After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

New Year's Day

Lin Yueniang and Granny Zhou packed their things to take back to Linjiang County early in the morning.

This time, we will also bring the New Year's gifts sent by the Jiang family of Fucheng. The family's carriage will carry five people, plus the driver.

All the New Year's gifts were loaded onto the oxcart that the family usually used to haul goods; there was no other way, as the family only had one horse-drawn cart.

Liu Datou drove the carriage steadily, and Jiang Xiaoqi was wrapped up like a dumpling again. His two older sisters, also wearing thick cloaks, sandwiched him tightly in the middle.

Jiang Wenqing yawned and held a hot water bottle.

Lin Yueniang deftly snatched the hot water bottle from her husband's hands and stuffed it into her son's arms.

"Hey? What are you doing, my wife? I'm cold too!"

Jiang Wenqing felt somewhat aggrieved. Ever since his son was born, he had truly been neglected by his parents, and even his wife, whom he once loved most, had changed her personality.

She always thinks of her son first, and she hardly pays attention to him anymore.

After his father sent him to the county school, he never inquired about him again. Every time he left home, his wife never seemed to feel any reluctance.

He initially loved his son very much, but in recent years, he's become increasingly attached to him because his son is too smart, too well-behaved, too adorable, and too easy to manage...

This meant he didn't have the opportunity to educate his son as a father, and his lack of education prevented him from teaching his son his lessons, leaving him feeling somewhat helpless whenever he faced his child.

Now that his wife values ​​their son more than him, he feels even more resentful. Since his wife has become younger and more beautiful, she has become even more dismissive of him.

Therefore, the way he looked at Jiang Xiaoqi was filled with accusation and jealousy.

Lin Yueniang rolled her eyes at him, "You're a grown man, are you trying to compete with your son for his affections?"

After saying that, he pulled the blanket that was covering Jiang Wenqing's legs over Jiang Xiaoqi and put it on her.

Helpless, Jiang Wenqing could only shrink his neck, put his hands in his sleeves, and sigh inwardly.

Despite hurrying along the way, we still couldn't reach Linjiang County before dinner; it was already completely dark.

The family was tired after a day's carriage ride. They unloaded the New Year's gifts and headed to the stables.

Uncle Lin instructed the kitchen to cook some hot noodles and invited the group to eat first, promising to visit their elders the next day.

The next morning, Lin Yueniang took her three siblings to visit their maternal grandparents, with Jiang Wenqing following behind them, each carrying a steamed bun.

Jiang Xiaoqi respectfully kowtowed to her maternal grandparents to wish them a Happy New Year, and also paid New Year's greetings to her several uncles and aunts, receiving a pile of red envelopes in return.

The men huddled together talking, while the younger generation joined in, chattering away. Lin Yueniang, however, was pulled inside by her mother and sisters-in-law to talk.

"Xiao Qi, I heard you went to study in Xinghe Prefecture? Have you learned the Hundred and Three Thousand Scriptures yet?"

The one asking the question was Uncle Lin's youngest son, who is eight years old and usually very mischievous.

"I'm learning." Jiang Xiaoqi felt there was no need to reveal her true learning progress.

"If you don't understand anything, cousin, you can come and ask me these next few days. I'll definitely teach you properly!" Lin Huainan said warmly.

"Uh... okay, then thank you very much, cousin."

"Oh, we're all family, no need to be so polite. Why don't you recite the Hundred Family Surnames now, and your cousin will see if you've learned it well enough."

"How did we end up talking about reciting texts during the Lunar New Year? Weren't we just discussing the lantern festival?"

Jiang Xiwen noticed that her younger brother didn't want to reveal his academic situation, so she tried to change the subject.

When visiting someone's home, it's not appropriate to show off, especially since my mother had already told me beforehand that we should keep a low profile regarding my younger brother's academic talent.

Firstly, it prevents the younger brother from becoming arrogant and complacent; secondly, it prevents relatives from developing grudges by comparing the children's abilities.

"Oh dear, what do you girls know? A real man should prioritize his studies. There's no time when you can't play around."

What a rare opportunity! We older brothers can take turns tutoring Mingfei. When he returns to school in the spring, our cousin Mingfei will surely make a name for himself!

Jiang Xiwen: I just didn't want you guys to be discouraged. You really don't appreciate my good intentions. I'm not going to bother with these idiots anymore!

Seeing that Jiang Xiaoqi remained silent for a while, Lin Huainan assumed he couldn't recite it, so he said, "It's okay, take your time. Your cousin will start with Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li..."

The children around him also started reciting the Hundred Family Surnames. Jiang Xiaoqi had no choice but to recite a few lines as well.

After he finished reciting, Lin Huainan suddenly burst into laughter, "Cousin, you have to recite it aloud so you can remember it better. How can you study if you don't read it out loud?!"

Jiang Xiaoqi looked at him innocently, and her other cousins ​​chimed in.

"My little brother was tired from traveling yesterday and isn't feeling well today. He's usually a very good student; he even got first place in the annual exam!"

Jiang Xiyue didn't understand why her older sister wasn't speaking up for her younger brother, even though she knew how good he was at studying.

Jiang Xiwen was speechless. Her second sister, who should have been quiet, was talking a lot!

Lin Huainan, however, did not believe it. "Really?! Isn't he only four years old, just starting his formal education? Do elementary schools also have annual exams?"

"Of course it's true! My younger brother is amazing. He'll be moving up a grade after the New Year, and soon he'll be able to take the imperial examinations for the lowest level of education, or even the lowest level!"

Jiang Xiaoqi sighed helplessly. His second sister was doing this on purpose!

He didn't want to attract attention, but he couldn't resist his second sister's mischievousness. Did she have a grudge against his cousins ​​in the past? Was she trying to use her brother to get revenge?

What to do? We definitely can't let people say that my second sister is bragging; we have to get back at her.

Jiang Xiaoqi smiled sweetly, revealing two adorable dimples: "My cousin wants to take the teaching exam because he cares about his younger brother's studies."

However, studying truly requires accumulation. The annual examination was merely a test by the teacher of what we had learned recently, and it does not represent the whole picture.

To top the list is a combination of skill and luck.

This is an admission of what Lin Xiyue said!

Lin Huainan and his other cousins ​​were still somewhat skeptical, after all, Jiang Xiaoqi was too young, and continued to press, "Then what can you do? Can you write poetry?"

Jiang Xiaoqi nodded: "I know a little bit~"

The children around couldn't help but chuckle when they heard this. How could Nan Di have come up with the idea of ​​making a four-year-old write a poem?

Lin Huainan looked at Jiang Xiaoqi with a mischievous grin: "Then write one for us to hear, so that the older brothers can broaden their horizons. After all, the older brothers are almost ten years old and haven't even started learning to write poetry yet!"

Jiang Xiaoqi had anticipated this; it wasn't that he couldn't compose one, but rather that he didn't know which poem to choose.

He paced back and forth in the flower hall with small, measured steps, unaware that the adults' conversation had long since ceased, and they were all quietly watching the children.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven steps, stop: You can't wander around anymore, or you'll end up outside the flower hall!

"In the twelfth lunar month, snow blows and the world turns white; travelers return home to await the New Year. Half a cup of fine wine is not yet finished; in a drunken dream, I pay homage to my parents on New Year's Eve."

Composing a poem in seven steps!