Chapter 77: Opening the School

Chapter 77: Opening the School

On the twentieth day of the first month, Mingzheng Private School officially opened its doors. Before dawn had fully broken, Yan Fengan was already awake.

He lay quietly in bed for a while, then turned his head to glance at the person beside him. Half of Wen Xi's face was buried in the pillow, and the exposed side was flushed pink from sleep, his breathing soft and even.

Yan Fengan shifted slightly to the edge of the bed and slipped out quietly.

The sudden loss of warmth under the blanket made Wen Xi reach out with closed eyes, but finding nothing, he drowsily half-opened his eyes. Through the dim light filtering in from outside, he vaguely saw Yan Fengan standing by the bronze mirror, fastening his belt.

Wen Xi yawned, threw off the covers intending to help, but shrank back from the cold air. Though Beginning of Spring had just passed, winter's cold lingered, and a crisp chill hung in the air both inside and out.

"It's still early—sleep a bit more," Yan Fengan said. After fastening his belt, he went over and tucked the quilt around Wen Xi.

Without him there, Wen Xi lost his drowsiness. After lying for a while, he sat up, draping an outer robe over his shoulders, and mumbled through a yawn, "Why so early? Nervous about the opening today?"

Yan Fengan initially wanted to say no, but he wasn't sure how to describe what he was feeling. After a moment, he admitted, "Maybe. Just thinking about all those students coming to my school today gets my heart thumping."

He was nervous, but also excited—from today on, he'd officially be standing in front of students as their teacher.

Wen Xi had never seen him nervous before. He studied Yan Fengan's expression, then placed a hand over his chest, feeling his heart beating faster than usual.

Leaning his head against Yan Fengan's shoulder, he comforted, "Your students are probably even more nervous than you are."

Though he'd never attended school himself, he'd seen Tiezhu sigh and drag his feet countless times before class. The kids about to walk through that gate were probably even more nervous than Yan Fengan.

Looking up, he asked, "If a student misbehaves, would you hit them with the ruler?"

"Of course," Yan Fengan replied without hesitation. "A teacher must act like one—when they need a spanking, they get one."

Wen Xi reached up, touched his face, and grinned. "I'd love to see you as a teacher."

He felt curious, and a little tempted—if only he could study at the school too.

But then he thought: the elementary class was taught by Fang Mutian, so even if he went, he wouldn't learn under Yan Fengan.

Forget it. A proper place like that—he'd just be making trouble.

Yan Fengan seemed to see right through him and said, "I give a major lecture to the elementary class three times a month. If you're interested, feel free to sit in anytime."

Wen Xi's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Of course." Yan Fengan tapped his nose lightly, his gesture playful but his expression serious. "But I treat all students equally. If you don't complete your assignments or can't answer questions in class, I'll smack your palms too."

Wen Xi pouted on purpose. "But I'm your man!"

Yan Fengan put on a stern, no-nonsense look. "A teacher must be fair. Even if you're my man, I can't openly favor you. Worst case, when we get home, you can hit me back."

Wen Xi laughed and gave his palm a light smack. "Then you better not weasel out of it."

They joked around as the light outside got brighter.

Yan Fengan stood up. "If you're still sleepy, lie down a bit more. Aqiu won't be here for a bit. I'll head over to the school first."

Aqiu and Afu were both city folk who came to work on schedule each day and returned home in the evening—so they could do their work and still take care of their families.

At the school, Afu had already shown up early and finished the sweeping. Yan Fengan posted the class schedule at the door, with the start and end times written out clearly, so parents could see at a glance what was what.

In the courtyard, Fang Mutian paced back and forth holding a book, even more nervous than Yan Fengan. After going over his notes a few times, he went into the classroom and straightened the desks, even though they were already neat.

By mid-morning, footsteps echoed from the alley. Parents from the elementary class came in small groups, holding their kids' hands as they walked into the courtyard.

Some greeted Yan Fengan while leaning down to tell their kids: "Once you're in school, listen to the teacher and don't be naughty."

"Remember everything the teacher says and tell me when you get home."

"We're not a rich family, so don't get into fights at school. Do whatever Mr. Yan tells you."

The kids were still shy, sneaking cautious looks at the teacher in this new place.

The Classics Class students were mostly sent by the household managers and were more settled than the younger kids. They stood off to the side, waiting to be called.

Once everyone was there, Yan Fengan picked up the roster and called out each name. After confirming all were present, he had the students line up from shortest to tallest and led them into the lecture hall to pay respects to Confucius.

Fang Mutian had set up a small altar at the front with a little Confucius tablet on it. Yan Fengan stepped up and bowed three times, then Fang Mutian did the same, and after that the students came up one by one and copied what Yan Fengan had done.

Lu Xiuyuan stood in line, and when it was his turn, his movements were clean and exact. Lin Hongwen followed after, walking a bit more casually, but he still did the bow properly.

After everyone had paid their respects, Lu Xiuyuan stepped up as the class representative, holding a cup of tea in both hands and offering it to Yan Fengan. He took it and drank a sip, which officially accepted all the students.

After drinking the tea, he addressed the students of varying heights before him: "From today, you are students of Mingzheng Private School. Even outside these walls, you have to watch what you say and do. Don't let people outside think our students have no character, and don't embarrass the school with how you act." He picked up a paper from the lectern. "I've set a few rules, already posted at the entrance of your classroom. Each of you will copy them down, take them home, memorize them, and show your parents."

He looked around the room and said seriously, "Rules are made to be followed. If someone errs, I'll first ask the reason. If there's a good reason, I'll give you one chance to fix it. But if you keep making the same mistakes, I won't go easy on you. Got it?"

The students chorused, "Got it!"

Their voices were loud and serious. Yan Fengan nodded and said to Fang Mutian, "Teacher Fang, take the elementary class back to their classroom for lessons."

Fang Mutian led the little kids to their classroom, and pretty soon they started reciting the Three Character Classic.

In the Classics Class, Yan Fengan went deep into the Four Books, stopping after each section to take questions. Initially, everyone was stiff, no one daring to speak first. It wasn't until Manager Zhao's kid asked the first question that everyone else started loosening up.

Yan Fengan answered in detail, and sometimes shot questions back at them, and the classroom vibe picked up fast.

Lin Hongwen, seeing Yan Fengan busy talking with the students up front, leaned over to Lu Xiuyuan and whispered, "This courtyard, this classroom—it's much smaller than our old academy. This place is so small, I feel like I can't breathe."

Lu Xiuyuan, head down, thinking hard about what Yan Fengan was saying, answered without looking up, "Nobody forced you to come. If you don't like it, go back to the academy yourself."

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere. I refuse to believe you can learn this and I can't." He shot Lu Xiuyuan a dirty look, and since Yan Fengan hadn't noticed, kept going. "Isn't it funny how things turn out? Last year we were sitting next to Brother Yan listening to class, and now he's up there..."

Before he could finish, Yan Fengan, who was explaining something to the other students, suddenly looked up at him. He didn't look as scary as other teachers, but it still made Lin Hongwen feel guilty.

Once Yan Fengan looked away, Lin Hongwen patted his chest and muttered, "He really does look like a teacher when he does that. If we mess up someday, would he hit us with the ruler? We were classmates, after all—he wouldn't, right?"

Getting no answer, he reached over and deliberately nudged the books on Lu Xiuyuan's desk, just like they used to at the old academy—whenever the teacher wasn't looking, one of them would mess with the other.

But this time, Lu Xiuyuan didn't play along. He stood up suddenly and said loudly, "Teacher Yan, Lin Hongwen keeps distracting me. I want to move seats."

Everyone in the room turned to look. Even with his thick skin, Lin Hongwen went red and stammered, "Who... who's distracting you? With your level, do you even need me to distract you?"

"Quiet." Yan Fengan stared at Lin Hongwen with dark eyes. "No talking or messing around in class. Zhou Yongtian, switch seats with Lin Hongwen."

"Yes, Teacher."

Zhou Yongtian's seat was against the wall, next to a kid Lin Hongwen barely knew. After moving, he had nobody to talk to and mess around with.

As Lin Hongwen grudgingly gathered his stuff and shuffled over, Yan Fengan added, "Since this is your first time breaking the rules, I'll let it slide. If you don't pay attention again, I'll kick you out of class."

"Seriously?" Lin Hongwen muttered. "Even the teachers at the academy weren't this harsh."

Yan Fengan: "What did you say?"

Lin Hongwen replied quickly, "Nothing, I said I understand and I promise I won't do it again."

Yan Fengan could tell from his expression that he wasn't convinced. Friendship was friendship, but if Lin Hongwen really caused trouble in class, he'd make an example of him to establish his authority.

Just as the private school opened, Wen Xi's embroidery shop was also gradually getting on track. The two months after the New Year were slow, with no big orders coming in, so he spent his time embroidering handkerchiefs and pouches and scouting for new embroiderers.

Daoxiang Village was far from the city, and taking every order back to the village for the villagers there to work on was too time-consuming and laborious. The villagers were good enough for simple pieces, but when it came to fine fabrics and demanding clients, they weren't up to the task.

Besides, in the first half of the year, farm work in the countryside was heavy, so there was no time for such delicate work.

Wen Xi thought it over and decided to still send some of the orders he'd taken at the end of the year to the village, but for the finer pieces, he wanted to find more skilled embroiderers in the city.

Once he made up his mind, Wen Xi went into the study, picked up a brush, and wrote out a few recruitment notices.

Yan Fengan had taught him calligraphy personally, guiding his hand. Though it didn't match the strength and character of Yan Fengan's writing, it was at least neat and presentable, nothing to be embarrassed about posting in public.

After writing them, he handed the notices to Aqiu and asked him to post them at the entrance of the alley and at places like the vegetable market.

Within just two or three days, several embroiderers showed up.

These embroiderers weren't formally employed at embroidery shops; most of them took orders from various embroidery houses, which gave them freedom without being tied down.

Wen Xi brought out the prepared coarse cloth and silk threads and had each embroiderer stitch some common patterns. No matter how much they talked themselves up at first, once they actually got to work, their real skill showed.

Of the dozen or so embroiderers who came, Wen Xi ended up selecting only four: two female embroiderers and two male embroiderers. After asking about their families, he recorded their names and addresses, then distributed the pre-cut fabric and several different patterns to them: "First, embroider ten handkerchiefs as a test run. Follow the patterns I've drawn. I'll pay six wen per handkerchief. When you're done, bring them back and I'll pay you right away."

Other embroidery shops in the city paid about the same. Once the embroiderers agreed, Wen Xi took out his ledger and wrote down the materials, patterns, and dates each person received, then had them review it before signing or leaving a thumbprint.

A few days later, when they brought back the finished handkerchiefs, Wen Xi had a better sense of their skills, and from then on, he knew exactly how to divide up the work.