MTLNOVEL Chapter 223: The Rise Needs Education
The dark mass of people, with pairs of eyes fixed on Lu Yuan, began to cheer loudly!
They felt quite a sense of belonging here.
Just think about it, at the beginning, everyone was malnourished, without a bit of food in their hands!
Their body fat percentage was so low it seemed as if a gust of wind could blow them away.
Every day, they would look on eagerly, anxiously awaiting, hoping Lu Yuan would distribute some food to them.
As time passed, they slowly developed a sense of belonging to the community—because Lu Yuan actually did it, he didn't let them starve to death, and he didn't hand out alms like a lord!
That alone was quite remarkable!
Added to that, the large-scale chicken farming had enriched their nutrition, and free eggs were something they wouldn't have dared to dream of before.
And the introduction of the health plan had greatly reduced diseases.
Most people's weight began to increase, and they were no longer skin and bones like before.
Under such circumstances, how could they not feel a sense of belonging?
So they cheered loudly.
Green Grass Town had become their brand new homeland.
Once the crowd quieted down, Lu Yuan spoke again, "The city beneath our feet is actually part of the Green Grass Civilization, and we should be thankful for their gift and grateful to the generous Lady Conch."
Lady Conch naturally appeared in front of the crowd several times.
Everyone knew this beautiful girl was ingeniously skillful and held in high esteem.
But she was rather shy, preferring to hide in her original little house, letting the Tree of Life carry her—after all, Lu Yuan owed her a favor.
"The name of Green Grass Town is also for this reason. People cannot forget the past, so we should be grateful for the bygone Green Grass Civilization."
"Furthermore, it's important to note that we are actually not some sort of nation, nor a grand civilization, at best we're just a town."
"We must be aware of our limitations, a little wind and rain could erase us from history!"
"Therefore, in order to develop better and faster, we are going to introduce two policies here."
"Everyone must listen carefully. I will only explain this once."
The first policy is the compulsory education system.
No matter what, minors must go to school, from kindergarten to junior high school, until they complete their compulsory education!
No matter how much the parents oppose, this policy must be implemented, even if we must resort to force!
The reason why this policy was delayed is because of the lack of teaching staff.
It wasn't until yesterday that the Green Grass Paradise finally connected the education system, sorted out the translation and other issues, and Lu Yuan had tried it himself and felt it was very good.
He also had Lady Conch add some punishment settings, allowing the buds to release electric currents, ensuring that disobedient students would be in agony!
"Compulsory education must be implemented... Everyone, whether you understand or not, this is non-negotiable."
Of course, adults could also study for free but without coercion.
How to put it, the current productivity was still seriously insufficient, and adults still had to farm the land. If they didn't farm, they would go hungry.
If this generated too much resentment, some policies would become unenforceable.
Even so, a small number of people were already complaining.
They couldn't comprehend the significance of learning—after all, even in the 21st century, there was still the "uselessness of reading" notion, not to mention these unenlightened folks.
Lu Yuan simply ignored these complaints, as the policy had to be implemented no matter what. You adults may not study, fine, but children must learn.
Otherwise, the parents would be arrested and thrown into jail!
"Everyone, silence!"
The Tree of Life rustled, exuding the strong aura of a superior being.
Now at a height of 40 meters and weighing five hundred tons, the Tree of Life conveyed a sense of a massive anomaly.
The aura it emitted, even just a small ripple, was not something ordinary people could endure.
Instantly, the plaza fell quiet.
"Only by lifting Sky City into the air do we have a chance to survive. Otherwise, we will die."
In the end, Lu Yuan shouted, "None of you want to die, right?"
"Do you really think the water in the reservoir will last a lifetime?!"
This was a question that struck directly at the soul.
The people fell silent, unable to answer the question.
Indeed, in the reservoir, one could now see the bottom.
"You all..." Sha Mo muttered under his breath with a sneer, "are truly unwilling to think about anything, just stumbling along until death is upon you, and then you regret it too late."
The deputy leader, Sha Kan'er, jeered sarcastically, "If Green Grass Town is full of such people, how can it ever amount to anything?"
A few people blushed and grew heated upon hearing this but had no way to refute it.
The second policy is a brand-new economic system.
This current collective economy, where everyone eats from the same big pot, does indeed guarantee living standards—eggs are distributed every couple of days and vegetables are rationed to each person.
But laziness is a human trait, and after the first bumper harvest of crops, some have already noticed that no matter how much or little they work, what they get doesn't differ much, and they won't starve anyway.
As a result, incidents of shirking work are slowly increasing.
This is just half a year...
Over time, this phenomenon became even more serious.
Lu Yuan was aware that communal dining was not conducive to stimulating the enthusiasm of the people, and it was necessary to implement a series of economic reforms.
He said loudly, "In order to enhance the circulation of the economy, we will issue a batch of currency."
"This currency is called Green Coin; it is made of copper with a leaf pattern on the surface. Take a good look, everyone."
The currency was quite refined, made of copper using machines from the Green Grass Civilization, virtually eliminating the possibility of counterfeiting.
"1 Green Coin equals 10 jiao."
Although Green Grass Town only had a little more than ten thousand people, the problems brought about by not having a currency were plentiful, despite its small size.
During transactions, goods were often priced in grain.
However, the value of grain had no fair market price to go by.
For instance, how much work a blacksmith did each day and its respective value, or how much a carpenter should be paid, were really too nebulous to calculate.
Due to the absence of currency, economic development was hindered.
Lu Yuan was not an economist, and he did not care about issues such as inflation or deflation; first things first, issue the currency and then adjust the details gradually.
After all, the advanced productive forces were now under his control.
"I now stipulate that the purchasing power of one Green Coin is equivalent to one jin of grain, which is the most common cactus meat in your fields."
"In the newly opened supermarkets, everyone can purchase corresponding living supplies! These supermarkets will open within a month!"
"Additionally, how can you obtain Green Coins? It's simple: apply for the relevant positions!"
"We will establish some enterprises, and only those who have the required knowledge and skills can apply for the corresponding positions. In addition, civil servants and public institution employees can also receive a certain remuneration, but you have to be literate to hold these positions, right?"
"Besides, trades and services in the private sector can also earn Green Coins. The prices for these will be set by yourselves."
"However, I must declare that if you only farm, the economic benefits will not be substantial."
This economic policy was also a way of indirectly carrying out reforms.
If you don't like studying, that's fine!
You can't force someone to like something they don't, it's up to you.
But there must be differentiation!
Let those who love learning have a better life.
As for those with rigid minds, well, I'm sorry... you can only maintain basic subsistence, pretty much the same as before. We will no longer take care of you.
Lu Yuan had never expected to be able to turn around social attitudes overnight; one could not expect citizens from a feudal era to suddenly absorb much new knowledge.
But isn't there a next generation? As long as they receive proper education and are gradually enlightened, everyone will eventually understand the principle that "knowledge changes fate."
Thus, with dual approaches, after a tiresome explanation that exhausted many of his brain cells, most people still appeared puzzled, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Captain Lu, what is a super... market?"
"Will there be no more food distribution in the future?"
Lu Yuan said loudly, "The distribution of food will continue until the next harvest season."
"Afterwards, only a ten percent agricultural tax will be levied! The rest is all yours; communal dining will end!"
"That's great! That's great!" The people thought this was good news, and they cheered one after another.
A ten percent agricultural tax seemed very low to them.
"But no more eggs will be distributed; you'll have to buy them with money!"
"Huh?" Many people could not accept this all at once.
Lu Yuan was helpless and could only leave it to others to explain slowly.
As a result, he heard some nonsensical talk.
"Everything in the supermarket belongs to Mr. Lu; you have to spend money to buy them..."
"Get it? There are good things inside; surely you can't expect to take someone's belongings for nothing."
"I get it, I get it! But where does Mr. Lu get the grain?"
Some people completely misinterpreted his intentions, which was truly alarming for Lu Yuan.
After all, the government had not even set up a basic framework yet, and there were too few qualified civil servants... Many things were truly difficult.
...
As the townsfolk heatedly discussed, Lu Yuan harnessed the power of the Tree of Life to transport several hundred buds over.
The Tree of Life, now digesting 58,000 units of Life Essence, was incredibly powerful; a hundred or so buds, totaling almost 30 tons, were moved with ease.
"Everyone, these are the equipments for compulsory education."
"Every child must go to school!"
Before long, curious townsfolk entered the flower buds to experience them.
Upon entering, they felt drowsy, and then heard a voice: "Welcome to the Green Grass Classroom."
"Oh? Desert, you're here too?"
"It's Old Ba, haha, trying out the kids' school?"
The scene was that of an ordinary school, with everyone in the classroom surrounded by various strange and peculiar devices, causing amazement and bewilderment.
"Quiet, everyone, the teacher will start class soon." The speaker was the team leader, Sha Mo, who had already experienced it and promptly found a seat to sit down.
"Thump thump thump," a fat-faced, burly man with a substantial build stepped heavily into the classroom and said gruffly, "Today, we will learn about the significance education has for people! Class is starting, why are you still standing there? Looking for trouble, are you?"
...