The day after the Mid-Autumn Festival is the day when the new school hall opens. Since the construction of the new school hall began, He Zhiyuan has not cared much about this matter.

He was concerned with the compilation of textbooks, so he spent the whole summer sitting in his house writing textbooks whenever he had time.

In addition to mathematics, courses such as physics, chemistry, etc., are also written. At the same time, several textbooks have also been compiled for the courses of vocational and technical colleges such as engineering, civil engineering, and machinery.

His eldest apprentice, Wang Zhixue, spent the rest of his time training newly recruited teachers in mathematics knowledge except for the time of research and study. Don't look at him as a child, but he has learned several courses such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry very solidly. When these newly hired teachers are more than enough math teachers, they are handy.

Before the arrival of the day, He Zhiyuan and his father arrived at the Xinxue Hall together. The walls of the new school hall are all made of hollow blue bricks. It is about 40 zhang long from north to south and about 25 zhang wide from east to west. To the north of the campus is a row of seven classrooms, all of which are made of cement and brick buildings. To the northeast near the fence are two houses that serve as teachers' offices. Everywhere else is an empty field. Leave plenty of room for future expansion.

The gate of the school hall is open to the south, and the gatehouse is more than two feet high and eight feet wide. Two wooden red-lacquered doors. It is about one zhang and six feet wide, there is a couplet engraved on the lintel on both sides, the upper link is "reading the Confucian classics to cultivate oneself and govern the country", the lower one is "learning scientific knowledge to enrich the people and strengthen the army", there is a flat forehead hanging above the door, engraved with the five big characters of "Hejiacun School" written by Lord Liang himself.

Now Wang Dejin is no longer the teacher who was teased by naughty students, but the director of a new school hall, with eight or nine teachers and more than 400 students. On the first day of school, Wang Dejin was dressed up inside and out, looking energetic and energetic. Today, an opening ceremony will be held here, and not only the students will attend the ceremony, but also the parents of the students, the village elders, the first chief, and other dignified figures.

He Zhiyuan and his son are naturally the most important figures here, and after the ceremony began, He Zhiyuan and his son were first invited to speak. First of all, He Shaoyun's speech, but there is nothing new, it is nothing more than that life is not easy to come by now, everyone should not live up to the expectations of parents, study hard and become successful as soon as possible, shine on the lintel, and help the society Jiyunyun.

When He Zhiyuan spoke, he slowly set up a temporary platform in the morning. Picking up a loudspeaker rolled out of iron sheets, he began to say to the nearly 1,000 people in the audience: "Dear clan elders, A chief, parents of students, and students: Our Hejia Village has been more than 120 years since the establishment of the village, and the development of the past 100 years has not been able to catch up with the rapid development of more than eight months this year. Why have there been such big changes in the past eight months? That's because of scientific knowledge. Because of some scientific knowledge, there are now soap workshops, cement workshops, and glass workshops that will be started. With the money earned by these workshops, we can make the people rich, no longer hungry and cold, so that children can afford to go to school, and we can build such a large school hall with silver. ”

"Since scientific knowledge is so useful, of course we need to understand it, learn it, study it. Therefore, in this school, we not only have to read Confucian classics such as the Four Books and the Five Classics, but also learn scientific knowledge, including mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Our school is a primary education school, and after five years, some students will enter a higher level of school, such as those who are selected in the examination to study in the state. But quite a lot of people can't pass the exam, after all, this road is too narrow. More people will have the opportunity to study at the city's vocational and technical colleges. ”

Speaking of this, there was a whisper in the audience, and everyone heard this term for the first time. At this time, someone who was more bold asked: "Xiucaigong, what is a vocational and technical college?" ”

"The Vocational and Technical College is a college in the process of being prepared for children between the ages of 15 and 20 to further their scientific knowledge. Lord Liang of Zhizhou has promised that those who can study at the vocational and technical college can be forced into labor and taxes, and they will be treated almost the same as Xiucai. After completing your studies here, you can work in the corresponding professional workshop, and have the opportunity to become the supervisor and deputy director of the workshop after working for a period of time. ”

"Some people may be worried that there will be so many workshops employing people in the future? I can clearly tell you that there will be many workshops in the future, and there will be all kinds of workshops everywhere in the whole Ming Dynasty. Because the power of science is huge, it will bring great changes to our Ming Dynasty, and he will make the common people live a rich life and the country strong. ”

At this time, someone in the audience asked: "Can a girl come to study?" ”

"Yes, the school has a special classroom for girls to study. There are a few girls studying in the school hall right now. In the future, a special school for girls will be set up to recruit girls to study. ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, the doors of the school are open and all school-age children are welcome to study. Our purpose is to read the couplets on the door: read the Confucian classics to cultivate oneself and govern the country, and learn scientific knowledge to enrich the people and strengthen the army. ”

After the opening ceremony, the parents of the students and the elders in the school hall left one after another. Students of all grades are also returning to the classroom. After a while, the sound of reading aloud came, and He Zhiyuan was in a trance, as if he had returned to the primary school campus in his previous life.

After He Zhiyuan said goodbye to Wang Dejin and the teachers, he was about to leave, when Wang Zhixue shouted: "Master, I have something to tell you." ”

When the others saw that Wang Zhixue had something to do, they left one after another, and there were only two of them in the house. At this time, Wang Zhixue said: "Master, I don't want to be a teacher here. ”

He Zhiyuan was stunned, what did he want to do with this Wang Zhixue? You must know that his brain circuit is different from everyone else. He didn't think it was strange that he did anything strange.

"And what do you want to do?" He Zhiyuan asked.

"I don't know, I think it's boring to be in front of a group of children every day, teaching them to read. It is not as exciting and accomplished as studying scientific knowledge. Master, didn't you just say that you want to study science? I want to do research. Wang Zhixue replied a little timidly.

"Do you still want to study the steam engine I was talking about? Let me tell you that the time is not yet ripe, the steam engine is a complex machine, and it involves a lot of technology, and it is impossible to research and manufacture it without technical accumulation. In order to prevent him from falling into the devil early, He Zhiyuan kindly reminded.

"It's okay to study anything else, as long as you don't let me teach here."

Looking at Wang Zhixue's persistent appearance, He Zhiyuan thought to himself that Wang Zhixue was indeed not suitable for teaching. He has a very smart brain and learns mathematics, physics, chemistry and science very quickly. Strong reverse thinking ability and rigorous logic, sometimes he feels inferior to him in this regard. It's a pity that such people don't do research in the laboratory.

So he said to Wang Zhixue: "If you want to engage in steam engine research, it's not impossible now. It's just that it's too difficult, and it's dangerous, and it won't produce results for a while. If you want to make a steam engine, you must first have the right tools, so you should start with the tools that make the steam engine. ”

"I understand, just like that bolt, you have to use the kind of lathe you said to turn out a standard precision bolt."

"Yes, you're right. In fact, it is not only the lathe, but also the actual tools. Like the one I drew on the drawing, the cylinder and the piston had to be tightly bonded to ensure that there was no steam leakage. In order to make such a cylinder, you must have the right tools. In addition, the hardness, wear resistance, flexibility and other indicators of steel do not meet the requirements. These also need to be improved in refining technology before a qualified steam engine can be manufactured, otherwise it will not take long to break down and cannot be used on a large scale. That's why I say it's a complex systems project, and it's not something that can be done with a single passion. ”

"Master, I understand. Please grant me my request to devote myself to the study of these tools, and I must make a steam engine. Wang Zhixue said confidently.

"Okay, since you have this determination, I will agree to your request. I set aside a site in the village, built a few houses, set up an academy of sciences, and set up a mechanical research institute under it, and you will be the director, specializing in the study of machinery. Do you have the confidence to do a good job? ”

"Yes! Thank you, master! Wang Zhixue replied happily. Then he said: "I will specialize in the lathe that the master said from today on, and I will not come to the school in the future, so I will stay at Master Liu for trial production and research." ”

After the master and apprentice discussed this matter, He Zhiyuan told him in detail the idea of studying lathes, after all, there were various lathes in later generations, and he first told him how to drive the simplest lathes and how to process various types of parts.

While the two were talking, Yulian knocked on the door and came in and said, "Young master, go home and persuade Madame." ”

He Zhiyuan's heart tightened, what kind of trouble is my cheap lady going to make?