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

Having resolved her doubts, Liu Yanxi went to the classroom full of energy. By now, all the children who were supposed to be there had arrived, and the parents had all finished watching and gone home to take care of their own business.

The remaining group of kids were playing and frolicking in the classroom and the designated yard. The village children all knew each other, so they gathered in small groups and chattered away as they usually did when playing in the village.

Liu Yanxi came over and called out a few times.

"Stop playing! Everyone, go to the classroom, we're about to start class!"

However, his size was not conspicuous among them, and his voice was not loud. After shouting a few times, some people did not hear him and ran around wildly outside.

At this moment, Uncle Wang's son, Da Hu, roared, "Stop! Stop running! Go into the classroom!"

Xiao Hu also shouted, "Stop playing! Stop playing! The teacher is coming, class is starting!"

Wang Dahu, just like his name suggests, was tall and strong, a formidable fighter, and highly respected among the village children.

It's actually quite simple among kids: whoever has the bigger fist gets to do what they say.

Upon hearing Wang Dahu's voice, those who had been playing wildly finally remembered why they had come today and timidly slipped into the classroom.

Liu Yanxi gave Wang Dahu a grateful look before walking up to the podium.

Although the children had all come in, they were still gathered in small groups, just like they were outside.

Of course, there were also older people, or those who had attended school, who had already found a place to sit properly.

Although there was no requirement that only boys could come, there is still only one girl in the classroom, Liu Sirou, who is sitting with Xiao Shitou, whom she already knows well.

Other villagers either thought that it was useless for girls to study and had no intention of teaching them to read; or they gave priority to the boys in their families for the opportunity to study.

Some parents actually wanted their daughters to learn to read, but they were unhappy when they heard that they would have to be in the same classroom as the boys.

Liu Nanjia expressed her helplessness, but there was nothing she could do. As the old saying goes, boys and girls should not sit together after the age of seven, and people's thinking at that age is definitely not comparable to that of modern people.

They didn't have the resources to build another classroom so that boys and girls could attend classes separately; they couldn't very well split Liu Yanxi in two.

So this is the best we can do for now. We'll improve things gradually when conditions allow.

Liu Sirou and Shitou were both under six years old, but one was Liu Xiaofuzi's younger sister and the other was the village head's grandson, so it was normal to make an exception, and no one said anything.

Liu Yanxi cleared his throat on the podium. "Everyone, please be quiet. Today is the first day of class, so let's arrange the seats first. Those who have studied and can read, please go to the left side of the classroom. Those who cannot read at all, please go to the right side."

Wang Dahu was still standing to the side while he was speaking.

His gaze swept over the group of noisy kids, and they immediately fell silent, obediently following instructions and standing in line on the left and right sides of the classroom.

There were enough desks and chairs in the classroom, so Liu Yanxi arranged the students' seats according to their height.

Then, he took out a test paper that he had prepared beforehand and distributed it to the children on the left who had attended school.

"Your task today is very simple: just complete this test paper. Don't worry, this will not affect your grades. It's just to let me understand your level so that it will be helpful for future teaching."

In Liu Nanjia's words, it was a "test to assess the situation."

Those who had attended school were generally more disciplined and brought their own writing materials; they would start writing as soon as they received the exam paper.

Since it's a diagnostic test, it won't be too difficult; it'll mostly consist of fill-in-the-blank and dictation questions.

Because Xiao Hu and the others had been following Liu Yanxi for a while, Liu Yanxi was very clear about their skill level, so he arranged for Xiao Hu to help him supervise this area.

He went to the other side. Most of these children who had never been to school were quite young and were restless in their seats, fidgeting. However, under the intimidating gaze of Wang Dahu, they dared not move too much.

Liu Yanxi came over and gestured for them to be quiet. "Today is your first day of class. We won't lecture you on grand principles or why you need to read and write. Today, I'll just teach you your names."

After saying that, he gestured for Wang Dahu to come over and write his name on a piece of paper.

Da Hu's calligraphy reflects his personality. Although he doesn't write much and it's not particularly beautiful, every stroke is powerful. When the three characters are written, they look very upright and dignified.

When the group of kids saw these big characters, they exclaimed in surprise. Some of them knew that Wang Dahu had been illiterate before, but after following Master Liu for only a few days, he was able to write such "beautiful" characters.

Along with the admiration for Wang Dahu himself, a portion of that admiration was also extended to Master Liu.

Liu Yanxi was very satisfied with their reaction. For these children who had never been exposed to books before, they might not necessarily think that his handwriting was better than Wang Dahu's powerful handwriting.

So he patiently coaxed, "Do you want to be able to write your own name like your Big Tiger Brother?"

"Yes!" This time, the boys were very obedient.

“Okay,” Liu Yanxi said with a smile, “Then let’s start from the first row. I will write down each of your names.”