I turned the cold palace into a paradise

Chapter 200 What Do I Want?

Ouyang Jinyan didn't expect that a woman would have such courage and was stunned.

"Your name?"

"Excuse me, Ouyang."

"Ouyang? Oh, it's the same last name as Master Ouyang!"

"Master Ouyang? But Ouyang Shu? Do you know her?" Ouyang Yi's eyes lit up and he asked hurriedly.

"Yes, it's Vice Dean Ouyang Shu. How could I not know her? There is no one in the entire city who doesn't know Master Ouyang!"

"how do I say this?"

"Master Ouyang is the vice president of Hope College! Our children can go to school thanks to Master Yue and Master Ouyang!"

"Except for the rich, how many of you from other places can read?"

"A drop in the ocean..."

"I'm telling you, Brother Ouyang, now everyone in Chengnan Prefecture can study!"

"What? Everyone?!"

"Yes, our children can go to school for free! Even people like us have the opportunity to learn to read every day! Judging from the way you are dressed, I think you are also literate. Otherwise, I would invite you to attend the class tonight!"

Although Ouyang Jinyan had heard his daughter talk about how they had set up a school, she didn't go into detail.

This was totally different from what he had imagined! How much would it cost to provide free education for all? Could the government afford it? This little tax revenue was not enough!

“Do the people have to pay a lot of taxes?”

"Hehehe, no need. Didn't I just say that Master Yue has already refunded the taxes? Why are we still collecting taxes? The government! They exempted us from agricultural taxes for three years!"

"Three years of tax exemption?!!!" Ouyang Jinyan suddenly believed that this Chengnan Prefecture belonged to Yunyue.

Otherwise, why are the policies always contrary to those of the imperial court?

"Brother, we still have business to do, so I won't talk to you for now. Just walk around and you'll see that our Chengnan Mansion is great!"

Ouyang Jinyan said goodbye to these vendors and continued strolling around the city with his wife and son.

"Why are there no beggars in the city?" Ouyang Yi muttered to himself in some surprise.

Only then did Ouyang Jinyan notice that they had not encountered a single beggar along the way.

I grabbed another passerby and asked him.

"Are you new here? We don't have beggars in Chengnan Prefecture! There used to be some, but not anymore. They were all taken away by the government!"

"Took them away?" Ouyang Jinyan's face turned ugly. Could it be that for the sake of face, he took all the beggars away...

The man knew what he was thinking by looking at his face: "What are you thinking! What I meant by taking them away is that Master Yue took them all away, arranged food, lodging, work, and a teacher for them. Oh... if I had known, I would have become a beggar, and then been taken away by the government. It's not like now, working in a shop, being scolded every day! Okay, I'm not going to say anymore, I have to go back quickly!"

Ouyang Jinyan glanced at Madam Ouyang, his eyes full of disbelief. After all, Yunyue and the others' operations didn't cost a lot of money? Where did the government get so much money?

Madam Ouyang pinched him and said, "What are you doing? Let alone others, Shu'er wouldn't do the kind of thing you think with her personality!"

"This... this is really shocking."

"Dad, aren't there enough shocking things? I think that Chengnan Prefecture is really different from other places..." Ouyang Yi was full of excitement.

Ouyang Jinyan was very confused. There were so many people in the court, and he had been an official for so many years. Could it be that he was really not as good as a few women? This was impossible!

In order to convince himself, Ouyang Jinyan continued to move forward. He wanted to find a bad place to prove that he was right, but he also looked forward to discovering more different places and seeing the different smiles of the people.

This conflicting thought lasted until the sun set, and then Ouyang Jinyan slowly walked back to the mansion with his wife and children.

Along the way, Ouyang Jinyan didn't say a word and there was no expression on his face.

On the way, he met a scholar teaching people characters at a bulletin board. He stood in the crowd and watched.

I don’t know what he was thinking.

Until Madam Ouyang tugged at his sleeve.

"Madam..." Ouyang Jinyan lowered his eyes, as if he had lost all his energy.

"Ah."

"I'm old……"

"My husband is not old, but he has no choice in the court."

Ouyang Jinyan sighed and fell silent again.

The three of them walked back to the government office quietly, only to see a lot of people gathered at the door.

Ouyang Jinyan’s first reaction was that they were causing trouble, and then he laughed at himself sarcastically. These people along the way admired Master Yue so much, how could they cause trouble?

I looked up and saw my daughter coming out.

"Master Ouyang! Master Ouyang!!"

"Dean Ouyang!!"

The crowd shouted with joy and excitement.

Ouyang Shu smiled and raised her hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

"What do you want to see me for?"

An old man came out, he looked like an old scholar in the village.

The old man bowed to Ouyang Shu with both hands.

"Old man, please get up quickly."

"Master Ouyang, you have to accept this gift! If it weren't for you, our children and grandchildren would never have the chance to study in their lifetime..."

"You are too kind, old man. This is the decision of the prefect."

"We know that Master Yue and you are all Bodhisattvas who have descended to earth. We are lucky to have you in Chengnan Prefecture! We are here today to give you something."

After the old man finished speaking, dozens of strong men in the crowd came up with five large boxes and put them down.

The old man trembled as he opened one of the boxes. It was filled with copper coins, a few pieces of silver, some silver earrings, and a crude silver hairpin. I guess some women took out their dowries.

"This is……?"

"Master Ouyang, these five boxes were raised by everyone from our four counties and the prefectural capital. Master Ouyang, we are very happy that you let our children study for free! But it costs a lot of money to support a child, which can drain a family. But you let all the children in Chengnan Prefecture study for free, how much money does that cost..."

"Yes, Dean Ouyang, with so many people, we still have to pay the teachers a monthly salary... The government has exempted us from agricultural taxes, so how can we afford to open this academy!"

"We also have our own selfish motives. We are afraid that these schools will not be able to continue, and the children will have to follow our old path and work in the fields for their whole lives... So everyone has raised some money to the best of their ability and wants to donate it to the school. We want the school to last longer, and we also want you to have an easier time..."

Ouyang Shu looked at the happy and worried expressions of these people and knew what they were thinking: "Don't worry, as long as Master Yue is here, the academy will be open. You can take the money back, we won't take it."

The crowd suddenly knelt down: "Master Ouyang, if you don't accept us, we won't go back."

"You guys...hey, get up quickly, I'll take it." Ouyang Shu thought for a moment and said quickly.

Seeing that Ouyang Shu agreed to accept it, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.

Surrounding Ouyang Shu, they expressed their gratitude, and some women even secretly gave her the insoles they had made.

Ouyang Jinyan looked at his daughter who was surrounded by people, and suddenly he understood what he wanted and what he should do.

He left his wife and son behind and ran away in a hurry.

"Look at your father. He ran away by himself."

"Mom, my dad seems to have figured it out."

"If he still can't figure this out, I'll just tell him to go back home."

Ouyang Yi grinned.

"Yier, look at your sister. She's so great, even better than your father. What your father has always wanted to accomplish has been accomplished by your sister."

Madam Ouyang looked at her exceptionally dazzling daughter and felt equally proud, and her heart was also eager to make a move.

"My sister is amazing. Mom, I want to stay here and be with my sister. I also want to be like my sister."

"Okay! Mom will come too."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"By the way, Yi'er, there are so many outstanding women around your sister, why don't you get along with them..."

Madam Ouyang was interrupted by Ouyang Yi before she finished her words: "Mother, I'm going to see Master Yue now."

"Oh my son, Yue'er can't do that. Yue'er is Prince Rong's woman, and she is also my goddaughter, your godsister. This is not something you can think of."

"Mom!! What are you talking about!!! I want to go find Master Yue and see what kind of job he can arrange for me."

"Oh, mother is wrong. What do you think of Jiaojiao? It just so happens that Huang Shide has a good relationship with your father. Or what about Xiyun? She knows medical skills, and there are very few women who know medical skills! She is so powerful... Forget it, you are not worthy of her. Wanhua is not good enough either, she is a martial arts expert, and you are as weak as your father, but you are good at talking, so forget it..."

Ouyang Yi held his forehead helplessly: "Mother..."