1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3994

Although they were newcomers, since Qian Shaobao and his group had taken the initiative to visit, Su Zhixing was, after all, the host, and the proper hospitality could not be neglected. After Su Ji returned with the gifts, Su Zhixing asked him to boil water and make tea to entertain the guests.

When Li Yuande saw that the tea set Su Ji took out was a Gongchun tree burl teapot made of Yixing purple clay, he thought to himself that although this Mr. Su was low-key and did not seek extravagance, he was very particular about details. The salary standard set by the Special Forces Division for teachers was certainly not low, but to buy such a fine tea set, it would probably take a year and a half of not eating or drinking.

Given Su Zhixing's background, he certainly wasn't there for the teaching salary, nor did he expect to live off that income. But this made Li Yuande feel somewhat uneasy.

"When I left Hangzhou, I took two jars of West Lake Longjing tea from home. I wonder if you gentlemen can get used to it?"

Upon hearing Su Zhixing's question, Qian Shaobao replied, "It's rare to find such good tea in our area. We're so glad to have it today, thanks to Mr. Su!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Su Zhixing took the initiative to ask, "Generals and Manager Li, what brings you here so suddenly?"

Qian Shaobao said, "It's not really an order. We just heard that Mr. Su is quite famous in the cultural and educational circles of Hangzhou. It is a great blessing for the local students that he is willing to travel all the way across the ocean to Fubo Port to teach. The three of us came here specifically to thank Mr. Su for his righteous act."

Su Zhixing said, "I dare not accept such praise. My actions were merely in response to the call of the nation, and I am doing my bit. General Qian is too kind!"

Qian Shaobao said, "Fubo Port has not been built for long, and its conditions in all aspects are not comparable to those in China. I'm afraid Mr. Su will find it inconvenient here. If Mr. Su has any needs in terms of living, please be sure to tell us, and we will do our best to meet them within our capabilities."

Although it was Qian Shaobao's first time meeting Su Zhixing, he could tell that this Mr. Su, who had come from afar, was a man of taste and had a certain pursuit of quality of life.

Qian Shaobao had already seen many people who, after arriving in Fubo Port from China, found the living conditions too harsh and quickly found excuses to leave. He couldn't help but worry about whether Su Zhixing, a scholar accustomed to a life of luxury in China, could adapt to the local environment of scarcity.

If Su Zhixing leaves in a hurry after only a few days, it would be a real pity for the special operations division that had finally managed to recruit an educator from China.

Although Qian Shaobao had not been to Hangzhou many times, he had heard of the reputation of Wansong Academy. It was one of the top academies in the Jiangzhe region, and had produced countless literary figures and scholars.

Although it might seem like overkill for the teachers from Wansong Academy to come here and teach children, Qian Shaobao believes that this will undoubtedly greatly improve the local education level. Perhaps, by following the example of Su Zhixing, more scholars from across the country will be attracted to come here to serve the special forces division.

Therefore, Qian Shaobao hoped to demonstrate the official sincerity to Su Zhixing as soon as possible and do his best to retain this important figure in the education field, even if it was just for a year or two to make a show of it.

Seeing that Qian Shaobao's attitude was quite sincere, Su Zhixing nodded and said, "Actually, I have something I would like to ask you, but I don't know if it will interfere with the general's official business."

Qian Shaobao said, "Please speak freely, sir." Su Zhixing said, "Before coming here, I knew very little about the educational situation in Fubo Port. I only made some hasty preparations, and I don't know if they will be of any use. If you have time, General, could you please give me a brief introduction?"

Qian Shaobao smiled and said, "Then as you wish, sir, I will briefly explain the situation here."

Su Zhixing had not learned much from Li Yuande before, only that education in Fubo Port was still in the elementary stage. Before that, there were no formal teachers, and all the teachers were military officers. Therefore, even the establishment of a primary school was a luxury.

For Su Zhixing, education and culture in Fubo Port were like a blank sheet of paper in front of him. Whether he would write a brilliant article or paint a magnificent picture depended entirely on how he handled it.

However, Li Yuande's trip back to China had taken several months, and the information he could provide to Su Zhixing was somewhat outdated. Qian Shaobao, on the other hand, provided much more detailed information, giving a thorough account of the current teaching situation.

Currently, the student body at Fubo Port mainly consists of three parts: first, the children of special operations division soldiers, numbering about forty or fifty; second, the children of new immigrants, numbering about the same as the children of special operations division soldiers; and third, the children of nearby Arab tribes, mainly the Hihu people, numbering about twenty.

Considering the teaching level of the part-time officers, only two courses are currently offered: literacy and general knowledge.

The content of literacy lessons is self-explanatory; it focuses entirely on teaching Chinese characters. However, the content of general knowledge lessons is much more diverse, lacking a fixed structure. It ranges from basic arithmetic to advanced topics like astronomy and geography, encompassing almost everything, entirely depending on the instructor's interest.

The subject that takes up the largest proportion of class time is, of course, military knowledge, which is what officers are best at. According to Qian Shaobao, about half of the current curriculum is military-related, making the term "junior military academy" truly well-deserved.

As a traditional scholar, Su Zhixing naturally disapproved of the practice of training school-aged children into scouts. However, facing his employer, Qian Shaobao, he did not immediately voice his objections but patiently waited for Qian Shaobao to continue explaining the situation.

Although the officers who taught part-time were quite satisfied with this teaching model, Qian Tiandun and his son Qian Shaobao understood that this was only a temporary expedient. Orthodox education was the only way to cultivate talent, and in the end, they still had to rely on promoting education and running schools to achieve long-term development.

Therefore, Qian Tiandun spared no expense to have Li Yuande recruit teachers in China. However, when the Qian father and son planned this, they only hoped that some people would take the job because of the generous remuneration. They never expected that they would be able to hire a professional of Su Zhixing's caliber.

Qian Shaobao concluded by saying, "Mr. Su has been engaged in education for many years and is certainly more knowledgeable about how to run a school than us laymen, so I would also like to hear Mr. Su's thoughts."

Su Zhixing knew that the other party wanted to test him to see if he was truly dedicated to this job.

During the long voyage, the thing Su Zhixing considered most was how to plan a decent cultural and educational system for the special operations division's jurisdiction.

He had previously visited schools in Phuket and Hambantota, and the situation there didn't seem much better than in Fubo Port. There were only a handful of teachers, and perhaps due to their limited abilities, the teaching content was basically just reading from the textbook, with nothing particularly outstanding.