Chapter 29: Different Principles, Different Aspirations

For a moment, Xiao Yongyan was so surprised that he was speechless. Shouldn't Lin Xi be saying his lines?

But looking at the other person's crescent-shaped smiling eyes, I couldn't say no.

"Next time." Xiao Yongyan said vaguely.

It sounded like a perfunctory remark. Lin Xi narrowed her eyes and examined Xiao Yongyan, "You are perfunctory to me."

"No." Xiao Yongyan denied it immediately. How could he be perfunctory to Lin Xi?

"Then I'll build a school for you in the village. I'll go find the head of the village tomorrow." Seeing that Xiao Yongyan clearly didn't want to say anything, Lin Xi simply made the decision on his own.

Xiao Yongyan was left in tears and amused by Lin Xi's "dominance". He felt that Lin Xi cared more about running the school than he did.

Zhao Lizheng's home.

Today, a rare guest came to the house. He was none other than the exile Lin Xi, whom everyone in the village wanted to avoid.

Zhao Lizheng didn't know why Lin Xi came here, but he had lived for decades after all, so he could keep his composure, so he just waited for Lin Xi to speak.

This was not the first time that Lin Xi had encountered a similar situation. He had even experienced more severe negotiation situations.

The so-called "attitude" of the village head is not worth mentioning in Lin Xi's eyes.

As a junior now, it's okay for her to speak first.

"Li Zheng, you should have a general understanding of my husband and I. No matter why we were exiled here, we grew up in a family of scholars when we were in the capital. I think you probably understand this as well."

"I came to you today for no other reason than to ask if the large piece of vacant land in the west of the village is useful. If not, I want to build a school there. I wonder how to buy the land."

"Of course, you don't have to worry about the money. I'm ready. As long as you can sell it, I'll pay immediately."

"At that time, all the young children in the village can come to the school to study, which is a great thing for the village. Everyone knows that everything is inferior except studying. I don't think you want to hinder the future of these children in the village."

Lin Xi said a lot in one breath, and the head of the village began to feel dizzy.

As early as when the couple first arrived in Taoli Village, Xiao Yongyan mentioned to him the idea of ​​building a school, but he refused.

I didn't expect Lin Xi to bring it up again now, and with Lin Xi's mouth, anything that comes out of her mouth becomes several times more serious.

It was just a matter of building a school, but after Lin Xi said that, it became like he wanted to organize all the children in the village to study.

"To be honest, this matter is no longer within the jurisdiction of me as the village head. You have to ask the government about the purchase of land." said Zhao Lizheng.

"Then I'd like to trouble the head of the village to ask the government." Lin Xi was neither humble nor arrogant. The head of the village wanted to ask the government to take the blame, which was impossible.

Zhao Li remained calm, hesitated for a moment, and said with embarrassment, "It's not that I don't want to help you, but I don't have the authority to do so. If you insist on me going to ask, I'm afraid I'll never come back."

This was really a serious statement. Lin Xi felt that it was a bit exaggerated. Why would he go there and never come back after asking?

At this time, Zhao Lizheng's wife, Gu, came out of the house and heard the two arguing. She said, "Young lady, the word 'official' means two things. We ordinary people don't want to deal with the government. If you just ask a few questions, you can't get it done without a few silver coins."

Perhaps because Gu had a kind face, Lin Xi subconsciously chose to believe him.

Common people are afraid of dealing with the government, and Lin Xi understands this very well. Perhaps Zhao Lizheng also doesn't want to get into trouble.

Guessing that this road was blocked, Lin Xi didn't want to force him, so he stood up and said goodbye.

After watching Lin Xi leave, Gu asked Zhao Lizheng, "Master, I remember that anyone can use the wasteland in the village. Why did you lie to people and say that you have to go to the government to buy land?"

Li Zheng Zhao looked deep in his eyes, thinking about his own thoughts, "What do you know? These two people are obviously from extraordinary families, why were they exiled to this remote place, and who did they offend in the court, we don't know. If we help them now, maybe they will become the fatal weakness of our village in the future."

"What's more," Zhao Lizheng turned his back, "of all the exiles who came to Taoli Village, how many could survive until winter?"

Gu naturally remembered the ten-stone grain requirement set by the government, and sighed, "Alas, it is said that it is difficult to escape from the living crime, but who knew that this living crime is not a capital crime."

Here, Lin Xi hit a snag with Zhao Lizheng, but she didn't think that this matter could not be accomplished.

She walked all the way to Aunt Wu's house. Aunt Wu was very happy to see Lin Xi coming over, and hurriedly said, "Sister, why are you here today? I have some cabbages that I just picked from the fields. You can take them back to eat."

Lin Xi's family doesn't have a vegetable garden, so she has always bought vegetables from Aunt Wu.

Over time, whatever Aunt Wu harvested from the fields would be sent to Lin Xi as soon as possible.

"Aunt, I'm not here to buy groceries today. I have something to ask you." Lin Xi said.

"What's the matter?" Aunt Wu asked curiously.

"Tell me, if I set up a school in the village, would everyone be willing to send their children here to study? What if they don't have to pay tuition?" Lin Xi asked sincerely.

After hearing this question, Aunt Wu was silent for a moment, and then she spoke after a while, "Sister, let me tell you the truth."

Lin Xi looked at Aunt Wu and suddenly had a bad feeling in her heart.

"Look, the only family in this village that sends their child to school is the Wang family. Why would the Wang family send a child to study in town? First, the Wang family's child is indeed a bit talented, and second, the Wang family has money from the steamed bun business, so they can afford it."

"We are country folks, we don't have much experience, we can only farm. But we can learn farming, as long as we work hard, we can always have something to eat. But if we send our children to school, we spend a lot of money, but if they still can't finish, isn't that a loss?"

"Studying is not that simple. We all know this. A man from the next village has taken the exam for ten years, but he still hasn't even passed the exam to become a student."

Lin Xi understood that these families were unwilling to invest in a child with such huge uncertainty. If they suffered a loss, it would be a huge loss for the entire family.

Aunt Wu sighed, "Studying is something only smart people can think about. Children can farm at home. With a few acres of land, they will never starve to death in the future."

Lin Xi knew that it was normal for the villagers to have such thoughts, and she could not use the concepts of her own time to demand the people here.

"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Auntie."

"Girl, what are you thanking me for?" Aunt Wu glanced at Lin Xi in a reproachful manner and stuffed the vegetables in the basket into Lin Xi's hands, "Take it quickly."

Lin Xi smiled and left the Wu family carrying a basket of vegetables.

The next stop she planned to go to was the Ma family. Although Aunt Wu said so, Lin Xi still thought that she couldn't just listen to one family's words and needed to ask more questions.