Xu Nian has been busy with things in the city these past few days and has had little interaction with her two children.

She felt this was wrong, so she took the opportunity to go and find them.

"Sister!"

The two children were squatting on the ground playing. When they saw Xu Nian coming over, they immediately waved excitedly, their little faces flushed.

What are you guys playing?

Xu Nian walked over, affectionately patted the two children's heads, and looked at them intently.

The ground was covered with scribbles and drawings, which, though incomplete, looked quite unique.

“We’ve seen a lot of pictures lately, so we wanted to try drawing them, but neither of us recognizes the words.”

As they spoke, Da Bao scratched his head, and Er Bao nodded in agreement, "That's right, sister, what do all these mean?"

Xu Nian suddenly realized that she hadn't taught the two children to read yet, and immediately asked softly, "Do you want to learn to read?"

Upon hearing this, Da Bao and Er Bao exchanged glances, both seeing a sense of longing in each other's eyes.

"think!"

So, for the entire afternoon, Xu Nian took a small wooden stick and started teaching the two children, beginning with the simplest words.

During this period, Han Xiao'e came to visit once, seemingly to report on the progress, but seeing that Xu Nian was busy tutoring the child, she quietly left.

"Have you remembered everything I taught today?"

As evening approached, Xu Nian stopped teaching and asked earnestly.

Da Bao nodded vigorously, his face full of hope, and said, "Sister, learning to read is so much fun! Why couldn't we learn it before?"

Erbao, still captivated by the painting on the ground, chimed in, "That's right, many children in the village can't read."

Upon hearing this, Xu Nian fell silent.

In those turbulent times, just having enough to eat and drink and surviving was no easy feat, let alone learning to read and write.

These two children are fortunate to have met me, which is why they have the opportunity to study. But what about the other children?

Children from poor families in those villages, or even in cities, naturally never have the opportunity to go to school.

Thinking of this, Xu Nian couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

Oh, how precious our nine years of compulsory education are!

[Such a young child, if he doesn't go to school, he'll probably be doing farm work in the fields. It's such a pity.]

Fortunately, the streamer was kind and taught them a lesson.

Despite seeing the praise in the comments, Xu Nian still felt uneasy.

She not only wanted to help Da Bao and Er Bao, but also wanted to help children in both the city and the village.

However, this is a huge undertaking, and she alone simply cannot teach it all.

Hiring staff is not an option, as her food reserves are also running low.

After much deliberation, Xu Nian could only put the idea aside for the time being.

But she did not give up, thinking that she would definitely help these children learn to read and write when she had the opportunity in the future.

On the other side.

Looking at the increasingly prosperous city, Wang Jinmei felt dissatisfied no matter how she looked at it.

"That wretched vixen, she's wasted so much of our time!"

She cursed under her breath, her eyes filled with resentment towards Xu Nian.

Although life in the city was comfortable, Wang Jinmei felt that they couldn't stay there for long. They should hurry to the refugee camp in Beijing, which was the most worthwhile place to stay.

But right now, Xu Nian is riding high, and even the village chief dotes on her, so Wang Jinmei has no chance to say a word.

Thinking about how the neighboring village was falling further and further behind her, Wang Jinmei couldn't sit still any longer. She got up to take a stroll, but saw Cuiqing standing in the wind, angrily clutching her sleeves.

"Oh, who do we have here? Isn't this a big shot from the Minister's mansion?"

Wang Jinmei also disliked her and immediately made a sarcastic remark, rolling her eyes so hard they almost reached the sky.

Upon hearing this, Cuiqing looked over and saw that it was the rude woman who had fought with her earlier. Just as she was about to retort, she suddenly stopped and her eyes darted around.

"Let's not talk about me. Look at Xu Nian, wielding so much power. Are you comfortable with that?"

These words hit Wang Jinmei's sore spot. Her expression changed instantly, and she spat on the ground, "Pah!"

"What is she anyway? She just uses her seductive looks to seduce men everywhere. Even that general is completely infatuated with her!"

Seeing Wang Jinmei's deep resentment towards Xu Nian, Cuiqing gave a strange smile, "Don't you want to see her embarrassed?"

Upon hearing this, a sinister glint flashed in Wang Jinmei's eyes, but she didn't rush to agree. "You make it sound nice, but who doesn't know that she's the famous city lord and knows those damn talismans? Who can embarrass her?"

Cuiqing frowned, but didn't give up, continuing, "Is there anyone in your village who doesn't believe her? Incite them all to cause a huge uproar in the city—"

"I refuse to believe she won't feel embarrassed!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Jinmei considered it for a moment and decided it was a good idea.

As she was leaving, she glanced at Cuiqing and sneered, "I never imagined that someone as respectable as you could be so vicious inside."

After saying that, she strode away.

Staring at Wang Jinmei's departing figure, Cuiqing slowly clenched her fists, gritting her teeth.

Heh, Xu Nian, I don't believe you'll emerge unscathed this time!

After returning home, Wang Jinmei got to work, wandering around the village looking for opportunities.

Since she was from the village chief's family, most people didn't guard against her and chatted with her in a friendly manner.

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