Old Mrs. Yan had intended to bring up the matter after some time, but seeing Gu Dafu do so, she boldly spoke out. "Mother, why are you mentioning this again? Didn’t we agree to talk about it after three years?" Gu Dalin’s face looked terrible. He still harbored feelings for Ms. Xie, always feeling that she was still alive, and hoped that once they had money, he could search for her and possibly find her. After all, if Sister Daya’s family could be found, why couldn’t it be the same for his wife and daughter? Old Mrs. Yan said, "It’s just about looking around for someone for you. If you’re dissatisfied, you don’t have to marry." Seeing Old Mrs. Yan trying to ease him into marrying a new wife, Gu Damu didn’t want to argue with her and simply left a remark, "I have two sons to carry on the family line, there’s no need for me to remarry." He walked over to Gu Qingtian, took his daughter Gui Niu from his hands, and smiled, "Gui Niu, let’s go home. Tomorrow, Daddy will buy you meat to eat." "Meat~ eat meat~ yummy meat~" Gui Niu, held by her father, waved her little hands excitedly at her two brothers behind her. Gu Qingtian, holding Gu Qingxi’s hand, smiled at her and followed Gu Dalin to leave. Gu Qingtian was also afraid. He had heard that many stepmothers would mistreat the children left by their predecessors. He feared that if his father remarried, the new stepmother would not treat them well. Seeing Gu Dalin take his children and leave, Old Mrs. Yan wiped her tears in anger, "Third Uncle, look, he’s so stubborn. Whenever this matter is brought up, he gets angry, making me seem like the Evil Man. But Ms. Xie..." Even if Ms. Xie wasn’t dead, her innocence was long gone. Ms. Yan tried to console her, "Mother, you don’t need to be so anxious. Wait another two or three years, and when the second brother’s feelings for his wife fade, he will naturally be willing to find another wife." Right now, the second brother is feeling guilty. If the mother-in-law forces him to remarry, given his temperament, where would he agree? However, Gu Jinli felt that, with Gu Dalin’s temperament, not to mention two or three years, even in twenty years, as long as he’s unwilling, he would not remarry. To be so devoted to a woman who has been violated by Evil Men, in Old Mrs. Yan’s eyes, it’s stubbornness, it’s madness. But in Gu Jinli’s view, Gu Dalin is loyal and affectionate and also has his own principles. It may seem like Gu Dalin is just making tofu in the workshop, but whenever Gu Jin’an went there, he would learn to read from him. After learning himself, he would go home and teach Gu Qingtian and Gu Qingxi. Every few days, he would go to the town and ask around in the inns and carriage inns, asking if anyone was from Yongtai Prefecture. After Elder Cao and his gang of evil men massacred the refugees, they headed to Yongtai Prefecture, where they were eventually wiped out by Peng Changyong. The women like Ms. Xie who were captured, if they didn’t die from the abuse, would certainly be taken by Elder Cao and his men all the way to Yongtai Prefecture. He also asked Liang Zhuzi, He Wanli, and the Jiang Family, and even quietly inquired the servants brought by Elder Lei Wu on the day the workshop opened. He had been searching for Ms. Xie and his two daughters ceaselessly, but he didn’t bother involving several families, instead searching privately. Knowing the actions of Gu Dalin, Gu Jinli was very pleased. Such a man, toiling away making tofu in the workshop was a waste. If he learned to read, to account, and to conduct business, he would surely be of great help to their families in the future. Therefore, while Third Grandma was comforting Old Mrs. Yan, Gu Jinli said, "Now that our families are getting by, the business in the workshop will grow bigger and bigger. We must learn to read so as not to be blind though we have eyes." "What? We have to learn to read?" Aunt Tian and the others were not too keen, feeling it was unnecessary: "We’re not seeking official positions, why bother with that stuff? It’s a waste of time and money." In the eyes of Aunt Tian and the others, only those who aspire to gain an official position would need to read books. Gu Jinli said, "There are many benefits to knowing how to read. You don’t have to be studying for an official position to learn to read. If you can’t read, a bad person could bring any contract for you to press your thumbprint on, and since you can’t understand what’s written, you might just do it because you recognize the person, a familiar face that is. But in the end, you could lose all your property, or even sell yourself." "Back when we were on the outskirts of He’an Prefecture, many families were tricked by human traffickers with promises of work contracts that claimed they could buy their freedom back after five or ten years, but they were deceived into signing life contracts, selling a person for merely 500 copper coins." At that time, there were so many disaster-stricken people that human life was cheap, and signing a life contract could sell a person for a tael of silver, while a work contract could only sell for 500 copper coins per person. "Exactly, exactly, we all need to learn how to read; it could save our lives," Third Grandma and the others, remembering these incidents and still frightened by the memory, unanimously agreed that each family should learn how to read. "But how shall we learn? Should everyone attend a private school, or should we invite a teacher to come to our homes?" Aunt Tian worriedly said, "There are quite a few of us among our families. If all of us were to go to school, it would cost a lot of money. And it would interfere with our work." Gu Jinli had already thought it through: "My aunt’s two cousins can read; let them teach us, and it won’t cost anything." "Xiao Yu’s idea is good, let’s settle it like that," Third Grandpa nodded, and so it was decided that the families would learn to read—each night after tallying the day’s accounts, they would go to the workshop and study letters for half an hour. The men from these families were to learn to read, and the girls who wanted to learn could do so by studying with Qi Kangle or with Gu Jinxiu. When Gu Daya’s family found out about this, they were very grateful to Gu Jinli. Having Kangming and Kangping teach the families how to read would strengthen their relationships with the other families. The next evening, Qi Kangming began teaching the men from these families how to read. Qi Kangming also spoke about his desire to study and pursue official positions: "There’s a lot to do at home, and we need people. It is not necessary for me to attend school every day like Good Brother An. While I was at the Li Family, I studied with Li Junping, learning both the Four Books and Five Classics. Now I can review at home, and if there’s something I don’t understand, I can ask Scholar Shang for help." "Will that work?" Third Grandpa felt that to aim for an official position, one should find a private school, secure a teacher, and study hard every day. Qi Kangming smiled and said, "Third Old Master need not worry; this is just a temporary compromise. Once our family makes ends meet, I’ll seek out a teacher to learn from, or perhaps I’ll simply go to the prefecture’s academy to study." Currently, he could not leave home and needed to help with the family business. Third Grandpa thought it over: "Alright then, let’s do that for now, and we’ll discuss it further once we’ve set up the shop." After a month of clearing, the barren land in town had started to look much better. The garbage was gone, and Elder Mi had burned the weeds and brambles. Yet the townspeople were very curious... "I heard that the barren land outside the Gate Tower has an owner now. Whose family bought it? How come we haven’t heard any rumors?" "Aunt Changfa, do you know?" someone curiously asked the tea shop owner to the left of the Gate Tower. "I have no idea," Aunt Changfa waved her hand impatiently, "but Master Kong said that soon that family will come to build a shop here. Once they arrive, you’ll all know." She added, "Enough with the questions. If you’re not having tea or pastries, please leave. My tea shop is only so big, and if you just sit without consuming, you’re taking up space for nothing. If you don’t leave now, I’ll charge you five cents for the seat."