Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 705 Shen Ji Has Distinguished Guests (2)_1

Chapter 705: Chapter 705 Shen Ji Has Distinguished Guests (2)_1

In these past two years, with the aid of the Mo Family, the villagers would be called upon to help whenever there was a need, and the wages paid to them were higher than elsewhere. Many families’ lives improved and, although they still couldn’t quite compare with other villages, they weren’t far behind, and things would only get better in the future.

As life in the village gradually improved, Yang Bao started to entertain other ideas, namely constructing a school to educate the idle children in reading and courtesy. Even if no one passed the imperial examinations in the short term, at least there was hope. Who knew when the ancestors’ graves might bring fortune and someone might actually succeed?

It wasn’t just a glory for any single household; it was the glory of the entire village. In short, the more people from the village who studied, the more prosperous and thriving the village became. After he was gone, at least based on the "great achievement" of building a school, he could leave his mark in the village records and not have lived in vain.

The other village heads naturally hoped for the rise of successful individuals in their villages too. They had argued for over half a year without settling the matter, as they vied to have the school built in their own village, especially after seeing the Mo Family thrive; their desire for this grew even stronger.

But Yang Bao’s reasoning left them with no ground for rebuttal; still, they were unwilling to let the opportunity slip into Liu Yang Village’s hands.

Thus, a new round of debates unfolded among the village heads to see who was more eloquent and could snatch away the "fatty meat" of building the school.

The father and daughter of the Mo Family, of course, were unaware of the small sitting room’s affairs as they were busy receiving guests at the main entrance. Before long, Punishing Shopkeeper and Owner Mu arrived, offered their congratulations, presented their gifts, and were then ushered into the study.

Both had previously attended a social gathering at the Mo Family, where they met Mr. Liu and Han Zhiyun. Although the four hailed from different backgrounds and social strata, they had rich experiences and extensive knowledge. Together, they could engage in lively conversations.

By the time noon approached, most of the expected guests had arrived, except for Xiao Ruiyuan, Yan Junyu, and Qingze’s classmates whom he’d invited, as well as a few of his mentors.

Looking down the road leading out of the village, not a soul was in sight. It seemed the rest wouldn’t arrive for a while, so Qingze nonchalantly began to mention his "classmate" to his daughter.

His "classmate," named Shen Ji, was only nineteen and appeared to Qingze as a refined and exceptional young man. Qingze had met him in their academy during a poetry contest, although they had been in different dormitories.

Qingze’s first impression of Shen Ji was very favorable. After the poetry contest, they grew familiar with each other. As their understanding deepened, Qingze became intent on making Shen his son-in-law. After probing for information about Shen’s family circumstances, Qingze took even greater liking to him.

Shen Ji hailed from Huai Shui County, directly administered by Jing City, which was no more than a hundred li away. He was the only son in his family, with both parents alive and well-off. Despite his family’s affluence, he was very ambitious, having passed the Scholar examination at sixteen. Later, he entered Changshan Academy to study, participated in that session’s imperial examination, and achieved a ranking—more than ten places higher than Han Zhiyun, landing him at thirtieth.

After learning the result, Shen Ji instructed his attendant to carry the good news back home to his parents, while he himself stayed in Jing City, in a rented room, to focus on his studies in preparation for the next spring examination.

"In any case, Shen Ji is a fine young man, industrious and self-sufficient, and certainly better than Zhenzhen," Qingze said, praising Shen Ji before lamenting his own unruly younger son.

Having heard so much, Mo Yan knew all too well that the distinguished Shen was the son-in-law her father had in mind. Although he sounded quite impressive, she truly wasn’t interested.

Moreover, the more perfect this person seemed in her father’s eyes, the less of a chance Xiao Ruiyuan had, ultimately making it awkward for all three of them.

Just as she was thinking about how to avoid the topic, her father brought up Zhenzhen, and she quickly seized the opportunity to change the subject, "Zhenzhen is just a bit wild, but he’s bright and diligent. He’s been among the top three in the recent monthly exams, so you don’t have to worry, Father."