Chapter 248 The Aloof and Cool Dean

Yuan Hongqu devoted more attention to the branch academy than to the girls' academy.

Some of the female students at the branch school were sent here by their families to learn a trade, while many more were sent here by families that did not value women at all and would not even give their daughters a meal. Knowing that the branch school provided three meals a day, they sent their daughters here directly.

Not only can you get food here, but you can also learn something, and maybe you'll be able to marry into a better family in the future!

Actually, this was still considered good; at least her daughter was still alive. Yuan Hongqu had heard too many stories of male chauvinism, of girls being drowned after birth or thrown into the mountains to fend for themselves...

Generation after generation, it is almost always girls who are abandoned.

So if a woman's role is equal to that of the men in the family, would she be less likely to be abandoned?

Yuan Hongqu wanted to give it a try, so she personally managed and planned the branch.

Even the courses, Yuan Hongqu would come over every month to give them special lessons.

As for the affairs within the girls' academy, Mi Ling and the entire academic affairs team were handling them. On a daily basis, she merely acted as a unifying force. Of course, although Mi Ling called her the backbone, she always felt that Mi Ling was just flattering her and trying to trick her into "working like a slave" for the academy.

In fact, Yuan Hongqu really wronged Mi Ling. Back in the Yangzhou Women's Academy, Yuan Hongqu did everything herself, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was "like a cow or a horse." But now, Mi Ling and the others have the mentality of making amends to Yuan Hongqu, and they still regard her as the backbone and the cohesive force of the academy's teachers. So her words carry a lot of weight in the academy, but in reality, the amount of work assigned to her is really not much.

If one had to find a word to describe Yuan Hongqu's current status in the girls' academy, one could only call her a "mascot."

Yuan Hongqu was quite happy about it. All she wanted now was to see little Daiyu grow up happily and healthily; everything else was secondary.

Aside from the branch academy, she treated the students there much better than those at the girls' academy.

Originally, Hongqu could lead the students of the branch academy to make desserts, learn about herbs, and prepare medicinal cuisine. However, she did not schedule any classes at the girls' academy and always maintained a cold and aloof dean's demeanor in front of the students.

Why did Daiyu not want Yuan Hongqu to go with her when she went to her classmate's house?

Because Yuan Hongqu was not a kind and approachable person in the girls' academy.

Yuan Hongqu's aloof demeanor and the airs of a dean were quite prominent in the girls' academy.

The students in the academy both admired and respected the dean.

At first, Daiyu was puzzled as to why the students were all somewhat afraid of Granny Yuan. When she and Granny Yuan visited a classmate's house together, the classmate was very respectful, which was completely different from how they were when they were alone together. It was more like being suddenly called on to answer a question in class.

It wasn't until later that Daiyu learned that her former nanny only had no principles or bottom line when she was with her; she was a completely different person when she was with other people.

That's why she didn't let Granny Yuan go with her to visit her classmate's house. At first, Yuan Hongqu was worried that Daiyu would be bullied or isolated by her classmates... But after leaving the Liu family just now, she suddenly understood.

Daiyu is now a princess, who would dare to bully her, who could isolate her? She also has Lan Su by her side, a powerful weapon. If a situation arises where even Lan Su cannot handle her, then she would probably be dead.

After thinking about all this, Yuan Hongqu felt relieved and thought that she should learn to let go gradually in the future.

After all, she herself is an uncertain factor; even memories can suddenly disappear for decades. If something unexpected happens in the future, and she loses her memories, or even dies, leaving only Daiyu, unable to face these problems, will things return to the situation in the original story?

As Daiyu grows up, she should be allowed to gradually build her own social circle and develop the demeanor of an independent and well-rounded princess... If that day ever comes, even if Daiyu faces these challenges alone, she will not be timid, nor will she be trapped in the predicament of "being relentlessly attacked by wind and frost for 360 days a year."

After having lunch with the students at the branch campus, Yuan Hongqu rode her horse to E'er Village.

The changes in E'er Village can only be described as earth-shattering.

Even the family with seven sons who lived near the local temple, so poor that the seven brothers only had two pairs of pants to wear, has now rebuilt their house and no longer has to squeeze into a dilapidated thatched hut.

In the spring, their family used to eat wild vegetable dumplings made from a mixture of grass roots and tree bark, but now they can't even eat them anymore.

The benefactor had given them money to buy their wild vegetable dumplings, and later, Manager Wu from the estate sent them a lot of other things, so they were certain they wouldn't go hungry again.

They then gritted their teeth and built three houses: one for cooking, eating, and storing things; one for the couple with their three younger children; and the other for their four older children.

Although they still had some money left, they didn't dare to spend it recklessly. They understood the principle of not flaunting their wealth. With so many sons in their family, they would all need money to get married and have children when they grew up. They still needed to be frugal.

At least each person has two old clothes. Buying new clothes is too wasteful. Old clothes may look a bit worn, but at least they won't expose any skin, which is much better than before.

As for buying land, they wouldn't even dare to think about it.

However, they thought that even if they couldn't become tenants of their former employer, they could still earn a decent amount of food by doing odd jobs when the estate was busy.

That's enough for the whole family's household registration.

This is the family in E'er Village that has changed the most. Other families have also benefited to varying degrees because of the auspicious events that occurred in the original family estate of E'er Village.

On an autumn afternoon, the weather was still hot, but few farmers were taking a break. It was harvest season, and no one wanted to waste any time.

Diligence leads to wealth, and thrift supports a family.

Whether on the mountain or in the fields, people are bent over everywhere.

We're all people who toil in the fields. If you're quick, the food in your basket is yours; if you're slow, someone else will take it.

In soybean fields, in areas where the harvest is later, the pods burst open, and a few beans will inevitably fall out. Whoever picks them up keeps them.

On the corn stalks, there are small ears of corn with almost no kernels; you can break them off and even cook and eat the still-soft cob...

This is called autumn harvesting. As the saying goes, "A little effort in autumn is better than a walk in spring." What you gather is solid food, which is more filling than the wild vegetables on the mountain in spring.

As for the mountains now, it's harvest time. Chestnuts, prickly pears, and jujubes are all edible, as are wild medicinal herbs like yams, kudzu root, dogwood, and goji berries. These can be eaten and also sold for money.

Yuan Hongqu rode over on horseback without attracting much attention, and she made her way to the manor.

On the drying ground in front of the village, corn, millet, sorghum, soybeans, mung beans, and kidney beans were growing in large swathes. Yuan Hongqu had never seen such a spectacular scene before.

She only knew that a lot of grain crops had been planted on the estate this year, but were there really that many?

"The master is here! I guessed that you would be coming over in the next couple of days since the academy is on break."