I became a stepmother and got rich with my cute baby.

The competition organized by Song Wanqing spread like wildfire.

At this time, the mine.

"Ms. Song actually organized this kind of competition. I heard that the first prize is 20 kilograms of rice and three pieces of brocade. How generous!" The bandit who was doing hard work looked up and couldn't help gossiping with the people next to him.

The man snorted disdainfully: "Humph, it's just a woman's opinion. If it weren't for her, we would be living a prosperous life now, with everything we want. Why would we still be mining here?"

"That's not necessarily true. I heard that all the children in the village have gone to school." The bandit said, with a hint of envy in his eyes. He said, "You know, where can we send children to school now? Only the rich and powerful are qualified to do that."

"Are you crazy?" another person yelled, "Speaking for that little girl?!"

At this time, someone nearby said, "Oh, it would be great if I could go to school and learn literature. My grandfather was a teacher in the school."

The unconvinced bandits were shocked, and people around them began to express their opinions one after another. A small number of them no longer had any resentment from the past and began to praise Song Wanqing.

The first person to speak was a little excited. He said, "Look at us, who can read? Being a bandit is a life-long struggle. If we are caught by the government, we will be sentenced to death. If it weren't for Madam Song, you and I might have lost our heads by now!"

Originally, he was a person who was unwilling to accept defeat. In the past, he lived a comfortable life by robbing and looting. But recently, he saw that Song Wanqing had led the previously dirty and messy mountain village to gradually develop. All the women, children and young children now had shelters, and it was like a paradise.

He couldn't help but think of the days when he was young and fled from famine. The paradise he imagined at that time was just like this.

Numb from poverty and exploitation by the powerful, he didn't know when he embarked on this path of no return, and had long forgotten his original intention of following his elder brother to establish his own village - to provide a shelter for all the suffering people.

The current village made him feel as if he was in another world, awakening his past memories and dreams. He also sincerely admired Song Wanqing, who led the village to develop with his own efforts.

The other man was stubborn and saw the longing on his face. He was furious and punched him, cursing, "You son of a bitch! What good did that woman give you to speak for her? Today, I will teach you a lesson on behalf of my brother!"

The two men immediately wrestled together, and the noise startled the overseer, who came over angrily and whipped them twice, angrily scolding: "You're not working to fight, are you dying to live?!"

The bandits scattered like birds and beasts in an instant, each of them hard at work.

Somehow, this matter reached the ears of a young man who had already signed up in the mountain village. During the lunch break, he put down his book and went to the place where the bandits were resting.

They lived together in a dirty and messy environment with no one to clean it up, and everyone had sunburn and whip marks on their bodies.

The young man couldn't help but frown. Although these bandits were hateful, in such a chaotic time, who wouldn't choose this path out of helplessness?

He found the bandit who had spoken for Song Wanqing earlier and said, "I heard that you also want to go to school to learn to read?"

The bandit was stunned, then nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes, I really want to, but I..." He looked at the object he was working on and smiled bitterly, "I have done too many evil things in the past. Madam Song is punishing us now. How could she let us do those elegant things that only scholars can do?"

The scholar shook his head and said, "Madam Song said that as long as you earn enough points, you can redeem your freedom. Then you can stay in the village and study in the academy. You can do the job you want."

Hearing this, the bandits were filled with surprise. A few of them also gathered around and listened quietly to the scholar promoting the competition.

After the scholar left, several people were full of ambition and gratitude, saying: "Mrs. Song is so kind! She is willing to give us the opportunity to be scholars, to become stonemasons and carpenters. This is a great gift from heaven!"

"Tsk!" Suddenly, someone on the other side said sarcastically, "Have you all been brainwashed by that woman? We are ready-made laborers. I have never heard of a laborer being promoted to an official position. Who hasn't been exploited to death? You should be more realistic when you daydream!"

What they said makes sense. This is indeed the case with the powerful people today. Hard laborers, after all, are slaves. All they do is work day and night. That is why these people are so resentful of Song Wanqing.

Those people didn't believe it. They wanted to speak up for Song Wanqing, but those who didn't accept it kicked their blankets aside and warned them, "Traitors, get out of the way!"

It was obvious that they were being targeted by others, not only in their daily life in the dormitory, but they were also deliberately made things difficult for them even on the construction site!

On the construction site, they endured beatings and scolding from the supervisors, and looked at their former companions who left with laughter, with hidden pain in their eyes.

Madam Song had clearly given them such a good opportunity, but these people did not repent and even wanted to rebuild the stronghold where they had once robbed, killed and burned people!

No wonder Madam Song made them do hard labor, because they had done something wrong in the first place!

A few people climbed up, endured the pain and went back to eat, but their thoughts became more and more determined. They must earn enough points as soon as possible, redeem their freedom as soon as possible, and do the careers they want!

Because of this, they were very motivated when working, and their energy seemed to be endless, and the supervisors who had previously disliked them also noticed this.

Even if the bad guys tried to make things difficult for them, the supervisor would pretend not to see it and would even bring them water and food to replenish their energy.

The sun rises and the moon sets. Ever since Song Wanqing came to the mountain village and opened a school, the villagers in the village have become busy, and the sun and moon in the mountains seem to have become faster.

When Song Wanqing heard Xiaolian say that the orchids by the river were blooming beautifully, he suddenly realized that it had been almost a month.

And it’s time to start the competition that she said she would prepare for at the beginning.

Thinking of this, Song Wanqing spread the news that a competition would be held in the village school three days later.

The rewards for the competition that Song Wanqing offered at the beginning were quite generous for the residents of the village. Everyone had been looking forward to the competition she mentioned and were eager to try it out.

Naturally, other villagers also wanted to join in the fun early on.

Therefore, on the day of the competition, all the villagers who had time to spare came to the outside of the school.

There are quite a few people who have signed up, and everyone has really learned something during these days. Even if they cannot win the first place in the end, it is good to come and see how good their level is.

These villagers had never participated in the imperial examination and knew nothing about the entire process.

Since it was their first time, Song Wanqing didn't make it too complicated. She imitated the ancient imperial examinations and just gave them a few questions each on astronomy, geography, and mathematics, and asked them to write them out and show them to her.