Chapter 187: School

“Yes, my Lord, I will arrange for some people to produce this kind of paper,” Joel said without asking much and directly followed Su Lun’s request.

Yellow paper was hard to preserve when used for writing and didn’t last long. Plus, writing with too much force could easily poke a hole in it. But this didn’t mean the yellow paper was useless—its function was actually quite important.

For example, it was perfect for wiping after using the toilet.

That was the first thing Su Lun thought of when he saw this paper. He had been in this world for ten years and at first really struggled to adjust to the living conditions.

What bothered him most was going to the bathroom. In Caren City, commoners used a rope after finishing—yes, a rope. There was a thick hemp rope hanging from the ceiling in the outhouse, right next to the squatting spot. You just pulled a switch and the rope would drop down for you.

Imagine how it felt using something like a tug-of-war rope to clean your delicate parts! Worse, that rope was reused over and over…

Su Lun almost got sick from disgust. The hygiene in the bathroom was also terrible. Luckily, his home at the time had a fragrant nanmu tree with big, thick leaves that had a faint pleasant smell. That helped him solve his problem of personal hygiene.

As for the nobles in Caren City, they also used that same rough rope. But as a Noble, you got your own private outhouse. Some wealthy Nobles used linen or even more sophisticated setups with cotton cloth and sponge wrapped around a stick. After using it, they cleaned it with lime water—it was convenient, clean, and reused many times.

Later, after Su Lun had deep talks with many noble ladies, the nanmu leaves spread among the Noble circles. Soon, nanmu leaves became a product and formed an entire industry chain in Caren City.

Many poor kids gathered wild flowers and nanmu leaves each day, added simple incense, and sold them to others. The leaves became popular right away once released and earned lots of praise.

Su Lun set very strict hygiene rules for Zhenbei City. This wasn’t just from his past life habits but also because his time in Caren City left him traumatized.

Caren City’s sanitation used to be awful—people relieved themselves everywhere without a thought. Many spots in the city were filthy messes. An even worse habit was pouring waste from windows onto the streets since there were no places to handle it properly. That meant “waste could suddenly land on you at any moment!”

This happened in many cities. That’s why cloaks were trendy in this world—they covered your entire body from head to toe, protecting from wind and rain and unexpected filthy things falling from above.

What amazed Su Lun more was that people knew about the problem but had strange solutions. Instead of banning the waste-throwing and fixing it with waste carts, they just used cloaks… for centuries. Nobody tried changing it!

As for piles of dirt and dirty water in the streets, their answer was high-heeled shoes. Yes, high heels were invented long ago here and weren’t just for women—they kept feet from sinking in muck.

These folks adjusted to problems instead of fixing them at the root.

It was said that the first spell Wizards learned was a cleaning spell.

Though yellow paper wasn’t good for writing, it was ideal for toilet paper. After the first batch made, it went straight to the Lord’s Castle.

Even though the paper workshop hadn’t produced the right paper yet, finding a clue would lead to proper paper before long. On top of that, Su Lun built a school recently to train some folks from his Territory.

He didn’t expect them to learn much—just basics like reading, writing, and simple math, similar to around third-grade level before his past life.

Primary School: Basic schools for teaching kids, offering limited knowledge. Adds learning speed +3, culture +5, civilization +2, knowledge +5. Note: Requires Scholar to function; currently inactive.

Su Lun’s plan wasn’t just one primary school. Primary teachings were limited, so if possible, he’d start a university too—not for arts but one combining mechanics, military, crafts, and more.

The Florence Kingdom had two universities: Royal Art Academy taught history, literature, music, art, horsemanship, dance, fighting, and military skills for Nobles. The other was Port Military Academy for training officers.

Su Lun started the university not only to grow talent for the Territory but also to gather craftsfolk from all fields. He aimed to blend their knowledge and set a solid base for future research and growth.

Besides the university, Su Lun also planned middle school—that came before university, while primary was before middle school. Getting a university would take him a while still.

With a university, his Territory would steadily produce all kinds of experts. But getting into school wasn’t easy. Aside from talent, you had to be loyal. All students only came from Citizen rank or higher. That was just step one—then loyalty check turned down disloyal folk.

Only after those tests did skills matter, but they looked at your contribution to the Territory too. Only if all conditions fit could you start learning. The school even had special lessons on loyalty. He didn’t want trained folks turning against him later.

For the Citizen class, Su Lun prepared basic education in two areas. One teaching grown Citizens simple reading and writing—just enough to get by. Two, he offered beginner lessons for kids in the Territory, laying a foundation for their future.

Su Lun intended the basic part to be free four-year schooling.

It ran from age eight to twelve before middle school. Middle school lasted three years with paid lessons. After graduating, you could work jobs. University picked students through testing.

School taught basics like reading and writing, not heavy courses like in his past. This was a superpower world with different rules—if he used old ideas, Newton’s coffin lid would probably fly off!

Take gravity: in the Multiverse, not all worlds were planets. Some Material Planes were flat and coated with a skin, covered by rule energy. On the surface, it looked normal, but the physics were all changed.

In Zhenbei City’s school, kids not only learned but also did fitness and combat training. Graduates had to pass fighting tests at least reaching Apprentice Knight level.

After graduating, students chose their path based on their skills. Or they could try university tests, but even if admitted, learning there cost money.

Su Lun made them know early that knowledge meant money.

He didn’t plan to leap ahead—growing a good expert took seven or eight years. That solution seemed far off for now.

His current goal was to pick loyal, talented folks from the Territory. After simple coaching, they would write and read well.

For later, it built the Territory’s backbone.

Second main focus: technology.

It aimed at useful skills like math, mechanics, stargazing, building, carving, and others to boost productivity in all fields.

In this world with superpowers, you had to stay alive first before anything else.

Su Lun didn’t plan to teach arts publicly like poetry or plays.

In this dangerous world, those had no place—at least until his Territory felt truly safe.

But he did set people to study music. Brave tunes gave Soldiers courage; happy tunes faded worries. With leisure scarce here, this lifted the Territory’s spirits. Music and plays also cultivated loyalty in Residents.

Final main point:

Military affairs—training for junior officers and leaders.

Leaders were pillars for the Territory’s growth. They needed battle skills and how to manage the Territory and its tasks.

For now, Su Lun focused on training these leaders. He wouldn’t make them all-around experts, but at least specialists in one area. An okay leader had skills in some field. Plus, since the Territory would grow, he couldn’t manage it all alone—that would be impossible.

He aimed to be the Lord or King, but the Territory served him, not the other way around.

Su Lun’s idea: grow an elite group to help him rule and expand their land.