Yang Xi hadn’t spoken to Boss Bai when she went south. During the meal, Yang Xi was the only female relative present. Boss Bai looked at Zhou Xiangsheng with suspicion. The escort agency had become less formal; still, female relatives were confined to the inner quarters.

Zhou Yu introduced his wife: “Boss Bai, you have met my wife; she is the head of the household. She can make all the decisions in my household. If I’m not home, she can speak as the head of the household, and if anything happens, she can make the decisions for me.”

Boss Bai knew Zhou Xiangsheng loved his wife dearly, which was why he entrusted him with finding his qidi. Now it seemed it was more than just love.

Boss Bai’s impression of Yang Shi was vague, but now it was vivid.

Third Yang said proudly, “My sister is a teacher at a school. The female students she taught did very well in the final exams this time.”

Boss Bai’s eyes widened. Girls attending school?

Boss Bai knew that wealthy families would teach their daughters to read and write and also cultivate their talents in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting for marriage purposes. Official families’ daughters received even more education, but even they didn’t send their daughters to private schools or academies, and academies didn’t accept female students.

Boss Bai wasn’t stupid. He didn’t believe Yang Niangzi only taught women’s precepts, so he inquired, “Madam, no, what does Yang Xiangsheng teach?”

He was a rough, uneducated man who earned his money through hard work, and he admired those with knowledge and ability. Yang Niangzi was valued by her husband and respected by Third Yang, which showed her considerable skill, and he was willing to reciprocate.

Yang Xi could have chosen not to come to dinner, but she did. She wanted those who associated with the Zhou family to get used to her presence and was quite satisfied with Boss Bai’s attitude. “I teach arithmetic, geography, mechanics, and other subjects.”

Boss Bai understood arithmetic and could understand geography literally. Mechanics?

Zhou Yu explained what mechanics was, even giving examples of books about mechanics in the bookstore.

Boss Bai understood and then was even more surprised, giving a thumbs up. “Madam, you’re very capable.”

Yang Xi humbly replied, “I just have some talent.”

Third Yang was speechless.

He didn’t quite understand the word “talent” anymore!

Boss Bai stayed at the Zhou family’s house to rest that night, so Zhou Yu didn’t teach Third Yang separately. Teaching Third Yang required doing it in private.

Today he had time, so he could answer Zhong Xu’s questions.

“Xiangsheng, do you have so many children?” asked Boss Bai.

Zhou Yu replied, “They’re the grandsons of an uncle with whom I have a long-standing family friendship. I run a school, and they all study there.”

Boss Bai looked at the six- or seven-year-old boy, a pang of sadness in his heart. His son wanted to study, and he had gone to great lengths to send him to the academy, while these children, because of their family backgrounds, easily gained admission.

Zhong Xu seized the opportunity to ask, fearing that Ye Qiheng would catch up to him. Uncle Zhou had named Ye Qiheng with the character “Heng” from his younger brother Ziheng, a clear indication of his high regard for Ye Qiheng!

Boss Bai didn’t leave, sitting to the side listening, his thoughts growing with each word.

After the children left, Boss Bai asked, “Xiangsheng, when does the school start next semester?”

His son was looked down upon at the academy, and the teachers there disregarded his background. Children from families with official titles were extremely exclusive, and his son wasn’t happy there. He had considered hiring a scholar to tutor his son, but scholars had their own pride, and the escort business didn’t earn the respect of scholars.

Zhou Yu glanced at Third Yang, who was frantically winking at him, and found it an eyesore. “School starts in half a month.”

Boss Bai nodded, calculating the days. Yizhou was close to Ruizhou, so there was still plenty of time. “What are your criteria for recruiting students, Xiangsheng?”

Third Yang kicked his Jiefu’s foot under the table as a hint.

Zhou Yu stomped on Third Yang’s foot hard, then replied calmly, “I don’t consider background or talent when recruiting students; I only consider character.”

Boss Bai grinned. Not considering background was good.

Zhou Yu continued, “Students must complete three years of study. Continuing their studies afterward is up to the individual.”

Boss Bai became increasingly interested. “What about the tuition?”

Zhou Yu mentioned the tuition fee.   

Boss Bai stood up and greeted him, “Xiangsheng, you are very righteous.”

That evening, Yang Xi had already disassembled the crossbow, the parts laid out on the table, somewhat disappointed. “It’s not what I expected.”

Zhou Yu held the crossbow bolt. “Have you tested its power?”

“Yes, it’s not a repeating crossbow, and the power isn’t great. It can be used as a hidden weapon at close range, but its long-range killing power is poor.”

Zhou Yu: “This is a privately made crossbow. It’s already quite good that it can be made to this extent. The crossbows of the imperial court are much more powerful, but unfortunately we can’t get them.”

Yang Xi figured out the parts and planned to modify the data if she could manufacture them in the future. She then used the parts to reassemble the crossbow.

Zi Heng sat to the side, witnessing his mother assemble the crossbow. He picked up the crossbow with his little hands, his eyes wide. “Mom, you are so amazing.”

Yang Xi said, “You have learned what I taught you, and you can too.”

Zi Heng admired his mother; his father was secondary in his heart. “Mom, your son wants to be as amazing as you.”

Zhou Yu hugged his youngest son. “You should be like your father in the future.”

The eldest son inherited his wife’s talent and shouldn’t be wasted; he hoped his youngest son would follow in his footsteps.

The next day, Boss Bai left, and the fact that escort agency people came to visit the Zhou family added to the conversation in Shanghe Village. The villagers were increasingly curious about the Zhou family; just how many connections did they have?

The connections they now saw fueled their growing desire to be close to Zhou Xiangsheng. Sending their children to school—the Zhou family had so many connections; if they caught the Xiangsheng’s eye, they’d have a bright future.

That day, Liu Lizheng came to the Zhou family. Zhou Yu was giving a lesson to Third Yang, so Yang Xi received him.

Liu Lizheng asked, “Yang Xiangsheng, will you only accept thirty students next semester?”

Yang Xi was pleased with Lizheng’s address, a recognition of her abilities. “Only thirty. Any more, and we can’t teach them all.”

Liu Lizheng asked somewhat nervously, “Do girls also take up spots?”

Yang Xi nodded. “They take up spots.”

Since everyone was to be treated equally, boys and girls were in competition.

Liu Lizheng regretted not sending his granddaughter to the Zhou family earlier. He wanted to ask if there could be an exception, but then he thought of his grandson and didn’t say it aloud before leaving.

Yang Xi was in a good mood; people tend to cherish what they get when they have fought for it.

At the Ruizhou military camp, Bai Lang’s eyes were swollen with frustration. He grabbed his hair in frustration, shouted twice, threw down his abacus, and tried to run away. Ugh, he’d been tricked by his own father!

But he was caught before he even left the camp. Bai Lang glared angrily. “I want to go back to school! I want to go back to my Xiangsheng’s house!”

General Bai felt guilty. “If you finish the calculations today, you don’t need to do any more accounting.”

Bai Lang’s face was expressionless. “That’s what you said yesterday too.”

General Bai chuckled dryly. He truly hadn’t expected his son to improve so much in just one semester; not only could he use an abacus, but he could also do mental calculations.

General Bai wanted to completely control the grain supplies, so he purged the officials in charge of grain supplies, promoting trusted confidants from the military camp. This resulted in a shortage of accounting personnel!

Ruizhou was a large prefecture, garrisoned with 50,000 troops. The daily grain supplies for 50,000 men needed to be carefully planned!

Managing grain supplies wasn’t something just anyone could do. General Bai also wanted to reduce grain usage and store as much as possible, making it even more difficult for trusted confidants to manage the grain supplies.

His son came home bragging about what he’d learned and even tried to trick him, which got to him, and he dragged his son to the barracks.

General Bai, feeling sorry for his son, suggested, “Why don’t you teach them some more?”

(End of Chapter)

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