The Overachieving Little Husband of the Top Scholar’s Household - Chapter 9: The House Repair Plan

It was another early morning. The sorghum candy made the previous day was enough to sell for another two days, so there was no need to work—no need to make sugar or starch. For the first time, Qiu Huanian found himself idle in the morning. After breakfast, he started inspecting the thatched house they lived in.

Having grown up in the modern era, Qiu Huanian had been relying purely on willpower to sleep these past few days. He felt it was absolutely necessary to renovate the house.

First, there were the windows. The window in their left-side room was half-broken, letting in cold drafts at night. Though the weather was no longer particularly cold, it was still uncomfortable.

Then, the flooring. The house had no tiles, just bare earth, which was uneven and easy to trip on. It also made the entire room dusty.

Next was the heated brick bed (kang). One side of it had already sunk, forcing the three of them to squeeze onto the other side to sleep.

On the bed, there was only a layer of straw and a woven mat, nothing else. At night, each person took their own mattress from the cabinet and laid it out to sleep on.

The mattresses were at least twenty to thirty years old. The cotton inside had been washed and reused so many times that it was now thin and lumpy, making it uncomfortable to sleep on. The quilts were in a similar state, offering poor insulation.

With the lingering spring chill, if it rained, given their current physical condition, they would likely all fall ill overnight.

Moreover, Du Yunse was coming back soon. Qiu Huanian hadn’t forgotten that he had taken on the identity of a ge’er—a male who could bear children. It was better to be safe than sorry, so they would definitely have to sleep in separate rooms.

That meant the main room needed to be tidied up as well. It wouldn’t be fair to fix up one room and neglect the other.

Qiu Huanian did some calculations based on the money he had and decided to fix the windows first to prevent them from falling sick when it rained. The rest could be dealt with later, step by step.

Standing on a small stool, Qiu Huanian inspected the window and found that several of the wooden lattice bars had snapped. Without them for support, even a moderate breeze would tear through the window paper.

It wasn’t difficult to fix. Since he had plenty of free time, Qiu Huanian removed the entire window frame, took it to the courtyard, pulled out the broken lattice bars, and replaced them with new ones made from scrap wood he found in the storage room, ensuring they were the same size.

Throughout the morning, people kept knocking on the door to sell sugar beets. Qiu Huanian had Jiujiu and Chunsheng help with reception and weighing. Jiujiu was a quick learner—after a little guidance, she could already read the scale and calculate payments.

Sugar beets were quite heavy, with each one weighing about two jin (roughly 1 kilogram). The villagers in Du Family Village didn’t grow them in large quantities—those who had a lot sold about twenty to thirty beets, while those with fewer brought just a handful.

By noon, Qiu Huanian had collected over a hundred sugar beets. Based on the current consumption—three beets per hundred pieces of sorghum candy—if sales didn’t increase, this supply would last over a month.

Seeing Qiu Huanian working on carpentry in the courtyard, many villagers were surprised and praised him for being skilled. When asked how he knew woodworking, Qiu Huanian credited it to the late Du Baoyan, saying he had learned by studying the tools and drawings left behind.

There were only a few dozen households in Du Family Village, so news spread fast. By the end of the day, everyone knew that not only could Hua ge’er make sugar, but he also knew carpentry.

That evening, a group of women and ge’ers gathered at the village entrance for idle gossip.

“Back during the famine years, Widow Li traded sorghum for Hua ge’er. Everyone thought she was foolish, getting a sickly, skinny ge’er as a child bride for her son, the scholar studying abroad.”

“But look at him now. Hua ge’er has not only grown more handsome but is also smart and capable. Most importantly, he’s filial and kind-hearted. Widow Li has been gone for over two months, yet he’s taken such good care of Jiujiu and Chunsheng—he hasn’t let them suffer at all.”

“Not just that, I heard those two kids now eat meat every day! They look just like the children of rich landlords—so much healthier now.”

“This is all thanks to Hua ge’er’s abilities. We can’t envy them for that. Those two kids are lucky. Even though they lost their parents early, they still have a great sister-in-law.”

“Too bad his husband’s future is ruined. But at least Hua ge’er is skilled enough that they can still live well.”

“Isn’t that just living off a woman?”

“Shhh—don’t say that!”

“If Hua ge’er’s former family in Shangliang Village finds out about his abilities, they’ll definitely regret selling him.”

“Speaking of which, I remember Hua ge’er and his husband never held a wedding or formal ceremony, right? When they bought a child bride, I don’t think there was even a written contract. If…”

“Hua ge’er doesn’t seem to have that kind of intention, but I’m worried his old family might try something shady.”

…

That afternoon, after selling the last batch of candy, Qiu Huanian soaked another batch of sorghum in lye water, preparing to continue making starch the next day.

After having dinner with Jiujiu and Chunsheng, he sent them out to play and started pasting new window paper.

A single sheet of decorative window paper in town cost eight wen, and the quality wasn’t great. Finding that too expensive, Qiu Huanian instead bought four sheets of plain, bright white paper for three wen each from a stationery shop. He also spent two wen to rent a brush and ink, using them to paint simple ink plum blossoms, bamboo, chrysanthemums, and orchids on the paper.

His painting skills were also something he had picked up quickly. Back when he was working on a paper lantern project, he had spent a month copying famous paintings to learn how to depict plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, chrysanthemums, koi fish, and cranes.

While he had mastered the basic shapes, he lacked the depth of true artistry—his paintings looked fine from afar but were messy up close. Still, for window paper, they were more than good enough.

The stationery shop owner, Wang Cheng, was amazed to see a village ge’er who could paint and asked Qiu Huanian to help draw a batch of scriptures for the upcoming Qingming Festival, offering eight wen per sheet.

Qiu Huanian was eager to earn more money, so he agreed to come by in two days.

The main house had four windows, and each of the two side rooms had two. Since one sheet of paper could cover two windows, four sheets were just enough for all of them.

—Replacing only one window would make it look mismatched, so he decided to do them all at once.

Just as he was leisurely pasting window paper in the courtyard, he suddenly heard a knock at the door. The sky was already dark—at this hour, visitors were unusual.

Opening the door, Qiu Huanian frowned, trying to recall who the visitor was. Then he remembered—it was none other than Zhao Shi’s eldest daughter-in-law.

Wei Liuhua had come out under the cover of dusk. Seeing Qiu Huanian frown, her already anxious heart clenched even tighter.

But thinking about her starving son, she couldn’t back down. Forcing a smile, she spoke, “Hua ge’er, I have two things I’d like to discuss with you. Could you let me in first?”

In the original owner’s memories, Zhao Shi’s eldest daughter-in-law was hardworking and capable. She never joined her mother-in-law in bullying others and had never had any conflict with him. Seeing the genuine tension and pleading on her face, Qiu Huanian believed she wasn’t faking it and stepped aside.

“Sister-in-law, please come in.”

Wei Liuhua let out a sigh of relief and sat in the courtyard with Qiu Huanian, recounting word for word what Yunhu had overheard the previous night.

“Yunhu only heard Zhao Shi say that she had already contacted your maternal family to cause you trouble, but she didn’t specify exactly what she had done,” Wei Liuhua said, deliberately adjusting her terms of address to draw closer and show her stance.

Qiu Huanian momentarily paused in his work of pasting the windowpanes.

He remembered the original host’s background well.

The original host was born in Shangliang Village, a three-hour walk from Du Family Village. His mother passed away when he was six or seven, and his father soon remarried. As a ge’er who wasn’t his stepmother’s own child, he was not well-treated. He barely got one full meal a day and was so malnourished that his ribs protruded through his skin.

Six years ago, a famine struck Zhang County, and the original host’s biological father was persuaded by a toothwoman to sell him in exchange for food. But he was too thin and frail, looking as if he might collapse at any moment, incapable of doing much labor. The toothwoman took him around trying to sell him again and again, but no one wanted to buy him, and each time he returned home, he suffered a brutal beating.

Finally, while passing through Du Family Village, a widowed woman named Li, who was carrying her posthumous child, saw him and found him pitiful. She exchanged two dou of sorghum for him and brought him home.

Neither the original host nor Qiu Huanian had anything to do with the Qiu family of Shangliang Village anymore—their ties had been completely severed.

Qiu Huanian couldn’t immediately figure out what Zhao Shi was scheming. After all, he was a modern person. Even with the original host’s memories, it was difficult to fully adapt to this ancient way of thinking so quickly.

“Thank you for the warning, Sister-in-law. I’ll be careful,” Qiu Huanian expressed his gratitude.

Wei Liuhua, seeing that his attitude was amicable, felt reassured and then explained her intention of collecting sugar beets from her maiden village.

“I know you need a lot of sugar beets to make candy, and I happen to have a way to source them. How about I run the errands and charge a small fee? Still at the rate of one wen per two jin. How many do you need?”

Qiu Huanian glanced at Wei Liuhua and guessed that she was doing this behind Zhao Shi’s back. To ensure that he wouldn’t hold a grudge against her, Wei Liuhua had proactively revealed Zhao Shi’s scheme. It seemed like Du Baoquan’s household wasn’t very harmonious.

Qiu Huanian quickly did the calculations in his head.

The beets collected today would last for over a month, but Du Family Village’s supply was nearly exhausted. He had to plan ahead. If he could find a way to increase sales in the future, he couldn’t risk being limited by the availability of raw materials.

He said to Wei Liuhua, “Let’s start with a hundred jin. Spread the word over there so people know that sugar beets can be sold and won’t eat them. When I need more, I’ll let you know.”

Wei Liuhua happily agreed. She planned to buy the beets at one wen per three jin, and since the total cost was only about thirty wen, she could gather the funds with some help from her maiden family.

Wei Liuhua left quietly, and Qiu Huanian continued pasting the windowpanes, his mind preoccupied with Zhao Shi’s plot.

What kind of scheme could possibly threaten him through his long-estranged biological family in Shangliang Village?

Lost in thought, Qiu Huanian didn’t even notice when Jiujui and Chunsheng returned. It wasn’t until they called him several times that he snapped back to reality.

He realized the windows were already finished without him noticing. Standing up, he took advantage of the bright moonlight to carefully reinstall them one by one.

Before going to bed that night, an idea suddenly struck him. He turned to the two children and asked, “Jiujiu, Chunsheng, have you ever been afraid that something might happen to your brother?”

He had only asked in an attempt to broaden his thinking, but to his surprise, both children’s faces turned pale in unison.

Could there really be something I’ve overlooked?

Qiu Huanian quickly reassured them and guided them to speak up slowly.

“Some people in the village say that Brother Hua isn’t really part of our family and might be taken away.”

“Isn’t Brother Hua our real brother? Why would they say he isn’t?”

“I won’t let Brother Hua leave!”

With teary eyes, Jiujiu and Chunsheng recounted the village gossip they had overheard while playing.

Qiu Huanian stood frozen, as if struck by lightning. Finally, he unraveled the mental block that had been plaguing him.

He had considered that the original host and Du Yunse hadn’t formally married, but he had overlooked one crucial fact: in ancient times, people could be bought and sold like goods. And like all goods, he had an “owner”!

When Widow Li purchased the original host, no formal document had been signed, and he had never officially married Du Yunse. That meant that in the eyes of the law, the original host was still the property of his biological father!

This was no fault of Qiu Huanian’s. As a modern person, without a reminder, it was nearly impossible for him to remember that a distant, unknown, non-wealthy, non-powerful scoundrel still had absolute authority over his fate.

Originally, the Qiu family had considered the original host a half-dead burden, so they had never come looking for him. But now that he had proven his capabilities, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t start coveting him.

They might not dare to risk completely falling out with Du Family Village, but if the potential benefits were great enough, someone would be willing to take the risk.

Qiu Huanian took a deep breath, his hands clenching into fists. Zhao Shi had already sent the message—it was too late to stop it. He could only find another way to counter it.

He realized that, for the first time since transmigrating, he was about to face a survival crisis of real consequence.