Studying in the school didn’t cost a di, and books could be read for free!
And skills could be learned without charge as well!
This fact was still very impactful. In this era, the compensation given to teachers when seeking their guidance for children was called "a bundle of rations."
Upon an initial eting with a teacher, it was necessary first to offer a gift as a sign of respect.
For most peasants, however, who couldn’t afford high compensation, the cost-effectiveness of studying was not worth it compared to having their children start farming earlier.
As for learning crafts, the rules were even more nurous, including paying homage to the ancestral master and the industry’s guardian God, performing the apprenticeship rituals. The master and his wife would sit in the place of honor, while the apprentice would bow his head to the ground three tis. Then, kneeling, he would present a red envelope and a letter of devotion to the master. To the apprentice, the master was even more important than his own father.
But now, after studying for five years, one could find a much better job, making the cost-effectiveness seem sowhat appealing.
Children would start school at the age of six or seven and co out to work when they were in their teens – just perfect! And besides that, it was free!
The white-bearded old man was silent for a mont, sowhat bewildered, unable to understand how Turtle Mansion was able to operate without running into financial deficits. Where did the money co from, and where did so much grain co from...
Free education aside, it appeared that craftsmanship might not be as important in the future and could be phased out? By whose standards?
He could only sigh deeply in the end.
He couldn’t figure it out, not at all.
"Teacher, teacher!"
The white-bearded old man turned his head when he heard soone calling him.
It was the young eldest apprentice brother, Zhong Li.
Zhong Li said excitedly, "I went to Qingshi Town to investigate... that road, it’s really so smooth, able to allow two chariots to pass side by side. It’s said to be the work of several Evil Gods, who quarried stones and laid them down with raw strength!"
"They can even command Evil Gods?" the white-bearded old man exclaid in surprise.
An "Evil God," bluntly put, was like a dog that couldn’t change its habit of eating filth, obsessed with the thought of eating humans. Even the Womb of the Earth Bodhisattva could hardly convert a few of such malevolent existences.
But now, these creatures were obediently constructing roads and carving mountains, a thing unheard of.
"Exactly, I saw it with my own eyes!" Zhong Li’s voice lowered, "Those Evil Gods... They were lining up in an orderly fashion, earnestly laying down the road. They would disappear the mont a person passed by."
The white-bearded old man muttered: "If the Emperor of Heaven had the ability to drive the Evil Gods, he really would be a world-upturning presence."
Zhong Li went on, "Also, I saw in Qingshi Town a descendant of Jiuhua Mountain, a monk nad Qiu Yuan. But this monk, he doesn’t chant scriptures or ditate on Buddha anymore; instead, he’s eagerly learning sothing called the ’Great Law of Productivity’, always looking blissfully foolish."
"I also discussed a few things with him. He said he was enlightened by Buddha’s guidance, realizing that the economic base determines the superstructure, then he talked so mystical gibberish. Regardless, he has fully thrown himself into the loop of large-scale production."
Qiu Yuan Monk?
The white-bearded old man frowned slightly, as if he had heard this sowhere before, yet it seed like a story from long ago.
He began to ponder deeply, suddenly having a thought: "That monk, has he changed his faith?"
"Yes, that great monk from Jiuhua Mountain has indeed changed his faith, and he’s unwavering in it."
Everyone was taken aback. The source of a monk’s power ca from his faith within. If he changed his faith, could he still use what he had learned?
Clearly, he could, for the monk was currently teaching children in Qingshi Town the corresponding magic!
Even so basic and simple Cultivation thods could be learned by ordinary people, strengthening their bodies and improving their health, which was also good.
"Zhong Yun, what about you?"
"I saw there’s a massive workforce laying so form of transportation rails. There might be around a thousand workers, working on the road." This beautiful girl nad Zhong Yun gestured, "The tracks consist of two thick and long ingots of iron laid upon wooden sleepers, and they say it will soon be possible to run vehicles and carry goods on them."
"After the tracks are laid, a journey that took a day could be covered within an hour."
The disciples talked one after the other, clearly laying out the changes in the expansive areas of Qingshi Town, Lake Entrance, and Fenghua City from their investigative efforts.
Everything revealed sothing almost inconceivable.
The forr Governnt’s power had completely fallen. The Emperor was far away and apathetic; no one bothered to manage, and the power centered around Turtle Mansion was thriving.
The masses fervently supported it, and when "Turtle Mansion" was ntioned, their eyes sparkled with excitent, talking tirelessly, wishing nothing more than to beco a part of the workforce.
Indeed, working could yield higher inco than farming on a landlord’s land, and it was very stable. Why not go to work?
Zhong Yun expressed her puzzlent again, "Teacher... the turtle coins distributed by Turtle Mansion, isn’t it..."
Her voice lowered, and she pulled out an exquisitely-made silver-white coin, with a jade piece in the inner circle, engraved with an extraordinarily lifelike turtle, and an Arabic nural 10, indicating it was worth 10 units of currency.
The Mountain and Sea Realm did not originally have Arabic nurals, but such simple and easy-to-learn characters could even be learned by the illiterate – who wouldn’t know arithtic related to money?
Within a few months, the residents of Fenghua City had widely accepted them.
"This 10-unit turtle coin is a month’s salary, which I exchanged for silver. They wouldn’t exchange any more turtle coins for . The 10-unit coin is called ’silver inlaid with jade,’ and there’s another type called ’gold inlaid with jade,’ worth 100 units."
She then took out other coins, including 1-unit, 50-cent, 10-cent, 1-cent, and 5-cent pieces.
The basic wage for an able-bodied adult was about 40 to 50 cents a day.
"Wages are issued once a month, and with this money in hand, the farrs beam with joy, feeling a profound sense of security."
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