The fact that the academy wouldn't make money and would need to be subsidized by the wine shop was something they had considered long ago.
However, they never expected that Zhaoyu Academy would enroll fifty - two students on its very first day!
This was just the number for one day. As its reputation grew, surely more people would sign up.
Li Wanming originally thought that they might only enroll a dozen or twenty students in the early stage, and then admit more as the academy's reputation gradually improved.
So all her early preparations were made for twenty students.
Who would have known that on the first day, the number had already exceeded this amount...
"Fortunately, the rented house is quite large. Even if a hundred people enroll in the future, it can accommodate them," Li Wanming sighed. "It's just that the layout of the newly - built compartments will have to be changed again."
But these were secondary issues. The most pressing problem now was that the cash flow had dried up...
Judging from the situation today, it was estimated that those who would sign up in the coming days would not have much money to pay the tuition fees in advance. Meanwhile, Li Wanming still had to take care of their meals, accommodation, and the procurement of raw materials for practical courses...
Li Wanming lowered her head and pondered. "Your family has no money. My mother has already given me a silver note worth five hundred taels. She and my father probably don't have much savings left."
After thinking for a long time, she said, "Pei Yanqi just received a dividend of four hundred taels two months ago... But with his stingy nature, he probably won't lend me any money."
"If that's what you think, my lady, your thinking is too narrow," Xiao Jingnan raised his eyebrows, a meaningful smile curving his lips.
"We just said during the day that Miss Liu is an important partner of Zhaoyu Academy. Why not take this opportunity to really invite her to join us?"
"Yiyi?" Li Wanming was first overjoyed, then hesitated. "She may have money, but it would be okay to invite her to invest in the wine shop. But the academy doesn't make money..."
She didn't want to drag her good friend into this pit that would show no returns in the short term.
"That's why I said your thinking is too narrow, my lady," Xiao Jingnan said.
"If we only consider Zhaoyu Academy in terms of profit and loss, its future is indeed uncertain."
"However, this is an academy that the daughter of a grand tutor and the daughter of a grand councilor are vying to attend. It's an academy with a champion as its teacher. How can we judge it by common sense?"
"If Miss Liu becomes one of the owners of Zhaoyu, the young ladies in the capital will surely speculate about her relationship with the Lu and Fang families. In the future, the Liu Family Silk Store will surely thrive and make a fortune. From now on, the Liu family will truly have a place among the Thirteen Guilds in the capital."
Li Wanming thought carefully and realized he was right!
Although Zhaoyu Academy was a pit now, it was not an ordinary one. It was a super - huge pit with Lu Songyuan and Fang Zhi, two great gods, sitting in it.
Moreover, there was also Xiao Yingchu, the number one talented lady in the capital...
Liu Yiyi would teach courses related to silk trading in the academy in the future, and these three could be regarded as her disciples.
Then, wouldn't it be a piece of cake for her to lead the fashion trend in the capital in the future?
The Liu Family Silk Store was going to be a huge hit!
"I'll go to Yiyi to borrow money tomorrow!" Li Wanming said happily.
Sure enough, the next day, when she explained her intention to Liu Yiyi, Liu Yiyi was also very happy. She immediately took out a silver note worth ten thousand taels and said that she was willing to invest and support Zhaoyu Academy.
"Th - that's too much..."
Li Wanming was a bit shocked. She knew her friend was rich, but she didn't know she was this rich.
"F - first, we don't need that much. A thousand taels will do..."
Liu Yiyi stuffed the silver note into her hand and said, "Take it."
"Your husband is right. Once this name spreads, there will be no shortage of customers for my Liu's Silk Store in the future, and I'll make a fortune every day."
"So, since I'm going to invest, I naturally want to be a major shareholder."
"A few hundred taels is just a drop in the bucket. It's meaningless, and it doesn't sound good. People who don't know might think our Liu family has no strength."
"Wanming," she took Li Wanming's hand and said earnestly, "I know you originally only planned to run an academy for commoner girls. But now that you've enrolled Lu Songyuan and Fang Zhi, you can't be too stingy with the daily expenses."
"I understand what you mean," Li Wanming nodded. "People respect others based on their appearance first. If my academy wants to gain a reputation, it can't be labeled as shabby."
"That's the point!" Liu Yiyi cheered up. "So, you'll need a lot of money in the future. Hurry up and take it properly!"
Li Wanming stopped refusing and put away the silver note.
"Okay, from now on, you're the number one major shareholder of our Zhaoyu Academy!"
With the money and the partner settled, and the courses and learning tools properly arranged, Li Wanming was both nervous and excited as she began to prepare for the first class of Zhaoyu Academy.
Her guess was right. In the next two days, the enrollment situation at Zhaoyu Academy remained booming.
As a result, when the academy officially started classes, there were already more than a hundred students, even exceeding the well - established and world - famous Zangshan Academy.
The first class of the academy was a cultural class taught by Qinglan.
This was... okay.
Since Lu Songyuan and Fang Zhi didn't need to start from learning to read and write, they didn't attend the morning cultural class.
So although there were a large number of students in class, there weren't any major conflicts.
At most, it was a bit chaotic, lively, and noisy; Qinglan was a bit tired, and her voice was a bit hoarse...
Moreover, since the students were not children and their cultural levels varied, the courses they needed to learn were also different. Qinglan had to divide them into several groups and walk back and forth to give lectures to different groups in turn...
After a whole morning, Qinglan was almost exhausted.
"Cousin - in - law, this won't work..."
Qinglan said with a long face, "If this goes on, I'll lose my life."
Li Wanming also noticed the problems.
First of all, there were too many people, and it was too noisy. It didn't seem like an academy at all; instead, it was more like a vegetable market.
Secondly, everyone's levels were different. Some people had read a few books and could recognize a few characters, which was enough for their daily needs, while others were illiterate.
Finally - putting too many women together was definitely not a good idea!
It was as if thousands of ducks were quacking at the same time. The noise was almost deafening!
After a brief discussion with Xiao Jingnan, they decided to urgently adjust the fee - charging mechanism and update the curriculum system.
The cultural class was divided into a beginner's class and an advanced class.
The beginner's class would study enlightenment readings such as "Three - Character Classic" and "Thousand - Character Classic", while the advanced class would study classics like "Mencius" and "Analects" that taught about human relations and the understanding of the world.
As for the tuition fees, they were changed to one wen per class. Students would pay according to the number of classes they attended, which was a more flexible way of charging.
In this way, students could choose courses according to their own situations, and it would be more convenient for them.
The teachers could also unify the course progress and have an easier time.
After planning all these, Li Wanming finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But she didn't expect that the real challenge would come in the afternoon.
Because Lu Songyuan and Fang Zhi finally appeared in the same class at the same time.
This was undoubtedly a disaster.