Dressed as a farmer's widow, she brought her daughter to stock up on food and reached the top

"Why are you so anxious? I haven't finished what I'm saying yet!" Tian Guilan blushed and shouted, "I'm planning to... I'm planning to send Dagui to school. It's only twenty cents a month, isn't it? Don't look down on me. My Zhao family is a wealthy family in the village!"

As Tian Guilan spoke these words, she could clearly feel her voice trembling uncontrollably. She was terrified. How would she explain this to Cuihua when she got home? Twenty cents a month was no small sum. But it was better to embarrass herself here than to be scolded and beaten by Cuihua back home.

Filled with helplessness and resentment, she secretly glanced at her limp husband beside her. He stood there motionless, as if a complete outsider. Tian Guilan couldn't help but curse inwardly, "What a useless thing!"

Seeing that Tian Guilan's outburst had almost subsided, the village chief raised his voice and said, "Each child will receive a monthly stipend of twenty wen. Apart from the fifty wen paid to Shenghui each month, the remaining expenses will be recorded in the village's public account. Does anyone have any questions about this?"

"No, building a school in the village is a great thing!" An uncle in the crowd was the first to respond loudly.

"That's right, we can't let Shenghui teach in vain. I fully support it!" An aunt also echoed.

"I support it too! Now that the village has a school, our country kids can study well and will definitely have a bright future!" another villager said excitedly.

"Maybe our village will produce a top scholar in the future!" Someone shouted this, which instantly ignited the atmosphere on the scene.

When the top scholar was mentioned, the eyes of the old mothers with sons present were full of longing and expectation. They looked at their sons and smiled so hard that their mouths could not close. They made up their minds that their children must go to this school in the village.

Seeing that no one in the village had any objections, the village chief's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down. He couldn't help but sigh that now that the village was prosperous, everyone's knowledge had increased and their minds had become more open.

At this time, Xiuying raised her voice and said with a smile, "Every child who signs up will receive a set of brushes, inkstones, and paper."

As soon as these words came out, the scene instantly became boiling. You know, brushes, ink, paper and inkstone are not cheap. The cheapest brush alone costs fifteen coins, plus the paper and inkstone, this is not a small amount.

"Oh, thank you so much, Sister Xiuying!" said an elder sister-in-law gratefully.

"Xiuying is not like some people who only talk big but do nothing." An old man echoed, his eyes full of approval for Xiuying.

"That's right, he keeps talking about being rich all day long, but I haven't seen him do anything good for anyone." Another villager also complained.

"Humph, maybe. His family can hardly afford to eat, yet he keeps saying that he is rich. If he is really that rich, why doesn't he just pay for the tuition of all the children in the village?" A young man curled his lips in disdain.

Hearing these words, Zhao Cunliang and Tian Guilan felt their faces burning, as if countless pairs of eyes were staring at them and pointing fingers. The two glanced at each other, seeing the embarrassment in each other's eyes. They could only squeeze out of the crowd and leave quickly.

Although they left, they felt like a huge stone was blocking their hearts and were full of resentment.

Tian Guilan muttered softly as she walked, "Humph, what's so great about that? Our three brick houses are real, better than many other houses in the village!"

Zhao Cunliang also had a gloomy face and responded in a muffled voice: "That's right, they are just jealous of us."

In the Zhao family's courtyard, Cuihua was lounging leisurely on a chair, her eyes slightly closed, looking contented. Guangzong squatted beside her, carefully massaging her feet, his posture like a servant waiting on his master.

Zhao Cunliang and Tian Guilan walked into the yard with gloomy faces. When they saw their son's cowardly appearance, the frustration in their hearts suddenly came to their head. The couple looked at each other, their eyes full of helplessness and resentment.

Zhao Cunliang frowned slightly, signaled Tian Guilan with his eyes, and whispered, "You caused this yourself, so go and tell us yourself."

Tian Guilan suddenly became furious and couldn't help cursing in her heart: "This man is really useless!" She glared at Zhao Cunliang fiercely and gritted her teeth.

Cuihua half-closed her eyes and lazily glanced at Zhao Cunliang and Tian Guilan standing in the yard in a daze. She shouted impatiently, "What are you doing standing there? Go and cook!"

"I... I'll go right away!" Zhao Cunliang turned around quickly and ran into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, the two younger sons, Dafu and Dagui, had already washed the vegetables. Seeing their father, who usually had no enthusiasm for cooking, so eager to learn, they figured their parents must have gotten into some trouble outside again.

Dagui didn't say anything, but squatted down silently and skillfully added firewood to the stove to start the fire. As long as this matter had nothing to do with him, he didn't bother to care about anything else.

In the yard, Tian Guilan slowly walked towards Cuihua. As she walked, she mentally prepared a speech, thinking about how to start.

After finally moving to Cuihua's side, Tian Guilan forced a smile and said cautiously, "My dear, the village is bustling with activity today. They're talking about building a school. Haven't you seen how many families are rushing to enroll their children? Take Butcher Li, for example; he's already enrolled his daughter. Speaking of this, Xiuying fully supports this idea."

As she spoke, Tian Guilan felt beads of sweat on her forehead. She was really at a loss and could only bring Xiuying out, secretly praying that Cuihua would agree to it for Xiuying's sake.

Cuihua was still lazily lying on the chair, glancing at Tian Guilan and asking slowly, "So, what are you going to do?"

Seeing Cuihua's reaction, Tian Guilan felt a little relieved and quickly said with a smile, "My dear, I'm thinking of sending Dagui to school. But the school requires a tuition of twenty cents a month, so I came to ask your opinion."

At this point, Tian Guilan's voice unconsciously lowered, her confidence completely fading. In fact, if she were in charge, she would never agree to spend those twenty cents to send her child to school. A country child, recognizing a few words would be enough; there was no need to spend such money. Working in the fields every day was the real work.

Dagui was adding firewood to the stove when he was suddenly pulled out of the kitchen by Tian Guilan. He stumbled and nearly fell, but after finally regaining his balance, he stood blankly in the yard with a dazed look on his face.

Dagui's eyes were full of fear. He first looked at his mother Tian Guilan, only to see a vicious look in her eyes, as if he had committed some unforgivable mistake.