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

Tang Susu looked at Song Zhifeng and Jin Huihuang and advised them again in the tone of an elder: "Young masters, the separation between men and women must not be broken. The Zheng family has an unmarried girl. If you stay overnight without permission, it will not be good for either of you if word gets out. Please be careful."

After saying that, he didn't ask any more questions, picked up his things, and turned to go home.

Luo Cuiju stood to the side, her face pale and her palms sweating with nervousness.

Song Zhifeng completely ignored Tang Susu's advice, waved his folding fan, and said casually, "It's just checking the accommodations, what's wrong with that? Lead the way."

Jin Huihuang frowned, tugged at Song Zhifeng's sleeve, and whispered a reminder: "Zhifeng, your Song family is a scholarly family, and you value your reputation the most. If something really happens, it may affect your future career. Although my family doesn't care about these things, you have to be careful."

Song Zhifeng scoffed, his face full of disdain: "She's just a country girl, what could she possibly do? I'm just going to check out the place. If I'm not satisfied, I'll leave. There's no need to make a fuss."

After saying that, he took the lead and followed Luo Cuiju towards the Zheng family's house. Jin Huihuang had no choice but to follow closely behind.

As evening fell, Yang Gousheng returned home excitedly, carrying an empty basket on his back.

As soon as he entered, he took out a food box from his pocket. When he opened it, he found four-happiness meatballs and lion's head meatballs wrapped in oil paper, which smelled delicious.

"Mother, I brought you some delicious food. This is Four Happiness Meatballs and Lion's Head Meatballs from Zuiyuefang. It cost more than 600 coins in total."

He smiled as he distributed the meatballs to everyone, counting them carefully: "I asked the shopkeeper to send a few extra, to make sure each of us in the family gets two, and even my aunt's unborn baby got two."

The meatballs were large, with a crispy outer layer and a tender, juicy inside, and everyone ate them with gusto. Miao Yulan carefully saved two, smiling as she said, "I get hungry at night in late pregnancy, so saving them for a late-night snack is perfect."

As Yang Gousheng chewed on a meatball, he suddenly remembered the exorbitant profits of restaurants. His eyes lit up, and he suggested, "Mother, why don't we open our own restaurant? Zuiyuefang makes so much money selling braised dishes. We have a unique recipe; our restaurant will definitely be a hit, and earning a hundred taels of silver a month won't be a problem!"

"You're thinking too simply." Lu Hao put down his chopsticks and poured cold water on the idea. "Opening a restaurant is extremely expensive. You need to rent a shop, hire a head chef, find kitchen helpers and waiters, and also stock up on goods. Without several dozen taels of silver, you simply can't get it started."

Tang Susu nodded, agreeing with Yang Gousheng's idea, but also rationally analyzed: "Gousheng's idea is good, but we have two difficulties now. First, we don't have enough capital to take over the shop and hire people; second, your aunt is about to give birth and is not in good health, so she can't be the cook, and we have no one to take charge of the cooking."

She paused for a moment, then revealed her plan: "Let's save up money first. After the New Year, once we've saved enough, we'll buy a shop and open a restaurant. We won't sell anything else, just our braised dishes and home-style meals. Remember, we must buy a shop, not rent it out. That way, we can decorate it however we like, and we won't have to worry about rent increases or being evicted later."

Upon hearing this, the whole family nodded in agreement, hoping that they could have their own restaurant in the future and that their lives would become more and more prosperous.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Aunt Liu rushed to Tang Susu's house, shouting urgently, "Susu, something terrible has happened! Something's happened to the Zheng family!"

Tang Susu's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly followed Aunt Liu toward the banyan tree.

By this time, a number of villagers had gathered under the banyan tree, discussing the matter amongst themselves. Meanwhile, Song Zhifeng and Jin Huihuang's carriage had long since disappeared, leaving only a few wheel tracks.

In the center of the crowd, Granny Zheng sat on the ground, throwing a tantrum, slapping her thighs, her voice shrill: "That beast Song Zhifeng! He defiled my niece Cuiju and ran away in the dead of night! Let me tell you, Song Zhifeng, if you don't come back to take responsibility, I'll go to the yamen and file a complaint, ruin your eligibility for the imperial examinations, and make sure you can never become an official for the rest of your life!"

The surrounding villagers were discussing it endlessly, with differing opinions.

"I noticed that Luo Cuiju usually dresses ostentatiously and is always dressed in a flamboyant manner. She has always been eager to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy. Perhaps she was the one who actively seduced Young Master Song."

"That's right. Old Mrs. Zheng has always been one to take advantage of others. I think she's just trying to scam the county magistrate's son and extort some money from him."

"But it's also a pity for Young Master Song, he was tricked by those two. If it really goes to the authorities, the impact will be huge."

Tang Susu stood on the periphery of the crowd, shaking her head helplessly. She had warned Song Zhifeng and Jin Huihuang yesterday, but they didn't listen. Now that this had happened, it was their own fault. She didn't want to meddle in other people's business. After watching for a while, she turned around and went home to prepare breakfast for her family.

Back home, Lu Hao was sitting in the courtyard reading a book. When he saw Tang Susu return, he couldn't help but mock her, "That Song Zhifeng, he pretends to be gentle and refined, a true gentleman, but he's actually full of bad intentions. He already has two concubines at home, and he often frequents brothels in the city. What kind of upright gentleman is he?"

Yang Xiaobao leaned closer, asking curiously, "Brother Hao, what is a brothel? Why is Young Master Song going there?"

Lu Hao paused for a moment, then quickly changed the subject: "You're just a kid, don't ask such nonsense. Go study. The exams are coming up soon, so everyone needs to study hard. I'm in charge of proctoring, so no one is allowed to slack off."

A few days later, Tang Lifu's village middle school held its first assessment.

After the autumn harvest, more and more children came to the school, reaching eighty in number. The originally small classroom became very crowded, and the younger children had to sit on the floor to listen to the lessons.

Nearly two months into the course, Tang Lifu and Tang Chengyu discussed and decided to hold the first assessment. Due to limited resources, the assessment would only cover three subjects: dictation, memorization, and abacus calculation.

On the day of the assessment, Tang Chengyu was in charge of setting the questions, and Lu Hao was in charge of proctoring. They were serious and very strict, showing no favoritism whatsoever.

The assessment process proceeded in an orderly manner: first, there was dictation, where Tang Chengyu read out each word and sentence, and the students wrote it down on a sand tray, with the difficulty gradually increasing; next was memorization, where Tang Chengyu would say the first sentence, and the students would take turns to recite the next sentence, and points would be deducted if they did not respond.

Finally, there was abacus calculation. Tang Chengyu presented some good arithmetic problems, and the students wrote down the answers on the sand table.

The entire assessment lasted for nearly two hours. The students answered the questions seriously, while Lu Hao patrolled back and forth, not letting go of any signs of cheating. Tang Chengyu stood aside, carefully checking the students' answers. The scene was very serious.