Section47: The Weeping Cloud Village

The sun rises in the east, and the sun is shining all over the ground. It is a rare sunny day, and the Jade Mountain is green and lush, without a hint of haze. The morning exercises have ended, and the students of the academy are carrying their lunch trays to the dining hall to eat.

Almost everyone is smiling, except for these few.

Li Tai rubbed his dark circles, took a sip of congee, yawned, and then ate a few buns in a listless manner before going back to his room. He had hardly slept at all last night because of the noise, and he had to do morning exercises early in the morning. Although Liu Xian was his family servant, he was actually the head of the dormitory here, with the power to punish and reward. If he suffered any loss here, he would not be able to get away with it even if he went to his father.

He was in the same boat as Duan Meng and Meng Youtong. They were all lazy and couldn’t muster the energy to do anything.

The weasel came to the dining hall in high spirits, filled a large clay pot with porridge, wrapped a dozen buns in cloth, and walked home humming a little song.

When he looked up, he saw Li Tai, Duan Meng, Meng Youtong and a few others blocking his way in a rage.

“Put the food aside, don’t spill it,” Li Tai ordered.

The weasel obediently put the porridge on the bench over there and put the buns away before carefully coming over.

“Crouch down and cover your head.”

After following the instructions of this devil, he just finished, and felt a sudden storm of punches and kicks. The weasel did not dare to resist, and could only endure it until the few people felt bored and stopped.

Li Tai was a very reasonable person. After the beating, he told him the reason: “Do you know why I beat you?”

The weasel, with blood running down his nose, shook his head and said he didn’t know.

“Can you keep your voice down when you’re working? We’re trying to sleep, and you’ve been tossing and turning all night. If it weren’t for the fact that you were newly married last night, we wouldn’t have waited until now to beat you up!” Duan Meng spoke loudly, causing the students who were watching to burst into laughter.

The weasel hid his head in his pants, squeezed his way out of the crowd, picked up his food, and ran off.

Ying Niang was tidying up the house, wiping the family things over and over again until they were spotless. She recalled last night’s shame, and the five years of abstinence were so passionate under the indulgence of last night.

She liked the environment, everyone looked refined, there was no foul language as usual, everyone was smiling at her, their smiles were sincere and warm. Her husband told her that everyone here had a lot of knowledge, even the Taoist monk Sun Simiao lived here. Oh my god, is this where immortals live?

Huangshu ran in with a bloody face. Ying Niang quickly took over the meal and asked him, “Did you fall? Or did someone beat you up?”

The weasel didn’t say anything, just buried his head in the basin to wash the blood off his face.

The injury was not serious, and Huangshu could tell that it was only a bump on the nose that caused the bleeding. It was embarrassing. He had forgotten that he was in a school and not in a brothel, where he could behave recklessly.

“Let’s go talk to him. Even the son of the village head can’t bully people.” The women of Guanzhong are very strong-willed, and so is Ying Niang.

She grabbed Ying Niang, who was fuming, and whispered, “We made too much noise last night, and the nobleman next door didn’t sleep all night. This morning, he was angry with me. It doesn’t matter, we were in the wrong.”

Ying Niang blushed at once, and then she burst out again: “Even if we were wrong, they shouldn’t have beaten you. Look, your nose is broken. I don’t believe they are more important than the county magistrate. Is there still a place in this world where reason is respected?”

The weasel was both moved and amused. He pulled Ying Niang to the window and pointed to Yun Ye, who was walking outside, saying, “That’s the marquis.” Then he pointed to Li Tai, who had just beaten him, saying, “That’s the one who beat me. His father is not the head of the village. His father is the current emperor.”

Yun Ye was a little worried. The reputation of Yushan Academy was getting bigger and bigger. It was only half a year, and the academy already had more than 130 students. Almost every day, new students enrolled. There were never enough teachers, and he didn’t want to make do with anything. What should he do?

Originally, it was agreed that there would be one admission per year. Now, everyone is coming to Yun Ye with letters. Okay, it’s from Changsun Wuji, saying that his son went to the battlefield, and the academy must let another Changsun child enroll.

It was not easy to refuse, and Changsun Chong’s face had to be given, so Changsun Wen arrived at the academy.

Fang Xianling sent a thousand strings of cash, saying that it was the money he had earned from riding in Yun Hou’s carriage the last time, and that it was better to use it to teach and educate people, fully demonstrating the broad-mindedness of a prime minister who cares about the country and its people. It’s just that his youngest son is misbehaving all day long, which is very annoying to him. If…

Well, the prime minister’s worries still have to be shared, so Fang Yuai arrived at the academy. Looking at the ten-year-old Fang Yuai in front of him, Yun Ye sighed and was speechless.

If the two of them did not have the capital to refuse, Yun Ye specially sent his brother-in-arms, Lao Liang, from the front line to report on military affairs, along with seven or eight children of his colleagues from the Zuowei, to kneel in front of the Yun family, pleading with Yun Ye to give his family’s unworthy children a chance to succeed in life, for the sake of their brotherhood. How could Yun Ye refuse?

The five big and three rough men were crying so heartbreakingly. Fine! Wave the butler to send the children to the academy, welcome Lao Liang into the family, and ask about the military situation by the way.

It’s a joke to try to plug a hole once it’s opened. When Yun Ye called roll in the new month, he discovered that the academy already had nearly 200 students.

Where can I find a teacher who is knowledgeable, virtuous, and willing to teach students?

“Give me 3,000 strings of cash and I’ll get you 50 teachers.” Li Gang chewed on a newly-launched cucumber, clicking his teeth as he pointed at the big words on the blackboard with a half-cucumber, very much in the style of Yun Ye, and very imposing.

The academy is not short of money. If the new students don’t pay a few hundred thousand, they won’t be able to stand in the academy, except for the poor people in Zuowuwei.

It was simple. The money order for 3,000 strings of cash was placed in front of Old Li, and then he bowed. Yun Ye left, and as for how to find someone and who to find, Li Gang knew better than himself.

The old man is getting younger and younger now, and it is estimated that he will live another ten years without a problem. He is just getting more and more eccentric, and is heading in the direction of a child. First, he wanted a house, then he wanted furniture, and now he is starting to ask for money. Just let him be, as long as he lives well and helps me support the academy, there will be no problem.

I know that the old man is afraid that Yun Ye will use the money in his hands to do things he doesn’t understand. The last time I showed him the long-term plan for the academy, it scared the old man. He was worried that the academy would have disputes with the court. It would be strange if there were no traces of these teachers in the students who came to study here. He would rather be troubled himself, but he would use the students to tie Yun Ye’s hands and feet. What a painstaking effort!

Class placement! All the children who had just arrived at the academy were assigned to the first grade, and then after the exam, the students in the academy were divided into three grades. There were only 14 students in the senior grade, and modern subjects such as physics, mathematics, and geometry were taught only to these 14 people, and these 14 people had to take turns teaching the basics of mathematics to the lower grades.

Li Gang discovered that while they were getting busier and busier, Yun Ye was getting easier and easier.

In the year of famine, everyone was in danger, and the land of Guanzhong began to see refugees. They abandoned their land and homes and flocked to the cities, hoping to find something to eat. At this time, the peasants did not have enough food to last more than two years, and the harvests that were waiting to be harvested were completely destroyed by the locusts. With no harvest in the fields, there was no food in their mouths. The refugees, unwilling to sit and wait for death, took advantage of the fact that they still had a little savings at home and rushed to other places. Strangely, no one went south. Even though the whole of Guanzhong was suffering, they wandered aimlessly around Guanzhong, not going anywhere.

Yun’s village is now very crowded. The locust industry has absorbed a large amount of idle labor. Not only is it impossible to find idle people in their own village, but there are also farmers from neighboring villages who come to work. The Yun family does not reject anyone who comes. As long as they work, they will either be paid or given food. There is no second word. The sacks filled with locust powder are getting higher and higher. After the locusts passed, the family returned to normal. The wheat in the fields had already been harvested, and sure enough, it was only 60%. The peasants celebrated for several days.

They took out ten percent of the grain to pay the rent at home. This is strange. Yun Ye remembered that he had said that this year’s disaster would not require rent payment, and this was also the court’s decree. He went home today to deal with this matter.

These people didn’t say a word, and they didn’t eat the food provided by the family. They just waited at the back door, ready to pay the rent. When Yun Ye came over, the ninety-year-old old man was helped off the oxcart. He couldn’t speak very well, but Yun Ye needed to treat him as an elder because of his age. At his age, he didn’t need to bow to the emperor.

After listening for a long time, I finally understood that the peasants thought that this year was a disaster, and everyone was unlucky, including the Yun family. Since the Yun family only had a 60% harvest, they had to be given a share. This was reasonable.

It’s a very simple truth. Although I despise these fools from the bottom of my heart, my eyes are tearing up. This is not the landlord harming the farmers, it’s the farmers harming the landlord. Oh my god! Li Er has already killed seven or eight landlords who still demanded rent in a year of disaster. Is he hoping that I will be beheaded? It’s hard for heaven to tolerate a landlord who has reached this point.

Other landlords either rob the poor or buy a few acres of land at a low price during a famine. They do whatever they want. When I become a landlord, I risk my head for collecting rent.

Yun Ye shed tears, the peasants shed tears, the passing Sun Simiao also shed tears with a smile, and the old lady cried so much that she couldn’t be seen.

Grabbing the food prepared by the Yun family, Yun Ye tore open a large piece of bread, took a bite, and said loudly, “Eat! It is customary to pay rent and receive meals at the main house. You have done your part, so it is Yun’s turn to do his part. Eat.” After saying this, he handed the remaining half of the bread to the old man. The old man opened his toothless mouth and bit hard on the bread. He didn’t let go even when he couldn’t bite it down. He whimpered and said that this was the best-tasting bread he had ever eaten in his life.

The peasants scrambled to eat the cake, and even the servants of the Yun family rushed to get a piece. Qiantong wiped away his tears, gathered his qi in his lower abdomen, and shouted:

“Rent collection!” The voice was drawn out very long…