Chapter 488: Grateful Children
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The younger ones did not understand what this meant at all. They only knew that they would not go hungry in the future. They shouted excitedly, “Oh, oh, oh! There would be a place to stay in the future! There’s food too!”
The older ones already understood some principles. They knew what it meant to have a place to live and eat without worry. A girl around 11 or 12 years old asked with a trembling voice, “Really? Can we really eat, live, and wear clothes here in the future?”
Jian Qingqing looked at the little girl’s nervous eyes and patted her head, saying firmly, “Yes, as long as Great Wei is here, the charity hall will always be here. We will never let you be homeless again.”
The little girl immediately shed tears of excitement. With teary eyes, she was about to kneel down and thank her. “Princess, I have no way to repay your kindness. If there is a chance, I will definitely do my best to repay you!’
Jian Qingqing quickly pulled her back and said, “This is not my credit. This is all the credit of His Majesty. If you want to thank someone, thank His Majesty. It is because of him that we can live a stable life. No matter what, please believe that you are all His Majesty’s people. His Majesty is a good king who cares about the country and the people. He will definitely not let you live a hard life.”
The little girl nodded vigorously. “Yes, I know. I will pray for His Majesty every day in the future. I hope that he will be healthy and live long!’
Jian Qingqing smiled. “You might as well learn more skills than to pray for him. In the future, you will have a skill to contribute to Great Wei.”
The little girl looked at her in confusion and asked, “But what can we learn? We don’t have the money to learn skills.”
Jian Qingqing smiled and said, “You don’t have to pay. The Imperial Court has invited many teachers for the charity hall. Among them, there are teachers, craftsmen, embroiderers, farmers, and so on. The first thing you have to learn is to read. After you have finished reading, you can choose other courses according to your interests and specialties. Both boys and girls can learn, but there is only one requirement. You must study seriously. You can’t fish for three days and dry your nets for two days. Do you understand?
It was impossible for everyone in the charity hall to take the exam, so Jian Qingqings first requirement for them was to learn to read and write. It did not matter if they knew how to write articles or not, as long as they knew how to read.
They had to go out to make a living at the age of fifteen, so it was very necessary to have a skill. This could be chosen according to their interests.
If you want to be a craftsman in the future, you should learn from a craftsman.
Some girls who wanted to be embroiderers would learn from them.
However, some people felt that farming was more practical. If they only wanted to farm, they would learn from the farmers.
There was a lot of knowledge in doing farm work. It was not something that could be learned immediately. Learning from others could help them avoid detours.
Of course, there were many other types of teachers, doctors, chefs, and so on. As long as they were willing to learn, the charity hall could invite people.
Everyone was immediately stunned. They did not expect such a good thing to happen. Not only could they eat and live, but they could also learn to read and learn!
The girls, in particular, were so excited that they immediately shed tears.
They had never expected that they could read and write like boys!
“Really?” the little girl asked in a crying voice. “Your Highness, can we really learn to read?”
Jian Qingqing smiled and replied, “Of course it’s true. After you study, there will be an exam every month. Girls, you must work hard. You are very good. You are not worse than the boys. Don’t lose to the boys..”