At noon, Yang Mengchen personally prepared over twenty dishes to entertain the guests, and they were full of praise. Sister Jin even declared it to surpass the deliciousness of the Imperial Kitchen.

After lunch, Yang Mengchen and his entourage accompanied by the village chief and Lizheng made their grand way to the two academies.

The expansive and flat playground, the towering buildings, the bright and clean classrooms, brand-new desks and benches, lush blooming greenery, as well as the cafeteria, medical room, security office, and restrooms, and particularly the innovative and unique teacher and student dormitories—everyone was amazed and pleased after the visit.

For the teacher and student dormitories, Yang Mengchen constructed them entirely based on the modern school model.

Each student dormitory was equipped with four bunk beds accommodating eight students, with eight wardrobes, eight sets of desks and chairs, eight sets of bedding, and eight sets of washing utensils. The rooms opened onto large balconies, fitted with washbasins and restrooms.

The teacher dormitories were divided into collective dormitories and two types of suite dormitories: Type I and Type II. The collective dormitories housed two teachers each, and like the Type I and Type II suites, included a small kitchen in addition to the large balcony and restrooms, facilitating the teachers in cooking for themselves, with all necessary utensils provided.

Inside the office of the Yangshan Academy teachers.

After consulting with Old Hai and others, Yang Mengchen appointed Madam Xu as the Principal of Yangshan Girls' Academy, with Qi Shanying from Youming Palace and Ning Qianwen the Death Contract Servant as vice principals, along with Yu Zhengmu and Hong Qihan from Youming Palace doubling as teachers and heads of the security departments for both academies, and arrangements were made for the rest as well.

Then, the academy's regulations were announced; it was also declared that all teachers would undergo an assessment every three months, and those who failed to meet the standards three consecutive times would have their contracts immediately terminated by the academy.

As for remuneration, a base salary of five taels of silver per month, with an additional five qian of silver per class session, incentivizing more teaching, more money.

"Do not think that, because I'm signing employment contracts with you and putting you through assessments, it's a matter of distrust or making things difficult for you,"

"To put it nicely, having an employment contract ensures the interests of both parties, and with assessments, you can discover your own shortcomings to improve and refine yourselves;

"To put it bluntly, since I pay you, I naturally have the right to set restrictions on you, and you, in turn, must earn your salary;

"In my eyes, educating and nurturing the youth is a great and sacred vocation. I hope all of you will sincerely teach the students, not necessarily turning them into pillars of society, but at the very least to instill them with good and simple virtues, to enable the students to understand principles and be aware of worldly matters;

"Does anyone have any objections?"

After reflecting for a moment, everyone felt that Yang Mengchen's words were reasonable. They all expressed their intention to sign the contract with him later and assuredly follow the regulations.

Yang Mengchen nodded inwardly and then set some rules concerning issues at the female academy.

First was the matter of safety.

Men were absolutely forbidden from entering the girls' academy; hence, forty guards were arranged to patrol outside in three shifts daily, while inside, female teachers and crude-mannered maids conducted stringent checks. Yangshan Academy had a similar rota of guards on patrol.

Next was the issue of confidentiality.

In ancient times a woman's reputation was valued over life itself. Yang Mengchen explicitly stipulated that all personal belongings of the females in the academy were to never leave the premises, and that everyone was responsible for their own belongings.

The academy was under no obligation to safeguard them; should anything be misplaced, the onus was on the individual, and the academy would bear no responsibility. If it proved too burdensome, one could choose to destroy their items in the canteen's fire.

Of course, if something went missing in the academy, it must be promptly reported to a female teacher, or they would bear the consequences after a lapse in time.

Last was the issue of discipline.

Quarreling, arguing, slandering, and fighting were all strictly prohibited within the academy. Once discovered, regardless of who was involved, they would be expelled—at Yangshan Academy, the same applied.

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