The three carts contained about 2,000 pounds of cabbage and radishes, priced at two wen per pound, meaning they could earn about four taels from all three carts.

Although it was the labor of one family, having silver meant a better quality of life.

Additionally, prices in border areas weren’t low at all because of the many traveling merchants, making it a good place for business.

For example, a jade bracelet from the Treasure Pavilion might not sell for 2,000 taels of silver in other counties, but it could here due to the boost in trade prices. (Traveling merchants: non-official merchants.)

Soon, it was Yang Haiyan’s turn to buy.

She purchased 480 pounds and paid 960 wen.

Since she couldn’t carry that much herself, the old farmer’s son and daughter-in-law would help load it onto a cart for delivery.

Once the 480 pounds of cabbage and radishes were delivered to her yard, Yang Haiyan called for Uncle Hong and Aunt Fan to help move them to the cellar.

The cellar already contained cured meats, pickled bones, and pickled vegetables.

With the addition of the cabbage and radishes, it was filling up nicely, creating a bit of a festive atmosphere.

After moving everything, Yang Haiyan asked Uncle Hong, “Uncle Hong, can we raise chickens in the courtyard in the market?”

Uncle Hong replied, “I’m afraid not. It’s not good to raise chickens in town. The food is one thing, but the noise from the crowing would disturb the neighbors and lead to complaints.”

In the countryside, every household raised chickens, so no one minded, but townsfolk considered themselves superior to villagers and looked down on them, thus avoiding such practices.

The main issue was that town courtyards were close together, and since everyone was so close, chicken noises could easily disturb others.

Yang Haiyan had initially thought it would be great to raise chickens, especially since fresh meat would be scarce during the winter months and eating cured meats all the time would not be good.

However, Uncle Hong made a valid point; people are social beings, and she couldn’t disturb others just for her convenience.

So, she decided to drop the idea and would buy chickens from the market instead, claiming they were sourced from an old farmer in the countryside if anyone asked.

On the morning of November 19, Qin Fang returned after his duty ended.

It had been more than half a month since Yang Haiyan had sent him several baskets of snacks at the end of October, and now seeing him again made her realize how much she missed him. “Your face and lips are dry,” she commented.

Qin Fang replied, “It gets particularly dry here in winter. It’s nothing.”

Yang Haiyan prepared some hot water for him. “Wash your face first; I’ll get something for you. Oh, and use the scented soap.”

“I know,” he said.

After Qin Fang washed his face and returned, he saw Yang Haiyan coming out with a wooden box and a bowl of water.

She set the bowl down and opened the lid of the box, releasing a fragrant aroma.

Qin Fang recognized that it was something she used on her face; he could smell it on her even while sleeping at night.

“Come here and sit down,” Yang Haiyan said.

Puzzled, Qin Fang complied and sat down, looking up at her with wide, questioning eyes that made him seem a bit cute and naïve.

Yang Haiyan dipped a cloth into the bowl of water.

This was a moisturizing liquid, and she couldn’t take out the original container, so she had to pour it into a bowl instead.

Instead of using cotton pads, she gently patted the water on Qin Fang’s face with the cloth.

Though Qin Fang didn’t understand, he remained still, watching Yang Haiyan.

He noticed her nose was particularly prominent, her eyes were large, and her mouth was small yet full of color.

He couldn’t help but swallow, feeling his throat go dry. “Yanyan…” he called out without thinking.

As she finished applying the moisturizer, preparing to apply the cream next, she heard him call, “Hmm?”

“Yanyan, I want to taste your lip balm,” Qin Fang said.

Yang Haiyan was momentarily stunned, only to see Qin Fang’s strong arms wrap around her waist, pulling her onto his lap.

A wave of pure masculine scent filled her nose as his lips pressed against hers.

Not content with just that brief touch, as she gasped in surprise, his tongue boldly slipped into her mouth.

Thump, thump, thump…

Yang Haiyan could hear her own heartbeat.

Truth be told, she found it incredibly appealing to have a man so actively and boldly flirting with her; it was infuriatingly charming.

Despite being just a twenty-something young man, so innocent, he was making her weak in the knees.

She felt soft and pliable in his embrace, clutching tightly to his chest. “Husband…” she whispered, her voice sultry and enticing.

That sound lit the fuse, igniting the last remnants of Qin Fang’s reason.

His restraint evaporated in that instant.

He held her tightly, but he had never held a woman like this before, so he was a bit too rough, causing Yang Haiyan some discomfort.

Realizing what was happening, Yang Haiyan quickly interrupted him, “You promised me to wait until you turn eighteen.”

Qin Fang, still holding her hand, said with an aggrieved tone, “I just want to touch you.”

Two quarters of an hour later…

After Qin Fang finished washing up and returned to the kitchen, Yang Haiyan had already served the noodles. “Hurry and have breakfast; eat well and then rest a bit,” she urged.

Qin Fang, his face flushed, sat down, “Hmm, thank you, my wife.”

He grinned like a sly fox that had stolen something.

In truth, he had indeed stolen a kiss, and the experience nearly drove him wild since he had never been this close to a woman before.

After finishing breakfast, Qin Fang brushed his teeth and went to rest.

While he slept, Yang Haiyan spread a rug by the bed and sat on the floor, starting to make some boots.

Qin Fang turned to his side, looking at the peaceful Yang Haiyan under the bed, and said, “The official document from the Ministry of Military Affairs for my Captain position has come through. The courtyard of the Centurion’s family residence has also been cleared. When do you want to move in?”

Yang Haiyan was unaware of this: “Isn’t the courtyard the same?”

Qin Fang explained, “It’s not the same at all. A Centurion is a seventh-rank military officer, and here, he can have several personal guards. Plus, the Centurion’s courtyard is a two-entry, four-compound courtyard, which is quite different from this small one.”

Yang Haiyan noticed that Qin Fang seemed different.

Previously, he was reserved and calm, speaking very little. But now, he had an added spark of vigor.

This was likely the difference between being a Hundred-Man Commander and a Thousand-Man Commander.

Becoming a Thousand-Man Commander meant he had stepped into the threshold of military generals and officialdom.

But a confident man is indeed charming.

Yang Haiyan asked, “Are we moving into the courtyard that the previous Captain lived in?”

“Yes, shall I take you to see it this afternoon?” Qin Fang replied.

“Sure, but we need to remodel the kitchen to suit our needs. After we move out, they can take down the baking oven here; it wouldn’t be good for others to know how to make pastries.”

“Hmm, I’ll follow your lead,” Qin Fang said.

Not long after, Qin Fang fell asleep. He was already tired; after that kiss before breakfast and taking a bath to cool off, he fell asleep quickly.

Yang Haiyan was making boots for Qin Fang, using sheepskin.

They resembled modern snow boots, but this was true fur and leather combined.

Since the material for the snow boots was thick, she worked slowly.

Each stitch required making holes first, and then sewing them together; otherwise, her strength wouldn’t be enough to pierce the leather with the needle.

If it weren’t for the memories of the original owner, she wouldn’t know how to make shoes at all.

However, despite making snow boots, they couldn’t be compared to modern versions, as neither rubber nor tough soles could be produced in this era.

Even if she could buy rubber or tough soles from the market, she wouldn’t dare.

Over this period, Yang Haiyan had slowly completed more than half the boots; with another two days, they would be finished.

At noon, Aunt Fan came to cook and learned that Qin Fang had returned, so she made more dishes.

After lunch, Qin Fang took Yang Haiyan to see the Thousand-Man Commander’s residence.

As they stepped out, Yang Haiyan bundled herself tightly, wearing a padded coat underneath and a quilted cloak on top, looking as if she were carrying a walking blanket.

On top of that, she brought a hand warmer, fearing the cold.

Seeing this, Qin Fang took her hand, saying, “This way, you won’t feel cold.”

His hand was much warmer than the hand warmer.

Yang Haiyan teased, “I can hold onto the hand warmer all the time, but I can’t carry you around all the time.”

Qin Fang felt quite helpless upon hearing that.

Since he had learned more words and heard the history of Qi Country, his understanding had gradually deepened.

He was no longer the young man who only recognized a few characters before their marriage.

However, there was also a saying: after a man has a woman, he matures gradually.

Qin Fang led her from the Hundred-Man Commander area to the Thousand-Man Commander area.

Occasionally, people passed by, stopping to glance at them, perhaps surprised and uncertain about what they were witnessing.

On the way, Qin Fang introduced, “There are 50 households in the Thousand-Man Commander(Captain) area. Including us, there are ten households under General Ao. Among them…” He briefly introduced the personalities of each Thousand-Man Commander and their families.

He had learned all this during the time they had been together, knowing that they would eventually move there, so he gathered information about the families to give Yang Haiyan a better understanding.

This man was indeed meticulous in his approach, or rather, he was attentive.

A man who holds you in his heart will naturally be considerate.

If he doesn’t, he would likely act like the so-called ‘straight man’ of modern times.

Some might say a man is a straight man, so he doesn’t think about these things.

In truth, it’s merely a matter of whether he cares or not.

Upon arriving at the two-entry courtyard, they found it empty since General Ao’s family had already moved out.

There were no servants at the entrance, so they walked right in.

The place was spotless, and the house was spacious, meaning that aside from the house itself, there was nothing else.

However, there were advantages: because people had lived here, the cellar and other facilities had already been dug out.

The two-entry courtyard was quite large, incomparable to the small courtyard they were currently living in.

A bigger house could feel rather empty, and if there were few people, it would be especially lonely.

This courtyard was designed as a two-entry, four-compound layout, divided into a front courtyard for receiving guests and an inner courtyard for living.

A flower gate separated the front from the inner courtyard, making the divisions very clear.

Yang Haiyan remarked, “The benefits of this house are obvious; in the future, my husband can entertain his colleagues here.” In their current small courtyard, there really wasn’t any space for that.

Seeing her pleased, Qin Fang felt happy as well: “Let’s go check out the inner courtyard.”

“Okay,” Yang Haiyan replied.

The couple toured the inner courtyard, primarily inspecting the main house.

Unless something unexpected happened, they would likely be living here for the next few years.

With someone like Qin Fang, as long as he didn’t make any mistakes, he wouldn’t be demoted.

The only reasons they would need to move would be if he got promoted or if something happened to him.

Thus, Yang Haiyan paid more attention to this house, while the small courtyard they lived in now couldn’t really be improved.

However, moving meant she would be farther away from Sister Lu and Yang Dahua; it would take about ten minutes to walk, and she would have to re-establish social ties, which could feel a bit lonely. “Are we going to vacate our current residence for the new Hundred-Man Commander?” she asked.

“Yes, but it’s not urgent. The other party is currently alone, living in the military camp. If his family comes over, it won’t be until after the New Year, after the two months of winter calamities have passed,” Qin Fang replied.

Here, the two-month winter was referred to as the winter calamity.

Hearing this, Yang Haiyan immediately said, “Then we can still renovate our new house; we have time.”

“Do as you wish. Let me know which areas need renovating. I can arrange for people to do it while I’m home. Even after my days off, I can still get things done during the day,” Qin Fang said.

“Okay. Let’s head to the carpenter’s workshop first and order the necessary furniture for the house,” Yang Haiyan suggested.

“Sounds good,” Qin Fang replied.

The couple’s order at the carpenter’s workshop was quite substantial, as all the furniture was designed according to Yang Haiyan’s preferences.

However, the prices were reasonable since she didn’t have specific demands regarding the type of wood; unlike others who insisted on precious woods like mahogany, she was fine with regular timber.

From the bed to the wardrobe, cupboard, shoe cabinet, and bedside table, everything was similar to modern designs.

This was acceptable, as furniture styles depend on individual needs.

However, the furniture they ordered was quite a lot, so it wouldn’t be ready in a hurry.

That night, as they prepared for bed, Qin Fang brought up another matter: “On the fifth of December, General Ao is having a promotion and housewarming celebration at the General’s residence. You should come with me. Originally, General Ao’s banquet was supposed to be held earlier, but he specially chose to wait for my appointment documents to arrive.”

Yang Haiyan was delighted to hear this. “General Ao is very thoughtful toward you.”

“Yeah, he has been a mentor to me,” Qin Fang said with respect for General Ao.

Yang Haiyan replied, “It’s the 19th of November now; there’s still more than half a month left. You need to tell me about General Ao and Madam Ao’s personalities and preferences.”

“Hmm, General Ao has a rather straightforward personality and is quite frank. As for Madam Ao, I haven’t interacted with her much; the only times were when I visited the Captain residence to look for General Ao. She… she resembles my mother a bit,” Qin Fang said.

Yang Haiyan was surprised. “Resembles your mother?”

One was the wife of a Captain, now a General, and the other was a farmer’s wife; how could they be similar?

As a thought struck her, Yang Haiyan asked, “Isn’t General Ao also from a farming background?”