freenovelworld Chapter 707: Girls in the tribe must be literate
Chapter 707: Girls in the tribe must be literate
"I said Jingzhe would think about his people when he was successful. Isn't he doing everything right?"
"That's right, Jingzhe, I think he looks cold on the outside but is warm on the inside, no wonder the Lu family is willing to give so much dowry. If you ask me, Jingzhe's marriage is a good match. It is said that a virtuous wife brings blessings to three generations. Jingzhe's wife is willing to give out her dowry to support the family. No new daughter-in-law in the clan can do that."
"It's not just Jingzhe and his wife's idea. This matter must have been approved by Aunt Dajiao. I think it must have been Aunt Dajiao's idea, and she deliberately pushed the blame on Jingzhe and his wife."
......
The tribesmen were talking about it.
No matter whose idea it is, it is a good thing for the tribe.
"Don't just think about your sons. Zhaozhao will sponsor your children's education for free. It will sponsor not only boys but girls as well," said Tong Huaqiong.
It is her selfish desire to fund the girl's education.
Of course, Lu Zhaozhao also supports her selfish desires.
"Why should girls read books? Girls will get married, so isn't it a waste of our Gu family's money to keep them reading?" said Gu Dahu, the grandson of the clan leader.
Many people in the tribe agreed.
Girls can neither take the imperial examinations nor become officials.
Their biggest hope for their girl was that she could work in Tong Huaqiong's weaving workshop and earn money for the family for a few years like Gu Xiaoxue did. When she reached marriageable age, she could rely on Tong Huaqiong's connections to find a good husband, so that her parents would not have wasted their time raising her.
Tong Huaqiong frowned after hearing this and said, "Return the money to our Gu family. You don't even look at who paid for it, and you shamelessly say it's the Gu family's money. This money was paid by my family, so of course I have the final say. If you don't let any girl in your family study and learn to read, then your sons don't have to study either."
Tong Huaqiong looked around and saw that those standing at the front of the clan were all men.
The women were blocked by the men from behind and couldn't see clearly.
She, Maner and Chen Sufen looked extremely awkward in the middle.
It was she who asked Su Qing to notify every household that both men and women must attend this clan meeting, otherwise women would not show up at the clan's discussion meeting at all.
After saying this, Tong Huaqiong turned around and said to Su Qing beside him: "Please remember which girl is as willing to study as Man'er."
Su Qing agreed respectfully.
After hearing this, the tribe members looked at each other in bewilderment.
Girls’ education is something that only wealthy families can afford. Girls from farming families don’t have the time to study.
Don't you want to go to the ground?
Don’t you want to do housework?
Tong Huaqiong also knew this, but she still insisted on letting girls go to school.
Girls cannot take the imperial examinations or become officials, but being literate is better than being blind.
Thinking of this, Tong Huaqiong said earnestly: "I know what you think. You think that girls only need to know how to wash clothes, cook, sew, work in the fields, and take care of their husbands and children. But think about it, why do wealthy families train their girls to read and write? Like our girls, they can't take the imperial examinations or become officials, but they still need to learn to read and write. It's not because their families have the conditions, but because the value of literacy is far greater than that of illiteracy."
"For example, if your daughter wants to marry into a wealthy family, but she can't read and understand account books, then she has no chance. Don't think this is a fantasy. The empress who founded our country was a peasant girl. It was because she could read and understand military books that she could serve as a military advisor to the late emperor in troubled times and eventually became the empress and ruled the world together with the late emperor."
Tong Huaqiong knew that nothing she said would work. In this era when girls were regarded as tools, she had to use interests to motivate their parents.
What is the biggest driver?
Of course, it is to marry a good husband and lead the whole family to prosperity.
In this era, every parent has the wish for their sons and daughters to become successful.
Tong Huaqiong had just finished speaking when her only fan, the second aunt from the Gu family, spoke.
"What Dashu Niang said is right. Jingzhe has now finished his studies and married a good wife. They are willing to support the young men in the clan. Our Gu family will become a big clan sooner or later. In the future, more and more young men in the clan will become officials or run big businesses. Wouldn't their sisters be more valuable? Don't you want your daughters to marry into better families and bring benefits to their brothers?"
"Let's not talk about anything else. Look at Honglian. Didn't Honglian get engaged to Scholar Fan because of Jingzhe? The requirements of those wealthy families for their daughters-in-law are not the same as those of Scholar Fan. They are rich and powerful, and their requirements for their daughters-in-law are not only capable but also literate. If you don't let your daughters learn to read, then you won't get the chance to marry into a better family in the future."
The second aunt of the Gu family spoke very bluntly.
Those who were originally against girls’ education suddenly changed their minds.
Old Mrs. Gu looked unhappy. What did her sister-in-law mean by slandering her daughter?
Old Mrs. Gu couldn't help but retort to her sister-in-law, "Sister-in-law, you are saying nothing good about my Honglian. Why can't my Honglian be the wife of a scholar? Honglian is not good at housework and needlework, and she can't do farm work, but my Honglian can read, and the scholar values my Honglian's literacy."
After saying this, Old Lady Gu remembered that the reason Gu Honglian learned to read was from Tong Dajiao.
She doesn’t know much, but she’s better than the blind girls in the tribe.
The second aunt of the Gu family clapped her hands and said, "Look everyone, isn't this the benefit of being literate? Honglian can become a scholar's wife if she can read a few words. If she can understand military books and history books, she will definitely enter the palace and become a queen."
Old Mrs. Gu snorted.
The eyes of the people below fluctuated.
Gu Honglian is the least beautiful girl in the Gu family. In the eyes of everyone, her ability to become the wife of a scholar is the second time that smoke is rising from the grave of Grandpa Gu's family.
If Gu Honglian can do it, why can't their daughter or granddaughter?
Their daughters or granddaughters look much better than Gu Honglian.
Tong Huaqiong took the opportunity to say, "We don't ask them to study hard day and night like they were going to take the imperial examination, but to learn to read a little."
Tong Huaqiong knew that it was unrealistic to let girls sit in a private school and study every day like Maner or Xiaolong Yaozu, but it would be okay if they could learn to read.
Sure enough, as soon as this was said, everyone expressed their opinions.
"Learning to read is good."
"That's right. I don't need to study hard to pass the imperial examination. It's just learning to read. It won't affect anything."
Gu Daqiao's wife Song Qiaoniang and Gu Fengnian's wife Wei both supported Tong Huaqiong.
Song Qiaoniang's daughter is eight years old this year. No matter who forbids her to learn to read, she plans to teach her daughter to read.
Even if I don't marry into a good family in the future, it would be nice to be a manager around Gu Taohua.
"It is indeed better to be literate than to be blind. In addition to Honglian, Pandi is also an example. Pandi learned to write by watching Tong Fusheng read and write at home. She married two good men, the first time to the head of the village, and the second time to Master Su." said another daughter-in-law.
Everyone thought about it and realized that it was true.
Literacy, literacy is a must.