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.

than they could ever hope to make if they’d stayed in the mountains their

real problem was that once they were gone, they

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Chapter 458

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

teachers came, if the government stepped up and encouraged young people to return, maybe things could change. Maybe, given the chance, these kids would use what they’d learned to make their hometown a better place, instead of running

all these points into the team, making sure everyone understood what was at

make this project work. They wanted

about new roads or money, but the minute you mentioned something that would help

nothing fancy, but the sheets and pillows are brand new.

Alessia’s room was tiny: a single bed, a wardrobe, and a desk crammed into a space barely big

three.

back in years,