The eldest child puffed out his little chest and said, "Dad said we must take good care of Mom!"

Yin Lan was surprised, suspicious, and then somewhat moved.

"You know your father is gone?"

The eldest child lowered his head, looking somewhat sad, and nodded. "Dad woke us up last night." He gave us a few instructions, which were nothing more than to listen to Mom, not to misbehave, and to take good care of Mom so that she wouldn't get tired. From now on, they would have to clean up the chicken, duck, and sheep droppings themselves every day, making sure it was spotless!

"Father said we must protect Mother and not allow anyone to bully her," the eldest child said firmly.

Erwa nodded frantically beside him, like a chick pecking at rice, "Yes!"

Knowing nothing, the third child followed his second brother's example, nodding his head incessantly and saying in a childish voice, "Yes~"

Yin Lan then noticed that Sanwa was also behind the stove, nodding his head. He was clearly still asleep, but when he was woken up, he didn't cry. Instead, he responded to his two older brothers and continued to nod his head. Yin Lan burst out laughing. Luckily, she still had three children.

Since the meal was already prepared, Yin Lan didn't stand on ceremony and simply ate.

They took the still sleepy third child back with them and told him to sleep a little longer.

After breakfast, her stomach felt warm, and the sky was fully bright. Both the older and younger children had to go to school. They each took their own things, and since the school wasn't far, they went on their own without any safety concerns. Compared to Yin Lan's original world, raising children was so much easier.

The child was gone, Teacher Liu was gone, the third child was still asleep, and the workers outside hadn't come yet. The whole house was unusually quiet. She went to the backyard, where the chickens and ducks were in their coops. The chicken coop hadn't been repaired yet, and the sheep were huddled together, looking rather small.

The excrement has been cleaned up, but I wonder when the two children were cleaned up, or if Chen Yourun cleaned it up before leaving last night?

Yin Lan's mood plummeted again, wondering when he would return.

She sighed softly.

So she needed to find something to do. Today she was going to the city to see how Zhao Dashan's wife's pig offal was selling and to exchange it for banknotes.

Before she even stepped out the door, Master Xu arrived.

It turns out that Master Xu came yesterday and didn't leave. He originally wanted to find Chen Yourun, but he was too busy yesterday, so Chen Yourun left today.

In this era, studying was a man's business, so Master Xu naturally assumed that Chen Yourun was in charge of the children's education. However, he was unaware that Yin Lan was the one in charge here, which is why he was quite surprised when he talked about it with Master Liu yesterday.

When he finally met her, he realized that she was not only beautiful, but also had a broad and resolute gaze, which was quite different from many women. He immediately felt a sense of goodwill towards her.

Then he revealed his purpose: he wanted Da Wa to study at his academy.

Yin Lan was aware of the advantages of the academy. Besides the many benefits, there was another one: Master Xu had a wide circle of friends and was quite friendly with many examiners and Confucian scholars who reviewed the list of candidates. This was not to say that he wanted to use connections or anything, but rather that he understood the ins and outs of the academy and was well-known, which would make things easier for him in the future.

Yin Lan was very tempted, but... Da Wa refused.

“His father just passed away. Even before he left, he was worried about being too far away. He is a very responsible child…” In fact, he was too responsible. He even took his younger brother’s studies as his own responsibility.

Perhaps because she had such a hard childhood, having to take on the responsibility of caring for her two younger brothers at a very young age and raising them, she has become accustomed to making sacrifices.

Master Xu had also talked with the child. It was precisely because of the child's thoughts that he had a better impression of the eldest child. At such a young age, the child had such a sense of responsibility. Moreover, he had observed the child carefully yesterday. This child was very able to sit still and was not afraid of hardship at all. When he was learning, he didn't even move his head and could sit for a whole day.

Master Xu did not want to miss such a promising talent, so he did not leave yesterday, but instead came to talk to Lady Yin again.

“I can make an exception and let him come back every seven days to visit me. Putting aside everything else, he can at least meet more impressive people and broaden his horizons. Besides, I can't expect him to stay at home forever and never go out again, can I?”

Yin Lan actually agrees with Master Xu, and she also hopes that Da Wa will be better.

I decided that I would talk to my eldest child properly when I got back in the evening.

After seeing Master Xu off, Yin Lan insisted on giving him a piece of cold noodles and a serving of braised pig offal. Master Xu naturally refused; how could someone like him accept gifts? However, smelling the delicious aroma, he realized that braised pig offal had become quite famous recently. It was relatively easy to buy in Yin Lan's county, and while it was sold in Master Xu's county, the daily quantity delivered was much smaller. He had sent people to buy some before, but without success. Therefore, since it had all been delivered to him today, Master Xu didn't refuse.

"He who eats another's food is bound to be beholden to him; he who takes another's money is bound to be taught a lesson."

After seeing the people off properly, Yin Lan went to the city. Now that she had learned to drive an oxcart herself, she bought one. Zhao Dashan's family also had one, but now the Zhao family insisted on using their own oxcart to go to the city.

In fact, this is the result of mutual consideration. When someone is kind to you, Yin Lan repays them a hundredfold. Then, the Zhao family also tries their best to consider Yin Lan's needs and repay her in any way they can. This is a healthy emotional relationship.

As she drove the oxcart alone, Yin Lan couldn't help but think back to the past, when Chen Yourun would drive the cart while she sat and rested. If no one was around, she could lean against him.

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