Chapter 388 Promotion
"Mrs. Shen, these gifts are too much. You can just pay two taels of silver a year."
Su Tai chuckled and shook her head, "Mr. Chu, my four children will take up your rest time, and you still have to take the trouble to teach them. How can you pay the same tuition as the children in the village? Just take them in, and I'll leave our four children in your care."
"This..." Chu Heng was really not good at bargaining with others, and the other party was a woman, so he was soon defeated.
He took the heavy bag of silver back to class, and had a new understanding of the wealth of Shenjiazhuang.
Five or six days passed.
Xi Mu came to visit Chu Heng in Su Chunlin's carriage.
As soon as he entered the room, Xi Mu couldn't wait to pull Chu Heng and whisper, "How is the situation here? I thought there were three or five children at most, but who knew there are more than thirty or fifty children. They have to go to class every morning and afternoon. I heard that there are also children from nearby villages who want to come here to study. With so many people, it's really hard to handle!"
After he finished speaking, he noticed that Chu Heng beside him had a resentful look on his face, and his heart skipped a beat, "Why? Brother Chu, don't you have many children here?"
Chu Heng counted, and Xi Mu spat out all the tea in his mouth. "Eighty-nine? How can I teach so many?"
Chu Heng said sadly: "These children have three different hours to study. After teaching them, I have to give additional lessons to the four young masters and young ladies of the town official's family. I have been busy from morning to night all day."
Xi Mu was stunned. It took him a long time to find his voice. He shed bitter tears for Chu Heng, "Brother! Seeing your current situation, I suddenly feel that I am still very lucky."
Chu Heng sighed again, "The only benefit is that there is more money. We were almost starving in the imperial capital, but here we became rich overnight, especially the town official. He is very generous and gives me eighty taels of silver a year. For this money, I will continue to teach even if I lose my voice."
Xi Mu was surprised. He calculated Chu Heng's tuition fee for one year in one go. He was envious. "It would be good to save some money. After two years, I can send some money to my family."
They have studied for so many years but have not achieved anything. Their families are eagerly hoping that they can make a name for themselves. If they can send money back home, it will at least give their loved ones some comfort.
Chu Heng nodded in approval, "You've worked hard for a few years, save some money first, come over today and have dinner at my place, there are still a lot of eggs, meat and vegetables left to cook in the kitchen."
Xi Mu followed and took a look, and couldn't help but sigh that Chu Heng had a good living environment.
"I also live in a separate courtyard in Dongmen Village, but it's not as spacious and bright as yours."
"But it's better than living in the imperial capital!"
The two looked at each other and smiled.
In the blink of an eye, the snow melted and the ground thawed.
The villagers started working again for the new year.
Just as Shen Yi was about to set off for Qiongzi with Su Tai, he unexpectedly saw the county magistrate Duan Ren leading a large group of people into the village.
The villagers who were working in the fields saw this scene and stopped working. They all ran into the village to watch the fun.
Duan Ren and his party came directly to Shen Yi's house, and happened to hear the sound of reading aloud next door. The imperial envoy asked curiously: "Is this the teacher in the village?"
"No, no." Duan Ren denied repeatedly.
Shen Ying happened to arrive and hurriedly explained, "This is the village school, where all the children in the village receive their education."
It was a bit strange that a village in a place like Lizhou would invite a master. The imperial envoy looked at Duan Ren and said, "Master Duan is amazing!"
Duan Ren smiled awkwardly. He was unaware of these things, but he absolutely could not deny them.
Since the children were studying, the imperial envoy did not disturb them.
Duan Ren hurriedly pulled the wooden stake, and after Su Tai opened the door, he asked anxiously, "Is Shen Yi at home? The imperial envoy is here to read the imperial edict!"
Su Tai's heart tightened, "Is Chen Yi in Dahe Town!"
"Why don't you send someone to find it back!"
Su Tai immediately asked Shen Ergou to run over and personally invite the imperial envoy and his entourage in.
Tea and snacks were served, and he stood aside with his head lowered, waiting for orders.
The imperial envoy looked around the courtyard, nodded slightly, and spoke slowly, "I heard that your family has a plaque given by the emperor. Where is it?"
"My Lord, the plaque is hanging in the ancestral house and also in the village. Would you like to go and see it?"
The imperial envoy asked about the distance to Dahe Town, and thinking that Shen Yi would not come back so soon, he readily agreed.
Su Tai led the way for them.
The group came to the Shen family's ancestral home, looked at the blue brick and tile house with high gates and large courtyards, and asked in confusion: "Why don't you live here?"
Su Tai laughed dryly and said, "This house was built specifically to house the things bestowed by the emperor. Our house is also quite nice to live in."
Seeing that Shen Yi's family attached so much importance to the imperial gift, the imperial envoy had a better impression of them.
The door opened.
The group walked around the screen wall and saw a plaque hanging in the center of the hall.
Led by the imperial envoy, everyone saluted and then went in.
The shelves in the hall are filled with things bestowed by the emperor, except for money.
When the imperial envoy saw the dragon-protecting sword, his eyes became more serious.
The group drank tea for a while, and Shen Yi finally came back.
The imperial envoy read out the imperial edict at the Shen family’s ancestral home.
The other party first affirmed Shen Yi's act of building the bridge, listed several benefits of building the bridge, and finally said: "First, confer Shen Yi the title of County Magistrate of Zhaohua County, reward him with a thousand taels of silver, and grant him a plaque from the emperor. I decree this!"
Shen Yi suddenly looked at Duan Ren and Lu Tong, only to see the two of them looking at him with a smile. He immediately understood something and hurriedly accepted the order.
The imperial envoy smiled with satisfaction and said, "Congratulations, Lord Shen!"
"Thank you, Your Excellency the Imperial Envoy!" Shen Yi bowed deeply before standing up.
In front of everyone, the imperial edict was solemnly placed on the tribute table.
"Thank you for coming from afar, my friends. Please come to my humble abode and have a simple meal."
The imperial envoy declined twice before agreeing.
Su Tai went back first and bought a bunch of delicious food at the Fire Spacetime Food Street, including hot pot, red wine, white wine, and all kinds of vermicelli and seafood. She managed to prepare a big table of delicious food and wine.
Once again, the imperial envoy was shocked.
This meal brought them closer together.
Shen Yi only then knew that Duan Ren had been promoted and was about to be transferred, and Lu Tong became the county magistrate, so it was natural for him to take the position of county magistrate.
"Master Duan, I wish you continued success! Master Lu, please give me your guidance in the future."
"Sure, sure!"
Seeing that they were a little drunk, Su Tai wondered whether she should arrange guest rooms for them. Unexpectedly, they were so drunk that they insisted on going back.
Fortunately, they brought a lot of guards, so there was no problem.
After seeing off the guests, Shen Yiren was in high spirits and carried Su Tai to the bedroom.
Su Tai blushed, "What are you doing! It's broad daylight, let me go!"
"No! Wife, I'm happy! I'm really, really happy! I didn't expect that the emperor would appoint me as a county magistrate. Our family can now change its status!"
Chen Yi smiled and rolled into the bed with Su Tai.
After a lot of nonsense.
Su Tai said angrily, "Although this is a very good thing, don't forget our main business. Qiong Zi must go."
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