Xia's mother had a long scarf wrapped around her head and wore a patched coarse cloth coat. Although her hands, with their sleeves rolled up, were red from the cold from pulling vegetables in the field, she looked radiant and her face was free of worry.

Jiang Zhi said, "Sister-in-law Xia seems to be in a good mood!"

Xia's mother laughed: "Thanks to you!"

Inside the room, after Xia Yuan finished reciting, Xia Xiucai smiled and asked, "Yuan'er, have you memorized the entire 'Thousand Family Poems'?"

Xia Yuan nodded: "I can memorize it!"

Xia Xiucai nodded slightly: "Alright, practice three more characters every day..."

Jiang Zhi's arrival broke the peaceful atmosphere from before. Xia Yuan came over and bowed respectfully, saying, "Hello, Grandma Jiang!"

Jiang Zhi has come to accept the role of grandmother with ease, especially with the well-behaved and sensible elementary school child in front of her.

The six-year-old child has a calm and composed look in his eyes.

Having experienced life's ups and downs and received an early education, Xia Yuan never wanders around the village. Every day, she either accompanies her grandmother to do chores, stays with her ailing father, or helps her mother organize embroidery threads. She is so sensible that it breaks your heart.

Jiang Zhi patted Xia Yuan's head: "I heard from your grandma that you can recite the Standards for Being a Good Student and Child and the Three Character Classic. You're really a promising student!"

When praised, Xia Yuan nodded shyly: "Yuan'er can only recite it, but doesn't understand its meaning!"

"Oh my!" Jiang Zhi exclaimed in surprise, "Look how eloquent this little one is! It's already good enough that he can recite it all, but he also wants to understand its meaning. Ah, truly, heroes have always emerged from among the young; he'll be another genius in the future!"

Xia's mother's smiling face froze, and Jiang Zhi suddenly realized that she had said the wrong thing.

Xia Xiucai was a genius, but the saying "the heavens are jealous of talent" is a compliment to others, but a scar on the Xia family.

Before Jiang Zhi could think of a way to ease the tension, Xia Shuyan spoke up from the side: "There are no geniuses in the world, it's just that hard work pays off!"

Perhaps because everything was going smoothly, and because he needed to speak to outsiders when lecturing, Xia Xiucai looked quite well, and even his speech had become fluent.

The scholar's wife also said, "Yuan'er is quiet by nature, and just knows a few more characters than others. She doesn't deserve praise!"

The couple was incredibly humble.

Jiang Zhi now knows that although the scholar's wife appears gentle and weak, she is actually the most steadfast and resolute in character, and she never abandoned Xia Xiucai when he fell ill and lost hope in the imperial examination.

Now, she single-handedly supports her husband, cares for her mother-in-law, and raises her young child. Even when Tao'er's mother was on the verge of death, she managed to do it despite being forced to faint.

Now, faced with the Tian family's gratitude and her own praise, the scholar's wife remained gentle and unchanging, making Jiang Zhi admire her even more: "You are all so humble!"

Xia Xiucai said calmly, "Time flies, and the children in the village should study more!"

Jiang Zhi's eyes lit up: "Scholar, what do you think we should do to teach him?"

The previous night school was mainly for entertainment, with only a superficial understanding of academics.

Jiang Zhi never thought about formally starting her education.

After all, the villagers had no fixed abode and were still suffering from hunger and poverty.

Studying costs money and time, and children in rural areas are already important laborers in their families, so they don't have time to go to school.

More importantly, teaching is a difficult job; even good people can get a heart attack from anger. Xia Xiucai's condition is unstable, and he is worried that his students might drive him crazy.

So there was no real teaching involved; the hope was simply to learn some knowledge.

Now that Scholar Xia has brought it up, I can take the opportunity to ask him!

But as soon as Jiang Zhi said this, Xia Xiucai, who had just seemed to be getting better, immediately frowned and fell into deep thought, muttering to himself, and became dazed again.

His mind still wasn't working properly; he only knew that the children should go to school, but he couldn't explain in detail what to do next.

Oh no, this can't be rushed!

Jiang Zhi quickly tried to comfort herself.

Teaching children is physically demanding; even a good person can get sick from it. Xia Xiucai is already recovering, but we can't rush things and drive him crazy again.

A mental illness requires a mental cure.

Jiang Zhi didn't talk about teaching, but instead brought up another completely unrelated matter: "I'm going to ask the county magistrate to reinstate Shuyan's status as a government-subsidized student!"

This idea came to her during a casual conversation with Xiang Dejin and others when she went to the county town in the winter.

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent. Xia's mother put down the radish she was peeling and stared at her in shock: "Jiang, do you really mean this?"

Beside them, the scholar's wife and the scholar Xia both stared in astonishment, their expressions a mixture of expectation and doubt.

Jiang Zhi nodded: "This can definitely be done."

During this time, Jiang Zhi observed that Xia Xiucai's condition fluctuated; he would be radiant when lecturing, but would suddenly become extremely insecure.

These patients actually know they are excellent, and simple praise alone won't have much effect; they need a deeper level of recognition.

The grain stipend was a material reward given by the government to outstanding students, consisting of one bushel of coarse rice and two hundred coins per month.

This reward was only given to those who consistently ranked first in the imperial examinations for the title of Xiucai.

Although the money and food were not much, they provided a small subsidy for the students and were a source of pride and honor for the families.

If Xia Shuyan's repeated failures in the imperial examinations and the resulting ridicule were merely external blows, then as long as he entered the school and studied, he could simply ignore everything else and hide away from the outside world.

Being stripped of his stipend by the instructor was a denial of his past excellence, a fatal blow that stabbed him in the heart and ultimately destroyed him.

Jiang Zhi used to think that Xia Xiucai was depressed because he failed the imperial examination and was ridiculed.

But now it seems that Xia Xiucai actually understands everything; he just can't get out of that circle.

She did not ask Magistrate Zhang about the matter of receiving grain rations from the government.

This is not a big deal. As long as I explain Xia Xiucai's situation and mention that Xiucai teaches at the night school and educates the people, Magistrate Zhang will definitely agree.

Even if the county government doesn't provide the grain payment, one can still make up the difference privately.

All it takes is a pretext; having Xiang Dejin and his group say it will have the same effect.

The Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and I can make this family have a happy Spring Festival with just a few words from me.

Sure enough, Xia Xiucai's eyes gradually brightened, and he became radiant: "The magistrate knows me? The instructor won't reprimand me anymore?"

Jiang Zhi said, "Magistrate Zhang once said that the people are the foundation. You are able to teach the villagers, which is a model for scholars. It is only right that you receive the stipend."

Her words were full of holes, but the Xia family didn't notice. At this moment, all three of them couldn't hide their joy.

Xia's mother said happily, "Shuyan has always been excellent!"

The scholar's wife looked at Xia Shuyan with tenderness: "My husband's knowledge is naturally excellent. If he is praised by the county instructor, his illness will also improve."

The Xia family was filled with joy and happiness, while the atmosphere in Xu Genqing's home was oppressive.

Qin took the money and went to the market alone. Although Xu Genqing was annoyed and unwilling to go find her, he still couldn't let it go in his heart. He paced around the room in anger, saying, "Is my mother out of her mind? She's always causing trouble. Even Xia Xiucai, who's also mentally ill, doesn't have as much trouble as her."

Lianhua knew her mother-in-law was jealous that she could eat alone, and she was both annoyed and amused. She advised, "From now on, share whatever you want to eat with everyone! Don't just think about me!"

Xu Genqing retorted angrily, "It's not because the family is short of money, otherwise why would we be so calculating?"