Chapter 250: Inspection
As the sun dipped below the western horizon, most of the day-trippers had departed, leaving only the overnight guests behind.
Jian Xingxia headed out from the backyard. She walked across the open clearing and the vegetable patches, then pushed through a massive thicket of wild grass that grew over a man’s height, finally catching sight of the Manor Academy in its entirety.
Six rooms stood arranged in a single row. Each room had an area of roughly sixty-some square meters—appearing about the size of a standard primary or secondary school classroom—measuring over nine meters long and six meters wide. The ceilings were high, making the spaces feel remarkably spacious and comfortable.
The window lattices and door frames possessed an elegant, ancient flair, yet they were fitted with triple-pane vacuum glass to ensure excellent soundproofing and heat insulation.
Thinking of temperature control, Jian Xingxia slipped into one of the classrooms to investigate. Sure enough, an interface panel was mounted on the wall just inside the door frame.
Aside from the standard lighting and multimedia options, there were settings for air conditioning and fans.
Jian Xingxia tested them one by one. To say nothing of heating, the cooling capability was absolutely exceptional; a classroom of this size took less than two minutes to chill down comfortably.
However, apart from the recessed lights and ventilation vents on the ceiling, all six classrooms were entirely bare.
Jian Xingxia’s heart skipped a beat. Don’t tell me I have to personally stock all the tables, chairs, benches, blackboards, and projectors?
If so, the expense would be staggering.
Fortunately, before she could step out of the classroom, she received a notification from the system:
[Please confirm the teaching curriculum for Classroom No. 1.]
Note 1: The teaching curriculum must have at least one assigned instructor. If the instructor has not mastered the skill, the classroom cannot be unlocked.
Note 2: The current level of the six classrooms is Level 1, capable of accommodating a maximum of six students simultaneously.
Note 3: The Manor Owner must provide corresponding welfare and compensation to the instructors and collect appropriate tuition fees from the students.
Jian Xingxia: ?
She could actually collect tuition?
But could the students she recruited truly afford to pay tuition fees?
Jian Xingxia voiced her query.
This time, the system responded promptly:
[Following the opening of the Manor Academy, the rewards for Manor Business Mission Six have been distributed.]
[Should the Manor Owner require the expansion of business operations, you may recruit more apprentices to manufacture goods to satisfy the manor’s operational demands.]
[Apprentice laborers will learn and manufacture products within the academy. The Manor Owner may purchase their manufactured goods at a reasonable price. Note: The transaction must align with the material value of the apprentice’s originating realm.]
Jian Xingxia: “What!”
Did she hear that right?
She could recruit ancient people to serve as apprentices, and then let them learn and manufacture goods within the Manor Academy? And she could purchase the products they manufactured?
Jian Xingxia instantly thought of Ah Feng—that boy and his grandparents were simply too honest and stubborn. Jian Xingxia had no way to pay wages exceeding Grandfather Sui’s current skill level for Ah Feng to carry back.
Yet Ah Feng still brought a pile of bamboo wares prepared by Grandfather and Grandmother Sui every single time he visited the manor.
If she could have Ah Feng or Grandfather Sui come over as apprentices, she would be able to spend money to purchase the items they crafted at the manor!
Deeply excited, Jian Xingxia quickly finalized the teaching curricula for two of the classrooms.
The first was sewing.
Currently, the manor’s most successful sideline business was Hanfu, and Jian Xingxia needed a larger workforce to join in. Furthermore, this would help lighten Lin Sanniang’s burden.
If the tailors and embroiderers could come to the academy, the Hanfu they manufactured would be purchased directly by her, which meant it wouldn’t eat into Lin Sanniang’s wage quota anymore.
Lin Sanniang’s six hundred yuan in wages could be used entirely on herself.
The second classroom was bamboo weaving.
Jian Xingxia cautiously questioned the system: “Does this bamboo weaving include using bamboo to craft tables, chairs, benches, or even beds and wardrobes? It won’t just be weaving tiny trinkets, right?”
Only after receiving an affirmative reply from the system—confirming it encompassed all bamboo manufacturing techniques and craftsmanship—did Jian Xingxia press the button to confirm and unlock it.
In an instant, the two classrooms transformed before her eyes like a scene from a movie, unfurling material objects outward from a tiny central point.
Inside the sewing classroom, seven desks and embroidery stools materialized. Each desk was set with needles, thread, scissors, fabric, and an embroidery hoop.
Although the quantities weren’t vast—seemingly meant only for learning and experimentation—they were remarkably comprehensive, lacking nothing.
Inside the bamboo weaving classroom, seven chairs and low tables appeared. Placed upon the low tables were splitting knives, cleavers, hemp ropes, and ink markers commonly used in bamboo crafts. Next to the tables sat a bamboo basket, and on the other side lay a bundle of raw bamboo.
The seven desks in both classrooms were arranged with one positioned precisely in the center, while the remaining six were split evenly into two rows along the windows.
Thoroughly thrilled, Jian Xingxia went inside to touch and examine them one by one.
“Fantastic, this is just fantastic!” Jian Xingxia felt a slight prickle of tears in her eyes.
The items the system provided always surpassed her finest expectations.
Even though it was already half past six in the evening and everyone except Lin Sanniang and Auntie Pang had clocked out and returned home, Jian Xingxia still couldn’t resist opening the Manor Academy panel.
Behind the instructor column for sewing, Lin Sanniang’s name was displayed.
Behind the instructor column for bamboo weaving, the Scholar’s name, Wei Ming, was displayed alongside a completely unfamiliar name: Sui Duotian.
Jian Xingxia froze for a brief second before remembering that this name ought to belong to Ah Feng’s grandfather. Among the workers currently recruited by the manor, only Ah Feng carried the surname Sui.
However, at this moment, the characters for Sui Duotian were grayed out and could not be selected.
Jian Xingxia opened the manor employee registry and found that everyone’s name was followed by their corresponding skills and levels.
For instance, Lin Sanniang was listed at the Generalist Skilled Worker level (Level 2), Culinary Skilled Worker level (Level 2), Sewing Professional Worker level (Level 3), and Farming Skilled Worker level (Level 2), along with a few Level 1 basic skills.
Auntie Pang was listed at the Culinary Advanced Worker level (Level 4), Sewing Junior Worker level (Level 1), Livestock Professional Worker level (Level 3), and Farming Skilled Worker level (Level 2).
Jian Xingxia scrolled through them one by one and discovered that the Scholar’s skill bar was actually the longest of all!
Aside from holding an Advanced Worker rating in scholarly studies, his other pursuits—the zither, Go, calligraphy, painting, bamboo weaving, and even cockfighting—were not bad at all, with at least a Professional Worker rating in each. There was also a long string of proficiencies in various flutes, the zheng, ink-making, and incense-making… all at the Skilled level, to say nothing of an endless list of amateur interests at the Level 1 Junior Apprentice stage.
He even knew how to sew and embroider! It was just stuck at the Level 1 stage.
Jian Xingxia: …
It appeared the Scholar hadn’t neglected his studies, but his mind had truly been scattered far too widely across too many hobbies.
What surprised Jian Xingxia most was that Da Hei’s farming skill was actually at the Level 4 Advanced Worker tier!
No wonder he could bring back a mountain of vegetables for Jian Xingxia after taking the seeds back for just three months; this fellow was indeed remarkably useful.
Jian Xingxia reviewed the criteria and found that only individuals at the Professional level or above could open a curriculum and teach.
Jian Xingxia placed Lin Sanniang and the Scholar into the sewing classroom and the bamboo weaving classroom respectively.
However, it was the subsequent roster of potential students that truly left her utterly astounded.
