CHAPTER 415: CHAPTER 396 DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL (2)

Mu Yuanxiu adjusted the bow on his shoulder to a comfortable position, urging Prince Luling, "Let’s go, Uncle Li?"

Prince Luling hesitated at the doorstep.

It rained lightly all morning yesterday, and although it stopped later, the sun has yet to come out until now.

The ground remains slippery and muddy.

Walking from here to Mr. Song’s house requires roughly an eight-mile journey.

Will it take forever to get there?

"Dad, you promised yesterday, vowed to lose weight, and walking is the best method for weight loss," Li Yuzhu said, looking at him.

Prince Luling, fearing fatigue, frowned and asked, "Is there another method?"

Li Yuzhu smirked in exasperation; he swore convincingly yesterday, and today he wants to backtrack?

"Yes, eat a little less. You ate just as much as usual this morning: two bowls of porridge, four pancakes, and a plate of jerky. So eat less for lunch, eat as much as I do," Li Yuzhu said.

Prince Luling furrowed his brow even more. His youngest daughter’s meals resemble a bird’s portion, each meal with a steadfast bowl of rice. Having him eat one bowl of rice? Might as well kill him.

"Let’s go, Uncle Li, if you hesitate any longer, we’ll miss the lecture time," Mu Yuanxiu urged him as well.

"Dad, eating too little is miserable, better to walk," Li Yuzhu said with a smile.

In comparison, walking is more comfortable than starving.

"Alright, let’s go." Prince Luling sighed, clasped his hands behind his back, and strode toward Qingshui River Village.

"Coming!" Li Yuzhu laughed and followed along.

Mu Yuanxiu smiled slightly, trailing behind them.

They hadn’t walked far before the sound of children running reached them from behind.

Li Yuzhu turned around and saw three children from the school.

Two were thirteen or fourteen, and one around ten years old.

"Dad, your students are coming; they’re from Taohua River Village and have to walk three miles more than us," Li Yuzhu remarked.

Prince Luling turned to look, indeed they were his students.

The three children saw Prince Luling turn around and dashed forward two steps, "Hello Mr. Li."

Prince Luling nodded at them, smiling kindly, "Yes, very good."

The three children giggled softly and jogged past.

The road was difficult to tread, but they still ran cheerily.

Li Yuzhu glanced at the three children and said, "Dad, your students walk faster than you."

Prince Luling felt a loss of face, glared at his daughter, and said sullenly, "Let’s go!" He couldn’t be outpaced by students.

At least he couldn’t be late.

Prince Luling had never walked so far before; for the sake of pride, although he was very tired, he refused to admit it.

Li Yuzhu noticed he was sweating and panting heavily as he walked, so she said, "Dad, my feet are sore. Let’s rest for a bit."

Prince Luling replied, "Oh, you are tired from walking? In that case, we should rest." He pointed to a spot several paces away, "There’s a fallen tree over there; let’s sit there for a while."

Mu Yuanxiu glanced around, "We’ve walked half the distance; I’m tired too."

Did they really walk four miles? Prince Luling was surprised and impressed with himself.

The group rested on the fallen tree trunk.

Mu Yuanxiu took a leather water bag from his backpack and offered it to Prince Luling, "Uncle Li, have some water."

Prince Luling smiled and praised Mu Yuanxiu for his thoughtfulness, but instead of drinking first, he handed it to Li Yuzhu, "Yu Zhu, do you want some water?"

Li Yuzhu smiled and accepted it, "Thanks, Dad." Her father still cared for her.

"Hahaha, this is Yuanxiu’s water, not your dad’s." Prince Luling laughed, "Thank him."

Li Yuzhu drank the water and smiled at Mu Yuanxiu.

Mu Yuanxiu also smiled back at her.

Li Yuzhu sipped some water and handed it to Prince Luling.

Prince Luling was indeed very tired and thirsty; he drank heartily like a cow.

As he drank happily, he realized Mu Yuanxiu hadn’t drink yet and felt embarrassed to continue drinking, handing the water bag back to Mu Yuanxiu, "Yuanxiu, don’t just care for us, you should drink too."

Mu Yuanxiu smiled, "Alright."

However, he didn’t drink any water; with only one bag, if he drank, there wouldn’t be enough.

The three rested briefly and then continued on the journey.

Li Yuzhu worried Prince Luling wouldn’t manage the remaining three or four miles, so she kept pace with him and engaged him in conversation.

Mu Yuanxiu walked beside Prince Luling on the other side.

The three chatted as they walked, and before they knew it, they arrived at Qingshui River Village.

Seeing the village houses, Prince Luling immediately felt invigorated.

Li Yuzhu encouraged him again, "Dad, just one more mile to get to Mr. Song’s place."

"Yes, let’s pick up the pace!" Prince Luling waved his sleeves and sped up, walking much faster than when he started.

Li Yuzhu and Mu Yuanxiu exchanged a smile and followed along.

"Dad, slow down a bit, I can barely keep up with you." Li Yuzhu said with a smile.

"I’m in a hurry to give a lecture, it’s okay if you arrive later." Prince Luling waved his hand and went on his way.

Li Yuzhu pursed her lips and smiled, then also caught up.

Mu Yuanxiu stayed closely by her side.

They arrived at Mr. Song’s house just in time.

On the steps of the courtyard, a few villagers stood.

Mr. Song was speaking with them.

Prince Luling walked over, and Mr. Song immediately clasped his hands and said, "Mr. Li, you arrived just in time. These are the family members of students here to pay this month’s tuition fees."

The villagers all greeted Prince Luling with clasped hands.

The new teacher was a distant relative of the county magistrate’s family, something the villagers had heard long ago, so they were very respectful towards Prince Luling.

Prince Luling returned the gesture, "Let’s speak over here."

Everyone followed him into the room where Mr. Song usually conducted his affairs.

Five villagers paid the tuition fees and inquired about their children’s studies.

Prince Luling spoke eloquently.

The children, when they returned home yesterday, all told their parents about the new teacher.

They said he writes well, is incredibly quick at arithmetic like an Immortal, and can even use stones to hit birds.

When children admire someone, they tend to exalt them highly.

This made the villagers both hopeful and admiring of Prince Luling.

Following Mr. Song’s customs, after receiving the tuition fees, Prince Luling would write a receipt for the villagers.

The villagers, holding the receipts, were quietly amazed. Indeed, just as their children had said, the new teacher’s handwriting was better than Mr. Song’s.

After these people paid the tuition fees, others gradually came in.

Others shared similar opinions to these few; they were very satisfied with Prince Luling.

Younger children were brought by their parents with money, while older ones, around ten years old, brought the money themselves.

Out of thirty-two children, thirty-one families paid the tuition fees.

Prince Luling took out the student directory to compare and identified the student who hadn’t paid.

It was Liu Yanbai, who had a disabled arm.

He remembered that Mr. Song also hadn’t received tuition fees from Liu Yanbai, and decided not to collect it either.

Prince Luling organized the money and handed it to Mu Yuanxiu for safekeeping, "I need to go lecture; it’s inconvenient to carry the money."

After checking Mr. Song’s health, Li Yuzhu came over and said, "Dad, you trust him but not me."

Prince Luling chuckled, "I’m worried you won’t be able to carry it and might lose it somewhere, but Yuanxiu is careful and strong."

Li Yuzhu pouted, "Favoritism!"

Prince Luling laughed heartily and walked into the classroom with his books.

Mu Yuanxiu put the bag of coins into a cloth bag tied around his waist, found a stool outside the window, and called to Li Yuzhu, "Come, let’s listen."

Li Yuzhu responded with a smile, "Coming."

Prince Luling entered the classroom, and the children all greeted, "Hello, Teacher."

"Hmm, good, sit down." Prince Luling gestured to the children.

"Thank you, Teacher." The children sat down one by one.

"Now then..." Prince Luling surveyed the room and was about to announce the review of yesterday’s lessons when he noticed one child was missing.

It was the very last seat, which yesterday was occupied by the disabled child, Liu Yanbai.

The children, seeing him fixate on that seat, also turned to look there.

"Where’s Liu Yanbai?" Prince Luling asked, looking at everyone, "Where did he go?"

"Teacher, he didn’t come." a child replied.

"Didn’t come? Why not?" Prince Luling asked.

"I don’t know, but yesterday when I was playing near his house, I saw his mother hitting him and saying he wasn’t allowed to come to the classroom."

Outside the classroom, Li Yuzhu heard the voices inside and immediately stood up to look in through the window.

Indeed, the corner seat was empty.

She walked to the door and said to Prince Luling, "Dad, I’ll go check on him at his house."

Prince Luling nodded, "Go with Yuanxiu."

Mu Yuanxiu agreed and left Mr. Song’s house with Li Yuzhu, heading towards the village.

The two inquired among villagers and found Liu Yanbai’s house.

Before they even reached the courtyard, they heard a woman’s sharp voice scolding, "I raised you with all my might, not expecting much in return. I just want you to give up that job, why won’t you agree?"

"You worthless thing, still dreaming of being an apprentice? Ha, look at your face in a puddle, don’t bring shame upon yourself!"