"To establish a school," Xia Zhi repeated, playing with the anonymous Northland Bank card in his hand.
"Cousin, what kind of school?" asked Shenhe.
"An elementary school."
"Boss, what's an elementary school?"
"It's a place where children go to study, but it's larger than a traditional academy."
"Oh."
The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was momentarily stunned, suddenly recalling the words she had spoken in her dream a few days ago.
At the time, they were watching a movie, and she had been moved by the elementary school depicted in the film.
She had compared the educational opportunities between the two worlds and even mentioned that Ningguang would have been better off using the funds for the Jade Chamber to build schools instead.
Of course, she had only been speaking casually. After all, Liyue was Morax's territory, and Ningguang's wealth was her own. She could spend it however she pleased, and it wasn't Rukkhadevata's place to interfere.
But she hadn't expected that her offhand comment would stick in Xia Zhi's mind, and now he was actually planning to establish an elementary school.
What's this? Even though he always teases me, he really does care about me…
As Rukkhadevata was lost in thought, she heard Xia Zhi ask the group, "Zhu Zi, did you attend school before?"
"Yes, I did!"
"What did you learn?"
"Literacy! Inazuma's writing system."
"And then?"
"Nothing else!"
"Your school only taught literacy?"
"Yes, that's what schools are for! Oh, and the teacher would also tell us Inazuma's legends and stories!"
"Didn't your teacher teach anything else?"
"Boss, are you referring to skills? For that, you'd have to find a master, bring gifts, and serve as an apprentice for several years before you could even steal some knowledge!"
"...I see. Ying'er, what about you? Did you attend school before?"
"No, I could barely afford to eat back then. How could I have gone to school?"
"I see. Miss Chi Yu, what about you?"
"During my time, Liyue was in chaos…"
"Got it. What about Qiqi?"
"I didn't either. My family was poor, so I had to gather herbs in the mountains to help make ends meet."
Diona had gone to the Adventurers' Guild to post a commission and hadn't returned yet, so they didn't know about Mondstadt's educational environment. But judging by her somewhat clueless demeanor, it probably wasn't much better.
As for Shenhe, she had never attended school either.
Her family was destroyed when she was young, and she was taken in by the Cloud Retainer, who personally taught her.
Xia Zhi nodded and said, "It seems that everyone here missed out on education for various reasons, which is a shame. This makes it clear that establishing a school is necessary. I'm just not sure if the 20 million Mora in this card will be enough."
"That's definitely enough."
"Hard to say. Land costs money, construction costs money, hiring teachers costs money… there are so many expenses."
"There'll be tuition fees too."
"No, there won't be."
"Huh?"
"The purpose of this school is to provide educational opportunities for children in Liyue who are less fortunate, so admission will be free."
"!"
"This is still just an idea for now. I'll think it over more carefully. Oh, and cousin, since you're free today, why don't you help me draft a design for the school?"
"Sure."
Xia Zhi sat at the table, deep in thought, while the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata took out paper and began sketching with interest.
After a while, Diona returned happily, carrying two thick books.
"I'm back!"
"Mm."
After greeting everyone, Diona noticed that the atmosphere in the shop was unusually quiet.
What's going on?
Curious, the cat girl glanced at the boss sitting over there and whispered, "Senior Zhu Zi, what's happening?"
"Nothing much. The boss is planning to open a school."
"Huh? A school?"
"Yeah, it's…"
After Zhu Zi's explanation, Diona roughly understood.
"Oh."
"What are those books you're holding?"
"Books on how to brew alcohol."
"No wonder they're in Mondstadt's script. They're so thick. It'll take a while to read them, right?"
"I'll do my best to finish them. I'm determined to brew the best alcohol in the world!"
In the afternoon, Ningguang arrived at the shop with her other secretary, Baixiao.
While giving Ningguang a massage, Xia Zhi casually brought up the school idea.
"Oh? Mr. Xia, why the sudden interest in opening a school?"
"Mainly because I want to do something practical for Liyue."
"Mr. Xia is quite generous."
"This money originally came from Liyue, so it's only right to use it for Liyue. Besides, Mahjong is a form of gambling, so in a sense, this money is ill-gotten. It's better to use it for public welfare."
"Mr. Xia is truly noble."
"I'm just not sure if this amount of money will be enough."
"It will."
"Really?"
"Yes. I've personally funded some academies, so I have some experience in this area. You've come to the right person."
"Miss Ningguang, I didn't realize you were so invested in education…"
"What? Did Mr. Xia think I was just a woman obsessed with making money?"
"Cough, no, of course not."
"When I walked barefoot from Yaoguang Shoal to Liyue, I suffered a lot along the way. That's why I understand how difficult it is for children from ordinary families to make something of themselves in this world…"
Ningguang's tone was tinged with nostalgia.
"These days, I've learned a term from Miss Xia Ci: monopoly. Right now, knowledge in Liyue is monopolized by the upper class. I've tried to break this, but I've come to realize that it's not a simple problem that can be solved by just establishing a few academies."
"Indeed."
"Does Mr. Xia have any insights?"
"Insights, no, but I can discuss it with you."
"Please, go ahead!"
"The reason knowledge isn't widely disseminated is ultimately due to the high cost of its medium."
"Books?"
"Yes, more precisely, paper."
"Paper is indeed quite expensive."
"So, for knowledge to spread freely, the first step is to reduce the cost of paper to a point where ordinary people can afford it without hesitation."
"That's difficult. I have a paper mill under my control, mainly providing paper for official use at Yuehai Pavilion. But no matter what, the monthly production is limited. When there's a lot of work, we even have to buy paper from private mills."
"It's a matter of paper-making technology."
"Exactly."
"Is it the same in other nations?"
"Pretty much. Only Fontaine seems to have improved their paper-making process, using a unique new energy source in production, which has greatly increased their output. That's why paper in Fontaine is so cheap, even enough to publish various newspapers. And then there's Snezhnaya…"
"So, for Liyue to achieve this, we also need to improve our paper-making technology."
"Yes, I've already tasked the technicians at the paper mill to develop new techniques, but progress has been slow. We've even sent people to Fontaine, but we haven't gained any useful information."
Ningguang sounded a bit helpless.
It was clear she had put a lot of thought into this.
Xia Zhi chuckled lightly and massaged her forehead.
"Miss Ningguang, don't worry."
"Oh?"
"I happen to know a bit about paper-making. Maybe I can help."
"Ah!"
"Miss Ningguang, don't you believe me?"
"No! Not at all! I naturally trust what Mr. Xia says!"
"Out of curiosity, I once researched this area and achieved some results. I'll organize them tonight and give them to you when you come tomorrow."
"Great!"
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