Chapter 300

What trickery? Gu Xixi glared. "You're saying it so harshly."

I'm just proposing a concept, packaging it! Just packaging it a bit.

If doing this pleases the teacher, and the teacher is pleased, then we are pleased too—it's a win‑win.

Shitou was confused at first, but eventually he understood; a win‑win, definitely a good thing.

After a few more days, following a spring rain, the weather warmed again.

In sunny places, shepherd's purse grew, and the orchids at Elegant Orchid Residence were successfully transplanted.

A somewhat worn canvas‑covered carriage slowly entered Huachi Du Cun.

Lao Qian rose early, put on his best robe, and rode his donkey ahead to clear the way for the carriage.

He kept grinning the whole way, unable to suppress the smile.

The children playing by the road saw it, knew the new teacher had come, and immediately ran to call people.

When the carriage arrived outside Elegant Orchid Residence, many adults and children had already gathered.

The driver took down the footstool and placed it at the side of the carriage bed.

All the villagers stared at the carriage; seeing the blue curtain lifted, revealing a head of white‑streaked hair, they couldn't help but be surprised.

How could it be an old person?

Looking again as he bent to step out and lifted his head, his face was indeed that of an elderly man.

His features were peaceful, but when he turned his gaze to look at people, a natural solemnity showed.

Lao Qian stepped forward a few paces, clasped his hands, and said, "Song Fuzi."

Song Fuzi returned the salute, saying, "Thank you, Village Chief Lao Qian, for leading the way just now."

The carriage door curtain moved again, and Song Fuzi immediately turned, reaching up.

"Madam, please go slowly."

Then a lady stepped out, her hair coiled into a morning‑cloud bun, with a single silver pin carved with pomegranate patterns, its tip inlaid with jade.

When the lady got down from the carriage, everyone finally saw her face.

Although the traces of time were visible, she wore a soft smile, her gaze gentle, making her appear amiable and evoking a sense of closeness.

Lao Qian then introduced the villagers, saying, "This is Song Qingshan, Old Song, the former School Order of the Qing Tian County School."

"This is Madam Song."

It was as if a stone had been dropped into a pond from above; the crowd immediately stirred, murmuring.

"School Order? That's an official teacher appointed by the government, holding an official post!"

"Is he really that impressive? Does he still hold office?"

"They said he's a former official, a former School Order, so he certainly isn't in office anymore."

"Ah, someone this capable coming to our village school to be a teacher?"

"It was Liu Xiansheng who found him; looks like Liu Xiansheng is a notable figure too!"

……

Lao Qian cleared his throat loudly, saying, "Everyone, quiet down!"

"Old Song and Madam Song just arrived, haven't even rested, and already heard our people making a racket."

Song Xiansheng said, "No problem, when everyone gathers together, it's naturally lively."

Lao Qian nodded and smiled in agreement, thinking to himself, "Song Xiansheng's visage is stern, yet his nature is more approachable than I imagined."

Lao Qian raised his voice, saying, "From now on, Old Song and Madam Song are both honored guests and our own people in our village."

"We must respect them as honored guests, yet also help and befriend them as our own."

Qin Dasao stood dazed in the crowd.

Hearing the applause, she came to her senses, hurriedly pushed through the crowd to find Gu Xixi.

Gu Xixi turned her head, saw it was Qin Dasao, understood, and smiled, "You've come?"

Qin Dasao panted, "Song, Song Qingshan—I know that name! It's the former School Order who was the best at the county school, having taught many xiucai and jinshi, and even placed third in the highest examinations; to this day many of his students are officials abroad… Mr. Song Xiansheng!"

Gu Xixi chuckled, "That prefix is really long, huh."

Qin Dasao grabbed Gu Xixi's arm, her voice trembling with excitement, "The person I told you about a few days ago—is it him, is it him?"

Gu Xixi could only nod, "Right, it's him, indeed him."

Qin Dasao clasped her hands, looked up to the sky and laughed, "Great, "

"With such a renowned teacher, my little dog doesn't need to go to the county school!"

"May heaven bless us! May Liu Xiansheng bless us! And may Gu Xixi bless us!"

Gu Xixi laughed, "What am I supposed to bless? Sister‑in‑law, are you just happy‑minded and confused?"

Qin Dasao continued to kowtow toward the sky a few times, then turned to Gu Xixi and said solemnly, "I'm not confused."

"Just listen—doesn't this make sense? Chen Xiansheng was brought in by you, Liu Xiansheng was brought in by Chen Xiansheng, and now Song Xiansheng was brought in by Liu Xiansheng."

"As the saying goes, when drinking water, don't forget who dug the well—shouldn't we thank you for your blessing?"

Zhou Dasao beside them exclaimed, "This tongue‑twister is about to make me dizzy! But…"

She grinned broadly, "I also think the reasoning is quite right!"

At this moment, Lao Qian had already unlocked the gate and led Song Xiansheng and his wife into the courtyard for a tour.

Knowing Old Song liked cleanliness and tranquility, Lao Qian glanced sideways, signalling that no one should follow them inside to join the fun.

"Today everyone has met Song Xiansheng and Madam; now that we know them, let's disperse. This will also allow them to settle in sooner."

The villagers surprisingly cooperated, immediately forming small groups and walking away.

After all, Song Xiansheng is a scholar; people felt awkward just standing at his door chatting.

It's just the right time to change venues and chat to our heart's content.

It is rare for outsiders to move into this village, and Mr. Song's identity and experiences are particularly unusual.

To the villagers, it was no less than major news, enough for everyone to chat about for several days after tea and meals.

Only Gu Xixi was singled out by Lao Qian to follow him inside.

Lao Qian specially introduced them to the Song couple, saying, "This young lady surnamed Gu is our village's foremost farmer; if anyone has any questions, they should ask her. Outsiders all call her Boss Gu."

All the delicate little touches in this courtyard were arranged by her, and the name Orchid Appreciation Residence was also chosen by her.

Gu Xixi said, "My literary talent is lacking; I cannot compare to Mr. Song's learning as rich as five carts of books, so I will temporarily use a name for now, and after Mr. and Mrs. Song move in, we can still choose another name later."

Mr. Song's gaze fell upon the orchids planted on the ground, and he remarked, "Orchids embody pure qi."

The orchids are splendid, and Orchid Appreciation Residence is fine; no need to change it.

Madam Song smiled, "The planting arrangement is also extremely elegant; upon entering, one does not see the orchids, but turning a corner suddenly opens up into brightness. Inside the house, pushing open the window brings the orchid grasses into view."

If one could paint by the window, the scenery of the four seasons, with varying clouds, sunshine, rain, and snow, would surely be a refined pursuit.

Mr. Song looked at his wife, and a smile appeared on his usually stern face.

As long as Madam likes it, that's fine.

After I retired from office, I never expected to be able to live in peaceful seclusion with my wife in this quiet corner, admiring orchids and planting peach and plum trees.

Madam Song wanted to inspect the kitchen, so the two walked out of the main hall hand in hand and headed toward the side.

Gu Xixi walked behind them, smiling, and said, "It's done."

Lao Qian was taken aback, and asked softly in confusion, "Why did my niece say it's done? What did they just mean by those words? Is it that looking at the orchids isn't enough, and we also need to look at peach and plum blossoms?"

In our village, no one plants peach trees; if we want to see them, we can only look at the wild peach trees on the back hill.