"Village Chief!"

Uncle Jiu stood in the middle of the clearing where the weeds had been cleared and shouted.

Qin Yao snapped out of her thoughts, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and brought a simple blueprint she had drawn over to Uncle Jiu. Together, they finalized the general construction plan for the new school.

But for more detailed things, like the layout of the school, Uncle Jiu was at a loss.

"How about I go to the Ding Family School to get some inspiration?" Qin Yao tentatively suggested.

Uncle Jiu was waiting for her to say this and laughed, "I’ll keep an eye on things here. You just bring back the Ding Clan School’s blueprint without worry."

"Copy? It’s not called copying; it’s called drawing inspiration!" Qin Yao corrected earnestly.

Uncle Jiu didn’t know the difference between the two, so he let her call it whatever she liked, as long as he got the blueprint.

Qin Yao entrusted Liu Zhong with the task of purchasing the building materials, and also to buy the materials for her own house’s renovations at the same time, because buying in bulk could save some silver.

Now, Uncle Jiu was leading the villagers who were free to lay the foundation. The village children who could hold a hoe also eagerly came to help, all for the sake of earning the badge Qin Yao had promised earlier.

The villagers had never seen their children behave so obediently and sensibly, and they all said that the school would truly make a difference, even making the village children more well-behaved.

There wasn’t much heavy work that needed Qin Yao’s involvement at the moment. She glanced at the sun; it had just passed noon. If she set out for Ding Family Manor now, she could bring back the children by dusk.

Having made up her mind, Qin Yao gave instructions to Uncle Jiu and others to start clearing the land according to her blueprint, then left.

Earlier that morning, Old Liu had noticed that ground had been broken for the school, just as the fieldwork was almost done, so he called his brothers to take a look at the land around Qin Yao’s house.

They were now measuring behind the house, deciding the best spot for the new house to be built.

This task required some expertise, so the elders borrowed a divination plate from the clan leader and walked back and forth on the open ground behind the house, setting locations now and then, taking till noon to decide the orientation of the house.

Just as Qin Yao came back, Old Liu had his brothers go home to rest while he stayed behind to show her around.

"When the time comes, we’ll tear down the wall behind the third study room, move it outwards, and encircle the vegetable garden and martial arts practice field with the new house. What do you think?"

Old Liu gestured with the divination plate, explaining, "Look at the ladle handle on this plate; it points straight to the mountain top. Your uncle and I both think the courtyard wall must be moved outward. A family separated by a wall won’t be able to borrow the strength of the mountain, nor gather Qi."

Qin Yao half-understood what she was hearing, but she could see.

If they rebuilt it according to what Old Liu and her uncle suggested, the entire front and back yards would connect into a whole, enclosing the martial arts practice field and vegetable garden within the courtyard wall, expanding the activity space for the residents.

The new house, when built, would link the east side of the courtyard into a whole, changing the home’s arrangement from the current "sun" shape to an "eye" shape as seen from above.

The northwest of the martial arts field would also become more spacious. If more houses were added later, the overall layout would become symmetrical.

Old Liu asked with a grin, "How about it?"

Qin Yao gave a thumbs up, "It’s great! You all are amazing, Dad!"

Old Liu burst into laughter; he knew she would be pleased.

After laughing, Old Liu, together with Qin Yao, went to the main hall to rest. Seeing the compacted mud floor, he suggested, "Yao Niang, if you’re not tight on funds, how about fixing up this floor while we’re at it?"

And if we’re going to do it, let’s do it all at once, instead of having some parts new and others old. When it rains heavily, mud would be tracked into the house and wasted.

Qin Yao was in a hurry to leave, and Ah Wang had already been dispatched, and Mrs. Li wasn’t good with livestock, so she had to bring the horse herself and hitch the cart.

Standing at the door, she called into the house to Old Liu, "Dad, just do your best. Silver isn’t an issue!"

"I have some business in town, do you need anything? I can bring it back for you," Qin Yao asked.

Old Liu waved his hand, "Nothing I need brought back. You go ahead with your tasks. Since you said money isn’t a problem, I’ll have to really think this through..."

As he spoke, he went silent, and Qin Yao turned her head to look in the courtyard, only to see him squatting down again.

Diligent people can’t even sit still.

Instructing Mrs. Li to take good care of Old Liu, Qin Yao jumped onto the cart, flicked the reins, and set off!

As she reached the riverbank, Ah Wang, whom Qin Yao had sent out to deliver medicine to Yin Le, was on his way back.

"Ma’am, where are you going?" Ah Wang asked, puzzled.

Qin Yao waved for him to move aside, so he wouldn’t block the path, "You don’t have to pick up the kids this afternoon. I’m going to Ding Family Manor and will bring them back afterward."

Ah Wang nodded and, as he watched the cart speed past, raised his voice, "Yin Le asked me to tell you she’s learned 220 characters."

Qin Yao, holding the reins and about to speed up, felt her heart skip a beat, causing Old Huang, about to lift his hoof, to hesitate, letting out a couple of agitated snorts of hot air.

Qin Yao shouted, "Giddy-up!"

Old Huang responded energetically, immediately galloping with joy.

As the cart bounced along, Qin Yao felt her heart pounding. Learning so fast, Yin Le, are you trying to exhaust yourself!

At this rate, learning a thousand characters shouldn’t take long either.

Qin Yao felt a sense of urgency, knowing she didn’t have much time to think.

With that, she was planning her next ’hurdle’ on the way, driving the cart fiercely to arrive at Ding Family Manor within half an hour.

"Whoa!!!"

Qin Yao reined in the still-excited horse, making a beautiful spin stop at the gate of the Ding Clan School.

The dust raised turned the small area into a blur of chaos.

Qin Yao accidentally inhaled a mouthful of dust, causing tears to stream from her eyes. Careless!

After catching her breath, she returned to normal, jumped off the cart, and patted Old Huang on the head, "Be good and stay here, I’m going to have a look around."

Qin Yao tied the horse to a tree by the roadside and strolled around the Ding Clan School with her hands behind her back.

From inside the school came the sound of reading, as well as the furious scolding of a teacher whose patience had been tried by a student.

Qin Yao tiptoed to the plum blossom window at the top of the wall for a peek, observing the foolish tearful student being berated and memorizing the layout of the school interior.

She took out her small notebook and charcoal stick and summoned all her artistic talents to sketch away on the paper.

The Ding Clan School was a large courtyard with two sections, having eight rooms of varying sizes, featuring spacious brick and tile classrooms and open, airy study halls.

Throughout all seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, the students had suitable places to go to.

Qin Yao watched with envy, and soon finished drawing a rough layout sketch.

Now that her task was complete, the rest was Uncle Jiu’s responsibility.

Qin Yao was about to let out a sigh of relief when a sharp question suddenly came from behind.

"Who’s sneaking around outside the school?"