Chương 97: Chapter 2.34: With Education

Serran shook his head.

"It is in fact rather rare. Most skilled laborers who too often switch between familiae are regarded with suspicion." Favius nodded at that.

"I assume you two are going to take care of all the details regarding secrecy and so on?" He looked at Marcus, then at Serran. His father smirked.

"By the letter of our contracts, that does indeed seem to be my responsibility." He looked over at Brutus.

"And that of my dear Brother." Brutus chuckled.

"Oh, certainly. Just make sure to make it clear that they will be questioned under the aura of a Magnicultor before being allowed into our service." Marcus nodded.

"I expected nothing less." A shiver ran down Favius's spine. Well, facing an angry man with a large axe who presses down on you with electrical violence and the scent of blood is certainly an interesting stage of a job interview. It's novel, if nothing else. Favius made a dismissive gesture and looked at both of his sisters.

"Serran, I'm going to leave the support staff entirely to you. You know much more about the needs of cooks, cleaners, laborers, and scribes." The Majordomo nodded, and Favius picked up steam.

"As for our workshops..." He tilted his head.

"I believe we need a good balance. Young people with ambition and intelligence as well as experienced skilled professionals." Serran made a note on his wax tablet.

"Intelligent young men." He looked at both sisters.

"And women of ambition. That is certainly broad enough to be workable." Favius nodded.

"I don't mind if they have some sort of apprenticeship already. In fact, some level of specialized knowledge would be great. But the most important thing is that they are willing and able to learn." He gestured at a small stack of his workshop papers that Serran had taken to carrying around.

"What we are doing is novel, and there are no true experts specializing in it." Caliga clicked her tongue.

"Still, each of our workshops will need different kinds of specialists." She moved her head from side to side.

"I need glue makers and beekeepers, but mostly woodworkers." Urania nodded eagerly.

"Yes, and apart from the obvious, I want at least one stoneworker so we can repair the basins." The conversation devolved into details, and after nearly an hour, lists of workers had been drawn up. Towards the end, Marcus cleared his throat.

"Son, you haven't yet mentioned your special workshop. What kind of people do you want there? You mentioned collegia craftsmen, but..." Favius made a dismissive gesture.

"I should focus on paper-making and printing at the moment. The other workshop..." He looked at Serran and gestured at the outline.

"You have the basics, but it is a lower priority than the other projects for now." He smiled at his father.

"The earlier we start making money, the better the professionals we can hire for my other projects, right?" The Senator laughed alongside everyone else at Favius's wolfish smile.

"Oh." Favius snapped his fingers and pointed at Serran.

"One detail we forgot about. The laborers. All of them must be literate and good with numbers." Marcus winced audibly.

"Son, that would be rather expensive. Normally it is only the foremen who—" But Serran discreetly cleared his throat beside the Senator. Favius raised an eyebrow as Marcus gestured for the man to speak.

"Dominus, I believe what your son says is wise. While ordinarily literacy is not vital in a workshop, we are intending to scale up from those initial people. They are meant to become the seed of a much larger organization, which in time might have hundreds of workers and crafters." The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Serran and Favius nodded almost in unison, and the Senator smacked his lips.

"Indeed. So anyone we hire this early on will become a foreman. Very well, that justifies the expense." Favius's expression soured a bit. Well, good thing that didn't turn into a conflict. But still, for proper innovation and development, reading, writing, and calculating are basic requirements. In fact, I'm going to need people with a basic understanding of scientific methodology, physics, and chemistry relatively soon. He looked across the room.

"Yes, Father. After all, the making of soap or paper is far from simple. So..." He gestured at the blueprint for his personal workshop.

"The classrooms will be used much sooner. Underinvesting in quality just means we need to spend more time on ensuring it ourselves." Favius trailed off and furrowed his brows. Well, I've been thinking about it, but only done something abstract about it with my books. But education and getting technicians, managers, and engineers... He tilted his head to the side. I've been teaching a few people, and Urania has been teaching Marius. And from what Marcus told me about how my books are being received. Still...

He looked at Serran.

"Might it not also be prudent," he began, "to invest in the education of the children of slaves, dependents, and retainers? After all..." He added quickly, "that would increase the value of the labor they can do." But surprisingly, Caliga snorted in an instant.

"It's so strange how knowledgeable yet at the same time ignorant you are, Brother." Favius glared at Caliga.

"I am sometimes ignorant, but—" Marcus raised a hand.

"Caliga, it is far from common that the daughter of a noble would spend time in the lessons meant for lowborn children." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, the old priestess wasn't as stuck up her own ass as the tutors my mother tried to torture me with." Marcus chuckled while Favius's eyes narrowed. Priestess, wait. Brutus said something about this when we were in Cindrath, but... Marcus leaned back and began speaking in a lecturing tone.

"Children, let me educate you. Young aristocrats and anyone born into wealth will be trained by proper and well-selected tutors." A chagrined expression ran over his face, and he hurried on.

"After all, it is well known that for the mind of a child to develop properly, only a tutor can adequately challenge them and guide their interests." He made a dismissive gesture.

"No self-respecting parent would have their children educated among a large group of others. After all, how would they reach their potential in such a setup?" Favius put a hand on his belly and suppressed a snort. Well, that stance would have gone down poorly with most parents on Earth, but he's probably right. He looked at Brutus. After all, I've gotten damn good at fighting and cultivating with his direct help. He looked at Caliga.

"So what do those priestesses of the Daughter actually teach?" She rolled her eyes.

"I didn't attend the lessons to learn anything. I attended them to have an excuse to be rid of Mother's minders." Marcus cleared his throat, and Caliga looked between her father and Favius. Brutus chuckled while snacking on soft bread baked with nuts and cheese.

"Literacy, numeracy, and theology. Everything a child needs to be a useful inhabitant of the Republic." Favius suppressed another chuckle. This is getting better and better. But well, the gap is interesting. If they have primitive universal primary education and very advanced elite education, then there is an obvious gap to close. He narrowed his eyes as an idea struck him.

"So, Urania," he began, looking at his sister.

"Yes," she replied.

"You're already teaching Marius, and you told me that it's really helpful to see your understanding of mathematics from the perspective of a teacher."

"Yes." She drew out the word this time, and Favius did his best to keep his expression neutral. Time to start an initiative to make her less elitist and snobbish.

"How about we organize a few lessons where you teach the estate's children about mathematics beyond addition and subtraction?" He paused because Urania's expression wasn't as expected. She isn't outraged or offended. No, she's... Is she actually considering it?

"Sure," said Urania with a smile.

"Teaching is fun."

"Really?" asked Brutus in a surprised tone. Caliga was much less subtle.

"I thought you wouldn't want to spend time on dirty lowborns." Urania sniffed.

"Well, it's not about to whom they were born. It's about if they are dumb or smart."

"And here we go again," murmured Favius under his breath. She nodded to herself.

"We'll do it like this. I'll hold some general lessons and see which of the children can pick up on the numbers quickly, and which of them are destined to become laborers." Then she rotated her hand.

"I'll take those who are worth investing in and see how far I can teach them." She looked around the table, a challenging glare in her eyes.

"Unless anyone has a problem with that." Favius sighed. Well, this is somehow progress and at the same time as horribly elitist as I expected it to be.

"No, that sounds like a wise idea, Young Lady," began Serran.

"If your Father approves." Marcus simply nodded.

"Indeed, indeed. If it is teaching you enjoy..." He smiled fondly.

"I might need to think about which families I might send you to in the future as a tutor." Favius's train of thought crashed, and he shook his head, yet managed not to speak. Oh, that's absolutely not going to happen. She doesn't just have the potential of a mere tutor. She's probably going to be the closest thing to an actual professor of mathematics this world has ever seen. Antonius bowed beside Marcus.

"Young Master, if you may answer my question, those children your sister will be educating, I assume you intend to employ them in your workshop?" Serran immediately shook his head.

"Some of them, yes. Yet if the Young Lady identifies them as promising, I would have some of my scribes teach them more practical skills as well. After all, there's always a shortage of capable foremen." Favius leaned back in his chair, picking up a piece of pear preserved in honeyed wine. Well, education is actually a good point, and I haven't considered it properly. But if we're going to build an industrial society, we will need a lot of skilled personnel. And advanced education. He narrowed his eyes.

Maybe I can use some of my ideas for workshop organization for schooling as well. After all, just copying Earth's system probably isn't smart. He trailed off and considered things he had heard. The Prussian school systems and their issues, tutors, apprenticeships, peer-to-peer learning. He hummed until Brutus poked him in the side.

"Well, it seems like this was another fruitful session for your business ventures. But tomorrow..." He lowered his voice in anticipation, and Favius pressed his eyes shut.

"Please, not another day of workouts. I'm still sore from the riding."

"Tomorrow," repeated Brutus, "Sirrana and I will give you a more practical lesson. Given that we worked out our differences, she said she'll show you..." He looked at Urania and Favius.

"... how to practice the three steps of becoming a shifter."