Because the original owner had a beautiful appearance, her smile made her even more attractive.

Especially with her eyes curved into crescents, Qin Fang couldn’t take his eyes off her.

He couldn’t help but say, “Okay.”

Someone of his background didn’t have many rules at home, and besides… his gaze shifted to Yang Haiyan’s hands.

Her hands were so beautiful—they were meant for writing, embroidery, and making soap.

Of course, these rough chores should be left to him.

Yang Haiyan asked, “Are you sure it’s okay? Would my husband really wash the dishes? But won’t it be frowned upon if others find out? In most families, it’s the wife who does the dishes.”

Qin Fang replied, “Your hands are precious. You can read and write, make soap, and even sew clothes…” Afraid she would feel guilty, he added, “Besides… in my family, my father is the one who washes the dishes.”

Father, please forgive me for lying.

Upon hearing this, Yang Haiyan said, “Husband, you’re so good.”

She beckoned him over, “Bend down.”

Qin Fang, confused, obediently bent down.

Then, Yang Haiyan gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, “Thank you, husband.”

Afterward, she ran out of the kitchen.

Qin Fang stood there in a daze for quite some time before coming back to his senses.

He couldn’t help but touch his cheek and silently smiled.

When he smiled, the coldness on his face softened.

In fact, Yang Haiyan’s heart was also racing as she left the kitchen.

It was the first time she had kissed a man.

In her mind, 20-year-old Qin Fang was like a little puppy.

She felt a bit embarrassed about teasing him like this, but seeing his nervous expression made it all the more amusing.

Yang Haiyan went to the storage room and scooped out a ladle of lye.

Besides making soap, lye had another major use—it could be used as dishwashing liquid.

Since lye could be turned into soap, it naturally had excellent cleaning properties.

When Yang Haiyan returned to the kitchen, she saw that Qin Fang had already tidied up the table and was preparing to wash the dishes.

She said, “Husband, pour some of this lye into the dishwater. It can help remove the grease and clean the dishes thoroughly.”

Hearing her voice, Qin Fang’s heart involuntarily sped up, though he maintained a serious expression. “Okay,” he responded.

While Qin Fang washed the dishes, Yang Haiyan drew two pictures in the kitchen.

By the time she finished, Qin Fang had already cleaned the dishes.

Yang Haiyan pulled him over and said, “Husband, look at this. This is a sink, and it will be built right next to the stove. In the future, after we finish eating, we can place the dishes here, and it will be more convenient for washing. And this is an earth kiln oven, which will be built in this corner.”

The idea for the earth kiln oven came from a time when Yang Haiyan went on a trip to the northeast and saw one at a farmhouse.

It could bake bread, handmade pastries, roast duck, and even chicken.

Yang Haiyan found it interesting and, after returning home, asked a local stove master to make one for her.

As Qin Fang listened, he quickly understood the concept, as he was a farm boy used to manual labor.

With Yang Haiyan’s explanation and the drawings, it all made sense. “I’ll gather the materials and build it for you today.”

Yang Haiyan replied, “Thank you, husband. You’re the best. Once it’s done, I’ll bake you some bread.”

Thinking about her skills, Qin Fang couldn’t help but look forward to the bread she mentioned.

However, he said, “I don’t have any silver on me. I’ll need some money to get the materials. You’ll have to give me some.” He felt a bit embarrassed to say it.

Yang Haiyan handed him the tael of silver he had turned in earlier that day.

Qin Fang said, “I don’t need that much.”

Yang Haiyan replied, “Take it for now. If there’s any leftover, you can return it to me.”

Qin Fang said, “Alright.”

Qin Fang went to buy materials, but since the town didn’t have them, he had to go to the countryside, so he hired a donkey cart.

Meanwhile, Yang Haiyan didn’t stay idle.

She went to the blacksmith’s shop to order some baking trays.

She ordered three types: a rectangular iron tray for baking bread, fish, and cookies, a grill rack for barbecuing, and a tart tray for making egg tarts.

However, the egg tart tray was more difficult to make in this era, so it would take some time, but the rectangular tray would be ready by the next morning.

The total cost for the three trays was 240 wen—two trays for 70 wen each, and the egg tart tray for 100 wen.

When Yang Haiyan returned home, Qin Fang hadn’t come back yet, so she took the quilts outside to sun.

Just as she finished, she heard the sound of a donkey cart and saw it stop in front of their house.

Qin Fang got down from the cart.

Yang Haiyan greeted him, “You’re back.”

Qin Fang nodded and handed her the 500 wen left over, then began unloading the materials from the cart.

The commotion from the donkey cart caught the attention of Sister Lu, who curiously came over to take a look.

She wasn’t the only one; even another neighbor, the mother of Captain Zhang, came by.

Zhang’s mother had previously asked Yang Haiyan for things but didn’t get what she wanted, and afterward, she spread some bad gossip about Yang Haiyan.

However, Yang Haiyan didn’t know about this since she was either delivering food to the barracks or staying home working on needlework with Yang Dahua.

Zhang’s mother didn’t dare come close and secretly watched from the side.

Sister Lu asked, “What are you two up to?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “We’re renovating the kitchen, adding a sink to make dishwashing more convenient.”

Sister Lu was confused, “A sink? For washing dishes?”

Yang Haiyan explained, “Once it’s done, you can come take a look. If you like it, you can have one built for your home too.”

Sister Lu happily agreed, “Sure, I’d like that.”

Although cement didn’t exist in this era, houses and city walls were still built, thanks to the wisdom of ancient people.

They used glutinous rice-lime mortar to construct walls.

This mixture of glutinous rice soup and lime created a composite mortar that was much stronger than pure lime mortar and extremely sturdy.

However, common people usually used a cheaper yellow clay-lime mixture for their homes, as glutinous rice-lime mortar was too expensive.

This time, Qin Fang used glutinous rice-lime mortar for the sink and oven.

Since they were only building a small sink and an oven, they didn’t need much glutinous rice-lime mortar, so the cost difference wasn’t much compared to yellow clay-lime mortar.

Additionally, since the sink would be used daily for washing dishes and exposed to water, the more durable and water-resistant glutinous rice-lime mortar was the better choice.

While Qin Fang worked on the sink, Yang Haiyan stood nearby, occasionally praising him:

“Husband, you’re amazing.”

“Husband, the sink you’re making is so smooth.”

“Husband, are you tired? Have some tea.”

“Husband…”

With each sweet word from her, Qin Fang felt a tingling in his bones, and it only made him work harder.

Building the sink was quick work, and within an hour, it was finished.

At the bottom, near the wall, Qin Fang dug a hole so that dirty water could drain out. He also made a wooden plug for the sink.

Since the house walls were already plastered with lime, giving them a bright white appearance, Qin Fang also applied lime to the outside of the sink, making it even more aesthetically pleasing.

Once he finished, he looked at Yang Haiyan.

The joy in Yang Haiyan’s eyes was clear—she was very satisfied with the sink. “It’s perfect. Thank you, husband.”

Qin Fang said, “I’ll work on the oven next. But the sink needs to set for three days, so you can’t use it yet.”

Yang Haiyan nodded, “I understand. Thank you for the reminder, husband.”

For lunch, they had a hearty meal, but dinner was kept simple.

If every meal were as rich as lunch, it would put too much pressure on this young man.

So for dinner, Yang Haiyan steamed brown rice and sweet potatoes—what others might consider poor people’s coarse food.

But for Yang Haiyan, these were healthy, nutritious grains in the modern world.

Since brown rice and sweet potatoes are quite dry, she also made a loofah and dried shrimp soup.

Qin Fang had been thinking earlier that if they kept eating like they did at lunch, 30 wen a day wouldn’t be enough.

But then he reconsidered, thinking she had the means to eat well, and marrying him might mean she couldn’t eat as well.

Wouldn’t that be unfair to her?

Seeing the simple food on the table now, he thought she was frugal after all.

Still, he felt a pang of guilt. “You must have eaten well when you were in the capital. It must be hard for you to eat such simple food now. You… you can use your own money to treat yourself to better meals.”

Looking at her fair skin, it was obvious she had been well cared for.

Otherwise, how could her skin be so good?

Yang Haiyan smiled and replied, “Whether it’s chicken or scarp food, I’ll follow wherever you go. I’m willing to eat anything as long as I’m with you.”

Her words deeply moved Qin Fang.

He silently swore to work harder and climb higher in life.

Yang Haiyan added, “Besides, we don’t eat simple food every day. We had a good meal for lunch, didn’t we?”

Qin Fang said, “You’re in charge of the household. Whatever you say goes.”