Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 3090 Ran Qiuye's Method: Earning Money While Going to School!
As Yan Fugui was reflecting on this, he heard Wang Dashan shout, "Uncle Yan, you don't know this, do you?"

"This time, not just anyone can go see it!"

"Besides, with our General Manager Yang standing there, who would dare not give up their seat!"

"Wouldn't that be disrespecting our General Manager Yang?"

As soon as the voice fell, people in the surrounding courtyards immediately shouted.

"Yes, yes."

"Who would dare to disrespect our General Manager Yang!"

Yang Xiaotao quickly gestured with his hands, "Um, keep it low-key, keep it low-key!"

"We're not the type to be high-profile!"

The crowd burst into laughter again.

At this moment, the old Taoist priest approached the old man and Elder Ye, asking, "Are you two really not going?"

The old man shook his head, "I'll stay and watch the house!"

Old Ye shook his head, "At your age, why are you still reading martial arts novels? You should be reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms!"

The old Taoist priest sighed helplessly, "I was hoping to invite you to a movie, but it seems you're not so fortunate!"

He spoke with his hands behind his back, looking desolate.

He helped out with this movie.

Especially the scenes of Taoist priests chanting scriptures—he personally supervised those, as well as the placement of the alchemy furnace and the memorial tablets…

He was the martial arts choreographer, and he also designed the sword techniques.

I was originally planning to show off to my old friend.

As a result, these two didn't give him a chance at all. It was like lighting a lamp for a blind man, a complete waste of time!
"Fine, if you guys aren't going, I'll go by myself!"

The old Taoist sighed, still feeling somewhat powerless as if he were hitting cotton.

At this point, Yan Fugui began to give instructions, "Men, keep an eye on the children in the yard. It's getting dark soon, so make sure your flashlights are on. The children should hold hands. Women, keep an eye on those pregnant women..."

"Also, bring your water bottle..."

The group marched toward the Ninth Division, roused by Yan Fugui's shouts.

This was an internal screening for all nine productions, and only a limited number of people were able to attend.

The courtyard house is located in this part.

This is also a perk of living in a courtyard house!
Yang Xiaotao walked with Zhou Kui, Wang Jun, and others. In front of them was a group of children who were running, jumping, and having a great time.

In front of the children, Wangcai led his sons to clear the way, and their imposing presence made even the patrolling teams on the road shrink back in surprise.

When they arrived at the Ninth Division, the other invited audience members had already arrived, and the entire conference room was almost full.

On the stage, a curtain had been drawn back, and there was a projector on the opposite side.

This isn't the kind you find in China; it's a projector imported from the United States.

The film used was also 35mm film.

This was also in order to expedite its release in Hong Kong.

Of course, Yang Youning was in charge of all of this, and Yang Xiaotao did not interfere.

As for whether film and entertainment can be considered a high-tech industry, that depends on what Yang Youning has to say.

After the group arrived at their seats, Yang Xiaotao sat with Ran Qiuye, while the children had already run to the front of their seats; they couldn't sit still.

"Did you just hear about the educational resources?"

Yang Xiaotao asked softly, while taking Ran Qiuye's hand in the process.

Ran Qiuye wanted to take it back, after all, this was a public place, and who knows if someone would be watching them.

But Yang Xiaotao didn't care at all. He held Ran Qiuye's hand and raised his eyebrows, looking like he was happy to do it this way.

Ran Qiuye had no choice but to quietly pull down her sleeve before nodding slightly.

"Did you hear everything?"

"Yes, I heard some!"

Yang Xiaotao nodded, "To put it bluntly, it's because there isn't enough investment in education resources. Otherwise, we wouldn't have to be so careful with our budgets and end up with so many messy things!"

Ran Qiuye nodded, but then sighed and said, "Actually, the investment in education now is much greater than it was two years ago."

"Especially the investment in rural education!"

The "investment" Ran Qiuye mentioned naturally referred to the support from Yang Xiaotao and his team.

They made a fortune last time by taking advantage of the oil crisis and the devaluation of the US dollar.

Later, Yang Xiaotao gave a portion of the money to the education department, which was then kept under the care of his uncle and others. The money is still not all used up.

However, a concrete plan should be put forward this year.

Otherwise, there's no point in keeping that money in the account.

At this moment, the lights in the Great Hall dimmed, the surrounding noise gradually disappeared, and the two stopped discussing and began to look at the screen.

As Yang Xiaotao gently touched her slender fingers, the touch felt warm and smooth like jade, causing Ran Qiuye's face to flush.

The movie begins with a red five-pointed star, which has been the iconic symbol of all nine films.

Then came a green mountain, and on the mountain, a Taoist temple appeared on the screen.

The Taoist temple has green bricks and tiles, and the ancient pines and cypresses at the entrance bear the marks of time.

Passing through the gate that has stood for many years, one sees Taoist priests practicing swordplay.

Then the storyline unfolds.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jurchens invaded from the south…

The boy suffered a tragedy: his parents died, and his family fell into ruin…

Then came his apprenticeship at Maoshan, where his swordsmanship became exceptional…

Driven by hatred for his family and country, he vowed revenge...

He then left the mountain to uphold justice and fight for the righteous...

Finally, he joined Yue Fei's army...

The story ends with him finally getting his revenge.

In Yang Xiaotao's view, the story was told clearly, and the fighting was quite exciting. There were no unnecessary actions like "hehe" or "um," but rather more sharp and ruthless killing, and no melodramatic love or other messy stuff.

Its main theme is chivalry!
A true story!
Moreover, in this era, you can't expect much from movies in terms of visuals or color. As long as the actors have real talent, they're good.

Compared to Yang Xiaotao's calm and objective evaluation, the audience members present were thoroughly entertained, especially by the "what tricks" in the movie. Even before they left the venue, the children in front were already shouting "Looking back at the moon" and "Sweeping through thousands of troops".

Ran Qiuye's hand trembled from time to time, which showed that she was not calm.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. These days, people have seen too many patriotic movies, and this is the first time they've seen a movie that's purely about fighting and killing.

Especially since it's colorful.

The screening ended after Yang Youning led the main cast and crew of the performing arts troupe on stage to express their gratitude.

Yang Xiaotao carried the tired Dudu and followed the others towards the courtyard house.

Along the way, you can hear people discussing the movie, and many people have a new understanding of the profession of 'Taoist priest,' especially the scene where the Taoist priests gather together and carry their swords down the mountain. Although they are silent, they are resolute and fearless.

The image of Taoist priests has gradually changed, no longer associated with terms like "half-immortal" or "fraudster."

This is exactly the scene the old Taoist priest likes to see most.

He was the happiest person in the room.

Even Yang Xiaotao suspected that this guy might have been colluding with Yang Youning all along.

Back in the courtyard house, the couple put their excited children to bed before going back inside to rest.

On the bed, the two leaned against each other. Yang Xiaotao remembered the conversation he had with Ran Qiuye before the movie, so he continued to ask, "Wife, we talked about rural education earlier. What are your plans for this year?" When it came to business, Ran Qiuye pulled away from Yang Xiaotao's embrace and said, "Of the 3 billion yuan you supported last time, we only used a little over 100 million yuan. It's mainly because there weren't many places where we needed the money."

"not much?"

Yang Xiaotao asked in surprise, "Is it really not much, or is it just a lie?"

"This money is meant for you to use; it only has value if you use it. Otherwise, what's the difference between it and waste paper if it's just sitting in the warehouse?"

Upon hearing Yang Xiaotao's words, Ran Qiuye immediately replied, "If we really need to spend money, there's nowhere we can't spend it."

"But the money should be spent wisely. All those miscellaneous instruments and tools, and building swimming pools and equipment rooms, are completely unnecessary."

"We need to use this money for the construction of schools and for the children's learning tools, so we haven't been able to use it freely."

Hearing Ran Qiuye say this, Yang Xiaotao was even more confused. "It only cost this little to build the school?"

Ran Qiuye nodded vigorously, "What do you think?"

Yang Xiaotao shook his head.

Then Ran Qiuye continued, "However, we will use more this year."

"It might not even be enough."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaotao's eyes lit up. The thing he was least afraid of was not having enough money.

"Tell me about it, and if that's not enough, hehe."

"It depends on how you perform."

Yang Xiaotao reached out and squeezed the other person's palm. Ran Qiuye rolled her eyes, understanding what Yang Xiaotao meant, but did not object. Instead, she explained the plans for this year.

"According to our preliminary statistics from last year, there are now 600,000 primary schools, which is far from enough for the vast rural areas."

"Therefore, we plan to build primary schools in some areas where there are no primary schools."

After Ran Qiuye finished speaking, Yang Xiaotao pulled her close and asked, "This is a good thing. How many schools are you planning to build?"

Ran Qiuye leaned on Yang Xiaotao's shoulder and said, "We plan to increase the number of primary schools to 1.5 million within two years."

Even though Yang Xiaotao had some expectations, he still subconsciously tightened his grip on the other person's waist when he heard the number, and then asked in surprise, "One and a half million? Isn't that a bit too much?"

Ran Qiuye shook her head, "Not much, not even a little bit."

"Now, there is basically one primary school per village. With so many villages across the country, 1.5 million primary schools may not be enough."

Yang Xiaotao took a deep breath. "So, have you done any research? Can all 1.5 million primary schools actually use this technology?"

"Have you found all the primary school teachers yet?"

"Also, textbooks and such are quite an expense."

As soon as Yang Xiaotao finished speaking, Ran Qiuye laughed, "Didn't you already mention the expenses, teachers' salaries, and so on?"

"Everything is coming from you."

Yang Xiaotao smiled, realizing he had completely forgotten what he had just said.

"Okay, if you guys really succeed, I'll definitely give you my support."

"But let's make this clear first: students trained with these educational resources will be given priority access to our Ninth Department."

Ran Qiuye nodded. Even her uncle agreed on this point, so she had no other opinion.

He then continued, "Of course, many of these schools are run by villages, and the number of students varies."

"There are as many as forty or fifty children, and as few as ten or so."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaotao thought of Yangjiazhuang Primary School from the beginning and nodded silently, "The population base of each village is different, and the number of students going to school is also different."

"In addition, some families do not allow their children to go to school, so the numbers vary even more, and it is normal for the differences to be large."

Ran Qiuye nodded, "Yes, so we need to get more children into schools, not just by increasing the number of schools, but also by getting parents to send their children to school."

"How to do it?"

Yang Xiaotao asked directly, and Ran Qiuye answered directly as well, "Subsidy."

Yang Xiaotao's eyes widened. "A subsidy for children going to school?"

Ran Qiuye nodded vigorously, and then explained, "Now, in most rural families, many children don't have access to education. The reason is that children in the village have to help their families earn work points."

"Work points are divided into those for able-bodied laborers and those for semi-laborers. Children are not considered semi-laborers, but they can still earn two or three points a day by helping to cut pig feed and collect cow dung."

"If a family has four children, they can do the work of a strong laborer in a day."

"So parents would rather their children earn work points than send them to school, especially since they have to pay for materials to attend classes."

"Materials cost?"

"Didn't you get it waived?"

Yang Xiaotao asked again, but Ran Qiuye shook her head, "This is the local fee standard. We can only subsidize it, we can't directly ask the local government to cancel it. After all, they also need printing materials to make a living."

Yang Xiaotao didn't ask any further questions. As he knew little about education, he didn't offer any opinions.

Seeing this, Ran Qiuye stopped talking about the local situation and continued her analysis, "We calculated that a child can earn about 800 work points a year if they work."

"In the hundred villages surveyed, after the surplus grain was handed over to the state each year, the remaining grain was sold to the state. In addition to income from some side industries such as agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry, the final amount distributed to each household according to work points was no more than ten yuan."

Yang Xiaotao was well aware of this. Back then, Yangjiazhuang was a village that owed grain. Not to mention distributing money, the whole village owed the country money.

Later, it became Yuliang Village, and the grain sold in the end didn't amount to much money. When they received their share, it was only one or two yuan.

This explains why in rural areas, a dowry of one or two yuan is often given as a wedding gift.

Even in the city, there are quite a few five- or ten-yuan notes.

How will you provide subsidies?

Yang Xiaotao asked the most crucial question: money.

Ran Qiuye reached out and counted on Yang Xiaotao's chest, "We plan to calculate it at one cent per day for school."

"Excluding holidays, winter and summer vacations, which is about 160 days, that's about 1.6 yuan. After deducting the material costs for each semester, which is about 0.5 yuan, you can basically earn 1 yuan."

"If a family has four children in school, they can earn four yuan a year."

Yang Xiaotao nodded. "If a rural family can earn four yuan a year, that's quite an achievement."

Ran Qiuye laughed and said, "Yes, it's the only way we can do it."

"However, in this way..."

Ran Qiuye hesitated, but Yang Xiaotao understood the meaning behind her words.

If each student earns 1.6 yuan, that's at least 150 million yuan nationwide. And if this policy is implemented, it's estimated that it will exceed 200 million yuan. In fact, more people will have children just to earn that money.

"That is to say, the annual expenditure in this area alone is 300 million yuan."

Ran Qiuye smiled and nodded, "Pretty much."

Then he looked at Yang Xiaotao.

Yang Xiaotao then laughed and said, "Three hundred million? Not much. We can manage."

"Really?"

Ran Qiuye was overjoyed.

You should know that enabling all rural children to go to school is her ultimate dream.

She couldn't control junior high school students, but for elementary school students, she genuinely wanted to do something practical for the farmers.

Yang Xiaotao raised an eyebrow. "This is my wife's lofty ideal. Moreover, it's a major event that benefits the country and its people. As her husband, I must support it."

"Furthermore, children learning knowledge will lead to more talented individuals emerging in the future, which will be a powerful boost to our industrial development."

"What reason do I have to refuse?"

Upon hearing this, Ran Qiuye's eyes sparkled, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she bit her lip, deeply moved.

Yang Xiaotao witnessed this scene and felt the heat between his breaths. He knew in his heart that his kidneys would suffer again tonight.