"What do you mean by 'securing the front row'?"
Emily Johnson handed the porridge to Alice Parker, saying, "The night school in town is divided into five groups, and one of them is personally taught by our Mayor. The front row seats are reserved for children aged 5-15."
"These seats are not fixed every day, so the kids have to compete for the front row seats every day!"
However, from Emily's words, Alice couldn't grasp what kind of magic this night school had to attract these little kids so much. So she asked, "Aunt, can I go listen to the night school later?"
Emily nodded, "Of course you can. We adults encourage everyone to keep learning throughout their lives, and everyone has to attend the classes to learn to read. But we adults have to sit in the back."
Emily glanced at the corner and noticed that the two kids had forgotten their charcoal pens and writing boards again. She quickly said to Alice, "You should finish your porridge quickly. I'll take you to give the charcoal pens and writing boards to Tommy and Jack Parker. Those two are too forgetful."
Just finished washing the dishes and belching, Michael Harris said, "Aunt, let me go and give the charcoal pens and writing boards to Tommy."
As Michael spoke, he picked up the charcoal pens and writing boards from the corner and walked out.
Alice, blowing on her porridge to cool it down, glanced at the items in Michael's hands and saw that they were two square pieces of wood and some black charcoal for writing.
Once, her family could afford ink and paper, but now they had to let her brother use charcoal as a pen and wooden boards as paper. Thinking of this, Alice felt a pang of bitterness.
But when Alice took a sip of the cooled porridge, the rich rice fragrance blew away all her worries like a breeze in the fields.
Alice had never tasted such delicious porridge before; it was smooth and fragrant, like the nectar of the gods.
Before she knew it, Alice had finished the entire bowl of porridge.
"A small bowl like this, you must still be hungry. Let me get you another bowl," Emily said.
Alice knew that food was precious now, and the porridge she had just had was rich and smooth, clearly not cheap. She quickly stopped Emily.
"Aunt, I already delayed enough time drinking the porridge. Let's go to the night school now."
Seeing this, Emily checked the time and decided it was indeed time to head to the night school. She led Alice towards the night school's location.
The so-called night school in Green River Town was actually a large open area in the southwest corner of the town.
Every night, Magnus Valorion would have people light hundreds and thousands of lanterns, illuminating the area as bright as day.
Seeing the brightly lit open area, Alice couldn't help but think, "Our Mayor must spend a lot of money every night just to light these lanterns!"
Emily, full of pride, said, "The Mayor says it takes ten years for a tree to grow, but a generation of talent takes a hundred years to nurture. Even in poverty, we should not skimp on education."
Alice, deeply influenced by her family's scholarly background, was deeply moved by these words.
Previously, Magnus would teach people five random words each night. Now, feeling that the vocabulary was sufficient, he had moved on to teaching fairy tales and natural knowledge.
Of course, Magnus didn't teach much each day, considering the people's ability to absorb knowledge. He would only teach a small section each day.
A bell rang, and Emily quickly pulled Alice to find a suitable seat.
"The class is about to start. Let's sit down quickly!"
At this moment, Magnus, dressed in plain clothes, walked to the front with a loudspeaker, like a stern teacher, and addressed everyone, "Yesterday, I taught you a section from the 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' and some life knowledge."
"Now, the children will write down the new words they learned, and the adults will write down the key points of the new knowledge."
"The children will write on their boards, and everyone else will write on the ground. Those who can't write it out won't be allowed to eat lunch tomorrow."
Initially, Alice thought that Magnus was being unfair to these people. Which ordinary town folk could read and write, let alone memorize knowledge points? Writing was something only the wealthy and noble could master. It was understandable to have children learn to write, but to have these older folks write and memorize was simply preventing them from eating!
But in the next second, Alice saw a surprising scene.
Upon hearing the command, people like Emily skillfully pulled out sticks from their pockets and began writing on the ground what Magnus had taught them yesterday.
Although their writing was crooked, the content of the words could still be discerned.
Alice even saw an old man without arms using his mouth to hold a stick, writing down Magnus's teachings beautifully and neatly, comparable to anyone writing with both hands.
Magnus's night classes were taught very casually, but the people took their studies very seriously.
The reason was simple: Magnus often threatened the town folks with food. If they didn't learn well, they would go hungry, and people who valued food above all else would naturally take their studies seriously.
Magnus and a few literate night school instructors went around to check.
Seeing a child who had written well and correctly, Magnus would gently pat their heads as encouragement. For those who made mistakes, Magnus would give them a light tap with a stick.
When Magnus walked to the old man without arms that Alice had seen earlier, he praised, "Brian Davis, your writing is quite good, even better than mine. You truly have a talent for calligraphy."
"Thank you, Mayor. I'm just scribbling. How could it be better than yours!"
Brian Davis, embarrassed by the praise, couldn't stop smiling with joy.
"I originally planned to have someone write some proverbs and aphorisms on the new buildings. Now it seems you're the best person for the job!"
"Discuss the details with William Brown tomorrow about how to calculate the writing fee."
Brian Davis, overwhelmed with gratitude, stood up with tears in his eyes and said, "Mayor, you didn't abandon an old useless man like me and gave us food. We're already deeply grateful. Now that I can write, how could I ask for payment?"
"Don't say that. In Green River Town, everyone has their role to play." Magnus patted Brian's shoulder and continued his inspection.
When he reached Alice and saw that she hadn't written anything, Emily quickly explained on her behalf.
Magnus just nodded lightly and walked away.
After a round of inspection, Magnus found that most people had written down what they were taught, though many hadn't met the requirements yet.
Michael Harris was among those who hadn't. Never fond of studying, it was difficult for him to remember the "distillation process of alcohol."
Although he wasn't banned from eating lunch tomorrow, Michael still received a stroke on the palm as punishment.