On the way to escape famine, my parents divorced

(Thanks to Gusu Flower Shopkeeper for casting 2 monthly votes.)
"Mr. Jiang!"

"Lady Li!"

"Mr. Jiang!"

"summer!"

"Mr. Jiang!"

Countless "Mr. Jiang"s rang in his ears, and Jiang Huai's eyes could hardly keep up.

He looked at the Liujiatun people standing next to his car behind Li Shiyue, a dense crowd of about seventy or eighty.

They completely blocked the road leading to the official road at the entrance of Jiangjia Village, leaving no gaps whatsoever.

Seeing that Jiang Huai was followed by a large number of people, Li Shiyue called out to the children of each family to come to the front.

"It's been a while since we've seen your husband. Come and greet Mr. Jiang."

There were only about twenty children in Liujiatun to begin with, but today they were all there.

Wang Shisan and Yangzai were older, so they stood at the very front.

The two men directed Da Zhuang, Xiao Zhuang, Er Dan, and the village's only four women—Li Yue Niang, Xiao Li Zi, and Wang Qiniang—as well as Xiao Ya, the youngest daughter of Li Shi Liang and Zhao Min, to line them up in two rows of varying heights according to their age.

After standing still, Wang Shisan looked at Li Shiyue. Seeing that Li Shiyue nodded, he looked around and behind him before bowing and clasping his hands in a salute to Jiang Huai.

As soon as he moved, the lambs followed suit, and Da Zhuang and Xiao Zhuang all bowed to Jiang Huai in a very proper manner.

"I hope you are well, sir."

"Okay, okay, get up, get up."

Jiang Huai quickly agreed and told Wang Shisan and the others to get up immediately!
Even though it didn't snow today, it's still windy in this cold weather, as it's the twelfth lunar month.

In the past, he would take Wang Shisan and the others to study in the school. There was a stove burning, so the room was very warm, and there was hot tea and snacks to eat.

At this moment, he saw that Wang Shisan and the others' noses were red from the cold. After all, they were children he had been teaching for several months, and he felt a little sorry for them.

After Wang Shisan got up, he went to look at Li Shiyue who was standing to the side.

Li Shiyue noticed that a small circle of onlookers had already gathered around them. With her exceptional senses, she observed several elderly men approaching from a distance and, after estimating the time, nodded to Wang Shisan again.

Then Jiang Huai saw Wang Shisan, who had just smiled at him, suddenly straighten up with a solemn expression.

"Sir, I have prepared a small gift to express my sincere wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year!"

The neat and uniform salutes and the loud voices of children could be heard all around.

Jiang Huai looked at the dozen or so children of different heights, some boys and some girls, who bowed to him again and offered him their blessings.

He was stunned. He had thought that Li Shiyue would bring people to give him New Year's gifts, and he had also heard that the people from Liujiatun whom he had taught would come.

He thought that at most a few villagers would come to represent him, bringing him some food, a few jars of wine, a box of paper, or something like that.

He really didn't expect that the children from Liujiatun would also come!

They all came, not one of them was missing, no, there was also a little girl.

The Jiang clan chief arrived just in time; he arrived just as Wang Shisan and Yangzai were leading the children of Liujiatun to bow and pay their respects to Jiang Huai.

Jiang Huai was stunned for several moments before Li Xiatian called out to him, at which point he came to his senses and quickly stepped forward to help the lambs up.

“Okay! Okay! Okay!

I am so happy that you came to see me!
Come on, get up, get up!

As Li Shiyue watched, more and more members of the Jiang family gathered around, and she also heard the whispers among the onlookers.

"Oh my goodness, the whole village has come? Just to bring Huai-ge'er a New Year's gift?"

"Those children seem to be quite well-mannered."

"However, Brother Huai has only taught these dozen or so children. Why do so many people need to come along to deliver New Year's gifts?"

"Hey, did you guys see what they were carrying on their carts?"

"There seem to be quite a lot. Are they all for Huai-ge'er?"

Hearing these discussions, Li Shiyue felt the time was ripe, and she was about to lead her people to make a big move!

After Jiang Huai helped Wang Shisan and Yangzai up, she stepped forward, turned around and nodded to Li Wangshui and Li Shiliang behind her.

Jiang Huai was about to ask Li Xiatian and the others how long they could stay, and whether he wanted to visit their home.
Then Li Xiatian went over to Li Shiyue's side and stood with Li's mother, Zheng Meiniang, Li Xiatian, Shitou, and Li Wangming.

At this moment, Li Shiyue stepped forward and respectfully bowed to Jiang Huai, who seemed somewhat at a loss.

How could Jiang Huai not know how capable Li Shiyue was?
It was precisely because he knew Jiang Huai that he stared wide-eyed in astonishment at Li Shiyue, who was bowing to him.

He truly couldn't understand what Li Shiyue meant by this. Why did she suddenly bow to him?

"This year, Mr. Meng did not give up and taught seventeen children in our village to recognize the Three Character Classic;
They also taught everyone how to write their own names and understand transaction documents;
They can use an abacus and keep their own accounts.

Thanks to you, sir, there's no fear of miscalculating in the trade, as you understand written documents and are not afraid of being cheated.

As the year draws to a close, I, Li Shiyue, and everyone else have come here specifically to give Mr. [Name] a New Year's gift.

These were all bought with money earned by everyone through their own abilities;

We also have paper mills where we make our own paper, and charcoal kilns where we burn our own charcoal.

There are also the grains and vegetables we grow ourselves;

"To have your continued guidance next year would be a blessing for our entire village!"

Li Shiyue used internal force when she said these things.

Her clear voice was so distinct that everyone within a radius of three zhang (approximately 10 meters) could hear it clearly.

After she stopped speaking, Li Wangshui and Li Shiliang drove the first carriage forward and arrived in front of Jiang Huai. Li Wangshui and Li Shiyang then bowed respectfully to Jiang Huai.

"Li's Paper Mill has delivered two boxes of top-quality paper!"

Following them were two men, Ma Zi and Mo Zi, driving a cart of charcoal.

"The Li family's charcoal factory is delivering a truckload of top-quality charcoal!"

Following behind were Li Wangjin leading several men from the Wang family, who were driving a cartload of grain, along with some autumn vegetables.

"The entire village of Liujiatun will receive a shi (a unit of dry measure) of millet and some autumn vegetables!"

Then Li Qiutian and Li Xiatian appeared in the next order.

"Representing Li Shiyue, the Li family presented two Huzhou brushes, four Huizhou ink sticks, a ream of Xuan paper, and a Duan inkstone."

Next, Wang Shisan and his children, along with their families, came forward one by one to greet Jiang Huai and present him with New Year's gifts.

"Thank you so much for teaching our thirteenth child!"
"I'm not good at sweet talk, sir. These two pairs of shoes were made by hand. I added an extra layer of hemp to the soles so your feet won't get cold when you walk long distances."

Jiang Huai watched as Wang Shisan's grandmother opened the bundle, revealing two pairs of thick-soled shoes with indigo blue uppers.

Next came the lamb and his cousin and her husband's family.

“Sir, we are uncultured people and do not understand the profound principles of scholars, but our children and we ourselves are all thanks to you for enabling us to read and calculate!”
These are eggs from my chickens. I've collected a whole basketful. Sir, please have some first. I'll collect more later and bring them to you.

Jiang Huai looked at the straw basket and saw that there were probably dozens of chickens inside. At that moment, he felt a surge of emotion, a warm current flowing from the depths of his heart, making him feel comforted. (End of Chapter)