Ch 27: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

The next day, Qin Zhao made sure to get up early and head to town for the morning market.

Jing Li was by his side, holding onto his hand. The sleeves and pant legs of the clothes he wore were rolled up several times, and the long robe nearly dragged on the ground. Jing Li tugged uncomfortably at the collar, and Qin Zhao said, “No one can see it, stop fussing with it.”

“I just feel uneasy…” Jing Li tightened the collar, trying to cover the few fish scales on his neck.

He didn’t have any clothes that fit, so Qin Zhao had specifically brought him to town today to buy some. However, Jing Li still wasn’t very good at transforming into a human, and after much effort, he still couldn’t completely hide a few fish scales on his neck. Though the scales were in a discreet spot, hidden by the collar, Jing Li couldn’t help but worry that someone might notice.

He originally didn’t want to come out, but Qin Zhao was reluctant to leave him home alone, insisting on bringing him along.

Whether Qin Zhao was genuinely concerned about leaving him alone at home, or whether he just wanted to show off the little fish wearing his clothes in town, was up for debate.

Qin Zhao pulled his thoughts back, forcing himself not to overthink things.

They soon entered a fabric shop in town.

Qin Zhao rarely visited such proper fabric shops. The nearby villages all grew cotton and ramie, and as the saying goes, men plow and women weave; while the men were out working the fields, the women took care of the weaving at home.

Buying fabric from a farming family was much cheaper than from a town shop.

However, the fabric woven by farmers was mostly plain, without much variety, and wasn’t as finely processed.

The fabric shops in town were different, offering a wide range of patterns, with cotton, linen, silk, and satin clearly categorized by type.

As soon as they walked in, the shopkeeper came forward to greet them.

“What style are you looking for, young master? Are you making clothes or bedding?”

Jing Li, worried that someone might see his fish scales, clung tightly to Qin Zhao’s arm and hid behind him, too scared to speak.

Qin Zhao patted his hand and said to the shopkeeper, “For clothes, something soft.”

“Is it for this young master here?” the shopkeeper asked with a smile.

Both Qin Zhao and Jing Li were strikingly handsome. Qin Zhao, when not speaking, had an air of aloofness, but Jing Li was entirely different. His face was adorable, with a slightly timid and shy demeanor that naturally elicited a protective instinct from others.

The shopkeeper, rarely seeing such uniquely charming young men in town, was particularly warm and friendly toward the two.

He led them to a section of the shop and said, “Take a look at this one. This cotton fabric is soft, light, and breathable, making it very suitable for wearing next to the skin. Would you like to feel it?”

Qin Zhao tested the fabric’s texture, then turned to Jing Li and asked, “What do you think?”

Jing Li, one hand still covering his collar, poked his head out to touch the fabric, then frowned, “I don’t like the color.”

The color was too dark and not appealing at all.

Most of the men who came to buy fabric in town were locals or from nearby villages. Dark colors were practical and good for working, so it was usually the shop’s best seller. That’s why the shopkeeper had recommended it first.

Qin Zhao also felt that the color didn’t quite suit his little fish, so he looked around the shop and said, “I’d like to see that fabric over there.”

Jing Li followed his gaze, and his eyes lit up.

It was a piece of bright red fabric. The texture seemed similar to the one they had just looked at, but the pattern was more intricate, with an elegant, vibrant hue.

“Young master, you have a great eye! This pomegranate red is the most popular style recently. It’s new stock that just arrived, and you won’t find it anywhere else!” The fabric shop owner beamed, quickly bringing over the fabric. “Look at this dye, and look at the pattern—it’s beautiful!”

The color wasn’t as bright as pure red, but it was more flattering, especially for someone with a complexion like Jing Li’s. Qin Zhao grew more satisfied the longer he looked.

Jing Li liked it too. He touched the fabric and casually asked, “How much?”

The shopkeeper replied, “The fabric for one outfit is 500 wen, and the tailoring fee is 30 wen. We’ll make it for you and deliver it right to your home!”

Jing Li was taken aback and tugged at Qin Zhao’s sleeve, whispering, “Let’s check another shop.”

It was expensive. Just one outfit could cost them a month’s worth of food.

Seeing Jing Li’s frugal expression, Qin Zhao couldn’t help but smile. “It’s fine, if you like it, we’ll get it.”

Jing Li did like it, but he was already freeloading off Qin Zhao for food and shelter, and he couldn’t justify such a luxury.

Just as Qin Zhao was about to convince him otherwise, Jing Li said, “Let’s look at other options first!”

In addition to outerwear, Jing Li also needed undergarments, pants, and shoes, all of which cost money. Since clothes worn close to the body require high-quality fabric, Jing Li carefully selected materials, and the total cost for two or three outfits, including tailoring, came to around 740 wen.

When it was time to pay, Jing Li still felt a pang of reluctance about that first fabric. Most of the materials he chose were red, but none matched the pomegranate red in beauty.

Qin Zhao, knowing what was on his mind, said to the shopkeeper, “Wrap up that fabric too.”

Jing Li was surprised. “No, it’s too expensive…”

Qin Zhao gently interrupted him, “Be good.”

“But…”

The original selection cost 740 wen, and adding this fabric would bring the total to 1,270 wen.

That’s a lot of money, which would take Qin Zhao a long time to earn.

Qin Zhao added, “No need to tailor it—just wrap the fabric and deliver it to Linxi Village.”

Jing Li was puzzled. “Does he even know how to make clothes himself???”

In Jing Li’s bewildered gaze, Qin Zhao paid for everything and lightly tapped his forehead. “What are you thinking? I’ll have it made by someone in the village.”

Getting the clothes tailored in town would have cost nearly 200 wen just in labor fees.

But if they took the fabric back to the village, it could be made for only a few dozen wen.

Jing Li suddenly understood.

“You’re really thrifty, knowing how to save money.” Jing Li said earnestly as they left the fabric shop.

Qin Zhao: “…”

Sensing Qin Zhao’s brief pause in his steps, Jing Li turned back to him. “What’s wrong?”

—Completely oblivious to the fact that using “thrifty” to describe a man might not be the most appropriate choice.

Qin Zhao was really curious about what exactly went on in this little fish’s mind all day.

The little guy was still looking back at him, seemingly having completely forgotten about the fish scales after their visit to the fabric shop. Although the collar covered them, nothing was really visible anyway.

Qin Zhao met his gaze for a moment, then shook his head, saying, “We’re out of meat at home. Let’s head to the market.”

Life in the mountain village wasn’t easy. Even for a wealthy family like the Chens, meat wasn’t something they ate often. If the villagers knew what Qin Zhao was feeding his fish with every day, they would probably be shocked.

No, wait—it’s not just feeding a fish anymore; it’s feeding his “fulang.”

Thinking of this, Qin Zhao felt a bit troubled.

The little guy still didn’t know what “fulang” meant, but everyone in the village already saw him as Qin Zhao’s husband. This couldn’t be kept a secret forever.

It would be better to find an opportunity to explain it to him properly, rather than risk him blurting out something confusing if someone asked about it later.

He decided to explain when they got home.

After buying some meat at the market, Qin Zhao also bought a few pieces of cake. Then, he and Jing Li strolled around the street to see if there was anything else they needed.

In the mountain village, most people were self-sufficient. Common vegetables, fruits, and eggs could be bought from the villagers.

In a little while, the vegetables growing in their garden would mature, so they wouldn’t even need to buy vegetables anymore.

Jing Li finished one piece of sugar cake, and Qin Zhao opened the oiled paper package to hand him another. Jing Li was about to take it when he suddenly paused, as if something had crossed his mind.

Qin Zhao asked, “What is it now?”

“I don’t think this is right,” Jing Li said, looking at the steaming sugar cake in Qin Zhao’s hand. “We’ve already spent a lot of money today.”

Qin Zhao: “…”

He’s realizing this after eating more than half?

Isn’t it a bit late?

Qin Zhao held back his laughter and said, “It’s okay.”

The clothes were necessary, and as for these cakes, they had enough money on hand to indulge in a few treats for the little guy.

“It’s not okay,” Jing Li insisted, genuinely worried. “We still need to buy furniture when the house is finished—the bed, your desk, wardrobe, cabinets. It’s going to cost a lot. We need to save money.”

Qin Zhao found himself unexpectedly being lectured and lifted the cake a bit higher, asking, “So… should we still eat these?”

Jing Li’s gaze fell on his hand, where the sugar cake lay quietly in the oiled paper, still steaming.

“One last time!”

They wandered from one end of the street to the other, buying all the essentials. As usual, Qin Zhao arranged for the purchased goods to be delivered to Linxi Village and planned to walk back with Jing Li.

As Qin Zhao loaded the backpack into the man’s cart, Jing Li looked at him with concern and asked, “Are we really going to walk back? Can you manage?”

Qin Zhao paused: “…”

He calmly took a breath, finished loading the goods, and turned to him. “You’ll find out soon enough if I can manage.”

Jing Li: “?”

That sounded… a bit strange.

After sending off the goods, Qin Zhao didn’t rush to leave the town with Jing Li. Instead, they visited a carpenter’s shop.

The new house would be completed in a few days. Once it was ready, they would move out of the small room they were currently staying in, so the furniture needed to be ordered in advance.

Although they could ask a farmer in the village to make the furniture, neighbors usually just charged the cost price for labor, especially someone like Lin Changzhong, who was already familiar with Qin Zhao.

After a few rounds of inquiries, Qin Zhao became reluctant to trouble them.

First, he didn’t want to keep owing people favors, and second, everyone wasn’t exactly well-off, so it wasn’t good to keep asking for help.

However, after asking several carpenter shops, the prices turned out to be far beyond what Qin Zhao had expected.

By the time they asked the last shop, Jing Li was starting to feel a bit dazed. “I shouldn’t have eaten those few pieces of sugar cake earlier…”

Qin Zhao couldn’t help but laugh.

In reality, even if Jing Li hadn’t eaten the sugar cakes, Qin Zhao still wouldn’t be able to afford the furniture in the town with his current savings.

It seemed they would have to return to the village and ask someone there for help.

As they left the carpenter’s shop and were about to head towards the town exit, they suddenly heard someone calling from behind, “Benefactor, benefactor!”

The two turned around and saw Fang Tianying running towards them from a distance.

When Fang Tianying reached them, he said, “I was just about to head to Linxi Village. I didn’t expect to run into you here, Benefactor.”

Qin Zhao asked, “You were looking for me?”

“I didn’t get a chance to repay you yesterday because things were so rushed,” Fang Tianying explained. “Are you planning to return to the village now? How about having a meal first? My treat.”

Qin Zhao was about to decline when he suddenly felt a gentle tug on his sleeve from behind.

He turned around to see the young boy looking up at him slightly, fingers clutching his sleeve, with innocent eyes gazing at him.

Qin Zhao: “…”

Qin Zhao said, “Then, thank you for the invitation.”

It wasn’t quite noon yet, so the restaurant wasn’t very crowded. As soon as Fang Tianying walked in, the waiter greeted him enthusiastically, “Young Master Fang, here again? The usual spot?”

Fang Tianying nodded.

The waiter led them to a quiet seat by the window on the second floor, where they had a wide view. Looking down, they could see the bustling main street outside.

Fang Tianying, knowing that Qin Zhao probably didn’t frequent such establishments, didn’t ask what he wanted to order. Instead, he took the initiative to order several of the restaurant’s best dishes and said, “Let’s start with these, and bring a pot of wine as well.”

Qin Zhao interrupted, “I don’t drink.”

Fang Tianying then looked at Jing Li, “And him…?”

“He doesn’t drink either.”

“Alright, no wine then,” Fang Tianying instructed the waiter. “Just be quick with the food.”

The waiter responded eagerly, served them a pot of tea, and then left.

Fang Tianying personally poured tea for the two of them and said, “Benefactor…”

Qin Zhao replied, “Saving you was just a small favor. You don’t need to call me that.”

“Alright,” Fang Tianying agreed, quickly changing his tone. “You’re older than me, so I’ll call you ‘Big Brother.’”

He then added, “By the way, I saw you both coming out of the carpenter’s shop earlier. I heard you’re building a new house, so you must be getting some furniture made, right?”

Qin Zhao nodded, “Yes.”

“You should have told me sooner,” Fang Tianying said. “Those carpenter shops you visited belong to my family. Whatever you need, just let me know, and I’ll make sure they take care of it and have it delivered to you!”

Jing Li was taken aback.

They were just worrying about not being able to afford the furniture, and now it’s being offered to them?

Qin Zhao knew that the Fang family was in the lumber business, so he calmly shook his head and said, “That’s part of your family’s business, and it’s too valuable. I can’t accept it.”

“What’s the big deal? If you hadn’t saved me, I might have starved to death in the mountains,” Fang Tianying replied. “If you don’t let me repay you, I would feel guilty.”

Qin Zhao said, “Even if you hadn’t met me, your family’s servants would have found you eventually.”

Fang Tianying was taken aback. “How did you know I—”

Even Jing Li could roughly guess.

Given Fang Tianying’s status, if he were to go on a long journey, his family would certainly have someone accompany him. It didn’t make sense for him to get lost in the mountains alone.

Fang Tianying seemed to realize this too. He scratched his head and laughed, “I had a little disagreement with my father. It’s nothing to be proud of, Brother Qin.”

“But wait, why did we stray from the topic? Are you going to accept the furniture or not?”

Qin Zhao insisted on refusing, but Fang Tianying didn’t give him the chance to decline. With just a few words, he shut down Qin Zhao’s objections, saying that if Qin Zhao didn’t specify what he wanted, he would have the store make a set according to the highest specifications. If the furniture didn’t fit in the courtyard, they could just use it as firewood.

Qin Zhao felt helpless toward Fang Tianying’s spoiled temperament and had no choice but to agree.

“That’s better, no need to be so polite with me,” Fang Tianying said with a satisfied smile. “Even if it’s not just for saving me, I still need to apologize for yesterday’s incident.”

He was, of course, referring to the trouble his family’s servants caused Qin Zhao while searching for the koi.

Qin Zhao shook his head. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

To be honest, aside from scaring the little fish, yesterday’s events didn’t really cause Qin Zhao any harm. In fact, it might have even been a good thing, as it allowed the little fish to no longer have to hide his secret.

“Ah, only Brother Qin would be so magnanimous,” Fang Tianying sighed, unaware of this. “I’ve already told my father not to bother with my Uncle Lu’s foolish… ahem, posting those notices, which have disturbed everyone.”

Qin Zhao was a bit curious. “So, you don’t believe in finding that koi?”

Fang Tianying replied, “To be honest, I don’t believe that koi even exists!”

Jing Li instinctively exchanged a glance with Qin Zhao before he continued asking, “Why don’t you believe it? Isn’t it said that the koi belonged to Lord Lu?”

Fang Tianying glanced around, lowered his voice, and said, “Brother Qin, I’m telling you the truth, but don’t tell anyone else. My uncle says he lost the koi, but in fact, he never even saw the fish.”

Qin Zhao raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Fang Tianying explained, “I heard that this koi was actually raised by the abbot of a temple in Jiangling Prefecture.”

“It’s said that the abbot was a highly attained monk who passed away not long ago, and the temple changed ownership. Somehow, this koi ended up being sold off.”

Qin Zhao said, “So, Lord Lu is just the buyer of the koi?”

“Exactly,” Fang Tianying said. “My uncle hasn’t been in good health for years, so he’s started to believe in these things. He somehow heard about this koi and wanted to spend a thousand taels to buy it.”

“That’s a thousand taels!” Fang Tianying exclaimed in disbelief. “Do you think he’s just got too much money lying around?”

He added, “He even paid a few hundred taels as a deposit, but the fish never even reached his hands. The story goes that the cart carrying it overturned, and the fish escaped—who’s going to believe that kind of nonsense? How could someone be that unlucky?”

Jing Li was drinking water at that moment and suddenly choked, coughing violently.

Meeting him, it’s entirely possible for something that unlucky to happen.

…I’m really sorry about that.

Qin Zhao handed him a cup of water just in time.

Jing Li took a big gulp of water, finally calming down a bit.

What Fang Tianying just said matched perfectly with the events Jing Li had experienced since arriving here. It seemed that he had arrived on the journey from Jiangling to Qingshan Town, and who could have known he was naturally so unlucky that the cart overturned, giving him the chance to escape?

But looking at it another way… it was a kind of luck.

Otherwise, how could he have met Qin Zhao?

Fang Tianying continued, “You saw that painting on the notice, right? They say it was left behind by that high monk. But I think my uncle was just scammed. There might be a koi, but it surely isn’t as magical as they say, and it definitely wasn’t with those people handling the transaction, or else how could such a coincidence happen?”

“You’re wrong,” Jing Li interrupted him. “How could there be no koi? There’s a saying, ‘Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.’ The koi definitely exists and can help people fulfill their wishes.”

He was ostensibly speaking to Fang Tianying, but was secretly watching Qin Zhao’s reaction.

Qin Zhao glanced at him and understood.

The little fool was still worried about being sent away.

It seemed that the things he had said a few days ago had truly scared him.

Suppressing the smile that threatened to show, Qin Zhao nodded seriously and said, “Yes, I also believe the koi’s existence is real.”

Fang Tianying looked from Qin Zhao to Jing Li, incredulous. “How can you both believe in that?”

“…Fine, believe it if you want,” Fang Tianying sighed. “I just hope there really is a koi that can bring me some good luck.”

Qin Zhao said, “Sincerity is key.”

“Brother Qin makes a good point.”

As they spoke, the waiter arrived with the dishes.

Fang Tianying was a regular at the restaurant. After the waiter served the food, he introduced each dish to them, saying, “These are all the specialties of this place. Try them first, and we can order more if you like.”

“And don’t be shy, sister-in-law!”

Qin Zhao: “…”

Jing Li, who was just about to start eating: “?”