Ch 8: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

The chubby boy probably hadn’t exerted himself this much all year. His sweaty hand gripped Qin Zhao’s as he spoke, panting heavily.

Qin Zhao patted his hand. “Sit down first, and I’ll pour you some water.”

“There’s no time for that!” Chen Yanan got irritated at Qin Zhao’s slow and calm demeanor and snapped, “Your frail body wouldn’t survive a beating. Hurry up and leave!”

As he said this, his eyes suddenly caught sight of the chicken and eggs on the stove, and he froze. “Qin Zhao, did you strike it rich? What’s all this…”

Qin Zhao calmly replied, “Sit down, and I’ll explain everything to you.”

Before Chen Yanan could respond, footsteps approached from outside, and a woman’s voice called out, “Yanan, weren’t you supposed to be at your studies? What are you doing here?”

A woman entered, accompanied by several strong-looking men.

The woman appeared quite young, with sharp, upward-slanting eyes and a shrewd expression.

Chen Yanan instantly became timid. “Mother…”

Seeing him still holding Qin Zhao’s hand, the woman snapped, “Come here!”

Chen Yanan hesitated for a moment but didn’t move. “Mother, Qin Zhao, he…”

“You want to plead for him?!” The woman immediately grew angry, her voice sharp. “This man lived off our family, never showing any gratitude, and now he’s even dragging out the rent payments. What are you pleading for?”

Chen Yanan mumbled, “But…”

“Shut your mouth,” the woman scolded, then turned to Qin Zhao, her tone softening slightly. “Qin Zhao, sister-in-law knows you’ve had it rough, and I don’t want to make things hard for you. How about this? You leave the village now, and don’t take anything from the house. Consider it repayment for all the years of rent you owe the Chen family.”

Her change in attitude was quicker than flipping a page in a book.

Jing Li, hiding in the small wooden bucket, peeked out cautiously, revealing only his eyes.

With the money Qin Zhao had on hand, they could easily cover the rent, so Jing Li wasn’t initially worried. But seeing the aggressive demeanor of these people, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Something didn’t feel right…

Qin Zhao didn’t respond.

The small earthen house, already cramped, felt even more so with the presence of the large men.

Chen Yanan’s mother glanced around the room, confident in her stance.

She was known for being shrewd and capable. After her husband’s early death, she had managed to raise her son on her own and even sent him to study in town. In this village, Chen Yanan was the only one his age who was receiving an education.

In this era, the social hierarchy was clear—scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. But for most farming households, reading and writing were out of reach.

With recent poor harvests, producing a scholar meant losing a worker. And with the significant financial and physical resources required to educate a scholar, not to mention the uncertain outcome, few families were willing to make such a losing investment.

But Chen Dasa was different.

From the very beginning, she never let her son do a single day of farm work because she knew that staying in the village would mean a life of farming with no chance of rising above their station. However, passing the imperial exams could change everything. It was a chance for one person to achieve success and bring prosperity to their entire family.

As for making things difficult for Qin Zhao, she had no other choice.

Without a man in the house, she had to handle all the farm work and household chores by herself, while also supporting a son who was studying. The difficulties she faced were unimaginable.

The time to pay the tuition at the academy was approaching, and if she didn’t find a way to gather the money, they might not be able to afford it this year.

In the past, she could still shamelessly borrow money from her in-laws, but now, with the old lady of the Chen family on her deathbed and her brothers-in-law and their wives all waiting to divide the family assets, there was no guarantee she could even get anything from the inheritance, let alone borrow money.

She had to act quickly.

She had her eye on Qin Zhao’s house for a long time.

This old earthen house was built before the Chen family became prosperous. Back then, she had to use all her powers of persuasion to get the old lady to agree to let her son use it for his studies. Who could have expected her son to bring back a burden, allowing this outsider to occupy the house for three years for nothing?

Now that the old lady was bedridden, it was the perfect time to seize the house back.

But that wasn’t all.

She knew Qin Zhao had valuable items.

When this man was rescued, just selling the worn-out clothes he had on him paid for half a year’s worth of grain and medical fees.

At that time, the clothes were not the only thing he had on him.

Those items were undoubtedly still hidden in this house. Once she drove him out, everything would be hers.

Chen Dasa smiled confidently, knowing she was determined to succeed.

“Qin Zhao,” she said, “Sister-in-law doesn’t want to make things ugly. Will you leave on your own, or shall I have someone escort you out?”

As soon as she finished speaking, several of the men behind her began to step forward.

Qin Zhao’s movements remained unhurried as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch. The sound of coins jingling inside was unmistakable.

“I’ve been under the care of the Chen family for so long,” Qin Zhao said calmly, “Of course, I should repay the debt.”

“You have money?” Chen Dasa’s expression changed slightly. “Let me see if it’s enough.”

She reached out to take the pouch, but Qin Zhao deftly avoided her grasp.

“According to the rental agreement, the money should be returned to the Chen family matriarch. If I am to repay it, it should be to her, not to you,” Qin Zhao replied politely.

Chen Dasa’s face stiffened, and she forced a smile. “My mother is mostly paralyzed now and can’t even speak, so we, as her children, are the ones handling the debts on her behalf.”

“…You’re not just stalling for time because the money isn’t enough, are you?” she accused.

Chen Dasa’s true aim was the valuable items hidden in the house. There was no way she would let Qin Zhao return the money or even give him a chance to pack his belongings.

She wasted no more time, barking orders, “Stop wasting words with him. Get him out!”

Several strong men responded and moved toward Qin Zhao.

Jing Li, anxious, was about to leap up when he saw Qin Zhao lift his foot and kick the bench near the table while quickly grabbing the wooden bucket.

He didn’t use much force, but the bench hit the leg of the closest man, causing him to cry out in pain. The man was then shoved from behind, causing him to fall straight onto the table, striking his back against the edge.

“Ah—!”

The earthenware bowls on the table shattered on the ground, and the man who had been hit twisted his face in pain. Another man, seeing this, turned and swung a punch at Qin Zhao.

Qin Zhao’s eyes flickered, and with just a slight sidestep and a tilt of his head, he easily dodged the punch. The man, having used too much force, nearly stumbled into a pile of firewood nearby.

“You… you…” Chen Dasa’s face turned ugly as she pointed at Qin Zhao, her hand trembling. “You can’t even handle a sickly man! All of you, get him! If we get the money, everyone will get a share!”

“Enough!” Chen Yanan stepped in front of Qin Zhao, finally losing his patience. “Mother, since Qin Zhao said he has the money, why are you still pressuring him like this?”

The group, with Chen Yanan blocking their way, hesitated and didn’t dare make another move.

“You don’t understand. Move aside!” Chen Dasa snapped. “He’s not really trying to repay the debt; he’s just stalling for time! If we don’t collect today, once your grandmother passes, and he takes off with everything, who are we going to get the money from? Do you still want to keep studying this year?”

Chen Yanan muttered quietly, “I didn’t really want to in the first place…”

“Chen Yanan!”

“Is it true that the Chen family’s matriarch had a stroke?” Qin Zhao interjected softly.

“And what if it is?” Chen Dasa sneered. “I heard you know a bit about medicine. What, do you think you can cure my mother?”

Qin Zhao calmly replied, “I can try.”

“Really? You can really save my grandmother?” Chen Yanan’s eyes lit up.

“Chen family’s matriarch has been kind to me. I will do my best,” Qin Zhao said, looking at Chen Dasa. “If I fail to save her, then you can kick me out of the village.”

Chen Dasa’s expression wavered. She looked at Qin Zhao, then at Chen Yanan, who was standing protectively in front of him. Finally, she said, “Three days.”

“I’ll give you three days. If you can’t cure her, you’re out of the village.”

Qin Zhao nodded, “It’s a deal.”

Chen Dasa left with her men.

Outside, one of the men grumbled, “Chen Dasa, that wasn’t what we agreed on. We skipped our farm work to come with you, and now we’re leaving empty-handed?”

Chen Dasa waved him off, “Go on, each of you can take half a sack of flour from my house. Stop getting in my way.”

The men left, satisfied, while Chen Dasa glanced back at Qin Zhao’s small earthen house and muttered under her breath, “You’d better really be able to cure her.”

Inside, Qin Zhao closed the door.

“They’re gone,” he said.

Chen Yanan, finally relieved, collapsed to the ground. “Did… did I just yell at my mother? I’m done for… she’s going to kill me when I get home…”

Qin Zhao ignored him and looked down at the little koi fish in his arms. “Were you scared?”

Jing Li looked up at him from the water.

He hadn’t expected Qin Zhao to have such skills. The agility he had shown just now made it seem like he had practiced martial arts before.

Jing Li became even more curious about who Qin Zhao was in the past.

More importantly, Qin Zhao just now… he was… pretty cool.

Jing Li’s head started to spin a little.

Qin Zhao put the bucket back on the table, picked up the fallen stool, and helped Chen Yanan, who was slumped on the ground, up, pressing him down by the table: “What’s done is done, there’s no point in dwelling on it.”

Chen Yanan immediately became unhappy: “I saved you, and this is your attitude?”

Qin Zhao poured a cup of water and placed it in front of him, saying, “Thank you.”

“That’s more like it…” Chen Yanan took a sip of water, calming down a bit. Then he asked, “By the way, can you really cure my grandmother? My family has already called in several doctors from the town, and none of them could do anything. You haven’t even seen her; how can you be so sure you can cure her?”

“… Or maybe you should just run away?”

Qin Zhao asked, “If I really ran, would your family just give up on the money?”

Chen Yanan was at a loss for words.

Qin Zhao gently stroked the little fish in the water, saying calmly, “Your mother is so eager to raise money because it’s time to pay the school fees, right?”

Chen Yanan stayed silent, and Qin Zhao continued, “You don’t want her to raise the money because you don’t want to go to the private school.”

Jing Li suddenly understood.

He had thought Chen Yanan had a conscience and came to warn Qin Zhao out of the goodness of his heart.

Turns out he just wanted to skip school.

Since he was exposed, Chen Yanan stopped pretending and sighed dejectedly, “I’m just not cut out for studying. Out of all my classmates, I’m the only one who hasn’t passed the county exam. Spending all this money is just a waste; I might as well stay home and farm.”

Qin Zhao said, “The next county exam is in February next year; there’s still time.”

“Sigh, give me a few more years and I still won’t pass…” Chen Yanan sighed again and stood up, “Enough about that. I should go back and calm my mother down. When will you come to see my grandmother?”

Qin Zhao: “I still need to prepare. Tomorrow morning.”

“Alright.” Chen Yanan glanced around the room and asked curiously, “By the way, it looks like you’ve been eating well these past few days—fish and chicken. Did you find some money on the road?”

I’m not the food!

Jing Li splashed in the bucket a couple of times.

“…” Qin Zhao quickly pushed the koi fish back into the water and said, “It’s a long story. I’ll explain it to you another time.”

After sending Chen Yanan off, Qin Zhao returned to the table.

“Still in a daze?” Qin Zhao asked with a smile. “Don’t you want to eat meat anymore?”

Of course, I do!