Chapter 206 The New Teacher Yu

The dawn of autumn comes later and later.

Before dawn, Zhao Ergou got up and asked Zhao Dashan and Afu to help move the cloth.

The carriage had a height limit, so the seats had to be removed to barely fit all the cloth inside.

Zhao Ergou was an expert at driving a horse-drawn carriage; once he grasped the reins, he could do it right away. He quickly drove the carriage out of Dahe Village and headed towards Baiyun Town.

Zhao Youcai and Zhao Da also set off, their cart wheels turning as they headed towards Hekou Town.

Cheng Wanwan slept in bed a little longer before getting up. Even though she stayed in bed a bit longer, it wasn't fully light when she got up.

With Chunhua's help, she no longer has to endure the stench while cleaning the chicken coop, duck shed, and sheep pen...

Chunhua worked very efficiently, cleaning up all the livestock sheds in the backyard in an hour. Then she started boiling wood ash to disinfect and prevent plague. After disinfection, she laid clean straw on the sheep pen, rabbit hutch, and dog kennel, making it look very neat and tidy.

The rabbits at home were originally two baby rabbits given to them by Hunter Zhao. Baby rabbits take four or five months to mature before they can conceive and give birth, so Cheng Wanwan secretly bought a pair of male and female rabbits from the mall and threw them into the rabbit hutch, pretending that she had picked them up from the mountain.

The children in the family had eaten rabbit meat before and knew how delicious it was. They stared at the two big rabbits and swallowed their saliva. Cheng Wanwan pulled them aside and gave them a long lecture—"Rabbits beget rabbits, and their offspring will never end." Only then did the children give up their idea.

The two lambs at home are growing stronger and stronger. The lambs are in their growth period, and the mother sheep is in her milk production recovery period. The three sheep, one big and two small, have a particularly large appetite every day, which means that Cao Yingying, a young lady from a wealthy family, spends most of her day outside cutting grass.

After Zhao Sanniu went to work in the martial arts world, the task of chopping firewood at home was split equally between Zhao Dashan and Afu. Afu was chopping firewood right now.

Cheng Wanwan sat in the courtyard and poured herself a cup of tea. It was a high-quality Biluochun tea she bought from the mall. It had a mellow taste and a lingering aroma. After taking a sip, she felt refreshed.

The children were busy in the courtyard, but she was drinking tea by herself, feeling inexplicably embarrassed.

Forget it, let's go inside and work on the restaurant's interior design. At the rate Er Gou is making money, this family will be able to buy a shop soon.

Cheng Wanwan finished the last sip of tea and had just stood up when she heard the sound of horses' hooves in the distance.

She thought it was Zhao Ergou who had returned, so she stood on tiptoe to look and saw the Shen family's carriage. It was the county magistrate who had arrived.

The villagers were already familiar with the carriage. Everyone assumed that it would stop in front of Cheng Wanwan's house. After all, the magistrate's son lived in Cheng Wanwan's house. Furthermore, the matter of the magistrate sending a matchmaker to propose marriage had just ended without any follow-up. The villagers wanted to see how things would go, so they all had their gossipy eyes wide open and quietly made their way towards Cheng Wanwan's house.

Unexpectedly, the carriage stopped directly in front of the new school.

The school was built on a piece of wasteland, with a total of four rooms: three classrooms and one living quarters. The muddy ground around the school was paved with bluestone slabs, making it look clean and tidy. A carriage stopped on the bluestone slabs, and two people got off the carriage.

One was Magistrate Shen, who was dressed in a dark blue everyday robe.

One was a man dressed in a coarse cloth long gown, about forty years old, with a very long beard.

"This is the newly built school in Dahe Village," Magistrate Shen said. "My son is also studying in Dahe Village. He will be taking the provincial examination next year. I hope Master Yu can give him some guidance."

"It's not a matter of giving guidance. If he's talented, he'll be on the list without my help. If he's ignorant, no amount of advice will help." Master Yu looked at the school in front of him and sighed. "I never thought I'd be able to become a teacher in my lifetime. It feels like a dream."

Magistrate Shen fell silent.

When he was young, he took Master Yu as his role model. Master Yu became a student at the age of ten, a scholar at the age of eleven, and a provincial graduate at the age of fourteen. He was a child prodigy praised by everyone in his ancestral home.

When Master Yu was fifteen, he was recommended to become a tribute student, and becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) was a sure thing. But something happened at this critical juncture.

Because he was too outstanding, he was recruited. But the young and impetuous boy knew nothing about politics and factions. The day after he refused, the scholars of the prefecture jointly reported that Master Yu had cheated in the imperial examination. The prefect sent people to investigate and found that it was true.

He was condemned by countless scholars and became like a rat crossing the street.

Master Yu was scorned by scholars in his hometown for five years, and finally had no choice but to leave his homeland and make a living in Huzhou.

The people of Huzhou, unaware of what was happening in other places, accepted him without question. He entered the official school based on his knowledge and lived peacefully for ten years before another incident occurred.

Someone discovered his identity and exposed him in public, causing a huge uproar. Almost everyone in Huzhou knew that there was a Mr. Yu whose morals were corrupt, and no school was willing to admit him anymore.

He had already settled down in Huzhou, with a wife and children, and it was impossible for him to move to another place with his family to survive.

So he changed jobs and made a living writing letters for people in an alley in Huzhou. More than ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

From a dashing fifteen-year-old boy to a forty-year-old man who has accomplished nothing, his life has been full of hardships and regrets.

Just as Magistrate Shen was feeling sentimental, the village headman arrived at breakneck speed.

He knelt down with a thud: "This humble subject greets Your Excellency, the County Magistrate!"

“Hadn’t I already said that there’s no need for such formalities when I come to the village?” Magistrate Shen told him to rise before speaking, “I heard that Dahe Village is short of a schoolteacher. This is Master Yu. What does Village Head Zhao think?”

The village head looked up and thought that this Master Yu had an extraordinary demeanor, and that he must be at least a scholar.

No, it couldn't be a scholar. Scholars are officials; how could they possibly come to a remote mountain village like theirs to teach children?

He should be a student who has passed the preliminary examination. It is very rare to be a student who has passed the preliminary examination. Their Dahe Village has never produced a student who has passed the preliminary examination.

"Thank you, Your Excellency!" The village head was overjoyed and immediately bowed in gratitude. "Please allow me to report on the situation at the Dahe Village School. There are seventy-two students, the oldest being eighteen and the youngest five, divided into two classes, A and B. After this month, the tuition fee for the children's monthly studies will be tentatively set at thirty copper coins, which will amount to more than two taels of silver per month. Teacher Yu teaches in the village for two taels of silver per month, including room and board. I wonder if this is feasible?"

Magistrate Shen remained silent and looked at the man beside him.

Master Yu stroked his beard: "Money is just an external thing. Two taels of silver is more than enough."

The Yu family was not poor; he was exceptionally intelligent from a young age, and his family never lacked money for him. After an incident at the age of fifteen, he was expelled by his clan, and it was then that he realized the value of money. After five years of aimless wandering in his hometown, he arrived in Huzhou. At that time, teaching at the official school earned six taels of silver a month. He taught for ten years, nurturing countless students. One student tried to overturn his conviction, but ultimately the student's scholar title was revoked, and he could no longer remain at the official school.

He also hoped that one day he would make a name for himself and clear his name.

He also hoped that after ten years of hardship, he would become famous and return home in glory.

However, they could only succumb to reality.

For the past ten years or so, I've been making a living by writing letters for others, and I consider it a stroke of good luck if I can earn five hundred coins a month.

Only after experiencing the most difficult time did I realize how hard it was to earn those two taels of silver.

The village headman respectfully said, "Please sit for a while, Master Yu. I will go and call someone to prepare your lodgings."

The village headman hurriedly called his wife and daughter-in-law to make Master Yu's bed. Master Yu was a student of the imperial examinations, so he should be treated like one. He brought out the best sheets and blankets from his house to put on the bed, and set up the large desk he had just made for his eldest grandson, along with a tablecloth...

Magistrate Shen led Master Yu to see the school. The three rooms were spacious and bright. It was morning, and there were no students in class, but three children were sitting in the first classroom.

Magistrate Shen nodded in satisfaction: "The second one from the left is indeed my son."

His son had never studied so diligently at home before; this was the first time he had ever seen his son so enthusiastic about learning, which truly surprised him.

He once again exclaimed that letting his son come to Dahe Village was indeed the best decision he had ever made in his life.