Regarding the plan for the blessed land, Father and Mother had already taken charge, so Lin Fang and Chen Dong no longer interfered. After all, the two of them were souls from another world and were not entirely familiar with the local customs. It was most appropriate to let the locals handle things, and besides, two young girls couldn’t possibly manage it anyway. They focused wholeheartedly on teaching, only occasionally offering suggestions to Dalang and Li Cuimei.
As the number of students increased, problems arose. Today, after school, someone came to protest: “Teacher, men and women should not be too familiar with each other. Why don’t you separate the male and female students into different classes? It’s inconvenient for them to be in the same room.”
The protester was a middle-aged man. Chen Dong scoffed, “Hah, inconvenient? You’re a man, and Teacher Lin and I are women. We’re all in the same room teaching—why don’t you find that inconvenient?”
The man replied, “That’s different. Though you are women, you sit at the front of the classroom, facing all the students, and are respected. Moreover, Teacher Sima and Teacher Lin are still young girls and cannot be compared to others.”
Chen Dong was about to argue further, but Lin Fang waved her hand to stop her. She turned to the man and said, “Please bear with it for now. As you can see, this courtyard only has one classroom. If we separate the men and women, there’s simply no other space. Once I find a suitable place for another classroom, we’ll separate them. Does that sound acceptable?”
“Yes, I’ll take my leave,” the man said with a bow before turning and exiting the classroom.
Chen Dong snorted at his retreating figure. “Hmph, how can there still be such backward people in the village? ‘Men and women should not be too familiar’—what nonsense! It’s clearly his own dirty mind at work, projecting his own faults onto others. The kind of person you are determines the kind of words you speak.”
Lin Fang laughed. “You have so many clever phrases. Why don’t we switch? You teach language, and I’ll teach arithmetic?”
“Dream on! I’m not switching. I don’t have your patience to guide every single student. If I taught language, I’d probably scare them all away within a few days.”
This girl was just as blunt as in her past life. Lin Fang smiled. “I thought you didn’t realize it. Try not to be so harsh on the students from now on. The children are fine, but those grown men being scolded by a little girl in front of dozens of people—it’s just too humiliating.”
Chen Dong shrugged. “Your worry is completely unnecessary. If they’re willing to study alongside a bunch of kids, they’ve already thrown face out the window. Besides, if someone has the courage to do something, they should have the courage to face the consequences. Teachers scolding students is normal. If they’re afraid of being reprimanded and losing face, then they shouldn’t come to school.”
Lin Fang rarely won verbal battles against Chen Dong. She surrendered. “Oh, listen to you! I just said one thing, and you fired back with a whole speech. Fine, I admit defeat. You make a good point, but they also have a point. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The urgent matter now is to quickly find another place to set up a separate classroom for the boys and girls.”
“Alright, you win,” Chen Dong deflated. The phrase “when in Rome” was a sore spot for her. The fatherly love she had finally gained was lost again because of those very words.
Moping was never Chen Dong’s style. She immediately pinpointed the problem. “But it’s already winter. The ground is frozen solid—we can’t build anything. And there are no unused courtyards to turn into a school. What do we do?”
Now it was Lin Fang’s turn to gloat. “Who said I have to immediately address every complaint and satisfy the complainer? That would just spoil them. I already told him we don’t have the conditions to separate the classes yet and asked him to be patient.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Chen Dong knew from Lin Fang’s tone that she was up to something.
Lin Fang explained, “When school first started, I made it clear to the students that my Lin Family School isn’t a formal institution—it’s just for teaching basic knowledge. If they want to study here, they have to adapt to my rules, or I won’t accept them. Like you said, it’s freezing, and there are no spare buildings. If he insists on separating the genders, he’s being unreasonable and disrespectful to the teachers. I could call him out for poor character and lack of respect for his elders.”
Chen Dong gave a thumbs-up. “And here I thought I was tough. You’re even more ruthless. This move of ‘killing the chicken to scare the monkey’ will make others think twice before complaining.”
Lin Fang sighed helplessly. “I have no choice. If I accommodate one, others will follow with their own demands. We can’t please everyone. We already look like little kids—if we don’t stand firm, they’ll think they can push us around. If he’s unhappy, he can find another school. Honestly, seeing such a backward person every day annoys me too.”
So this girl was killing two birds with one stone—without even having to expel anyone. She really wasn’t the simple-minded girl from their past life anymore. Once she figured it out, Chen Dong asked, “So, are you still planning to set up a new school or not?”
Lin Fang’s tone was firm. “Yes, absolutely. But think about it—two little girls teaching is already unconventional enough. If we insist on having boys and girls in the same classroom like back home, it would be downright heretical. There’s no need for that. We’re here to live better lives, not to make things harder for ourselves.”
“Big sister, school’s over. Let’s go home.”
The two had been so engrossed in their conversation that they lost track of time. Chen Shiyuan pushed open the classroom door, letting in a gust of cold wind. Lin Fang and Chen Dong both shivered, realizing how late it was.
During Chen Dong’s classes, Chen Shiyuan would follow Granny Lan around, “helping” with chores. Keeping up with such an active child was exhausting, but Granny Lan, despite never having children of her own, was surprisingly good at handling him—patient and skilled. Over time, Chen Shiyuan went from causing trouble to actually helping, though often his help was more of a hindrance.
Still, the boy was remarkably careful. He knew what was dangerous and avoided it, even as he darted around. For example, when Granny Lan was cooking, he’d ride a stick like a horse in the tiny kitchen space, weaving around without bumping into things—an impressive feat for a hyperactive child.
Abbot Zixing had once mentioned that Chen Shiyuan’s family abandoned him because his recklessness had drained their finances, putting him in constant danger. But in the months since coming to Lin Village, not only had he never been in danger, he’d even saved others a few times. His agility made Lin Fang suspect his family had just made up excuses to abandon him.
Granny Lan followed Chen Shiyuan in, carrying a tray with two bowls of hot soup. Since late autumn, a small iron pot had always been simmering on the kitchen stove—sometimes chicken soup, sometimes mutton bone broth, or other warming soups, ready for the two girls to drink and ward off the cold.
Lin Fang couldn’t handle spice, but Chen Dong loved chili. Knowing this, Chen Dong had Granny Lan pour piping hot mutton fat over dried chili flakes. Once the fat solidified, she’d add a chunk of the chili-infused fat to her bowl of mutton broth. A single bowl left her sweating and thoroughly warmed.
After finishing her soup, Lin Fang asked Granny Lan if there were still guests at the manor. Granny Lan smiled and said the visitors had returned to the temporary inn, so the sixth young miss could return without worry. Seeing Lin Fang sigh in relief, Chen Dong burst out laughing.
Since the official road was built, more and more people came to Lin Village—not just to seek the old monk’s medical help, but also to see certain people. Who? Li Cuimei and Lin Fang, of course. Though no one knew what the mother and daughter had looked like before, curiosity drove them to see if the rumors were true—that the mother had flawless fair skin and the daughter was more beautiful than flowers. Since they had nothing better to do, they treated it as a trip. Besides, they’d heard the food at Lin Village’s inn was excellent—even better than at the Lin Family Restaurant in town.
This was understandable. Unlike in Liangping Town, where Lin Fang would occasionally think up a new dish or be pestered by Huiyuan for recipes, after moving here, she’d been preoccupied with starting the school and teaching. The little foodie hadn’t been as focused on cooking, only occasionally recalling a recipe or two from her past life. As a result, the Lin Family Restaurant had introduced very few new dishes in the past two years.
But now things were different. The old monk had followed them under a new name and, just like before, constantly pestered the little foodie for recipes. Plus, Chen Dong knew many dishes from their past life too. Combining their knowledge, new dishes appeared regularly. Since the temporary inn was in Lin Village, its guests got to taste the new creations first. Only after positive feedback would the dishes make their way to the Lin Family Restaurant in town.
During the initial publicity campaign, Chen Dong had taken the lead, appearing in town to showcase her true appearance. She was scrutinized and questioned as if she were some rare exhibit, which irked her immensely. Now it was Lin Fang’s turn—not only did people come to the manor to see her, but many also tried to “reserve” her, either by proposing marriage or at least securing a betrothal.
At first, the guests at the temporary inn just dropped by to chat, mainly to see if the rumors about Lin Fang and her mother were true and to gather information. As Chen Dong put it, they came to gossip. The Lin family understood—after all, the vast wilderness offered little entertainment besides their small village. Being pestered was expected after their publicity efforts. What they hadn’t anticipated was that someone would take a liking to Lin Fang and send a matchmaker to propose.
Since the blood tumor disappeared, Lin Fang had grown increasingly beautiful. Unlike local girls who affected an air of refined elegance, Lin Fang carried the scholarly grace and innate poise from her past life—natural and dignified without being stuffy. Despite her young age, she already had the bearing of a great lady.
Someone had started saying that marrying Lin Fang would greatly benefit her husband, and the children she raised would be exceptional. Lin Fang thought these people were out of their minds.
One proposal could be politely declined, but to her surprise, proposing became a trend. Those who had initially come just to chat suddenly seemed to have an epiphany and joined the marriage frenzy.
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