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

Chapter 237 Su Tai's Advice

The ten children were a bit noisy, especially Zhu Kangcheng. He used to be confined at home and his only playmates were Shen Yuezhang and her brother. Now that there were so many more people, he got excited and kept thinking about playing in class.

Tang Yu didn't indulge him and gave him a good beating before he behaved.

Shen Yuezhang told the adults about it as a joke.

Zhu Kangcheng felt wronged and buried his head in Ke Yunyun's arms. "Mom, I don't like Godfather anymore. I don't want to study."

Ke Yunyun's good mood vanished. For the first time, she looked at him sternly and asked in a low voice, "Do you want to be locked in the yard forever and never see anyone? Just like before?"

Zhu Kangcheng shook his head vigorously, "No, no, no! I want to get out!"

Ke Yunyun suddenly laughed, staring straight at him, "But if you don't study hard, your godfather will ignore you, and you'll have no reason to leave this courtyard, understand?"

The little child was so frightened that he didn't dare to make a sound, and just nodded frantically.

Su Tai thought it wasn't quite right, so she secretly went to Tang Yu to discuss it.

"Mr. Tang, do you think we could come up with some ways to motivate the children to study?"

Tang Yu raised an eyebrow, finding the idea novel. "What insightful opinion does Madam Shen have?"

Su Tai hurriedly and modestly said, "What knowledge could a woman like me have? It's just that Kang Cheng is a playful child, and his mother is a soft-hearted person who easily gets stuck on things. When he goes back and makes a fuss about not going to study, his mother changes her face. I'm thinking that instead of scaring the child, it's better to let him study on his own. What do you think?"

Tang Yu wholeheartedly agreed, "Indeed, the effect of studying on one's own initiative and studying under pressure from others is worlds apart. But how should this method of motivation be implemented?"

Su Tai immediately took out a bunch of snacks, including chocolates, lollipops, cookies, jelly, and so on—all things that children like.

She bought it from a snack wholesale store in the food street.

"Would you like to try some, sir?"

Under her expectant gaze, Tang Yu frowned and ate a chocolate. At first, his expression was a little strange, but the more he ate, the more surprised he became. "Is this made of sugar? What a unique taste!"

Su Tai covered her face and chuckled, "We used some special ingredients, all of which are snacks that children like. Mr. Tang, you can give these things to the children to try tomorrow. After they keep asking about them, you can use these things as rewards. Children who behave well each day can choose one snack to take home. If they behave exceptionally well, they can choose more."

Do you think they'd be more motivated to work harder just for the food?

Tang Yu chuckled, "Just based on Madam Shen's skills, they'll definitely be surprised. I'll give it a try. At least I can use this method to lay a foundation for the first two or three years."

"Yes, the villagers send their children here hoping they can learn to read and write and grow up to be respected people. Oh, right, there's something I forgot to discuss with Mr. Tang. You know they are all country children, and they can't forget their duties just because they are studying. They still need to know how to do farm work. I hope you can give them holidays during spring planting and autumn harvest and encourage them to go to the fields to work and observe."

How about we let them do an hour of farm work each day before they come to study? Su Tai had already planned this, but things weren't on track a few days ago, so it was no use for her to say it. Now that the snow is starting to melt, it's time to bring it up.

Tang Yu was filled with respect for Su Tai. "Madam Shen is truly wise. If someone had said these things to my parents when I was a child, perhaps my life wouldn't have come to this point. Madam Shen is very kind!"

His parents were just country folk, albeit a relatively well-off one. After visiting the city and seeing the status and prestige of scholars, they became obsessed with supporting his education. They wouldn't let him touch any chores around the house and constantly boasted that he was different from the other villagers. He didn't think there was anything wrong with this before, but after experiencing so much, he realized how ridiculous his parents' thinking was.

Su Tai sighed, “Mr. Tang’s life is not bad now. It is said that a teacher for a day is a father for life. Since you are my children’s teacher, it is only right that they take care of you in the future. Besides, you are still young. The future is uncertain. If you want to start a family in the future, I will definitely help you. If you do not want to, you can settle down in Shenjiazhuang. They will take care of you in your old age.”

"Hahaha. Madam Shen is truly a woman of character! I thank you in advance!"

Tang Yu was in a great mood. With Su Tai's words, he didn't need to worry too much. He just needed to teach the child well.

Spring arrived in the blink of an eye and the snow melted, softening the hard ground in just two or three days.

Huang Xinghua called on the villagers who were farming for Su Tai's family to go to the fields together, and a new round of busy work began.

Tang Yu led ten children to stand in the farmland, each child holding a small hoe.

"Sir, are we going to hoe the ground too?" Shen Lian, the village chief's granddaughter, looked at the hoe in her hand with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.

Tang Yu was even more nervous than her, and said with an awkward smile, "Let's give it a try! The teacher has never farmed before either, let's learn together!"

He intended to demonstrate to a few students, but when he struck the ground with the hoe, he couldn't pull it out no matter how hard he tried.

Huang Xinghua and the others who were working all suppressed their laughter.

Tang Yu was even more embarrassed. He used all his strength to shout and pull the hoe out, and with a thud, his buttocks slammed into the soil.

"Hahahaha." The villagers working couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Su Tai and Ke Yunyun, who were standing at the door of their house looking out, both covered their faces.

Su Tai felt extremely guilty. "If I had known, I wouldn't have come up with this terrible idea. Now look what's happened, Mr. Tang's reputation is ruined!"

Ke Yunyun was speechless. "Cousin, what are you saying! Mr. Tang is a scholar. Asking him to teach children how to farm is just making him a laughingstock! Let's hurry over and find a way to save face for him."

The two jogged over.

Ke Yunyun was still Tang Yu's wife on the surface, so she had to pretend to help him up.

Tang Yu blushed with embarrassment.

Su Tai then spoke nonsense with a straight face, "Children, you've all seen it, haven't you? Farming is not a simple thing. Don't be fooled by how your parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts seem to make it look easy for them to go to the fields with hoes and rakes every day. Today I must tell you that farming is also a science, just like studying."

"It's really impressive that your parents and grandparents can farm so well! Mr. Tang is also very accomplished in his studies. Everyone has something they're good at, right? Today, you all need to learn how to farm properly, and then think about this question: What are you good at? What do you like? What kind of person do you want to become in the future? Okay, let's get to work!"

As she spoke, she hurriedly waved wildly at the stunned Huang Xinghua.

Huang Xinghua seemed to wake from a dream, and ran towards Su Tai with an adoring look on her face, "Xiao Tai, what do you want?"