After the orphanage was built, Tang Qiqi insisted on teaching academic subjects. It is said that reading helps people to understand their ambitions. Tang Qiqi did not expect them to be very good at academics, but rather to learn some characters so that they would not be illiterate in the future.

So, she asked Liu Rufeng to introduce one of the scholars he had taught to her as a tutor.

This made the people of Tangjiagou extremely envious. You see, apart from Xu Lanzhi, who had the ability to send her children to study in the city, the other children in their village had no chance to learn to read.

When Qingshan's wife got home and told her about it, her son Xiaobao said enviously, "I really want to learn to read too!"

Tang Yongnian's wife, Shen, said, "Xu Lanzhi did something wrong. Those abducted poor children can all read, but she doesn't even think about the children in our village. Old man, go and talk to her and let our Xiaobao learn too!"

Before Tang Yongnian could speak, Qingshan's wife said, "It would be best if the gentleman could teach Xiaobao alone. There are only girls in the room, and it's inconvenient for them to learn together."

Tang Yongnian said with a livid face, "If you two are so capable, why don't you go and say it yourselves? Don't you even know who you are!"

Tang Yongnian left the house seething with anger. He also wanted Xiaobao to go to school, but Qingshan had caused such a huge mess. Although Xu Lanzhi didn't say anything, he felt guilty.

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Now he can't even hold his head up when he walks around the village, so how could he possibly have the face to make demands of Xu Lanzhi?

He walked along dejectedly, when he came across two villagers talking. When they saw Tang Yongnian, they pulled him aside and said, "Perfect timing, the village chief is here. We'll have to get your help with this!"

Tang Yongnian was completely confused. He asked, "What's going on?"

The man explained, "Well, Madam Xu opened an orphanage in our village and hired a teacher to teach the girls there. Since teaching one girl is the same as teaching two, we thought we could let the children in our village learn too. But we are just ordinary people and we are afraid that it will be useless to say anything. We need you to step in!"

It turned out that everyone wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. Tang Yongnian felt more at ease. He couldn't bring himself to ask Xu Lanzhi for help with his grandson's matter, but things were different in the village. As the village head, he had to be responsible for the villagers!

Tang Yongnian straightened his back and said, "The child's education is a big deal. I'll go find Lanzhi right now!"

But when he arrived at Xu Lanzhi's doorstep, he found it hard to take a step. Over the years, Xu Lanzhi had done so much for the village.

After much deliberation, he decided to abandon his pride.

Xu Lanzhi showed him her usual warmth and respect, so Tang Yongnian told her about his wish to send all the children in the village to the orphanage.

Wang, who was standing to the side, didn't say anything, but she was thinking to herself, "Is Qiqi a fortune teller? When she left yesterday, she said that villagers would soon come to talk about sending their children to school!"

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With Tang Qiqi's guidance, Xu Lanzhi was not surprised at all. Tang Qiqi repeatedly warned her not to be a pushover.

Xu Lanzhi said with a smile, "Uncle Yongnian, it might be inconvenient for the children to study at the orphanage. There are already twenty-five homeless girls there. If the children from our village go there, the teacher might not be able to take care of them all!"

Tang Yongnian thought that given Xu Lanzhi's temperament, she would definitely agree, but he was unexpectedly met with a cold shoulder.

Tang Yongnian said somewhat unhappily, "Lanzhi, the children in our village have it tough. Their parents are all doing things for you! Even children without parents can go to school, but they can't. You're slapping their parents in the face!"

Xu Lanzhi said with difficulty, "Uncle Yongnian, it's not that I don't want them to study, it's just that when we hired this teacher, it was said that he would only teach these few children from the orphanage."

Tang Yongnian was eager for the children in the village to go to school, so he said, "We can pay for the school teachers!"

Xu Lanzhi said apologetically, "Uncle, this should have cost a lot of money, but I got carried away and took on such a big business. It's a bottomless pit. Since the villagers are willing to pay, I'll talk to that gentleman and ask him to teach the children in our village as well."

"But Uncle, this school can't be set up in an orphanage. Some of the girls are older, and the children sent from the village aren't all young. The children are too young to understand, and it wouldn't be good if they caused trouble!"

Tang Yongnian looked at Xu Lanzhi suspiciously. This person had been injured once, but she seemed like a different person. She had become very calculating and petty, not letting anyone take advantage of her!

But the reason she gave was truly irrefutable. Those girls had no parents to take care of them, and Xu Lanzhi's ability to think of this showed her thoughtfulness.

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Tang Yongnian hid his displeasure and said with difficulty, "If we can't attend classes at the orphanage, where can we go?"

Xu Lanzhi hesitated before saying, "I think there's a place that would be quite suitable. What do you think?"

Tang Yongnian asked curiously, "What place is it? Tell me about it!"

Xu Lanzhi said, "It's the ancestral hall in our village. It's a big courtyard with three courtyards. The inner two are locked up, and the outer one is for the children to study. With the blessings of our ancestors, it's sure to produce a top scholar!"

Tang Yongnian now understood that Xu Lanzhi knew he was coming and had planned everything, just waiting to deal with him!

He said with a wry smile, "Lanzhi, you really are different from before. You've started playing tricks on me too. I should call you Madam Xu now!"

Hearing Tang Yongnian say this, Xu Lanzhi panicked and hurriedly explained, "Uncle, this is a plan we came up with in advance. It's not about saving a pittance; it's about thinking about the children in the village!"

Tang Yongnian snorted coldly: "These businessmen are really something else. They've schemed to this extent, and they still say they're thinking about the children in the village!"

Xu Lanzhi had no choice but to reveal Tang Qiqi's theory in its entirety. She said sincerely, "Uncle, to be honest, I have already hired a tutor. The reason why we need everyone to contribute money is that I don't want them to think that going to school is so easy. Please keep a notebook to record the money they contribute. If any of their children become successful and want to study elsewhere, we will use this money to support them."

"Of course, it's not much money. The children at my orphanage get rewards for doing well in their studies. If a child from our village school becomes successful, the Tang family will give them a reward too, but that's a story for later."

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Tang Yongnian frowned and said, "Lanzhi, you're doing all this for nothing. Why bother going through all that trouble?"

Xu Lanzhi said bluntly, "Uncle, my family's business is doing a bit better now, and some of our villagers feel that I owe them something. If I were to arrange schooling for their children for free, I'm afraid they would be greedy and try to swallow an elephant. Besides, if they spend the money and their children don't study well, they can still take care of them."

Tang Yongnian nodded and said, "I was wondering why you seemed like a different person. It's because you've been disheartened by the villagers. Well, that's good. This way, those children who really don't have any talent can start making a living earlier, and you should go out of your way to help those who are capable!"

After Tang Yongnian left, Wang asked Xu Lanzhi, "Tang Yongnian is right. This is a thankless task, and the villagers will say you're stingy. You should be more generous and tell them directly. They'll appreciate your kindness then!"

Xu Lanzhi said with a smile, "No matter what we do, they will have something to say. Qiqi is right. We have to let them know that everything comes at a price! If we plan everything for them, it will only encourage their dependency!"

Wang looked like she didn't understand, and said helplessly, "I don't understand what you're saying, so just leave it to me!"

Xu Lanzhi said, "Mother, Zhaodi and the others said if you're bored, you can go to the city for a few days, and they'll show you around!"

Wang frowned and said, "They're all so busy they barely have time to breathe. They can't even accompany me around. If I go, I'll just be bored in a different place. In the village, I can chat with my old friends and help out at the orphanage. I'm not going!"

Xu Lanzhi had no choice but to give up!

In the blink of an eye, Tang Yongnian and his men had tidied up the courtyard outside the ancestral hall. Although Xu Lanzhi said she wouldn't interfere, she still brought tables and chairs. Although everyone was unhappy about having to pay for school, the tuition was not expensive, and now that every family had an income thanks to Xu Lanzhi, it wasn't a big deal.

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Tangjiagou became the first village in the surrounding area to have a school. Tang Yongnian personally handled this matter, and it felt like he could hold his head high again.