A few days later, Second Aunt Qin noticed something strange—she hadn’t seen Qin Siya or Qin Shoucheng in days.

After dinner, as the family sat under the eaves resting, Second Aunt Qin brought up her confusion. “Sister-in-law, I haven’t seen Siya and Shoucheng in a while. Where have they gone?”

Mother Qin, who had been itching for an opportunity to show off, now had something to say. “Siya and Shoucheng have gone to the border with Ah Fang and his wife.”

“What?” Second Aunt Qin was stunned.

It was the last thing she expected to hear.

Even the others in the courtyard turned their eyes toward Mother Qin.

Grandma Qin, who knew the truth of the matter, sighed.

Ah Fang and his wife had taken Siya and Shoucheng for their own good.

Siya could study, learn to read and write, and be taught embroidery and proper etiquette from Ah Fang’s wife, who came from a wealthy family.

As for Shoucheng, Ah Fang’s wife planned to send him to school.

It must be said, Ah Fang’s wife was truly an exceptional sister-in-law for taking such good care of her younger siblings-in-law.

Grandma Qin also understood why they hadn’t mentioned it earlier.

Taking care of Siya and Shoucheng was a matter of affection, but if the second family found out, they might insist that their son Niudan go study too.

Or, worse, the third family might demand that their daughters Erya and Sanya join as well.

However, Ah Fang’s money didn’t come from thin air, and he couldn’t be expected to support everyone, especially since Qin’s second and third uncles were still very much alive.

Though she saw the logic, Grandma Qin also realized that the gap between the first family and the second and third families was growing larger by the day.

Mother Qin added, “Those two brats, Siya and Shoucheng, got a taste of riding in the carriage and refused to get out. They were so stubborn that Ah Fang and his wife had no choice but to take them along to the border.”

Second Aunt Qin wasn’t a fool.

She immediately understood that Siya and Shoucheng were off to enjoy a good life with Ah Fang and his wife.

Although the border could be dangerous, Ah Fang’s wife, who could afford to buy three acres of wasteland, a horse, and a carriage, was clearly a wealthy woman.

Surely, following them meant living in comfort.

Aunt Qin pursed her lips, but what could she say?

Even if Ah Fang and his wife were still here, she couldn’t force her nephew’s wife to take care of her own children, let alone now that they were gone.

Father Qin called the second and third uncles aside. “Now that the fieldwork is done, I’m planning to build a house on the wasteland Ah Fang’s wife bought. Would you two be able to help? No meals provided, but I’ll pay ten coins a day.”

The second and third uncles were surprised, and the second uncle quickly said, “No need for payment.”

As uncles, they felt it was only right to help their nephew build a house.

Second Aunt Qin, overhearing, thought her husband was a fool.

The eldest brother was willing to pay, yet her husband didn’t even ask for it.

But since her husband had already spoken, there wasn’t much she could say.

Father Qin insisted, “I have to pay. The house will take some time to build. If it were just for a day or two, that would be fine, but for a longer period, you should be paid. Otherwise, you might as well go work in town, where you’d also earn wages.”

Aunt Qin chimed in, “Eldest brother is right.”

Father Qin added, “I’ll bring out the blueprints for you to see. Before we start building, we need to prepare the wood, bricks, and other materials.”

After Father Qin showed the blueprints and explained the scale of the project, both second and third uncles realized it would indeed take time, so they no longer refused the payment.

Third Aunt Qin, listening nearby, asked, “Eldest brother, do you need more hands? My brothers can work too.”

Mother Qin quickly responded, “No need. We’ll call some people from the clan and my family’s brothers, and that will be enough.” Since there was money to be made, of course they would prioritize their own family.

The house-building project, according to Father Qin’s estimate, would cost around fifty taels of silver.

However, their daughter-in-law had generously given them one hundred taels.

Still, even though the money was enough, they couldn’t spend recklessly.

When their son and daughter-in-law returned, they’d have to return the money.

While the Qin family was eagerly discussing the house-building plans, Qin Fang and his group had been on the road for several days.

They finally arrived at a village where they had stayed during their journey home earlier that month.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to stay at an inn, but the next town was too far, and traveling by night would be dangerous.

If they had stayed at the previous town’s inn, they would have wasted half a day, and the towns along this road were quite far apart.

The carriage pulled up in front of the house where they had stayed before.

Since Qin Fang was at the front, he got off the horse and knocked on the door. “Is anyone home?”

After a few knocks, the door opened, and a young girl appeared—it was the daughter of the family, Miss Ren.

She remembered Qin Fang because they had stayed at her home about twenty days ago and had paid handsomely for the accommodation.

Seeing them again, she greeted them warmly, “Officer, are you looking to stay the night again?”

Last time, Qin Fang had mentioned they were soldiers from Yongzhou returning home after completing their military service.

The family had respectfully called him “Officer” after hearing the way his comrades addressed him.

Qin Fang replied, “Yes.”

Miss Ren asked, “Are you on your way back to the military camp after returning from your hometown?”

Qin Fang answered, “Yes.”

Since it wasn’t a military secret, there was no harm in sharing.

Besides, they were staying at someone else’s house, and it wouldn’t be proper to hide their identities.

They weren’t high-ranking people anyway.

From the carriage, Yang Haiyan, Kun Zhangshi, and the others also got down.

Miss Ren noticed that there were more people than last time, but they appeared to be family members.

“Daughter, who’s here?” Ren’s father and mother came out from the house and immediately saw Yang Haiyan and the others. “Oh my, it’s the officer and his wife!”

Yang Haiyan smiled, “Elders, sorry to trouble you again.”

Ren’s mother quickly replied, “Not at all! Please come inside. You must not have eaten dinner yet after your long journey?”

Yang Haiyan said, “No, we haven’t eaten yet. We brought some flour, would you be kind enough to make some noodles for us? Do you have vegetables and eggs at home?”

Ren’s mother said, “Yes, yes, I’ll make noodles right away.”

She took the flour. Like last time, they provided the flour, and Ren’s family contributed the vegetables and eggs.

Since the guests paid them last time, Ren’s mother didn’t hesitate to accept this arrangement again. “Daughter, take the guests inside.”

Miss Ren said, “Yes, my lord, madam, please come in. The same two rooms as last time, is that alright?”

Last time, Yang Haiyan and Qin Fang shared one room, and Kun Shi had another.

But this time, they needed to separate the men from the women.

Yang Haiyan said, “That’s fine… Siya and Sister Kun will share with me, and my husband will share a room with Shoucheng and Captain Kun and his son.”

Qin Fang agreed, “Yes.”

That was the only way.

After Miss Ren made up the beds for them, Ren’s mother finished cooking the vegetable and egg noodles.

Knowing the guests were generous, she even fried the eggs first, adding more flavor to the soup.

As they ate their noodles, Ren’s mother and Miss Ren prepared hot water for the guests to wash up later.

After Ren’s father had greeted them earlier, he stayed out of sight, avoiding the female guests out of respect.

Kun Zhangshi gave her bowl of poached egg to her son, Kun Daying.

Over the course of the journey, she had grown more comfortable, though at first, she had been quite reserved.

Especially during meals at the inn, when they ordered several dishes much fancier than what her family ate even during New Year’s.

She had been too shy to eat much, even when encouraged by the madam.

After noticing her discomfort, Yang Haiyan made sure that afterward, they either ate simple individual bowls of noodles or split into two tables.

After they finished their meal and washed up, everyone went to rest.

The next morning, after breakfast, they gave 50 coins to the Ren family as payment and continued their journey.

By the evening of the following day, they finally arrived at the military family housing.

Looking at the familiar sight, Kun Shi exclaimed, “We’re finally here.”

Yang Haiyan lifted the carriage curtain and saw that they had indeed arrived.

Perhaps because she had first arrived at this place after being transported into the story, she felt more at home here than at the Qin family’s house.

This place felt like her real home.

Qin Siya poked her head out to look outside. “Big Sister-in-law, this place looks just like a town.”

Yang Haiyan explained, “It is a town. Look over there, those rows of neat courtyards — that’s the military family housing, where many soldiers and their families live.”

Qin Siyah gasped, “Wow, it’s different from the towns back home.”

Yang Haiyan smiled, “We’ll be home soon.”

And soon enough, they arrived.

Since the master of the house wasn’t present, the gate of the residence was closed.

Uncle Hong, the steward, heard someone knocking and opened the door.

When he saw Qin Fang and the others, he was thrilled. “Master, you’ve finally returned.”

Then he shouted toward the house, “The master has returned!”

The house wasn’t large, so the women inside, like Granny Lian, heard the shout and quickly came out to greet them.

Granny Lian bowed as soon as she saw Yang Haiyan. “Madam, you’ve finally come back.”

Yang Haiyan hurried over to help her up. “You’ve worked hard this month. How are things at home? Has anything happened

Granny Lian replied, “Everything is fine with the shop and the house, except…” She glanced toward the servant quarters.