I Come to Teach You Cultivation-Chapter 109 - 21: Universal Primary Education (1/5)

As dusk fell, the evening sun dipped below the western horizon.

With most of the villagers returning home, crowds began to gather at the gate of the ancestral temple in Li Family Village.

But everyone instinctively found their own spot and sat down.

People chatted and joked with each other, and there was hardly any sign of disorder.

Even the children who climbed trees to hunt birds or went down to the river to catch fish by day—

—were now behaving themselves, sticking quietly by their parents' sides.

Because everyone knew that the monthly village assembly was a very serious affair.

Especially during spring planting and summer harvest, every member of the production team would report on their work and expectations in front of everyone.

As for routine meetings during the less busy farming seasons?

Sharing farming experiences, and discussing whatever new troubles had cropped up in each household, that's what these meetings were all about.

From marriage and childbirth, to minor squabbles between neighbors…

As long as it was a village issue, it could be brought up at the assembly, and you could ask the old village chief, Li Yu, or "Non-crying" Baby to help solve it.

Over these past three years, it was precisely this unique village assembly system—

—that kept major conflicts from erupting between locals and newcomers in Li Family Village.

Not only that, but as more and more newborns arrived, the line between those who were born here and those who came from elsewhere was blurring.

The old village chief had even considered changing the name of Li Family Village.

Unfortunately, that proposal never made it through a village assembly vote.

Even Li Boyang couldn't bother to care either way.

"Er, what do you think they'll be discussing this time?"

Li Chengfeng nudged his second brother lightly, holding his baby boy, who wasn't even a year old yet, and whispered the question.

Beside Li Chengfeng, his wife—Ku Gu, who'd fled here three years ago—just smiled gently at this scene, her eyes full of tenderness.

For Ku Gu, whose hometown had been destroyed and who was quite young herself,

—to have found a husband who didn't mind her background amidst such chaotic times was already great fortune.

Let alone the fact that Li Chengfeng genuinely cherished her.

He'd even gone to Li Boyang for all sorts of remedies to help her recover and stay healthy.

If not for that, with Ku Gu's physical condition three years ago, she'd never have been able to give birth safely.

"What else could it be?"

"Fixing that road that got wrecked in broad daylight, obviously!"

Li Er rolled his eyes and played with his baby nephew.

"And just as life's finally gotten a little easier these past few years, we've got more and more pregnant women and babies piling up in the village."

"'Non-crying' Baby actually got fed up quite a while back, and wants to make some kind of 'Safety Guidelines for Mothers'."

"He's even planning to head over to the next town to learn from the experienced midwives how to deliver babies safely…"

"If it weren't for the old man and his mom stopping him, do you believe we'd wake up tomorrow and see 'Non-crying' Baby out there delivering livestock instead?"

When it came to getting things done, Li Er had never admired anyone in his life—

—except for 'Non-crying' Baby, who'd marched to his own beat since childhood and kept turning Li Er's worldview upside down.

"Honestly, I think 'Non-crying' Baby's got the right idea…"

Hearing the brothers talking, Li Er's wife squeezed in and muttered quietly.

"Bah, what nonsense are you spouting, woman!"

"Who is 'Non-crying' Baby? How could he possibly do that sort of thing!?"

Li Er shot his wife a fierce glare, and was just about to say something when she pinched the spare tire at his waist.

"Hey, hey! Talk by all means, but why do you have to start with your hands!"

The villagers nearby burst into laughter at this scene.

And they couldn't help but speculate—what shocking scheme would 'Non-crying' Baby come up with this time?

......................................................

"What? You want to teach the kids how to read and write!?"

The old village chief stared wide-eyed at Li Boyang, nearly springing off his stool.

"Not me—it's mainly Big Girl."

"And not right away, I'm still preparing suitable materials…"

Li Boyang, exasperated, looked at the fussing old chief. Every time he came up with an idea, the old man looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"You may see Big Girl traipsing into the mountains all the time, but she actually knows quite a few characters."

"Most importantly, Big Girl is queen of the village kids…"

"Let her manage that gang of wild boys and girls, and she'll have them whipped into shape in no time."

Hearing this, Li Jingshu—standing nearby—looked just as flabbergasted.

Because one second ago, she hadn't the faintest idea that Li Boyang had just volunteered her for such a daunting task.

"Wait… let me wrap my mind around this for a second…"

The old village chief massaged his temples, stopping Li Boyang from pushing the idea further.

"Why'd you suddenly decide to teach the kids to read and write?"

Li Boyang rolled his eyes and said matter-of-factly,

"Obviously because they're reaching the age for it, but you grown-ups all refuse to learn."

"Look at the piles of grain in the village, or all those goods going back and forth—without literacy, nobody could possibly keep track of them."

The chief frowned and asked in a low voice,

"Are you planning to teach them Divination Method, too?"

In these times, arithmetic and divination were never separated.

What's more, Li Boyang indeed planned to teach more than just literacy and arithmetic, so he didn't bother denying it.

"Let them understand Heavenly Time and the terrain, make a few calculations about the soil and water veins—even digging for some wild yams in the mountains is better than blindly gambling on the weather, right?"

The old chief's brow furrowed even tighter, and—for once—he grew serious.

"'Non-crying' Baby, have you considered that the kids in the village aren't like you…"

"They're not born holy, nor chosen by the Mountain God. Knowing too much is just provoking the Gods."

Li Boyang nodded, finally realizing the root of the chief's worry.

"You're afraid they'll lose their sense of awe? That calamity will come to the village?"

Back on earth, even unrestricted access to knowledge could bring disaster, so how much more in a world where the Gods truly exist?

But Li Boyang saw things differently.

"Old man, you can't expect people to keep moving forward if they're ruled by fear, can you?"

"Instead of worrying about offending the Gods, shouldn't we be more concerned with keeping everyone's stomachs full?"

"Language, writing, rice, melons, poultry, livestock…"

"None of those were ever ours to begin with, but now they're part of our everyday life."

"And as for your concerns, isn't that what you have me and the Mountain God for?"

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