Aunt Zhao would never treat her unfairly.

“Aunt Zhao, don’t worry. Xue Mei is doing well. Didn’t I return to Jianjia Village yesterday? I saw her, and she said she misses you. Since you’re leaving the county today, why not visit her?”

“Oh? Now that you mention it, that does sound like a good idea. The county town is quite close to Jianjia Village.” Aunt Zhao smiled.

She didn’t have much land, and everything had already been planted.

Besides, everyone in the village knew that Aunt Zhao was fortunate—not only was her husband hardworking, but her son, Zhang Xueshan, was just as diligent.

She was practically the luckiest woman in the village.

A loving husband and a filial son.

“I was only planning to stroll around the county today. But now that you mention it, making a trip home wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

Hearing this, Jian Xiu immediately became interested and quickly said to Aunt Zhao,

“Aunt Zhao, I’m planning to build a house. If you’re going back, could you tell Fuyin to come work on it? We’ll pay the same as others, and we’ll provide two meals a day.”

As she spoke, Jian Xiu seemed to remember something and continued,

“And Xue Mei too—let her come and help with cooking. Her pay will be slightly lower than the men’s. How does that sound?”

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhao was surprised and exclaimed, “Jian Xiu, are you serious?”

“Of course! Do I look like I’m joking?”

“Hmm… If it’s true, that would be great! I can deliver the message for you today. Should I tell them to come tomorrow?”

“Yes, have them come tomorrow,” Jian Xiu replied casually.

“But then again, Jian Xiu, you’ve only just separated from your family, and you’re already talking about building a house. What about your in-laws…”

Aunt Zhao trailed off, but Jian Xiu understood the implication.

“Aunt Zhao, don’t worry about them. They are them, and I am me. Don’t forget, we’ve already severed ties. If they try to cause trouble, I have my ways of dealing with them.” Jian Xiu’s voice turned cold.

From the moment she cut ties with them, she had started planning for her new house.

To be honest, she really didn’t like the houses in this village.

The worst part was the latrine—it was absolutely disgusting!

And to top it off, they still used bamboo strips instead of proper toilet paper…

Everything about it was unbearable to her.

So, while Zhang Zixuan might not be in a rush to build, as long as the house was finished before winter, he was fine with it.

But for Jian Xiu, every extra day she had to endure this was pure torment.

“Alright, leave it to me! I’ll make sure they come first thing tomorrow morning!”

Aunt Zhao patted her chest in assurance.

In truth, Jian Xiu also wanted to help Zhang Xuemei and Jian Fuyin.

The couple had been married for a while now, and under normal circumstances, they should have had a child by now.

But for some reason, they hadn’t conceived yet. A big part of it was due to stress.

And with their mother-in-law, Old Madam Li, constantly pressuring them, the mental burden was even greater.

Jian Xiu hoped that by bringing them away from Jianjia Village for a while, they might finally have a child without the added stress.

As they spoke, the ox cart arrived in Quanyong County.

After hearing Jian Xiu’s words, Aunt Zhao no longer felt like browsing the county. Instead, she headed straight back to Jianjia Village.

“Mother, so this is what the county looks like?” Zhang Feixuan (Liu Tou) asked excitedly.

“Yes. From now on, you’ll be living here. The Xuewen Academy is at the end of this street. Come, I’ll take you there.”

“Sister-in-law, do you want me to go with you?” Zhang Zhiyong asked with a smile.

“No need. Don’t you still have to deliver that plantain herb to Renhetang? You should go quickly! The sooner you finish, the sooner you can return home.”

This time, Zhang Zhiyong had brought the plantain herb to town for her. As for the dried bamboo shoots, she only had about ten pounds of them.

After taking the two children to the academy, she could go to Yuexiang Tower.

Originally, she could have gone to Yuexiang Tower first, but since she had important matters to discuss there, she decided to visit Xuewen Academy first.

“Mother, you said yesterday that the headmaster of Xuewen Academy is surnamed Mo, right?” Zhang Feiyi(Qi Tou) asked curiously.

“Yes, his surname is Mo. When we meet him, remember to be polite. Also, do you still remember the multiplication table and painting techniques I taught you yesterday?”

“Yes, we remember! When the headmaster tests us, we’ll take it seriously!”

Both boys immediately stood up straight, looking very serious, which made Jian Xiu laugh.

For some reason, she had a feeling that the headmaster would test them on these two things.

After all, this was their first time entering an academy, so they obviously didn’t know how to read yet.

In the countryside, it was hard to find someone literate.

So, it was unlikely that they’d be tested on poetry.

The most probable subjects would be basic arithmetic, painting, or maybe some logic puzzles.

Thinking it over, those seemed to be the most reasonable choices—it just depended on how difficult the test would be.

For the past two days at home, she had been teaching them how to paint whenever she had time.

Since they were starting from scratch, it was a bit difficult to learn quickly.

However, Jian Xiu specialized in portrait sketches, so if the headmaster asked them to draw anything, she believed the brothers could produce something impressive enough to satisfy Mo Shanhuai.

With that in mind, not only were Zhang Feixuan and Zhang Feiyi a little nervous, but even Jian Xiu herself felt a bit uneasy.

She could handle village troublemakers, but dealing with a scholarly headmaster? That was another challenge altogether.

As she mulled over her thoughts, the three of them arrived in front of Xuewen Academy.

The grand signboard above bore four large golden characters: “Xuewen Academy.”

To Jian Xiu, the sight of it gave off an imposing and majestic aura.

Below the sign, on both sides, were stone lions intricately carved with lifelike expressions. They seemed to symbolize the academy’s bright future and also stood as guardians of its sacred grounds.

But what caught her attention the most were several large stone tablets nearby, covered with names.

Curious, Jian Xiu instinctively stepped forward to take a closer look.

One glance was all it took for her to understand—these were the names of scholars and successful candidates who had graduated from Xuewen Academy.

“Mother, what does it say?”

“This? Once you learn to read, you can tell me yourself, how about that?”

“Alright! Once we learn, we’ll read it to you slowly!”

Their little exchange quickly caught the attention of the academy’s gatekeeper.

“Do you have business here?” the gatekeeper asked, sticking his head out to look at them.