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

Shen Yi exchanged a few pleasantries with them and then followed Master Pu to the study.

"Master Pu, is there any progress on the matter I asked you to handle before?"

"Is Lord Shen referring to the matter of the enlightenment teacher?"

Shen Yi nodded.

Mr. Pu immediately perked up, “There really is one! He’s in his thirties, and the only downside is that he has a family to support, including a sick and frail old mother to take care of. He had to return to his hometown to take care of his mother, and he came back after the spring planting season. I only recently received the news.”

"It wasn't because we heard that Shen Family Village had a tutor, but we assumed that Lord Shen no longer needed one, that we didn't come to inform him."

Shen Yi was overjoyed, feeling that today was an auspicious day and everything was going smoothly. "Then I'll trouble Master Pu to ask around for me. If the other party is willing, he can go to Shenjiazhuang to find the village chief, Shen Ying. As for bringing his family, that's not a problem. The village school's courtyard is newly built and very spacious. I'm sure it will be easy to settle the teacher's family there."

"Very well! I'll go and talk to him in person tomorrow." Master Pu seemed even happier than Shen Yi.

Shen Yi was somewhat puzzled, but he didn't delve into it. He was in a hurry to get back and get a good night's rest. He had to return to the county government early the next morning, as the coal business would probably keep him busy for several years.

Su Tai led the four of them to sit quietly in the main room and read books.

When Shen Yi entered the house, he was surprised to find that none of the four children had rested. "Why aren't you asleep?"

Su Tai scolded, "They said they would wait for you, but the two little ones said they haven't seen you in a long time and insisted on sleeping with you. There's hot water in the bathroom, so take a good bath. I'll go to the kitchen to make chicken soup. After you eat, you can take them back to their room to sleep."

A warm feeling washed over Shen Yi, and he stepped forward to hug the twins onto his lap.

The two little ones didn't mind that he was dirty and snuggled into his arms. They looked like wilted eggplants. Shen Yi couldn't help but sigh softly, "You two play with your older brother and sister first. Daddy is going to take a shower and then play with you."

The twins stood up obediently, and their well-behaved appearance made Shen Yi feel inexplicably uncomfortable. He turned around and went to the kitchen.

"Xiaotai, Yu'er and An'an know they were wrong, that's enough."

Su Tai glanced at him and said, "Don't worry about this. They're just pretending to be pitiful in front of you to gain your sympathy. If you soften your heart later, all my efforts over the past few days will be wasted."

Shen Yi awkwardly touched his nose and slunk away to the bathroom next door.

In the main room, the twins exchanged a disappointed glance and sighed.

"Brother, what should we do? Even Dad can't help us. How long do you think we'll be punished?" Shen Yue'an was on the verge of tears, but her words were all bark and no bite.

Shen Congyu sighed like a little adult, "I don't know either. Let's be good for a few more days and wait until Mother calms down before we talk about it."

Shen Yue'an felt that the road ahead was shrouded in darkness, and said with a sob in her voice, "Dad is going to the county town tomorrow, and there will be no one to help us anymore."

"Do you think we're dead?" Shen Yuezhang put down his book and glared at them with sharp eyes.

The twins immediately shut up obediently.

The medicinal chicken soup simmered for two hours, its aroma rich and fragrant. The twins, upon seeing it, immediately forgot their sadness and eagerly awaited to be fed.

Shen Yi, who was initially reluctant to let it go, immediately suppressed his overflowing fatherly love upon seeing this.

Su Tai looked at the chicken soup that had been devoured by the group and felt glad she had stewed two chickens. The next day, Shen Yi went out just as dawn was breaking. The potstickers next door had just come out of the oven, so he went in to take a look and grabbed a few to take with him.

It only took half a day to drive all the way to the county government office.

Lu Tong was very satisfied with his enthusiasm and exchanged a few polite words with him.

Shen Yi had no interest in such formalities and went straight to the point, "Lord Lu, have you ever heard of coal?"

A clear thirst for knowledge shone in Lu Tong's eyes. "What is this?"

Shen Yi's voice was somewhat hurried, "Back when I served on the border, we fought against the Longxia Kingdom for many years and suffered several defeats. My deputy general mentioned that the Longxia Kingdom was able to win because their weapons were better than ours, and they used coal to forge and smelt their weapons."

"So, coal is indeed a precious commodity!"

Seeing that Lu Tong hadn't reacted yet, Shen Yi took a deep breath and said, "The coal that was dug out of the pool in the house I bought."

With a loud crash, Lu Tong fell off the armchair. "Shen Yi! How did you know that thing was coal? Could you have made a mistake?"

Lu Tong's eyes darted around incessantly; his mind was practically fried.

Shen Yi trusted Su Tai's abilities. Since she said it was definitely true, he nodded emphatically. "There's absolutely no mistake. If you don't believe me, sir, you can have someone try it again. Coal can be used to start a fire. Let's test it first and then report it to our superiors. Wouldn't that be just fine?"

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes! You're right, I'll send someone right away, or I'll go myself!" Lu Tong quickly got up from the ground, straightened his official hat, and hurriedly ran outside, almost tripping over the threshold.

Shen Yi was busy studying coal with Lu Tong.

Master Pu also led Zhou Ran's family into Shen Family Village.

“I’ve already told you about the situation in Shenjiazhuang. Everyone here is a relative of the County Magistrate, and his ancestral home is also here. Although it’s a village, every family in the village is wealthy. The conditions are better than those in the county or even the prefectural city. There will definitely be plenty of tuition and living expenses. If you can settle down in this village, your sister-in-law will have no problem getting medical treatment and medicine.”

Master Pu kept emphasizing that he hoped Zhou Ran could seize this opportunity.

Zhou's mother quickly thanked him, looking at her son with heartache, "If it weren't for me, their family wouldn't have had to rush back from the prefectural city. I'm the one who's dragging them down!"

Tears streamed down Zhou's mother's face, filled with despair and sorrow.

Master Pu quickly advised, "What are you saying, sister-in-law! Filial piety is the most important virtue! Zhou Ran has studied for so many years, it would be a problem if he didn't even understand this basic principle. He's just doing this because he cares about you, it's what he should do. Don't say anything about being a burden!"

“Yes, Mother, don’t be sad. I’m also teaching the sons of wealthy families in the city. Coming back to the village school to teach is the same as teaching children. It’s no different for me.” Zhou Ran seemed very open-minded.

Zhou's mother couldn't understand. "How can this be the same? There are plenty of noble people in the prefectural city. Your family could have settled down there, but now it's all been for nothing!"

“Sister-in-law, you can’t say that! The city is good, but you might not earn as much there as you do here. If Zhou Ran earned a higher salary in the city, he wouldn’t have to bring his whole family back to take care of you.” Master Pu hit the nail on the head.

Zhou Ran showed no embarrassment whatsoever, but instead wholeheartedly agreed with Master Pu's words, "Although there are many nobles in the prefectural city, there are also many places where money is spent on social obligations. I pay my two sons five taels of silver a month for their education, which sounds like a lot, but it takes more than one tael a month to support the family. Social obligations cost another tael of silver, and my mother's medical treatment and medicine cost more than one or two taels of silver. It would be excellent if we could save one tael of silver a month."

If the young master of the manor were to take a ten-day or half-month leave from school, the tuition fee would have to be reduced. And if the young master didn't perform well, he might be asked to leave. The expenses during that time, however, would continue indefinitely. As a result, in all my years in the manor, I haven't saved a single penny. (End of Chapter)