Chapter 74: Du Chengfeng’s Plan (With gratitude to reader "With You for the Rest of My Life" for the reward of 200 book coins)

Although the villagers were all genuine farmers, they were well aware of the benefits of education.

Even the status of an ordinary scholar was enough to make most people envious.

Now that Du Chengfeng had announced that everyone could attend school for free, how could the villagers not be moved, not be excited?

No one doubted the truth of Du Chengfeng’s words, for the county magistrate stood by as a witness. Overwhelmed, the villagers could not help but shed tears.

A moment later, the villagers finally came to their senses, realizing all of this was real. In unison, they started to kneel before Du Chengfeng.

Startled, Du Chengfeng hurriedly rushed to a matron about to kneel before him, firmly lifting her up with both hands, exclaiming loudly, “Please, everyone, rise! I, Du Chengfeng, do not deserve such honor—I truly do not.”

With his earnest persuasion, the villagers finally stood up.

Even the county magistrate, standing to the side, was deeply moved by the scene before him.

In all his years of service, he had never seen someone like Du Chengfeng, who would rent his own fief to the villagers for free.

And now he was enabling every villager to attend school at no cost. The magistrate could not fathom the young noble’s intentions. Was his wealth so great that he had nowhere else to spend it?

Little did he know that Du Chengfeng possessed a reputation system, and such deeds not only repaid the villagers, but also earned him their gratitude, thereby increasing his reputation points.

Du Chengfeng recalled that many advanced technologies in the system’s marketplace remained locked and required an immense amount of reputation to unlock.

Now, with his new status, he had more opportunities to earn reputation points, and he certainly wouldn’t miss such a chance.

The headman from the neighboring village watched the scene, his eyes stinging with envy.

After a while, the villagers’ emotions gradually calmed. Du Chengfeng then asked the headman to have everyone return home, and as each villager left the ancestral hall, none forgot to approach Du Chengfeng and say, “Thank you, Lord.”

Hearing this, Du Chengfeng felt his eyes moisten. Deep down, he knew that even if it weren’t for the reputation points, he would have done the same.

Hearing the villagers sincerely thank him one after another, he felt a strange satisfaction—a gentle, quiet sense of happiness.

After the villagers had left the ancestral hall, Du Chengfeng patted the still-stunned county magistrate and the headman from Zhangjia Village on the shoulders, saying, “Magistrate, Headman, let us go to Zhangjia Village.”

The magistrate snapped back to his senses and quickly nodded, “Yes, yes, we will follow your arrangements, Lord.”

Zhangjia Village’s geography was more or less the same, with abundant water resources. With some improvements, the fields there could also be used to plant high-yield rice.

Once the rice in Dujia Village matured, they could reserve some seeds for the next planting.

When they arrived at Zhangjia Village, Du Chengfeng did not linger. He merely met with the villagers, so they would know the entire village was now his fief.

As for taxes, they would be the same as in Dujia Village: as long as Du Chengfeng lived, all taxes would be waived and everyone could attend school for free.

The villagers of Zhangjia Village, naturally, were filled with gratitude for their young lord.

However, out of loyalty to the court, the county magistrate, after leaving, wrote a memorial that very night and sent it straight to the Jingzhao Prefecture.

The memorial was then forwarded to Li Shimin. But this was something Du Chengfeng knew nothing about—and even if he did, such matters would not trouble him.

Du Chengfeng left some copper coins with the headmen of both villages, instructing them to clear a large plot of land between the two villages to build two proper schools.

One would be a school for children, the other for the young adults in the villages.

As for teachers, Du Chengfeng intended to ask the magistrate to recruit a few literate scholars from the county, who could then be trained as teachers.

There was no need to worry about textbooks, for the system’s marketplace offered a variety of teaching materials. He could simply redeem a few samples and have them printed in bulk.

Du Chengfeng thought: this would count as the first truly meaningful thing he had done for the villagers since becoming a county lord.

After making these arrangements, Du Chengfeng returned to Dujia Village to meet with the craftsmen he had brought.

He taught the process of making cement to a few craftsmen, stressing once again the importance of secrecy.

Now that everyone had gone to Chang’an, Du Chengfeng had no choice but to leave Uncle Dazhu in charge of the funds for building kilns. He instructed him to lead some men to the limestone quarry and build several kilns there.

Once the kilns were completed, the remaining craftsmen could begin experimenting with the formulas and processes. If they succeeded, they were to send word to him in Chang’an immediately.

The production technique for ceramic tiles was relatively simpler. These craftsmen were all veteran potters; although the methods for making ceramics and tiles differed greatly, they were similar enough that a few adjustments would suffice.

In fact, the history of ceramic tiles dated far back in ancient times, though the techniques were less refined compared to modern methods.

As for red bricks, Du Chengfeng sent a few bricklayers to gather local materials and establish a small brick kiln in Dujia Village. They experimented with different ratios of loess and coal to fire various kinds of red bricks.

The bricks needed to be both sturdy and not overly aged in appearance.

The development of these new building materials was crucial to the timely construction of the main tower of Wangjiang Pavilion.

Therefore, Du Chengfeng instructed the craftsmen that once they succeeded and had samples, they must send them to Chang’an without delay.

He also went to inspect the Immortal Wine Workshop. Under Uncle Dazhu’s supervision, the workshop was now running smoothly. However, output remained limited—just enough to supply Chang’an and Luoyang.

There was no helping it. The local producers of turbid wine in Chang’an had limited capacity, and Du Chengfeng himself could not brew wine.

He would have to find a solution later. The grain yield in the Tang Empire was still low; until high-yield rice and sweet potatoes were introduced in the north, Du Chengfeng had no intention of increasing the output of Immortal Wine.

He wanted to make money and build his strength, but there were principles he would not compromise.

He would not harm the people’s livelihood for profit. If increasing the wine’s production led to the wine workshops in Chang’an scrambling to buy up all the commoners’ grain, causing prices to rise and making life harder for the people, then he would be betraying his original intention of creating a harmonious and prosperous era.

Life for the people of the Tang was already difficult, and with next year promising a drought and locust plague unseen in a century, the harvest would surely plummet. Even with government relief, it would be a struggle.

Thus, the idea of increasing production would have to wait until grain yields rose.

If he obtained a brewing license, he could purchase grain from Jiangnan, where the land was rich and supplies were abundant.