Chapter 42: Private School Teacher

“Did someone just call out ‘wait’?”
Bai Tian stood in front of the private school, unable to resist glancing down and asking his daughter and son beside him.

Juanjuan shook her head. “I didn’t hear anything.”
Bai Yun’an added, “Probably wasn’t calling us.”
“Alright then.”
Since both his children said so, Bai Tian didn’t dwell on it.

He raised his hand and knocked on the private school’s door.

The door opened to reveal a young attendant.
“Who are you here to see?”
Bai Tian replied politely, “We’re here to enroll in school.”
The little attendant nodded. “Then come with me.”

Carrying Juanjuan in his arms and holding his son’s hand, Bai Tian followed the attendant into the private school.

Though it was called a “private school,” it was really just a modest little courtyard house—simple and unadorned. From within came the clear sound of children reading aloud, accompanied by the faint scent of ink and paper.

“Teacher, someone’s here to enroll,” the little attendant announced.

Soon, a refined man in his early thirties came out to greet them.
He first cupped his hands in greeting toward Bai Tian, then turned his gaze to Bai Yun’an.

“Is this little one here to study?”
Bai Tian smiled and said, “Yes, and this one too.”
He bounced the little girl in his arms slightly, indicating that she also wanted to attend school.

The private school teacher chuckled softly, clearly amused.
Looking at Bai Tian, he offered a well-meaning suggestion:

“A little girl doesn’t need to study. You don’t look particularly well-off. Let the boy study—maybe he’ll pass the imperial exams one day, become an official, and turn your fortunes around…”

“As for the little girl, better to keep her at home doing needlework, cooking, and laundry to help out around the house.”

“When she marries in the future, being diligent will serve her better than any book learning!”

The teacher genuinely didn’t understand why this poorly dressed young man would want to send a girl to school.

Juanjuan looked at the teacher in front of her.
She knew he wasn’t wrong. In the village, who sent girls to school or taught them to read?
It was pointless. A girl who worked hard was far more likely to find a good husband than one who could read.

But… being dismissed like that, as if she wasn’t worth anything, made Juanjuan feel a little sad.

Juanjuan was saddened.
Bai Tian, on the other hand, was a different story.

As a young man raised in the modern era with a firm belief in gender equality, the more he listened, the angrier he got. His face wore a polite smile, but inside, he was already fuming.

【What the hell? I’m speechless! Girls are just for marrying off?】
【My mom and grandma—weren’t they both powerhouses? One fought off invaders with a rifle, the other built a top-100 company from scratch!】
【Unbelievable. Back in the modern world, I used to argue with men like this. Now I’ve come to ancient times, and they’re *all* like this!】
【Even a teacher, someone who’s supposed to educate others, can say things like this.】

While Bai Tian was cursing up a storm in his head, he kept a friendly smile on his face and said calmly:

“A teacher’s duty is to pass on knowledge and dispel confusion. A true teacher shouldn’t be limited by gender. Anyone willing to learn is a good student.”

The private school teacher was momentarily stunned.
He clearly hadn’t expected this ragged-looking young man to speak with such conviction.

But what surprised him even more was what came next.

The thin little boy standing beside Bai Tian spoke up:

“In ancient times, Wang Pei disguised herself as a man and rose to the rank of Prime Minister. In our time, Miss Mu of the Mu family guards the frontier alongside the army. Teacher, women are not inferior to men.”

The teacher looked at the father and son before him, then at the young girl in Bai Tian’s arms.
After a moment, he chuckled softly, cupped his hands, and said, “It seems I was ignorant.”

Bai Tian hadn’t expected the teacher to concede so easily either.

He quickly responded with a smile, “Teacher only had our best interests at heart. But our family can afford to send the children to school.”

“Uh…” Bai Tian chuckled sheepishly, suddenly switching from lofty ideals to practical matters. “How much is the tuition per child?”

The teacher replied, “Two hundred copper coins per month. If they board outside the school, it’s an extra one hundred coins, and they’ll need to provide their own meals. If your family lives in town, then just the two hundred will do.”

Bai Tian did a quick calculation in his head.

It was about what he’d learned yesterday from Old Lady Wang.
There were two private schools in town, both subsidized by the government, so tuition wasn’t too expensive. Two hundred coins a month, plus occasional gifts during holidays—at most, one tael of silver per child per month.

In truth, most farming families in the village *could* afford school.
The real issue was that if all the kids went off to study, who would work the fields and tend the crops?

Besides, most children didn’t enjoy studying—especially those from farming families.

But still…

【We should still discuss this matter with Jiang Dai.】
【Right now, we do have enough silver at home to send all four children to private school, but Juanjuan is still too young, and the second and third sons aren’t that old either. If they go to private school, they’ll have to live in town.】
【Tsk… I really don’t feel too comfortable with that.】

Bai Tian nodded politely to the private school teacher. “I’ll talk it over with my family and come back another day. Sorry to trouble you!”

He watched as the three figures—one adult and two children—walked away.

The private school teacher murmured under his breath, “What kind of family is that, to have fallen so far?”

After all, the only people who would even suggest sending a girl to study were either from the Capital or from the households of minor officials in small towns.

If Bai Tian had heard what the teacher said, he would’ve scoffed coldly.

What a joke. He didn’t go through nine years of compulsory education and four years of university for nothing!

He hadn’t studied new ideas and strived to be a modern youth just for show!

Right now, Bai Tian was staring at his second son.

And the second son was staring right back.

Bai Tian: 【That’s not right! I was too focused on talking to the teacher just now—there’s no way my second son could’ve said something like that, is there?】

Bai Yunrui: 【According to the original memories, Father never went to school. How could he possibly say something like ‘a teacher is one who passes on knowledge, imparts skills, and resolves doubts’?】

Juanjuan nervously swallowed.

Others might not know, but she did—both her father and second brother were already suspicious.

“Daddy, I want a bun.”

Juanjuan reached out her little hand, trembling slightly, trying to break the tension between her father and second brother.

“Alright, let’s go get some buns!”

Bai Tian immediately took the two children to buy buns.

Watching his sweet little daughter nibble obediently on her bun, Bai Tian couldn’t help but say, “Juanjuan, don’t listen to what that teacher said just now. Girls should study and learn to read too. Who knows, maybe our Juanjuan will become a female official someday!”

At the mention of a female official, Bai Tian turned to look at his second son again.

“Yunrui, didn’t you say earlier that there was once a woman who became Prime Minister?”

Caught off guard by his father’s sudden question, Bai Yunrui bit down too hard while chewing his bun and accidentally bit his tongue.

Pain shot through his tongue, but he calmly replied, “I think her name was Wang Pei? I forget when she lived, but Uncle from next door—Da Chui’s uncle—mentioned it before.”

Da Chui’s uncle from next door had actually studied properly at a private school. Even his teacher had said the boy was sure to pass the child scholar exam.

Bai Tian: 【True, Da Chui’s uncle is pretty impressive. He always liked telling stories to the local kids. If there really was a female Prime Minister, she must’ve been a legendary figure.】

“No worries. When our second boy starts studying, he’ll definitely be even better than Da Chui’s uncle!”

Bai Tian encouraged his own child confidently.

Just then, a voice called out from behind, sounding a bit uncertain.

“Juanjuan?”

Juanjuan, who was munching on her bun, looked up in surprise and delight. “Uncle Wang!”

Bai Tian: !!!

【Wait—Uncle Wang?!】