Jiangzhou Prefecture.
Imperial Academy.
"Greetings, Junior Teacher!"
When Zhou Ping saw Tai Chong enter, he hurriedly joined the other youths in saluting him.
They were all newly recruited Imperial Academy students. No matter what government office was hiring, it always wanted people it could use for a long time, so youth was an advantage.
Among the Imperial Academy's new students, many were half-grown youths of exceedingly humble status. The highest-born was merely the son of a student who had passed the county exam.
Zhou Ping's status was particularly poor. He had been born among refugees; his family had fled famine to the prefectural city, until only he remained, after which he became a beggar.
Then the Imperial Academy took him in. Not only did it provide medicine and meals, it even gave him a name.
Well, boys from the countryside originally did not even have names. They were ranked by generation as "eldest, second, third, youngest," or called Zhou Da, Zhou Er, Zhou San...
The "Ping" in Zhou Ping's name had been chosen by Junior Daoist Tai Chong, so he was deeply grateful to this Junior Teacher.
Tai Chong held a book in his arms, his face brimming with exhaustion. "You have been enrolled for several months and have learned a thousand characters... Today, we shall study arithmetic and geography, then combine them with practical work to learn how to calculate the area of farmland..."
These former Daoist temple novices had been extremely busy over the past few months. Not only did they have to visit the six offices to "observe government affairs," they also had to serve as Imperial Academy teachers.
They even had to study other subjects on their own at night, dignifying it with the name "recharging."
"Yes!"
Zhou Ping took the lead in answering loudly.
To