After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 236 The School Begins
Just as he was about to fall asleep, a strong aroma of pastries suddenly wafted into the room, and he even dreamed about food.

He slept soundly and peacefully until the sun was high in the sky before waking up.

After he got dressed and stepped out of the room, he had a clearer understanding of the Shen family's wealth after seeing the courtyard.

It was just a side courtyard, but it was all paved with bricks and stones. Even landlords wouldn't dare to do that, which shows how rich the Shen family really was.

There is a well in the backyard with a wooden cover, and the water drawn up is still warm.

Tang Yu was pleasantly surprised.

He only went to the small door and started pulling on the wooden stake after he finished washing up.

Soon Su Tai opened the door, bringing Ke Yunyun and her son over. She squatted down and looked at Zhu Kangcheng carefully, saying, "Kangcheng, from now on, this Mr. Tang will be your godfather. You have to call him 'father.' If outsiders ask you what your name is, you can say your name is Tang Cheng, understand?"

Zhu Kangcheng didn't understand, but that didn't stop him from obeying, especially since it was his favorite cousin who had given him these instructions.

"I understand. From now on, I'm Tang Cheng. This is my godfather. I'll call him 'Dad'," Zhu Kangcheng said in a childish voice.

Ke Yunyun looked pleased.

Tang Yu was deeply moved by the word "father" and picked Zhu Kangcheng up in her arms. "In private, you can call me 'sir' or 'godfather.' If outsiders ask, just say I'm your father."

"Father!" Zhu Kangcheng called out loudly, which made Tang Yu laugh heartily.

Su Tai said, "Alright, I'll go back over there first. You guys go out from the workshop. If they ask, just answer as we agreed before."

It was the first time anyone had done something like this, and everyone was a little nervous.

Ke Yunyun, wearing a veil, silently followed behind Tang Yu, who was carrying Zhu Kangcheng.

The three of them had just arrived at the front when they saw Shen Ergou and Shen Tian and didn't know how to start a conversation.

The group stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Zhu Kangcheng was more adept at handling things, and he greeted her cheerfully, "Hello, big brother and big sister!"

Shen Ergou snapped out of his daze, his eyes filled with confusion. "Who are you? How did you get out of the workshop's backyard?"

Su Tai rushed over with the child in her arms. "It's alright, don't be nervous. This is Mr. Tang's family. I invited a tutor to give the two children their first lessons."

"Sir? I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," Shen Ergou said, flustered and at a loss for what to do.

Tang Yu took a deep breath and naturally immersed herself in the role, "It's alright, we just scared you last night."

Su Tai nodded to them, "Come on, I'll take you to see the village chief."

Soon, the village chief's family, Shenzhuang, and Shenmu's family all learned that Su Tai had hired a tutor for the two children, and they began to treat her with even more special regard.

Shen Ying muttered to her husband, He Shi, "You know, Shen Yi's wife is really bold and daring! She quietly hired a tutor for the two children."

If it had been just Mr. Tang alone, they might have suspected Su Tai of having ulterior motives. But Mr. Tang brought his wife and children, and they were all upright and honest, so there was nothing wrong with them at all.

In other words, Su Tai genuinely intends to raise her child with care.

Mrs. He sighed, "I was worried that Su Tai wouldn't be able to manage on her own while Shen Yi wasn't home. But now it seems everyone underestimated her." When Shen Yi was around, he took care of everything at home. Su Tai was perceived as delicate, unable to lift a finger or do any work. However, because Su Tai was good at handling things and very generous, everyone had a good impression of her and no one gossiped about her.

However, those who didn't think she could single-handedly support the whole family were right, and now they've really been proven wrong.

“That’s right!” Shen Ying said with deep feeling, and then said, “Su Tai just said that Mr. Tang wants to open a school and take in a few more children, but not too many. Do you think we should seize the opportunity and send our grandson there to learn a few words?”

Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—class was an insurmountable chasm for them. Although farmers ranked after scholars, they lived the hardest lives. If the younger generation in a family could work harder and establish a family that combined farming and scholarship, the situation would be very different. At least the merchants would not dare to look down on them.

If we had some more books at home, that would be truly wonderful.

Just look at Su Tai and you'll know why the villagers didn't dare to gossip about her behind her back and treated her very kindly. It wasn't just because she was good at handling things, but more importantly, because they had seen Su Tai write with their own eyes. A literate woman is different from an ordinary village woman.

Madam He was anxious. "What's there to hesitate about? Of course we should go! Our family isn't short of tuition fees. Let all three of the eldest son's children go."

The eldest son of the elderly couple was the one who went to serve in the military this time. The eldest son has two sons and a daughter, so they definitely need to take extra care of him.

Shen Ying nodded, "Su Tai said her daughter also needs to start her education, so it's not strange for our granddaughter to follow suit. It's settled then."

After the elderly couple finished speaking, they immediately ran to Su Tai to reserve a spot.

Mrs. Xu was very envious, but her grandson was still young, and it would be at least another two or three years before he was born.

Huang Xinghua was also somewhat interested and discussed it with Shen Mu and Granny Chen, "Mother, what do you think about letting Si Gou go to school?"

Granny Chen hesitated for a long time without saying a word.

Shen Mu was worried, "There's so much farm work to do after spring. Si Gou can only help a little. If he goes to school, we won't be able to finish all the work!"

Granny Chen pondered for a moment and said, "As for Er Ya, she must be upset that Da Gou is serving in the military. If Si Gou goes to school, she'll probably feel even worse. I think we should just forget about it! We should treat them all equally. If she becomes a great-grandchild, we can send her over there in the future."

Huang Xinghua thought it made sense, so she didn't bring it up again.

Tang Yu gave out ten spots, and the village chief selected a few more children to make up the number, so the math class officially started.

The workshops usually close at 9:00 to 11:00 AM.

The school starts promptly at 7:00 AM and the children study until 11:15 AM.

After noon, we studied from 1 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

After finishing their work, Shen Ergou and Shen Tian could sit in on the proceedings for a while in the morning. Tang Yu even specially reserved two empty seats for them and didn't charge them any tuition fees.

Feeling bad about it, the brother and sister offered to chop wood, fetch water, and clean the school for Tang Yu.

This saved Tang Yu a lot of trouble.

After things stabilized at the school, Ke Yunyun stopped showing herself in public. The villagers all knew that Mr. Tang's wife was in poor health and needed to rest, so no one dared to disturb her.

In fact, even without this incident, they wouldn't dare to strike up a conversation with Mr. Tang's wife. After all, when they met Ke Yunyun that day, everyone felt that she was very refined and not like a village woman; they were not the same kind of people as her.

Ke Yunyun was happy to have an easier time, hiding in the cellar backyard or helping Su Tai with chores in the front yard. Her life was much happier than before.