CHAPTER 741: CHAPTER 737 FOUND THE TEACHING MENTOR (PART 1)

Mu Dashan and Yu Si Niang certainly would not listen to Old Mrs. Mu’s words and go to Lin Family Village to catch Mrs. Lin.

Whether in public or private, the matter with Mrs. Lin cannot be handled by their third branch.

Old Mrs. Mu kept babbling, and her words became more and more unpleasant.

Mu Dashan felt there was no point in staying here, so he simply said:

"Mother, Si Niang and I will not disturb Xiangxiang’s rest any longer; we are heading back!"

"Scram, scram, hurry up and scram, you’re an eyesore here!" Old Mrs. Mu glared at Mu Dashan and said coldly.

Mu Dashan said nothing, leading Yu Si Niang out of Mu Xiangxiang’s room.

Just as they reached the courtyard, they saw Mu Dazhong and Mu Danian approaching, one behind the other.

Both had their heads covered in filthy grime, particularly Mu Dazhong, who had a dried patch of dirt on his head.

It looked as if it had been stuck there for a long time.

The brothers staggered as they walked, and as they got closer, a pungent smell of feces hit them.

Mu Dashan and Yu Si Niang both covered their noses and stepped back.

This time, Mu Dashan had no intention of greeting the two brothers; he tugged on Yu Si Niang’s clothing, signaling her to hurry home.

Before they got far, Mu Dazhong, nearly frozen stiff, suddenly pointed at Mu Dashan and said, "Old... Old Third, you... you..."

Mu Dazhong shivered for quite a while but couldn’t complete a sentence.

Seeing him approaching, Mu Dashan made up his mind and pulled Yu Si Niang, running away quickly.

Mu Dazhong was furious, pointing in the direction Mu Dashan left, calling out for a long time but could hardly utter a word.

After a night and a day in the cold mountain wind, it was a stroke of bad luck that Mu Dazhong and Mu Danian didn’t die.

They had no strength left to stop others from doing anything.

However, when Mu Dazhong glanced at Mu Danian, who was in similar condition, his mood improved a bit.

Suffering along with someone can bring some happiness to Mu Dazhong.

"Second, Fifth, where did you both wander off to? Your mother’s been looking for you for ages, especially you, Second..." Mr. Mu walked out of the main house, saw the two brothers, and called them over.

Since he indeed had some matters to discuss with Mu Dazhong, Mr. Mu came closer, but upon nearing Mu Dazhong, any words he intended to speak vanished instantly.

"Second, what is all this filth on you? Clean yourself up right now. And Fifth, did you two fall into a dung pit?

Why do you smell so awful?" Mr. Mu was extremely disgusted, speaking while retreating.

Mr. Mu’s reaction was even stronger than that of Mu Dashan and Yu Si Niang.

"Father, I..."

As Mu Dazhong started to speak, Mr. Mu quickly waved him off. "Enough, enough, don’t say anything. Just leave quickly."

Treated as a nuisance by everyone today, Mu Dazhong was driven away from the mountains and the villagers acted the same, urging him to leave quickly.

There was even a hot-tempered woman who picked up a stick, saying she’d beat him to death if he didn’t leave.

Mu Dazhong suffered greatly, and he planned to take revenge on the third branch later on when he recovered.

Back at home, Mu Dazhong called Mrs. Lin’s name, calling for a long time, only to find she wasn’t home at all.

Mu Dazhong recalled that Mrs. Lin had returned to her parents’ home some days ago, and he hadn’t been cared for in days either. Mu Dazhong felt this couldn’t continue. If Mrs. Lin didn’t come back soon, he’d have to do everything himself.

It’s not worth it. You marry a wife so she can take care of you.

Now he had to heat the water and bathe himself; Mu Dazhong thought having a wife wasn’t much different than not having one.

...

...

On this trip, Mu Shuangshuang not only brought back Xue Zheng but also good news.

She casually asked if Xue Yi knew any gentleman willing to teach in the village because she wanted to open an academy so that students in the nearby villages could go to school.

Xue Yi recommended a scholar from a nearby village, Luohe Village, to Mu Shuangshuang.

Two months ago, Luo Juren’s father died, and according to Da Ning Dynasty’s rules, a student above a scholar, whose parents died, had to observe mourning for over three months.

The more filial ones would mourn even longer.

Luo Juren decided to mourn for three years, during which he could not wear silk, go to bustling places in town, and had to live a life of simplicity and occasionally visit his father’s grave.

This Luo Juren was exactly the kind of teacher Mu Shuangshuang was looking for in terms of timing.

In three years, she would definitely save enough money to buy a house in the county, so by then, she wouldn’t have to worry about Yuanbao and Xiao Han having no place to study.

Moreover, Mu Shuangshuang got a letter written by Xue Yi. Though she didn’t know what was in it, since Xue Yi recommended him, his character must be trustworthy.

This time, Mu Shuangshuang was confident she could handle setting up the school well.

...

...

The next day, Mu Shuangshuang took Lu Yuanfeng and a few kids from home, plus two small animals, and went to Luohe Village.

Luohe Village was a small fishing village, primarily focused on fishing. They did have fields, but mostly gravelly ground, not quite suitable for rice cultivation.

Fortunately, Lu Yuanfeng was familiar with the nearby villages and found his way to Luohe Village easily.

The family’s condition was the same as most scholar’s families, not particularly good, and he had a heavier burden with the pillar of the house gone. Not only did he need to save for his journey to the capital for exams, but also prepare food for his elderly mother.

Mu Shuangshuang handed Xue Yi’s letter and stated her conditions, to which Luo Juren agreed immediately without a word.

After conversing with Luo Juren a bit, from his eloquence, Mu Shuangshuang found Luo Juren much better than Chen Sheng, whom she met at Chen Family Village previously.

That Chen Sheng made unreasonable demands, asking for one tael of silver per child, not knowing whether he regretted it now.

"Luo Juren, we can also draw up a contract between us. If you find any issues, feel free to speak up," Mu Shuangshuang said.

"No need for a contract. Since Mr. Xue recommended me, I’ll help no matter what, even if you don’t pay me."

Luo Juren was a student sponsored by Xue Yi. When Luo Juren went to Qianzhou for exams, he didn’t spend a cent himself; Xue Yi funded it all.

Now, since he can’t leave Qingshan Town for three years, teaching in Er Gui Village was actually a good thing for him.

"Then Shuangshuang thanks Luo Juren. The school matters will be left entirely to Shuangshuang, focusing everything on teaching and learning." Mu Shuangshuang said.

Luo Juren also confided in Mu Shuangshuang, saying, "When it comes to essays, I have no problem, but I might not be very competent in arithmetic. I can handle general arithmetic issues, but not the more advanced ones."

"Alright, I’ll look for an arithmetic teacher. If I find one, we’ll hire another teacher," Mu Shuangshuang said.