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

Chapter 387 Pain and happiness
"Wait a minute, does the village chief mean there are so many children in the village receiving early education?"

Chu Heng's eyes were wide open, almost like copper bells. Wasn't Lizhou supposed to be very poor? This must be a small village under Lizhou! How could so many families afford a tuition fee of two taels a year?

His mind is a complete mess right now, like a jumble of mush.

Shen Ying nodded emphatically, "You have no idea how much effort we put into finding a teacher for our children. You are the old man's savior!"

Chu Heng was completely bewildered by what he heard.

By the time he realized what was happening, he was already sitting in the classroom, completely bewildered. All the mischievous boys were now behaving themselves, some with their chests puffed out and heads held high, others with their heads down and hands nervously clasped together, making all sorts of small, fidgety movements.

Chu Heng looked at the fifty-odd children, swallowed hard, and asked, "Do any of you have any basic knowledge?"

"No!" the fifty-odd people shouted in unison.

The sound could shatter eardrums.

Chu Heng picked at his ear, looking anxious and glaring at him. "What are you doing! You silly little thing, don't you know how to speak softly? What if you scare the master?"

Chu Heng quickly came to the children's rescue, "It's alright, it's alright, village chief. You see, the effect of so many children studying together is definitely not as good as having fewer people. I have an idea, please listen to it."

We'll have classes in shifts, each lasting two hours: morning, noon, and afternoon. Is that alright with you?

Shen Ying had no objections, "But wouldn't this make things too tiring for you, sir?"

Chu Heng's lips twitched slightly. "Let's try to get through this for now. If we can find a doctor in the village, we'll make other arrangements."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Chu really knows how to handle things."

"According to circumstances."

"Yes Yes Yes"

They divided the class into three classes, so that even teenagers could attend school.

The final count of those who received enlightenment was eighty-nine.

On the first day, Chu Heng received nearly two hundred taels of tuition fees, which was a huge sum of money for him. In addition to money, there was also grain. Each child brought him ten catties of grain, and he now had eight hundred and ninety catties of grain, which he could not finish even if he ate to his heart's content.

In addition to grain, there was also meat and vegetables. It was said that each child would take turns sending it to him, and he could tell the village chief what he wanted to eat, and the village chief and the villagers would make arrangements.

Putting everything else aside, just for this sum of money and that amount of food, he could teach until he died without any problem.

Having taken the money and food from the other party, Chu Heng dared not delay and immediately kept thirty children to attend the first lesson.

The village chief told the other children to go back first, then turned around and saw Chu Heng earnestly teaching the children, so he quickly left again.

The freshly baked guokui (a type of flatbread) outside smelled so good that Shen Ying's mouth watered. She immediately took out her money to buy a pack and then bought a few more for Chu Heng to send over.

Chu Heng had a guokui (a type of flatbread) with goat milk for breakfast this morning, which he ate very happily. When he saw the guokui being delivered, he quickly thanked them and became even more serious about teaching.

After observing for two days, Su Tai saw that Chu Heng was well-versed in literature, could quote classical texts with ease, and had exceptionally beautiful handwriting. She immediately had an idea and discussed with Shen Yi about hiring Chu Heng to tutor their four children.

Shen Yi specially brought over a soup made with white fungus, pear, and monk fruit by Su Tai. "Mr. Chu, you've worked hard."

"Governor, what brings you here?" Chu Heng stood up with trepidation. At first, he could remain calm even though he didn't know Shen Yi's identity. But since he learned that Shen Yi was the governor of Langya Kingdom, had built the first pontoon bridge, fought on the front lines, and received a plaque with an inscription personally written by the emperor, he could no longer regard Shen Yi as an ordinary person.

Shen Yi smiled and gestured for Chu Heng to sit down. "I've been busy with spring farming arrangements these past two days and haven't been in the village. I haven't had a chance to have a proper chat with Mr. Chu. The village chief said that Mr. Chu is an excellent teacher, which is a great blessing for our Shen family village."

"No, no, I wouldn't dare." Chu Heng was secretly delighted, but he remained very modest on the surface.

Shen Yi said, "I am speaking from the heart. I truly admire Mr. Chu's profound knowledge. I would like to ask if you have the spare capacity to teach my four children as well?"

"Does the town magistrate intend to hire tutors for the four young masters and ladies?"

He had met Shen Yi's children before; their manners and demeanor were indeed exceptional. He hadn't thought much of it when the four children hadn't appeared at the school these past two days, but now he realized they were looking for another teacher.

Shen Yi explained, “It’s not that we don’t want them to go to school, but all four of them have a foundation. I heard that Mr. Chu is acquainted with Tang Yu. You should know that he used to be the teacher in our village. Several children were enlightened by Mr. Tang, and later they also received guidance from Lord You and Lord Tian of the Ministry of Works. Now they have begun to write articles with classical allusions.”

“I see! If that’s the case, it’s indeed not easy for them to study with the other children. However, I have to teach during the day, so I only have time in the evening. If the young masters and ladies can come over after 5:30 pm, I can teach them for an hour.”

Chu Heng thought about it carefully and realized that this was the only suitable time. This way, he wouldn't have to do anything except teach, which seemed pretty good. At least he wouldn't have time to overthink things.

That was the only way he could console himself.

Shen Yi immediately stood up and bowed in gratitude, "Mr. Chu, how much do you think is appropriate for the tuition fee?"

Chu Heng waved his hand dismissively, "I'm still living in the town magistrate's house. You can arrange the tuition as you see fit."

Even if Shen Yi didn't give him a single penny, he wouldn't say anything. Making friends with such a capable person is a rare and precious opportunity.

The next day, Shen Yi took a bunch of things to the guokui workshop early in the morning and instructed Shen Ergou, who was working there, "From now on, send a guokui to Mr. Chu every day."

Shen Ergou was somewhat puzzled. "Brother Shen, is there any explanation?"

Shen Yi didn't hide anything from him and told him in detail about Chu Heng's plan to give lessons to Shen Yuezhang and the others.

Shen Ergou immediately took it to heart. "Don't worry, Brother Shen, leave this to me. We're going to have breakfast soon anyway, so we'll prepare a portion for Mr. Chu later."

"Thank you for your help!" Shen Yi patted Shen Ergou's arm and continued walking towards the backyard.

Seeing that Chu Heng had already gotten up and was stretching his limbs in the courtyard, he smiled and stepped forward, "Mr. Chu, these are the gifts prepared for your return. I'll take them inside for you."

"Thank you, magistrate." Chu Heng stopped and followed him into the main room.

Shen Yi pointed out a few things he did wrong and taught him a move to relieve fatigue.

Chu Heng's attention was diverted, and only after Shen Yi left did he remember what was in the main room. When he went in and took a look, he couldn't help but gasp.

The basket on the table contained half a basket of chicken eggs and half a basket of duck eggs, a piece of pork belly weighing about four pounds, a bag of brightly colored candies and pastries, and a bag of silver.

The key point is this bag of silver, which contains eighty taels! That's equivalent to a child's annual tuition of twenty taels.

You should know that he only received ten taels of silver a year for tutoring the children of wealthy families in the capital, but Shen Yi doubled that amount!
Chu Heng hurriedly took the bag of silver and went next door to find Su Tai.