Yang Xi couldn’t drink the cooling soup, so she casually fanned herself, observing all the students’ behavior.

Zhong Yan came over. “Zi Lu is awake.”

Yang Xi stood up. “Thank you for your help, Uncle.”

Zhong Yan took the fan. “You should go back now.”

Yang Xi was worried about her son, so she got up and went to the backyard. Back there, Zi Lu was crying pitifully, and Ye Shi was frantically trying to comfort her grandson. “It’s alright, don’t cry; your mother will be back soon.”

When Yang Xi came in, the little guy saw her and cried even more pitifully. Already feeling unwell from the heat, his forehead was covered in sweat from crying.

Yang Xi took her son and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. “Alright, Mom’s back.”

Ye Shi was sweltering. “This child has such a temper; he can’t stand the slightest grievance.”

Yang Xi said, “Thank you for your hard work, Mom.”

“It’s no trouble at all. Hurry up and feed him; look how upset he is.”

Yang Xi tapped her son’s nose and fed him milk. The little guy was still whimpering uncomfortably. Being chubby was especially tough in summer. She gently wiped his sweat with the handkerchief.

After confirming the water was warm enough, she added some mint leaves and gave her son a quick bath. The little guy didn’t want to get out of the water.

Yang Xi smiled. “That won’t do. Alright, let’s get out.”

She lifted her son out of the tub and carefully wiped his armpits to prevent them from getting sore.

Zi Lu felt comfortable after the bath and stopped whimpering. He lay in his crib making little noises, though it was unclear what he was saying.

Yang Xi didn’t dare use a fan to cool him down, so she used the handkerchief instead. Soon, the little guy fell asleep comfortably.

After her grandson fell asleep, Ye Shi whispered, “It’s not this hot in the north this month. Ruizhou is already this hot now; what will we do when the dog days of summer arrive?”

She was most worried about her grandson; how could a child withstand such heat?

Yang Xi could make ice, but unfortunately, neither her mother-in-law nor the child could handle it. “We’ll think of something then, Mother. You should rest first.”

Ye Shi was also tired. “Okay.”

Yang Xi returned to the front courtyard and switched places with Uncle Zhong.

The front yard was quiet, with only the chirping of insects. Luckily, trees had been planted in the front yard when the house was built; otherwise, there wouldn’t be any shade.

Inside the examination hall, Bai Lang stared at the blackboard. He hated fill-in-the-blank questions; the more he thought about it, the more he felt his memorization seemed wrong!

The exam ended, and the answer sheets were handed in. Yang Xi took the answer sheets without saying a word and left.

There weren’t many students, and the results would be available in the afternoon. The exam included questions that could be answered by rote memorization, as well as more challenging ones. There were thirty questions in total, which wasn’t many.

In the afternoon, the sky was cloudy. After several days without rain, the clouds thickened, making it seem as if rain was imminent. The temperature dropped considerably, allowing Yang Xi to grade the answers much faster.

Little Zilu was comfortable, lying down and playing quietly by himself.

Before dinner, Zhou Yu and his wife finished grading the answers and released the rankings.

Zhong Yan breathed a sigh of relief; his grandson had secured first place, just one point short of being overtaken.

Ye Qiheng came in second, and Wu Fangqing came in fourth, a surprise to everyone.

Three girls were in the top ten: Zhong Ling ranked seventh, and Wu Qianyi tenth.

Yang Xi wasn’t surprised that the Zhao family children were at the bottom; these children were more focused on currying favor with Bai Lang and Zhong Xu, completely unaware of the opportunity they had wasted.

The Liu family children also did well; Bai Lang, with Zhou Yu’s extra help, ranked fourteenth.

Looking at the rankings, Zhou Yu saw that the girls had all done well; next semester, the village students would be able to put away their ulterior motives.

The next day, the rankings were released, and the girls gathered happily. Wu Fangqing, as proud as a little peacock, declared, “Who says girls are inferior to boys? We girls are just as good as men!”

The village boys were humiliated, their faces turning pale and then red, their minds buzzing with shame.

Zhou Yu was ruthless; the rankings were posted outside the house, visible to anyone passing by. The students didn’t need to hide it; the word spread quickly throughout the village.

Outside the Zhou family mansion, all the village’s students had come. Those with grandsons studying at the academy were furious at their grandsons’ lack of ambition; their faces burned with pain, more painful than being slapped.

This was the effect Yang Xi wanted. They had no choice in the first batch of students, yet they could teach them according to their own ideas. Yang Xi was very satisfied with the students’ ashamed expressions.

Besides the children close to the Zhou family, the village children had many ulterior motives. They had chosen the best among the shorter ones, but as long as they maintained a balanced mindset, they could still be taught well.

Upon seeing the results and knowing the students were on holiday, Liu Lizheng happily arrived. “Madam Yang, I have two granddaughters, one ten years old and the other eight. Can they come to study?”

Yang Xi replied, “Yes.”

Liu Lizheng, having received confirmation, said, “Then I won’t bother you any longer, Madam.”

Yang Xi was indeed busy; she was helping Third Yang with his accounts. Third Yang had brought back two account books for her. The young man trusted her, and she wanted to see where Third Yang’s money had gone.

The accounts were very clear, with the bulk of the expenses being weapons and food.

Now that the students were on holiday, Zhou Yu wasn’t busy with them and had been going to the county town every day for the past two days.

Zhou Yu returned early today and saw the account book beside his wife. “Not finished yet?”

“Finished. Third Yang spent several hundred taels on weapons. Who did he buy them from?”

Zhou Yu took the account book, which clearly stated the weapon expenditures. “Just ask him directly. Anyway, he didn’t buy them in Xiang County.”

Zhong Jin controls Xiang County, and the imperial court strictly controls iron. The blacksmith shops had a limited supply of iron, and any ironware they produced must be reported to the government. If there was anything unusual in Xiang County, Zhong Jin would definitely be the first to know.

Zhong Jin’s lack of reaction means Third Yang has his own connections.

Yang Xi pointed at the account book. “Keeping people is too expensive. This is just the initial investment.”

Zhou Yu took a fan and fanned his wife. “The bald guy is Zhou Bing. Zhou Bing lent money and opened a loophole. He shouldn’t expect to keep the money in the future.”

Yang Xi’s tone was worried. “Ask Third Yang where he got the weapons.”

Zhou Yu was also very curious. If he didn’t keep an eye on this kid, he could cause him trouble.

Third Yang returned home on time every day. After dinner, knowing the accounts were settled, he thanked her, “Thank you, Jiejie.”

Yang Xi pressed down on the ledger. “First, tell me where you bought the weapons?”

Third Yang rubbed his nose. “Pirates.”

Yang Xi: “…”

Zhou Yu squinted. “You’ve made contact with the pirates?”

Third Yang chuckled, “Pirates also need sources of information. I have quite a few people now, and my information network is fairly good. That’s how I discovered the pirates’ stronghold.”

Zhou Yu rubbed his forehead. “Aren’t you afraid of being killed?”

Third Yang rolled his eyes. “Am I brainless? Jiefu, I followed them for a long time before making contact. I figured them out before sending people to make contact.”

Yang Xi asked, “Do they know about Shanghe Village?”

(End of Chapter)

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