After Old Man Zhao left, Yang Xi saw her son clinging to his father and smiled, saying, “This child asks when you’re coming back as soon as he opens his eyes, and he even calls for his father in his dreams at night.”

Zhou Yu kissed her son’s face. “I missed Ziheng too.”

Ziheng covered his cheeks with his chubby hands, too shy. When his yé ye was around, his father never expressed his feelings directly.

Yang Xi teased her son, “Ziheng is shy.”

Zhou Yu laughed, “Doesn’t Ziheng like his father?”

Ziheng looked at his father and then at his mother, his chubby hands hugging his father’s neck tightly. “I like them. Ziheng likes both father and mother.”

Yang Xi mischievously asked, “Who does Ziheng like the most?”

Ziheng’s dark eyes shone brightly. “I like both father and mother the most.”

Yang Xi asked again, “If you can only keep one of your father and mother, who would you choose?”

Zhou Yu, “…”

Ziheng’s eyes reddened, looking like he was about to cry. Yang Xi quickly comforted him, “Mother is teasing Ziheng.”

Ziheng buried himself in his father’s arms without saying a word, refusing to respond to his mother, who was teasing him.

Zhou Yu thought, Serves you right. She just had to tease your son. The boy had always been precocious, and now she’d gone and made him angry.

Yang Xi cleared her throat, seeing her son listening intently, her eyes full of smiles. “In my heart, Ziheng is more important than your father. Are you happy, Ziheng?”

Zhou Yu was speechless.

His son was happy, but he wasn’t!

The couple washed up and went to bed. Yang Xi had someone to warm her feet again, and the baby in her belly became quiet when it heard its father’s voice. “We can’t live without you.”

Zhou Yu smiled. “I can’t live without you either.”

Yang Xi asked, “After I left that day, did you talk to Zhong Jin again?”

“Yes, we talked for a while. We talked about the general situation. I figured I couldn’t hide it from him anyway, and he’d find out sooner or later, so I might as well be honest.”

“You’re right.”

Zhou Yu said, “The houses in the village are almost finished, right?”

“Yes, it’s being built quickly. We’re just waiting for the roof beams to be laid and the tiles to be installed. The furniture we ordered is almost finished, too. While you were away, Third Yang and my Xiaodi have been supporting the family. My Xiaodi is already quite capable of handling things on his own.”

Zhou Yu said with satisfaction. “Now that the house is finished, I can go to Yizhou with more peace of mind about home.”

Yang Xi thought of what Zhu Shi had said. “Zhu Shi asked about my younger brother and sister’s marriage plans, and Mother is also concerned. What are your thoughts?”

Zhou Yu tucked his son in. “I don’t have any thoughts. There are still more than two years until the mourning period ends. It would be great if they could find someone they’re meant to be with. If not, they can slowly look for someone. Anyway, they’re not that old.”

Yang Xi was a little sleepy. She hadn’t slept well since Zhou Yu was away.

The next day, Zhou Yu didn’t go to the village with Third Yang. He completely delegated the responsibility and planned to stay home and spend time with his wife and children.

He didn’t go to the village. Liu Lizheng knew that Zhou Yu had returned and came at noon in an oxcart, bringing a lot of vegetables.

Liu Lizheng pointed to the vegetables in the basket. “You live in town and need to buy vegetables. These are all homegrown. I picked a whole basket, enough for you for several days. When you run out, I’ll send you more.”

Zhou Yu was a little uncomfortable with Liu Lizheng’s enthusiasm and invited him inside for tea.

Liu Lizheng did drink the tea. “I came here to ask if there are any age restrictions for your private school. What’s the oldest and youngest?”

Zhou Yu hadn’t really thought about it carefully. After a moment’s thought, he replied, “The youngest is seven, and the oldest is no more than sixteen. My school requires a full three-year course. If the children want to continue, that’s fine too, depending on their wishes.”

Liu Lizheng said, “Xiansheng, you’re setting up a school. My grandsons are all old enough, so I’ll have to trouble you then.”

Aside from his eldest grandson, who was already attending a private school, he planned to send all the other children in the family to school. This was a rare opportunity, and he actually wanted to send more of his grandsons to private schools. Unfortunately, private schools weren’t easy to get into; even a scholar had to pass an examination to gain admission and maintain the school’s reputation.

Zhou Yu quite enjoyed spending time with Liu Lizheng, who didn’t ask a single thing about the Xiànlìng. Instead, he introduced the major surnames of Shanghe Village and explained some taboos.

Yang Xi praised Liu Lizheng for his tact. After seeing Liu Lizheng off, Yang Xi smiled and said, “I think the person we absolutely mustn’t offend in Shanghe Village is Liu Lizheng. “

Zhou Yu agreed, “Once we move to Shanghe Village, we can have more contact with the Liu family.”

Yang Xi rubbed her lower back. “When can we unload the goods?”

Zhou Yu felt sorry for his wife, “Soon.”

He had just inquired about midwives with Liu Lizheng and planned to hire several. Living conditions in ancient times were too harsh; he couldn’t think about it anymore. The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became.

Time passed quickly. Zhou Yu stayed home for two days and wrote a letter to the county government, preparing to return the visit to Zhong Jin. Zhong Jin replied that two days later was a day off.

The gifts Yang Xi prepared weren’t extravagant; their family was building a house, and it was enough to make the Zhong family think the Zhou family had some resources. They didn’t even mention in detail the reward for Zhou Xiaodi saving Zhou Bing.

On the day off, Ye Shi, being an elder, didn’t return the visit, but the Zhou family, including Zhou Bing, all went to the county government.

Zhong Jin was overjoyed. “My father was so saddened by the news of Uncle Zhou’s passing that he couldn’t set off immediately. Now that he’s calmed down, he wrote that he’ll arrive in six days. Excluding the time for delivering the letter, he’ll be in Xiang County in two days.”

Zhou Yu felt apologetic. “Uncle Zhong is getting old. I feel ashamed to have him go through all this trouble.”

Zhong Jin said, “My father wouldn’t feel at ease until he sees you. Seeing you will put his mind at ease.”

Zhou Yu’s eyes reddened slightly. “My father’s greatest pride in this life is in Uncle Zhong.”

Zhong Jin’s eyes also reddened. “The future is long. You must look forward.”

Yang Xi followed Zhu Shi to the backyard. The county government office wasn’t luxurious; it was simple yet grand. Zhu Shi explained, “These furnishings were left by the previous Xiànlìng. I couldn’t bear to sell them, so I repainted them and reused them, saving a lot of money.”

Yang Xi looked around. “Sister-in-law is a virtuous wife.”

Zhu Shi smiled. “You are also very sentimental. I admire the affection between you and your husband.”

The journey south was arduous, and Yang Xi was pregnant. She had asked herself if she could do it. She didn’t dare say she could do it better than Yang Xi.

Inside the hall, the conscripted laborers from the dike were a mixed group, and Zhong Jin didn’t ask many questions. He wasn’t afraid of being overheard at home, so he spoke freely. “What are your plans for the future? Are you going to live off your savings or pawn things to make ends meet?”

Zhou Yu cleared his throat. “We don’t have that much jewelry hidden away. We’ve pawned quite a bit of it along the way. I already have a plan—once the house is finished, I’ll open a xuétáng.”

Zhong Jin asked, “A sīshú?”

Zhou Yu shook his head. “My scholarly title has been stripped from me. No one would recognize me if I opened a sīshú. A xuétáng is different from a sīshú—it teaches children to read and write, as well as some arithmetic and other basic subjects.”

Zhong Jin frowned. “That’s too much of a waste of your talent. You’re a Jinshi. It’s a waste to open a xuétáng with all your knowledge. How about you stay by my side from now on?”

Zhou Bing glanced sideways at the mention of the Jinshi title. Third Yang and Zhou Xiaodi exchanged a look; it seemed they hadn’t told Zhou Bing about it!

Zhou Yu certainly wouldn’t have told Zhou Bing alone. As for Zhou Bing, who had finally integrated into the Zhou family, he only knew the general outline of the family.

Zhou Yu refused. “My elder brother knows that this world will inevitably descend into chaos sooner or later. I’m not just running a school to make money; I also want to teach children survival skills.”

Zhong Jin hadn’t seen as much as Zhou Yu had on his journey south, but he could see some of the situation thanks to his father’s foresight. His voice was dry. “Is there really no way to salvage this?”

(End of this chapter)

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