Bai Lang rolled his eyes in exasperation. “I thought I was stupid enough, but there are even stupider ones! I won’t teach them!”

Hadn’t he considered teaching them? He had taught them for his own sake, but now he admired Zhou Xiansheng even more. Even with his unruly behavior, Zhou Xiansheng could teach him with such patience. He would definitely study hard when he returned to school!

Bai Lang lay motionless on the ground, muttering, “I want to go back to Shanghe Village, I want to go back to Zhou Xiansheng’s house, I want to leave.”

General Bai, “…”

He’d really worn his son out!

The deputy cleared his throat, seeing the young master glaring at him, and chuckled softly, “We can invite Zhou Xiansheng over.”

General Bai clapped his hands. “Why didn’t I think of that? Quickly write a letter to Zhou Xiansheng.”

Bai Lang, “…”

The letter arrived at the Zhou family’s house, and Third Yang couldn’t stay home any longer.

Zhou Yu had read General Bai’s letter, ignored Third Yang’s raised hand, and said to Zhou Xiaodi, “General Bai’s reward is generous; you go.”

Zhou Xiaodi was the least profitable member of the Zhou family, and upon hearing the generous reward, he exclaimed, “Brother, I’ll go pack my bags right away!”

Zhou Yu said to the guards waiting nearby, “Zhou Lin will go back with you later. Please sit down and have some tea while we wait.”

The guards didn’t dare to be presumptuous; the general’s attitude towards the Zhou family directly affected them. “Young master, don’t worry, we’re not in a hurry.”

Third Yang wanted to leave but could only watch helplessly as Zhou Xiaodi left. “Jiefu, please let me out for one day, just one day, okay?”

Zhou Yu pretended not to hear and returned to the East Courtyard. He wanted to teach Third Yang a lesson.

Third Yang shouted, “Jiefu, Jiefu!”

His shouts were so loud that the entire mansion could hear them.

Zhong Yan’s writing was ruined, Zhou Xiaomei pricked her hand, and Ziheng’s calligraphy was also ruined.

Yang Xi had gotten used to it; recently, Third Yang would occasionally let out a howl, while she calmly continued writing her textbook.

Zhou Yu came in and picked up his youngest son. “Did you miss Daddy?”

Zi Lu thought his father was playing with him, and he cried out, “Ah ah,” blowing bubbles.

Seeing his son happy, Zhou Yu picked him up and lifted him high, and Zi Lu giggled after a while.

Yang Xi noticed that the light in the room had dimmed and rubbed her tired eyes. “Is it cloudy outside?”

“Yes, it’ll probably rain in a while.”

The window screen was cooler than paper, and now that the wind had picked up, the room was quite cool. “Will my Xiaodi get wet in the rain?”

Zhou Yu said, “My Xiaodi went by carriage.”

General Bai had specially arranged a carriage to pick him up, so he wasn’t worried about the rain.

Before long, it started to rain heavily. No one took the rain seriously, but it just wouldn’t stop. It started in the afternoon and rained all night without stopping.

The Zhou family’s drainage system was well-constructed, and the water flowed, gurgling out of the house.

The next day after breakfast, Zhong Yan said worriedly, “There’s not a breath of wind. How long is this rain going to stop?”

Zhou Yu had no experience with this kind of thing; they had only recently settled in the south, and the recent good weather had made him almost forget that the south was usually rainy.

Third Yang said, “It won’t keep raining, will it?”

Yang Xi was speechless. Actually, she really didn’t want Third Yang to say anything!

With the heavy rain, the humidity was high, and clothes inevitably became damp. The quilts absorbed moisture, leaving them feeling wet at night.

The little one couldn’t stand being uncomfortable; the little quilt made him cry.

Zhou Yu couldn’t light the kang (a heated brick bed), so he dried his clean clothes and covered his son with them before the little guy finally fell asleep comfortably.

Yang Xi said, “We can light a charcoal brazier tomorrow to get rid of the dampness.”

Zhou Yu agreed, “I don’t know when this rain will stop.”

Yang Xi was also worried. It had rained all day. The house had a good drainage system, but the village didn’t. The roads were flooded, and the water was flowing into the pond. Li Zheng went out to check, and the pond had overflowed. The riverbank was also quite high.

The rain outside showed no signs of letting up. Zhou Yu was relieved that his wife had put a lot of thought into the construction of the grain shed to prevent the grain from getting damp.

The Zhou family had enough grain and salt. The house wasn’t flooded, and the vegetable garden in the yard was fine. The Zhou family had plenty of food and drink.

The village, however, suffered a great disaster. The mud houses with thatched roofs were leaking in many homes, and some thatched houses had collapsed.

Zhou Yu and Third Yang went out to help. Yang Xi took out the herbs stored at home and brewed a soup to dispel the cold. Li Shi supervised the distribution to the affected villagers and the men who were helping.

A heavy rainstorm, and the Zhou family’s act of helping earned them even more respect and prestige in the village.

The rain fell intermittently for three days, finally stopping around midnight.

The rain had little impact on Shanghe Village; the flooding on the roads subsided somewhat. Zhou Yu made a special trip to the county; the rain had affected a wide area, not just Xiang County but also surrounding counties.

Zhong Jin said, “I feel a little uneasy.”

Having served as an official for many years, he rarely felt uneasy, but this time it was particularly pronounced.

Zhou Yu, though oblivious, could guess. “Are you worried about a flood?”

Zhong Jin replied, “Yes, Ruizhou has a good location. I’m afraid the neighboring prefectures will flood, and then refugees will flood into Ruizhou.”

Zhou Yu was also worried. The current imperial court was powerless to provide disaster relief, and a large influx of refugees would be a huge burden on Ruizhou. “Prepare a countermeasure first.”

Zhong Jin forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. “Gu Zhifu won’t provide any money, and the county government doesn’t have much money or food either. I don’t have any good solutions then.”

Zhou Yu patted his elder brother’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, brother.”

Zhong Jin said, “I just hope I’m overthinking it.”

Zhou Yu left the county government office and looked out at the county streets from his carriage. The impact on the people of Xiang County was minimal. Apart from a lack of firewood, the people continued to live as usual.

There were very few beggars on the streets now. Third Yang had gathered all the beggars he could, and the overall spirit of Xiang County was positive.

Zhou Yu really didn’t want to disrupt the peace of Xiang County; such peace was so precious in this world.

After a heavy rain, the children went fishing everywhere, enjoying themselves for quite some time.

Until the start of the second semester, not a single rain fell, and the villagers breathed a sigh of relief, their minds focused entirely on vying for school places.

This time, there were also children from the town. Not all townspeople were well-off, but a hierarchy of disdain still existed: the villagers were at the bottom, and the townspeople were arrogant and looked down on the villagers.

Yang Xi observed the expressions of the children’s parents; her job was simply to record the names.

Shanghe Village and the surrounding villages all knew of Yang Xi, the female teacher, but fewer people in the town knew her. Those from the town sent their children to the school hoping to gain favor with the county magistrate and General Bai.

People from Shanghe Village, with its geographical advantage, arrived earliest and were at the front of the line, quickly registering their names and taking their children into their homes.

The queue stretched to the townspeople. A man saw Yang Xi and frowned. “Isn’t anyone registering? Why are women registering their names?”

Yang Xi wasn’t angry. “If you’re not going to register, then move aside.”

The man frowned. He owned a shop in town and was quite well-off. His son was studying at a private school, but he had brought his son to try to get close to the magistrate’s son. “How can a woman do this?”

Yang Xi interrupted. “You can take your child and leave. Our school not only has me as a female teacher but also female students.”

The man’s eyes widened. “Outrageous! Boys and girls shouldn’t sit together after the age of seven. How can a girl be allowed to study in a school?”

(End of Chapter)

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