Though there was doubt in the heart, there was no rebuttal. After all, it was their own people who were opening the school. They had finally gotten this job, so it had to be cherished. Not only should it be cherished, but they must also teach well, produce some accomplished scholars to earn respect, to show others that they are not useless.

After discussing this matter for an afternoon, Yang Wuzhu then took the three teachers back. Of course, Xiaoxiao didn’t forget to use them a little, making them return to spread the word about the school. The outsiders, every few that come counts. When their children come, slowly they will build a reputation, naturally attracting more.

Also, there was a deliberate reminder to start advertising the day after tomorrow, since tomorrow they will seek the Village Chief in their own village to advertise it. Starting with outside villages wouldn’t be appropriate.

Having worked hard all day, Xiaoxiao returned to discuss with Li Chuntao, arranging to find the Village Chief early in the morning.

Once everyone had left, Alu saw the somewhat exhausted Li Chuntao and hurried to pour a cup of tea and handed it over, "Miss, please rest."

Li Chuntao took the tea, sipped two mouthfuls, then asked, "Alu, did you go to gather some information?"

"Miss, I did."

"What did you find out?"

Alu started to recall.

Early on, after Li Chuntao had left, Alu began to look for an opportunity. Going next door to fish for information wasn’t feasible; the aunt wouldn’t work, and neither would Yang Xiaocui. Yang Xiaocui’s three brothers would likely not glean anything out. When it comes to gossip, one has to rely on those three sisters-in-law.

Alu kept waiting for the opportunity, waiting for Yang Xiaocui’s three sisters-in-law to leave the house.

Finally, someone came out; it was Yang Xiaocui’s third sister-in-law. Alu pretended to have something as she passed by and greeted Yang Xiaocui’s third sister-in-law, "Third sister-in-law of the Yang Family, are you busy?"

Living next door, even if no words were exchanged, after a few days everyone knows each other. What’s more, Alu is a Little Maid, and Yang Family’s third sister-in-law could recognize her at first sight. It is often said that one does not hit a smiling face, so since Alu greeted, she had no reason not to speak. So she asked, "Oh, where are you going? Saw your Miss and Yang Ming’s wife went out early."

This was just the opportunity Alu needed, so she responded, "Isn’t it that the courtyard isn’t quite level? I’m going to borrow a shovel to tidy up. Initially, I wanted to borrow from your family, but yesterday I saw your family’s shovel had been borrowed, so I felt it wasn’t proper to ask."

No matter what, Alu is a maid from a large household, adept at talking according to the people she meets. Gathering information requires aligning it to talks about information; one cannot directly ask what the matter is.

Sure enough, Yang Family’s third sister-in-law, upon hearing this, began to speak, "Indeed, yesterday our shovel was borrowed by Yang Daniu. Who knows when it’ll be returned? Whether it’ll be returned is uncertain."

Once this was mentioned, Yang Family’s third sister-in-law naturally became talkative, explaining everything before Alu even asked, "Let me tell you, you’ve just come here and probably don’t know or recognize Yang Daniu. That Yang Daniu is a troublemaker, always indulging in eating, drinking, and gambling. His family was already penniless, and he squandered away all the Silver, not helping with a bit of work at home. He borrowed the shovel yesterday, saying he was going to tidy the courtyard; isn’t it curious? You say cleaning the courtyard is fine, so why not borrow from the neighbors? Why come so far to borrow from us?"