Chapter 52

Talking, Jiang Wan completely forgot about the pot.

She quickly ran to the kitchen, glanced at the pot, and hurriedly turned off the heat.

It had slightly overcooked, but luckily, it tasted almost the same as the previous batch of oyster sauce.

Jiang Wan quickly scooped the sauce into jars and began washing the pot to prepare for the final round of boiling.

However, now that her mother was back, there was no way she would let her daughter continue to endure the heat. Before Jiang Wan had even finished washing the pot, her mother chased her out of the kitchen.

“I’ll take care of the rest. You go outside, and if you need anything, just tell me.”

By now, Yin Huaixi was very skilled at using the earth stove. After washing the pot, she added water and oyster meat, then moved the ashes aside to reignite the fire. A pile of dry grass quickly got it going.

Song Wenhui soon entered the kitchen as well—it was time for lunch. Since her sister-in-law was already tending to the fire, she only needed to clean the ceramic jar to make some porridge.

At that moment, the entire village seemed to have a column of smoke rising from each house, except for the village head’s.

There were simply too many people in his household. The noise was almost louder than the marketplace. The old aunt was being pulled into conversation, forgetting the time. The two daughters-in-law were either out on the boat or had gone back to their family homes, so no one reminded her.

“Village head, do we have rules for sending kids to school?”

“Village head, what age can the children start at the village school? My son is twelve; can he go?”

“Village head, can my nephew from my family come to school?”

Everyone was excited about the opening of the village school and was eager to ask the village head questions.

At that moment, someone asked a very pointed question.

“Village head, our village isn’t rich—can’t we lower the fee a bit? The Yin family are just exiles; why do they get five hundred coins a month?”

The moment those words were spoken, the room went silent.

Everyone turned to see who had said it—It was the infamous gossiper, Aunt Dan. She had a five-year-old grandson and was probably thinking of sending him to school.

But the comment was quite inappropriate, and the village head’s face darkened instantly.

“On such a happy occasion, you really know how to bring bad luck!”

The old village head had high status in the village, and as a small official, he could reprimand anyone. Apart from the clan leader, no one dared to challenge him.

“If you’re unwilling to pay that little money, you don’t have to send your child to school. No one is forcing you. Also, I don’t want to hear any more about the Yin family being exiles. If you upset someone from another village, don’t blame me for having the clan leader expel you all!”

Aunt Dan was publicly reprimanded and her face turned sour, but she didn’t leave. The others quickly assured the village head that they would never speak ill of anyone in the village.

“Mr. Yin is willing to teach the village children, and we should be grateful, not say anything unpleasant.”

“Exactly, we’re not the type to stir up trouble.”

Aunt Dan quietly fumed: “…”

“Dan, don’t think the fee is too high. Just think about the prices in Huaishan Town and in the city. The kids can study under their noses for just a few dozen coins a month; what a lucky thing that is.”

The village head’s face softened when he heard this, and he nodded in agreement.

“What Changqing said is right, everyone should know this. And let me tell you, the teachers in the city are at most just juren (the second-highest degree),”

The old village head slowly sipped some water, then, with everyone waiting expectantly, he continued.

“Our village’s Mr. Yin, however, is a jinshi!”

“Wow!”

“Unbelievable!”

“Sounds really impressive!”

The village head was very pleased with their reactions.

“I know some things about the Yin family. They were exiled due to being implicated, but they never did anything bad. If they hadn’t been exiled, how would such a learned person have had the chance to teach our village children? You should cherish this opportunity…”

“Yes, yes, the village head is right!”

Everyone was smiling and agreeing, and even Aunt Dan, upon hearing that he was a jinshi, had to hide her displeasure.

Who doesn’t have a scale in their heart? A jinshi is much more impressive than a juren. The fee is even lower, so they’d better quietly enjoy the good fortune.

“One more thing.”

The village head took advantage of the crowd and brought up Yin Huaixi’s status as a doctor.

“Recently, many of you have heard about Dr. Yin charging consultation fees. That’s just a mutual agreement. If you want to see the doctor, you pay. If not, you don’t have to. Don’t be saying things behind her back.”

Everyone immediately turned their attention to Aunt Dan.

Aunt Dan: “…”

“I won’t say anything more about it…”

The old village head snorted and continued, “It’s rare for our village to have both a doctor and a teacher. This is a blessing for the whole village. No one is allowed to cause trouble.”

“Also, the school isn’t fully built yet, but you can register your kids’ names. The clan leader said the cutoff age is fifteen; we’ll see how many people register and decide from there.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the villagers were eagerly shouting to register their children.

There was much chatter and excitement for a while, and gradually, people started leaving the village head’s house.

A few of the more talkative women were still chatting excitedly as they passed by the Cai family’s thatched shed, their voices lowering as they approached, but Cai Shuyuan inside overheard them.

“Now that there’s a school in the village, I’ll definitely be welcomed when I go back to my family’s house.”

“Me too, me too! Our kids will all be literate, and people will be so envious.”

“Being educated is really good, look at Mr. Yin—he’ll be earning five hundred coins a month.”

“No need to work under the sun or the wind.”

The voices of the people talking grew fainter, and suddenly, Cai Shuyuan, who had been lying like a dead fish, sat up as if he had come back to life.

Five hundred coins!

No need to work under the sun!

Isn’t it just teaching children? He can do that too!

Cai Shuyuan stood up and walked out of the thatched shed. Having been deprived of sunlight for so long, the sudden exposure made him dizzy, and it took a while for him to adjust.

“Shuyuan! What are you doing up? Go back and lie down, you’re still sick.”

Liu Lian was harsh with everyone, but she had no complaints about her son. To her, her son was her precious darling, and he couldn’t suffer even a little.

“Mother, I’m much better. What’s for lunch today?”

“Fish! I found a huge one in a crack between the rocks!”

Liu Lian showed her son the fish she had picked up.

“Shuyuan, I’ll go roast the fish for you now. Sit for a while, don’t overexert yourself.”

Cai Shuyuan nodded and sat down without saying anything about helping.

“Ah! The young master Shuyuan sure has it good, always getting fresh meals. Big sister-in-law, your son’s not as well-behaved as third brother’s daughter. You better watch out, or you’ll raise an ungrateful wolf.”

“Spit! Your son is the ungrateful one!”

Liu Lian couldn’t stand hearing these kinds of comments. Her Shuyuan was only unable to work because of his illness. He was the most filial child.

“Shuyuan knows in his heart whether it’s true or not.”

Chen Minru felt displeased and, as always, took the opportunity to needle the first household.

Currently, her husband and two sons were all working at the stone quarry. Her eldest brother and third brother were also there. Only Cai Shuyuan was living comfortably. Why?

This sickly child, who looked so frail, hadn’t died on the exile road, but he sure knew how to act!

Chen Minru glanced at the fire that her sister-in-law had just started, and with a quick thought, she grabbed a burning twig and threw it at Cai Shuyuan. He barely managed to roll away, avoiding it just in time.

“Ha! Big sister-in-law, your son sure moves fast. He’s recovered quickly, huh?”

After throwing that jab, Chen Minru picked up her broken basket and left.

Cai Shuyuan gritted his teeth in anger.

Once he became the teacher of the village and started living a good life, he swore he would make sure the second household didn’t get a single bite of food!