CHAPTER 549: CHAPTER 516: JIMMY’S DAY

In the underground district of Beloburg, a young boy had risen early in a small apartment, preparing breakfast for himself and his sister.

"Mary, it’s time to get up!" After preparing breakfast and placing it on the table, the boy went to wake his still-sleeping sister.

The younger sister, a few years junior to the boy, rubbed her sleepy eyes before greeting him, "Good morning, Jimmy."

"Good morning, Mary." The boy affectionately replied, helping her tidy her hair, messy from sleep, "Hurry up. I’ve made breakfast; it’s on the table. After you finish eating, remember to go to school. I’ve already packed your school bag. I have to go to work. Take good care of yourself and don’t be late!"

Although the boy was of school age too, their parents had passed away early, leaving only the brother and sister to rely on each other.

So even though the Northern Territory’s policy allowed him to attend school and provided subsidies for orphans like him and his sister, the boy chose to take a job to earn a living for himself and his sister.

In the Northern Territory, children under the age of 12 must attend school — a decree personally issued by Perfikot.

Public schools in the Northern Territory are essentially a charitable endeavor. While they do charge tuition, it typically only covers the basic cost of books. Any family with a stable income and no more than three children can afford it.

It’s not that Perfikot is stingy or parsimonious; she could easily manage free education in public schools. Scraping a bit from the nobles would fully cover the entire educational expense in the Northern Territory.

But free things are often not cherished, especially by children who frequently fail to understand their value.

Moreover, free education comes with maintenance issues—charging just book fees is already an act of charity; offering it entirely for free would lead to numerous problems.

Keep in mind this is still an era where knowledge is monopolized by the ruling class; for ordinary people, the opportunity for education is very precious.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Perfikot decided against free education, opting instead to charge basic book fees while mandating school entry at age 12, without enforcing completion to adulthood.

After all, you must take things step by step. In this era, establishing compulsory education and spreading educational access too broadly may prove inappropriate.

Moreover, crucially, for many parents of this era, making their children study is less valuable than sending them to work.

In their view, education does not immediately change their lives. Since children from poor families aren’t suited for studying, it’s better to let them learn a trade to sustain themselves in the future than send them to school.

If education were free, at first, parents might feel it’s no big deal to let the kids try it out. But as soon as they think the children should be working, they won’t mind pulling them out to find jobs.

However, if they spend money, they’ll feel like they invested and expect some return from their children learning.

This is similar to gamblers who keep losing and losing more each time—sunk costs compel them not to give up.

Of course, considering regular family income and burdens, Perfikot only charged for books and ensured schools provide lunch.

Thus, even for typical families, supporting one or two kids to study won’t be burdensome; most can afford it.

As for having more children, Perfikot can only offer sympathy.

Parents valuing education will naturally send their children to study, despite hardships.

But for those neglecting education, even offering money won’t change their minds about its worth to their kids; they’d rather send them early to be apprentices, learning skills to work in factories for a living.

It should be noted that working in factories, even just screwing bolts, is a good job in this era.

However, for 11-year-old Jimmy, only he and his sister remain at home, and as an older brother, he must protect his sister.

This was his mother’s dying wish, which he holds dearly.

So when officials told him and his sister that both needed to attend school, Jimmy lied to the official — who seemed stern but kind — saying he was already twelve and needed to work, letting his sister study.

At the time, he didn’t have much thought; he only felt education was costly. If both went to school, expenses would be too high, leaving neither able to attend.

Jimmy didn’t understand much then. He thought the stern official was personally paying for their education.

Even later, when the official explained it was the Lord of the North’s order with funds from the Lord’s house, Jimmy didn’t change his decision.

He consistently believed it didn’t matter if he studied; just making sure his sister learned well was enough.

He could work to earn money and support his sister.