The crowd began to queue up to receive their goods.
Those with children had them first bow to Fang Er, then to the teacher, as thanks for their nurturing. Only then did they go to collect their gifts.
This, Fang Er accepted with equanimity.
With so many people, distributing the New Year's goods was slow.
Yet, no one expressed discontent.
Such a scene was something they hadn't witnessed for lifetimes.
Putting aside the wealthy and noble families, the distant past was unknown to them.
What they knew was that the landlords and gentry who used to be around them…
Not a single one of them hadn't tried to find ways to exploit them!
But after arriving at Fang Family Village, everything had changed!
They received pay for their labor and were provided meals!
And the children could even study!
Not only was it free, but the school also gave them an egg and a bowl of meat broth every day!
Now, the children in the village were growing increasingly robust!
And as the year came to an end, they were also receiving New Year's goods.
At this moment, these people etched a mark of Fang into their hearts.
Only when the sky turned dark were the goods finally distributed.
Fang Er brought Zhang Zhimin and Ma Tongyuan back to the Fang Residence.
He hadn't paid attention to the school since it opened.
The school was also closed for the past few days, granting the children a holiday.
In the Fang Residence, Xiao Qing had already prepared the hot pot.
Fang Er pulled Zhang and Ma over, offering them seats.
Though these two scholars were not very old, they possessed rich experiences.
Since arriving at Fang Family Village, they felt as though they had witnessed a different world.
Those who resided had their homes, and those who tilled had their fields.
Although over ninety percent of the land was under Fang Er's name,
The grain given for labor alone was enough to support an entire family.
This was something that could not be seen anywhere else in the Tang Dynasty.
The changes in Fang Family Village over the past two to three months, they were witnesses to.
Therefore, they held immense admiration for the young man before them.
"Headmaster, you are too kind. Thank you, thank you."
Ma Tongyuan quickly rose to express his gratitude.
Fang Er pressed him down.
"Nurturing trees for ten years, nurturing people for a hundred! Teaching and nurturing is the noblest profession! Therefore, in Fang Family Village, you need not be polite to anyone."
"Xiao Qing, bring the wine. I shall have a good drink with the two esteemed scholars!"
The food and wine were laid out.
Fang Er inquired about the current situation of the school.
"To be honest, Headmaster, the school does have some issues that need to be resolved,"
Zhang Zhimin swallowed the wine in his mouth and said to Fang Er.
"Oh, tell me!"
Fang Er said.
"Firstly, it's the issue of books and paper. Currently, the books are all copied by the students themselves, and there are bound to be many errors in this process, which will affect them in the future."
"Secondly, it's the issue of textbooks. The school is still teaching 'San Zi Jing' and 'Di Zi Gui,' and these two books will soon be finished. I wonder if the Headmaster has any arrangements?"
Zhang Zhimin stated two problems.
Fang Er was somewhat surprised.
"Are these considered problems?"
"Can't books be bought at bookstores? Why copy them yourselves? If you lack money, just say so!"
"Headmaster, you may not know, but books at bookstores are really too expensive. A single copy of 'Analects' costs two strings of cash! Currently, there are over three hundred children in the school, and buying books is a considerable expense."
"Damn!"
"This is robbery!"
Fang Er, in his previous life, had never seen books costing two thousand yuan each!
"How can they be so expensive? KΑnshu伍.ξà"
"Printing books requires carving blocks. A single book like 'Analects' has over ten thousand characters. If even one character is carved incorrectly, the entire block is ruined, so the cost of carving blocks is immense."
"Moreover, a set of printing blocks is not infinitely usable. At most, after printing about a thousand copies, they will become defective due to ink penetration."
Zhang Zhimin, as someone from a merchant family, spoke very logically about these matters.
"Bang!"
Fang Er smacked his forehead.
"How could I forget this? This is easy. Leave it to me. Whatever books you need, I will handle them."
"Movable type printing!"
Fang Er, since his transmigration, had rarely interacted with books, so he had forgotten about this.
"These two issues can be resolved together. Are there any other problems?"
"Also, there are too many children now, and Zhang and I are a bit overwhelmed. I wonder if the Headmaster could allow us to recruit more people? I have a few classmates whose character and scholarship are not bad. If the Headmaster agrees, I will write to them after the New Year to invite them over."
"Please do! You must invite them! As long as their character and scholarship are not bad! No matter how many come, we will take them!"
As long as they were talented, Fang Er was not afraid of having too many. "看書喇"
There would always be a use for them.
Song Zhimin and Ma Tongyuan exchanged glances.
Then they rose from their seats and bowed deeply to Fang Er.
"On behalf of the children, we thank you, Headmaster!"
"Sit, sit, sit. What is this? I am the Headmaster, why do you need to thank me on behalf of the children?"
Fang Er said with feigned anger.
With the problems solved and the guests entertained, Fang Er only saw them off when the moon climbed above the treetops.
For the next two days, Fang Er immersed himself in the blacksmith's workshop.
He enlisted Zhao Gang and the others to assist him.
New Year's Eve!
Fang Er arranged boxes in front of the Fang Residence's gate.
As dusk began to fall,
Fang Er lit a fuse and went outside the gate.
The servants and maids followed, filled with curiosity.
These boxes had been placed at the entrance for half the day, and Fang Er wouldn't say what they were, only smiling mysteriously.
As the fuse ignited the explosives in the boxes,
Boom!
A bright ball of fire shot towards the sky, then exploded with a bang!
Following that, it was as if the prelude had begun.
One firework after another shot into the sky, exploding in different colors.
Everyone in Fang Family Village came out of their homes, looking up at the sky.
"Wow! So beautiful!"
"Mom, look quickly, are those stars?"
The fireworks in the night sky illuminated Fang Family Village exceptionally brightly.
Xiao Qing and the other maids huddled by the door, watching this wondrous spectacle.
Fang Er also had his fill of fun.
During New Year's in his previous life, he had played with them when he was young.
After he grew up, the country implemented policies.
For the sake of environmental protection, fireworks were banned, so he hadn't played with them since.
He had once thought about when he could play to his heart's content.
He never expected this dream to be realized in the Tang Dynasty.
In the imperial palace, Li Shimin stood on a pavilion, attracted by the bright lights in the southeast of Chang'an City.
"Send someone to check what's happening over there."
Eunuch Deng heard this and instructed the guards to go and investigate.
Fang Er had prepared a great many fireworks!
Besides those placed on the ground outside, there were a total of five ox carts!
They were piled high with fireworks.
While he was having his fill of fun, he suddenly heard the sound of hooves.
"Zhuzi, go and see."
"Who would be wandering around Fang Family Village for no reason on New Year's Day?"
"Young Master, it's the Imperial Guards!"
Zhuzi took a couple of steps forward and saw someone in guard uniform riding over.
Fang Er threw the fuse at his feet and stomped it out, then walked over.