The Overachieving Little Husband of the Top Scholar’s Household - Chapter 19: Questioning

Qiu Huanian ran his fingers through his half-dry hair, his skin appearing as smooth as white jade under the moonlight, carrying the faint, fresh scent of soapwort.

Wei Liuhua stared at him in a daze for a moment before lowering her voice and saying, “Hua-ge’er, we’ve brought back the sugar beets from my mother’s village.”

Qiu Huanian immediately understood. Clearly, the couple did not want Zhao Shi to know what they were up to, which was why they were being so secretive.

He stepped aside to let them in. Yunhu and Wei Liuhua carried the sacks into the courtyard. “Hua-ge’er, this is one hundred jin of sugar beets. We picked the biggest and best ones. Everyone in our village knows about this great opportunity and is just waiting for the next harvest.”

Wei Liuhua had spent many days persuading Zhao Shi until she finally relented and allowed her to visit her mother’s home. The couple had set out before dawn in their mule cart and only managed to return by nightfall.

To avoid being noticed, they left the mule cart tied up outside and carried the harvested sugar beets directly to Qiu Huanian.

Qiu Huanian inspected the beets briefly and found that the ones Wei Liuhua had brought were of excellent quality. Their size and juiciness were noticeably superior to those from Du Family Village.

Without bothering to weigh them, he went straight inside, counted out fifty copper coins, and handed them over. Wei Liuhua and Yun Hu exchanged glances, overjoyed. They had earned seventeen wen on this trip—not much, but it was money they could control themselves!

Wei Liuhua hesitated for a moment before asking shyly, “Hua-ge’er, can I buy two eggs from you? And a piece of sorghum candy?”

She feared that unforeseen circumstances might prevent her from saving the money to buy food in town. It would be best if You-ge’er could eat something good tomorrow.

Qiu Huanian had heard that Zhao Shi’s family raised more than ten chickens, so why would Yun Hu and his wife need to buy eggs elsewhere?

He guessed there must be some underlying trouble but chose not to ask for now. Instead, he fetched two eggs and a piece of sorghum candy and charged them seven wen.

Since their mule cart was still outside, the couple didn’t dare to linger. They quickly gathered up the empty sacks and left.

As they reached the courtyard gate, Wei Liuhua turned back and saw Du Yunse stepping out of the house. He naturally took the cloth from Qiu Huanian’s hands and gently helped him dry his hair while seated on the cool bench under the pear tree.

Her heart ached slightly at the sight. She lowered her head and looked at the eggs in her hands, then smiled. Life was hers to live—she would work hard to earn more money, raise her You-ge’er well, and ensure that one day he would be just as capable and fortunate as Hua-ge’er.

After the couple left, Jiujiu said to Qiu Huanian, “Liuhua-sao bought the eggs for You-ge’er.”

“You-ge’er? Her child?” Qiu Huanian only knew that Wei Liuhua and Yun Hu had a son, who, according to rumors, had been frail since birth and had never been brought outside to meet anyone.

“You-ge’er is very weak. He’s almost three years old but can barely walk steadily. His grandmother doesn’t let him eat properly. I once saw Liuhua-sao secretly holding You-ge’er and crying.”

Jiujiu was a quiet and shy girl, rarely speaking much, but her bright eyes saw everything clearly when she played in the village.

Hearing this, Qiu Huanian felt uncomfortable. He didn’t have much of a relationship with Yun Hu and his wife and was openly at odds with Zhao Shi. But as a modern person, he couldn’t ignore the fact that a three-year-old child was being starved and mistreated by his own grandmother.

Du Yunse continued drying his hair with gentle movements. His fingertips accidentally brushed against the soft skin behind Qiu Huanian’s ear, and he quickly pulled away as if scalded.

“If you feel sorry for them, you can include them in money-making opportunities in the future. But your own well-being should always come first,” Du Yunse said.

Since returning to the village, he had already heard about Zhao Shi instigating Fubao to push Qiu Huanian. His guard was up against that family, and he harbored strong hostility toward them.

“I know. Their family hasn’t split yet. If I help too much, I’d just be helping Zhao Shi and bringing trouble on myself.”

After drying his hair, they all worked together to store the newly delivered sugar beets in the warehouse. Ever since Meng Wudong started selling sugar outside, the consumption of sugar beets had skyrocketed. The previous stock was nearly depleted, so this new batch had arrived just in time to relieve Qiu Huanian’s urgent need.

Now that life at home was gradually settling into a routine, Qiu Huanian no longer had to wake up at the crack of dawn every day. In the mornings, he could wake up naturally at a leisurely pace. When he stepped outside, he would see Du Yunse reading under the pear tree in the courtyard, the mule and chickens already fed, and the water tank filled.

Qiu Huanian prepared breakfast, woke the two children, and called them to eat. After breakfast, Hu Qiuyan brought Yun Kang over, and Du Yunse spent some time teaching them in the main room. He assigned them passages to memorize or characters to trace before continuing with his own studies.

For tracing practice, they used cheap bamboo paper that cost one wen per sheet. Hu Qiuyan had bought a stack for the three children to share. Since Du Yunse didn’t charge tuition, she felt she should contribute something.

Qiu Huanian sat in the courtyard, working on woodworking. When he looked up, he could see through the open door of the main room—Du Yunse was quietly absorbed in his book. His slender fingers pressed lightly against the pages, his expressive eyebrows shifting between relaxation and concentration. Occasionally, their eyes would meet, and they would exchange a knowing smile before returning to their respective tasks.

During the “recess” that Qiu Huanian had suggested, the three little ones would come to the courtyard to watch him work on his woodworking.

“Hua-gege, why are you weaving things today?” Yun Kang crouched down curiously.

Qiu Huanian was busy weaving large, square baskets about ten centimeters deep using several bundles of tender willow branches he had cut from the mountains yesterday. Hearing the question, he chuckled. “I’m preparing things for planting cotton.”

“Cotton? Can we even grow cotton in Du Family Village?” Yun Kang remembered his mother saying that cotton for quilts had to be transported from the south.

“If Hua-gege says we can, then we can!” Chunsheng huffed, defending Qiu Huanian.

“I never said we couldn’t!” Yun Kang retorted, starting an argument.

The two boys bickered in the courtyard while Jiujiu, being a little older, didn’t join their squabble. Instead, she helped Qiu Huanian sort the willow branches, stripping off their leaves.

Qiu Huanian had sharp eyes and noticed that Jiujiu was wearing a string of woven wildflowers near her temple. The pale yellow flowers stood out beautifully against her jet-black, glossy hair.

“Jiujiu, where did you pick those flowers? They look really nice.”

Jiujiu smiled shyly, pressing her lips together. “Cunlan from the clan leader’s family gave them to me this morning. She wove two garlands while picking wild vegetables in the mountains.”

“Then be sure to give Cunlan a piece of candy in return. It’s good to spend time with friends your age.”

Over time, Jiujiu had become much less timid and withdrawn than she had been at first.

Qiu Huanian hummed an off-key tune in a good mood as he worked, completing one willow tray after another. Each finished tray measured one and a half meters in length and width, with over three hundred small compartments, each about the size of a child’s fist, carefully woven into the interior. The woven willow bottom allowed for ventilation, making it a simple, cost-effective yet highly efficient ancient version of a seedling tray.

In recent days, the spring plowing in Dujiacun had already begun. Many people were in the fields, turning the soil and removing weeds in preparation for sowing. However, Qiu Huanian had yet to make a move because cotton preferred warmth, and the weather was still a bit cold. The ideal planting time would be in another month.

Finding some time, Qiu Huanian took the deed for his four mu of dry land and went to see the clan leader, explaining his intention to exchange it for irrigated land.

A mu of high-quality irrigated land was worth about three taels of silver, while a mu of dry land was worth around one tael. However, most families were unwilling to trade irrigated land for dry land, so the exchange rate fluctuated accordingly.

The clan leader had initially assumed that Qiu Huanian had yet to start farming because his family owned a mule, and he had only a small amount of land, so he wasn’t in a rush. But upon hearing that he wanted to plant cotton, the old man stroked his beard thoughtfully.

“Baoren, go and take a mu of irrigated land next to Yunse’s family’s fields and exchange it with Hua Ge’er. Make up for the price difference with one extra tael of silver.”

“Father, this…”

Baoren was dumbfounded. In all his years, he had never heard of cotton being grown anywhere near Zhang County. Although cotton fetched a high price, if the crops failed, the losses would be just as great.

“We’ll also set aside a mu of our own irrigated land and grow cotton alongside Hua Ge’er. When the time comes, Hua Ge’er, can you teach us how to do it?”

Qiu Huanian grinned. “No problem. Come autumn, we’ll sell the cotton and make money together.”

The cotton market was huge. Teaching them how to plant it wouldn’t take much effort, and since the clan leader’s family had always been good to them, Qiu Huanian saw no reason to refuse.

After Qiu Huanian left, Baoren still had doubts. Seeing this, the clan leader tapped his cane on the ground and said, “I’m entrusting this matter to you. Bring your two brothers along and learn. If Hua Ge’er’s family gets too busy, lend him a hand. The most important thing is to master the skill of growing cotton.”

“Father, do you really believe Hua Ge’er can grow cotton?” Baoren wasn’t doubting Qiu Huanian’s abilities, but the idea of growing cotton here was simply inconceivable. If cotton could be cultivated in Zhang County, someone would have already made a fortune off it by now.

“I don’t know how he plans to grow it, but I can tell that Hua Ge’er never makes empty boasts. If he’s exchanging all his land for irrigated fields just to plant cotton, he must be confident. Baoren, a man should be steady but also willing to take risks. At worst, we’ll lose the harvest from one mu of land, about two taels of silver. What are you afraid of?”

Baoren thought his father made sense and slowly came around to the idea. Hu Qiuyan had similar thoughts. When she saw the twenty or thirty large willow trays that Qiu Huanian had woven, she spent an entire night discussing with Baoshan before finally deciding to approach Qiu Huanian about planting a mu of cotton on their irrigated land as well.

Ever since getting to know Qiu Huanian, Hu Qiuyan had never seen him fail at anything. He was putting so much effort into preparation—could the cotton possibly not grow?

After all, cotton was hard currency, selling for 180 wen per jin. Based on what she had heard about cotton yields, one mu could produce over a hundred jin, which meant a value of more than twenty taels of silver!

Hua Ge’er even said that, using his method, they could yield even more!

With both the clan leader’s family and Hu Qiuyan’s family choosing not to plant rice on their irrigated fields, the sight stood out in the farmlands. When people asked about it, they were shocked to learn that Qiu Huanian intended to plant cotton.

“He really dreams big. Come autumn, when nothing grows in those fields, all that fine irrigated land will have gone to waste. Without any grain for the next year, he’ll finally realize his mistake and cry over it,” Li Gu’er sneered in Du Baoquan’s courtyard.

In the western wing, Wei Liuhua quietly closed the door and carefully fed Youge’er half an egg, ignoring the chatter outside.

Over the past few days, after repaying her debts, she had used all her remaining money to discreetly buy eggs from Qiu Huanian in small batches. Qiu Huanian would occasionally even give her half a bowl of corn porridge or some rice congee from his pot. Thanks to this, Youge’er’s complexion was no longer as dark and ashen, and his cries were getting stronger.

Li Gu’er, not getting the reaction she wanted, refused to give up and walked toward the western wing. Alarmed that she might discover that Youge’er had just eaten, Wei Liuhua quickly stepped outside.

“Wei Liuhua, didn’t you hear what I just said?”

Since Zhao Shi looked down on Wei Liuhua, Li Gu’er followed suit, never addressing her as “sister-in-law” and instead calling her by name.

Wei Liuhua’s brows furrowed. “Hear what? Even if Hua Ge’er fails to grow cotton, the money he makes from selling sugar is enough for him to eat white rice every day. Who is it that won’t have food next year? Certainly not him.”

“You—!” Li Gu’er’s anger flared. She felt like Wei Liuhua was mocking her. As a niece who had taken refuge with her uncle’s family, she was the one who truly had to worry about not having enough to eat. If she weren’t constantly currying favor with Zhao Shi, she wouldn’t even have a place in the household.

Wei Liuhua couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. She picked up a washbasin from the yard and went out to do laundry.

Li Gu’er might have had a tough background, but she neither worked diligently nor tried to learn any useful skills. Instead, she wasted her time scheming and playing petty tricks. Wei Liuhua had no patience for people like her.