Grandma Ye gave her a disapproving look, still thinking about the cat.
He sighed, "I'm a little tired and don't have much of an appetite."
"Then let her do less work. Mother won't have to go into the kitchen anymore," Ye Caiping said. "Tomorrow I'll go to the county and buy two servants."
"Servants?" Ye Jin'er and her sister, along with Old Man Ye, exclaimed in surprise.
Xiao Yan almost dropped her chopsticks and whispered, "Auntie... is there something I did wrong?"
“No,” Ye Caiping said. “You did a great job. There’s just too much chores around the house. Feeding the livestock, cleaning the barn.”
"In addition to that, you also have to cut pig feed, wash clothes, cook, chop firewood, and clean the yard."
"It was alright before, but lately, the carriage has returned, and we've gotten a few more dogs, so things are getting more and more complicated."
Xiao Yan said eagerly, "What's the big deal? I'm quick on my feet! Besides, Grandma usually does it with me. I can do it. Ask Grandma if you don't believe me."
Ye Caiping chuckled and said, "Then let's take a break."
Xiao Yan's eyes reddened, and Jin'er and Huan'er also looked dejected, their eyes filled with reluctance as they gazed at Xiao Yan.
Ye Caiping was taken aback, realizing that Xiao Yan had misunderstood:
"Why are you crying? I'm just buying a few servants, not confiscating your property. You can assign them tasks, how about that?"
Xiao Yan looked up in a daze: "Really?"
"Hmm." Ye Caiping looked at her with affection. "That way, everyone will have an easier time. Also, the main gate is quite far away. We can't have you sitting in the outer courtyard guarding the gate all the time. We need to buy a few people who can work and guard the gate."
Grandma Ye and Grandpa Ye also thought it made sense.
However, hearing about the purchase still feels unreal.
Grandma Ye said, "Our family is actually able to employ servants; we must have accumulated a lot of good fortune over many lifetimes."
In her view, Xiao Yan was not a servant, but one of her own, so Xiao Yan did not count.
Ye Caiping laughed and said, "How could I forget? After this house was built, I said that I would buy a few servants so that you could enjoy a life of luxury!"
Grandma Ye immediately beamed with joy.
Ye Jin'er asked, "How many should we buy?"
Ye Caiping pondered for a moment: "Let's buy three or four first. This house isn't too big or too small. Let's buy a few and live in the back building first."
"Next year, we'll expand the house, add a row of back rooms, and bring back more people."
Old Man Ye nodded: "Yes, if you want to expand, you'll have to wait until next year. You just moved into this house at the beginning of the year, so don't move around too much."
...
The next day at noon, Shen Zhiyan went to Moxianlai in the county again.
He had just picked up yesterday's book when Fang Xuezheng, filled with excitement, casually approached, then beamed with delight:
"This...isn't this the great scholar Shen?"
Shen Zhiyan turned around: "You are..."
Seeing that he hadn't made a mistake, Fang Xuezheng tried to suppress his excitement and cupped his hands, saying, "I am Fang Wenhai, the thirty-eighth candidate in the tenth Jian'an imperial examination."
“Sir, you certainly don’t know me, but when I came to the capital to take the imperial examination, you were already a Doctor of Chinese Studies at the Imperial Academy. I even attended your lectures back then! I never expected to meet you here, so I’ve taken the liberty of coming forward to say hello.”
Shen Zhiyan nodded: "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."
Seeing the other person's cold and aloof demeanor, Fang Xuezheng nervously wrung his hands. Noticing the book the other man was holding, a sudden idea struck him:
"Does the gentleman like this book?"
"Um."
"The students like it too. This Master Song..."
The two began to chat about books. As they talked, Fang Xuezheng invited them to a private room and served them his treasured tea in an antique jade cup that he himself would never touch.
After exchanging ideas for more than an hour, Fang Xuezheng felt that he had learned a lot.
Fang Xuezheng sighed, "It's such a pity that the teacher is no longer teaching."
Shen Zhiyan: "To be honest, I currently have a closed-door disciple."
Fang Xuezheng was extremely envious: "I wonder who that disciple is?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Oh, I was being presumptuous. It is truly enviable to have the teacher's guidance. If only the students of our county school could also receive such guidance."
"OK."
"What?" Fang Xuezheng had only been testing the waters, but to his surprise, Shen Zhiyan had agreed. He exclaimed excitedly, "Mr. Shen is really willing to come and provide guidance at our county school?"
"One morning should be fine."
"Okay, okay!" Fang Xuezheng didn't know how to describe his feelings.
If word got out that he could invite Shen Zhiyan to teach a class at his county school, his colleagues would look up to him and be filled with envy and jealousy!
He feels like he's about to take off, what should he do?
Shen Zhiyan said, "We can discuss when to start class later."
"Very well, may I ask where Mr. Shen lives?"
Shen Zhiyan wrote down an address for him, then stood up and said, "It's getting late, so I'll take my leave now."
After Shen Zhiyan left, Fang Xuezheng eagerly chased after him, carrying a bunch of things, and stuffed them into Duanwu's hands.
The shopkeeper behind the counter, looking at the aloof and arrogant Xuezheng, was practically covering his eyes like a sycophant.
...
PS: The school principal is the same as the headmaster. The county school set here is a government-run school, equivalent to a modern public school. This book is fictional, and the school principals are set up with official positions, because teaching positions in ancient times were generally low-ranking. The county school principal is set to be a seventh-rank official.
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