Chapter 8: Teacher

Yang Rui only needed to be polite once more. After the pleasantries were exchanged, both parties took their seats in the living room. Yang Rui did not want to beat around the bush and directly asked: "Brother Jianmin, may I ask how the study society is preparing? On which day is the class scheduled to start?"

Qian Bozong said: "The textbook for business studies is originally that book 'The Wealth of Nations', but the other several volumes have not been printed yet"

Qian Bozong continued, "Later, the entire school became aware of it, and representatives were sent to negotiate with the administration, but the administration insisted on expelling the entire class. We could not stand by and watch, so we also withdrew from school in protest."

Hearing this, Yang Rui felt it was truly inconceivable; expelling a few students is one thing, but expelling the entire class has never been heard of before

Yang Rui left the address of the study association, with the recipient written as Qian Bozong. He also said, "I may not be there at that time, so the payment for the books will be deducted from the publishing fees."

The next morning, after having breakfast, Yang Rui took a rickshaw to Nicheng Bridge, which is located next to the racecourse and not far from Ruyi Lane. Fuyuan Lane 21 is situated at the innermost part, and the further one goes in, the more students there are. Upon arriving, he saw a row of three-story Shikumen houses. Next to one of the doorways hung two signs, one for the China Education Association and the other for the Patriotic Study Society. Just as he was looking, Qian Bozong suddenly appeared from somewhere, bowed in front of him, and said, "Good morning, sir!" The further one goes in, the more students there are. Upon arriving, he saw a row of three-story Shikumen houses. Next to one of the doorways hung two signs, one for the China Education Association and the other for the Patriotic Study Society. Just as he was looking, Qian Bozong suddenly appeared from somewhere, bowed in front of him, and said, "Good morning, sir!"

Qian Bozong immediately expressed his approval and hurried downstairs to return to the study society Yang Rui sighed after he left and said: You are still too soft-hearted

Yang Rui had already grown accustomed to his politeness, nodding slightly as he followed him inside. They entered a Shikumen house, and after passing through the courtyard, they arrived at the reception room. A middle-aged man came out to greet them, appearing thin and around thirty years old. He had a gaunt face with sparse goatee, wore round glasses, yet his gaze was very clear, revealing him to be a learned scholar.

Yang Rui was still unable to respond, still engrossed in the book, so he let her come in and sit down. At that moment, Mrs. Huang rushed in and spoke urgently in a dialect from Wuxi to Qian Bozong, her expression very animated, yet there was no hint of hostility in her words, which were soft and gentle. Yang Rui only vaguely heard something about a possible withdrawal from school. Qian Bozong looked troubled, and seeing this, Yang Rui quickly intervened, saying: "Mrs. Huang, please don't be angry, let's discuss this calmly." As he spoke, he brought over a stool for Mrs. Huang to sit down.

Wang Fengzao seems to have appeared in novels about the First Sino-Japanese War, and he appears to have been the ambassador to Japan. He caused the complete failure of all codes used by the Beiyang Army due to an accidental leak of passwords. He is a bookish person, which explains his strictness towards students. It is incomprehensible to know this person. Furthermore, I asked: "Isn't your school run by Shengda? Would he be willing to let it turn out this way?"

The two men clasped their hands together, and Mr. Cai said, "Mr. Yang, your great talent is well-known to me, and I have long admired you."

Yang Rui believes that in China, the focus is still primarily on learning technology, aptly described as "the essence of Chinese studies and the application of Western studies." There are few translated works in the fields of philosophy and economics; the majority are technical books. He then inquires, "What about the textbooks you use in class?"

It was said that Sheng Xuanhuai and Qian Bozong were in a state of gloom, with the remark: "The prominent figures are troubled by the household servants, and they do not receive guests. The next day, when everyone left the school, no one was sent to dissuade them."

The next day, Yang Rui finally completed the manuscript for the second volume of economics. At noon, he went to the Commercial Press, found someone to report, and was informed that Mr. Xie was upstairs, inviting him to go up.

Qian Bozong nodded and said, "Alright, I will definitely inform Mr. Cai. He will be waiting for you at the academy tomorrow morning. I will take my leave now, sir." After saying this, he went downstairs.

Yang Rui also replied with polite modesty: "I dare not, I dare not, just call me whatever is fine. Is this the esteemed Premier Cai?"

Qian Bozong said in a muffled voice: "There is a teacher named Guo in the neighboring class who is very bad. One day during class, he saw an ink bottle placed on his chair and claimed that someone was playing tricks on him. He demanded that several students be responsible for finding out who placed the bottle there. Later, a student falsely accused three other classmates, and he decided to expel those three students. When the entire class saw this, they all came to plead for them, but he recorded a major demerit for everyone involved. The class was dissatisfied, and all the students petitioned the school administration. Later, the administration said that the entire class was causing a disturbance and attempting to rebel, so they expelled the whole class.

Yang Rui waved his hand and said, "Let the business school use my textbook. Once my manuscript is ready, I will send it to the Commercial Press to see if they can print a few copies for you to use as a textbook. As for the others, you should first seek out other teachers; if there are none, then come to me."

Yang Rui asked again, "Why are you dropping out? I see that you usually love studying a lot, don't you?"

Qian Bozong remained silent for a while, and Yang Rui looked at him. He then became agitated and said: "I have harmed everyone. I played a part in the protest against me that united the entire school. Now everyone has withdrawn from school and doesn't know where to go, saying that..." He sobbed: "They say they will start their own school, but now, firstly, there is no money, and secondly, there are not enough teachers..."

Qian Bozong said: "The general manager is Wang Fengzao, and he has also resigned now"

Yang Rui thought for a moment and realized that discussing the scheduling of classes would be clearer in person. He then said to Qian Bozong, "How about this, you go back and tell Mr. Cai that I will visit tomorrow morning."

Mrs. Huang was very agitated and did not sit down. She simply thanked Yang Rui and then began to express her grievances: "Mr. Yang, the young people nowadays are truly disobedient. They refuse to study properly and instead choose to learn bad habits and drop out of school. My sister would be heartbroken if she knew. He stubbornly refuses to admit his mistakes and is unwilling to return to school to plead with the teachers for mercy to resume classes. He is like a stubborn ox, refusing to listen to reason or punishment." Mrs. Huang sighed deeply and then went downstairs

Qian Bozong smiled upon hearing Yang Rui's agreement, saying, "Not much, not much, it certainly won't be much." Seeing that he had not wiped away all his tears, Yang Rui handed him a piece of scrap paper. He then inquired about the situation of the study society. Qian Bozong replied, "The study society has just been established a few days ago, located at Fuyuan Li, Mudichengqiao. It is managed by Mr. Cai, a special class teacher who withdrew from school along with everyone else. Currently, over 140 people have settled in; those from Shanghai have returned home, while those from out of town are staying at Fuyuan Li. The main issue now is the shortage of Western teachers; it is relatively easy to find teachers for subjects like physics and mathematics, but there is a significant lack of teachers for philosophy and business studies. Bozong truly had no other choice but to seek help from you."

Qian Bozong nodded slightly, remaining silent

In the following days, Yang Rui was engrossed in copying books, neglecting food and sleep. One day, which happened to be a Sunday, while Yang Rui was deeply immersed in his work, he heard someone knocking at the door. When he inquired who it was, the person outside simply replied "Sir." With no other choice, Yang Rui had to hide his notebook and go open the door. Upon opening it, he saw Qian Bozong standing at the entrance, looking dejected and lacking his usual spirit.

Qian Bozong raised his head and looked at Yang Rui with a strange expression. Yang Rui also dared not mention anything about the Jiawu naval battle. He continued, "Nanyang Public School was originally a good school, but without you, it is no longer a good school. Because you have left, you have also taken away a certain spirit. In the future, the students coming out of Nanyang Public School will be thoughtless slaves. However, you, having gone through such trials, are more likely to succeed than those who have had a smooth journey." To comfort someone, the best approach is not to say that it doesn't matter if you made a mistake, but rather to affirm that what you did was indeed correct. The legacy of Nanyang Public School has always been dominated by science and engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which is a consequence of the turmoil this time. In order to prevent further incidents, Sheng Xuanhuai ordered the school to no longer offer liberal arts classes, thus the school began to focus entirely on science and engineering; this spirit was later carried to Peking University, shaping its free and inclusive academic atmosphere.

Yang Rui asked: "Who is the General Office?"

As Mr. Xie was about to leave, he thought for a moment and said: "Brother Jingcheng, I will think it over again and see if I can expedite the printing of the first volume. Please leave an address, and I will deliver it directly to you once it is printed https://www.hetushu.com.com."

Note: Cai Yuanpei referred to himself as "Jiemin" in his memoir "Cai Yuanpei's Autobiography"; moreover, the self-referential terms used by ancient individuals may not be absolute.

Yang Rui's consolation was quite effective, and Qian Bozong had stopped crying. He steadied his mind, bowed deeply, and said: "Thank you, sir, for your guidance. Bozong initially did not dare to come, but now everyone is discussing the establishment of a school society to ensure that no one loses their education. However, the school society lacks teachers in Western studies. I came this time to ask you to teach us business studies. I hope you will agree to this request."

Qian Bozong had never seen such an arrangement, but it indeed had its benefits, so he made a mental note of it. He then said: "Mr. Cai hopes that you can visit at your convenience in the next couple of days. I have heard that there are some developments regarding fundraising, and classes will begin in a few days."

Dropping out of school is indeed a significant issue, Yang Rui was left speechless and asked Qian Bozong: "Are you really dropping out?"

Mr. Xie smiled and said, "No problem, no problem, the library only charges the cost for these one hundred volumes of books"

Yang Rui calculated that this would still cause a delay, but this was already the fastest it could be. Factories always have their processes, and time is always required. At that moment, he said nothing, only expressed his sincere gratitude.

Mr. Cai smiled and said: "I dare not, I dare not, it is indeed a humble individual. It is all due to your kindness."

Yang Rui, seeing this, could only support him by the back, pour him some water, and comfortingly said: "The fact that you think this way shows that you are a very responsible person, which is commendable. You are on the right side and have done the right thing. This situation has gotten a bit out of control, and it is not your fault that it has turned out this way. This Wang Fengzao is a person with a very unclear mind. In fact, you have not harmed everyone; you have helped everyone."

After Yang Rui went up to meet, the two had to exchange pleasantries. After handing over the manuscript, Yang Rui brought up the issue of the teaching materials and mentioned the situation at Nanyang Public School. Mr. Xie, being an enthusiastic person, said: "I have also heard about this matter. The newspapers are currently debating who is right and who is wrong between the students and the school. As Brother Jing Cheng said, it doesn't matter who is right or wrong; the key point is that the students still need to attend classes, and that is the main issue. Please wait a moment, I will ask how long it will take to print it. " After saying this, he straightforwardly called over the person in charge of the school edition printing one by one. After inquiring, he said: "The first volume has already been proofread, and we are just waiting for the second volume. The proofreading takes a bit longer, about three to five days. Generally, it takes more than ten days to finalize the typesetting, and at least a week is required. However, the printing itself is quite fast. All in all, it will take at least half a month."

Upon hearing Sheng Xuanhuai's actions, it became clear that there was no hope for him, and this dropout situation seemed to be unsolvable. Yang Rui sighed and asked, "So what are you all planning to do now?"

That evening, Qian Bozong came over again. He brought a class schedule, which indicated that the business course was only available for upperclassmen. However, there are two levels in the upperclassmen, each with two or three classes. Yang Rui looked at it and asked, "How big is your classroom? How many people can it accommodate?" After seeing Qian Bozong's puzzled expression, he continued, "What I mean is, can we have two classes together during the lesson, conducting a large lecture? This way, I can teach twice a week, with two consecutive periods each time—having two periods in a row provides continuity and makes teaching more convenient. Ideally, the time should be in the morning; if not, then arrange it for the first two periods in the afternoon."

Yang Rui did not know whether that was Qian Bozong; he simply wandered off by himself. In fact, there was not much to see in the French Concession at that time. Shanghai did not have any tall buildings, nor did it have the beautiful French sycamore trees of later years. The overall feeling was akin to a large county town. After a few rounds, he lost interest and quickly returned. During dinner, when he saw the two little Hu return, he called them out to eat together. They found a somewhat decent restaurant and ordered a table full of dishes. The little Hu were too timid to pick up their chopsticks. By the time Yang Rui finished, there was still a table full of food. With no other option, they decided to pack it up for a late-night snack. Yang Rui only took two dishes for himself, giving the rest to them.

Yang Rui pondered for a moment, reflecting on his progress in copying books, and then said: "Alright, I have now finalized the publication schedule with the library. If there are not too many classes, it should not cause any delays."