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That night, the two teams split up, with Third Uncle Liu chasing to the south. As the other party had a carriage, they were still much faster than Third Uncle Liu walking on two legs even though they were burdened by a group of children.

Clearly aware of this, Third Uncle Liu only rested for two hours before he got up and continued chasing after them. Fifth Uncle Liu, who accompanied Third Uncle Liu, was extremely exhausted. However, seeing his cousin like this, he did not dare to ask to rest. He could only grit his teeth and endure. Finally, at noon on the third day, they caught up with the Yellow-teeth Man’s donkey cart.

His daughter, Erniang, and youngest son, Liu Xing, were among the 23 children.

Third Uncle Liu’s lips were dry and he could barely speak. He could only kneel in front of the Yellow-teeth Man and kowtow. His voice was hoarse as he pleaded, “Master Yellow, please show mercy. I want to redeem my children.”

The Yellow-teeth Man gazed at the travel-worn Third Uncle Liu in shock. Seeing how haggard he looked and how he could barely kneel, he knew that Third Uncle Liu had rushed over overnight. With a frown, the Yellow-teeth Man said, “Who are your children? Let me be clear upfront. The ransom money cannot be less than the price I paid for them. You have to know that I have spent a lot of money on their food and drinks for the past two days.”

Seeing that his third cousin was unable to speak, Fifth Uncle Liu hurriedly bowed and said, “Of course, of course. It’s just that Master Yellow, our family is poor. One of our children was insensible and secretly brought their younger siblings out to sell. He has actually spent more than half of the money. Could you perhaps be lenient?”

When Fifth Uncle Liu said this, the Yellow-teeth Man knew who they were talking about. He had bought three pairs of siblings, but only the pair in Seven Mile Village had been sold by their nine-year-old brother. At that time, he was still extremely surprised that the child was incredibly bold to sell his younger siblings all by himself. However, he only cared about buying people and could not be bothered about what happened after that. Now, it was obvious that their father had caught up.

The Yellow-teeth Man thought for a moment and said, “No matter what, it can’t be less than 12 taels. Otherwise, this trip will be a loss for me.”

Fifth Uncle Liu’s face was filled with worry. He did not know if his family could gather 12 taels of silver, but seeing that the Yellow-teeth Man was already impatient and fearing that he would leave in anger, he anxiously turned to look at his third cousin.

Gritting his teeth, Third Uncle Liu said, “So be it. Master Yellow, why don’t you wait for a day? My family will catch up with us soon with the money.”

Seeing that they had nothing on them, the Yellow-teeth Man knew that they had most likely given chase right after hearing the news. How could a country bumpkin take out so much money at once? They definitely had to borrow from others. After thinking about it, since they could not go much further today, he agreed to stay in the small town ahead and wait.

Third Uncle Liu and Fifth Uncle Liu heaved a sigh of relief. Third Uncle Liu took the opportunity to suggest, “Master Yellow, I wonder if you can let me see my daughter and son. They must be terrified at having been suddenly sold.”

The Yellow-teeth Man frowned at him.

Third Uncle Liu hurriedly said, “Master Yellow, don’t worry. I don’t dare to run away. My family lives in Nearhill Village. You just need to ask around and you’ll find out where we live. Besides, with so many people guarding them, I can’t run far with the two children with my weak limbs. I just want to see them.”

The Yellow-teeth Man creased his brows and agreed. He got someone to lift the curtain and find Liu Erniang and Liu Xing from the donkey cart.

Sold to the Yellow-teeth Man by their older brother, Liu Erniang and Liu Xing had been terrified for three consecutive days. When they were suddenly brought off the donkey cart, they were hugging their arms in trepidation. They stared at those people in horror, but when they saw their father kneeling on the ground, their grievances and fear immediately turned into loud cries. The two children scrambled into their father’s arms.

Third Uncle Liu’s face was also covered in tears as he hugged his children. The fear and rage he had been feeling for the past few days made this man burst into tears while kneeling in the middle of the road.

Even the usually cold-hearted Yellow-teeth Man could not help but turn his head and sigh.

The originally quiet children in the cart secretly lifted the curtain to take a peek. Eyes filled with envy and jealousy, they could only cry silently.

After the father and daughter had cried enough, the group went to the nearest town. Third Uncle Liu had not rested for the past two days and three nights. Now that he had found the children, he was in a dazed state. However, he continued holding onto his children tightly. Too frightened to feel any pain in their hands, Liu Erniang and Liu Xing snuggled tightly beside their father.

Third Uncle Liu only heaved a sigh of relief when Mu Shi and Liu Dazhuang rushed over with the money.

After Mu Shi redeemed them with 12 taels of silver, they stayed in the town for a night before hiring a donkey cart to rush back the next day.

When Third Aunt Liu saw that her children had returned safely, she held them in an embrace and cried.

After Liu Yong bought the books, pens, ink, paper, and inkstone, there were only five taels of silver left. The remaining six taels of silver came from Mu Shi, and the one tael of silver was gathered by the various families in the clan.

Third Uncle Liu promised, “I will pay back all the money we owe as soon as possible.”

The patriarch looked at Mu Shi, who had lent out the majority of the money. Every family in the clan had contributed a few hundred copper coins.

Mu Shi said, “I don’t urgently need the silver. Third Cousin, you can slowly return it in the future.”

Third Uncle Liu forced a smile.

Now that the kids had been saved, how should he deal with Liu Yong?

After all, not only was Liu Yong his son, he was also the eldest son whom he had always doted on. Although Third Uncle Liu and his wife resented him, they could not be ruthless. Shu Wanniang and Mu Shi also said that he was still a child and he could change his ways if they patiently guided him.

Third Uncle Liu could only beat him up and then stop him from learning how to read. He returned the books bought from the bookstore, but he could not receive a refund for the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

The soft-hearted Shu Wanniang asked Mu Shi to buy that set of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone with three taels of silver. This way, Third Uncle Liu’s family would be more relaxed in terms of finances.

Liu Yong’s actions this time had a huge impact on the patriarch and the elders in the clan. Although he was not obedient and smart in the past, his temperament was not bad, and he also usually took care of his younger siblings. However, after learning how to read, he developed such delusions. The patriarch believed that books had changed his temperament.

It would have been fine if they were rich families that could support him to pursue studies, but they were not. His temperament changed due to those delusions, and it was as if he had become possessed.

Since that was the case, it was better to not know how to read from the beginning and simply accept their lot for the rest of their lives. It beat fantasizing about things that did not belong to them. Hence, the patriarch stipulated that the children in their clan were not allowed to study with Shu Wanniang anymore. He even warned the parents that if they did not have the ability to provide for their children to study for the Imperial Examination in the future, they should not send them to study in the first place, lest they develop delusions.

Therefore, even if Liu Lang and the others were Mu Yangling’s cousins and deeply desired to become literate, they didn’t dare to go to Shu Wanniang for guidance.

Mu Yangling didn’t dare to say that the patriarch was definitely wrong, but taking such a defensive stance meant that the Liu family would never be able to stand out.

Being a child who grew up in postrevolutionary China, her education and life experience had taught her that knowledge could change one’s fate. Although it might not necessarily be on the positive side, one would have a wider range of choices. It was better than being bound to the land and at the mercy of others.

At the age of 11 years old, Liu Lang might start a family soon. Knowing he was an exceptionally bright child, Mu Yangling hoped that he would have more options after learning how to read and calculate.

Mu Yangling said to Liu Lang, “When the time comes, come and find me. I’ll bring you to the entrance of the mountain where the soil is very loose. I’ll teach you how to read and write there, and you can even hunt pigs and vegetables there. My younger brother studies there, too.”

Liu Lang’s eyes sparkled like stars. “Then it’s settled. I’ll look for you tomorrow.”

“I’m afraid not tomorrow. My father is going to the county tomorrow and I want to follow him.”