The Overachieving Little Husband of the Top Scholar’s Household - Chapter 3: Sorghum Candy

“Making sugar? With sorghum?” Hu Qiuyan couldn’t hold back her curiosity.

The people of Du Family Village typically had access to three types of sugar. One was cane sugar, transported from the south, costing a hefty 120 wen per jin—something villagers could only afford to buy an ounce or two of during the New Year as a rare treat.

Another was malt sugar, a favorite among children. It was available in town, but making it consumed a lot of grain. A small stick cost three wen—enough to buy a whole egg.

The third, most common type, came from red sugar beets, which villagers planted in their fields. Though it wasn’t as sweet as the other two and was a hassle to eat, it was cheap and abundant. Planting four or five rows of beets and storing them in a cool place was enough to last a whole year.

Making sugar from sorghum? Hu Qiuyan had never heard of such a thing. Sorghum was one of the most abundant crops in the northeastern countryside—if it could really be turned into sugar, someone would have made a fortune from it by now.

“Apart from sorghum, I also need corn and sugar beets. Once I’m done, I’ll let you have a taste.”

“Then I’ll be looking forward to it.” Hu Qiuyan wasn’t convinced but didn’t want to discourage Qiu Huanian either.

She figured he was just trying to prove a point after being angered by Madam Zhao and Fubao. After a few days of experimenting, he would likely give up. Sorghum was cheap anyway—if he failed, he could still eat it as regular grain, so nothing would go to waste.

Qiu Huanian picked up two eggs and stuffed them into Hu Qiuyan’s hands. “Thank you, Auntie. Take these back for the kids.”

He had been worried that Baoquan’s wife would go back on her word, so he had specifically asked the village chief to send someone along to ensure the promised goods were delivered. Since someone had gone out of their way to help, it was only right to show some gratitude.

Hu Qiuyan hesitated briefly before putting the eggs into her basket, smiling even more brightly. This young man wasn’t just good-looking—he handled things neatly and efficiently. No wonder Sister Li had doted on him so much when she was alive.

“Hua Ge’er, let me ask you something—when is your husband coming home?”

“……”

Hearing the words ‘your husband’ nearly made Qiu Huanian choke. It took him a while to recover.

Sure, he liked men, but that didn’t mean just any man would do.

In his past life, he was young, successful, and handsome, with a great personality. He had plenty of suitors, many of whom were excellent candidates, but he had never been interested—his focus was entirely on his career and content creation.

Now, in this life, he had been handed a ‘husband’ from the start. While he wasn’t opposed to the idea in principle, he wasn’t about to accept it blindly either.

For now, he saw the man as a responsibility—just like Jiujiu and Chunsheng, someone he had inherited from the original owner of this body. His plan was to find a way to compensate the guy with a suitable wife later. Until then, he would treat him like a brother.

If Du Family’s eldest son turned out to be unreasonable and insisted on forcing things, well, Qiu Huanian had his ways of getting out of it.

“I heard the official road from the capital was damaged, which caused some delays. He should be back in about half a month.” Qiu Huanian recalled.

Over two months ago, Widow Li had finally succumbed to her illness. Before she passed, she sent a message to her eldest son in the capital, asking him to return home. But sickness waits for no one—not even ten days after the letter was sent, she was gone.

The original Qiu Huanian was devastated. He sent another message urging the eldest son to return while taking care of the funeral arrangements.

A few days ago, a letter finally arrived from Du Family’s eldest son—but instead of good news, it brought word of disaster. His mentor had been imprisoned, and he himself had been stuck in the capital for months, only recently managing to leave under the excuse of returning home for his mother’s funeral.

“It’s good that he’s coming back soon. Your family is full of young ones—having an adult man around will make things much easier. Just in time for this year’s spring planting, too.”

If he couldn’t take the imperial exam, at least he could farm.

Qiu Huanian noticed that Hu Qiuyan looked hesitant, as if she had more to say. He guessed, “Auntie, do you need something from my family’s eldest son?”

There was no way he was calling him ‘my husband’—even if you beat him to death.

“Well, once he’s back, he’ll need to find a way to make a living. If he’s planning to open a private school in the village, I’d like to have him teach my Yun’kang his first lessons.”

Qiu Huanian immediately understood.

At this time, education was expensive. Du Family Village was considered relatively well-off in the area, but it didn’t have a private school of its own. The nearest one was in town, run by an elderly scholar.

The town was half an hour away by mule cart or an hour on foot—not too far for villagers used to walking. But children just starting school couldn’t travel alone, so their parents had to accompany them. During busy farming seasons, who had the time for that?

Hu Qiuyan figured that Du Family’s eldest son had once been a prodigy recognized by a great scholar and had spent years studying in the capital. Even if his career prospects were ruined, his knowledge was still valuable.

If he opened a school in the village, her Yun’kang could study close to home—both convenient and cost-effective.

Ever since news of his return spread, Hu Qiuyan had this plan in mind. But since Widow Li’s funeral had just passed, she hadn’t felt comfortable bringing it up. Now, she finally had a chance.

If she didn’t have a favor to ask, she wouldn’t have been so eager to help, even going as far as to butcher and pluck the chicken before sending it over.

Qiu Huanian understood her intentions but didn’t agree immediately. “That depends on what Eldest Brother wants to do when he gets back. He didn’t mention opening a school in his letter, so I can’t make any promises.”

Hu Qiuyan was confused. Most scholars who couldn’t progress further in the exams ended up teaching—what else could he do? If he didn’t rely on teaching for income, wouldn’t all those years of study have been wasted?

Qiu Huanian casually made up a few excuses to dismiss her doubts.

In reality, he was more inclined to have this ‘husband’ of his keep studying and take the imperial exam.

Just like in modern times, education was the best way to change one’s fate. In ancient times, the imperial examination was the ultimate tool for social mobility—it was the most rewarding and high-potential investment one could make.

Du Family’s eldest son was nineteen years old, had once been a child prodigy, and had studied under a great scholar in the capital.

He was a prime candidate for the imperial exams.

—If it weren’t for the fact that the Yu Dynasty didn’t allow men like him to take the exams, Qiu Huanian would have taken them himself.

What was a little studying? He had spent twelve years cramming to get into a top university in his past life—this was nothing!

Unfortunately, he wasn’t eligible. So instead, he had to invest in his ‘husband’.

But before he committed to this plan, he needed to assess Du Family’s eldest son’s character and find out just how much trouble his teacher’s imprisonment had caused him.

Speaking of that… Qiu Huanian suddenly noticed something odd in his inherited memories.

“Auntie Qiuyan, I remember that the letter was delivered directly to our house. How did the whole village find out about its contents so quickly?”

Hu Qiuyan frowned. “I heard it from others—wasn’t it your family who spread the news?”

Qiu Huanian shook his head. “Why would we go around telling everyone our bad news?”

Hu Qiuyan realized something was wrong. Now that she and Qiu Huanian were on the same side, she immediately offered, “Don’t worry, I’ll ask around and see who started spreading it.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

“Don’t be so polite. Aren’t we still waiting to eat the sugar you made from sorghum?” Hu Qiuyan joked before turning and leaving.

After she left, Jiujiu and Chunsheng both gathered around, staring eagerly at the chicken on the stove.

Ever since the Du family fell into decline, the two children could only eat meat once a year during the New Year.

“Hua-gege, are you going to take it to town to sell?” Jiujiu asked in a low voice.

“No, we’ll make it to nourish ourselves,” Qiu Huanian said with a smile.

To encourage the people to focus on production and recuperation, the Yu Dynasty had shortened the mourning period compared to the previous dynasty—one month of deep mourning and twelve months to complete mourning. Because of this, they were now allowed to eat meat.

Jiujiu and Chunsheng cheered and eagerly volunteered to collect firewood.

Qiu Huanian washed his hands and prepared to cook the freshly slaughtered chicken.

He had originally planned to stir-fry the chicken, but upon finding its meat tough and dry, he had no choice but to make chicken soup instead.

The slaughtered chicken weighed just over two jin. He first chopped it into small pieces and soaked them, along with the chicken heart, liver, and other organs, in light salt water for half an hour. Then, he scooped them out and put them into the pot to cook. This process not only enhanced the meat’s base flavor but also removed any gaminess and enriched its taste.

There were no spices available, so he could only add some salt and a small handful of fresh green onions from the vegetable garden for seasoning. Fortunately, an old rooster naturally made a much richer chicken soup than modern fast-raised chickens—the taste was authentic.

While the chicken soup was cooking, Qiu Huanian grabbed a handful of pickled vegetables and sliced them into thin strips. Then, he cooked a pot of rice by mixing equal parts of white rice and sorghum. The aroma of rice and meat drifted beyond the courtyard walls, attracting the attention of many passing villagers.

“How come Hua-ge’er’s family is eating meat today?”

“Don’t you know? Fubao caused trouble this afternoon, and the Baoquan family compensated them with a chicken.”

“I heard that Hua-ge’er swung a firewood knife this long right in front of the village chief, aiming straight at Baoquan’s family’s face!”

“She deserved it. She’s been acting tyrannical for years, and now she’s finally met her match in a young boy…”

The walls in the countryside weren’t soundproof, so the discussions outside faintly reached Qiu Huanian’s ears as he cooked by the wall.

He curled his lips into a smile and called loudly into the house, “Jiujiu, Chunsheng, come drink some chicken soup! This chicken is enough for us to eat for three or four meals!”

Jiujiu put down the needle and thread in her hands, and Chunsheng stopped sorting the firewood he had collected. The two of them ran to the stove, scrambling to grab bowls of rice.

Qiu Huanian served each of them half a bowl of rice, adding a few pieces of meat and a spoonful of soup. The remaining meat and broth were stored separately in two bowls. Since the temperature wasn’t too high yet, leaving them in a cool place would keep them fresh for a few days.

“Does it taste good?” Qiu Huanian asked as they sat around the small table.

Jiujiu closed her eyes, carefully sipped a mouthful of soup, and exclaimed loudly, “Delicious!”

“It’s really delicious!” Chunsheng echoed.

Qiu Huanian smiled. This bowl of chicken soup was quite simple due to the lack of seasonings, but for these two children, it was a rare delicacy.

Outside, the sky gradually darkened. Villagers who had been working in the fields returned home one after another. The sounds of dogs barking and children running and playing echoed beyond the courtyard.

Qiu Huanian leaned over and lit the oil lamp on the table. The tiny flame bloomed instantly, casting a warm, soft yellow glow over the thatched house. The damp scent of earth wafted in through the open door, carrying the fresh fragrance of spring.

Looking at the two thin but adorable little ones eating happily, Qiu Huanian unknowingly found that even his own bowl of chicken soup tasted better.

In his previous life, he had always enjoyed this kind of life—simple, free, and close to nature. Although it was exhausting, every drop of sweat fell into his own hands.

But back then, he had lived alone in the countryside, and loneliness often crept up on him.

Now, after being reborn into a brand-new environment and meeting these two children just today, he unexpectedly felt a sense of warmth and stability.

Perhaps the memories he had inherited from the original owner had subtly influenced him. Or maybe it was because everything in the present aligned, in some way, with his deepest desires.

Since lamp oil was expensive, rural people usually went to bed early and woke up early.

After finishing the meal and tidying up the dishes, Qiu Huanian taught the two children to wash their faces and rinse their mouths with clean water. Then, he helped them heat up the brick bed before urging them to sleep.

After a long and busy day—one that included Fubao pushing people and the confrontation in the courtyard—Qiu Huanian secured the door latch, took off his outer robe, and the moment his head hit the pillow, he drifted into a deep and peaceful sleep.

The next morning, as the sky turned faintly bright, the crowing of the neighbor’s rooster woke Qiu Huanian.

Judging by the sky, it was no later than six o’clock.

He climbed out of bed, feeling completely refreshed, with no trace of drowsiness. Even the injury on the back of his head from yesterday’s fall had miraculously healed almost entirely.

Careful not to wake the two children, Qiu Huanian dressed and stepped into the courtyard, preparing to process the sorghum he had soaked the day before.

He planned to make a kind of traditional snack that existed in the modern era but, according to the original owner’s memories, had yet to appear in this world—sorghum candy.