I traveled back to ancient times, but I was able to lie down and relax.

Seeing that the situation here was stable, Liu Nanjia went home. She still had business to do today, and Song Chen was already preparing at home.

When the village head was notified, he said that each household only needed to send a representative. Some people who could make decisions signed up on the spot, while others needed to go home and discuss it with their families.

The village head said the registration deadline was tomorrow, so Liu Yanxi sat there all day.

When Liu Nanjia and Song Chen returned from town that evening, they saw Liu Yanxi looking hesitant several times, as if he had something to say.

"Brother, just say what you want to say. What is it?"

"It's just...it's just..." Liu Yanxi knew that his sister would be unhappy if he told her this, but he couldn't keep quiet about it.

Finally, gritting her teeth, she said, "It's Grandma. She signed up for the chicken-raising thing today, and said we don't need to pay her. She said she can only do these things for us."

"Brother, you agreed?" Liu Nanjia raised an eyebrow.

“If it were anyone else in that family, I would have refused outright, but Grandma… Uncle Village Head was also there to persuade me, so I… agreed.”

Liu Yanxi looked somewhat guilty.

“But I said I would pay, just like everyone else in the village, in a completely official manner.”

Liu Nanjia was indeed very unhappy. She didn't want to have anything to do with that family anymore. She had originally expanded her business to the whole village for the sake of that so-called reputation.

Despite all that I've done, I still can't avoid it.

But seeing his brother's expression, which was even more distressed than his own, Liu Nanjia couldn't bring himself to blame him and sighed.

"Alright, brother, I'm not blaming you. If you agree, then agree. Grandma has always been good to us, so let's just do her a favor. You did the right thing, so you still have to give her the money, just like everyone else."

Liu Yanxi breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his sister say that. For some reason, he was now a little afraid of his sister. "Don't worry, leave everything that needs to be done with them to me. You don't need to worry about anything."

In this way, the two things—raising chickens and establishing a school—were settled.

A few days later, a group of little kids came to Liu Nanjia's house. Of course, they weren't all children; some teenagers also came.

On the first day of class, just like in a modern school, many parents came to watch.

The village head also came. "Yanxi, these children are in your care. Just teach them."

Then, turning to the other villagers who were looking at the newly built classrooms in the village, he said, "Since you have sent your children here, you should treat them the same way you treated Liu Xiucai before. If I find out that anyone is looking for trouble or picking on Yan Xi because he is young, don't blame me for being impolite. Take your children back and don't let them come to the village school again."

The other villagers naturally agreed.

"We won't. Young Master Liu is still a teacher, even though he's young."

"Yes, yes, apart from the village school where the tuition is so low, it would be many times higher elsewhere."

Hearing their assurances, the village head felt somewhat relieved and pulled Liu Yanxi aside.

He said, “Yanxi, when we invited your father to teach before, we paid him 500 coins a month, which was already lower than what we get outside. Now that you’re teaching, you should be paid the same amount.”

Liu Yanxi quickly said, "Uncle Village Head, there's no need for tuition. Didn't we agree that teaching was the exchange for us living here?"

“How can you say that? This school was abandoned and useless before. You're already staying here, so why are you exchanging fees? Besides, the village only paid a little for the construction of this new classroom. You paid the majority of the cost. You're already at a disadvantage. How can you refuse tuition fees?”

Liu Yanxi wanted to refuse, but the village head interrupted him: "Alright, stop arguing with me. Putting aside my position as village head, I'm practically your elder, so it's only right that I take care of you on behalf of your father. Here's what we'll do: the village is indeed in a difficult situation and can't afford much money. I won't give you 500 coins, just 300 coins a month. Alright, you go and get busy, you still have a bunch of kids to worry about."

He left without waiting for a reply.

Liu Yanxi was half happy and half at a loss. He ran to the kitchen and told Liu Nanjia and Song Chen, who were busy cooking, about it.

Liu Nanjia continued working, replying, "Brother, since Uncle Village Head gave it to you, you should accept it; it's what you deserve. Teaching so many children isn't an easy task. If you really feel bad about it, then take some out and use it to buy some paper and pens or something as a reward for the children who perform well each month."

“Yes, a tuition fee of 300 coins is not high anywhere,” Song Chen echoed. “I see there are more than twenty children here today. They probably pay 500 coins a month. After deducting your tuition fee, there will still be 200 coins left to buy some desks and chairs for the school or other teaching supplies. So, it’s basically balanced, and the village doesn’t need to spend any more money.”

Liu Yanxi listened and did the math himself. 'Yes, that way the village won't need to pay anything. It seems the village head has already thought it through.'

So I felt relieved and accepted it with peace of mind.