Da Lang couldn’t bear to shatter his siblings’ hopes when he saw their expectant eyes. Tiptoeing quietly, under his father’s inexplicably excited gaze, he gently knocked on the main room’s door.

Perhaps Da Lang’s tense expression was contagious; everyone in the courtyard instinctively held their breath, ready to face a storm.

Soon, a raspy voice questioned from inside the room, "What is it?"

Da Lang swallowed and, under his father’s encouraging gaze, timidly asked, "Mother, it’s so cold today, and the roads are wet. Can we skip school?"

"Just for one day," the boy nervously added.

Qin Yao exhaled in annoyance, and replied with an "Ah," burying her head back in sleep.

"Did she agree?" Da Lang was somewhat in disbelief, it seemed almost too easy.

Si Niang reacted first, swiftly pulled back the book box, dashed into the room, kicked off her shoes, and dove into the still warm bed, "I knew Mother was understanding~"

She closed her eyes and immediately fell asleep.

Outside, Second Lang looked at Sanlang with a smile, "Did it work?"

Sanlang jubilantly wanted to shout, but Liu Ji quickly covered his mouth, whispering, "Shh, let’s keep it quiet."

Sanlang nodded to show he understood, then simply let his father carry him off the cart, sprinting to follow Si Niang back to the blankets, delightedly rolling around.

Da Lang and Second Lang wanted to laugh but dared not. Unable to fall back asleep, they followed Father back to the study, warming themselves by the cozy fire, enjoying Mrs. Li’s delicious breakfast, the three of them crowded around a table, feeling the urge to burst into laughter.

However, anytime one of them glimmered a smile, the other two would promptly make a silent gesture to remind not to make a sound, chuckling quietly.

But it was unfortunate for Ah Wang; the four kids at home weren’t going out, but Jinhua and Jinbao still awaited him to be taken, having arranged early on between the families for joint transport.

"Drive slowly on the road," Yin Le sympathetically advised, hugging her hot water pouch as she headed to work.

Ah Wang sighed deeply, claiming he was tough and wouldn’t fear the cold. Off he went with the cart.

Meanwhile, chaos erupted at the old house over Da Lang and siblings not needing to attend school. Only then did Ah Wang successfully pick up Jinhua and Jinbao, crying after being scolded by their parents, heading towards Jinshi Town.

Qin Yao slept until Ah Wang returned home to get up, the room already warmed by the charcoal brazier. She just sat down, enjoying the steaming food.

Liu Ji had gone to Lotus Courtyard, and the four kids at home, despite not having to go to school, didn’t slack off, catching up on sleep, reading, and practicing calligraphy.

Qin Yao finished eating and went to observe them, offering interested guidance, retreating gracefully before her temper flared.

Back in the hall, sipping hot soup and eating freshly fried peanuts from Mrs. Li, she lazily hung on the Taishi Chair, mind blank, thoroughly content.

If possible, Qin Yao wished time could stop at this moment.

But heaven couldn’t bear to see her idle. Just as she was about to doze off contentedly, Liu Yang’s shout, "Village Chief!" pulled Qin Yao back to reality.

"Something’s wrong! Village Chief, something’s wrong!"

Liu Yang pushed open the hall door, bringing in a chill as he rushed in, "Village Chief, something’s wrong! The new teacher and his cart fell into the ravine!"

Qin Yao instantly straightened, but habitually asked calmly, "When did it happen? Which part of the ravine? How’s the teacher?"

Liu Yang admired the village chief’s composure amidst crisis, but he couldn’t manage it himself and anxiously replied:

"In the rocky ravine where we used to grind stones. The road’s too slippery today; the teacher probably didn’t know the way being his first time here, and accidentally slipped into the gorge. It was discovered by Brother Shunzi and the others passing by on their way to town for supplies. The cart and the teacher are still down there; everyone’s trying to figure out how to get him out..."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yao realized the villagers couldn’t promptly resolve this sudden situation. She instructed Liu Yang to fetch doors and ropes, heading towards the incident site immediately.

Her pace was fast; Liu Yang couldn’t keep up and hurried to find others to take down doors.

Though he didn’t understand the village chief’s instructions, he knew it was right to follow them.

Qin Yao sprinted to the incident site, recalling the specifics of the rocky ravine road along the way, growing more anxious.

After the school was established, she reported it, requesting the government to send a teacher promptly so village children could start classes soon.

Soon after, word came from the government saying someone from the Ding Family was willing to come to Liu Family Village, a seasoned elder teacher.

Aged meant his condition was likely less robust.

The rocky ravine was filled with stones, steep with seven to eight meters depth. It’d be formidable not just for an old man, even for someone young and hardy like Liu Ji, they’d risk losing half their life.

Reason told Qin Yao the teacher probably faced dire consequences.

Yet she couldn’t help but secretly pray for the teacher’s resilience. Otherwise, if this spread, it’d be uncertain when the next teacher might arrive.

More than a quarter hour later, Qin Yao reached the ravine road.

Out for procurement were only Liu Qi, Liu Zhong, and Shunzi. Liu Zhong had immediately run back to the village to call for help. Only Liu Qi and Shunzi remained on-site.

Liu Qi, with his stature, had already descended the rocky slope to assess the situation; Shunzi stayed roadside to assist.

"Sister-in-law!" Seeing Qin Yao, Shunzi was akin to seeing a savior, filled with excitement.

Qin Yao nodded at him, stepped forward to check the gorge bottom, "What’s the situation?"

Liu Qi was below and, hearing Qin Yao’s voice from above, in his anxiety, felt a rush of relief, quickly shouted:

"Village Chief! The coachman and horse are dead; the teacher is trapped under the cart still alive but I can’t move the cart!"

The teacher had fallen in the cart with the horse. There was an accompanying middle-aged coachman, both had fallen into the ravine. The horse dragged the cart rolling several times, stopping only at the bottom.

During the rolling, the horse had been strangled by the twisting reins, the coachman lacked protection and was smashed headfirst on a sharp stone, dying tragically.

Qin Yao’s eyesight was excellent; she clearly saw the tragic scene at the gorge bottom, lightly frowned; this was a serious problem.

Hearing Liu Qi say the teacher was still alive, Qin Yao dared not relax and left Shunzi waiting for Liu Yang, Liu Zhong, and others to arrive, surveying the rolling marks below, sliding down on the gentler left-side slope.

"Liu Qi!"

Hearing Qin Yao’s nearby call, Liu Qi dived out from the narrow space under the cart, desperately waving, "Village Chief, over here!"

Qin Yao nodded, circumvented the scattered cart cover, headed towards Liu Qi by the cart’s main body.

On the way, she saw the coachman horizontal in the gorge, quickly inspected to confirm no signs of life or pulse, hastily moving to Liu Qi.