Su Yunzhi stood up from her chair and pulled Lin Yi'an up and down, looking him over. "It's been half a year since I last saw you, Yi'an has grown taller!"

Lin Yibo and Lu Changqing raised their heads and looked at him expectantly, while Su Yunzhi smiled.

"You've all grown up!"

Master Dao, carrying a book, walked behind. Hearing Lin Yi'an's exclamation, he peeked out and saw Su Yunzhi, dressed in a rumpled black dress, surrounded by several children under the opposite corridor.

Seeing Master Dao approaching, Su Yunzhi quickly stepped forward and bowed, "Student Su Yunzhi greets Master!"

"You're here! Come in and sit down." Master Dao nodded, glancing at Su Yunzhi, who had lost a considerable amount of weight.

Lin Yi'an and the other children tactfully left the school.

Upon entering the room, Master Dao put down his book and picked up the kettle on the table to prepare tea.

When a hint of surprise flashed across Su Yunzhi's face, the teacher slowly said, "It was a villager sent by Anan to take care of me. He will tidy up the house and boil water before get out of class ends."

"Anan is so thoughtful," Su Yunzhi exclaimed sincerely.

Master Dao poured him a cup of tea. "Are you all doing well in Cangwu County?"

Su Yunzhi accepted it with both hands, momentarily speechless and unsure how to respond.

"Cangwu County and the southern lands are the southern barbarians who were civilized late. They have many mountains and little land, and their thoughts and culture are quite different from those of the Central Plains. They do not value cultural education as much as the Central Plains do. You will probably have to spend a lot of effort," Master Dao advised.

Su Yunzhi sighed and explained their current predicament in Cangwu County.

"Master, what do you think we should do? Are we just going to keep dragging this on?" Su Yunzhi asked helplessly.

"If you give up now, wouldn't all the efforts your sisters made in the early stages be wasted?" Master Dao asked rhetorically.

Su Yunzhi held her teacup, lost in thought, and remained silent for a long time.

As the Taoist master said, "Those who achieve great things do not do so overnight."

"Master, would you like to come eat with me, or should I bring it back for you?"

Zhou Linzhao's clear and gentle voice came from outside the door.

"Come in here for a moment," Master Dao said loudly to him.

A moment later, Zhou Linzhao's tall figure appeared in the room. "Master, is there anything else you need?"

"Zhou Linzhao?" Su Yunzhi looked at the person in front of her with some disbelief and asked tentatively.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Linzhao looked at him, scrutinized him for a moment, and then exclaimed with delight, "Su Yunzhi! Is that you?!"

"It's me!"

“Brother Yunzhi, it really is you! I never thought I would see you again in my lifetime!” Zhou Linzhao stepped forward and warmly embraced Su Yunzhi.

Upon hearing Zhou Linzhao's account, Su Yunzhi immediately felt incredibly lucky that her entire family was still together.

When Zhou Linzhao spoke of his deceased parents and family again, he had already let go of the past. He regarded Longtan as his own home and Dao Fuzi as his own father, taking care of him in his old age and seeing him off in his final days.

As the three were catching up, a guard came to invite them, "Master, the city lord invites you and the two young masters to dine at the Yun family's house."

"Okay, we'll head over now."

Yun Mo returned to the backyard with a heavy heart, where Lin Yinan was still feeding Yun Shijiu.

He washed his hands, sat down next to Lin Yinan, and shamelessly leaned in to drink milk from Yun Shijiu.

"You can really eat! Aren't you full yet?"

Lin Yinan rolled her eyes at the shameless man, "Do you know what Su Yunzhi is doing in Longtan?"

"What are you here for? You're here to see me or Master Dao!" Yun Mo said, somewhat annoyed at the mention of this person.

Are you jealous?

"That's not true, don't talk nonsense."

Yun Mo vehemently denied it; how could a dignified man like him be so bored?

"I'll have Qianxia cook a few more dishes. We'll invite Wu Xingwang and his son, my brother, and the rest of the family, including Master Dao, to have a meal together later," Lin Yinan said.

Yun Mo understood that she wanted to use the meal break to talk to everyone, so he waved his hand and said, "Okay, you can arrange it as you see fit."

A knock sounded at the door, and Qian Wu came trembling, "Third Madam, the food in the kitchen is almost ready."

"Alright, have your guards go and invite my brother and the others, including Master Dao, over here."

After Lin Yinan finished speaking, she looked at Yun Shijiu, who was already fast asleep with her breast in her mouth, pulled down her clothes, and had Yun Mo wring out a handkerchief to wipe her face and hands clean. She then gently placed her on the bed and covered her with a blanket.

Just as she was about to step out, Yun Mo grabbed her from behind and, feeling insecure, rested her head against her back.

"Anan, I forbid you from thinking about Su Yunzhi again!" Yun Mo said in a deep voice, his hot, humid breath seeping into her skin through her clothes.

Lin Yinan touched the goosebumps on her arm, barely managing not to fling him away.

I never expected Yun Mo to have the potential to be love-struck.

During the gathering, Lin Yinan learned about the current situation in Cangwu County from the conversations of the others.

She asked Qianxia to bring over the lychee wine they had brewed and poured a glass for everyone present.

"This is the lychee wine we brewed when we first arrived in Longtan. Everyone, please have a taste." Lin Yinan raised her glass to the crowd.

Master Dao was a heavy drinker. He couldn't wait to pick it up and take a sip. After smacking his lips for a while, he said, "It tastes sweet and sour, and it's very refreshing!"

After a few rounds of drinks, Lin Yinan looked at the slightly tipsy Su Yunzhi and asked seriously, "What are your plans next? Have you considered staying in Longtan?"

"Cough cough cough." Yun Mo next to him choked on his wine and coughed violently.

Su Yunzhi looked at him with a half-smile, and instead of answering, asked, "I wonder what the city lord needs me to do?"

"I'd like to build an academy. Would you be interested in staying and helping me?" Lin Yinan asked.

Don't they already have a school? Why do they need to build an academy?

Wu Xingwang asked in confusion, "Don't we already have a school?"

Lin Yinan smiled faintly, “There are more than two thousand people in Longtan alone. The school currently has two classes with a total of sixty or seventy children. We haven’t even counted the younger or older ones. These are the future of Longtan.”

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!