Chapter 34

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Dong Nuan could that the clan leader was weighing the pros and cons.

She was not in a hurry. She had thought about it. If she wanted to live a better life at home, the first thing she had to do was to please the most authoritative elder in the family, Old Master Dong.

Of course, it was useless to curry favor.

If she was a boy and was very talented, he might consider sending her to school.

However, she was a girl. No one in the nearby villages had ever sent a girl to study.

Therefore, after a long time, this favorable impression would no longer be maintained. Old Master Dong’s gaze would eventually fall onto others.

It was useless to curry favor blindly. She would have to hang a carrot in front of him and slowly nudge him forward. Only then could she ensure that her status would not be affected.

At this moment, the chief was thinking about benefits. If he figured it out, she might even be able to study with him.

Even if she could not learn from a proper teacher, at least there was Fifth Uncle, Dong Xu, and even the grandsons of the chief.

Since the chief did not say anything, Old Master Dong naturally could not say anything.

The clan leader remained silent until he brought Old Master Dong and Dong Nuan back to their house.

Dong Nuan’s house was a simple mud house, but there were quite a number of rooms inside. There were five rooms. The space inside was quite big. Aside from the central room in the middle, there were two rooms in the east and west that could accommodate people.

Of course, because Dong Nuan’s family did no live separately, there were a lot of people. There was not enough room in the main room, so they took three more rooms in the east of the courtyard. Two of them were occupied by two people, and the last one was used as a study room for Fifth Uncle and Dong Xu. It was usually very clean, and the family did not dare to enter it casually.

However, no matter how many rooms there were, it was still a mud house.

In comparison, the chief’s house was much more prosperous. He lived in a brick house, while the roof of the Dong family’s shed was covered in hay and mud. When it rained, it was normal for the house to leak.

However, the roof of the chief’s house was made of tiles. The rain would not leak through easily. Even if it did, it was much better than a mud house.

The chief’s house was very big, with five spacious rooms. There were also rooms and warehouses in front of the rooms.

The courtyard was big enough, and the chief’s family had long moved away. Now, the chief and his eldest son lived in the house. In this way, the house was even more spacious.

The chief brought his men back home. After entering the central room, Dong Nuan greeted everyone obediently. She did not miss out on greeting any grandma, auntie, or sister-in-law.

The people in the clan leader’s family did not know what had happened, but seeing the clan leader’s serious expression, they could not say anything. The clan leader’s grandmother smiled and organized her family to bring them outside, giving space to the clan leader and the others.

Along the way, the chief had already thought it through. “Erzhuang, from tomorrow onwards, don’t let Lil Nuan go to the farm. Let her learn how to read with Scholar Liao. The tuition will be temporarily paid for by the clan.”

Regarding the fees, the clan leader thought about it and gave a clear explanation. “This fee will be paid by the clan for the time being. Whether the clan will bear it in the future will depend on how much benefit Lil Nuan’s recipe can bring to the clan.”

When he said this, the clan leader took a deep look at Dong Nuan, his eyes sharp.

He seemed to be saying that if she dared to fool the chief, she would definitely be taught a lesson in the future.

Dong Nuan blinked and looked at the clan leader innocently, pretending that she did not understand anything.

When Old Master Dong heard this, he wanted to send Dong Nuan to study. This was the first time anyone would do so. No one in the village had sent a girl to study, and now, it was even at the expense of the clan.

From the looks of it, their family could not hide this recipe anymore. They could only hand it over to the clan.

Old Master Dong was a little unwilling in his heart, but he quickly thought it through. If he handed over the recipe, the chief would definitely remember his family’s contribution. Moreover, it was safer to rely on the clan to stand up for him than it was to rely on Dong Xu or Old Fifth.

After all, one person alone was weak. If he was tricked, he had no choice but to suffer in silence.

Moreover, even if their family did not receive any benefits, at least Dong Nuan could read. In the future, she could even be sent to some rich family in the county to be a maid.

With just a few sentences, Old Master Dong had already thought of countless possibilities in his heart.

He naturally agreed with a smile. “Those things are used by immortals, so they’re naturally the best.”

After flattering the chief, Old Master Dong turned around and said with a cold expression, “Lil Nuan, you have to study hard and try to memorize more words!”

Dong Nuan stood at the side and pursed her lips obediently. She said softly, “I’ll listen to Grandpa.”

Seeing that Dong Nuan was so obedient, Old Master Dong’s expression softened a little. “Don’t be too anxious. It’s okay to make mistakes. Learn well and memorize well. If you dream of the recipe again, try to remember more things.”

“Yes.” Dong Nuan was still very obedient.

This made Old Master Dong feel a little better. Seeing this, the chief smiled.

This matter had been taken up by the chief. Although he was told it was a girl, Scholar Liao, who had taught people in the village before, did not refuse.

“But let me say this first. Dong Nuan is not young anymore. She should already know how to behave. If she does not study hard and disrupts the class, I’ll beat her up.” Scholar Liao was afraid that Dong Nuan would attract the attention of the other students if she came over.

No matter what, she was still a girl. He had to explain this matter clearly in advance.

“Of course, of course.” The clan leader naturally did not refuse. He brought Old Master Dong and Dong Nuan around Scholar Liao and settled the matter of studying.

In the village, Scholar Liao was only in charge of teaching. He could not teach those who were more talented than him. His family had already made plans to send him to the town or even the county to stay as much as possible.

As a result, Scholar Liao’s tuition fees were not high. There were about two taels a year.

However, in the farmyard, many people might not be able to study for a full year. Some could not continue after a year. After paying this tuition fee, they could not pay bac their debts.

As time passed, Scholar Liao came up with a solution.

The tuition in the village was paid once a month. If you paid for this month, you could come to classes. If you did not pay, you could choose not to come that month.

As for whether he could keep up with the progress…

Scholar Liao said that if he could not keep up with these things, he would stop next month.

It was impossible for him to get special treatment unless he paid extra.

According his monthly fees, excluding food expenses, was a hundred and sixty copper coins a month.

Dong Nuan was personally delivered by the clan leader. Scholar Liao saw that the clan leader had saved him some money. It only cost a hundred and fifteen copper coins a month, excluding food expenses.

If one wanted to eat here, there were two possibilities. One was to bring four liters of rice and add thirty copper coins. The other was to pay fifty copper coins directly and eat with Scholar Liao’s family. You would eat whatever they ate.

It was impossible to eat well. He would only eat his fill and only have one meal, lunch, for the day.

Dong Nuan lived in the village. The chief discussed it with Old Master Dong and asked her to go home to eat so he did not need to spend much money.