Chapter 3991
Chapter 3991
Chapter 3991
After stepping onto the dock of Fubo Port, a scholar in white let out a long breath. The long sea voyage had made him somewhat unaccustomed to the solid ground beneath his feet, and he still swayed slightly, as if he were walking on cotton rather than on solid ground.
The scholar appeared to be around thirty years old, with his hair tied in a bun and wearing a Dongpo scarf. He was dressed in a round-necked, wide-sleeved robe, resembling a Ming Dynasty scholar. His attire was distinctly different from the fashionable Han Chinese clothing of the time, but rather bore a striking resemblance to the clothing of the local Arabs.
A follower, also dressed in Ming dynasty attire, carrying two wicker book chests, followed closely behind and asked somewhat uneasily, "Young master, where should we settle down next?"
The scholar, addressed as "Young Master," waved his hand and said, "No need to rush. We already informed them when we were in Hamban Port. The government will take care of us here. Just wait patiently."
Sure enough, a short while later, someone at the dock called out loudly: "Teachers and craftsmen from all walks of life, please line up here, register your names, and we will arrange your food and lodging."
A crowd immediately surged forward, forming a long queue in front of the man. By the time the scholar and his entourage arrived, there were already about twenty or thirty people in line.
However, the scholar was not in a hurry. He had his attendant put down his book box to use as a stool, and then sat down on it.
Having traveled thousands of miles from home and endured numerous inconveniences along the way, the scholar had long since abandoned any fussiness and was now content with whatever was comfortable. With such a long queue ahead, verifying his identity and completing the registration must take a considerable amount of time; standing there idly would only make things difficult for him.
However, the efficiency here is quite fast. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, it was already the scholar's turn.
"Name, place of origin, occupation." The clerk in charge of registration sized up the scholar and repeated the lines expressionlessly.
The scholar replied, "My name is Su Zhixing, a native of Hangzhou. I was recruited by the Ministry of Education to teach here. I also have an attendant with me, named Su Ji, a native of Jiaxing."
While muttering "Su Zhixing" to himself, the clerk flipped through the register in his hand and quickly found the corresponding registration information. After verifying that it was correct, he had the scholar sign and affix his fingerprint as proof of their arrival in Hong Kong.
"Mr. Su, please wait a moment. A carriage will take you to your lodgings. Someone will also contact you to arrange the follow-up." Perhaps it was Su Zhixing's professional status that made the official's attitude towards him noticeably more respectful.
Su Zhixing said, "May I ask one more question? There are still some important items on the ship. Could we wait until they are unloaded and then load them onto a truck for transport?"
The clerk nodded and said, "If it's something that can be loaded onto a vehicle, then it's fine. If there's too much stuff, we can store it temporarily in the port warehouse and arrange to send it to Mr. Su's residence later. There are troops on duty here, so there's no need to worry about security."
After completing the registration, the clerk handed two plaques to Su Zhixing: "These are your identity plaques. You can use them to receive living supplies and wages, as well as to enter and exit various areas of Fubo Port." Su Zhixing took them and saw that they were two fine steel plaques, each engraved with the characters "Yi Yin," followed by a string of winding characters. Su Zhixing recognized them as the new numerals promoted by the Haihan government, which were easy to write, recognize, and calculate.
As for the initial two characters "乙寅" (Yi Yin), Su Zhixing had no prior experience living in such a military-controlled area, so his knowledge of it was limited. He speculated that this was some kind of system of registering local residents by occupation, using the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches as codes. The string of numbers that followed was likely the registration numbering, as the numbers on the two identity tags were adjacent.
Su Zhixing's guess was pretty much correct. These identity cards were custom-made in China, and every new immigrant here would be assigned one. Whether receiving money or goods or registering to enter or leave important areas, they would all use this as proof and for recording purposes.
The official registration information will also include the corresponding identification number, which will be used as the basis for future official household registration. Phuket and Hambantota have similar systems, but the format of the identification tags differs. Since Su Zhixing and his companion did not register in these areas, they had not gone through the relevant registration procedures and were naturally unaware of this detail.
After completing the registration procedures, Su Zhixing and his servant Su Ji did not rush to leave the dock by car. Instead, they returned to the berth where they had just disembarked and discussed with the captain the unloading and loading of their important items onto the car.
Su Zhixing, who came from afar, was not an ordinary scholar who went abroad to try his luck because he couldn't make it in China. His father, Su Sixiao, was the current headmaster of Wansong Academy in Hangzhou, a position now known as Dean under Haihan's rule. Su Zhixing followed in his father's footsteps, also working in education in Hangzhou.
Before the Han Dynasty officially moved its capital to Hangzhou, Ning Qi inspected Wansong Academy. At that time, many people in the academy were unwilling to cooperate in changing the curriculum. As a result, Wansong Academy had to face competition from the southern counterparts that were pouring into Hangzhou, and it also had to adapt to the changes brought about by the new imperial examination system of the Han Dynasty. As a result, it suffered a serious loss of students, and its status as the number one academy in Hangzhou was quickly shaken.
After realizing this trend, Su Sixiao took many measures to preserve the status of Wansong Academy, such as changing the textbooks used by the academy, dismissing those old teachers who were conservative and unwilling to make changes, and increasing publicity efforts in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions.
As a member of the younger generation, Su Zhixing naturally had a higher acceptance of the new education and the new imperial examination system promoted by Haihan. Therefore, he hoped that Wansong Academy could be integrated into the cultural and educational circle of the new dynasty as soon as possible, rather than clinging to the things of the previous dynasty and refusing to let go.
However, Wansong Academy had already lost the trust of the Ministry of Education by this time. If it wanted to return to the top, it would need to do more than just some superficial work.
Wansong Academy must clearly state to the authorities that it has the ability and the willingness to make an indispensable contribution to Haihan's education and culture.
Su Zhixing believes that Hangzhou has a large number of academies at all levels, and the cultural and educational industry has long been saturated. If Wansong Academy wants to make a difference and gain the appreciation of Haihan's top management, it must broaden its horizons and not limit itself to the local area, but follow the pace of national development.
In recent years, Haihan's overseas expansion direction has become a focus of Su Zhixing's attention. During Chen Pingliao and Li Yuande's stay in Hangzhou, Su Zhixing had the opportunity to have a brief meeting with them. Coupled with the government's new policy of "Western Development", Su Zhixing believed that the area under the jurisdiction of the Special Operations Division was the opportunity for Wansong Academy to turn around.
If Wansong Academy could cooperate with the Special Forces Division to run schools overseas, wouldn't that be a perfect response to the government's call to support the development of the west? At the same time, it would also prove that Wansong Academy's academic direction is in line with the national will, thereby clearing up the "misunderstanding" that Haihan's top leadership had about Wansong Academy.
However, his idea did not receive the full support of Wansong Academy, and even his father, Su Sixiao, had doubts. Firstly, the Special Forces Division's jurisdiction was too far from the Haihan mainland, making a joint educational effort beyond Wansong Academy's capabilities. Secondly, this move might not even reach the ears of the higher authorities, and all the effort might be in vain. Thirdly, if they were to send people overseas to establish a school, who would be willing to take on such a difficult and uncertain task? And where would the enormous funding come from?