The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 332: The Young Teacher

The village chief’s eyes twitched.

"Isn’t he a bit too young? I’m afraid he won’t be able to control the students."

The village chief still wanted to hire a more experienced teacher.

As for Lai Fu, the village chief didn’t know his background, so he didn’t dare suspect him of being associated with rebel remnants.

Having such a dangerous person teaching in Qinghe Bay might be risky.

Su Chengmin raised his eyes to look at the village chief and said, "If they act up, I’ll just give them a whack."

Village chief: "..."

Tong Huaqiong said, "Village chief, we can’t find a suitable teacher anyway. County Magistrate Liu is coming the day after tomorrow to attend the opening ceremony, along with the village chief and other village leaders. If we don’t have a teacher by then, wouldn’t that be embarrassing?"

"Let’s let Lai Fu try. Don’t underestimate Lai Fu; he, like Jingzhe, is a child student. His family was too poor to continue with the exams. A child student is more than sufficient to enlighten the children of our village."

Su Chengmin corrected, "Aunt Tong, I am a scholar."

Jingzhe was stunned and wanted to salute Su Chengmin.

Sharing a room with Su Chengmin, he had already noticed that Su Chengmin was a martial man and thought he probably couldn’t read much.

Unexpectedly, he was already a scholar at such a young age.

The village chief glanced at Su Chengmin, thinking to himself that he must be joking? How could someone so young be a scholar?

However, to ensure that Su Chengmin wouldn’t slip up, the village chief decided to test Su Chengmin’s knowledge.

The village chief might not understand the content, but he could judge by the handwriting.

If the handwriting was like a shrimp’s scrawl, then it was not worth it.

At the village chief’s strong insistence, Jingzhe brought pen, ink, paper, and inkstone before Su Chengmin.

Su Chengmin immediately started writing.

Though the village chief couldn’t understand what Su Chengmin wrote, from Jingzhe’s amazed expression, he gathered that Su Chengmin must be quite knowledgeable.

And the writing wasn’t bad either. Though not as good as the calligraphy Jingzhe wrote on the New Year’s couplets, it was still quite decent.

The village chief looked at Tong Huaqiong and said, "Very well, let’s let Lai Fu stand in as the teacher for now."

"And what about your leg?" Jingzhe asked worriedly.

"The teacher can also teach while sitting," Su Chengmin replied.

Thus, Su Chengmin became the teacher of the Qinghe Bay village school.

To avoid arousing the villagers’ curiosity and skepticism, the village chief temporarily kept Su Chengmin’s role a secret, only announcing that a new teacher had been found.

And it was a young and promising teacher at that.

This only piqued the villagers’ curiosity further. Unable to get information from the village chief, they all flocked to Tong Huaqiong’s house to find out who the teacher was.

Tong Huaqiong kept the secret without revealing anything.

The night before classes started, Gu Taohua returned from town and handed Su Chengmin a new set of clothes.

Not understanding, Su Chengmin was met with Gu Taohua’s exasperated remark, "You’re a teacher now. Dress more formally; don’t embarrass our family."

With that, she turned and left.

On the morning of August 18th, the village chief woke up early.

He gathered the villagers to clean the Liu Family Ancestral Hall again, hung a string of a thousand firecrackers at the entrance, and, having done all this, rushed over to Tong Huaqiong’s home to remind Su Chengmin of a few matters.

"Lai Fu, you mustn’t make a fool of yourself now."

"For now, the village’s children are in your hands. It’ll be tough for a while, but once we find a suitable teacher, you’ll be relieved."

Village chief Liu Tieshan didn’t have much faith in Su Chengmin being able to teach the village children well. At most, he might teach them a few words as a stopgap.

To truly improve the education in Qinghe Bay and produce more child scholars, they would need a professional teacher.

All the village chief hoped was that Su Chengmin wouldn’t bring shame before County Magistrate Liu, the village chief, or the other village leaders.

The opening of the village school was a significant event.

The entire village paused their work for it.

After breakfast, Tong Huaqiong joined the other villagers flocking to the ancestral hall.

Luckily, the customs in Qinghe Bay weren’t so rigid as to prohibit women from entering the ancestral hall. Otherwise, Tong Huaqiong wouldn’t have agreed to temporarily house the school there.

Jingzhe had taken leave and even invited Mr. Su to the ceremony.

The classroom in the ancestral hall was spotless, with tables and chairs neatly arranged, the village children sitting properly inside.

Man Er, Xiao Long, and Yaozu were seated in the first row.

In her red dress, Man Er stood out among all the boys.

"We all have to work, why does Man Er get to study?"

"My grandma said girls who study aren’t good girls and won’t get married off in the future."

"My grandpa said if my brother doesn’t become a scholar, it’ll be because Man Er broke the rules."

The village girls were filled with envy and resentment as they watched Man Er from the window.

Carrying pigweed, Chun Ni scolded the girls talking about Man Er behind her back, "Why are you upset that Man Er gets to study? If you have the ability, why don’t you go in as well? If you can’t, then don’t talk behind her back."

Chun Ni’s reprimand silenced the village girls.

They feared that their comments about Man Er would reach Tong Dajiao’s ears, and if Tong Dajiao got angry, he might kick their brothers out of the school.

Man Er turned back and smiled at Chun Ni, who returned the smile.

Man Er had promised that after learning to read, she would teach Chun Ni.

Though Chun Ni couldn’t get into the school, she still wanted to learn to read.

Chun Ni’s envious gaze shifted from Man Er to her brother Chun Wang.

Chun Wang was sitting in the classroom with a new cloth bookbag, restlessly glancing around, obviously not one to sit quietly and learn.

Yesterday, their grandma, Mrs. Luo, had laid down a new rule at home: everyone except Chun Wang would eat thin porridge, tightening their belts to save money for Chun Wang’s studies.

Everything they grew, and all the wages Chun Ni and Mrs. Cao earned, were to be used for Chun Wang’s education.

"Dashi’s mother, Mr. Li isn’t coming, which new teacher did you hire?" An old lady asked Tong Huaqiong cheerfully.

Her grandson was sitting in the classroom, and she was very concerned about who the new teacher was.

Widow Tong was really capable; within just two days, she had invited a new teacher.

This proved the saying that money can make the mare go, no, rather, with money, one needn’t fear a teacher leaving.

Not only was this old lady curious about who the teacher was, but everyone with children attending the school shared her concern.

After all, a good teacher could produce good students.

Otherwise, why else would the wealthy families of Pingchuan County send their offspring to study at Wanliu Academy in the prefectural city? It was because the teachers at Wanliu Academy were famous across the land.

It was impossible for a remote village like Qinghe Bay to invite famous teachers here. Everyone would be satisfied just to have a scholar as a teacher.

Tong Huaqiong lifted her chin and gestured toward the classroom door with a smile, saying, "Look, the teacher is here."

The crowd followed Tong Huaqiong’s finger and looked over.

Then they all furrowed their brows.

Having a carriage driver teach the children?

Widow Tong was being ridiculous.

If they can’t hire a teacher, they shouldn’t boast, even if it means delaying the start of classes until a suitable teacher is found.

Doing it this way would only mislead the village children.

"Dashi’s mother, what is the meaning of this? We didn’t skip out on the tuition fees, and even sold two chickens for our grandson. Now you’re letting Lai Fu teach the class—this is nonsense!" The old lady stood with her hands on her hips, face turned sour.

She even wanted to go into the classroom and pull her grandson out.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Don’t underestimate Lai Fu; he’s quite capable."

Despite what Tong Huaqiong said, the old ladies and wives surrounding her still didn’t believe her.

Some even clamored for a refund on the tuition and weren’t willing to continue.