Chapter 193: A Day Trip to Jingzhou
A group of children sat in chairs, earnestly shaking their heads as they read aloud.
The birds chirped.
The cicadas buzzed.
Time stretched on slowly.
Jiang Mianmian sat among the students, also shaking her head.
She couldn’t help but sway along with them; if she didn’t, the rhythm would be thrown off.
To be honest, classical literature is truly difficult to learn and memorize.
But following along like this wasn’t so bad; by memorizing one passage a day, she slowly managed to learn them by heart.
She never expected to have the chance to go through the furnace again and continue her schooling.
Jiang Mianmian discovered that she was well-suited for this style of education, going to school every day.
After all, that was how she had learned before.
Commander Jiang also discovered that he simply couldn’t teach his daughter to read; it was impossible.
He didn’t know why, but teaching Yu’er and Fenger before had been fine, and he never felt the urge to jump up and beat anyone.
But with Mianmian, after he explained something eight times and saw her looking back at him with that innocent, adorable, and confused expression, he felt a sense of despair.
In the middle of the night, Jiang Changtian would secretly complain to his wife.
“Xia Mei, other people’s children grow smarter as they get older. Why does it feel like our Mianmian was more intelligent before she was born, and is only getting sillier? Has she regressed?”
Qin Luoxia:…
Jiang Mianmian:…
“Is it my fault? When I was born, you all said it was amazing just because I turned over. When I said a full sentence, you applauded. Now that I’m still so young, you expect me to be able to write traditional characters and recite classical literature. Isn’t that just you raising your expectations too high all of a sudden?”
Commander Jiang couldn’t teach her himself; despite repeated attempts, he couldn’t do it.
Later, he hired a tutor to come to the house to teach.
He reorganized the prison, sentencing those who truly committed crimes to heavy punishments or death, while pardoning those who had been wrongly accused.
This was exactly in Meng Shaoxia’s area of expertise, so he focused on helping with this, which also made things easier for him.
His father-in-law was, after all, a man who believed in the law.
It wouldn’t be good if people kept dying in accidents like before.
While reorganizing the prison, Jiang Changtian bore no grudges and didn’t mind that those people had been imprisoned.
He actually hired two teachers from the prison to come to his home to be Fenger’s tutors.
He had intended for them to teach his daughter as well.
However, his daughter was such a handful at home that she quickly won them over, making it impossible to teach her.
Even Aunt Yin couldn’t bear to speak a harsh word to her.
Jiang Changtian finally hardened his heart and decided to let his daughter attend school.
That was how a school where girls could also attend appeared in Jingzhou.
The atmosphere in Jingzhou became very different from the outside world, and the public security here was excellent.
Because for girls to be able to attend school, one must first ensure they are not harmed when going out.
Commander Jiang reorganized the entire public security of Jingzhou for this reason.
He focused especially on cracking down on human trafficking.
The brothels in Jingzhou were all turned into entertainment venues for food and drink.
Every sister working in the industry had to register her background and identity, cutting off the human trafficking business at the root.
Commander Jiang, who also acted as the Judge, carried out sweeping reforms to reorganize public security in Jingzhou.
Everyone trembled, thinking the Rebels were about to make a comeback, but in the end, it turned out he did all this just so his youngest daughter could go to school???
Countless memorials were sent to the capital, preparing to ask the capital to send troops to deal with Jiang the Second.
As it turned out, Jiang the Second’s only demand was to let his daughter walk on the street by herself and go to school on her own.
Everyone was moved to tears.
“If you had that kind of energy, you could have trained a team of family retainers or a squad of soldiers. Even if there were more people or they were better equipped, no one would have said anything. It’s just protecting your daughter; everyone knows how much you dote on her. After all, because someone started a rumor that your daughter had a bad fate, you wiped out an entire temple of over 1,780 people…”
“But was it really necessary? Was it necessary to turn the entire Prefecture City upside down and scrub it clean just to let your daughter go to school? Will your daughter stay in Jingzhou for her whole life? What if she grows up and wants to go to the capital one day? Do you have the capability to scrub the capital clean too?”
Of course, everyone only dared to complain in private.
They didn’t dare to do it to his face.
Because, in reality, they were also beneficiaries.
Commander Jiang’s reorganization of Jingzhou’s security began with handling the funeral arrangements for Judge Yu, confiscating a large amount of the judge’s unexplained wealth, which he didn’t put into his own pocket but turned over to the public treasury.
His way of accumulating wealth was still through hosting birthday celebrations for the younger generation in his family.
Commander Jiang cared deeply about the children in his home and threw lavish parties for each of their birthdays.
Later, this influenced other families, including poor ones, to hold small celebrations for their children’s birthdays, celebrating that they had survived another year and had grown a year older.
Without anyone noticing, even the poorest families would end up with an extra box of facial cleanser.
If they used it sparingly, it could last over half a year.
It was said that using it to wash their hands could reduce illness, and it was true.
Before using it, some people were sick for half the year, but after using it, they fell ill much less often and their bodies became much stronger.
There were also products for washing teeth and hair.
The ones bought by nobles came in porcelain bottles and were very expensive.
Poor families also bought them in small bags.
When they needed to go out as guests, or during festivals, or for a wedding, they would wash with them once, making their hair fluffy and nice, and their teeth white.
It made people look thirty percent more beautiful.
Therefore, even the poorest girls would work hard to save money to buy this three-piece set.
Nowadays, the public security in Jingzhou was excellent, and girls could come out to work, so it wasn’t as if they couldn’t afford it.
On the streets, the hawking was lively.
Tourists were as thick as weaving.
There were both men and women.
Many of the women wore their hair down, clearly indicating they were unmarried girls.
Yet, they walked about as usual.
They weren’t the type of poor people whose clothes couldn’t cover their bodies, but rather people who looked quite decent.
An old man with a long beard, accompanied by a Page Boy, walked on the streets of Jingzhou.
He seemed curious about everything.
Beside him was a local broker, Wu the Third.
Wu the Third spent his days guarding the city gates or the docks, meeting newcomers from other places, and guiding them if they needed accommodation, food, or to buy things.
Don’t get the wrong idea; he didn’t take kickbacks.
He was no longer the hooligan he used to be.
He had a legitimate status under the Yamen, called a guide or tour guide.
Although he didn’t have the official status of a Yamen Runner, he still received a salary.
Not only did he get a salary, but if he met generous guests, he would also receive tips.
Wu the Third had a slick, worldly face and didn’t look like a completely honest person.
As he led the way, he seemed familiar with all the shopkeepers and would greet them.
The old man watched with a smile, while the Page Boy was nervous, as if he had prepared himself to be ripped off.
The old man asked, “I have just arrived in Jingzhou. Where is a good place to stay for the night?”
Wu the Third said with a chuckle, “Sir, there are three types of accommodation in Jingzhou. One is for a quick rest, the large dormitories found on every street corner. They are very cheap; five wen can get you a night’s stay and a meal, enough to ensure you are full. Then there is the ‘Rujia’. Along the street, if you see a banner hanging out that says ‘Rujia’, you can knock on the door. Those are normal households that will vacate a few rooms for guests to stay in. You can also eat with them. It’s a bit more expensive than the dormitories, but it’s more comfortable. If you want to understand the local customs, staying at a ‘Rujia’ is excellent.”
The old man looked up and, sure enough, there were banners hanging along the street with the characters ‘Rujia’ on them.
It was actually a place for lodging.
He had been wondering why he hadn’t seen any inns.
Renting out one’s own home to strangers could provide a good amount of extra income, but it also showed that the public security in Jingzhou was good if they dared to open their doors to welcome outsiders without fear of being robbed.
The Page Boy asked curiously, “What if the guest is a bad person? What if someone has evil intentions and robs the host’s belongings? If there are young ladies in the host’s family, wouldn’t their purity be at risk?”
Wu the Third laughed out loud, “You don’t need to worry about that. After our Lord Sima arrived, people in every household signed up to be trained as security personnel to keep everyone safe. If you shout, people will arrive in an instant. Sir, your little Page Boy is not very careful; he’s carrying a bag that looks quite heavy, and the shape of the silver ingots is even poking through. This is only because we are in Jingzhou. If you went elsewhere, you would have been robbed long ago. In Jingzhou, if you lose your silver, you just need to report it to the Yamen, and they will definitely find it for you within a day.”
Censor He raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering if the other party had recognized him.
That was impossible; he had been traveling incognito the whole way, so that shouldn’t be the case.
“Staying in someone else’s home feels inconvenient. Aren’t there normal inns for accommodation along the road?” he asked.
“The third type is these normal inns. They also have different grades depending on how much you pay. If you want normal accommodation, just go to an ordinary inn. But if you want to enjoy the treatment of a noble, there are plenty of expensive options. There are rooms for one thousand taels of silver a night, such as the Prefect Suite, the Censors Suite, the General’s Suite, and the Prince’s Suite—everything you could want.”
The Page Boy was stunned to hear this.
There’s even a Censors Suite?
Censor He was also taken aback for a moment and asked, “Then what kind of room is the Censors Suite?”
Wu the Third smiled smugly, knowing that outsiders were ignorant and would all want to know.
“Come, Sir, I will take you there.”
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