Niu Da was a quiet man, not much of a talker, and usually just focused on his work.

The fact that he had come to find Yang Haiyan now meant that something important was up.

Yang Haiyan said, “If you have something to say, just say it. There’s no need to hesitate.”

Niu Da replied, “Madam, I’m a farmer, and farmers rely on the weather to earn a living, so I’ve come to understand it a bit over the years. From what I can tell, there will definitely be a rainstorm before dinner tonight, and it’s likely to be a heavy one.”

Yang Haiyan wasn’t skilled at predicting the weather.

Like most modern people, she relied on weather forecasts, and didn’t need to observe the environment to guess what the weather might be.

But Niu Da was different; he depended on the weather for his livelihood, so he paid close attention to it.

Hearing what Niu Da said, Yang Haiyan replied, “Got it, thank you for your thoughtfulness. If anything like this happens again, feel free to come tell me anytime without worrying.”

Niu Da felt relieved hearing the madam say this.

He had been afraid that his concerns might not be taken seriously.

But having worked for them for more than half a year, he had come to understand that the madam wasn’t the kind of person who would blame someone for such things.

So he had felt confident coming to her.

Yang Haiyan then went to find Qin Fang, who was organizing the troops as they were preparing to set off. “Husband,” she called.

Qin Fang signaled for the group to rest and walked over to Yang Haiyan. “What’s wrong?”

Yang Haiyan explained Niu Da’s concerns: “… So, if it rains before dinner, that’s still manageable—we can prepare in the afternoon. But if it rains around noon, it could be a problem. What do you think?”

Qin Fang’s response was straightforward: “I don’t plan to keep moving. Let’s have everyone set up camp here and rest. Even if we lose a day or two, it’s better than getting sick from the rain. If we wait until it starts raining to set up camp, it’ll be too late.”

Yang Haiyan nodded, “I was thinking the same.”

The weather had been good these past few days, so the group hadn’t set up camp despite staying overnight outside, because it was a hassle to set up and take everything down again.

But today, they would need to.

Qin Fang was glad to see she agreed. “But just setting up camp isn’t enough. We don’t have food; we need to get supplies. I’ll have the men set up camp, and I’ll send Kun Shi to the nearest town to buy provisions.”

Yang Haiyan took the opportunity to suggest, “I’ll go with Kun Shi. I know better what to buy when it comes to food. And if it rains, we’ll need to prepare medicines for colds and chills—we might even need to bring a doctor. Actually, I just had an idea: why don’t we bring a doctor with us on the journey? Once we reach Yunxiang County, we can send the doctor back. What do you think?”

This was Qin Fang’s first time leading such a large group, and though he was brave and capable, he wasn’t as detail-oriented in practical matters as Yang Haiyan.

Hearing her suggestion, he realized it was a good one. “It would be tough for you to handle the food procurement yourself,” he said, concerned about her.

Yang Haiyan smiled and said, “I’m happy to do it for you, no matter how hard it is.” Besides, she was curious to see the town for other reasons as well, but it was better to keep her words sweet.

Her response moved Qin Fang even more, though he kept his feelings to himself, deciding not to express them aloud. “Alright then, I’ll have the group set up camp here and wait for you. Be safe. Even though Kun Shi and the soldiers will be with you, I still wish I could go myself. But as the leader, I can’t leave.”

Yang Haiyan nodded, “I will.”

After discussing their plans, Qin Fang called for Kun Shi. “The weather doesn’t look good today, and it might rain this afternoon. We’re not going to continue traveling; we’ll set up camp here. Madam will lead you to town to buy provisions. Make sure to protect her well.”

Kun Shi understood what rain meant for travelers like them and responded seriously, “Understood.”

Yang Haiyan, along with Kun Shi and his soldiers, Granny Lian, Aunt Fan, and Niu Da’s wife, set off for the town.

The reason she brought Granny Lian was that she needed someone by her side.

She brought Aunt Fan because she was the cook and knowledgeable about food.

Niu Da’s wife also came because she managed their household, and women like her knew best what supplies to buy.

They all rode in the same carriage, and as they headed to the town, Yang Haiyan briefly explained the purpose of the trip and divided up tasks. “Aunt Fan, Niu Da’s wife, you’ll take five soldiers and buy steamed buns, stuffed buns, and flatbreads. Don’t buy raw food in this weather—it would be too much trouble to cook. For lunch, get everyone two meat buns to strengthen their bodies. For tonight and tomorrow’s breakfast, buy everyone two buns or flatbreads. If it’s still raining at noon tomorrow, tell the owner of the bun shop to deliver more meat buns tomorrow noon.”

This way, everyone would have warm food at least until noon the next day.

If the rain stopped, then they’d have fewer things to worry about.

“If you buy steamed buns now, they’ll be fine by noon. But if you wait until tonight or tomorrow morning, cold buns will have a strange smell that’s not pleasant.”

Aunt Fan and Aunt Niu’s replied, “Yes.”

The journey to the county was a bit long, but since they had a carriage and horses, no distance was too far for them.

The main delay was asking for directions along the way.

Once they arrived in the county, Aunt Fan and Aunt Niu’s took five soldiers to buy supplies.

Yang Haiyan, along with Grandma Lian, went to purchase ginger, brown sugar, and other items. On rainy days, ginger tea is a must.

At the Steamed Bun Shop

“What?” The steamed bun shop owner was stunned after hearing Aunt Fan’s request. “So…so many steamed buns? But we don’t have that many buns ready right now!”

The troop had 3,000 people, and for lunch, they needed two meat buns per person, totaling 6,000 buns.

The shop clearly didn’t have that many.

Aunt Fan asked, “If you start making them now, how many buns can you have ready in an hour?”

The owner thought about it and replied, “With my wife, daughter, daughter-in-law, and old mother, we can make 500 buns in an hour.”

Aunt Fan said, “I’ll pay you half of the deposit. We’ll come back in an hour to pick up 500 meat buns.”

This was a big order, and the owner cheerfully agreed, “No problem, ma’am. You can count on me.”

After that, Aunt Fan and Aunt Niu’s wife visited other steamed bun shops, going to ten in total to meet the lunchtime requirement of 6,000 meat buns.

But the problem wasn’t just lunch; there was still dinner and breakfast the next morning to think about.

So, they negotiated with the ten bun shops, arranging for deliveries to the camp for dinner and breakfast.

No one would turn down such a big order. Normally, they wouldn’t even sell 100 buns a day, and now they had orders for several hundred at once.

Rain or shine, they would deliver.

Hearing everyone’s promises, Aunt Fan was relieved.

Plus, the bun shop owners knew where the army was camped and that the order was for military use, so they worked even harder.

As common folk, they couldn’t contribute much to the government, but they could help in small ways like this—and make money while doing it.

After talking to ten bun shops, Aunt Fan and Aunt Niu’s were exhausted from repeating the same instructions at each shop, which took up a lot of time.

Meanwhile, Yang Haiyan had already gathered all the ginger and brown sugar she needed.

She bought so much at once that it startled the sellers.

The ginger and brown sugar weighed about 500 pounds in total.

Yang Haiyan instructed two personal guards to take the goods back to the army camp.

Next, she ordered a batch of boiled eggs. The bad weather could weaken the immune system, so improving health was essential.

In ancient times, people boosted their health with nutritious food.

Buns alone weren’t enough, so eggs were a must.

After placing the egg order, they had to wait for them to be boiled.

Luckily, boiling eggs is quicker than making buns.

Yang Haiyan ordered 6,000 eggs but had to visit over ten shops to fulfill the order.

Many shops didn’t have enough eggs in stock, so she suggested they go to the countryside to collect more.

She was willing to wait two hours—four hours in total—to give them enough time to gather and boil the eggs.

With the egg situation handled, the only thing left was to find a doctor.

While purchasing ginger, brown sugar, and eggs, Yang Haiyan asked around to find a doctor in the county who was both skilled and ethical.

Such doctors were more likely to accompany them on the journey, as some might refuse because of the distance or be difficult to deal with.

There was a renowned Doctor Feng in the county, whose family had been doctors for generations.

He was well-respected, and known for his generosity.

If you went to the Feng family’s clinic for treatment and medicine, Doctor Feng wouldn’t charge a consultation fee.

Hearing this, Yang Haiyan couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t that she had an issue with Doctor Feng, but she admired the ancient wisdom behind such practices.

The Feng family’s clinic not charging consultation fees was similar to modern buy-one-get-one-free promotions.

It was a form of bundled sales, but a good one.

For ordinary people, falling ill usually meant needing medicine.

Saving on consultation fees, even just a few coins, was helpful.

For the clinic, the consultation fee wasn’t much compared to what they could earn from selling medicine.

Sacrificing a little to gain more was a win-win.

The Feng family’s clinic was well-known in the county, and Yang Haiyan found it easily.

It was located in a bustling part of the town, with a large storefront.

As they stood at the entrance, they saw that the clinic was quite busy, suggesting good business.

Yang Haiyan told Kunshi, “I’ll go inside with Grandma Lian. You all wait outside.”

Kunshi replied, “Yes.”

The clinic attendant had already noticed them.

There were many wealthy people in the county, and the attendant had sharp eyes.

Seeing this noblewoman with her maid and so many guards, he quickly approached them with enthusiasm.