Ch 57: Transmigrated to become a Koi Husband

Qin Zhao let out a chuckle.

Jing Li frowned in displeasure. “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing.”

Qin Zhao turned his head and coughed lightly, quickly restraining his smile. “Let’s go inside first.”

The two entered the courtyard. Qin Zhao placed the basket on the table and went inside to change clothes.

Jing Li, who was still waiting for an explanation: “…”

What’s with this guy!

Jing Li glanced at the bamboo basket on the table. He wanted to look, but hesitated. Technically, the items were given to Qin Zhao by that girl, so he shouldn’t open it carelessly. But if he didn’t look…

He couldn’t swallow this feeling.

Jing Li had always known that quite a few people in the village had a quiet interest in Qin Zhao. With Qin Zhao’s good looks, his health improving, and his growing reputation in town, it was only natural that some would have their sights set on him.

He hadn’t forgotten about the incident with Ah Xiu.

But that matter was only known to his family and the Li family; most people in the village had no idea. So… Qin Zhao had never openly stated that he didn’t need to marry a wife.

As for a husband, whether in the village or the town, their status was far lower than that of a formal wife. No one took them seriously.

Qin Zhao naturally didn’t see it that way, but he couldn’t control how others thought.

Jing Li vaguely understood where his frustration was coming from.

He wasn’t a submissive Ge’er of this era; he was a normal man. He had jealousy and possessiveness. He wanted everyone to know that Qin Zhao was his and didn’t want anyone secretly coveting his lover.

Whether male or female.

Thinking this, Jing Li reached out and quietly lifted a corner of the basket.

Why shouldn’t he look? He and Qin Zhao were already a family, so Qin Zhao’s things were naturally his as well.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from behind. Jing Li quickly withdrew his hand and stood up straight. “I wasn’t sneaking a look!”

Qin Zhao: “…”

This silly little one.

Qin Zhao walked up to him, leaning down to kiss him, but Jing Li dodged.

“Little jealous fish, still angry?”

Jing Li turned his head away. “Not angry.”

“Alright, I won’t tease you.” Qin Zhao casually lifted the coarse cloth covering the basket. “If you want to look, just look. There’s nothing you can’t see.”

Only then did Jing Li clearly see what was inside.

“This is…”

Qin Zhao replied, “A gift of respect.”

The term “gift of respect” referred to a traditional ceremony for becoming a disciple. In this era, such gifts were usually money, but for some poor families, offering crops or dried meat as gifts was not uncommon.

Jing Li suddenly understood the hesitation in the girl’s behavior earlier and asked quietly, “That girl… does she want to enroll in the school?”

Qin Zhao nodded. “Yes.”

“But why did she come to you? Isn’t enrollment managed by the village chief?”

A few days ago, the village chief had put up a notice stating that the academy was about to be completed, and those who wanted to study could sign up with him.

These past few days, the village chief had been handling the recruitment for the academy, and Qin Zhao hadn’t been involved.

Qin Zhao replied leisurely, “I guess she probably faced rejection from the village chief.”

In ancient times, it was an unwritten rule that girls were not allowed to attend school. The village chief’s refusal was not surprising.

The primary reason was that the court forbade women from taking the imperial examinations or serving as officials. Even if they learned to read and write, it would not be of much use. It was considered better for them to learn sewing and embroidery and marry early.

Another reason was the separation of genders. Allowing an unmarried girl to study under the same roof as other men could harm her reputation.

As a result, the few women who could read and write in this era mostly came from wealthy families who could afford to hire private tutors to teach them at home.

Jing Li looked down at the items in the bamboo basket, feeling a twinge of discomfort in his heart.

Who knows how long it took that girl to gather these things? Yet, after working so hard to put together her gift of respect, she was met with a closed door when trying to enroll.

She must be feeling terrible.

Qin Zhao covered the basket with the coarse cloth again and sighed. “She didn’t dare to speak directly to me just now and handed the items over instead, most likely because she feared I would reject her as well.”

Jing Li asked, “Then… will you return the items to her?”

Qin Zhao replied, “That depends on you.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t want my little fish to be upset with me over this matter.” Qin Zhao pinched Jing Li’s earlobe and pulled him to sit by the table. “If you mind, I’ll return the items to her.”

“I-I don’t mind these things,” Jing Li murmured, his ears burning. “I misunderstood just now. If that girl simply wants to study, of course, I wouldn’t mind.”

“Really?” Qin Zhao tilted his head, teasing him, “If I accept her, I will see her every day and teach her to read. Little fish, have you thought it through?”

“Mm.” Jing Li nodded.

He only minded when someone showed interest in Qin Zhao. It wasn’t like he would nitpick over every little thing.

He wasn’t a vinegar jar like Qin Zhao.

Jing Li thought for a moment and asked, “So, you don’t mind accepting girls into the school?”

“I have never believed that women shouldn’t learn to read and write,” Qin Zhao said calmly.

Jing Li blinked in surprise, but Qin Zhao didn’t elaborate further. Instead, he added, “Tomorrow, we’ll first go talk to the village chief. This isn’t something I can decide alone. Now go change your clothes; you’re covered in dirt.”

“Got it.” Jing Li responded and turned to head inside. Suddenly, something came to mind, and he looked back at Qin Zhao. “So, you did it on purpose earlier, didn’t you?”

Qin Zhao: “Hmm?”

Jing Li narrowed his eyes. “You clearly knew that girl was here to become your disciple. Why didn’t you just say it? Were you deliberately trying to make me angry?”

Qin Zhao: “…”

He certainly didn’t think of it that way. He just found his little fish’s pouting expression extremely adorable and wanted to tease him a bit more.

In the end, as soon as his little fish realized the girl was there to become a student, he immediately calmed down. Qin Zhao felt a little regretful about that.

Qin Zhao said, “You’ve misunderstood. I was just—”

“I’m sleeping outside tonight,” Jing Li coldly threw out this statement, and in front of Qin Zhao, he began untying his sash.

As his clothes fell to the ground, a flash of red light appeared. The little koi flopped out of the house, flicked its tail, and vanished into the pond.

Qin Zhao: “…”

…

The next day, Qin Zhao took Jing Li to visit the village chief’s house in person.

The village chief was in his study, organizing the student list. Seeing them enter, he smiled and said, “If you hadn’t come today, I was going to look for you.”

He handed the list to Qin Zhao and said, “This is the first batch of students. I’ve already compiled the list; there are eleven students in total. Have a look.”

The registration list clearly noted each student’s name, age, address, and whether they had paid the gift of respect.

The village chief said, “Many of the farming households in our village are not well off, so I discussed with the villagers that they can pay the gift of respect monthly. As for your monthly stipend, it will be the same as before, given to you on a monthly basis.”

The school in the village charged a lower fee than the one in town, with each student paying 150 wen per month, which could also be exchanged for goods of equivalent value. Qin Zhao and the village chief would take turns teaching, splitting the gift of respect.

With eleven students, Qin Zhao would receive over 800 wen each month.

This was not a small amount.

Qin Zhao carefully examined the registration list and nodded, “Alright.”

The village chief then asked, “Is there something you need from me?”

Qin Zhao placed the bamboo basket on the table and explained what had happened with the young girl who had come to see him the day before.

“It must be that girl Qing from the Lin family. She came to see me yesterday,” the village chief said, frowning. “Are you here to speak on her behalf?”

“Yes,” Qin Zhao replied.

The village chief was silent for a moment before saying, “Qin Zhao, you are a scholar. You should understand why I refused her. Women simply should not—”

“I don’t believe that women shouldn’t learn to read,” Qin Zhao interrupted. “Literacy is not solely for passing the imperial examinations or serving in the court. Being able to read brings many benefits and conveniences. You, as the village chief, should understand this; otherwise, you wouldn’t be so adamant about establishing a school in the village.”

“…I just believe that these conveniences should not be exclusive to men.”

His words left not only the village chief but even Jing Li stunned.

Jing Li hadn’t expected Qin Zhao to think this way.

Having lived in modern society, Jing Li naturally harbored dissatisfaction with the gender divisions of this era. The separation of men and women was not a reason to exclude women. In the village, men plowed while women wove; why should it be decreed that women couldn’t serve in the court?

But Qin Zhao, who lived in this era, holding such a perspective was indeed rare.

The village chief’s expression turned somewhat grim, and he continued, “Even if your argument makes sense, Qing from the Lin family is not yet married. How can she study at the school?”

“That’s precisely why I came to see you, to find out the ages of the students enrolled,” Qin Zhao placed the registration list back on the table and calmly said, “The students currently enrolled in the school are as young as six, with the oldest being no more than ten. Letting Qing study alongside them won’t affect her reputation.”

There was no rule in the village prohibiting women from going out. At this age, boys and girls often played together, without strict gender boundaries.

Qin Zhao hadn’t explained his decision to Jing Li the day before because he wanted to confirm the ages of the other students first.

If there were older male students, it indeed wouldn’t be appropriate to admit the girl into the school.

Not because they were unwilling, but because doing so could greatly damage the girl’s reputation.

“This…” The village chief was left speechless by his argument.

After a long pause, the village chief sighed softly. “Very well. Since you’re the teacher I hired for the academy, if you want to accept her, then go ahead.”

Jing Li had just shown a hint of joy when he heard the village chief continue, “However, as far as I know, that girl Qing’s father is unwilling to let her attend school. Yesterday, after hearing that she came to see me, he came and said that he would not spend a single penny on her education. If she insists on going, he’ll simply marry her off to another village.”

“…If you want to accept her, convincing me is far from enough. You’ll also have to get past her father’s objections.”

As they left the village chief’s house, Jing Li walked with his head lowered, feeling a bit downhearted.

Qin Zhao ruffled Jing Li’s hair. “Little fish, I know what you’re thinking. But this is all we can do; the rest is not for us to interfere with.”

“But…” Jing Li hesitated.

Indeed, everyone has their own way of life. They were currently living here and had been accepted by the villagers, but that didn’t mean they could interfere in others’ lives.

They had already broadened the enrollment requirements, which was as much as they could do. The rest depended on whether the girl could convince her family and enroll successfully.

“I know…” Jing Li said. “I’m already happy that you were willing to persuade the village chief to relax the gender restriction. I thank you on behalf of that girl.”

“Only on her behalf?” Qin Zhao raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you thank me too?”

Jing Li blinked. “What do you mean?”

Qin Zhao replied, “Didn’t a certain someone want to be my student as well? If girls aren’t allowed to enroll, wouldn’t you, as a ‘ge’er,’ also be excluded?”

Jing Li suddenly understood.

Indeed, in this era, the status of ge’er was even lower than that of women. If women were turned away, ge’er would be even less likely to be accepted.

Qin Zhao leaned in with a smile. “Speaking of which, isn’t someone overdue to pay their gift of respect? In a couple of days, it will be time for the apprenticeship ceremony.”

“I… I don’t have any money…”

He had spent all his money while preparing their bridal chamber and now didn’t even have a single coin on him.

Qin Zhao lowered his head and whispered in Jing Li’s ear, “The village chief said that equivalent items can be exchanged.”

Jing Li’s ears grew warm, and he turned his head away. “Equivalent items… I don’t have any—mmph—”

Qin Zhao suddenly gave his earlobe a light nibble.

They were still outside!

Jing Li was about to protest when Qin Zhao stood up straight and pulled him forward.

Jing Li asked, “Where are you going?”

“That girl Qing is from the Lin family, so she probably knows Second Uncle Lin. We can ask him for her address,” Qin Zhao replied.

Jing Li was stunned. “You’re going to help her?”

“It’s my little fish who wants to help her,” Qin Zhao glanced back at him, speaking softly. “The payment and the gift of respect will both be deferred until tonight.”