The term "yuan grandfather" refers to a sixth-generation ancestor. Adam Brooks's yuan ancestor once fought fiercely on the battlefield, known for his courage and ruthlessness, as well as his broad experience. Relying on his own ferocity, he was able to quickly establish a foothold in the mountains back then. Through the efforts of the yuan grandfather, xuan grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and himself—six generations in total—and nearly 120 years of reproduction, the natural village of Chengjia'ao was formed.

Due to the strength of the Cheng clan, most outsiders who settled in Chengjia'ao became either hired workers for the Cheng clan or sons-in-law who married into the family. In the end, they could only gain the right to reside there through marriage alliances recognized by the Cheng clan. Moreover, over a hundred years of intermarriage established intricate connections between the Cheng family and several surrounding villages, making the Cheng clan the undisputed power in the vast mountains.

After Adam Brooks finished describing the power of the Cheng clan, he continued in a gentle tone to advise once more: "If you are a guest with no intention of wandering, then just settle here! Though my Chengjia'ao is small, it is no problem to support you, sir!"

What else could he do? Henry Clark imitated the gesture he had seen on TV and cupped his hands: "In that case, I shall trouble you!"

Henry Clark's way of responding made Adam Brooks pause for a moment, but he did not let his surprise show.

With Henry Clark in the village, the first noticeable change was the improvement in medical conditions.

Medical care during the Song dynasty was extremely poor—even emperors' children had a 70% chance of not surviving to adulthood. But for a modern person, knowledge of childcare had been ingrained through countless TV programs...

Henry Clark's treatment method was—a bowl of bone broth!

To supplement calcium and nutrition! The effect was immediate.

In addition, under Henry Clark's strong advocacy, the living conditions for infants and young children were immediately improved. Henry Clark's requirements were: ventilation, better lighting, and letting children spend more time outdoors in the sunlight.

Of course, clan power in southern China has always been stubborn. After learning the origins of Chengjia'ao, Henry Clark had no interest in challenging thousand-year-old traditions, so he was careful not to interfere with Adam Brooks's exercise of clan authority. This caution greatly satisfied Adam Brooks, and it was also why the Cheng villagers quickly accepted his presence.

In such a remote mountain village as Chengjia'ao, even a doctor with just one special skill would be highly respected. But after Henry Clark intervened several times, the rate of illness among the village children dropped sharply. As a result, the wandering doctors were no longer welcomed by the villagers, and Henry Clark's status gradually rose. This winter, Henry Clark remained busy throughout, and in his busyness, welcomed another New Year's Day (Spring Festival).

Henry Clark's second intervention came during the lean season.

Previously, he had been living off the villagers' free support. How much savings could country folk have? As the Spring Festival approached, the village of Chengjia'ao, with just over 20 households and more than 100 people, had its grain stores depleted by this idle outsider.

In this situation, Henry Clark gathered the village children and taught them his wilderness survival knowledge. He showed them how to improve hunting tools, make hunting nets, traps, snares, and track wild animals...

As a result, the children returned with great success, and the villagers had enough to eat. Henry Clark thus became the children's leader.

Henry Clark's third intervention was during Qingming.

On this day, the adults were all out working in the fields. Bored, Henry Clark chatted with the children and heard them mention that it was "Qingming" that day. He casually wrote the two characters for "Qingming" on the ground and recited Du Mu's poem: "During Qingming, the drizzling rain falls incessantly." He also shared with the children some proverbs about the 24 solar terms—for example: "During Qingming, plant melons and beans," "When the earth's energy stirs at Jingzhe, the farmer turns from idle to busy," and so on.

In this era, most teachers emphasized "reading a book a hundred times and its meaning will become clear," requiring students to learn through rote memorization and photographic memory. But Henry Clark's teaching was lively and unique. He started with the radicals and structure of the characters in "Qingming"—essentially repeating the process of learning to read in elementary school... But children of this era had never seen anything like it.

Thanks to his vivid teaching, the children immediately remembered the six characters: "Qingming, water, green, sun, moon." That evening, when the parents returned from the fields and saw their children showing off, they were astonished and all brought gifts to formally request him as a teacher...

After that, Henry Clark became the "teacher."

The term "teacher" actually originated in the Song dynasty, used to refer to village educators. The term "xiansheng" at that time was used for itinerant doctors and Taoist priests. It was only after the Xinhai Revolution that "xiansheng" was again used to refer to teachers.

With a group of children, Henry Clark leisurely spent the rest of the spring and summer that year. During this time, he led the children on several trips to nearby Qishui and Yingshan... Eventually, he confirmed: this was indeed the Song dynasty, around the end of Wang Anshi's reform era, but by this time Wang Anshi had already been repeatedly dismissed as prime minister.

When another autumn arrived, Henry Clark, now knowing the truth, greeted the season of falling leaves in loneliness. This was the season of harvest, but Henry Clark did not know how to position himself—how to define his own role.

To hide his identity, he could only adopt a "cautious in speech and action" attitude, patiently hiding in the countryside to teach children, and diligently learning the language and customs of this era. During this period, he would occasionally use his half-baked medical knowledge to treat the villagers.