Ch 23: Reborn to Raise My Husband

At the break of dawn, Qi Beinan got up. While heating water to wash up, he casually tossed two eggs into the pot.

He had promised Xiao Yuanbao they’d go into town in the morning to eat scallion-stewed pork rib noodles. But since they were up so early and the road to the county was still long, he figured they’d each have a boiled egg to tide them over.

The wind on a February morning was still chilly and damp, and a thick fog hung in the air. Qi Beinan carried a small basket on his back and led Xiao Yuanbao by the hand toward the edge of the village to catch the ox cart.

The air smelled of damp new grass and rich soil. A light breeze stirred the faintly sour scent of pear blossoms.

As they walked, he helped Xiao Yuanbao review his counting.

The little one bounced along, counting happily with him, making the walk feel less tiring.

Xiao Yuanbao could already count from one to fifty — he could recite it straight through, or count things one by one.

At home, Qi Beinan would have him count the chopped firewood. Outside, he’d point at ducks gathered by the pond and ask him to count those too…

Practicing like this all the time, putting learning to use — how could it not stick?

“There’s a cow!”

Xiao Yuanbao suddenly heard a couple of mooing sounds. He tugged at Qi Beinan and they followed the noise through the mist to find a big yellow ox tilling a field.

Not many families in the village owned oxen. Anyone who did and took it out for plowing earned quite the attention — a small crowd had gathered to watch.

But Xiao Yuanbao wasn’t caught up in the novelty of that. He was simply fascinated by animals that were bigger and stronger than people — and since they didn’t keep any livestock at home, he was curious.

“Xiao Qi! Bao Ge’er!”

Fang Youliang, with a basket on his back, was also standing not far off, watching the ox with eyes full of envy.

He was thinking he might ask around about ox prices once they got to town. He knew he couldn’t afford one yet, but getting a sense of the cost would still be comforting.

But it was spring plowing season — oxen were sure to be much more expensive than in the winter.

In the cold months, there wasn’t much field work, and it was harder to feed livestock — they’d easily fall ill. That was when oxen were cheapest.

He didn’t have one himself, but he knew the market well.

Just then, he spotted familiar faces and called out happily.

“You two heading to town too?”

“Hey, Brother Fang — you’re here too!”

The three of them walked to the village edge together.

Qi Beinan noticed Fang had packed some wild greens in his basket — a big bundle of freshly washed wild scallions, about ten tender toon shoots, and a basket of duck eggs.

“You’re going to town to sell vegetables, Brother Fang?”

“My second sister and third brother gathered all these wild greens. We’ve had our fill at home. I’m going to town to get medicine for my dad, so I figured I’d bring some to Team Leader Liu too.”

“Their family lives in town — they don’t grow any of their own. They have to buy all their vegetables. This stuff might not be worth much, but it’s freshly picked. I hear city folks love greens that don’t come from the regular fields.”

Qi Beinan nodded. “When my dad was still alive, he used to love buying toon shoots and duck eggs to stir-fry. If you didn’t go early, they’d be sold out.”

“Team Leader Liu values you, Brother Fang. It’s clear you’ve built some solid goodwill.”

The three of them reached the village entrance and then parted ways.

Fang Youliang, frugal as always, wouldn’t spend the coins for the ox cart. Qi Beinan, on the other hand, had a child with him. He couldn’t make the little one walk the whole way — when Yuanbao got tired, he’d have to carry him, and that would be exhausting.

In town, though not as lively as during the New Year, there was still a thriving, bustling energy.

Qi Beinan led Xiao Yuanbao straight to a breakfast stall steaming with warmth and savory fog. For ten copper coins, he ordered two bowls of stewed pork rib noodles.

The little guy didn’t sit on the bench to wait. He wandered over to the big cooking pot, clutching his little hands, eyes locked on the vendor’s husband pulling noodles.

Qi Beinan sipped some of the scallion bone broth and called out, “It’ll be ready soon. Come warm up with some soup.”

But Xiao Yuanbao just shook his head, still standing guard.

His gaze didn’t budge from the head-wrapped man kneading soft dough, slowly stretching and pulling it into thin noodles, tossing them into the boiling iron pot.

Beside him, a woman ladled out rich, pre-boiled bone broth, shimmering with a layer of oil.

When the noodles were ready, they were scooped out with some green vegetables into a bowl, topped with a ladle of braised pork ribs, and finished with tender, stewed soybeans and a sprinkle of chopped scallions — steaming and fragrant.

Xiao Yuanbao darted back to Qi Beinan’s side and sat down.

Qi Beinan pulled out a pair of chopsticks, wiped them, and handed them over. “You little foodie — I offered you two boiled eggs on the cart, but you didn’t want them.”

“I wasn’t that hungry,” Xiao Yuanbao replied.

“Then why stand there staring at the noodle vendor?”

Xiao Yuanbao beamed. “I wanted to see how they make such delicious noodles in the city.”

Qi Beinan raised an eyebrow. So studious?

Now that he thought of it, every time they’d eaten dumplings or noodles at a stall, the little guy always liked to stand nearby and watch.

Not just that — even at home, or at the Sun family’s place, he loved peeking into the kitchen.

He thought for a moment, then asked, “Why do you like watching people cook, Xiao Bao?”

Xiao Yuanbao blew on the hot soup, took a small sip, and with a happy squint said, “Because I want to learn how to cook too.”

Qi Beinan chuckled, “Is it because Father and Brother’s cooking isn’t good?”

But Xiao Yuanbao shook his head. “If I learn how to cook, I won’t ever go hungry again. And I already promised to cook tofu, eggplant, bamboo shoots… and even osmanthus cakes for Brother!”

Xiao Yuanbao counted on his fingers, carefully naming all the dishes Qi Beinan had mentioned before.

Qi Beinan’s heart softened, and he asked again, “But what if I hadn’t said I wanted to eat all those things, and you hadn’t promised to cook them — would you still want to learn how to make delicious food?”

Xiao Yuanbao thought hard for a moment, then said seriously, “Yes, I’d still want to. Being able to cook lots of food is really impressive. I want to be impressive!”

And truth be told, he had always loved seeing vegetables growing in the field turn into steaming, fragrant dishes in a bowl. Back when Qin Niazi was still at home, he’d thought she was amazing — she could make the whole kitchen smell delicious with her cooking.

Qi Beinan smiled with his eyes: “Cooking is a great skill. You’re right, Xiao Bao — once you know how to cook, you’ll never have to go hungry.”

“But to really learn something and become good at it takes time, effort, and a lot of hard work. It’s not easy. Can you stick with it?”

Xiao Yuanbao immediately put down his chopsticks and pretended to knead a ball of dough in his hands. Then he stretched it out with both arms, mimicking the noodle vendor from earlier.

The little guy even furrowed his brows and imitated the confident look of someone who’d been making noodles for over a decade.

Qi Beinan watched the imaginary noodle-making performance and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Xiao Yuanbao saw him laughing and pouted, muttering, “That’s exactly how the vendor did it…”

Qi Beinan quickly stifled his laughter and nodded over and over.
“Yes, yes! That’s exactly right. You’re very observant, Xiao Bao!”

Xiao Yuanbao huffed and picked up his chopsticks again to eat his noodles. He had actually been planning to mimic Grandma Sun chopping up duck, but after seeing how hard Qi Beinan laughed, he got too shy to show it.

Qi Beinan straightened up and said seriously,
“Then how about this — would you like me to find you a teacher? Someone to teach you how to cook?”

Xiao Yuanbao’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Really,” Qi Beinan nodded. “But only if you promise not to give up halfway just because it’s hard. If you’re sure you can stick with it, I’ll look for a teacher.”

“I won’t give up!” Xiao Yuanbao said quickly. “I’ll learn properly — just like I did with counting!”

Qi Beinan smiled and patted his head. “Good.”

He’d always believed that having a skill — something you could really do well — was a vital thing, whether for making a living or simply for personal fulfillment.

When your hands hold a craft, your heart stays steady. People who carry themselves with confidence and grace either come from strong families or rely on their own ability.

And even if someone had a good family background, without their own skills to support it, that fortune wouldn’t last or earn respect.

So seeing Xiao Yuanbao show genuine interest in something made Qi Beinan feel this was a rare and precious thing — something worth guiding.

He could offer Xiao Bao a safe place to depend on, yes. But more than that, he hoped the child could one day live well without having to rely on anyone.

Still, finding a teacher wasn’t something you could do on a whim. It was bound to be a bit of a challenge.

A teacher’s skill was important, yes — but even more so was their character. Someone with ability but the wrong values wasn’t the kind of influence a child should have.

But now that he’d made up his mind, it was time to start looking — better than wandering blindly.

Leaving the noodle stall behind, Qi Beinan took Xiao Yuanbao to the market.

Before the entrance to the market proper, both sides of the alley were lined with small stalls. These were run by local farmers selling vegetable seedlings and saplings.

Qi Beinan picked out a dozen eggplant seedlings, a bundle of twenty water shield sprouts, five bunches of yellow chive roots, and two jin (about a kilogram) of small scallion bulbs.

He also bought celery seeds, green onion seeds, and coriander seeds.

These seedlings and seeds were cheap — even with all the variety he chose, it only cost him fifteen copper coins in total.

Much more affordable than buying full-grown vegetables.

After that, he needed to head back into the bustling market to buy groceries. An elderly vendor kindly gave him directions.

She told him to follow the slanted alley all the way to the end and then turn a corner — it would be a much shorter walk than retracing his steps.

Qi Beinan wasn’t very familiar with the county town, so he figured winding through the alleys might help him learn the area better. He took Xiao Yuanbao’s hand and led him into the slanted alley.

It was a typical residential lane, nothing fancy about the homes on either side — though occasionally, a courtyard gate would stand out for its height.

The place reminded Qi Beinan of the alley he used to live in with his father back in Qiu County.

There weren’t many wealthy households here, but there also weren’t too many truly struggling ones either — most folks seemed to live by a craft or by running a small shop.

The main path through the alley was just wide enough for one horse-drawn cart. Two sedan chairs could pass each other, but barely — and when that happened, pedestrians had to step aside onto the stone-lined drains under the eaves.

Qi Beinan could tell this wasn’t unusual — and sure enough, a pair of sedan chairs approached from opposite directions. He and Xiao Yuanbao stepped aside onto the narrow ledge to give way.

Then, a sharp voice pierced the air:

“Tell me, your home in the countryside — it’s right next to the livestock pen, isn’t it?”

“No? Then how are you as thick-headed as a mule? What, did the donkey teach you how to think? You really are a bumpkin from a peasant household. Might as well give up and go farm the fields — studying is clearly a waste of time on you.”

A burst of laughter followed the mocking.

“Quiet! Silence, all of you!”

The scolding voice came from a wide-open courtyard just ahead. It sounded oddly familiar to Qi Beinan.

The woman standing beside him on the ledge shook her head and muttered, “At it again — scolding his students.”

Qi Beinan asked, “Is there a private school here?”

The woman with the basket replied, “Yes, it’s that one with the open gate.”

“The door’s always open while he scolds his students — you can hear that rattan ruler smacking palms all the way down the alley.”

“Such a strict teacher,” Qi Beinan said respectfully. “May I ask his surname?”

He asked with courtesy, though inwardly he was already thinking he should steer well clear of this kind of tutor.

Strictness wasn’t necessarily a bad thing — but this wasn’t strictness, it was cruelty.
A teacher is meant to guide students, not humiliate them or crush their self-worth.
From his tone alone, you could hear the contempt he held for peasant children.

The woman misunderstood and thought Qi Beinan was interested in enrolling a student. She lowered her voice and advised him kindly,
“Surname’s Chen. But if you ask me, don’t send your little lad to someone like that. Strict’s one thing, but he’s too strict. The quieter kids are so scared of him they can’t even concentrate, let alone learn.”

For some reason, someone popped into Qi Beinan’s mind just then.

Before he could think too deeply about it, more yelling spilled out from the open gate:

“Take your book and stand by the door to listen! You’ve been reading for years now — I’m not asking for eloquence, but you can’t even answer a question without stammering. What’ll happen if you get called to court and the Emperor questions you? You’ll piss your pants from fear!”

“Though with the way you’re going, I doubt you’ll ever make it to the capital. Good thing too — saves me the shame of having my student disgrace me in front of the Emperor.”

Xiao Yuanbao’s eyes went wide, and his breath tightened. He pressed himself against Qi Beinan’s leg, trying to hide, and whispered anxiously, “That teacher’s really scary. He’s scarier than father. I don’t want to study when I grow up.”

Qi Beinan covered Xiao Yuanbao’s ears and said gently, “Not all teachers are scary. My father was a teacher, and he wasn’t scary at all.”

Just as he was comforting the child, he looked up — and saw a familiar figure.

The boy being scolded stood there, his eyes red and brimming with tears, hands trembling, palms swollen from being struck. Holding a copy of The Analects, he carefully walked to the doorway and stood there.

Their eyes met. The boy froze — then his face turned beet red, almost the color of liver.

The tears that had been clinging to the corners of his eyes finally spilled over, falling not from pain, but from shame. He quickly turned away, not wanting anyone in the street to recognize him.

Xiao Yuanbao’s eyes widened in shock. He opened his mouth to call out “Brother Zhao!” — but Qi Beinan, quick as lightning, clamped a hand over his mouth.

Furrowing his brow, Qi Beinan feigned ignorance and quietly pulled Xiao Yuanbao back into the alley.

“That was Brother Zhao!” Xiao Yuanbao said in a hushed, urgent voice.

Qi Beinan nodded as they walked. “It was. You didn’t mistake him.”

“Then why didn’t you let me call him?”

Qi Beinan was surprised too — he had known that Zhao Guangzong studied at a private academy in the county, but not which one.

Just yesterday, Zhao had shown such unease when talking about his studies. Now it made sense.

He patiently explained, “Brother Zhao just got scolded by his teacher. He’s already feeling terrible. If someone he knows saw him like that, it’d only make him feel worse.”

Xiao Yuanbao half-understood, but nodded obediently.

He glanced back at the open courtyard one last time and saw Brother Zhao standing with his head bowed low.

Xiao Yuanbao had a strong sense of empathy. He thought that if he had been yelled at like that, he’d definitely cry — probably even harder than Brother Zhao.

He remembered how just yesterday, Brother Zhao had brought him fruit cakes.

He tugged on Qi Beinan’s hand and said, “Let’s buy some candied fruit for Brother Zhao too. If he eats something sweet, his heart won’t hurt so much.”

Qi Beinan smiled, ruffled the boy’s hair, and agreed, “Alright.”

Later that afternoon, Qi Beinan dropped Xiao Yuanbao off at the Fang household. He needed to make a trip to the Zhao home.

“I’ll come back to pick you up. The sun’s already getting low — don’t run around too much and get all sweaty. If it turns cold later, you’ll catch a chill.”

He gently touched the back of Xiao Yuanbao’s undershirt as he reminded him.

“Got it! I won’t run. Fang Jie’ers going to teach me how to tie my hair!”

“That’s perfect, then.”

Qi Beinan pinched his cheek playfully. “Now Brother’s off to see Brother Zhao.”

“Wait, Brother!”

Xiao Yuanbao tugged at his sleeve. Qi Beinan crouched down, and the boy leaned in close to whisper in his ear:
“Don’t forget the candied fruit for Brother Zhao. Tell him not to cry anymore.”

“I won’t forget,” Qi Beinan said with a smile. “I’ve got it all in my head.”

Xiao Yuanbao hugged his big meat bun and ran happily into the Fang courtyard to share it with Fang Jie’er and Fang Ge’er.

Only then did Qi Beinan quicken his pace toward the Zhao home.

But when he arrived, Zhao Guangzong hadn’t yet returned from school.

Luckily, Qi Beinan had brought along two books, saying he wished to discuss some topics with Guangzong.

Village Head Zhao and Madam Zhang were delighted and welcomed him in. They poured him tea and even brought out a plate of dried fruits.

“Guangzong used to live with his maternal grandfather in town when he was younger,” Village Head Zhao explained. “He only came home during rest days. It’s only now that he’s older that he makes the trip back and forth every day.”

He chatted with Qi Beinan as they waited. “Thankfully, the academy lets out early in the day. It’s only the mornings that are hard — he has to get up and be ready before dawn.”

“It’s fine during summer and autumn, but winter’s rough. Riding the ox cart, the wind can nearly tear your ears off. His hands freeze so bad he can hardly hold a brush — and the school doesn’t even have hot water.”

“I was thinking,” Village Head Zhao said, “if he’s got some aptitude for his studies and can pass the county-level exam, then even if his mother and I had to borrow a bit of silver, we’d grit our teeth and rent a small courtyard in town. That way, he wouldn’t have to work so hard just to study.”

Qi Beinan figured, given the Zhao family’s means, it probably wouldn’t be too difficult for them to get a small place in town for Zhao Guangzong. It seemed unlikely they’d really need to borrow money.

Still, he listened quietly. Such is the heart of parents — full of love and concern. The elderly couple clearly cherished their son deeply, though they probably didn’t yet realize the kind of hardship he was facing at his current school in town.

He replied, “If Zhao Guangzong knew what you and Madam Zhang were planning for his future, he’d surely be deeply moved.”

Village Head Zhao smiled contentedly and sipped his tea. He was just about to invite Qi Beinan to visit more often, when the servant outside called in:

“Young Master Guangzong is back!”

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