Chapter 129: The Bizarre Ranking

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Li Zilin held his own letter but did not rush to open it. He intended to slip into his room quietly, read it carefully, and then put it away safely.

Li Daping’s tone was somewhat urgent. “Zilin, hurry up and read the letter!”

Only then did Li Zilin slip his letter into his coat pocket and begin to read aloud.

With head held high and a clear, measured voice, Li Zilin read the letter. Everyone in the Li family fell silent, not a sound was heard.

After he finished reading, Feng Cuicui spoke up, “It’s good to know that Little Fourth isn’t being bullied out there.”

Li Su’s letter contained only joyful news, deliberately avoiding any worries, sharing only amusing or positive events with the family.

Li Zhengping nodded. “The first batch from the distillery is almost ready. Once the batch of wine bottles mentioned in Little Fourth’s letter arrives, we can start selling.”

“Ping, sister, we don’t know much about the distillery business. Since Little Fourth handed this matter over to you, you’ll have to be more attentive. We can handle the brewing, but the business side is beyond our help,” Li Daping said earnestly to Li Zhengping.

“Father, don’t worry. I can manage it. If I encounter anything I don’t understand, I can ask Sister Jiang,” Li Zhengping said with some confidence.

“All right, that’s good. Just don’t overwork yourself.”

The items Li Su sent included something for every family member, even for the cousins.

The Li family took out their shares and then packed the rest to send to Uncle Li, Second Uncle, and Grandfather.

When Grandfather Li heard the items were from Li Su, he couldn’t help but ask, “How is Su doing with his studies out there?”

Li Daping said with a smile, “He said he’s met many like-minded friends and adapted well to the academy. He told us not to worry.”

“Little Fourth also asked you and Mother to take good care of your health.”

Grandfather Li chuckled, “Your mother and I are still strong. We’re waiting to see Su graduate from the academy.”

“Did Su say when he’d be back?” Grandmother Li asked.

“Probably around the New Year.”

Grandmother Li sighed softly, “That’s so long.”

Li Daping quickly said, “We’ll send some things to Little Fourth in the next few days. Father, Mother, if you have anything to say to him, you can ask the younger ones to help write letters.”

Grandfather Li lifted his head proudly, “No need. I want to write myself.”

Li Daping was silent for a moment. “Alright, then you write your own, Father.”

He was just worried that Little Fourth might not recognize what Grandfather wrote.

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But Li Daping did not dare to voice this concern; defying his father would surely earn him a scolding.

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Li Ziruo sat cross-legged on her small bed, carefully opening the envelope.

“Uncle’s handwriting is really beautiful,” she said admiringly.

The more she looked, the happier she became; right now, her uncle was the greatest presence in her heart.

She and Sister Zixi were currently studying in a private school.

The private school was established by Li Su, and the teacher was also found by him. His two little nieces were learning there, and no one said anything about it.

Even if some thought girls didn’t need to be educated, they really had no say over the Li family’s affairs.

Moreover, the girls were not mixed with the boys; Li Su had specifically found a female teacher.

From Li Su’s perspective, since the private schools outside did not accept girls, it was one thing if his nieces couldn’t learn to read and write there. But since he was paying for the village private school and hiring the teacher, what he said went.

Although there was a female teacher, very few families in the village actually sent their girls to learn to read and write.

Li Su set up the school and hired the teacher, but families still had to pay for writing materials themselves. The fees were much lower than going to the county, and it was closer to home.

It was already good enough if families could afford to send their boys to school; they thought it unnecessary to spend money on girls, who would be married off eventually.

If others in the village were willing to educate their daughters, it was because those families were wealthy, unlike the Lis.

Among the playmates, the girls envied Li Ziruo and Li Zixi greatly.

Ziruo told them if they wanted to learn, she and Sister Zixi could teach them.

No need for writing materials—they could just write and draw on the ground with small sticks.

Zixi had become much more outgoing and got along well with the village children. She and Ziruo took turns teaching the few girls they played with.

Ziruo included this in her letter to Li Su, letting him know.

Though young, Ziruo already knew quite a few characters.

If she didn’t know a character, she asked the female teacher. The teacher wanted to help write for her sometimes, but Ziruo refused.

The female teacher felt that Ziruo and Zixi were both quite gifted and was grateful to Li Su for giving her the opportunity to teach.

While the Li family was busy with their affairs, the items they wanted to send to Li Su were finally all prepared.

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The letters they wrote were even thicker than those Li Su had sent back.

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The scholars and teachers at Mingyue Academy had compiled the results of this examination for all the students.

The teacher in charge of the Tian Study Hall course looked at the list and asked, “Are you sure there’s no mistake?”

The top three places were all occupied by students from Huang Study Hall, a scene never before seen.

Students from other study halls would come to take the exam at Tian Study Hall, but the overall rankings there rarely changed.

Those who had been pushed out of Tian Study Hall would do everything possible to get back.

The monthly exams usually saw Tian Study Hall students at the top; others might rank in the middle but never directly at the very top.

“Don’t post this list yet. Let me see the answer sheets of Li Su, Yun Qin, and Song Sheng,” the Tian Study Hall teacher said with suspicion.

Yun Qin was different — he was truly a prodigy, and Tian Study Hall students couldn’t match him, which was understandable.

He had heard that Li Su had some connection with the academy’s dean but didn’t know the exact level of his knowledge, so he suspected some foul play.

As for Song Sheng, he had never even heard of him before, and suddenly he appeared in third place on the list.

The three lived together, which made the teacher suspicious.

The Huang Study Hall teacher handed over the answer sheets to the Tian Study Hall teacher. “Teacher Tian, here are the answer sheets of these three students.”

Teacher Tian frowned as he examined them, starting with Song Sheng’s.

Li Su and Yun Qin were new to the academy, so their level was unclear; but Song Sheng was not a newcomer. If he had such ability, shouldn’t he have been at Tian Study Hall long ago?

Li Su was close to Dean Wei. Could he have sneaked a peek at the exam papers when the dean wasn’t paying attention and shared the contents with the others in the same room?

That didn’t make sense either. Normally, even if someone secretly saw the papers, they would keep it to themselves, not tell others—doing so would be a serious risk.

“Teacher Wu, how do Li Su and Song Sheng usually perform?” the Huang Study Hall teacher asked. He did not want to wrongly accuse any student but found the list strange and wanted to verify carefully.