The handover of the rice shop went very smoothly. Wang Jinbao was efficient and decisive, and he directly had Wang Xiaobao take people to inventory the warehouse and hand over the converted silver notes to Chen Shujie.

Looking at the thick stack of silver notes in the box, plus the savings that Yang Laosan had secretly entrusted to her over the years, Chen Shujie knew that this money was enough for her and her son to buy a house and land in any wealthy prefecture in Daliang and live a peaceful and prosperous life for the rest of their lives.

But after experiencing the Yang brothers' exploitation of her family's fortune, she understood a principle: a widow and her children, even with a fortune, without a strong backer or the ability to stand on their own two feet, would sooner or later become easy prey for others. The Wang family was not only her support, but also the source of her confidence to start a new life.

After settling everything in, Chen Shujie personally escorted Yang Jiye to the Wang family residence in Yong'an Prefecture.

Upon seeing Chen Shujie and her son arrive, Chen Tianwei warmly greeted them, pulling them inside while saying with a smile, "I've been looking forward to your arrival. The courtyard and study are all neatly arranged."

"Jiye, from now on you will live in the same courtyard as your cousin Yurui. You must ask the teacher for help with your studies at school and never slack off." Chen Shujie straightened her son's clothes and earnestly instructed him.

Chen Tianwei comforted her, "Shujie, don't worry. Jiye is just like he's at home here. With me watching over them, I guarantee nothing will go wrong."

Eleven-year-old Wang Yurui also came forward, patted Yang Jiye on the shoulder, and said with a grin, "Don't worry, Auntie, I'll protect Brother Jiye at school! I'll be the first to object to anyone who dares to bully him!"

Seeing Chen Tianwei's thoughtful arrangements, and then watching the two children walk side by side towards the study, Chen Shujie finally felt completely relieved.

Back in Houkou Village, Chen Shujie seemed like a completely different person, throwing herself into a new life.

Today, Houkou Village is no longer the impoverished and dilapidated village it once was.

Thanks to the Wang family's workshops, every household in the village had someone working in the workshops, earning a generous monthly wage. With spare money in hand, the first thing the villagers did was rebuild their houses.

Looking around, all the low, dilapidated thatched houses in the village have disappeared, replaced by rows of spacious and bright brick and tile houses. Smooth stone slabs have been laid to the door of every household, so even on rainy days, your shoes won't get muddy at all.

Village chief Li Hongming strolls around the village every day with his hands behind his back, and his face beams with joy as he looks at the rows of impressive new houses.

Houkou Village has become a wealthy village that is well-known and envied by everyone in Yong'an Prefecture. Matchmakers from all around are running around trying to marry their daughters into Houkou Village.

Amidst this prosperity, the most eye-catching establishment is the charitable organization founded by Wang Jinzhu.

As its reputation spread, the charity now shelters more than 110 homeless or abandoned girls. Cao'er serves as the manager and teacher, instructing these girls in reading, writing, arithmetic, and bookkeeping.

As time went by, the first batch of older girls in the charity, such as Wang Yingdong and Wang Nian'an, had completed their basic studies and were assigned to help out in various workshops and shops of the Wang family, gradually taking on some management duties.

At first, the old workers in the workshop were somewhat dismissive of these eleven or twelve-year-old girls who hadn't even grown their hair yet, pointing and gesturing with the account books.

"A few young girls, they probably don't even know the full set of stars, what can they possibly manage?" In the soap shop, a few old workers often muttered among themselves.

But not long after, these veteran workers were severely proven wrong.

At the end of the month, when the accounts were being tallied, Wang Gui, the manager of the soap shop, was sweating profusely because the loss of a batch of raw materials did not match up. He and several old accountants spent a long time fiddling with the abacus beads, but they still couldn't find the hole.

Wang Yingdong, who had only been assigned to the soap shop for half a month, took the ledger and quickly wrote several lines of strange symbols on the paper with a charcoal pencil. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he pointed to one of the pages and said, "Manager Wang, the wood ash and pig pancreas that came in on the eighth day of the month were mixed up in the accounts of the weights entering the warehouse and the proportions leaving the warehouse. There is an extra 500 catties here and an under 300 catties there. Naturally, they don't match up."

Wang Gui quickly sent someone to check the warehouse delivery slip, and sure enough, just as Wang Yingdong had said, it was exactly the same!

Now, the workers in the workshop were completely convinced. They realized that these girls from the charity were not only incredibly fast at accounting, but also organized and disciplined in their work.

Whether it's a rouge shop, a textile workshop, or a private restaurant or fried food shop in the city, wherever the girls from the charity hall take over, the accounts are clear and the goods come and go in an orderly manner. Each of them is a capable person who can handle things on their own!

This convinced the workers in the workshops and shops that no one dared to bring up her age anymore, and they all greeted her politely as "Miss".

Looking at these young, vibrant, capable, and courageous girls, Chen Shujie felt both shocked and admiring.

She knew very well that although she had managed the rice shop with Yang Laosan for a few years, her old-fashioned bookkeeping methods were worlds apart from the exquisite knowledge of the Wang family.

So, this former rice shop owner completely lowered her pride.

Every morning, just as dawn was breaking, Chen Shujie would arrive at the charitable school with the booklet Wang Jinbao had given her. Despite being more than ten years older than the other girls, she insisted on carrying a small stool and sitting in the last row, listening to Cao'er's lessons along with the other girls from the charitable school.

Although Cao'er was young, she was composed on the podium and explained the Arabic numerals, double-entry bookkeeping, and various forms of drawing that Wang Jinzhu taught her in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

Chen Shujie studied extremely hard. When she encountered something she didn't understand, she didn't feel ashamed. After class, she would humbly ask Cao'er for help, and she would even pull Wang Yingdong and Wang Nian'an, who were little girls, to discuss the mathematical principles.

Back in her room at night, she would practice repeatedly under the oil lamp until she had memorized those strange symbols and tables.

"So this is how accounts can be kept... Income, expenses, and balance are all clearly visible. No matter how complicated the business is, no one can tamper with it!" One late night, Chen Shujie finished checking a simulated inter-provincial goods transfer account. Looking at the clear and neat data on the paper, she couldn't help but slap the table in amazement.

Outside the window, the night breeze of Houkou Village blew gently.

Chen Shujie raised her head, her eyes sparkling with an unprecedented brightness.

------

My darlings, please don't rush me! Love you all...

Lulu racks her brains to find time to write every day...

It's past four in the morning! Praise me, hehe...

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