In the evening, as the sun set, Molly was cooking a pot of sticky brown food in the compact apartment. At the dining table, two figures, one tall and one short, sat.
In recent days, the relationship between Swann and Molly has heated up rapidly. Perhaps it is the support and getting along with each other for more than ten years that has long made each other a trustworthy friend, or it may be that the hormones at a certain moment have caused trouble and disturbed their minds.
"Are you still on duty tonight?" Molly stirred the pot and asked without looking back.
"Um."
Sitting at the dining table quietly waiting for the meal, Swann nodded: "You can make a lot of money working the night shift."
"Didn't the wages increase? There is also meal allowance, so there is no need to go to the mines in the middle of the night."
"It's the same day and night," Swann said, "You can't see the sun in the mine anyway."
"People are most likely to get sleepy at night, it's too dangerous..."
While talking, a chubby mouse crawled past Molly's feet. Molly glanced at it and was not afraid at all. She raised her foot and was about to crush the mouse to death, but was stopped by Swann.
"etc!"
"What's wrong?"
"Don't kill it."
Swann picked up a piece of black bread exchanged from the canteen and threw it to the mouse from a distance: "Let it go. Down in the mine, the mouse is our best friend."
Without saying anything, Molly carefully picked up the pot and placed it on the heat-proof mat in the middle of the dining table. She then took a bowl and spoon and filled Swann with a bowl first.
Just like before, Swann handed the bowl to the boy. The boy, who was already extremely hungry, couldn't wait to scoop up a spoonful and stuffed it into his mouth. He screamed when it was hot. He finally swallowed it and frowned, looking unusual.
difficult.
Even if the bread mixed with sand is boiled into a paste, it will still be unpalatable.
Molly has filtered it many times and filtered out all the big stones, but there is nothing she can do about the small ones.
For hungry people, sand does not prevent them from eating. It is unpalatable, and at least they will not die from it. If something goes wrong, go to the church.
While taking a sip of mush, Swann suddenly said: "In a few days, a few houses at the coal mine will be vacated as workers' dormitories. I should move there. This will make it more convenient to go to work and save money."
"is it far?"
"Right next to the mining area."
"oh...."
Molly lowered her head and said after a while: "I'll go with you and help you wash your clothes and so on."
"No need." Swann raised his hand and touched the boy's head and said, "Lei is old enough to go to school. As long as I move to the mining area, I can save enough rent to send Lei to school."
"But..."
"Nothing is wrong, Molly. Ray has to go to school. This is his best chance."
After saying that, Swan stood up and said in a sullen voice: "I'm going to the mines. I've already agreed with the landlord that I'll cancel the rent tomorrow. I'll put my clothes and other things here with you for the time being. I'll come back to pick them up one after another."
Living expenses and other things, I will send them back after my salary is paid."
Before Molly could say anything, Swann picked up his coat and walked out of the door.
As the sun sank into the sky, Molly's sigh sounded in the room.
Educators Association.
"President, in recent days, the workers' satisfaction rate has improved a lot, but the enrollment rate has not increased..."
In the office, the assistant reported to Arthur with documents. When he heard that the enrollment rate remained unchanged, Arthur frowned: "The salary has been increased, food is available, and even accommodation has been promised, why haven't they already?"
Are you willing to send your children to school?"
The assistant could not answer this question, and Arthur did not ask him, but said to himself.
"Go get Sean."
"yes."
The assistant left the room, and a moment later, Sean Rickman walked in.
"Your Highness, you are looking for me."
"You are responsible for contacting the Labor Representative Committee. Have the workers reported any other situations in the past few days?"
"The situation..." Sean thought for a while and said: "There is no big response. Everyone is very motivated, but when it comes to food, the quality seems to have declined. Most of the free food provided in the company canteen is difficult to swallow. Workers
You still have to pay for food from the canteen, but the price is much cheaper than outside, so it’s a good deal, so the workers just complain.”
Since wages have been raised through performance bonuses and the food problem has been solved, even if the quality of life has not improved, many workers can afford the increased rent. With a house to protect them from wind and rain, the difficulties will eventually be overcome.
Regarding the issue of accommodation, various industries and companies have also begun to build houses. They are very active in this matter. They are so active that they do not need to be reminded by Arthur. The day after the proposal was passed, they started to select a site and start construction.
Once the dormitories are built, the workers' accommodation pressure will be greatly reduced. With food and shelter, are there any big problems?
Arthur thought that as long as the problem of food and accommodation was solved, the workers would send their children to public schools. However, contrary to expectations, half a month after the proposal was passed, the enrollment rate has remained stable without fluctuations.
"The problem should be in the mind." Sean said: "For ordinary families, education is not necessary. Instead of studying in a public school, it is better to learn a craft to survive from your parents. This is
The best way to protect against risk.”
Craftsmanship to live by...
Arthur suddenly remembered something Mavey had once said. He opened the drawer and dug out a pile of old newspapers. He searched around and found an "Evening Times" from two months ago.
The newspaper published Ma Wei's speech on education, believing that education should be divided into two categories: vocational and academic. At that time, Arthur didn't think anything of it, but now it seems...
Ma Wei may have anticipated this moment.
If public schools teach children the skills they need to survive, will they be able to attract parents to send their children to school?
After hearing Arthur's thoughts, Sean asked: "Your Highness, it sounds like launching vocational training in public schools can increase enrollment rates, but this is not our original intention, let alone the original intention of public schools."
"Craftsmen, craftsmen, and professional technicians are indispensable to society. They are not humble. Just like West Islanders and Londoners, they have one nose and two eyes..."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "If it is just to cultivate more craftsmen, why should we go to all the trouble to renovate public schools? Just open vocational training schools on the original basis!"
Sean said quickly: "The original intention of us rectifying education and rectifying public schools is not to give children more choices. Only in the fields that interest you can you use your talents! I don't know if the education system is as chaotic as it is now.
How many geniuses have been buried!”
"Academic education is not more noble than vocational education, but we should give children the opportunity to choose!"
"You're right."
Arthur nodded slowly: "Education does not distinguish between high and low, but it does have different types. The original intention of public schools and early childhood education is to allow children to find a direction that suits them."
After thinking for a moment, Arthur decided to combine the two directions and reform the education system again, integrating public schools that focus on academic education with vocational training.
In layman's terms, it means increasing the number of courses, reducing the duration of a specific subject, and focusing on practical skills while providing academic education.
This was another bold attempt. Arthur was a bold man. Early the next morning, he issued the fourth administrative order to recruit vocational teachers and optimize the public school education curriculum.
Compared with the first three decrees, the fourth decree did not cause too big a stir. The public school curriculum had nothing to do with the nobility. Arthur could do whatever he wanted, and no one jumped out to say that he was rebelling against Tiangang and destroying tradition.
..
The pilot areas are still Ealing and Newham. As before, Ealing has a stagnant school enrollment rate. No matter what Arthur does, he can't make any waves. Rich people will not send their children to public schools. They all
There are specially hired tutors, so there is no need to go to a public school.
On the contrary, in Newham District, more and more children are choosing to go to school.
In just one week, the enrollment rate in Newham District increased by 10 percentage points. It may not seem like much, but it has made great progress, and it also means that the policies implemented by Arthur have taken effect.
Next, Arthur asked Sean to contact the labor union in the name of the Labor Party. First, he asked them to send masters to teach in public schools. Second, he made agreements with various companies. Anyone who passed the public school graduation exam would be given priority.
Get a job and get a job opportunity.
As soon as this news came out, it was like a bomb, causing an uproar in the Newham district. You know, workers are also divided into grades, just like the workers responsible for stamping in a factory. The parts made by old workers are of a higher standard than new workers, with smaller errors.
The salary is also more.
Experience is not passed on to others, and many workers cannot learn it even if they want to. Nowadays, many retired masters go to teach in public schools. If children can learn some of the essence...
You won’t have to worry about work anymore!
The enrollment rate in Newham District has undergone a qualitative change and skyrocketed. In less than two days, the enrollment rate reached 80%.
There are always some stubborn people who don't want their children to go to school.
The small goal of enrollment rate was achieved. Before Arthur could be happy, bad news came - housing prices in Newham District increased again. In just a few days, rents increased by another 30%.
When rents rise, many families who are already in financial difficulties have to send their children to work to supplement their meager household income.
what is this?
As the enrollment rate increases, rents will rise; as rents increase, enrollment rates will decrease...
The higher the enrollment rate, the lower the enrollment rate?
Infinite loop?!
Not knowing what to do, Arthur sent someone to pretend to be a guest and went to the grocery store to invite Mavey to meet. That night, Mavey took Yunia to the villa.
Arthur had already prepared warm milk. He knew that Ma Wei did not drink alcohol, so he prepared hot milk with sugar.
A cup of hot milk before going to bed can calm the nerves. Ma Wei was not polite. He held the slightly hot cup in his palm and asked: "Your Highness, I heard that you are in trouble."
"Father, you must know what I am looking for you to do."
Ma Wei nodded: "I do know about your side of things, but I don't know why you are troubled... Is it the enrollment rate, or the wages of workers?"
"Both." Arthur said: "According to the content of your speech, Father, I carried out the reform of the public school system, added vocational education courses, and invited many retired masters to teach in order to attract children to enroll.
But this kind of behavior not only increased the enrollment rate, but also increased the rent...The performance bonuses that the workers finally fought for were not enough, so they had to let their children drop out of school and work to make money to support their families."
"Father, please answer me, did I do something wrong?"
"you are right."
Ma Wei said without hesitation: "Whether it is increasing courses or seeking wages for workers, they are all correct, but you have ignored the economic issue."
"Economy? What does education reform have to do with the economy?"
"The relationship is huge." Ma Wei said: "Economy is the embodiment of resource allocation, and education is a kind of resource. How can there be no relationship between the two?"
"The increase in educational resources means that the proportion of resource allocation in Newham District has increased, and other investors will naturally come in one after another to seize resources, thus forming competition."
"In the process of competition, capital has a unique advantage, which is reflected in the phenomenon of rising rents. The increased rents make ordinary people without capital lose their competitiveness and have to leave the market sadly and give up their resources."
Arthur said solemnly: "In other words, the culprit of all this...is me?"
"No revolution is perfect. Whatever you gain, you have to sacrifice something else."
Taking a sip of the milk, Ma Wei said calmly: "Just like tonight, I drank this glass of milk and indulged in my lust. When I got home at night and had a good sleep, I would gain weight the next day. This is
cost."
"Since Your Highness has initiated the reform of the education system, it will definitely have an impact on the economy. These costs are affordable and can be solved."
"How to solve?"
Ma Wei thought for a while and said: "It is better to alleviate the contradiction than to solve it. If the education reform is limited to Newham and Ealing districts, it is equivalent to turning Newham and Ealing districts into arenas, attracting foreign capital."
The influx of people will destroy the original market balance. On this basis, if we want to solve the contradiction, we should expand the contradiction area."
Arthur narrowed his eyes: "Cancel the pilot and promote the new policy throughout London?"
"It should be the whole country." Ma Wei said: "Distribute all the pressure. As long as everyone is the same, there is no need to compete for London's resources."
"But London's resources are better than other cities, so competition is bound to arise."
"So it's just about easing the conflict, but it's difficult to completely resolve it."
Ma Wei drank milk and said: "The economic division of the Kingdom of Windsor is very uneven. It is mostly limited to the southeast, which is the London economic zone. In comparison, the economy of the West Island and the northern part of the kingdom is very average, even less than the London economy.
Half of the district.”
"Economic development is inherently unbalanced, so how can resources be balanced?"
Ma Wei sighed and said this, but he actually had a way to resolve the conflict in his heart.
Household registration system.
As long as the user registration system is used, resources can be limited to a specific area, allowing West Islanders to compete with West Islanders, and Londoners with Londoners. In this way, the so-called 'balance' can be barely achieved.
But then again, must the household registration system be good?
Once the household registration system is implemented, what is the significance of equal rights for renting and selling?