Chapter 110: Starting a School

The villagers, seeing all the Daoist priests emerge from the temple, laughed and teased, “It’s rare—you all finally gathered in one place.”

Wang Feiyin chuckled, “Not quite everyone—still missing Old Second and Little Second.”

“That’s right—how’s Yin Song doing in the capital? Got promoted again?”

Wang Feiyin said, “Promotion isn’t the main thing—he went into officialdom to serve the country and the people.”

Villager: “So he didn’t get promoted, then.”

The conversation died instantly.

Wang Feiyin glanced around and said, “Let’s get moving—clear all this away before noon, and sweep the inside and outside of the Mountain God Temple before dark.”

The junior disciples and nieces and nephews all responded, picked up baskets and carts, and began loading the debris.

The larger stones should be taken and placed beside the ditches—in case any villagers need them later, they can carry them off themselves.

The broken stones can be used to fill roads.

The dirt roads turn bumpy and pitted after rain, especially where carts roll over, forming deeper holes.

And the Jiangnan region gets a lot of rain.

At this time, if you fill the holes with broken stones that don’t sink easily, tamp them down, then cover with soil, you get a superb road.

Once the big stones were moved, and the remaining wood and scraps sorted to one side, everyone filled baskets with broken stones and scoured the village for large potholes to fill.

When villagers saw them filling roads, they immediately called their children over and told them to help clean the Mountain God Temple.

Children naturally love to gather in crowds, and now that the busy farming season was over, they were eager to run wild.

At the adults’ call, they rushed over in a flurry toward Pan Yun and the others.

They got along best with Tao Yan and Bai Miao, ran up to greet them, and asked, “Where’s Wang Xiaojing?”

Tao Yan said, “You’re from the same village—why ask me about Wang Xiaojing?”

“Didn’t you take him away? He hasn’t been home for twenty days.”

Pan Yun said, “We brought him back yesterday.”

Upon hearing this, the children immediately dropped them and ran off to find Wang Xiaojing.

Compared to these little Daoists, the village kids had more to say with Wang Xiaojing.

Wang Xiaojing, rare to be home, had slept in, but when the kids came looking, he jumped up and followed them, diligently helping load broken stones, dump them into holes, and tamp them down.

He even took them to spots where they could dig soil, hauling back plenty to cover the stones.

With so many children helping, the accumulated debris in and around the Mountain God Temple was quickly cleared away, and the place was swept clean—dust and mud from the brooms were scooped into baskets and dumped into the holes, maximizing every scrap of waste.

By the time they finished, it was nearly the hour of Wei.

The children were all ravenous.

Wang Feiyin decided to take out half the meat and pork ribs Wang Cong had stored at Wang Xiaojing’s house the night before, handed them to Grandpa Wang, who boiled a large pot of pork rib and radish soup, then used the broth to cook each child a bowl of pork noodle soup.

Since today marked the official completion of work at the Mountain God Temple, payment was due—the assisting villagers and craftsmen were all invited to eat at the Wang household.

Tao Ji couldn’t help with filling holes or digging soil, so he went to the kitchen to lend a hand.

Grandpa Wang smiled at him, “Your cooking’s gotten better! Back in the day, you and your Second Senior Brother burned down the kitchen—you two ran all the way down the mountain fearing Second Ya’s wrath. Your Second Senior Brother was fine, but you cried all the way down.”

Tao Ji’s face flushed red. He glanced outside—everyone was still working at the Mountain God Temple, no one near the shed—and the red faded slightly. He whispered, “Grandpa Wang, that’s ancient history—please don’t bring it up again.”

“Alright, alright. By the way, Young Tao Daoist, what do you know about the head of the Yu family, the one who’s taking my grandson as a disciple?”

Tao Ji said, “My Fourth Junior Sister and Little Junior Sister both met him. They’re good at reading faces—if they said nothing, it means the Yu family is trustworthy. Let Xiaojing go without worry.”

Grandpa Wang’s eyes crinkled with delight. He kneaded the dough harder, nodding repeatedly, “Good, good.”

Yu Qing was indeed trustworthy.

Pan Yun and Wang Xiaojing said, “I noticed Yu Qing’s demeanor is upright—he’s an honest man. If you study under him, stay diligent and behave properly, you’ll surely learn real skills.”

Wang Xiaojing nodded firmly, “I’ll study hard, Little Junior Auntie. Thank you.”

Without the Sanqing Temple people bringing him, he’d have had no way to meet the kiln owner.

He couldn’t just walk up to someone and say he wanted to be an apprentice.

Apprenticeships require connections—if you lack them, you must pay heavily.

His family had previously arranged his carpentry apprenticeship through his uncle-in-law, spending three hundred cash to secure it.

So when he didn’t go, his Second Uncle immediately stepped in—it was simply too rare an opportunity.

Now, without relying on his family or spending a single coin, he’d become a porcelain apprentice himself—his future was no less promising than carpentry.

Pan Yun smiled and patted his shoulder, “It’s your own strength—we only made the connection. Becoming an apprentice depends on your effort. But if you want to go far on this path, achieve great things, you can’t just learn pottery.”

“Then what else should I learn?”

Pan Yun swiftly pulled out a book: “Learn the law!”

She said, “To survive and advance in the mortal world, you must understand its rules—all written in the law.”

“The Great Ming Code is too detailed, too hard to memorize. Start with the Great Gao—it contains many cases. Study them carefully. Though the law isn’t as strict now as in Hongwu’s time, the roots remain unchanged—the essence won’t be wrong.”

Wang Xiaojing shrank back, “I—I can’t read well. I’m slow. I’m afraid I won’t understand even if I read.”

“That’s why I brought you the Great Gao—it’s mostly stories. If you can’t grasp theory, can’t you understand stories?” Pan Yun shoved it into his arms. “Treat it like a storybook. Once you’ve read through the tales, think about their meanings, the laws involved—you’ll gradually grasp it all.”

“When you can read the Great Gao, I’ll give you the Great Ming Code. Once you’ve finished that, combined with what you learn from the Yu family, I can’t promise you’ll rule the Great Ming—but your confidence will be ten times greater than now.”

Wang Xiaojing: “Really?”

Pan Yun nodded: “Really!”

Wang Xiaojing accepted the Great Gao: “Alright, I’ll start reading when I get home.”

“If you don’t know a character, ask someone. There should be plenty of literate people in the village, right?”

Wang Xiaojing shook his head: “Not many. Only your temple people can all read.”

This surprised Pan Yun. She blinked. “Then what? Does anyone in the Yu family know how to read?”

Wang Xiaojing shook his head: “Only my master knows a few characters—his level is about the same as mine.”

So there was no one to ask.

Pan Yun rubbed her face in frustration. “Then it’s up to fate. Circle the characters you don’t know and the passages you can’t understand—we’ll teach you when we meet again.” Nearby, Wang Feiyin frowned, thought a moment, then turned to ask the village head, who was helping out: “Where do the village children go to school?”

“To Dayuanwu.”

Wang Feiyin nodded. “Not far. Are many children going?”

“Not many. Most go for two or three years, then return. Like Wang Xiaojing—he went for two and a half years, said he couldn’t keep up, and ran home. Now, only two households still insist on sending their children to study.”

Wang Feiyin sighed. “This won’t do. Though Fenshui Village isn’t large, it’s not small either. So many children—how can only two keep studying?”

The village head said, “It’s unavoidable. First, the children don’t like studying. Second, every household struggles—supporting a student costs a lot and loses a laborer.”

“Don’t underestimate children’s labor,” the village head pointed at Pan Yun and the others. “Children of their age, boys or girls, can work as half-adults. Kids like Xiaojing are as good as full adults—except for heavy labor. They plant rice, sow seeds, fertilize, weed—everything adults do.”

“Send them to school, and you lose a laborer—free eaters who cost money for books, ink, paper, brushes, and tuition. How many families in our village can afford that?”

Wang Feiyin frowned. “What if the school were built in the village, and no tuition was charged?”

The village head: “Then maybe seven or eight households would send their children.”

“What if you added one meal a day?”

!

The village head: “Another seven or eight households.”

“What if the top three students received a full year’s books and a set of ink, paper, and brushes?”

The village head: “Then about half the village would send their children to school.”

Wang Feiyin said, “Then we’ll start one.”

Pan Yun turned to look at him.

Wang Feiyin said, “I’ll pay for it. Is the old schoolhouse still standing? Repair it. If it’s too ruined, use my ancestral home. I’ll hire the teacher, pay the tuition, provide one meal a day—children only need to bring their own books and ink, paper, and brushes.”

The village head was stunned. “Master Wang, you’re serious?”

Pan Yun was stunned too. “Big Brother, is our temple this rich?”

Wang Feiyin sighed. “Never skimp on education. We must give children a way out. Reading is the best path—even if they never take the imperial exams, they’ll have more options than illiterate children.”

The village head was moved. He seized Wang Feiyin’s hand. “Er Ya, you’re still you—unchanged after all these years.”

He wiped his eyes. “You’ve been holed up on the mountain for years, rarely coming down. I thought you’d grown tired of us.”

Wang Feiyin: “...I was just in seclusion to cultivate.”

“I know, I know. The moment you mentioned starting a school, I knew you’d been delayed by something.”

The village head decided—he wouldn’t take his payment.

Pan Yun, alarmed, shouted, “No! Starting a school is one thing; building the Mountain God Temple is another. You must take this payment!”

The village head froze.

Wang Feiyin also urged him: “Take it, take it. If you don’t, she won’t sleep soundly tonight. Hahaha…”

In the end, the village head was persuaded to accept the payment.

After distributing all wages, Tao Ji checked the accounts and told Pan Yun: “You gave us seventy-five taels left from the temple construction funds.”

“That’s still a lot,” Pan Yun thought, then said: “Keep twenty-five taels to furnish the Mountain God Temple. The remaining fifty taels go to the temple—use them for Big Brother’s school.”

Wang Feiyin beamed. “Little Junior Sister understands me.”

Pan Yun nodded. “Education—I understand. But I worry: can our temple sustain this? Starting a school isn’t a one- or two-year project—it’s ten, twenty, even longer.”

Wang Cong felt the pressure. He whispered, “Father, maybe wait two more years. Next year, when I get my Daoist license, I’ll go out and earn money before we start.”

Wang Feiyin patted his head. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle this myself. Since we need a teacher, once the Mountain God Temple is settled, I’ll go out and find one.”

Autumn and winter are good times for infrastructure projects.

Harvest is over, farming isn’t busy—labor can be spared for many tasks.

The village head and Wang Feiyin confirmed three times: the school would open next spring. He returned home, gathered all villagers for a meeting, and the next day began repairing the old schoolhouse.

The house was old, even damaged, but that didn’t matter; each family donated some goods or money, and with the leftover wood and stones from building the Mountain God Temple, they constructed two new classrooms.

Unlike the Mountain God Temple, which used entirely stone and brick, the schoolhouse had a stone foundation but its upper walls were made of sun-dried mud bricks—cheap, quick to build, and far faster than the temple.

It could be finished in five days.

After laying the walls, they stirred the mud slurry again, coated the entire structure, and added another thick layer, making it warmer in winter and pleasantly cool in summer.

Aside from being ugly and damp in spring, it had no other flaws.

The entire village poured immense effort into the schoolhouse, while the people of Sanqing Temple devoted most of their energy to the Mountain God Temple.

Perhaps because she had spent the whole day laboring at the Mountain God Temple, Pan Yun suffered no further misfortunes all day except for falling twice.

Even when she went with Miao Zhen and others to harvest pig bristles, nothing like the pig suddenly going mad occurred.

When villagers heard Pan Yun wanted pig bristles, they enthusiastically shaved the hair from their pigs’ necks and backs and brought it all to her.

Pan Yun kept saying, “Enough, enough,” but no one listened—they insisted on giving her more, convinced she hadn’t received enough.

Every household in the village that owned a pig had shaved its entire body; today was truly an unusual day in pig history.

Pig life is hard.

Fortunately, winter was coming soon, and these pigs wouldn’t live more than a few months—perhaps until March.

In the end, Pan Yun carried a large sack of pig bristles up the mountain; Wang Feiyin refused to fly her back, because he thought the bristles smelled—strongly and unpleasantly.

Upon hearing this, Pan Yun handed the sack to Wang Cong.

Wang Cong paused silently, then reached out and took it without a word.

Pan Yun opened her arms wide toward her beloved senior brother.

Wang Feiyin hesitated, then picked her up and swiftly ascended the mountain.

He set her down before the mountain gate, expressionless: “Little sister, your talent is excellent—you should seize every moment to cultivate and strive to enter the First Waiting Realm soon; then you can learn to fly with objects.”

Pan Yun’s eyes sparkled. “Senior brother, rest assured—I will work hard to cultivate.”

Today’s lucky number ends in 5; screenshot as proof. Join the “Great Ming” group and claim your reward from Moyan.

(End of Chapter)