeng is planning to settle down in our village. The land for building a house has been selected and marked out. Now I want to ask if there is anyone in our village willing to help Xiuying build a house.
The village chief paused briefly before continuing, "There's one more thing. I'm thinking of building a school in the village, and I'd like to choose the vacant lot at the entrance. The cost of the school will be paid from the village treasury. We have the soil and wood readily available in our village, so we'll just have to spend some money to buy the tiles."
Xiuying followed up on the village chief's words and added, "My dear uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters, my family is mainly building three brick houses. I estimated that we need about 30 more people. If anyone is willing to help, the wages are 20 wen a day. I hope to complete it within a month. If you are willing to come, please go to Li Shenghui to register later."