Chapter 43: Nothing Is Impossible for the Determined

Yang Dahui pulled open the door, holding his wife’s hand as they walked out of the courtyard with their heads down.

Villagers pointed and whispered insults at the two of them.

The couple turned a deaf ear, keeping their heads down as they made their way to Ji’s courtyard.

Along the way, they encountered many villagers who looked at them with contempt.

When they arrived outside Ji’s courtyard, they found the door locked, and no one was home.

Hu Zhaodi and the three Ji brothers had already headed into the mountains early that morning, and Eldest Brother and his wife had taken their three daughters-in-law to haul wood with the ox cart.

Yang Dahui and his wife stood there in confusion, looking troubled.

If they returned home, they worried that Hu Zhaodi would think they weren’t genuinely seeking forgiveness.

If they knelt down, they felt it would be pointless since the Ji family wasn’t there to see it.

If the Ji family brought their lunch into the mountains and didn’t return until the afternoon, their legs would surely be sore from kneeling for so long.

After deliberating for a while, they decided to wait until after lunch to come back.

Meanwhile, everything they did was closely watched by Eldest Brother’s grandchildren.

In the afternoon, around the time of the shen hour, Hu Zhaodi and the Ji family returned to the courtyard, their hands full from a bountiful harvest.

Outside the courtyard, Yang Dahui and his wife were kneeling upright, deliberately displaying expressions of pain.

Hu Zhaodi and the Ji family didn’t even glance at them and went straight into the courtyard.

They unloaded the wood and kindling from the ox cart, laying the kindling out to dry around the wood shed.

Since the kindling had just been cut from the trees, it needed to dry before being stored in the shed.

Hu Zhaodi and the three Ji brothers took the medicinal herbs inside, while the three sisters-in-law left the courtyard to find their children, and the others began to light the fire for cooking.

Meanwhile, Yang Dahui and his wife looked longingly toward the Ji courtyard, hoping Hu Zhaodi would notice them.

However, once Hu Zhaodi entered the kitchen, she didn’t come out at all.

After a while, Hu Zhaodi’s voice rang out: “Eldest Brother, the water is boiling. Come and handle the wild rabbits; I’ll make braised rabbit meat for you later.”

“Coming,” Eldest Brother responded, picking up two wild rabbits and entering the kitchen.

Seeing the plump rabbits in Eldest Brother’s hands, Yang Dahui and his wife felt a mix of envy and resentment.

What a luxury! Eating two wild rabbits in one meal; the Ji family was really generous!

Just then, Eldest Brother’s wife and the three sisters-in-law returned to the courtyard with the children.

As the children rushed into the courtyard, they eagerly darted into the kitchen.

The eldest son of Eldest Brother, who was the oldest among them, approached Hu Zhaodi with a grin. “Sister Zhaodi, I’ll tell you something. Yang Dahui and his wife came early this morning, but when they saw that the house was locked, they left.

My siblings and I kept an eye on them; they didn’t hurry back to kneel until after you returned. They’ve barely been kneeling for long.”

“Got it, good job! I’ll reward you with some meat later,” Hu Zhaodi said, and the children beamed with joy, racing back out to play.

Hu Zhaodi turned to Eldest Brother. “Your son must be about seven now, right?”

Eldest Brother nodded. “Yeah, he’s already seven and a half.”

“It’s time to send him to school. Do you have any plans?” Hu Zhaodi asked.

Eldest Brother replied with a smile, “I hadn’t dared to think about it before, but now I do. There’s no school in the village, so I plan to send him to a private school in the county after the autumn harvest.”

Hu Zhaodi said, “Getting children an education is important; you can’t delay it because of the autumn harvest!”

Eldest Brother looked troubled. “But there’s no school in the village, and the county is far from here. If I send him to school now, it would affect the autumn harvest.”

Hu Zhaodi smiled and said, “Eldest Brother, although there’s no private school in our village, isn’t there an old scholar living to the west? We could ask him to teach the children to read and write.”

Eldest Brother’s wife looked helpless. “Zhaodi, that old scholar has a peculiar temperament and rarely interacts with anyone in our village. It might be hard to ask him.”

Hu Zhaodi raised her eyebrows and smiled lightly. “It’s fine; I’ll find a way. Since Mr. Ji is the village head, it shouldn’t be a problem to establish a private school in our village.

Once the school is set up, children from neighboring villages can also come here to study, so they won’t have to go all the way to the county.”

Eldest Brother’s eyes brightened for a moment, but then he dimmed again. “It’s probably not easy; that old scholar is hard to persuade.”

“There’s nothing impossible when you are determined. I’ll go meet that old scholar right now. We won’t know if it can work unless we try,” Hu Zhaodi replied.

Eldest Brother nodded, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes.

Hu Zhaodi stir-fried and stewed the rabbit meat, instructing Eldest Brother’s wife to watch over the fire before heading out of the kitchen.

Outside the courtyard, Yang Dahui and his wife saw Hu Zhaodi come out and thought she had finally remembered them, watching her with hopeful eyes.

However, Hu Zhaodi didn’t even glance their way and walked straight out of the courtyard toward the west side of the village.

Yang Dahui and his wife were stunned. They had been kneeling for so long; how could this girl pretend not to see them?

It was deliberate!

This girl was definitely doing it on purpose!

The couple was fuming, their heads filled with anger, but they didn’t have the courage to speak up or live their lives as mute. They could only stew in their frustration, continuing to kneel straight while cursing Hu Zhaodi in their hearts hundreds of times.

Hu Zhaodi hurried to the old scholar’s house at the west end of the village.

The old scholar also had the surname Ji, but he was not related to Ji Kaiyang.

His house was a rundown small courtyard. Although the yard was small, every spot except for a path leading to the door was filled with vegetables.

The old scholar’s door was very old, and his house was made of mud bricks, similarly worn down as Hu’s family.

At that moment, the old scholar was in the vegetable garden, picking vegetables, and hadn’t noticed Hu Zhaodi standing outside.

He was older than Ji Kaiyang, with hair already turning gray.

“Mr. Ji, can I come in?” Hu Zhaodi called out.

The old scholar looked up at her, frowning slightly. “Oh, it’s you, Hu girl! What brings you here to my humble home?”

“It’s something important, Mr. Ji. May I come in and discuss it with you?” she replied.

“Come in,” the old scholar said. Although his tone was not very friendly, he didn’t sound entirely dismissive either.

After she get inside, Hu Zhaodi squatted down and began pulling weeds from the vegetable garden.

The old scholar noticed this and thought she was quite clever, though his expression remained calm.

Hu Zhaodi said, “Mr. Ji, you are the only person in our village who has read the most and has the broadest knowledge. You’re someone I truly admire.”

The old scholar appeared a bit impatient. “Little girl, just say what you need; there’s no need for to flatter me.”

Hu Zhaodi paused, pouted, and said, “Then I’ll be direct. I want to set up a private school and would like to invite you to be the teacher, to teach the children in our village.”

The old scholar was momentarily taken aback, then quickly refused, “I won’t go; you should look someone else.”

Hu Zhaodi smiled playfully. “I can’t find anyone else! You know I’ve hardly left the village, and after cutting ties with the Hu family, I’ve only been to the county a few times. I don’t know any scholars or talented people, so you’re the only one I can ask. Who else can I look for?”