Chapter 374 : School Inspection (3)

The children in the classroom all stood up when they realised that Yuxi was the one who contributed the money and effort to start the school.

Yuxi was shocked to see this scene and told everyone to sit down. “I just came to see you, and I’m pleased to see you’re working so hard.”

The girl who wrote the wrong strokes for 穆 stood up and said, “Madam, my name is Jing Bai. If it weren’t for Madam, I would never have had the chance to read. Madam’s kindness will always be engraved in Jing Bai’s heart.” She would not say anything about repayment since she could not do so for now. Moreover, repaying kindness was not something she could only say; she must do it.

Yuxi nodded, glanced at a few children who had just dozed off and said, “When I was in school, if you dared to doze and slack off in class, the teacher lady’s ruler would immediately fall into your palm. You would receive the same punishment if you didn’t complete your class work. And if you in any way made the teacher unsatisfied with you, she would not let you into the classroom.” T

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As soon as Yuxi uttered these words, the faces of a few little girls, who had dozed and slacked off, turned pale. Whether you could read or not was only a trivial matter. The key was to get enough food here! Their parents would kill them if they were sent back home and not allowed to come back. T

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Yuxi did not mean to scare these children but only hoped they could learn well. “I could attend school and make myself literate because I, personally, begged for it. So I know how difficult it is for women to study, and that’s why I started this girls’ school. I hope that women here will also have the opportunity to read and write, and I hope you will cherish it now that I have given you a chance.” If you didn’t have the opportunity, then there was nothing you could have done about it. However, it would have been a waste if you were given a chance but didn’t cherish it.

These words made several young girls who dozed off just now lower their heads.

Not long after that, it was time for the students to have their meal. Yuxi did not delay everyone and let them go out to eat but asked He Ying to stay behind.

Yuxi said, “Teacher He, you must tell these children how to write these words in the future! You can’t just take out the written words, stick them on the wall and expect the children to know how to write them.” The characters for the girls’ school were all written and sent over by Yuxi. At that time, she thought the children could write them well by imitating them if she wrote them in relatively nice-looking handwriting. She didn’t realise that these children were in a completely different situation than she was at the time. She was taught by a teacher then, who trained the four of them one by one, but these children could not be personally guided like that by a teacher. Of course, Teacher He Ying was also not very competent. And Yuxi also had to take part of the responsibility. So it was still necessary for her to see and listen more to the school situations to know the shortcomings and improve.

He Ying was ashamed as she promised, “Madam, don’t worry. I will pay attention in the future and won’t make the same mistake again.”

Yuxi nodded for a moment and then told her about Zijin’s suggestion. “She proposed to let these children recognise words in the morning and practice martial arts in the afternoon. What do you think?”

He Ying froze and turned to ask, “That should not be good, right? There are boys over there, so they can endure the slip and fall. Here, we have girls. It won’t be good if they bump into something.” What benefit would a girl have from training in martial arts? It would already be pretty good if she could be known as ‘a literate, capable person’.

Yuxi responded, “Not to mention other things, by learning martial arts, they will at least not be afraid of being bullied.” With martial arts knowledge, a girl would not be afraid of being bullied by others, just like Zijin, who was not scared of anything when she went out. Of course, Yuxi would not worry about her safety, but Yu Zhi would! Every time Zijin went out, Yu Zhi had to follow her. In this regard, Yuxi understood that Yu Zhi wanted to spend more time alone with Zijin.

This comment quickly reminded He Ying of the case of the Fourth Master Xu. It was so big that it was hard for anyone not to know about it. He Ying hesitated for a moment and asked, “Madam’s words are reasonable, but I’m afraid their parents won’t agree.” Of the 300 students admitted, not all of them had dead fathers. There were a small number of children whose fathers were seriously wounded. They could no longer go to war and lead a tough life. This condition was also within the school’s scope of support.

Before this discussion, Yuxi also felt they should defer to the children’s parents’ consent. But after going through what she had just seen and heard just now, she changed her mind. If she had to follow the opinion of these children and the grownups, she was afraid that many of them would not want to learn. Now that they were in school, they had to listen to her. “Martial arts training can not only protect yourself but also strengthen your body! Such a good thing, unless they are not the biological parents of these children, it is impossible for them to disagree.”

When He Ying first saw Yuxi, she thought Yuxi was a soft and weak woman. This time, she knew that her impression was wrong. Even though Madam Yun looked delicate, she was tough on the inside. “In that case, I’ll talk to these children this afternoon and have them tell their parents at home.”

Yuxi nodded her head for a moment. “Good.”

When Yuxi left the school, she saw Yun Qing standing beside the carriage. She walked over and said with a smile, “If you are busy with military affairs, you don’t have to come over.”

Yun Qing reacted, “If I don’t come over, I won’t feel at ease.” After saying that, he personally helped Yuxi get into the carriage. He did not ride back on his horse but got into the carriage with Yuxi.

Only the two of them were in the carriage, so there was nothing to worry about when they spoke. Yuxi stated, “When I came to the school this time, I finally knew that there were many careless mistakes.” Just from looking at flowers while riding a horse, she had already discovered many issues. If she had dug even deeper, there would have been more problems. T

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Yun Qing stroked Yuxi’s head and said, “There is no hurry. Take your time. The school will get even better in the future.”

Yuxi let out a sound of agreement. “It will definitely get even better in the future.” After a pause, she told him she would let the girls learn martial arts. “Do you think I’m being too deviant?” If she had dared to do so in the capital, she would have been knocked down by gossip. Fortunately, this was the northwest, where the folk were more open. In addition, she was also doing it in the name of charity.

Yun Qing shook his head. “No, you are doing very well. Uncle Huo has often praised you in front of me and said I will have to listen to you more in the future.”

Yuxi did not expect Huo Changqing would praise her like this. Then she leaned on Yun Qing and said with a smile, “Uncle Huo always has a straight face. I thought he hated me!” She had to say, marrying Yun Qing had many benefits. Whatever she wanted to do would be fine, as long as Yun Qing agreed. If it were anyone else, even if her husband was okay with what she did, the rest of his family might not. For example, to start this school, from the start to now, including making cotton clothes and pants, had spent more than seven hundred taels of silver. The cost would undoubtedly exceed a thousand taels at the beginning of spring.

Yun Qing put his arm around Yuxi’s shoulder and said softly, “Uncle Huo has always been like that, not smiling. He actually likes you a lot!”

Yuxi laughed a little and changed the subject. She didn’t like it when Yun Qing complimented her on her competence. If she let her man think she was capable and let her deal with all his problems in the future, she would have to cry. “It’s going to be the twelfth lunar month. What do you like to eat? When the time comes, I will prepare some more.”

Yun Qing thought for a moment and then uttered, “Prepare some more sausages and bacon.” It was not that he had never eaten sausages and bacon before, but compared to what Yuxi made, they had been a waste of meat.

Yuxi smiled. “Okay! But at home, it’s better to eat more fresh meat and vegetables and less pickled things.” Yun Qing belonged to the group of people who found no joy in eating without meat. Yuxi also knew that Yun Qing was different from her. With so much physical exertion, he must eat more meat. Therefore, there had to be a meat dish in every meal. There would be chicken, duck, fish and meat, etc., where they would often be prepared differently.

Yun Qing did not object. He nodded his head in agreement. If he did not respond, Yuxi would for sure give him a sermon on maintaining good health and so on. Moreover, he was not picky about food and would eat whatever Yuxi had prepared for him. “Prepare some more, then send some to Tianlei, Guo Xun and Yu Cong.” T

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Yuxi snorted and asked with a smile, “Did they ask for them from you?” If these people did not ask for it themselves, Yun Qing would not have thought of sending them some bacon and sausages.

Yun Qing did not deny it, saying, “They all like to eat.” There was one more thing that he did not tell Yuxi. In fact, Fu Tianlei also wanted the recipe for bacon and sausage, but Yun Qing refused. Yun Qing was very open-minded and not a cheapskate person, but he couldn’t say yes to this. He knew that if he asked, Yuxi would definitely give them to him. But this money-making recipe was Yuxi’s, not his. Thus, how could he just give it away as a favour?

Yuxi smiled. “Don’t worry, I have already prepared for this!” Although these New Year’s gifts wouldn’t cost much, they were still rare.

Yun Qing looked even more relaxed. “En, you have been thorough. I have always been at ease.” Not only did Yuxi take care of the inner courtyard properly, but the people in the outer courtyard were also well pacified, and there was no friction at all. And things were so well thought out that he never had to worry about them.

Yuxi didn’t like to hear Yun Qing complimenting her. “I can’t think of everything thoroughly. It’s only because of Mama Qu’s advice that I haven’t made any big mistakes.”

Yun Qing smiled at this statement. “Then you must also be willing to listen to Mama Qu’s advice. If you don’t, Mama Qu will be useless even if she is competent.”

Yuxi accepted this compliment with a smile. However, speaking of Mama Qu, Yuxi couldn’t help but think of Qiu Shi again. “It’s been almost two months, yet I haven’t received a single letter from home. I don’t know how the situation is right now?”

Yun Qing felt that Yuxi was being blindly worried. “With Da Jiu Ge and Er Jiu Ge there, you don’t have to be worried.”

When the two arrived at the mansion, they rinsed their mouths and started eating. Before they finished eating, Shiliu walked in and informed them, “General, Madam, Guard Xu requests to see you.”

Yuxi saw that Yun Qing was ready to put down his bowls and chopsticks. She frowned and told Shiliu, “If it’s not something urgent, tell him to wait outside.” After saying that, Yuxi said to Yun Qing, “As long as it’s not an enemy attack, it’s not too late to ask about other things after eating.” It seemed that she had to knock on Xu Wu a bit, acting without a sense of priority.

Shiliu came in from outside in a short while and said, “General, Madam, Guard Xu said it was not an urgent matter. He only wished to inform them that General Qin had returned.” This General Qin was naturally Qin Zhao.

Hearing these words, Yun Qing continued to eat, but the speed of eating was accelerated, and after he finished his meal, he put down his bowl and chopsticks and went out in big strides.

Yuxi didn’t say anything. She knew that Yun Qing was in such a hurry to go out because he wanted to know if Qin Zhao had requested all kinds of military supplies. The soldiers of Yu City were really having a hard time.