Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 277 Clash of Eras
The shipyard operates on a three-shift system, and the craftsmen always have a time to go home. Every time the bell rings, craftsmen wearing various colored work hats enter from the entrance area, while the same group of people leave from the exit area.

Xuan Chong, who had also worked five hours, rubbed his temples. He walked to the factory's rest area, using his own strength to block out the surrounding sound waves, and watched the factory workers come and go from the quiet eight-story platform.

Having been in this time and space for four or five years, Xuan Chong is still very unfamiliar with the society here.

There are no large-scale chorus performances or "value-integrating team-building activities" in the factory; yet, the craftsmen still diligently complete everything they are responsible for at their workstations. While they are intensely crafting large, heavy objects at work, what are they like outside of work?

The ruler extends, and Xuan Chong, following its extension, observes everything about the craftsmen.

The night market outside the factory is very popular, with bright lights shining from the food stalls.

All the seats at these food stalls were already full, so many artisans lined up with their lunchboxes to buy food. They packed up the hot pork trotters or chicken legs from the soup, then rode their bicycles back to their residential area.

Following the flow of bicycles, Xuan Chong saw the residential area where children were playing games. However, the lookout, seeing the rush hour from a high vantage point, shouted, and everyone immediately went home to their mothers.

Downstairs in the residential building, next to the public tap water tank, women who had finished washing vegetables were carrying their baskets home.

When her husband returned, she helped him take off his clothes, then took the lunchbox containing meat, opened it, glanced at it, and smiled.

Xuan Chong, an observer, remarked, "That smile—well, it's just like the smiles I've seen in those advertisements in my past life, when a young girl receives roses, a socialite receives a diamond ring, or a wealthy woman gets into a luxury car. Heh."

Xuan Chong's "hehe" tone seemed to question the love between the poor couple, but his expression was gentle.

The craftsmen are exhausted in the factory, but at least when they go home, it's like a ship returning to harbor, where they no longer need to fix the sails and can sway freely.

The childhood seen through the children's eyes was a warm childhood built by their father chewing on peanuts and their mother patiently assigning seats and bowls in the family.

Even the warmth of a schoolyard can be shattered. Too many red circles on a test paper will trigger a child's cries; the old lady next door will listen intently to determine the extent to which the "stick has landed on the flesh."

A very "original" family.

After surveying the entire workshop area, Xuan Chong concluded that harmony in the family brought prosperity. "A weary man," "a virtuous wife," and three or four children surrounding their knees. This seemingly ordinary happiness contrasted sharply with other misfortunes in the world.

Just a few streets away is Widows' Street, where people do the hardest jobs, sweeping the streets and delivering garbage; while a few kilometers away in the same city, in the "Public Nursing Home," those orphans are treated like "grass," being scolded by strict nannies.

Xuan Chong: "Nothing in this world can be changed." He took one last look at the bustling, lively families.

Xuan Chong: "We cannot destroy the peaceful and prosperous life in order to create the paint for writing a new era."

Xuan Chong glanced one last time at a family, a couple both under 30, who, after putting their child to sleep and turning off the lights, started rocking the bed. This family's day came to a perfect end.

Xuan Chong: "That would be perfect."

…The Han dynasty had its own way of benevolent rule…

After visiting the factory, Xuan Chong gradually understood the reasons behind the "inefficient parts" (welfare system) in the production regulations. These inefficient parts were related to "social order" and "ethics".

There is no eight-hour workday, no equal pay for equal work for men and women, and no overtime pay.

This means that when a young man enters a factory, he will be subjected to the most primitive form of exploitation.

From the perspective of those in power, the implementation of the eight-hour workday, equal pay for equal work, and triple pay for overtime is not due to their "goodness," but rather to increase stability, which ultimately led to the acceptance of so many "inefficient" benefits.

However, the current Han dynasty has a different logic: to provide welfare and alleviate the conflict between private businesses and workers.

Under the existing Han legal system, the relationship between large merchants and artisans was governed by the fundamental principles of "ruler and subject" and "father and son." The ruler was benevolent, the subject loyal; the father kind, the son filial. When the barbarians introduced Confucianism and Legalism, they demanded unilateral "loyalty of the subject" and "filial piety of the son."

In other words, in Xuan Chong's previous life, he required the workers to love the factory as they loved their homes; however, due to the lack of a system in his previous life, only the workers loved the factory as they loved their homes, and there were no constraints on the bosses.

Thus, Xuan Chong discovered something very interesting: current Han law does not protect the working hours of laborers, but bosses ultimately choose to give sufficient benefits to long-term employees who have worked for five or ten years!
Why don't bosses just become the ultimate capitalists, exploiting everyone to the extreme? Because if the distinction between ruler and subject isn't clear, the law won't protect the bosses' secret formulas. Even spreading rumors that a boss's products are adulterated won't be considered defamation.

Of course, it's also unacceptable for those in lower positions to wantonly slander others. In modern Chinese society, there's a designation of a lowly person called a "rogue." Once labeled a "rogue," their social credibility is extremely low. Ordinary people wouldn't choose to be a rogue. This is because some unsolved local security cases, piling up to a certain extent, might be used to convict rogues based on suspicion from the local populace.

In other words, if the boss failed to fulfill his duties of being a benevolent ruler and a kind father, the programmer's act of deleting the database and running away in the previous life would not be investigated.

For example, if a programmer doesn't have the opportunity to start a family within five years of joining the company, or if the employer doesn't offer any assistance with childbirth, family funerals, or other matters, the relationship between employer and employee remains undefined. Deleting databases and running away, even taking trade secrets to other companies, goes unpunished; it's considered free movement.

Xuan Chong: Modern Chinese labor and employment do not follow the Western-style "contractual relationship".

While Western "contractual relationships" appear to be equal, in reality, the powerful in society hold the power of interpretation, making these relationships extremely complex and prone to hidden clauses that are highly disadvantageous to workers. Hence, the West is known for its "devil's contracts."

The party that initiates the contract will ultimately harm a large number of "individuals" by setting numerous unethical traps.

However, the relationship between ruler and subject is different. If there are hidden clauses that cause a large number of "subjects" to leave, then people will not study what the clauses are; instead, based on the established reality, they will judge that the factory owner's way of being a ruler is definitely problematic.

Take Yuan Shao, for example. He treated every strategist who came to him with utmost courtesy; yet, everyone who turned against him seemed to owe him a debt. If we analyze him according to the laws of his past life, he was undoubtedly a law-abiding and good boss, and the employees were the ones who were wrong.

However, according to the purest form of civil law in modern China, Yuan Shao was outwardly fierce but inwardly cowardly, fond of scheming but indecisive, he was afraid to risk his life for great things, but reckless for small gains.

…an invisible iron curtain of civilization…

In my past life, when Eastern companies ventured into the European and American markets, they encountered numerous obstacles due to their lack of legal knowledge. Ultimately, however, they managed to establish a firm foothold in these markets by hiring professional lawyers and legal advisors.

In this time and space, foreign merchants have absolutely no way to gain a foothold in the modern Han Dynasty!

Firstly, the requirement of "official rank and title" already blocked the transfer of many crucial national industries. Furthermore, following the example set by those at the top, even among the lowest classes, various medicinal herbs, tea recipes, and culinary skills could not be transferred by the barbarians.

In the past, technologies like the compass, gunpowder, and papermaking were too simple. They were bought at great expense by Arab merchants and spread to the West. Furthermore, during times of war, the lives of core workers in Han China were precarious, which could lead to the leakage of technology. For example, tea-making and tea-cultivation techniques, being too rudimentary, were also stolen by the British.

However, there are some things that even neighboring civilizations like Japan, let alone Europe and America, could not completely steal from certain cultures. For example, they only learned half of the complex craft of lacquerware, and on the basis of this incomplete craft, they continuously developed the spirit of craftsmanship.

In the present Han Dynasty, Xuan Chong sensed a strong malice towards the barbarians from the entire legal system!
The Han people still possess a wealth of ingenious and exquisite craftsmanship techniques that far surpass the luxury goods of the West in the Xuan Chong era.

To some extent, when Easterners arrogantly say, "Chinese craftsmanship is exquisite, what can compare to the Western barbarians?", this statement is not mere arrogance.

The relationship between ruler and subject ensured that the craft system could be stably and continuously passed down and developed through generations.

As for the barbarian wanting to learn? Sorry, but according to our ancestors, accepting disciples requires gratitude and loyalty, and you barbarian are not worthy.

For the current core civilization sphere of Han, Xuan Chong is also one of the barbarians.

Dongtu is a bumpkin on every level! But that doesn't stop Xuan Chong from admiring Sinicization, and in terms of imperial genealogy, his admiration for Sinicization is only natural. ...Of all pursuits, only studying is noble...

After returning to his rest room, Xuan Chong once again opened the book, finding it beneficial to read.

By this time, Xuan Chong already knew how to "make cheat sheets." That is, for all major issues involving modern industrial and commercial governance, he followed the basic principle of "ruler, minister, assistant, and envoy" in the relevant industry.

If the exam question sets a super-large project, such as converting rice paddies to mulberry trees—oops, I mean the "integrated water transport of the three provinces" project currently promulgated by the imperial court.

When answering questions, Xuan Chong not only had to consider the "ruler-minister-assistant-envoy" relationship between the imperial court and local authorities, but also the "ruler-minister-assistant-envoy" principle within local businesses such as cement, ironworks, and cart companies.

For Xuan Chong, memorizing all these hundreds of industries would definitely be too much of a task for him in a short period of time.

Xuan Chong is now planning to hire people to investigate the situation in various industries, then summarize the findings himself, creating a cheat sheet of 200,000 words! He'll then secretly input it into the futuristic AI electronic device provided by Lin Group. His ruler, with its ultra-long-range observation capabilities, can be placed outside the exam room. This way, he can avoid 90% of the mistakes when answering the more difficult questions.

As for whether such cheating will get them caught! The torque can destroy evidence at any time, and...
Xuan Chong: I am a member of the Lin Group. I will remember anyone who undermines me for the rest of my life.

…Six days later, the PE students are here…

The Crystal Palace submarine is returning to its base on the coastline of the Ryukyu Islands. This base is located in a coastal cliff area, with an arched opening carved out of the cliff face for the submarine to enter and exit.

Inside the mountain base, the submarine was anchored securely in a pool of water, and forty workers dressed in near-future-level maintenance suits were conducting an external inspection of the massive hull.

As for how to maintain such advanced equipment?

As a token from the Imperial Ancestral Temple was delivered to Xu Xi, he activated his Dragon Power, a unique force capable of boosting the data of approximately three hundred people, which was absorbed by the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Then, based on Xu Xi's needs, the Imperial Ancestral Temple responded with a fist-sized "droplet."

The droplet reflected the Crystal Palace deep-sea submarine. As Xu Xi dropped the droplet onto the submarine, a spacetime ripple spread at a speed of three meters, quickly expanding to cover the entire Crystal Palace submarine.

This single "droplet" encapsulates everything about the Crystal Palace deep-sea submarine when it first rolled off the production line.

The main task of the forty workers that Xu Xi dispatched was to copy all the data and logs inside the ship.

Because once the "droplet" is added, everything inside will be reset to factory settings.

This thing is a super technology for repairing space battleships in a fantasy world, ten thousand years from now.

It is now a hybrid superpower system of the Tiger Division's Heavenly Rank ability user and the Lin Lord.

After returning from the sea, Xu Xi took a relaxing bath and then opened the communication system to ask Qin Tianyi if she had any fun lately.

Upon hearing the latest news, Xu Xi exclaimed in surprise, "What? He really went to take the imperial examination?"

Qin Tianyi: "Yes, it really took more than a year of sitting and studying. According to the test, I can pass the county-level exam and become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination)."

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Xu Xi exclaimed in admiration: "Amazing, amazing! They can even handle this kind of exam-oriented education. No wonder they're from before the 22nd century."

Narrator: The reason we don't have exam-oriented education in the 24th century is because many teenagers are born and raised in deep-sea bases! In this environment, grades are secondary; mental health is paramount.

It's important to understand that a closed environment is already stressful enough. If you then confine teenagers, who are at the peak of their energy, to a classroom just to study, things are bound to go wrong.

Therefore, Xu Xi's generation did not receive exam-oriented education, but rather team-based competitive learning with groups of 25 people.

As for rote memorization by oneself, it was already considered a form of "torture" during Xu Xi's era.

However, people at the time also had to admit that the lack of rigorous, exam-oriented education for young people led to a significant slowdown in technological progress in the 24th century compared to several centuries earlier.

Therefore, by the end of the 25th century, river civilizations and Mediterranean civilizations signed a "final nuclear treaty" to ensure the safety of the Earth's surface.

After examining the merits and demerits of education in the 22nd and 24th centuries, the two civilizations reinstated exam-oriented education.

Of course, the Yellow River civilization did not use the term "exam-oriented education" because all the teenagers who participated in this type of exam-oriented education were called "Young Pioneers".

Taking advantage of the strong physiological and psychological stability gained after growing and developing on the Earth's surface to the age of ten, they persevere through exam-oriented education.

However, among these 25th-century test-takers, the probability of desertion is 30%.

Forcibly locking up these runaway teenagers? It won't work. These teenagers will self-harm, howl, feign mental illness, and bully and humiliate each other during interactions.

In other words, in the 25th century, many people questioned how this educational model, which went against the "natural instincts of human youth," was so widely implemented across the nation centuries ago.

By 25th-century standards, the period before the 22nd century was one of universal elite military buildup, but the drawbacks were so great that civilization could not withstand it, and it was eventually forcibly stopped, and that stop lasted for two centuries.

Even centuries later, when the descendants of the river civilizations had more advanced education systems, they often reminisced about the "elite education for all" that was driven by a desperate pursuit of technological advancement.

Because that era gave birth to what later generations considered the pinnacle of a "pure carbon-based human engineering team"!

Their strong rise after the millennium, that is, in the middle of the Revival Dynasty, proved the extent to which a civilization could catch up and surpass others in terms of technology when it was technologically blocked by the first-mover power, in an era without intelligent communication aids and chip memory!

The "Übermensch" hypothesis conceived by Nietzsche has had its limits almost entirely tested by the "Revival Dynasty" generation after generation. First, the human body was made to rival the gods; then, the human will emerged to question the heavens and explore the Dao. Finally, the legendary continuation of the era led to a complete revival of civilization.
…After a period of rapid progress…

After thinking for a moment, Xu Xi offered a suggestion: Have you figured out what his "extracurricular interests" are?
Xu Xi's extracurricular activity is "sports field", which will include coaches from multiple dimensions. These coaches are all characters he brought from other dimensions.

These "coaches" can transform into "old men" and appear directly on a person they select in the plane. Then, the old man will take that person into the sports field for training.

However, deploying "coaches" requires credits, and Xu Xi currently only has enough credits to deploy two elderly men, which need to be used on key individuals.

Because the old man not only teaches someone how to utilize their individual attribute points for combat, but also guides them in making strategic choices. The "sports field" spot Xu Xi is currently offering is for an uprising group in Southeast Asia. As for the other spot, he's saving it for now.

Qin Tianyi's "extracurricular interest" is musical scores. The "musical scores" are played for a team. Each member of this team may have various personality flaws in ordinary times, but once the "musical scores" are played, they will collectively take the same values ​​as the highest priority.

Qin Tianyi currently only has one "spontaneous performance slot," and Xu Xi has asked her to perform for Xuan Chong's team. However, Qin Tianyi is clearly reluctant to give it up.

As for Xuan Chong's extracurricular interests?
Qin Tianyi shook her head, indicating she didn't know. Xu Xi asked, "So, what exactly did you find out?"

Xu Xi knew that Xie Ming's "extracurricular interest" was like a 21st-century mobile phone. It had a series of powerful apps. In fact, the earlier the students entered the school, the stronger the support they received for their "extracurricular interests."

(End of this chapter)