She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

After dinner, Changsheng came over to deliver a message, saying that the house at the east end of the village had been prepared and that Li Mufeng and his servant could move in there.

This afternoon, upon learning that his young master would be staying here for some time, the servant drove the carriage to town to buy him bed sheets, blankets, and other necessities.

Shen Man and Lan Xiang only escorted them to the courtyard gate, without going over to see the room that the village head had arranged for them.

The next day, around 7:30 AM, Sun Wang's wife arrived at the big camphor tree at the village entrance as promised.

Early in the morning, the village headman had everyone in the village, young and old, notified to come to the village entrance immediately, as he had important matters to discuss.

When the villagers arrived at the village entrance, they inquired and learned what had happened. They whispered among themselves, discussing the matter animatedly, shocked by the news.

Everyone knew that Sun Wang was poisoned yesterday, but no one expected that he was bitten by a snake while stealing from Lanxiang's house.

Some people began to criticize Sun Wang, saying he had disgraced the village; others said he should be severely punished and made to pay the price.

When Lanxiang and Shenman came out of the house, all the villagers had already arrived. Even Li Mufeng and his servant had come over and stood in the crowd to watch the excitement.

When the villagers saw Lanxiang and Shen Man arrive, they all came forward to ask if Lanxiang had lost anything valuable. Some of them were genuinely concerned, while others were gloating.

Sun Wang's wife, listening to the villagers' pointing and whispering, was already blushing with embarrassment, wishing she were the one lying on the bed unable to move.

She kept her head down, constantly rubbing the two brand-new pieces of fabric in her hands to hide her nervousness and unease.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, the village headman gestured for everyone to be quiet, and then said, "I called you all here today because a theft has occurred in our village. The perpetrator is Sun Wang, a villager from our village. The night before last, while Lanxiang and her daughter were away in the county town, he secretly broke into their house and stole things."

His voice was deep and serious, revealing an unquestionable authority.

As soon as the village head finished speaking, the villagers erupted in a cacophony of voices.

"I never would have guessed that Sun Wang and his wife were such people!"

"Yes, yes, if I hadn't been bitten by a snake, I wouldn't have known it was him."

"It's no good for someone with such a shady past to stay in the village. Village head, why don't we hand him over to the authorities?"

"No!" Sun Wang's wife cried out hurriedly, "He was bitten by a snake and is still in bed. Please forgive him this time! It's all my fault. I sent him to Lanxiang's house to steal. If you have to punish someone, punish me!"

The village head pondered for a moment and said, "Sun Wang's theft is a fact, but considering it's his first offense and he just escaped danger, we'll let him off this time. However, you must compensate Lanxiang's family for their losses and apologize to Lanxiang in public!"

Sun Wang's wife nodded repeatedly, took the two pieces of cloth, walked up to Lanxiang, bowed to her, and said, "Lanxiang, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have been jealous of your family's money, and I shouldn't have let my husband steal from your house. This is the cloth he took from your house yesterday, and I'm returning it to you now. I'm sorry!"

Lanxiang took the two pieces of cloth and said to the village head, "Village head, let's let this go this time. We're all from the same village, we'll see each other all the time, it'll only hurt our harmony if we make too much of a scene."

However, there's something I need to make clear: my daughter Man'er likes to play with snakes and insects at home. If anyone sneaks into our house again and gets bitten by a snake or insect, we won't be responsible!

The village head looked at Lanxiang, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes. "Lanxiang, you are truly a kind child. Since you've put it that way, then let's do it this way. I hope Sun Wang can remember this lesson and reform himself in the future. I also hope that others will learn from this and not repeat Sun Wang's mistakes. Lanxiang is an orphan and a widow; it's not easy for her to earn money. Don't keep worrying about her!"

"Thank you so much, Lanxiang! I'll remember this and never do it again!" Sun Wang's wife said gratefully.

"Alright, that's enough about that." The village head waved his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down. His gaze swept over everyone present, and then he slowly began to speak: "Furthermore, I have something important to tell you. This matter concerns the future and development of our village, and I hope you will all listen carefully to what I have to say."

Upon hearing the village head's words, everyone perked up their ears, their faces showing anticipation. They knew that what the village head was about to say must be a matter of great importance concerning the village's interests.

"Mr. Li, please come here for a moment," the village head called out in one direction from the crowd.

A moment later, a young man dressed in brocade robes and with a refined demeanor walked out from the crowd and stood beside the village head. This man was none other than Li Mufeng.

The village head looked at Li Mufeng with admiration and gratitude in his eyes.

He patted Li Mufeng on the shoulder and said to everyone, "This is Mr. Li. He's the teacher Man'er invited from the county town yesterday for the village children. Look at Man'er, and look at yourselves. While you're still envious of others making money, she's already thinking about you and the future of our village. You're not even as sensible as a three-year-old..."

Upon hearing the village head's words, everyone's expressions immediately turned somewhat awkward. They realized their selfishness and shortsightedness, and a sense of guilt welled up in their hearts.

"We're all from the same village, so there's no need for words of gratitude. Grandpa Village Head, is the classroom for Mr. Li's classes ready?" Shen Man stepped forward to ease the awkwardness among the crowd.

"Everything is ready. I'll have someone clean up the empty room next to the ancestral hall so the children can have lessons. Starting tomorrow, all the children in the village aged six to ten will go to the ancestral hall at Chenshi (7-9 AM) every day to learn to read with Mr. Li. Is that all?"

"I've got it! Studying is a good thing; who knows, maybe my kid will pass the imperial examination and become a scholar!" someone said happily.

"That's right, we can't let our children be blind all their lives like we were."

“But I heard that tuition is very expensive, and my family doesn’t have that kind of money…” a villager said, his words like a bucket of cold water poured on everyone’s enthusiasm.

Shen Man hadn't mentioned the tuition fee to the village head, so he didn't know how much Li Mufeng was charging. But he felt it couldn't be that good to have it completely free.

He glanced at Shen Man, signaling her to come and explain things to the villagers.

“Ahem…” Shen Man coughed twice and said, “Mr. Li knows that our village is poor, so he only charged a small fee. Each household paid according to the number of children, and each child only received one or two taels of silver a year.”

Shen Man felt that people wouldn't cherish things that were free, so she should charge some money.

Moreover, with this money, even if Li Mufeng leaves in the future, she can still use it to hire other tutors.

"One tael of silver is not a small amount..." the man muttered.

"If you can't even spare this little bit of money, how can you expect your child to amount to anything? Don't you think writing materials cost money?" The village head glared at him. "It's settled then. Bring all the children over tomorrow!"