An Yi reluctantly squeezed through the door, trying to salvage the beautiful wish that Qiao Qiuniang had strangled in its cradle.

"No... Mother... I'm talking to my little sister about something important, don't push me, I haven't finished speaking yet..."

Anle watched with a smile as An Yiren was pushed out the door, took a bite of her apple as if it were none of her business, and started chatting with Liu Xiaoqiao.

“Auntie, where did you find the musician that Auntie paid for? I’ll go and find one for my eldest sister and fourth sister tomorrow.”

“Hey, Le Wa Zi, hiring a musician isn’t that simple. You need to find out which musicians are highly skilled first.” As she spoke, Liu Xiao Qiao’s eyes lit up, and she slapped her thigh.

“I’ve got it. A couple of days ago, Master Meng came back with a student. The student played a little tune that I thought was quite good. I even heard it once when I passed by Master Meng’s house.”

"Huh?" Anle was taken aback. Master Meng was back so soon?

"Hey Lewa, why don't you go to Master Meng's place and invite that student over to teach Jing and Ning?"

He seemed polite and well-mannered, with a refined and scholarly appearance; he looked like a scholar.

They must be able to teach Jing and the others a lot of good things. They speak so politely, they're completely different from us farmers who toil in the fields.

Besides, the student doesn't look very old, which means he can easily talk to Jing and Ning.

They're all about the same age, so there's no awkwardness when they're learning the piano together.

Anle scratched his head. "Oh, is that so? Then how about I tell Grandpa to go to Master Meng's and invite him over?"

I wonder how much money other musicians pay?

How should I give it to make it appropriate?

Liu Xiaoqiao grinned.

“That’s easy to say. We pay one tael of silver a month here, that’s about the standard rate. You can’t go wrong with one tael of silver.”

Anle raised an eyebrow. "Oh, if that's the case, then Auntie really went all out to hire a musician for Anxian."

"Who says otherwise? You auntie, you're always thinking about the unusual, but you never think about how capable your own daughter is. And you dare to spend money on her."

They really treat Xianya like a young lady from a wealthy family.

But if it were truly the wealth of those noble and wealthy families, then spending a tael or two of silver wouldn't be a problem!

For wealthy and powerful families, spending a tael of silver is as easy as playing a game.

But for us farmers, if we don't have a major need for it, one or two taels of silver is enough to live on for a whole year."

An Ning wiped the blender and said with a smile.

"Hey, Auntie's family has a lot of land, so they don't care about this little bit of money."

After waiting for three days, An Dalin finally invited the person to his door. His gentle and frail appearance made An Le raise an eyebrow.

Hmm, this really is a frail scholar. He is thin and has a feminine air about him. His chiseled face seems to have an unnatural paleness. He looks about fourteen or fifteen years old. You can tell at a glance that he is a weak and helpless boy.

"Young man, I'm entrusting my two older sisters' piano lessons to you from now on."

The scholar simply nodded, his smile somewhat stiff and reserved, with a hint of unease in his expression.

"Alright, Jing'er, Ning'er, you've invited the musician, so you must treat him well!"

"Study hard, and don't waste the money Lewazi spent on you." An Dalin said, then gestured for the scholar to sit down, and An Ning, being very perceptive, came over to serve him tea and water.

An Jing stared intently at the scholar, or more precisely, at the ancient zither in the scholar's hands, its strings gleaming coldly.

"Teacher...we...we sisters have never played the piano before, so we'll have to trouble you to teach us from scratch."

An Dalin glanced at An Le and gave her a wink. An Le understood and followed An Dalin out, leaving the two sisters to talk with the scholar.

"Grandpa, what's wrong?"

An Dalin looked somewhat embarrassed.

“Le Wa Zi, when I went to see Master Meng a couple of days ago and brought up this matter, Master Meng looked very reluctant.”

It seems that they care about this student and don't want him to be in the public eye, so they refused the offer.

But today they suddenly came to me and asked me to bring the person over. The money is negotiable.

They said they didn't need to give that tael of silver, but Master Meng made a condition.

"Huh?" Anle was stunned. Free? Is there really such a good thing?

As for the conditions—

What are the conditions?

"They said they wanted this student to stay here, and all we had to do was provide him with good food, clothing, and lodging."

Anle tilted her head and asked.

"Grandpa, is this the only condition Master Meng has?"

"Yes, that's the only condition. If we agree, we can stay and become musicians."

"Alright, then this matter is settled."

An Dalin sighed, "Lewa, I always feel like Master Meng is hiding something from us."

I don't know why they're sending this child to live here.

Having lived most of my life, I still have the eye to see things clearly.

He's used to reading people's expressions, and he's never been wrong about them.

This Master Meng came back from the capital, a big city, so the student he brought with him is probably also from the capital.

I've heard that things are quite chaotic in the capital lately, with war and chaos. The people of the capital—"

"Oh, Grandpa, why are you thinking so much? You're just worrying unnecessarily!"

You can just enjoy your retirement, stay at the chess hall, and live a leisurely life!

Once your chess room is all set up and ready, the tables and chess sets I ordered for you will be delivered there.

Just sit back and wait for a smooth and successful opening.

After pausing, Anle glanced in the direction of the hall, her eyes darkening.

"As for this person, I will keep an eye on him. If I find any problems, I will send him back to Master Meng. I will definitely not leave any trouble at home, so you can rest assured."

An Dalin stood with his hands behind his back, his old eyes fixed on the spot.

"Alright, now that you know what you're doing, I'm relieved."

After saying that, he couldn't help but add, "I'm just telling you this so you'll know what to do. Don't think I'm being long-winded, kid."

"Oh, yes, yes, how could I find you nagging? I'm just worried about tiring you out."

"I haven't been able to take care of things at the chess hall these past few days; there are still people repairing and tidying it up."

"Have your dad go over and keep an eye on things when he has time. I need to go back to the village and get my three acres of land properly harvested."