Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Tang Chengyu took a step forward, his gaze sweeping over every villager watching, and said in a solemn and firm tone: "Fellow villagers, today I will explain something to everyone."

"Due to some individual factors, I have been expelled from the Chongwen Hall and can no longer participate in the provincial examination. In this life, I can only remain a student and will never have the opportunity to become a scholar."

As soon as he finished speaking, the villagers watching were in an uproar. Everyone looked shocked, whispering among themselves and discussing the matter, their faces full of doubt.

Someone scratched their head, looking completely bewildered: "Expelled? What does that mean? Does it mean I can't go to school anymore?"

Someone muttered under their breath, "Just a few days ago, there were rumors in Xihe Village that Tang Tongsheng was sure to pass the imperial examination and become a new scholar. How come he suddenly can't?"

Some people eagerly followed up, "If I can't go to Fuzhou to take the provincial examination, does that mean I can never become a scholar? Is there really no other way?"

Tang Susu stood aside, watching the scene unfold before her, somewhat surprised that Tang Chengyu would choose this moment, in front of all the villagers, to make this public.

She looked up at Tang Chengyu and saw that his eyes were clear and bright, and his back was still straight. No matter how the villagers around him talked or wondered, he was able to remain calm and composed, without the slightest embarrassment or inferiority.

Tang Susu nodded in approval at his calm and composed demeanor, becoming even more convinced that even if Tang Chengyu failed to pass the imperial examination, he would surely have a bright future.

When Old Lady Tang learned that Tang Chengyu had revealed the truth in public, her face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Her eyes widened in anger, her chest heaving violently, and then she roared at the top of her lungs, "You're so foolish, Chengyu!"

"Even if you only reach the level of a child scholar, you are still a respectable child scholar. How can you condescend to be a teacher and teach these peasants to read?"

As she scolded, she boasted, "You are extremely talented. The headmaster of Chongwen Hall back then personally predicted that you have a talent for studying and could pass the imperial examinations all the way through the ranks. You are sure to have a bright future!"

"These villagers from Yangqu Village are all hardworking peasants, toiling in the fields from dawn till dusk. They can't read a single word. What right do they have to ask you to teach their children to read?"

As Old Mrs. Tang's angry shouts subsided, the villagers watching fell silent instantly, their heads bowed, their faces filled with embarrassment and grievance.

The villagers knew that even if Tang Chengyu couldn't pass the imperial examination, he would still be a student with a degree in the imperial examinations, while the entire Yangqu Village didn't have a single person who knew more than a few characters, let alone a student in the imperial examinations.

In addition, after spending these past few days with Tang Chengyu, the villagers have truly felt the huge gap between intellectuals and themselves, these "peasants"—they have been trapped on this land their whole lives, with a view that can be seen to the end. Their only hope is that their children can learn some characters from Tang Chengyu and absorb some of the refined demeanor of intellectuals.

Faced with Old Lady Tang's disdain and contempt, the villagers felt wronged but couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

Just as the situation reached a stalemate and the atmosphere became increasingly awkward, Tang Susu slowly spoke, her tone calm yet firm: "Chengyu has grown up and is no longer the little child we used to worry about every little thing."

"His life should be his own to decide. Let him decide where he goes from here." As she spoke, she looked up at Tang Chengyu and nodded gently, indicating that he should follow his own heart.

Tang Chengyu pursed his lips, took a deep breath, looked at everyone with a firm gaze, and said in a resounding voice, "Although I cannot become a scholar and cannot continue to pursue fame and fortune, I still want to put my knowledge to good use."

"If my elder sister, or the villagers of Yangqu Village, still need me, I am willing to stay in Yangqu Village and not leave."

Upon hearing this, the villagers erupted in excitement, all pleading with him to stay, their voices filled with sincerity and anticipation.

Someone shouted, "Tang Tongsheng, we need you! Yangqu Village will always welcome you!"

Someone quickly added, "We've already prepared tuition fees and sincerely hope you can stay and teach our children to read and write!"

Some even said emotionally, "Whether you're a scholar or not doesn't matter at all! From the bottom of our hearts, we only recognize you, Master Tang!"

Some even exclaimed, "It's a loss for the government that you can't pass the imperial examination, but a blessing for our Yangqu Village! Master Tang, please stay!"

Everyone chimed in, pleading with Tang Chengyu to stay and teach in Yangqu Village.

Tang Chengyu looked at the villagers who sincerely wanted him to stay, his eyes slightly moist, his heart filled with emotion.

He originally thought that after he revealed the truth about being expelled, the villagers would look down on him and stop letting their children study with him. But he didn't expect that everyone would still respect him so much, and their eyes would be filled with even more hope than before.

He nodded solemnly, his tone firm: "Thank you all for your understanding and trust. I, Tang Chengyu, hereby promise that I will do my utmost to teach the children to read and write, and I will never let you down!"

When Old Lady Tang saw that Tang Chengyu had agreed to stay in Yangqu Village as a teacher, she was so angry that her heart, liver, and lungs felt like they were going to explode, and her whole body was trembling uncontrollably.

In her view, Tang Chengyu was simply wasting his talent by not pursuing fame and fortune, choosing instead to stay in this poor, remote area and teach these peasant children.

She was even more worried that Tang Chengyu would waste his time in Yangqu Village and completely miss the opportunity to become a scholar, since the provincial examination would be held next year.

Suppressing her anger, Old Lady Tang glared fiercely at Tang Chengyu and said through gritted teeth, "Fine! Very well! You insist on staying here, is that it?"

"I'm going back to Xihe Village right now to find the village head and the Tang family patriarch, and I'll have them take care of you! I will never let you waste your talent here!"

After saying that, she didn't want to stay any longer. She turned around and left angrily, her steps hurried and heavy, full of rage.

The burly man who had come with her quickly caught up, asking cautiously as they walked, "Auntie, then... then what about my wife (Tang Susu)? Should we take her back with us? Is our marriage still valid?"

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Tang turned around angrily, her eyes wide, and scolded him: "It's a promise! It's a promise! All you care about is your wife! Chengyu's matter is a hundred times, a thousand times more important than your marriage!"

"Don't worry about the wedding yet. Come back to Xihe Village with me. We'll talk about your marriage after we've settled Chengyu's matter!"

She secretly calculated that if Tang Chengyu didn't take the imperial examination, then the three and a half taels of betrothal money she had worked so hard to obtain would be completely meaningless.

Tang Chengyu is the only person in Xihe Village who has a chance of passing the imperial examination and becoming a scholar. This is the most important thing for Xihe Village. She must bring Tang Chengyu back to the village so that he can concentrate on his studies and not let his studies be delayed.

Old Mrs. Tang's angry curses gradually faded away and disappeared at the village entrance.

Tang Chengyu bowed to the villagers who were watching, and solemnly promised again that he would definitely teach the children well and live up to everyone's trust.

Originally, Tang Chengyu only accepted thirty students, intending to teach them well.

But after Old Mrs. Tang made such a fuss, many families in Yangqu Village learned that Tang Chengyu was going to stay in the village to teach, and they all came to her door, wanting their children to study with Tang Chengyu, even if they only learned a few words.

In the end, the number of students suddenly increased to forty-five.

The front yard of Tang Susu's house was half planted with vegetables and half raised with chickens and ducks. The space was small and messy, and it was not enough to accommodate forty-five students to read and write together. There was not even a place to sit.

Seeing this, Yang, the village head, stepped forward to help find a solution: "Fellow villagers, Mr. Tang wants to stay in the village to teach. We can't let the children not even have a place to study."

"I suggest using the courtyard in front of the Yang Family Ancestral Hall as a school. The courtyard is spacious, paved entirely with bluestone, clean and flat, and can be used with just a little tidying up."

He added, "Families with children in school should each send one person to help clean and tidy up the ancestral hall. Their own children can bring their own tables and chairs, which will save some effort."

Forty-five households responded to the village head's suggestion and immediately sent people to the Yang Family Ancestral Hall to help with the tidying up.

The Yang Family Ancestral Hall is rarely visited on ordinary days, and its gates are closed year-round. It is only opened during the Spring Festival each year for villagers to worship their ancestors.

The courtyard in front of the ancestral hall, although paved with bluestone, was overgrown with weeds in the gaps between the stones, and piled with miscellaneous items in the corners of the walls, covered with dust, making it look very desolate.

The villagers worked together, dividing the tasks among themselves. Some weeded, some swept the floor, some wiped the doors and windows of the ancestral hall, some cleaned up the debris in the corners of the walls, and some brought tables and chairs from their own homes and arranged them neatly.

Before long, a simple yet clean and tidy school was set up.

Yang Lizheng stood with his hands on his hips in the courtyard of the ancestral hall, looking at the neatly arranged tables and chairs in front of him, and said to everyone, "Let's use this courtyard as a school for now. When the village has extra money in the future, we will build a real academy on the open space next to the ancestral hall."

"We can't let the kids study in this open courtyard all the time. If it rains, they won't be able to read, and that would be bad if their studies were disrupted."

Mentioning rain, the villagers couldn't help but sigh repeatedly, their faces full of worry—Yangqu Village hadn't seen rain for far too long, the crops in the fields were almost dying of drought, and everyone had almost forgotten what rain felt like.

With the school arrangements temporarily settled, the villagers gradually dispersed, each heading home to prepare the things their children would need for school.

Some idle village women gathered together and started gossiping, crowding around Tang Susu and asking her a barrage of questions.

"Dog's mother, did Old Lady Tang come by earlier to propose marriage for you?"

"Yes, yes, that burly man who came with Old Lady Tang earlier, tall and strong, is he the new boyfriend the Tang family found for you?"

"That burly man looks sturdy, but he's a bit ugly. If you really marry him, do you think your life will be easy?"

Zheng's wife, who was also in the crowd, seized the opportunity to fan the flames, her tone full of sarcasm and provocation: "Oh my, that strong man is really ugly, his face is covered in pimples, it's disgusting to look at. Dog's mother, if you really went with him, you probably wouldn't even be able to swallow your food, you'd be vomiting every day, right?"

As she spoke, she changed the subject, deliberately suggesting in a sarcastic tone, "In my opinion, why don't you pair up with Hunter Yang from our Yangqu Village? You're both single, and Hunter Yang is handsome and a good hunter—much better than that ugly, burly man. You two would be a perfect match!"

Her words were laced with provocation; she clearly wanted to link Tang Susu and Hunter Yang together, to take the opportunity to smear Tang Susu and make a fool of herself.

Tang Susu gave Zheng the rascal's wife a cold look and instantly saw through her thoughts—she just couldn't stand to see her doing well and wanted to take the opportunity to sow discord and make a fool of herself.

Instead of getting angry, she smiled faintly and cleverly retorted, following Zheng's wife's words: "Oh? From what you're saying, you're quite good at matchmaking."

"Since you're so enthusiastic, why don't you help your niece find a match with Uncle Zheng Wu in the village? Uncle Zheng Wu is also single. Although he's not very bright and barely makes a living with the help of the village head, he's still a man. It's better than your niece staying at her parents' house all the time, with no one wanting her, right?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng's wife's expression changed instantly. She immediately sensed the sarcasm in Tang Susu's words—Uncle Zheng was a widower in the village, not very bright, and his family was destitute. How could she possibly let her own niece marry such a person?

She was burning with anger, trembling with rage, and almost lost her temper on the spot, cursing at Tang Susu.

But then she thought again that she was also planning to marry her niece to Tang Chengyu—even though Tang Chengyu was just a student, he was still very popular in Yangqu Village and would receive a lot of tuition fees for teaching in the future. Her niece could live a good life after marrying him.

If he offended Tang Susu now, Tang Chengyu would definitely protect his older sister, and then all his plans would fall through.

Thinking of this, Zheng's wife could only forcefully suppress the rebuttal that was on the tip of her tongue, glared fiercely at Tang Susu, and stood aside without daring to say another word.

Just as Zheng the rascal's wife was secretly plotting how to bring her niece over as soon as possible to facilitate her marriage with Tang Chengyu, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the other side of the village, accompanied by the panicked shouts of the villagers, growing closer and closer.

Immediately afterward, a group of villagers, their faces filled with panic, rushed towards the Yang Family Ancestral Hall, shouting as they ran, their voices filled with despair and panic: "Village Head! Village Head! Something terrible has happened! A terrible thing has occurred!"

"So many locusts! So many locusts are flying towards our village from the other side of the mountain! They're so dense, they're blotting out the sky!"

"It's all over! Our Yangqu Village is doomed! The locusts are going to eat all the grain in the fields!"

Yang Lizheng was discussing the school's future with several villagers when he heard the panicked shouts. His expression instantly turned serious, and he lost all his usual composure.

His stern gaze swept over the panicked crowd before him, then he suddenly raised his voice, shouting in an attempt to calm them down: "Everyone, calm down! Don't panic! Quiet down!"

Once the crowd had calmed down, he continued, "Panic won't help! Following the locust eradication methods proposed by Tang Susu and Tang Chengyu, the entire village must mobilize—men, women, and children—to go to the fields and do everything in their power to wipe out the locusts!"

"We must speed things up! There can be no delays whatsoever. We must protect our crops, protect our livelihood!"

At this time, the fields and roadsides of Yangqu Village and Dahe Village had become dark and lost their usual light.

Countless swarms of locusts, like a black tide, surged in from the distant mountains, blotting out the sun and densely covering the entire sky, even blocking out the sunlight.

Where locusts fly, a buzzing sound can be heard, both piercing and terrifying, signaling that the battle to eradicate locusts is about to begin.