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

Looking at Aunt Liu's curious expression, Tang Susu sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. She thought to herself that the villagers of Yangqu Village had always been so curious.

She smiled and patted Aunt Liu's hand, explaining softly, "Auntie, there's no special guest, just a classmate from Tang Chengyu's academy who came to visit him. I'll go back and entertain the guest first, so I won't talk to you any longer."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Liu's face showed a knowing expression. She glanced curiously at the courtyard a few more times before smiling and nodding, "Alright, alright, you go and entertain the guests. Don't neglect them. I just came to fetch some water; it won't bother you."

Tang Susu responded, turned around and walked into the yard. She put down the grain on her shoulder, straightened up, and her gaze swept across the yard. She was instantly stunned.

She originally thought that Lu Hao had only borrowed the students' carriages to thresh the grain, but she did not expect that the nine students dressed in brocade clothes would not only borrow the carriages and drivers, but also personally participate in threshing, getting covered in grain dust and looking disheveled.

Tools were scarce in the yard; there was only a flail, which A-Gui was holding in his hand and swinging weakly.

There was also a pitchfork in Tang Chengyu's hand, which he used to comb through the threshed ears of grain. The other nine students had no tools and could only operate with their bare hands.

Their threshing methods were clumsy and laborious: some students grabbed a handful of rice ears and slammed them hard against the wooden basins and buckets next to them, scattering grains everywhere; others, eager to speed things up, simply used their hands to pluck the grains off the rice ears one handful at a time, their fingertips turning red from the rough rice ears, yet they still gritted their teeth and persevered.

At first, the threshing speed was acceptable; they could thresh five or six ears of rice in no time. However, the students' palms were quickly rubbed red, and some even had small bloodstains with faint beads of blood seeping out. But because they were proud, they refused to say anything and stubbornly refused to stop.

Tang Susu saw this and felt a pang of sympathy. She immediately stepped forward and stopped a student who was threshing grains by hand, urgently advising, "You can't thresh grains like that! It's too hard on your hands. Stop and rest for a while."

As she spoke, she turned her head and glared at Tang Chengyu beside her, her tone clearly reproachful: "Yu'er, they are all your classmates, pampered young masters. They have never done such heavy work before. How can you let them suffer like this? Gentlemen, go and rest in the shade. Don't work anymore."

Tang Chengyu opened his mouth, but was speechless, his face full of helplessness, as Tang Susu glared at him.

He knew in his heart that he didn't want to pay attention to these people who came to apologize. It was Lu Hao who forcibly stopped them and forced them to stay and do hard labor. He just turned a blind eye and did not take the initiative to tell them to work. But now that Tang Susu was blaming him, he had no way to defend himself and could only silently endure it.

Left with no other choice, Tang Chengyu turned and went into the inner room, carrying out a pile of low stools. He neatly placed them under the shade of a tree in the corner of the courtyard and said in a calm tone, "Gentlemen, please rest here for now."

Upon hearing this, the students felt as if they had been granted a pardon. They immediately dropped the rice stalks they were holding and rushed to the shade of the trees to sit down and rest. They were all exhausted, rubbing their shoulders and backs, complaining incessantly: "I'm so tired! This farm work is too strenuous. My hands are all red from being rubbed..."

"If I had known it would be this tiring, I wouldn't have come. This is much harder than memorizing in Chongwen Hall..."

Tang Chengyu looked at their disheveled appearance, expressionless, without saying a word, turned around and went back into the inner room, closed the door, and refused to pay any more attention to the people in the courtyard.

Just then, Lu Hao strode up to Tang Susu, his chest puffed out, his face beaming with pride. His tone was boastful, eager to claim credit: "Aunt Yang, look! These carts, running back and forth, can probably yield five or six jin of grain. With the students and A-Gui working together, they can get nearly thirty jin. A-Gui and I completed two days' worth of work in one go! Amazing, right!"

His posture was flamboyant, his eyes were bright and sparkling, and his face was full of expectation, as if he had done something great and was just waiting for Tang Susu's praise.

Tang Susu remained silent, pondering Lu Hao's words, without speaking immediately.

Seeing this, Lu Hao became anxious and quickly stepped forward, urgently asking, "Hey, say something! I did such a good job, you have to praise me, right? You can't go back on your word and not acknowledge my contribution!"

Tang Susu looked up at him and calmly corrected his form of address: "I'm not called 'Hey.' You either have to call me Yang Tangshi, or like Agui, call me Aunt Yang. Don't be so rude."

Lu Hao's smug expression froze for a moment, his heart filled with reluctance—he was the son of a county magistrate, and others had always addressed him respectfully. Now he had to call a peasant woman "auntie," which was simply too embarrassing for him.

But then he thought again that he was still hoping Tang Susu would praise him, and if he upset her, it would be a loss. So he could only reluctantly squeeze out two words: "Aunt Yang".

Seeing his awkward expression, a smile flashed in Tang Susu's eyes, but she quickly composed herself and earnestly affirmed his strengths: "You child, although you are impulsive, you are very good at using external forces to achieve your goals, which is quite clever. Just like those strategists, although they do not charge into battle on the front lines, they can still plan and command thousands of troops from within the command tent. You have such strategic thinking."

Upon hearing this, Lu Hao was instantly shocked. His eyes widened as he stared at Tang Susu in disbelief. No one had ever praised him like this before, nor had anyone ever compared him to a strategist who could devise plans.

In the past, everyone thought of him as a spoiled, uneducated young master of the county, and even his father often scolded him for being useless.

A wave of immense joy washed over him, making him feel lightheaded in an instant. All his awkwardness and reluctance vanished, and he grinned from ear to ear, his face beaming with pride and delight.

Just as Lu Hao was basking in the joy of being praised, Tang Susu changed the subject and objectively pointed out his shortcomings: "Using the strength of the students is a good idea, saving time and effort, but you have overlooked one point - these students have all grown up in comfort and are not strong enough to kill a chicken. Their physical strength is limited. Five or six of them together are not as capable as one strong man in the village. They will be exhausted after a short time."

She paused, then added, "If you want to improve efficiency, using livestock like oxen and horses would be more practical. But look, the wheels of these carriages are too narrow. After two incense sticks' worth of work, the horses are panting heavily, and they've only husked a few pounds of grain. The efficiency is far too low, and it's not worth it."

Lu Hao's smile gradually faded, and his brows furrowed slightly. He was troubled by the low threshing efficiency when he heard this. His eyes lit up instantly, and a brilliant idea struck him. He immediately suggested, "Aunt Yang, I have an idea! If we find a large stone as round as a cartwheel, and have a horse pull it back and forth over the rice, using the weight of the stone to crush the grain, wouldn't threshing be faster and less strenuous?"

Tang Susu nodded, agreeing with his idea, but also pointed out the difficulty: "Your idea is feasible. There are many stones in the mountains, so there is no problem finding large rocks. However, it is quite difficult to grind an irregular large rock into a round, smooth, and easy-to-roll wheel."

"What's so difficult about that!" Lu Hao said confidently, patting his chest as he assured him. "I'll have the best stonemason in Qintang Town do it. He can definitely finish it overnight, guaranteeing a smooth and round finish, so it won't delay tomorrow's threshing!"

As he spoke, he leaned closer to Tang Susu, his eyes earnest and pleading: "Aunt Yang, if I succeed in this, next time my father comes to pick me up, please praise me properly like you did just now, okay?"

He had already planned it out in his heart—he wanted to show his father that he wasn't just a troublemaker and a good-for-nothing, but that he also had intelligence and ability, and that he could accomplish great things and gain the recognition of others.

Seeing his eager and expectant look, Tang Susu couldn't help but laugh out loud. She nodded gently and agreed, "Of course. You take good care of these young masters first, and don't make them do any more heavy work. I'll go to the kitchen and brew some herbal tea to prevent heatstroke and help them relax."

"Okay, okay!" Lu Hao immediately beamed with joy, nodded repeatedly, and turned to run over to communicate with Song Zhifeng and the others, so that they would no longer have to do the heavy work of threshing, but he also kept a close watch on them, afraid that they would take the opportunity to slip away.

At this moment, Jin Huihuang, standing under the shade of the tree, was already exhausted, his clothes soaked with sweat and grime. Leaning against the wall, he was panting heavily. He inadvertently saw Lu Hao and Tang Susu chatting so amiably, and Lu Hao was even being praised by Tang Susu. He immediately felt resentful and sneered, his tone full of contempt and mockery: "Hmph, how ridiculous! The son of a county magistrate is chatting so enthusiastically with a peasant woman with long hair and short brains. He has utterly disgraced the sons of officials."

These words were spoken at just the right amount, neither too loud nor too soft, enough for Lu Hao to hear.

Lu Hao's smile vanished instantly. He turned to Jin Huihuang, his eyes icy, and retorted with a mocking tone, "Jin Huihuang, stop talking nonsense! Have you forgotten the order of 'scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants'? Farmers are second, far more noble than you profit-driven merchant families! I was initially willing to forgive your previous unpleasantness, seeing that you had worked so hard just now, considering you showed some sincerity. But you turned around and mocked me and Aunt Yang. I can't swallow this!"

"You!" Jin Huihuang was speechless after being rebuked by Lu Hao. He was instantly enraged, stood up abruptly, pointed at Lu Hao, and shouted angrily, "We're here to apologize to Tang Chengyu, not to be bullied by you! What does it matter to me whether you're upset or not? Don't try to intimidate me with your status!"

"Tang Chengyu is my brother," Lu Hao retorted firmly, stepping forward and staring sharply at Jin Huihuang. "If I can't swallow this insult, it means he can't either! Today, you must apologize to me!"

Then, he changed the subject and made a demand of Jin Huihuang, his tone leaving no room for argument: "Get up immediately, go to the street, find the best stonemason in Qintang Town, and make a round stone the size of a carriage wheel. It must be polished smooth and round, so it can be used to thresh rice. It must be delivered here before dark!"

Upon hearing this, Jin Huihuang trembled with rage, his face turning ashen: "Lu Hao, don't go too far! I am the young master of the Jin family, I've always been waited on hand and foot, I've never been treated like this before! You want me to hire a stonemason and make a round stone? You're dreaming!"

The two argued incessantly, their tone growing increasingly heated. The accompanying students were too frightened to utter a sound. Song Zhifeng frowned, wanting to step forward and intervene, but unsure how to begin.

On one side is Lu Hao, whom he cannot afford to offend; on the other side is Jin Huihuang, his companion. He is caught in the middle, torn between the two.

After arguing for a long time, Lu Hao saw that Jin Huihuang still refused to compromise, so he temporarily suppressed his anger and put the argument aside. He stayed in the courtyard, pretending to sit with a few students and "chat about life and learning". His tone seemed relaxed, but his eyes would occasionally sweep over Song Zhifeng and Jin Huihuang. In reality, he was keeping an eye on everyone to make sure they would not leave halfway and would complete the task he had assigned.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Tang Susu asked Miao Yulan to stay and boil water, while she turned and went into the inner room to look for Tang Chengyu.

As soon as she entered the inner room, she saw Tang Chengyu holding a heavy pestle, bending over to pound rice. His movements were skilled yet laborious, his forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and his coarse cloth clothes were soaked with sweat.

Tang Susu quickly stepped forward, snatched the rice pounding mallet from his hand, and said with a tone of concern and persuasion, "Yu'er, why are you still pounding rice here? Your classmates are all outside. Instead of going to greet them, you're suffering here all by yourself. What kind of behavior is that?"

Tang Chengyu raised his head, his face full of exhaustion, yet still expressionless, and said softly, "I don't want to see them. They slandered me and caused me to be expelled from Chongwen Hall. Now they come here to apologize in such a hypocritical way. It annoys me."

Tang Susu looked at the resistance in his eyes and said empathetically, "I understand, I understand everything. They treated you like that back then, slandering you, ostracizing you, making you suffer such injustice, being expelled from Chongwen Hall, and cutting off your path to education. If it were me, I would also be angry, and I wouldn't want to talk to them, much less entertain them."

Hearing Tang Susu's understanding, Tang Chengyu's tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and the resistance in his eyes faded a bit.

Tang Susu changed the subject and earnestly reasoned with him: "Ke Yu'er, you must understand that among them are the son of the county magistrate of Qianjiang Town and the children of wealthy merchants in Qintang Town. They are all powerful and influential people within a hundred miles. Now that they have taken the initiative to apologize, they have given you a way out. Maintaining a superficial harmony with them, or even befriending them, will only benefit you in the future. You must understand the principle that 'if the water is too clear, there will be no fish.'"

Tang Susu bit her lip, a hint of confusion on her face. She looked up at Tang Susu and asked hesitantly, "Big sister, are you trying to make me lower myself and deliberately curry favor with these powerful people?"

In his view, even if he is down on his luck, he still has his pride and is unwilling to deliberately try to please those who have hurt him in the past for the sake of his future career.

Tang Susu gently shook her head and replied solemnly, "This is not flattery or ingratiation. Yu'er, you are exceptionally intelligent and knowledgeable, and you will surely enter the officialdom and achieve great things in the future. But you must know that when you first enter the officialdom, your rank will be low, and everyone around you will be your superior, someone with more power and influence than you."

She paused, then offered further advice: "If you avoid people you don't like or who have hurt you, and wear your disgust on your sleeve, refusing to compromise in the slightest, then you'll have a hard time getting ahead in officialdom. You'll likely run into obstacles and be ostracized at every turn."

"In life, you should be genuine and have your own pride, but not too genuine. Don't expose all your emotions to others." Tang Susu gently patted his shoulder, imparting her wisdom on how to conduct yourself in the world. "Towards those you dislike or hate, you should learn to be outwardly friendly and maintain harmonious relationships. Don't easily offend people. There's a lot to learn here, and you need to slowly understand and grow from it."

Tang Chengyu remained silent, head bowed in deep thought. Every word Tang Susu had said was etched into his heart.

Looking back on his past actions, he realized that he had been too stubborn, too aloof, and inflexible, which allowed others to seize upon his weaknesses, slander him, and ultimately lead him to his current predicament.

After a moment, he slowly raised his head. The doubt and resistance in his eyes had disappeared, replaced by understanding and realization. He nodded gently and said softly, "Big sister, I understand."

Seeing his enlightened expression, Tang Susu smiled with relief.

Tang Chengyu stood up and said, "Elder sister, it's getting late. Let me help you bring the tea over to entertain them."

Tang Susu nodded and replied with a smile, "Okay, thank you for your hard work."

At this moment, the water in the kitchen had boiled, and Miao Yulan was standing by the stove, waiting for Tang Susu to return.

Tang Susu took out the herbal tea recipe she had previously bought from the trading platform from her own savings, and carefully put the corresponding medicinal herbs into boiling water to slowly brew it. Recently, the weather has been hot and the farm work has been busy. The whole family has been relying on this herbal tea to prevent heatstroke.

On the other side, Tang Chengyu went into another room, took out several brand-new rough porcelain bowls that were left over from when he sold cold noodles, wiped them clean one by one, and carefully filled ten bowls after the herbal tea was brewed. He then picked up a large leaf and gently fanned the herbal tea, afraid that the tea would be too hot and burn everyone.

After everything was ready, Tang Chengyu carried ten bowls of cool tea and slowly walked out of the house. He went to the shade of the trees in the courtyard, bowed slightly to Song Zhifeng, Jin Huihuang, and the group of students who were enjoying the cool air, and said sincerely, with both apology and gratitude: "Thank you, Brother Song, Brother Lu, and all my classmates, for coming to visit me today and helping with the threshing. I am very grateful for your hard work. It is the busy farming season, and my home is simple. I hope you will understand if my hospitality is inadequate. This bowl of cool tea is to help you relax and cool down. Please don't find it offensive."

As he spoke, he handed out the herbal tea to each of them.

The students were already parched. They accepted the herbal tea, thanked the staff, and drank it without hesitation. The herbal tea was cool and sweet, and after drinking it, it instantly relieved their heat and fatigue, making them feel refreshed.

Song Zhifeng took the herbal tea, took a sip, nodded, and said with a smile, "Brother Tang, you're too kind. What happened before was our fault. It's our honor to be able to do our bit for you, Brother Tang. It's nothing to worry about."

Only Jin Huihuang accepted the herbal tea, smelled it, and his eyes were full of disdain and dissatisfaction. In his opinion, this kind of herbal tea brewed by farmers was crude and unworthy of his status as the young master of the Jin family. However, he remembered the purpose of his trip and dared not be too presumptuous. He could only suppress his dissatisfaction and did not throw it away on the spot. Instead, he coldly questioned Tang Chengyu: "Tang Chengyu, I ask you, when do you plan to return to Chongwen Hall to study? Brother Song and I came here specifically to apologize, hoping that you can return to the school. My father and Magistrate Song are also very concerned about this matter."

Tang Chengyu looked at him calmly and replied in a flat tone, "Thank you for your concern, Brother Jin, but I will not be going to Chongwen Hall to study for the time being."

"What did you say?!"

Upon hearing this, Jin Huihuang was instantly enraged. He stood up abruptly and slammed the bowl of cold tea in his hand onto the low stool beside him with a loud bang, splashing tea all over the floor.

He was furious, his face ashen, his eyes glaring at Tang Chengyu, his tone filled with anger and resentment: "We first went to Xihe Village to look for you, but couldn't find you all day. Then we came all the way to this remote Yangqu Village, humbled ourselves to apologize to you, brought you gifts, and even did this hard and tiring farm work with you, until we were covered in injuries and our clothes were tattered. And you actually tell me you're not going back to the academy?"

Jin Huihuang grew angrier with each word, his chest heaving violently, his eyes blazing with fury: "Tang Chengyu, are you doing this on purpose? Are you deliberately making things difficult for us, just to see us make a fool of ourselves, hoping we'll kneel down and apologize before you'll let it go?!"