sbdcsierra Chapter 512 Tell me in detail
Chapter 512 Tell me in detail
Lu Yangyang was so distracted by her that she almost forgot the important thing she was going to say.
She walked to the table, sat down, poured herself a cup of tea, took two big gulps, tapped the table with her fingertip, and looked up at Jiang Zhiyi who was walking over: "I want to open an academy."
"An academy?" Jiang Zhiyi looked at her in surprise, momentarily confused. "Is it an academy that teaches girls to read and write?"
Lu Yangyang nodded and then shook her head: "Yes and no. The academy I'm thinking of is a bit special. It's an academy that teaches them how to make a living."
Jiang Zhiyi had never thought about it from this perspective before, and urged her, "Tell me in detail."
"On my way home today, I came across a case. A small shopkeeper was taking his pregnant wife everywhere, seeking elixirs of immortality. I initially thought he was just foolishly being tricked by those lousy Taoist priests, but guess what? I tricked him a bit, and he revealed that the shopkeeper was actually having an affair, and the other woman was pregnant. He thought his wife was carrying a girl, while the other woman was carrying a boy, so he plotted to kill his wife and make his mistress the one in his place. His wife suffered a difficult labor and almost died along with her unborn child. I performed a cesarean section, and she gave birth to a girl. The shopkeeper's family immediately started complaining that they didn't want a girl." - Lu Yangyang told her about what had just happened: "The miracle doctor who taught me medicine told me that the sex of a child is determined by the man, not the woman. Women cannot decide the sex of their child. We might think that in this situation, it would be great if we could have a son, so we could slap that family in the face. But this situation is an exception. Who can predetermine the sex? Whether the child is a boy or a girl, this woman's life will not be easy. Besides, they already had bad intentions. This time they tried to kill her but failed. If she takes the child back, she might lose the child first and then kill herself."
Jiang Zhiyi sighed, "Indeed, if the first wife were to take the child back now, she wouldn't have a good ending. Even if she did give birth to a boy, there would be another woman waiting to take her place, and who knows what she would suffer."
Then he asked, "What happened next?"
“The first wife’s mother was a shrewd and capable woman. She wanted to take her daughter home, but she worried that if she were gone in the future, she wouldn’t be able to take care of her daughter and there would be no hope for the future. I asked her if she would be willing to let her daughter go out and earn money if there was an opportunity. She was overjoyed and said that if there was a real opportunity, she wouldn’t have to worry about her daughter’s future livelihood,” Lu Yangyang said.
At this point, Jiang Zhiyi understood what she meant: "So you mean that if we open a shop, the number of people we can help is limited, but if we can establish an academy to teach them how to make a living, then even if they don't work in our shop, they can support themselves!"
Lu Yangyang knew that as soon as she mentioned this matter, Jiang Zhiyi would understand what she meant.
“We can open one shop, or even ten shops, but how many people do we need? We still have so many people waiting to be resettled. They are homeless, but that's all we can help them with. Any more people would be too much to handle and manage. Our shops might be popular now because they're new, but what about five or ten years from now? What will they do if our shops fail? Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish, but that's easier said than done. But now is the perfect opportunity.” Lu Yangyang tapped the table with her fingertips. “Yuzhou City has suffered a calamity and is in dire need of rebuilding. That's one reason. Secondly, Yuzhou City is close to Yingzhou City, and Yingzhou City has a thriving maritime trade. I've seen many women setting up stalls on the streets. We can try to establish a route to supply goods to Yingzhou City, which will create more demand.”
“Most importantly, the current prefect of Yuzhou City is Prefect Ling. He is a good official who loves his people and is willing to accept new challenges. If I can persuade him, he will definitely agree to help encourage women in Yuzhou City to leave their homes and support themselves. With this first step, more women will join in. When they all have the ability to make a living, what kind of scene do you think it will be?” Lu Yangyang’s eyes brightened as she spoke. “I heard His Highness mention before that he has reformed the regulations on the buying and selling of servants several times, hoping that one day, employment can replace buying and selling. So we can think about it a little bigger. It’s not just about women. In the future, when more than half of the people can support themselves, when the market for buying and selling servants is gradually broken down, won’t we be able to replace buying and selling with employment?”
Jiang Zhiyi stared blankly at Lu Yangyang.
Or rather, she was so captivated by the vision Lu Yangyang had painted that she couldn't help but imagine if there really came a day when the fate of most suffering women in the world could be changed, even just a little bit, no, not just a little bit, but a little bit that would eventually become a sea, creating a brand new world.
There may be many, many obstacles, but as long as the first step is taken, as long as there is even the slightest change, it will be a matter of life and death for the women who need it.
Jiang Zhiyi's breathing became slightly rapid.
She couldn't help but ask, "Is it really possible? What if, after we finally manage to get started, Lord Ling leaves? Or what can we teach, and how should we collect tuition fees? Do you have any ideas about these things?"
Lu Yangyang thought for a moment and said, "Lord Ling's term is currently three years. Your Highness can ensure that Lord Ling is in charge of Yuzhou for these three years. As for what happens after three years..."
Lu Yangyang lowered her voice and calmly said, "Let's fight our way back to the capital."
Jiang Zhiyi held her breath.
She could hear her heart pounding wildly.
"As for how to collect tuition fees, the girls we've taken in can't afford them right now, but they can work to pay for it in advance, allowing them to pay in installments later. The girls we brought before are skilled in many things: needlework, reading, writing, cooking, pastry making, makeup, accounting, even martial arts, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. They can all be categorized and taught, each with their own strengths. We can charge tuition fees based on different skills, and after they've learned them, we can help them find corresponding jobs. At first, we might have to do a lot of work, but as time goes on and the environment improves, won't they be able to stand on their own?" Lu Yangyang said.