Chapter 9: Attending Class (I)

Yang Rui took a look at the class schedule and saw that his classes were scheduled for Friday and Saturday mornings, with two consecutive periods. It seemed to be a large class, combining students from two classes. Seeing that the arrangement was correct, Yang Rui nodded, having no objections. Thinking about the winter vacation, he asked, "It is already nearly December; when will the students have their winter break?"

The students quieted down, listening to Yang Rui's lecture. Yang Rui wrote both the Chinese and English terms for economics on the blackboard. He explained: "The term 'economics' originally comes from Japan. They began studying the West earlier than we did, and when translating Western economic works, they sought a corresponding term in Chinese. They borrowed the word '经济' from the phrase '经国济世' in Chinese to form the term 'economics.' However, Mr. Yan Fu, who translated 'Original Wealth,' did not agree with this interpretation. He believed that the phrase '经国济世' is too grand, as it has always been thought in our country that only the teachings of Confucius and Mencius can govern the country and benefit the world, thus translating it as '计学.'"

Mr. Cai took out the school calendar, flipped through it, and said: "Once we reach the Laba Festival, we will have a holiday, and the Western calendar indicates it will be in early January." After saying this, he handed over the school calendar.

On the morning of the second day, at 8:00 AM, Yang Rui walked into the classroom on the second floor of the study society. The classroom was originally a living space, and after being opened up, it was not very large. Inside, there were about forty to fifty people, a dense crowd, buzzing with noise. The students saw a person without braids, dressed in Western attire, walk in and knew that this was the teacher. The entire class stood up and bowed, and Yang Rui returned the gesture.

He stood behind the podium, comfortably resting his hands, and began the lecture: "Dear students, starting today, I will be teaching the business course. My surname is Yang, and since I do not understand the local dialect, I will be using Mandarin for the lecture. I hope this is acceptable to everyone. Before we begin the class, I would like to outline the rules for my lectures. First, no late arrivals or early departures are allowed. Second, please do not disrupt the order of the class. Third, feel free to ask questions at any time during the lecture. Fourth, if you are not interested in the lecture, you may sleep, but please do not disturb others."

After Yang Rui finished stating the four points, the students began to murmur again. The first three points were clear to everyone, but the last one was difficult to understand. For Yang Rui, sleeping in class was perfectly natural; during his university days, he often slept in class, and most of the time he read the books on his own. As long as he didn't sit in the front row, most teachers tacitly accepted this behavior. Yang Rui paid no attention to the students and continued, "Dear students, because there are many people in the classroom, please keep your voices down when discussing issues." For Yang Rui, sleeping in class was perfectly natural; during his university days, he often slept in class, and most of the time he read the books on his own. As long as he didn't sit in the front row, most teachers tacitly accepted this behavior. Yang Rui paid no attention to the students and continued, "Dear students, because there are many people in the classroom, please keep your voices down when discussing issues."

The meeting in the morning was quite pleasant, and Cai Yuanpei accompanied Yang Rui to the door before stopping. Yang Rui walked home, and on the way, he bought a stack of newspapers, which were still reporting on the incident of students withdrawing from Nanyang Public School. Some newspapers supported the school's position, while others sympathized with the students. The Su Newspaper, which he often contributed articles to, took the side of the students, providing a detailed account of the entire withdrawal process, which made Yang Rui better understand the situation. It seemed that they were indeed a group of passionate students, and he feared they would be difficult to teach in the future.

Yang Rui said, casually writing "Jingguo Jishi" and "Jixue" side by side on the blackboard. He then stated: "The reason I refer to this discipline as economics today is not because I agree with the Japanese interpretation, nor do I concur with Mr. Yan Fu's perspective. When people build houses, they often hear the craftsmen say, 'This is more economical,' or 'That is quite uneconomical.' In Shanghai, when people buy things, they frequently say, 'This is a good deal,' or 'That is not a good deal.' The terms 'economical' and 'good deal' here essentially mean the same thing. I call it economics because it is a discipline that discusses how to make good deals. Of course, this concept of making good deals does not only refer to individual households; sometimes it pertains to an entire region, and even more often, it concerns a whole nation.

Mr. Cai met Yang Rui directly and did not take it to heart. After thinking for a moment, he said: "The study society is currently preparing, the teaching materials and teachers are basically in place, and we are ready to start classes tomorrow. We have already arranged Brother Jingcheng's classes according to the requirements." After saying this, he took out a class schedule.

Yang Rui had no objections. Cai Yuanpei then said: "Brother Jingcheng... this... the new society has just been established, and many matters are pending. Currently, there are also difficulties with funding, and the salaries for the classes..."

Cai Yuanpei, feeling somewhat moved, said: "In this way, it is indeed hard work that has made you a brother. On behalf of the entire faculty and students of our humble school, I express my gratitude."

Yang Rui interrupted him and said, "The issue of money is easy to discuss. The current situation of the study association is difficult. I will temporarily withhold the salary for now, but I still have some savings for daily meals. When the funds of the study association become more sufficient, we can make up the salary then"

Thinking about the class tomorrow, Yang Rui hurriedly began preparing the lesson. Since there were no textbooks this time, he had to rely solely on reading the course materials himself. Two class periods, neither long nor short. How much he needed to read was unknown to Yang Rui, leaving him uncertain. He prepared the entire introduction section and also covered a significant amount of content from the first chapter, working until it was dark. This preparation was far more laborious than merely copying from a book. Who told you to be so soft-hearted? You deserve it. Yang Rui lamented internally, having never considered becoming a teacher before, yet here he was, a teacher—such is fate.

Yang Rui looked at the academic calendar and calculated that there were only six weeks left until the end of the semester, with only twelve class hours for each class, which felt too few. He said to Mr. Cai, "There is still relatively little time. With the new textbooks, the schedule is quite tight. Mr. Cai, could you see if it's possible to increase the class hours?" Suddenly, Yang Rui noticed a name at the bottom corner of the academic calendar—President of the Academic Society: Cai Yuanpei. ... He was taken aback, Cai Yuanpei, Cai Yuanpei, could it be ... . Oh my, he really has met a celebrity; Cai Yuanpei was not the president of Peking University later on? So he is currently running a school, no wonder.

Yang Rui smiled and said, "I dare not, I dare not, it is all for the students."

The students were all dressed in Manchu style, with bright foreheads and long braids, which made Yang Rui feel a bit uneasy. Once the students were seated, the class began. Yang Rui had no prior experience as a teacher, but he often observed others giving lectures. Generally, when a new course starts, the teacher's first class is about boasting—exaggerating how wonderful the course is, how extraordinary it is, and that without this course, the Earth would not even rotate. Now, Yang Rui was following this same approach.

Cai Yuanpei did not notice Yang Rui's expression. At the beginning of the establishment of the academic society, there was a severe shortage of funds and even more so of teachers. He originally disagreed with casually appointing someone as a business studies teacher, but this subject was indeed quite rare, unlike the teachers for natural philosophy or chemistry, which were easier to find. It was with a mindset of treating a dead horse as a live one that he agreed to Qian Bozong's persuasion to let Yang Rui teach. Later, upon hearing that Yang Rui's book was about to be published by the Commercial Press, he paid more attention to him. Now, hearing Yang Rui say that he had few classes and was looking for work on his own, regardless of his ability, he greatly admired his character. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Brother Jingcheng, I will discuss with the other gentlemen to see if we can make adjustments. If we can, you will have classes three times a week."