An Ran’s family was the first to harvest their wheat. After they finished, the other families gradually began harvesting as well.
The wheat had already been harvested and was still drying outside. An Ran had nothing else to help with, so she grew bored and went out every day to watch the others harvest wheat in the fields.
Several harvesters rumbled through the fields. From a distance, the vehicles cut down swath after swath of wheat ears as they moved forward, turning them into bags of grain. Everyone worked at full steam, creating a scene of abundant harvest.
The Common People of Ancient Times watched with envy. If only they had so much grain and could harvest their wheat so effortlessly, they would wake up laughing from their dreams.
Unfortunately, they could only dream about it for now. Even if they managed to make those machines, they could not use them this year because they would soon have to harvest their own wheat.
The contrast was glaring. The common people, who used to look forward to harvest season, felt dispirited when they saw how effortlessly the others harvested wheat and how their grain yield was more than ten times higher.
The difference was too obvious to ignore. They exhausted themselves for an entire year and got only a pitiful amount, while the others harvested ten times as much with ease. It was hard not to feel miserable!
But no matter how miserable they felt, they still had to go into the fields. If they did not, they would have no grain to eat.
The scene that followed showed the people of the Ancient Era laboring miserably to harvest their crops while people on the Heavenly Screen casually carried sacks. The common people had loved watching the Heavenly Screen, but now they did not even want to look at it.
Fortunately, An Ran lost interest after two days and stayed home to watch television. The others could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, they relaxed too soon. The television show An Ran watched was so entertaining that they no longer wanted to go into the fields to work.
An Ran was not watching a newly released show. In recent years, good Television Dramas had been few and far between. She was watching 《Journey to the West》, which had been rebroadcast on television hundreds or even thousands of times.
She had thought that, after watching it so many times, she would be unable to keep watching. Yet after flipping through the channels, she stopped on it. Once she started, she became addicted. A classic was indeed a classic; no matter how many times she watched it, she never grew tired of it.
The people of the Ancient Era were seeing a drama like this for the first time—and it was a tale of immortals and supernatural beings at that. How astonishing!
《Journey to the West》 was a classic among classics even in the Future Era. To the people of the Ancient Era, it was even more wonderful.
They were like modern elementary school students, looking forward to watching television every day. Sometimes, they did not even want to work; they only wanted to sit and watch.
Even some emperors became engrossed in it. An Ran’s schedule mostly differed from their working hours, so they watched television after finishing their official duties.
Some Fatuous Rulers who usually enjoyed fooling around with their Imperial consorts no longer went to the Imperial Harem. Every day, they anxiously scratched their ears and cheeks, desperate to find out what happened next.
In the Ming Dynasty, an old man stared at the familiar scenes in 《Journey to the West》 and froze. This—this was not the novel he had already written more than half of? He had never expected Later Generations to adapt it into a drama.
The performances were excellent. This monkey was exactly as he had imagined!
However, it heightened his sense of urgency. He had not finished writing the novel and did not want the Future Era to spoil what he had yet to write.
With that thought, he hurried to the study and wrote down the plot he had already devised. He wanted to finish the novel before the Heavenly Screen broadcast the subsequent plot.
An Ran had not sought it out. She had turned on the television and watched whatever happened to be on, stopping wherever the broadcast had reached. In any case, she had seen it several times and already knew the plot.
But this made things difficult for the People of Ancient Times. Sometimes, they could not follow the plot at all! That was even more frustrating than being unable to watch it.
Moreover, An Ran watched it for only a few days. After the wheat had dried for three or four days, they could bag it.
While helping to fill the sacks, An Ran saw a young man helping at the home of the aunt next door. She asked Grandfather in confusion, “Today isn’t Sunday. Why isn’t Le Yu going to school?”
Grandfather answered while continuing to work, “Le Yu? He isn’t going to school anymore.”
“What? How old is he? Has he graduated from middle school?” An Ran asked in surprise. She remembered that Le Yu seemed to be only about thirteen.
“No, he’s only in the eighth grade. But his grades are poor. His combined scores in language, mathematics, and foreign language are not even passing, so he does not want to continue.”
“Then he should at least finish middle school, right? Without even a middle school diploma, won’t it be difficult for him to find work later?”
“What kind of work could he find? He’ll probably work in a factory or on a construction site. Those jobs don’t require much education.”
“He isn’t even completing nine-year compulsory education. Didn’t the teacher try to persuade him?”
“It wouldn’t help. He’s made up his mind not to continue. Nothing anyone says will change it.”
“All right.”
An Ran did not bring up Le Yu again. He was not her relative, and there was nothing she could do about it. She sighed and let the matter go.
In the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang muttered, “Nine-Year Compulsory Education.” He turned to Li Si and asked, “Compulsory? Does this mean Later Generations force the Common People to study?”
Li Si said, “It should.”
Qin Shi Huang was puzzled. Why force the Common People to study? Although he wanted as many talented people as possible, he preferred the Common People at the bottom to remain ignorant. That made them easier to control.
If they studied, became enlightened, and gained the ability to think independently, they would become difficult to control. That would hinder the consolidation of the regime.
Liu Che of the Han Dynasty had the same idea. He did not object to having more talented people, but he preferred the common people to remain ignorant. If they knew too much, they would be difficult to deceive and might even develop rebellious, treasonous thoughts that would threaten his rule.
He adopted Dong Zhongshu’s suggestion to “dismiss the hundred schools and honor Confucianism alone” to strengthen control over people’s thoughts.
In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang said, “Forcing the common people to study? Would they be willing? Studying costs so much money—wouldn’t that leave them unable to afford weddings and funerals?”
Zhu Yuanzhang valued education and established many schools during his reign.
“That can’t be. Look at the people on the Heavenly Screen; they don’t seem resentful. The later generations have solved the food problem, so paper, ink, and brushes are probably inexpensive too. That must be why they dare to force the common people to attend school,” Zhu Biao said with a smile.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. “That makes sense.”
The Common People of Ancient Times were startled when they heard others explain the meaning of Nine-Year Compulsory Education. Nine years of schooling was mandatory?
Their first reaction was not happiness but concern over how much so many years of schooling would cost.
“How can it be like this? Studying costs so much money. How could poor people afford it?”
“Exactly. Could they be doing it to collect money?”
“Perhaps.”
“Oh, don’t compare the present situation with the future era. Look at how much grain we harvest from one acre of farmland, and how much they harvest. Even farmers can afford it.”
“That’s true. I forgot about that.”
“But if one isn’t going to become an official, wouldn’t studying be a waste of money?”
“Didn’t you hear? Finding work requires looking at how much education you have. Without studying, you can only do the hardest and most exhausting manual labor.”
“Having an education is surely better than having none, right? If I had the money, I would definitely send my son to study.”
A child who had been hiding outside a private school to listen to the Teacher’s lessons learned that people in the Later Generations were required to study. He began to cry with envy.
At the same time, he hated the boy who had dropped out and refused to study. The boy had no idea how fortunate he was. If only he could give that opportunity to him instead.
After harvesting the wheat at home, An Ran stayed for a few more days. At the end of May, she returned.
The National College Entrance Examination was about to begin, so she had to cheer on her younger brother and sister!
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