Fleeing from famine? Not a chance; the divine healer's wife made her fortune.

Obstacles to promoting education, initial plans to showcase talent

The town looked even more dilapidated than it appeared from a distance, with low houses, narrow streets, and a faint musty smell in the air.

Su Yunlan frowned slightly, the strange feeling in her heart growing stronger.

She carefully placed the books and some simple teaching tools she found in the cave onto the cart, patted them gently, and looked determined.

These are the foundations of her future career in education.

The townspeople were wary of outsiders, their curious gazes falling on Su Yunlan and her group, their whispers buzzing like mosquitoes.

Su Yunlan didn't care and walked straight to a relatively spacious abandoned courtyard.

Although the place is overgrown with weeds and the roof is dilapidated, it can be used as a school with a little repair.

She bent down, plucked a withered blade of grass, rubbed it in her hands, and her eyes gleamed.

“This is it.” She said firmly, as if she could already see the children reading aloud here.

The news spread quickly, and the town's only teacher, Master Chen, soon came to visit.

He was thin, with a goatee, and wore a faded long gown, giving him a somewhat pedantic air.

He sized Su Yunlan up and down, his tone unfriendly: "I heard you're going to set up a school here? What do you, a woman from out of town, know about teaching and educating people?"

Su Yunlan looked directly at him, neither humble nor arrogant: "Master Chen, although I am a stranger in this land, I have read the classics and understand the way of enlightenment. Now that I have been exiled here, I only wish to do what I can for the children."

Master Chen snorted coldly: "Within my power? I think you're trying to steal my job! In this town, only I can teach and educate people. What kind of decorum is it for a woman like you to show your face in public?"

A tense atmosphere filled the air as more and more villagers gathered to watch, their pointing and whispering filling the air.

Su Yunlan took a deep breath, about to retort, when she heard a sarcastic voice: "Oh, isn't this Master Chen? What, is someone challenging your status?" A young scholar in a blue robe walked over leisurely, fanning himself with a folding fan.

His name was Wu Xiucai. He was somewhat learned but had a high opinion of himself and looked down on Su Yunlan's school.

"Scholar Wu, you've come at the perfect time!" Master Chen said, pointing at Su Yunlan as if he had found an ally. "This woman wants to set up a school here; it's utterly absurd! As scholars, how can we tolerate such insolence?"

Wu Xiucai smiled contemptuously, looking Su Yunlan up and down with a disdainful look in his eyes: "Woman, I advise you to give up on this idea as soon as possible. Teaching and educating people is not something you can do."

Su Yunlan's face darkened, and just as she was about to speak, a rough voice suddenly came from the crowd: "Set up a school? Whose child has time to go to school? Are you not going to do the work in the fields?" A burly woman walked over aggressively with her hands on her hips.

She was Aunt Zhao, a notoriously shrewish woman in town. In her eyes, reading and writing were useless and would only hinder children from doing chores.

Faced with the doubts and difficulties of the crowd, Su Yunlan did not back down. Her gaze was firm as she looked around at everyone and slowly began to speak...

"Everyone..."

"Gentlemen," Su Yunlan's voice was clear and firm, like a mountain stream flowing gently, dispelling the turbidity in the air, "I know you all have doubts, but you have to try to know for sure. Reading and writing are not useless; they can help children understand principles and give them a broader future."

As soon as she finished speaking, a slightly childish voice suddenly came from the crowd, "I think Sister Su is right!" Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a handsome young man walk out from the crowd. He was Xiao Yuhan's fifth brother, the Fifth Young Master Xiao.

Although he is not old, he already shows some scholarly air.

He walked to Su Yunlan's side, looking firmly at Master Chen. "Master Chen, you say that women cannot teach, but have you ever read the passage in the Book of Rites that says, 'Women have duties that extend to the four corners of the world'? This shows that women also have talents and learning, so why can't they teach and educate people?"

Master Chen was rendered speechless by Young Master Xiao's words. His face turned red and his beard trembled, but he could not find the words to refute them.

The surrounding villagers whispered among themselves, surprised that the younger brother of an exiled convict could be so talented. They were all impressed with Young Master Xiao.

Su Yunlan looked at the Fifth Young Master Xiao who stepped forward and was secretly delighted. These Xiao brothers were indeed outstanding individuals.

Seeing that Master Chen was rendered speechless by a young boy, Wu Xiucai was displeased. He waved his folding fan and sneered, "Hmph, what's the use of just spouting grand principles? What do your schools teach? Are you going to use empty words to fool the children?" He glanced at Su Yunlan and said in a sharp tone, "I bet you can't even produce a decent book."

Su Yunlan sneered inwardly; she had long expected someone to make a fuss about this.

She smiled slightly, walked to the cart, and carefully took out a stack of books from a wooden box.

These books, with their yellowed pages, exuded a faint scent of ink; they were the rare copies she had found in the cave.

She unfolded the book, revealing its exquisite illustrations and dense text, and showed it to everyone.

Wu Xiucai's initially dismissive expression gradually turned to one of surprise. His eyes widened as he stared incredulously at the books, muttering to himself, "This... how is this possible?"

He snapped out of his shock, snatched the book from Su Yunlan's hand, and began to carefully peruse it, growing increasingly alarmed with each reading.

The book contains profound and exquisite content, far from the common, superficial works found on the market.

His face turned pale and then red, and his arrogant demeanor from just moments before was instantly extinguished.

Seeing Wu Xiucai's appearance, Su Yunlan felt a sense of satisfaction. These books were enough to shatter all his ridicule and doubt.

“These books…” Wu Xiucai was about to say something when he was interrupted by a deep voice.

"How is it?" The voice belonged to Xiao Yuhan, who stood outside the crowd with piercing eyes, his gaze fixed on Su Yunlan.

Xiao Yuhan's gaze was deep and steady. He stood quietly on the periphery of the crowd, watching Su Yunlan calmly deal with various difficulties, his eyes full of admiration and respect.

He noticed the confident glint in Su Yunlan's eyes when she faced doubts, and the determined smile on her lips.

He knew that his wife not only had superb medical skills, but also a tenacious heart.

Su Yunlan felt Xiao Yuhan's gaze and a warm feeling welled up in her heart. She turned to look at him, and their eyes met in the air. A silent understanding flowed between them, as if a warm spring breeze had swept by, dispelling the chill around them.

A sudden burst of noise from the crowd broke the brief silence.

“I’m telling you, Mrs. Su, it’s a good thing to start a school, but we country folk rely on our children to help with the work in the fields. If they all go to school, who will do the work in the fields?” It was Aunt Zhao who was speaking. Behind her was a group of parents, all of them looking worried and clearly having reservations about Su Yunlan’s school.

Aunt Zhao's voice was rough and loud, immediately attracting everyone's attention.

The parents behind her echoed her sentiments, each sharing their own difficulties.

"Yes, my son is only eight years old and he can already help herd cattle. If he goes to school, how much work will he miss?" "My daughter is the same. She can help with laundry and cooking at home. If she goes to school, who will do the housework?" The parents talked one after another, their voices growing louder and louder, like waves of sound that made Su Yunlan breathless.

She felt immense pressure, like a mountain pressing down on her, making it almost impossible for her to lift her head.

The surrounding air became oppressive, as if it had solidified, making people feel suffocated.

Su Yunlan took a deep breath, trying her best to remain calm.

She knew that these parents weren't deliberately making things difficult for her; they were just worried about making a living.

She looked around, her gaze falling on the anxious children, and her determination to start a school grew even stronger.

She slowly began, "Everyone..."

"Everyone," Su Yunlan's voice rang out again, clear and firm, like a ray of sunshine piercing through the gloom, "I understand your concerns, but the children come to the school not just to read and write. I will also teach them some practical skills, such as identifying herbs, learning arithmetic, and even basic farming knowledge. In this way, they can not only broaden their horizons but also better help their families."

Aunt Zhao and the others looked at each other, clearly somewhat skeptical of Su Yunlan's statement.

A young woman stepped forward and asked cautiously, "Madam Su, is what you're saying true? What good is learning arithmetic? It's much more practical to dig more land." Her words represented the sentiments of most people.

Su Yunlan smiled slightly; she was prepared.

She walked to an open space, took out a set of counting rods from the cart, and began to fiddle with them. "This arithmetic isn't just simple addition and subtraction. It can help you calculate the harvest from the fields, know what to plant in what season, and prevent you from being cheated by small vendors at the market. Literacy will allow you to understand contracts and clearly know what you have given and what you have received."

As she spoke, she demonstrated, simply using counting rods to solve an addition and subtraction problem. Although the villagers didn't quite understand, seeing the counting rods moving nimbly in Su Yunlan's hands, it seemed that they could really calculate something, and they couldn't help but feel curious.

“Look,” Su Yunlan pointed to some simple herbs on the cart, “these are common herbs. I will also teach the children to identify them, so that when they have minor illnesses or pains, they can prepare their own medicine to relieve them, saving them a lot of trouble.” She picked up a sprig of mugwort, put it under her nose and smelled it, a faint fragrance spreading out. “Moreover, by learning these, you can avoid accidentally eating poisonous herbs when you go up the mountain to collect herbs in the future.”

After hearing these words, Aunt Zhao touched her chin thoughtfully, clearly somewhat wavering.

Some parents began to whisper among themselves, realizing that Su Yunlan wasn't just talking big, but genuinely caring about their children.

Su Yunlan's explanation made some parents begin to waver. In their eyes, this woman seemed to have opened a door to a new world, and a glimmer of hope rose in their hearts.

Seeing the gradually softening expressions on everyone's faces, a glimmer of hope ignited in Su Yunlan's heart. Just then, a ragged servant came running up, panting. He held a letter in his hand and handed it directly to Master Lin, mumbling something indistinctly.

After reading the letter, Master Lin's expression changed drastically. He quickly glanced at everyone, clutched the letter in his hand, and looked at Su Yunlan with a complicated expression. His lips moved, but he said nothing. He simply whispered to the constable beside him, "Let's go." With that, he hurriedly led his men away.

Su Yunlan sensed that he seemed to want to say something, but ultimately chose to remain silent.

As she watched Master Lin's hurried departure, she felt that something was amiss, and a sense of unease rose in her heart.

Just as she was about to step forward to ask, she heard a low murmur from the crowd, as if people were talking about something concerning the government and the academy.

"It's been such an eventful time."

Su Yunlan turned her head and saw Xiao Yuhan looking at her with a calm expression, revealing neither joy nor anger. She heard him say in a low voice, "Let's go back first."