"…Aaaagh… Eeeeergh… Waaaa… Woooo… Errr…"

Broken, fragmented sounds emerged, mingling with the summer chirping of insects. It was the sound of a child crying. Search: \(\?Complete? Book? God? Site) to read high-quality literature for free.

In the small classroom beside the earthen mound, a little girl stood there, crying, feeling as if she was about to drive the pretty female teacher in front of her to madness.

The little girl was seven years old this year, her clothes patched, not particularly clean. She was thin and small, her hair faintly yellowed from dryness, tied into two braids at the back of her head—malnutrition. This was the reason why so many little girls were later called "yellow-haired girls." She didn't actually want to cry, let out a few sounds, then tried to hold back, which resulted in more crying sounds. Tears streamed down her entire face in her distress.

Yuan Jin'er stood there, frowning, staring at the little girl with a slightly open mouth, somewhat speechless.

"What's with all the crying?"

"What's there to cry about?"

"Teacher didn't even hit you!"

"Waaaah eeeeergh…"

"Min Chuyi!"

"Err!"

The little girl stiffened again, standing there in fear with wide eyes, tears streaming down. After a moment, "Wuuuuu…"

"You're going to be the death of me! Put your hand out!"

Teacher Yuan waved her ruler, and the little girl quickly extended her right palm, whereupon Yuan Jin'er whacked it ten times, *slap slap slap slap*. She covered her mouth with the back of her left hand, stopping the crying with the back of her hand, her right palm already red. When the hitting was over, Yuan Jin'er pulled her left hand down from her mouth and said to the side, "You're going to be the death of me! Ningxi, take her out to wash her hands!"

"Auntie, don't be angry…"

"Call me Teacher." Yuan Jin'er glared at him.

"Teacher Yuan." Ningxi, only five years old, shrank his little head, put his hands together, and bowed to Yuan Jin'er, "We're going out."

He quickly pulled the girl named Min Chuyi away. Once outside, he lifted her sleeve and blew on her right hand, "Does it hurt a lot?"

The little girl nodded and shook her head, tears in her eyes.

"Blowing on it makes it feel better…"

Not far from the classroom's entrance was a small stream, and the two children went over there. Inside the classroom, Yuan Jin'er turned around, and a group of children were sitting upright, too scared to say a word. Two twin children at the back of the classroom even leaned closer together on their small benches. They thought Teacher was so scary, so we must study hard…

Yuan Jin'er subconsciously put her hands on her hips and sighed. She was wearing a light white dress with lake-green floral patterns today, the style simple and elegant. The casual gesture of placing her hands on her hips also looked interesting, but in the eyes of the children, it was just more evidence that the teacher was scary.

"Alright, next, we'll continue reading: 'Dragon Master Fire Emperor, Bird Official Human Sovereign. First created writing, then made clothes…'"

A group of children quickly followed, "'Dragon Master Fire Emperor, Bird Official Human Sovereign. First created writing, then made clothes…'"

"These sentences are about… Dragon Master is the ancient Emperor Fuxi, who named his officials after dragons, so later people called him Dragon Master. And Fire Emperor is Shennong, who tasted all kinds of herbs, also called Yan Emperor…"

The clear voice of Miss Jin'er came from the classroom. The establishment of Small Cang River was relatively new, and the matter of classes was originally quite simple. Initially, Zhuo Xiaofeng and others wanted to learn some knowledge of the sages, and Yunzhu helped teach and explain in her spare time. She had a gentle and soft nature, and her explanations were quite patient and thorough. When the parents of the few children in the valley saw this, they also hoped that their children could have the opportunity to study, so a fixed location was formed.

By last winter, the number of families moving into the valley had gradually increased, and there were quite a few children of school age. Ning Yi then officially sponsored the school. There were two teachers in the school, one was an old storyteller, and Yunzhu also helped. But at this time, Yunzhu was pregnant, her belly was getting bigger and bigger, and after some persuasion, Jin'er was brought in during January and February.

In this way, Jin'er was responsible for a young children's class in the school, enlightening a group of children. After the snow melted and the ice disappeared in the spring, Ning Yi advocated that even girls could receive elementary education and learn some principles. Therefore, some girls were sent in—after all, the development of Confucianism at this time had not yet reached the height of Neo-Confucianism, with its severe overcorrection. People were not yet opposed to girls learning something and understanding things.

It's just that Jin'er's personality was not as gentle as Yunzhu's. In fact, for a woman who came from a brothel to reach the point of being the top courtesan, although it was infinitely glorious, the suffering and beatings she had endured as a child were countless. Teaching children in brothels did not involve any gentle education, but rather a batch-by-batch elimination through high-pressure policies. Only after gradually showing aptitude could one possibly get a good look.

Jin'er had already shown a lot of patience, but these children, whose families were not well-off in the first place, had not seen much of the world and were sometimes so dull that they couldn't even open their mouths to speak. Jin'er's attire in Small Cang River was already extremely simple, but in the eyes of these children, she was still as beautiful as a goddess. Sometimes, when Jin'er glared, the children blushed, felt they had done something wrong, and shed tears, wailing and crying. This inevitably led to some scolding.

Fortunately, after being scolded, they would do better.

It's just that a group of children had previously been taught by Yunzhu for two months. Up to now, the impression that Teacher Jin'er was very pretty, very very pretty, but also very fierce, had not been shaken off.

Jin'er sometimes felt quite aggrieved. However, facing a group of children, there was no need to show it, she could only continue to teach the *Thousand Character Classic* with a cold and beautiful face.

While the class continued in the classroom, by the small stream outside, the little boy had washed the little girl's hands and face. The little girl named Min Chuyi was a refugee who had come from outside the mountains in winter. Her family was originally not well-off. Although she was seven years old, she was malnourished and very timid, becoming nervous at the slightest thing. But if no strangers were around, she was good at picking wild vegetables, doing housework, and carrying firewood. She was a head taller than the young Ningxi, but looked more like a little sister beside Ningxi.

After washing her hands, the two of them quietly approached the small wooden house that served as a classroom again. Min Chuyi followed the sound in the classroom, taking a deep breath and exhaling loudly: "Re… sign… yield the throne, Yu… Yao Tang. Comfort the people… punish the guilty… Zhou… Fa… Yin Tang…" Encouraged by little Ningxi, she clenched her fists subconsciously while reciting, encouraging herself. Although her voice was still light, she managed to recite it smoothly.

Ningxi nodded beside her, then said softly, "Resign the throne, yield the country, Yu Yao Tang, this is about the story of Yao and Shun…"

"…What are Yao and Shun?" Min Chuyi asked softly, her voice becoming slightly shy at the end.

"Ah… they are two emperors, right…"

"Then… what is an emperor?" The little girl hesitated for a long time, then asked again.

"Uh, emperor…" The little boy pressed his lips together, looking a little dumbfounded…

The sunlight was dazzling, making it feel a little hot. The cicadas chirped incessantly in the trees. It was just the beginning of May, and as it approached noon, the day's lessons had ended. The children bowed to Teacher Jin'er one by one and left. The little girl who had cried earlier also came over shyly to bow and salute, saying "Thank you, Teacher" in a low voice. Then she went to the back of the classroom, found her small wicker basket, carried it on her back, and walked away slowly with her head down, not daring to wave goodbye to Ningxi.

The children in the mountain valley either came from military households or from impoverished families. Min Chuyi's parents were extremely poor farmers near Yanzhou. When the Western Xia people came, the family fled in confusion. Her grandmother ran back for the only iron pot in the family and was killed by the Western Xia people. Later, when they met the army of Small Cang River, the family of three had only the clothes on their backs left as possessions. They were not only thin but also patched up, and no one knew how many years they had been worn. The little girl was held in her parents' arms and almost froze to death.

They had no wealth. Once winter came, their only way to survive was to huddle at home around the fire pit for warmth. The Western Xia people burned their house, which was essentially cutting off all their means of survival. The army of Small Cang River rescued them, took them in, and even provided some medicine, which allowed the little girl to escape the deadly clutches of the cold.

Such poor people were also grateful people. After settling down in Small Cang River, the taciturn Min couple almost never cared about dirt or fatigue, and did all kinds of work. They were people who had been tempered in hard times, and with enough nutrition, they were even more capable than many soldiers in the Wu Rui Camp. As a result, Min Chuyi soon got the opportunity to go to school. When she received this good news, her father, who was usually silent and showed little emotion, stroked her hair and choked with tears. It was then that the little girl realized the importance of the matter, and had been nervous ever since, never having adapted to it.

To be honest, compared to Teacher Jin'er's eyes that looked like she was angry, she actually hoped that the teacher would keep hitting her palms. Hitting her palms was actually much easier to bear.

The children who came here to study would often gather a batch of wild vegetables in the morning, then come to the school to drink porridge and eat a coarse grain bun—this was the food provided by the school. Morning classes were a rule set by Ning Yi and could not be changed, because the brain was more active at this time, making it more suitable for learning.

When school was dismissed at noon, some would eat half a pancake they had brought, while others would carry their baskets on their backs and continue to pick wild vegetables nearby, while also searching for ground squirrels and wild rabbits. If they could find them, it would be a great harvest for the children that day.

Min Chuyi, of course, had no lunch to eat. Even though Mr. Ning had once personally told her father that it would be good for the child to eat something at noon so that she could grow well in the future, it was still difficult for a family that had only eaten two meals a day for a long time to understand such luxury—even though the food the valley gave them, even if not enough, could at least allow the three people in the family to have an extra lunch, the Min couple just silently put the food away and stored it aside.

Once, Min Chuyi overheard her parents secretly discussing whether to return the food. After staying here for nearly half a year, they were worried about the predicament in the valley. It was said that there was not much food left in the valley. At the same time, they were also worried that the valley might be attacked by the Western Xia people. The simple-minded poor people could not analyze too many things, but this place that did not bully people, gave out food and new clothes, and even cared that the children were not eating enough, was almost heaven to them.

They were very afraid that one day this place would no longer exist. Later, the food was not returned, and the father did more things every day. After coming back, he had a slightly satisfied feeling, while the mother would occasionally mention, "Mr. Ning is such a powerful person, he won't let anything happen here, right?" There was also hope in her words. For them, they were never afraid of being tired.

The children gradually left. Jin'er picked up a small bag for putting books in and then picked up Ningxi. Ningxi squirmed in her arms, "Auntie, I want to walk by myself."

Jin'er looked at him, pursed her lips, put him down, and then took his hand. After the two went out, the female soldiers nearby also followed.

"You're all grown up. How did you feel being with that girl?"

"…She's so stupid."

"Oh." Jin'er nodded, "Yeah, she's really stupid."

"Auntie, what does emperor mean?"

"Emperor, well, ancient books say that *huang* is above and *di* is below, above and below, meaning heaven and earth. That's the original meaning…"

"Then why is *huang* above and *di* below?"

"That's what the ancient books say. The ancient books are the biggest, how would I know? You can ask your dad when you have time. But now, an emperor is a big official, a very, very big official, the biggest official…"

Walking out of the small fence surrounding the classroom, the mountain road stretched downwards, and the children were running excitedly. The girl carrying the small basket was also among them, although she was thin, she walked very fast. Just as Ningxi looked over, the little girl also looked back, it was unknown if she was looking this way. Ningxi tugged on Jin'er's hand and turned his head, "Auntie, they're going to pick wild vegetables and firewood, right? Can I go help too?"

"You go… if you go, we'll have to send someone to follow you…" Jin'er looked back at the female soldiers following behind, "How about this, you ask your dad. But today, go back and spend time with your sister."

"Oh." Ningxi nodded, "I don't know if my sister is crying again today. Girls all like to cry…"

The little girl carrying the basket and a group of children had already run off into the distance. Further away in the river valley, rows of soldiers were training, shouting. Jin'er and Ningxi walked towards the courtyard on the side of the hillside not far away. The mountain breeze was cool, and there was a large tree in the courtyard, and the swing on the tree was swaying in the wind. A room facing the outside of the courtyard had its window open, and a man, acting as a husband and father, was writing something at his desk in front of the window. Yuan Jin'er and Ningxi saw a man standing outside the courtyard as well. This was a soldier from the Wu Rui Camp, Yuan Jin'er had some impression, this person was named Luo Ye, and he had formed a small group called Huayan Society in the army, perhaps he was here to see Ning Yi.

Ning Yi usually didn't work here, only occasionally when it was convenient, he would call people over. At this time, it was probably because it was lunchtime.

Little Ning Ji was playing with stones under the eaves.

"Ah, sister isn't crying." Not hearing the usual crying sound in the courtyard, Ningxi was quite happy, and let go of Jin'er's hand, "I'm going in to see my sister."

Seeing his brother come back, little Ning Ji stood up from the ground. Just as she was about to speak, she remembered something, put her finger to her lips and shushed earnestly, pointing to the room behind her. Ningxi nodded, and the two, one big and one small, tiptoed into the room.

Jin'er nodded to Luo Ye who was waiting outside the courtyard and pushed open the courtyard door and went in.

After a moment, Ning Yi stopped writing, opened the door and called Luo Ye in.

This day was May 2nd. Everything in Small Cang River seemed ordinary and peaceful. Sometimes, it would even make people forget the great changes of the outside world in a daze.

In the study, after inviting Luo Ye to sit down, Ning Yi poured a cup of tea, took out a few pieces of tea cakes, and asked with a smile, "What's the matter?"

"Regarding the matter of the valley's food supply, I've been thinking about it for many days, and I might have a solution. I want to talk to Mr. Ning in private."

Ning Yi had not sat down yet, but at this time, he tilted his head slightly.

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