262 Rich and wealthy (seventh update on debt repayment)
Entering 1904, Ziwei Town was developing faster and faster.
After nearly three years of breeding, farms around Johannesburg are finally able to provide meat products to the outside world. At the beginning of this year, the Agricultural Association began to provide pork and beef to the Johannesburg Mining Union, and the Mining Union further reduced orders from the Cape Agricultural Association.
It should be noted that the Mining Alliance has almost stopped purchasing vegetables and grain from the Cape Agricultural Association before, and potatoes produced locally in Johannesburg have already filled this gap early.
Rock was also worried about the farms around Johannesburg. He was worried that the potato yield was too high, which would affect the farmers' enthusiasm for production.
Now this problem has been basically solved. After using potatoes to produce vodka, the consumption of potatoes has increased significantly. The output of wineries has been rising. Farmers are enthusiastic about growing potatoes. Potatoes have become an important income for many farms.
In addition to potatoes, the number of livestock on the farm has also increased significantly. I have to mention the diligence of the Chinese. Many farmers take care of their livestock as if they were their own children. In today's Johannesburg, if there is no ten-person farm on any farm,
With a few cows and hundreds of sheep, it’s hard to call it a farm.
Relatively speaking, Rock's own farm is making slow progress.
After all, growing medicinal materials is different from other cash crops. The growth cycle of medicinal materials is relatively slow. If you grow potatoes, you can harvest them in four or five months. It is normal to harvest medicinal materials once every two or three years. So now Rock's farm is always growing.
The investment has not yet reached the harvest period.
Roque is not in a hurry. He has a full understanding of medical research. If he can see results within ten or eight years, Roque will be satisfied. This investment is nothing now.
In addition to farms and factories, Rock's greatest concern was the school for miners' children.
The Miners' Children's School now has more than 4,000 students. Basically all local school-age children in Johannesburg study at the Miners' Children's School. This data is known to the city government and the Governor's Office, but no one will take the initiative to publicize this, otherwise it will appear that Delan
The Swarovski Educational Association is very incompetent.
The school for miners' children requires about 10,000 pounds per month. There is no fee for miners' children to attend school, and the tuition for farmers' children is halved. In addition to the municipal government subsidy, Rock's monthly expenses are about 4,000 pounds.
Many people think that this fee is unnecessary. Even if they value education, there is no need to spend so much money.
Roque also did not explain that the importance of education does not need to be emphasized. It is now 1904. Ten years later, the first batch of second-generation Chinese Americans should have been trained and ready to be used by then.
Taking a step back, 4,000 pounds a month is really nothing to Rock. With the backing of Rand Bank, the gold from Rock Gold Mine can be exchanged for pounds at any time. 4,000 pounds is only 30 kilograms.
It's just gold. The monthly gold output of Luoke Gold Mine is now stable at about ten tons. Even if the cost increases tenfold, Luoke can still afford it.
The key is that Rock is willing to spend money.
In terms of wealth, Stoudemire is richer than Rock, but Stoudemire does not have compulsory education in Rhodesia.
This does not mean that Xiaosi is reluctant to spend money. Xiaosi is just like most people in this era and does not realize the importance of education.
In other words, Xiaosi is aware of it, but Xiaosi will not take the initiative to implement compulsory education. This is also the consensus of all aristocrats. Children of aristocrats can study in schools for the children of aristocrats. Forget about children of common people. Sweatshops are their final destination.
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After Phyllis returned to Johannesburg, she did not obey Roark's arrangement and stayed at home to raise her baby.
The second week after returning to Johannesburg, Phyllis went to Ziwei Girls' School and returned disappointed.
In Phyllis' words, the current Ziwei Girls' School is more and more like Brighton Roding in the UK.
Brighton Roding is an aristocratic girls' school. It has always been known for its strict requirements. All the students it cultivates are ladies and their etiquette is impeccable.
But Phyllis doesn't like this model. Phyllis prefers the open model of the Miners' Children School, which is more conducive to the growth of students.
If we look at it from a general perspective, students in miners' schools are very polarized. Students with good academic performance are not inferior even if they are placed in aristocratic schools in the UK. They are organized into separate classes.
With the best teachers and the most superior learning conditions, students are trained as the most important focus.
Students with poor academic performance have not been abandoned by the school. Even in elementary school, the school has begun to consciously cultivate students' interests and hobbies. Some people like machinery, some people like the military, some people like medicine, etc., etc.
It doesn't matter, the School for Miners' Children will organize visits for students every once in a while. If after graduating from elementary school, the students are not interested in continuing their studies, then they can choose different careers based on their interests and hobbies.
By then, Ziwei Town should already have vocational education, just like Nyasaland now.
Phyllis very much agrees with Rock's plan. Not everyone is qualified to go to Oxford, Cambridge, Johannesburg and the situation in the UK is still different. There are more than 300 million people in the British Empire, and there are now dozens of local universities.
many.
The combined Chinese population in Johannesburg and Nyasaland is now 600,000, and a comprehensive university is enough.
In Rock's vision, this university would definitely be in Nyasaland.
"Three years. Within three years at most, our university will start enrolling students. Of course, it is mainly engineering now. In the future, liberal arts departments will be added as appropriate. Don't be superstitious about the local Oxford and Cambridge." Roque is confident that this will
That's what happened to Oxford and Cambridge at that time. As long as Rock was willing to spend money, he still had a chance to catch up.
Just three days ago, Philip reminded Roark that at the appropriate time, Roark could go to the UK to study and obtain a formal academic certificate, which would be more conducive to Roark going further in the future.
Rock is not superstitious about this, but it is undeniable that many people will go to university to study to make up for their shortcomings after success.
This is what Cecil Rhodes did. In the eight years from 1873 to 1881, in addition to engaging in economic speculation, Rhodes also spent nearly half of his time returning home to study economics and philosophy at Oxford University.
Philip hopes that Roque can also improve his cultural level. In that case, no matter what southern Africa becomes in the future, Roque can participate in it.
Roque's ideals are definitely greater than Philip's.
Most British people should really hope to study in Oxford. Roque has such an opportunity. As long as Roque applies now, Oxford University will be happy to accept a baron for admission.
However, Roque does not want to do this. Roque himself has already experienced university studies and does not need to go to Oxford for gold plating. Roque now wants to mass-produce highly educated talents so that the future of the South African Federation can be guaranteed.
"Dear, I'm so proud of you!" Phyllis held Roark's hand affectionately.
Rock laughed loudly, where did this go? The Union of South Africa has not yet been established. It is too early for Phyllis to be proud. "If possible, I still hope that you will devote more to Ziwei Public School.
It would be a pity if you don't care about your energy." Phyllis also had a request. After the school for miners' children started, Roark's attention to Ziwei Public School was indeed declining.
"How is it possible? Ziwei Public School is the business card of our Ziwei town. There are people in the entire Transvaal and even the Cape who are willing to send their children to Ziwei Public School to study. Do you know? Ziwei Public School has now begun to make a profit.
." Of course Rock wouldn't ignore it, but he just wasn't as concerned as before.
Compared with the school for miners' children, Ziwei Public School really attracted too much attention. It was no wonder that there was not even a school in the Transvaal at that time, so Ziwei Public School received far more attention than Rock expected.
Under those circumstances, Rock was almost forced to establish a school for miners' children so that the proportion of Chinese students would not attract so much attention.
The current Ziwei Public School, the boys' and girls' schools combined, has only about a hundred Chinese students, all of whom are permanent residents of Ziwei Town. The other students are all white, and there are even more British than Boers.
The annual tuition fees for these white students are more than one hundred pounds each. Even so, many are willing to send their children to Ziwei Public School, but they are turned away because the conditions are not up to standard.
Just after the start of this year, Ziwei Public School has received more than 50,000 pounds in tuition fees. This is enough to meet Ziwei Public School's annual operating expenses. Don't forget that Ziwei Public School can also receive at least 50,000 pounds in the second half of the year.
, this level of profitability is rare among Johannesburg enterprises except for gold mines.
Education is indeed very profitable, especially the sought-after private schools, which have a really strong ability to attract money.
Speaking of which, Ziwei Public School is actually the first profitable business under Rock's name besides the Rock Gold Mine. This is something Rock didn't even expect.
"Yeah, it's funny to say that. In the past, everyone focused on the gold mine. No one had ever thought of setting up a school. Even if it was established now, it would be difficult to catch up with Ziwei Public School. This is a worthy project.
You must pay attention to the ongoing industry." Phyllis is indeed good at managing household finances, and now she has discovered the importance of the education industry.
"Then you can take care of Ziwei Public School and earn some pocket money for yourself." Roque didn't care about the money. Although it was a lot of money, Roque would not be dazzled by the flowers in front of him.
"Did you know that the city government's annual tax revenue has not exceeded one hundred thousand pounds!" Phyllis's expression almost collapsed. People with deep pockets are different.
