Chapter 47

Two quarters of an hour later, a group of old men sat in the village chief’s hall, staring at each other, unsure of what to say.

“Second brother, why did you rush to gather us here?” one of them asked.

“Of course, it’s to discuss an important matter,” the village chief replied.

When everyone had arrived, the village chief sent his grandson outside to guard the door and sat beside the head of the clan.

“Remember those families that came to the village half a month ago? The Yin family is from a scholarly background and well-educated. I want to set up a school in the village and hire Yin Huaishan to teach our children.”

A school, huh. The topic wasn’t new, and the old men didn’t seem very interested.

“Are you sure we can ask him to teach the children? Those who’ve been officials have high standards and look down on our village kids. Don’t you remember how we were once scorned?” one of the men asked.

The village chief had not forgotten. Since the exilees had arrived in the village, he had been thinking about hiring someone to teach the children. But those people were so self-important that they refused to teach the children, and they even looked down on the villagers. Later, many of them left and found ways to get into the city.

Just thinking about it made him feel frustrated.

“Yin Huaishan is different!” the village chief insisted.

“He’s been exiled, unlike those who were punished for their own wrongdoing. Lian Yue already sent his brother to the Yin family, and he’s started learning to read. Don’t you want our kids to be able to recognize characters?”

The village chief was getting anxious now, wishing he could drag these old men to Yin’s house to see for themselves.

“What?! He’s teaching Xiao Yuanzi?!”

“What?! He doesn’t look down on our village children?!”

The old men sat up straight, their eyes wide in disbelief.

The clan head, too, was excited and grabbed the village chief’s arm.

“Have you asked him about it? Is he willing to teach the village children? Does he want a monthly salary or tuition? How much does he want for either?” The questions came in a rapid-fire succession, and the village chief couldn’t get a word in.

“Big Brother, calm down. I haven’t asked him yet,” the village chief responded.

The others were silent for a moment.

“Well, I haven’t asked, but he’s probably willing,” the village chief added.

“Yin Huaishan is a gentle and generous man, very upright. I’m confident that if I talk to him, I have an 80% chance of convincing him. But if he agrees, we’ll definitely need to set up the school, so I wanted to discuss it with you all first.”

Before he could finish, the clan head spoke up.

“Why do we need to discuss anything? If he agrees to teach the children, then of course we’re building the school. One family provides labor, one half will work on the foundation, the other half will build the house. We’ll have the school up in a few days.”

The clan head was the most influential person in Lianjiagou. Once he spoke, the village chief no longer needed to worry about the school.

“Don’t worry, Big Brother, I’ll definitely get Yin Huaishan to teach the children,” the village chief promised.

“Good, good, good! Then hurry and go ask him. I’ll head home now.”

The clan head smiled so broadly that his wrinkles deepened like the folds of a chrysanthemum. He had four grandchildren, each one sharp and clever. If they had the chance to attend school, perhaps his family could rise in status!

Just the thought of it filled him with excitement.

Most of the old men had children, and naturally, they each had their own hopes. But as the elders of the Lian family, they always put the interests of the clan first. If there was a chance for the children to learn, they would all support it wholeheartedly.

With the support of the old men, the village chief went to Yin’s house again.

This time, as soon as he entered, he saw Yin Huaixi grinding something with a medicine pestle. He suddenly remembered the real reason he had come to Yin’s house in the first place.

Ah, he was getting forgetful with age. He had forgotten the purpose of his visit as soon as he walked in.

“Yin girl, what are you grinding?” the village chief asked.

“Village chief! Come in and sit!” Yin Huaixi smiled and moved a stool over, explaining, “This powder is made from clam shells that have been burned. It’s still not fine enough, I need to grind it some more.”

“Clam shells? What’s this used for?” the village chief asked, genuinely curious. He leaned in to take a closer look. These shells were everywhere on the beach, and the villagers often discarded them after eating the meat. Had they missed out on some treasure?

“Village chief, burned clam shells turned into powder have many uses. It can clear heat, reduce swelling, expel phlegm, and relieve dampness. I have at least thirty or so prescriptions that use it. It’s a good medicinal ingredient,” Yin Huaixi explained.

The village chief didn’t catch much of the details about the medicine, but he was deeply impressed by the fact that she had so many prescriptions. This showed that she had considerable knowledge—her medical skills were certainly not ordinary.

“Is this powder going to be used to treat Ah Yong’s father’s leg?” the village chief asked.

“No, he isn’t getting his medicine from me. I’ve just come to the village, and I don’t have any medicinal herbs yet. I can only prescribe a formula,” Yin Huaixi replied.

The village chief felt even more favorable toward her, and with a bit of hesitation, he asked, “Village chief, is there something I can help with?”

“Yes, actually,” the village chief said, glancing at Yin Huaishan, who was teaching Xiao Yuanzi to write on the ground. He decided not to disturb him and spoke to his sister instead.

“I’d like to ask if your older brother would be willing to teach the village children how to read. We can discuss the salary and the tuition, I’ll come back tomorrow to talk in detail.”

The village chief watched Xiao Yuanzi concentrating on his writing and decided not to disturb them. He finished talking to Yin Huaixi and left.

He needed to think about where to build the school and also find a place for Yin Huaixi’s pharmacy. These siblings were truly treasures, and he had to keep them in the village.

With a happy heart, the village chief left, leaving Yin Huaixi joyfully grinding the clam shell powder.

Teaching is a good thing. That way, Big Brother won’t have to keep searching for work and will have an easier time. He’ll also gain respect and reputation in the village.

The old village chief is truly a good person.

Heh heh~

In the evening, Lian Yue came to pick up Xiao Yuanzi. While the family was sitting in the yard eating dinner, Yin Huaixi finally mentioned the matter the village chief had brought up.

Song Wenhui was so happy that she almost dropped her bowl of food, repeatedly saying it was a great idea.

Her husband had always been someone who worked with books and pens, and teaching children was exactly what he should be doing.

She had felt so sorry for him when she saw how exhausted he was after returning from shaping clay bricks a few days ago.

This is great, now he can become a teacher.

“Big Brother, what do you think? Do you not want to do it?”

Yin Huaishan calmly swallowed the snail meat in his mouth and said with some emotion, “Of course I want to. I just didn’t expect that my learning could have a place in this small fishing village.”

Although he hadn’t taught children before, he felt good teaching Xiao Yuanzi today.

As a teacher, he felt it was something he could do.

Meanwhile, on the way home, Xiao Yuanzi was enthusiastically praising his teacher to his older brother, but most importantly, he was showing off the name his teacher had given him.

“Big Brother, do you think ‘Lian Feng’ is a good name?”

Lian Yue smiled and nodded, saying it was a good name.

“Heh heh~ I think it’s really, really good. I’m going to tell Mao Mao and the others when I get back!”

Lian Yue, happy with his younger brother’s progress, was about to ask another question when his younger brother burst into laughter and said, “From now on, they’ll call me ‘Brother Feng’! Ha ha! It sounds so much more impressive than ‘Brother Yuanzi’!”

“…”

So, it’s not the name he’s excited about… but being called “Brother Feng” instead of “Brother Yuanzi”…