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

It's embarrassing to admit, but that's the truth. Master Pu was his elder, so he didn't need to hide it.

Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother began to complain again that she had been a burden to her son.

Master Pu was tired of hearing it.

Fortunately, the carriage finally arrived at Shen Ying's house. He quickly got off and rushed over to call for help.

Shen Yi had already instructed Shen Ying not to go far these past few days. Upon seeing Master Pu bring his men over, she immediately came out to greet them.

They respectfully invited Zhou Ran and his family into the courtyard.

When Zhou's mother saw the spacious and tidy courtyard, she didn't think much of it. After all, it was the village chief's house, so it was understandable that the conditions were better.

Shen Ying looked at the handsome Zhou Ran with great enthusiasm and hurriedly went into the house to bring out a few small stools. "Sir, Master Pu has already told you about the situation in our village, right?"

Zhou Ran bent slightly, his tall figure slightly bent. "I told you, your village needs an enlightener, so you can allow me to bring my family with me."

Shen Ying stared at him intently. "And then?"

Zhou Ran looked at Master Pu blankly, "Is there anything else I should be aware of?"

Shen Ying slapped her thigh hard. "So you don't know anything at all. Here, I'll take you to see the school."

The group walked along the village road, which was not yet fully repaired.

Shen Ying pointed to Shen Yi's house and said, "The village school has just been built and people can move in in the next couple of days. For now, the students are temporarily studying in the small school behind the workshop. You can go and take a look and you'll see."

Zhou Ran's family thought Shen Yi was keeping them in suspense, but when they arrived, they were almost speechless with astonishment at the sheer number of students.

Chu Heng came out to greet them, and upon learning that Zhou Ran was a newly hired doctor, he was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. "That's wonderful! I'm finally saved!"

His voice was hoarse and his face was haggard, as if all his energy had been drained.

Zhou Ran helped Chu Heng up with concern. "Brother, you don't look well. Should we have a doctor take a look?"

Chu Heng's finger trembled as he pointed at the room full of children, tears welling up in his eyes. "Even ten doctors couldn't help me, only you can!"

When Chu Heng explained the situation at the school, everyone in the Zhou family was stunned.

Zhou's mother thought she was hallucinating. "Mr. Chu, are you saying that there are almost a hundred people in the village who are studying? And that the tuition is two taels of silver a year?"

Chu Heng nodded vigorously, looking at Zhou Ran eagerly, "I'll give you half of the students, and half of the tuition fees too, how about it?"

"I just arrived, I can't take so much!" Zhou Ran said, somewhat embarrassed.

He originally thought it would just be a matter of educating a few children, earning at most a few more taels of silver than in the prefectural city. He never expected it would be educating nearly fifty children, with tuition fees alone amounting to one hundred taels a year, equivalent to four years' income in the prefectural city.

Chu Heng shook his head wildly, "Not much, not much. As long as you agree, I can give you the silver right now."

Having money is not enough; you need to be alive to spend it. If this continues, he'll soon be drained dry.

Seeing this, Shen Ying spoke up: "Gentlemen, there's no need to argue. I'll have Xiao Tai do the math. How about we calculate Mr. Zhou's tuition based on half a year's salary?"

"That's fine!" Zhou Ran breathed a sigh of relief. She secretly calculated that having fifty children divided into two classes was acceptable; a yearly tuition of one hundred taels would be enough to treat her mother's illness and also save some money for her children—excellent!

Thinking of this, he quickly turned around and bowed deeply to Master Pu, "Uncle, thank you for finding me this good job."

"Hey! You've helped me too, so let's not talk about thanking you! Oh! After talking so much, everyone must be hungry! Come on! I'll treat you to some guokui (a type of flatbread). This guokui is made in the workshop outside, it's from the Shen County Magistrate's family, it's delicious!" Master Pu stroked his beard with a cheerful smile and took the lead outside.

Chu Heng went back to teaching.

Shen Ying accompanied the Zhou family as they walked out, explaining, "The Shen family made their fortune by making guokui (a type of flatbread). Their guokui is absolutely delicious. You probably haven't tried it in the city, so this is a good opportunity to have a hot one."

Zhou's mother was helped out by her daughter-in-law, Ye.

She had been curious about the rich aroma, and now that she knew her son could earn a hundred taels a year for tuition, she was in a better mood and her appetite increased. She couldn't wait to try it.

"Let's go! Let's see what this guokui is."

Seeing her mother-in-law smile, Madam Ye secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "If you like it, Mother, eat a few more later."

When Qi Yan and Wei Daya learned that Zhou Ran was the new teacher in the village, they were very enthusiastic. They brought over a large plate of hot guokui (a type of flatbread) and said warmly, "There is some papaya, white fungus and fresh milk on the stove. Let me serve some to everyone to try."

After the food was served, Zhou's mother saw the translucent white fungus that was faintly visible in the snow-white milk, as well as the golden and juicy papaya. She immediately had an appetite, took a spoonful and tasted it. Her eyes lit up instantly. "Good stuff! Grandma's precious grandchildren, you should try some too."

Zhou Ran asked Ye Shi to sit down and eat as well.

After just one sip, he nodded affirmatively, "It's even better than the sweet soup made in the restaurants in the prefectural city. I never expected the people here to have such skill."

Zhou Ran took a few bites, clearly quite surprised. "The Shen family also sells sweet soup?"

Qi Yan was amused. "That's impossible! These sweet soups were made by Xiao Tai for us and Mr. Chu. Mr. Chu teaches from morning till night, and his voice is sore. He often drinks some sweet soup to soothe his throat. We also benefit from Mr. Chu's kindness and get to eat a lot of good food every day."

Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother was even happier.

The family ate a meal at the workshop. Zhou Ran insisted on paying the bill, but Qi Yan and Wei Daya refused to pay, wouldn't mention the price, and even asked Shen Ying to take them away.

Shen Ying advised, "Just listen to them. The village is well-off, and no one cares about these things. There are strawberry fields all over the back mountain, and there's a workshop in the village that specializes in producing strawberry jam. And over there, there's a wool sweater processing workshop. You can walk around and see more of the village when you live there in the future."

As they spoke, the group arrived at the village school.

The sight of the mansion made the Zhou family gasp in astonishment.

Shen Ying pushed open the courtyard door, and what came into view was a wide path leading directly to the large hall in front, with several arched doorways on each side.

Shen Ying explained, “The main hall in front is for entertaining guests. Passing through the main hall is a back courtyard, where the kitchen and woodshed are located, as well as a well. Behind that is the courtyard where the teacher lives. There are four courtyards in total, each with six rooms. It’s more than enough for Mr. Zhou’s family to live in. Let’s take a look at the small courtyard on the side first. It’s where the school is located. To prevent them from interfering with each other, it’s been specially separated.”

Zhou Ran's family followed Shen Ying, looking around as they went, but they couldn't go any further after walking only halfway.

Zhou Ran said with a wry smile, "This is no village school, it's clearly an academy!"

Even the only academy in the prefectural city couldn't compare to this village school. He was now completely bewildered and needed to readjust his understanding. (End of Chapter)