Chapter 161: Enrollment in the Private School

Thanks to the bountiful harvest earlier in the year, and with Sun Yigao's achievement of gaining the county magistrate's favor by having the village's miscellaneous taxes waived, the villagers were intrigued when they heard that he was opening a private school to personally teach students.

Recently, due to his recent success as the top scorer in the county examination, many scholars from neighboring areas flocked to the village—some to challenge Sun Yigao, some out of curiosity to see where this top scholar lived, and others simply to enjoy a leisurely visit.

Perhaps due to the nourishment of the spiritual vein, the environment around Xiushui Village seemed to be subtly changing. The mountains appeared greener, the waters clearer, and even the plants looked more vibrant and full of life.

Many of the scholars who visited marveled at the village's natural beauty and the fresh air, remarking that Xiushui Village was indeed a place where great talents were born. Some of these literati even planned to stay in the village for a while, seeking to experience the tranquility of rural life.

It seemed that Xiushui Village had suddenly transformed from an obscure little village into a renowned feng shui treasure land in the surrounding area.

Liu Yunan, in correspondence with Qin Jianghe, who was far away in Songyang County, shared with him the recent changes in Xiushui Village.

Thanks to the communication talisman, their correspondence had become much more convenient. However, Liu Yunan found that whenever he tried to send a message to Xiao Ge'er through the talisman, it always failed to go through, possibly due to distance limitations.

Upon receiving Liu Yunan's letter, Qin Jianghe quickly replied with a suggestion. He proposed that if more people were indeed visiting, they could set up a tea stall in the village to sell tea and snacks, making it more convenient for the visitors. He even detailed some small ideas and precautions in his reply.

Without any doubt, Liu Yunan promptly acted on Qin Jianghe's suggestion. The next day, a tea stall was set up on the main path through Xiushui Village.

Seeing that her son was always busy managing the affairs of the sect, Yang Jinshu volunteered to run the tea stall. Liu Shengsheng and Lin Ying, the two young girls, also eagerly offered to help.

Although the village had seen an increase in visitors lately, it wasn't crowded all the time, so the tea stall remained relatively quiet. Yang Jinshu took advantage of the downtime to transcribe various books while teaching the two girls to read and write.

The scene at the small rural tea stall—where a graceful woman wrote with her brush, accompanied by two young girls diligently practicing their writing—was set against the backdrop of lush green fields and a clear blue sky. It was a picturesque scene of rural life infused with a scholarly atmosphere.

This idyllic sight attracted many literati and scholars who praised Xiushui Village as a place that had produced a fifteen-year-old top scholar, where even the village women and girls were so eager to learn.

As a result, the tea stall of the Lingxian Sect unexpectedly did quite well in business after it was set up.

Moreover, since most of the visitors were scholars, some of whom had servants accompanying them, the local ruffians and troublemakers didn't dare to cause any disturbances.

Of course, there were a few particularly bold troublemakers who were determined to stir up trouble. But whenever they tried, they found themselves inexplicably unable to move, only regaining control of their bodies after some time had passed.

At first, these troublemakers were skeptical, but after several instances where they were paralyzed whenever they attempted to create a disturbance, they became too frightened to return. They spread rumors of hauntings in Xiushui Village.

However, no matter how much they talked about ghosts, their words carried little weight compared to the praise from the literati who declared Xiushui Village a land of talented individuals. People simply didn't believe them, thinking that they were just making up stories to keep others away so they could carry out their mischief.

As a result, not only did these troublemakers fail in their attempts to extort money, but they also attracted the attention of local officials, who sternly warned them against causing trouble.

After all, this was a village favored by the county magistrate, home to a top scholar. With so many scholars visiting the village, any trouble caused by these ruffians could lead to serious consequences.

In no time, Xiushui Village became the talk of the neighboring towns, gaining a reputation like never before.

Meanwhile, after two days of enrollment, Sun Yigao's private school quickly filled up.

For the initial opening of the school, Sun Yigao planned to enroll only ten students. Half of these spots were reserved for families in Xiushui Village who were willing to send their children to study, while the other half were open to outsiders.

Many of the local gentry from nearby towns were excited when they heard that Sun Yigao was opening a private school. Enrollment was in high demand at first, with many people eager to send their children to study under him.

However, when one family inquired if Sun Yigao would accept female students, it made him realize that he needed to address this issue. He promptly announced that he would accept students regardless of gender.

As soon as this policy was made public, the number of interested families dropped by more than half. Although no one doubted Sun Yigao's scholarly abilities, many families were reluctant to have their children share a classroom with girls.

In the end, after carefully selecting students based on age and other criteria, Sun Yigao expanded the enrollment to fifteen students.

Among these fifteen students, only one was a girl—the child of the family who had inquired about accepting female students. This family was a merchant household from the county, and though they had only one daughter, the wealthy landowner had never considered having more children. He believed that everything was determined by fate. Now, he just wanted to give his daughter the best education possible and, if necessary, would even establish a separate household for her in the future.

Although some of the other students' families expressed mild concerns about Sun Yigao accepting a female student, they were impressed by his knowledge and the private school's extensive collection of rare books, many of which they had never seen or heard of before. They ultimately decided to let their children study under Sun Yigao.

And so, the private school officially began its operations.

Mo Yuanjiao, who had never seen someone open a private school before, was quite curious. Seeing Sun Yigao occasionally teach the students some martial arts, such as the Five Animal Play, Mo became eager to join in and even brought along the horses belonging to him and Mo Que to teach the students horseback riding and archery.

Seeing this, Sun Yigao suggested that Mo Yuanjiao become the martial arts instructor for the students.

Having been tutored by many teachers throughout his life, Mo Yuanjiao had never been a teacher himself, so he was excited by the prospect. He happily agreed and enthusiastically promised Sun Yigao that he would teach the students to be just as skilled in martial arts as he was!