As it turned out, Zhong Yan was indeed not disappointed. Writing on the blackboard with chalk was very clear and convenient. However, Zhong Yan was used to using a brush, and chalk was not quite suitable for him. He still needed to practice writing.

Yang Xi was the happiest. Drawing would be much easier in the future. Holding her special little blackboard, she casually drew a crossbow.

In recent days, she had been reading the books Zhou Yu brought back. She wanted to build a kiln that could smelt metal, but unfortunately, it was just a thought. If this thing were discovered, it would cause trouble. So she studied weapons books. There were crossbows in the books, but the descriptions were not detailed. She tried her best to draw them. As long as she saw the real thing, she could copy it.

Yang Xi thought of iron mines. There were no iron mines in Ruizhou. The iron mines that had been found were heavily guarded by the imperial army. It was forbidden to sell iron ore privately. Once discovered, it was a capital offense. Even a clever woman cannot cook without rice!

Seven days passed in a flash. Early in the morning, Liu Lizheng arrived with his six grandsons, and then people brought their children one after another.

Zhou Yu didn’t publicize who Uncle Zhong was. When someone inquired, he simply said that Brother Zhong was taught by Uncle Zhong. He didn’t intend to take on too many students at first; he wanted to train a few first to prepare for future students.

This was to avoid having too many students and too many teachers, which would lead to chaos and defeat his purpose.

During the warm-up banquet, Zhou Yu mentioned opening a school and outlined its requirements. Anyone who came to register that day was acceptable.

Zhou Yu set the tuition low, charging 400 coins for half a semester (two taels of silver for a year in a private school). He wanted more children to learn, so he set the tuition at 400 coins for half a semester, including money for chalk.

Besides the village head’s grandson, ten children came from the village, four of whom were grandsons of scholars, all there because of Zhong Yan.

The remaining six students, whose families weren’t wealthy but still wanted to learn to read and do arithmetic, were sent to the school. Zhou Yu’s ability to do accounts became known throughout the village after his corvée labor ended.

None of the children from poor families in the village came; the burden of literacy was too heavy for poor families to bear.

There were no secrets in the village; news of the Zhou family opening a school spread far and wide after the family’s banquet, and many villagers came to watch the spectacle.

The Wu family’s grandchildren were too young to attend, but the Ye family’s two sons came, and the Zhao family’s four grandsons, all of whom were old enough, were sent.

Including the Ye and Zhao families, there were twenty-two students.

Zhou Yu felt this was just right; more would be too much to manage. Zhou Xiaodi and Zhou Bing taught the children to read, but Third Yang didn’t have the patience for that. At the banquet, Zhou Yu said that both boys and girls could be sent to the school, but unfortunately, no one sent girls.

Yang Xi compiled a small booklet for each child, containing their information and recording their test scores and monthly performance.

Third Yang helped her tidy up and noticed her sister’s low spirits. “Sister, are you tired?”

Yang Xi shook her head. “I regret that no one sends girls to school.”

Third Yang felt this most deeply. “In the north, I never saw any girls with bound feet in the villages. But after coming to Ruizhou, I saw it all. In our Shanghe Village, several families have girls with bound feet. Jie, how can feet that are barely big enough to walk walk?”

Yang Xi didn’t know how to walk either. When the dynasty was first established, the court forbade women to bind their feet, but unfortunately, the enforcement wasn’t strong enough. After the deaths of three Emperors, successive Empress Dowagers held power. Later, the Empress Dowagers were restrained, and women began binding their feet again until Emperor Xuanyang ascended the throne and abolished foot binding.

Daughters of officials never bound their feet, nor did girls from ordinary families near the capital. In counties far from the capital, the court’s control was weak, and some women still bound their feet, especially in Jiangnan, where the practice of “thin horses” (a euphemism for prostitutes) was prevalent, and many secretly bound their feet.

Some families had beautiful girls whose feet were deliberately bound from a young age, just so they could be sold for a good price later.

Yang Xi felt a wave of nausea. She couldn’t understand some people’s twisted minds, and the more she thought about it, the more suffocated she felt.

Third Yang, not waiting for his sister’s reply, noticed her increasingly pale face and asked worriedly, “Jie, are you feeling unwell?”

Yang Xi snapped out of her reverie, “I’m feeling unwell.”

Third Yang, being a man, couldn’t empathize and maintained a very objective discussion: “In such a chaotic world, even those with bound feet would have a hard time escaping.”

Yang Xi rubbed her forehead, not wanting to continue the topic of foot binding. “Have you found out about Limuguo?”

Third Yang had been running around lately and hadn’t found Limuguo. “I asked the merchants in the county to look for it. They’ll send word when they find it.”

As they were talking, the first class began. Yang Xi asked, “Want to go take a look?”

Third Yang wasn’t interested. “I’m not going.”

Yang Xi got up and went to the classroom. Uncle Zhong was standing outside. Yang Xi asked, “Uncle, why aren’t you going in to listen?”

Zhong Yan replied, “There’s no room inside.”

Yang Xi saw that there was indeed no room. She appeared at the door, and the children inside noticed her. Several older children in the village frowned.

Yang Xi glanced at them indifferently, noticing the disapproval in the children’s eyes—disapproval of her, a woman, being outside the classroom.

Yang Xi wasn’t angry. She knew that the preference for sons over daughters was very serious, and some scholars were particularly old-fashioned, imposing too many restrictions on women. The more educated a village had, the more demands were placed on women.

She had heard Third Yang talk about the situation in nearby villages. Some old-fashioned scholars didn’t even teach their own daughters, only brainwashing them with various ideas like “marriage means obedience to the husband” and “the husband is everything.”

Yang Xi stood there confidently, showing no intention of leaving, thinking that it would be best if she left if she couldn’t accept it.

Zhou Yu noticed this, ignoring the expressions of several students, and asked his wife, “Standing is too tiring; come in and sit down.”

Yang Xi hadn’t planned to enter the classroom before, but now she had changed her mind. “Okay.”

Ye Shun’s eldest son was quick-witted and gave up his chair. “Shīniáng, please sit.”

Yang Xi sat down gracefully. “Thank you.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the dissatisfied students’ faces scrunched up.

Zhong Yan watched from outside, stroking his beard. Officials’ daughters only needed to be literate enough to understand the “Precepts for Women,” and beyond that, they would learn poetry and songs, rarely raising their daughters like sons.

Not to mention ordinary families, he was considered open-minded, but of course, the most open-minded was Brother Zhou, who raised his daughter-in-law like a son—truly a rare breed!

Liu Lizheng returned and noticed Yang Shi in the classroom. He knew that Zhou Xiānsheng valued his wife, but he didn’t expect him to allow her into the classroom.

Liu Lizheng frowned. The tables and chairs that were selling like hotcakes were made by Yang Shi. He knew Yang Shi’s family was well-off and she was literate, so he had never looked down on her.

Now, Zhou Yu was letting his wife into the classroom, which was a bit much.

Third Yang noticed Liu Lizheng. “Lizheng?”

Liu Lizheng was startled. “You walk so quietly.”

Third Yang replied, “You’re lost in thought.”

Liu Lizheng turned back to look at the classroom. Third Yang smiled. “How’s my Jiefu’s teaching?”

Liu Lizheng had attended Zhou Xiānsheng’s classes. “He teaches well.”

Third Yang smirked. “Actually, my Jie’s skills are no less than my Jiefu’s. When we were in Qijia Village, my Jiefu only taught the children to read; it was my Jie who taught them arithmetic and using the abacus.”

Liu Lizheng casually remarked, “The ladies of wealthy families all know how to manage accounts.”

(End of Chapter)

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