Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Looking at the storage locker on the trading platform, Tang Susu quickly deposited her disguise—a silk dress, a gold hairpin, and the two thousand taels of silver notes she had just received—into the locker. It was safe and secure, and she no longer had to worry about her valuables being coveted.

She looked at the storage cabinet and felt that the two cubic meters of space was still too small to store too many things. She then clicked on the system prompt and found out that it would cost five thousand taels of silver to double the storage cabinet size.

Tang Susu frowned instantly, thinking to herself: This fee is too high. Five thousand taels of silver is no small amount. I'll just forget about it for now and make do with it for now. I can consider upgrading later when I have enough silver.

She considered buying another luminous pearl from the trading platform to resell and raise some money, but then she thought that scarcity increases value, and if she sold luminous pearls of similar quality one after another, it would inevitably arouse suspicion. If the secret of the trading platform were exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

In the end, she gave up the idea, thinking that she now had a surplus of one thousand taels of silver and storage space available, which was enough for the time being, and there was no need to be too greedy.

Afterwards, Tang Susu took out a bottle of mineral water from the trading platform, unscrewed the cap, and carefully washed her face with the mineral water, completely removing the old-age makeup and restoring her original appearance.

After shedding her disguise, she was in a particularly good mood and strolled leisurely down the street, buying some salt and a small amount of needles and thread.

Knowing that Old Lady Yang was still waiting for her at the city gate, and that she was always reluctant to spend money, she didn't buy much. She planned to take some good things from the trading platform when she returned to the village and secretly surprise her family.

On the other side, Lu Hao strode towards the county government office. At this moment, he was no longer the young master of the county magistrate he once was.

He was wearing tattered clothes patched upon patched, old clothes that Tang Susu had given him. He wore a pair of badly worn straw sandals. His skin was tanned dark from the sun and wind. He had also lost a lot of weight. His hair was messy and his face was covered in dust. He looked very disheveled. At first glance, he looked no different from a beggar on the street.

As soon as they reached the entrance of the county government office, the guards immediately stopped them, their brows furrowed and their tone stern: "Halt! Who are you? How dare you trespass on the county government office? Get out of the way right now, or don't blame us for being impolite!"

Lu Hao, already irritated from the long journey, was enraged when the constables stopped him. He raised his voice and shouted, "Insolence! Are you blind? Don't you even recognize me? I am Lu Hao, the son of Magistrate Lu!"

Upon hearing this, the constables were all taken aback. They quickly came forward and squinted at him for a long time before recognizing from his features that the disheveled young man in front of them was actually the pampered and luxurious Young Master Lu.

The constables looked at each other in astonishment, their faces filled with disbelief.

The once dashing young master Lu, with his fine clothes, fair complexion, and elegant demeanor, always exuding a refined and noble air, has now become so disheveled. He's practically a different person altogether.

After their initial shock, the constables quickly bowed and saluted, their tone respectful yet hurried: "We were unaware of your arrival, young master, and have failed to greet you properly. Please forgive us!"

"Alright, alright," Lu Hao waved his hand impatiently, "Quickly inform my father that I'm back."

The yamen runner immediately responded and hurried into the county office to report. At that moment, Lord Lu was writing a memorial in his study. Upon hearing that his son had returned, he immediately stopped writing, a hint of guilt appearing on his face.

He had been busy dealing with the refugees and taxes these past few days and had forgotten that he hadn't picked up his son for many days. He had also neglected to discipline his son, which had led to his son's unruly behavior. He sent him to Yangqu Village to gain experience in the hope that his son could improve.

Soon, Lu Hao entered the study. When Lord Lu looked up and saw his appearance, he was instantly stunned, almost dropping the calligraphy brush in his hand. His voice was full of shock: "You...you're Hao'er? How did you become like this?"

Lu Hao was already feeling wronged, and when his father greeted him with nothing but shock and reprimands instead of a word of concern, he became even more resentful. He said defiantly, "I work in the fields and help with the harvest every day in Yangqu Village. How could I not change? But you never care whether I'm doing well or not in the village. All you do when you see me is scold me!"

He had been so excited, wanting to show his father the 520 copper coins he had earned, to prove he could earn money with his own hands, and he even wanted to tell him the funny story about the rotten egg. But after his father's scolding, all his enthusiasm vanished. He turned and walked out, saying, "Forget it, I have nothing to say to you. I'll just go back to Yangqu Village. At least the people there care about me more than you do."

"Stop!" Lord Lu quickly called out to him, his tone softening considerably as he watched his son's resentful back. "Don't rush off. I'm asking you, did you really help the villagers with the autumn harvest in Yangqu Village? Have you been studying diligently these past few days? Have you made any progress in your studies?"

Lu Hao stopped, turned around, and complained with a frown, "The autumn harvest is so tiring, cutting and threshing grain every day, how can I concentrate on reading? However, I do have something I need your help with."

He paused, then his tone became serious: "Father, please build a private school for Yangqu Village. There are more than fifty children in the village who have been having their classes outdoors in the courtyard of the Yang family ancestral hall every day. The conditions are very poor, and they can't study when it rains. Moreover, the number of children coming to class may exceed one hundred in the future. We can't let them continue to have their classes outdoors."

Upon hearing this, Lord Lu smiled with satisfaction, his eyes full of approval—he never expected that his son would actually change after this period of experience.

In the past, he hated reading and never cared about such trivial matters.

Now, he has even taken the initiative to request the construction of a private school for the children of Yangqu Village, which is clearly due to the great influence of Tang Chengyu.

But he still gently shook his head and patiently explained, "Hao'er, I know you mean well, but I can't build a private school just for Yangqu Village. There are thirty-five villages in our Dongtai Town. If we only build one for Yangqu Village, the villagers in the other villages will inevitably have objections. As the county magistrate, I must treat everyone equally and not favor one over the other. Moreover, building a private school in every one of the thirty-five villages would require too much money, and the imperial court would not approve it. I also don't have that much silver to spare."

Upon hearing this, Lu Hao's face showed disappointment. However, he knew his father had a point, so he backed down and said, "Alright then, I won't force you to build the private school. But give me some money; I need to buy some writing materials for the village children. The prizes Tang Chengyu prepared are old and worn out. Most of the children don't even have decent paper and pens, so they can't write or study properly."

He secretly planned to buy dozens of sets of calligraphy supplies, which would not only help the children but also allow him to show off his skills in front of them, surpass Tang Chengyu, and earn their respect.

Thinking of this, he said, "The cheapest set of the Four Treasures of the Study costs two taels of silver. I want to buy dozens of sets, so one hundred taels of silver will be enough for me."

Upon hearing this, Lord Lu frowned, feeling a pang of heartache. He was an honest and upright official who never embezzled or broke the law, and his monthly salary was barely enough to cover his family's expenses.

Each year, the family could only earn a little over two hundred taels of silver from the small amount of property left by the old lady. Lu Hao asked for one hundred taels, which was equivalent to half a year's income for the family, and that was no small sum.

But when he looked at his son, whose eyes were full of expectation, he thought that this was the first time his son had taken the initiative to do something important and the first time he had learned to care about others. If he refused him, it would inevitably dampen his enthusiasm and betray the changes he had made during this period.

Finally, Lord Lu gritted his teeth, took out a hundred-tael silver note from his drawer, handed it to Lu Hao, and said solemnly, "Take this hundred taels of silver. You must use it to buy the children writing materials. Don't spend it recklessly. If your father finds out that you've spent the money elsewhere, see how I punish you!"

"Understood, understood!" Lu Hao took the silver note, his face instantly lighting up with joy. The disappointment on his face vanished, and he quickly and carefully put the note away. He then cupped his hands in thanks to Lord Lu, "Thank you, Father! I promise I will buy good things for the children and will not waste a single penny!"

After saying that, he couldn't wait to turn around and run out of the county government office. He ran all the way to the stationery shop in town to buy stationery, paper, pens, and other supplies.

Before long, he was carrying a large package in each hand, filled with things the children could use. They were heavy, but he showed no signs of fatigue, and his face was full of joy.

At this time, Tang Susu and Old Lady Yang had already bought salt, pork and other supplies. Yang Defu was guarding the oxcart, watching over the coarse grains and cloth they had exchanged.

Tang Chengyu had already taken on the job of copying books at Shuyun Pavilion, and had also bought some cheap pens, ink, paper and inkstones to take back to the village for the children to use.

Everyone got into the oxcart, and Yang Defu was about to drive it back to the village when Lu Hao came running up, panting, shouting, "Wait for me! Wait for me! Don't rush off, I'm back!"

He hurried to the oxcart, carefully placed the two large packages he was carrying on it, wiped the sweat from his face, and said with a smile, "Luckily, I made it in time. I didn't delay everyone's return to the village. I bought a lot of writing materials for the children to use back home!"

Tang Susu looked at the package in his hand and then at his delighted expression, and couldn't help but laugh: "It seems you've had quite a fruitful trip to the county government. Now that everyone's here, let's hurry back to the village."

Yang Defu nodded, cracked his whip, and the oxcart slowly turned, heading towards Yangqu Village. Inside the cart, everyone chatted and laughed, full of joy, looking forward to the day they would return to the village.