A False Heiress's Guide to Love and Power

Chapter 458

As Alessia chatted with the villagers, she quickly pieced together a clear picture of life here.

Most households were made up of elderly folks living alone and children whose parents had left to work elsewhere. In a few families, the women stayed behind to care for the kids while the men went out to earn a living. The few young men who remained in the village usually had some sort of disability; they spent their days tending small gardens and selling vegetables at the local market.

University students had come before to teach for a month or so, but it was rare for anyone to stay as long as Alessia’s team-almost half a

year.

Apparently, the village mayor had negotiated with the authorities for this arrangement. If things went well, they’d send teachers regularly, invest in new educational resources, and even pave new roads. If the village improved, it would be a blessing for future generations.

That’s why everyone cared so much about this volunteer teaching project. Their hopes were simple: they believed that only by leaving the mountains could their children find a better future.

It was hard to argue with them. Most villagers had little education, no qualifications, and could only find the hardest, lowest-paid jobs.

Susannah Holt’s family was considered one of the better-off ones. They’d even managed to repair their house, though it was still smaller than a single Morton family living room in the city. Even so, there was no way they could afford to raise two children in a big city.

little money they did earn was still more than they could ever hope to make if they’d stayed in

leaving, and the real problem was that once they were gone, they never

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Chapter 458

and the children-grandparents raising grandchildren, with no resources, no future, just waiting for those kids to grow up, become parents themselves, and repeat the cycle all over

if the government stepped up and encouraged young people to return, maybe things could change. Maybe, given the chance, these kids would

into the team, making sure everyone

was determined to make this project work.

but the minute you mentioned something that would help their children or grandchildren, you had their

her inside. “It’s nothing fancy, but the sheets and pillows are brand new. I put them out

house was small-probably no bigger than the Morton family’s living room back home. Alessia’s room was tiny: a single bed, a wardrobe, and a desk crammed into

three.

explained that this had been her parents’ room when they carne to visit, but they hadn’t been back in years, so the room had sat empty