When Qin Fang heard Du Ke personally acknowledge him as his teacher, he couldn’t contain his joy.

With a smile, he said, “Yes. Knowing that my teacher would come, my wife tidied up the courtyard in advance, worried that it wouldn’t meet your expectations.”

Du Ke laughed, saying, “I’ll be fine as long as there’s a bed. I could sleep at the foot of Shou Mountain as well.”

Shen Lixian was also an old acquaintance of Du Ke’s.

Seeing Du Ke being so friendly with others was a first for him.

Hence, he curiously looked at Qin Fang and asked, “Lord Du, is this the famous General Qin whom the Emperor praises?”

Du Ke proudly replied, “That’s right; this is Qin Fang. Lixian, let me introduce you. Qin Fang, this is Shen Lixian, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Lixian, this is the esteemed General Qin Fang, whom the Emperor values greatly.”

Although the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Revenue held a proper seventh-rank position, Qin Fang was aware of Shen Lixian’s status.

Du Ke had already mentioned in his letter that Shen Lixian was the Emperor’s brother-in-law, the late Empress’s biological brother, and the heir of the Duke of Cheng’en.

Therefore, Qin Fang dared not treat him as an ordinary seventh-rank official.

He steadied his excited emotions and said to Shen Lixian, “Minister Shen.”

Shen Lixian’s first impression of Qin Fang was that this young man was exceptionally tall.

People often associated height with martial prowess, so many would think that way.

Shen Lixian liked to look directly into people’s eyes, and of course, due to his status, he could maintain eye contact with anyone in the capital.

After all, being the Emperor’s brother-in-law certainly conferred a high status.

However, one’s status could only be gauged by how much respect the Emperor showed them, and the Emperor certainly gave the Shen family plenty of face.

Qin Fang’s impression on Shen Lixian was simply one of stature.

Perhaps on the way, Du Ke had not informed Qin Fang of Shen Lixian’s tall frame, so Shen Lixian was somewhat taken aback.

He smiled and said, “I’ve heard of General Qin. I’ve heard that you’ve discovered mineral resources and figured out the method to produce ice using nitrate, which is beneficial for the country and its people. I admire you.”

Qin Fang hurriedly replied, “Minister Shen overstates it. As a citizen of Qiguo, it’s my honor to be able to contribute something to the court and the people.”

Qin Fang was a bit long-winded when writing letters or official documents.

However, in face-to-face conversations, he wasn’t one to boast, and he rarely brought up topics on his own.

Shen Lixian said, “General Qin is too modest.”

Du Ke interjected, “Alright, you two don’t need to keep exchanging pleasantries. I’ve been waiting for two hours and am starving; let’s resolve our livelihood issues first.”

Qin Fang suggested, “Why don’t we return to the General’s residence first? Today my wife has made mung bean soup, and chilled mung bean soup tastes especially good. Teacher and Minister Shen have come at just the right time.”

Du Ke said, “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry up!”

Yang Haiyan was unaware that Du Ke had already arrived.

Fortunately, while Qin Fang was taking Du Ke back to the General’s residence, he had sent soldiers ahead at full speed to inform Yang Haiyan.

Since he was riding in the carriage with Du Ke, they were slower.

At this moment, according to modern time, it was already three o’clock in the afternoon.

Yang Haiyan had just woken up from her afternoon nap and was making cold noodles with Granny Lian.

She was using sweet potato flour and, once completed, mixed it with peanuts, spicy cabbage, shredded potatoes, and shredded radish.

After mixing, she would chill it in ice, enhancing the flavor.

The only downside was that they didn’t have any cilantro here.

While the cold noodles were chilling, a guard arrived: “Madam, there’s a group of common folk outside the General’s residence. They are the new citizens of Qiguo.”

Yang Haiyan was taken aback: “Why have they come? Is there something going on?”

The guard replied, “They are bringing some food for the General and Madam, including animals and vegetables.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Haiyan quickly said, “Then welcome them in. Aunt Yu, please prepare some tea. Granny Lian, let’s go to the main hall.”

“Yes.”

Yang Haiyan waited for the new citizens to enter the hall.

There were quite a few of them, all men and women who looked in good spirits.

When they arrived at the entrance of the hall, instead of bringing their things in, they each set down their baskets and containers.

“Commoners pay their respects to Madam.” They were still unaware that Yang Haiyan had become the township head, so they greeted her using the familiar title from before.

Yang Haiyan replied, “You all get up quickly. Although everyone looks a bit tired, you still seem to be in good spirits. It appears that life has settled down for you, right?”

The leading man replied, “It’s much better than when we were at the border. Thank you for your concern, Madam.”

Yang Haiyan smiled and said, “As long as you are doing well, the General and I can rest assured. We were just worried you wouldn’t adapt to life in Qiguo. However, if you’ve faced any grievances in the village, don’t hold back. As long as you are in the right, the General and I will stand by you.”

The man said, “With the general here, we haven’t suffered any grievances. The villagers and the village head have taken good care of us and even assigned us land. We want to thank the general for all of this…”

At that moment, a woman spoke up, “Madam, do you remember me? My child was only six years old then, and when he was sick and refused to take medicine, you coaxed him to take it with candy. Now he is very healthy. Madam, these things are to express our gratitude for saving his life, so please don’t refuse.”

“Yes, Madam, this is our heartfelt intention.”

“Madam…”

One by one, the new villagers spoke up, fearing that Yang Haiyan would refuse.

At first, Yang Haiyan indeed had no intention of accepting.

She understood their goodwill and knew that it was not easy for them to have these things since they had just settled down here.

However, when her gaze fell on the melons in the basket on the ground, she was stunned.

This… wasn’t this a cucumber?

Regaining her composure, Yang Haiyan thought for a moment and said, “Since this is your heartfelt intention, I will accept it. This way, you can feel at ease. However, in a few days, when the crops in my estate are ready for harvest, I will send some to you, and you cannot refuse.”

This was also to guard against anyone in the future accusing Qin Fang of oppressing the common people.

Seeing that Yang Haiyan said this, everyone revealed smiles and felt very happy.

Yang Haiyan walked to the door and pointed at the long green vegetable in the basket, asking, “What is this long green thing? Is it a fruit?”

“Replying to the Madam, this is a gourd,” said the woman who spoke first.

“A gourd?” Yang Haiyan remembered that she had read an ancient novel that mentioned cucumbers were brought to the Central Plains by Zhang Qian from the Western Regions during the Western Han Dynasty, and they were called gourds back then.

Here, they were also called gourds.

Yang Haiyan asked in confusion, “I’ve never seen this gourd before. What is its origin?”

The woman quickly explained, “Madam, rest assured. This gourd is edible; it’s a specialty of our Hu people.”

Yang Haiyan was even more puzzled: “Hu people?”

The woman said, “You may not know, but we are not from the same tribe. We are a group of people who have migrated over generations and settled here at the border. Each generation has been born on the border, but actually, our ancestors came from multiple tribes.

The name of our tribe is the Hu tribe. This gourd is unique to our Hu tribe. In the past, when our Hu tribe migrated, it was difficult to carry many things, so we always brought gourd seeds with us.

This is because the gourd takes only about sixty days from sowing to harvest, making it quick to grow. That’s why our Hu tribe people carried them with us. However, the biggest characteristic of this gourd is that it is full of water but has no taste.”

As she spoke, the woman picked up a gourd and took a bite.

The crisp sound made Yang Haiyan want to eat it.

The woman continued, “Madam, rest assured, our Hu tribe has been eating gourds for generations; this is indeed an edible food.”

Hearing this, Yang Haiyan couldn’t help but wonder if the Hu people here were similar to the Westerners in the real world.

However, she saw no need to verify this. “Thank you, big sister. I just happen to have never eaten this kind of food. The weather has been hot recently, and it’s perfect to eat something refreshing.”

The group didn’t stay long.

After Yang Haiyan accepted the things, they drank a cup of tea and hurriedly left.

Once they left, Yang Haiyan said, “Granny Lian, take the other things to the big kitchen, and bring this gourd to the small kitchen in my yard.”

Granny Lian was someone who could read the room.

Seeing Yang Haiyan like this, she knew Yang Haiyan might really like this gourd.

She arranged for people to send the vegetables to the big kitchen while she herself took the basket with the gourds to the small kitchen.

Once in the small kitchen, Yang Haiyan washed two gourds, then cut one in half and handed it to Granny Lian, saying, “Momo, try it and see how it tastes.” As she spoke, she took a bite of the remaining half.

Granny Lian followed suit: “It’s very crisp, but has no taste.” In truth, she wasn’t used to eating something tasteless.

Yang Haiyan quickly finished half of her gourd and said, “I have an idea.”

Next, she shredded the other washed gourd and mixed it into the cold noodles.

Granny Lian looked at her: “Can this be eaten like this?”

Yang Haiyan smiled, “Just wait and see.” Once mixed well, she took two small bowls and served one to herself and one to Granny Lian, saying, “Here, try it.”

Needless to say, the originally bland and tasteless gourd, when mixed with the cold noodles, tasted completely different.

Granny Lian exclaimed, “This gourd can be eaten like this? It tastes quite good!”

Yang Haiyan replied, “Of course! I thought since the gourd has no taste, and radishes are also bland, shredding it as a condiment might work well. I didn’t expect it to turn out so well.” She felt a bit embarrassed about this creation.

“Madam… Madam…!!”

Just as the two of them had only eaten a few bites of the cold noodles, they heard the voice of a guard outside the courtyard.

Granny Lian hurriedly went out, “What’s the matter? Why are you shouting like this? Is there no order?”

The guard apologetically said, “Please don’t be angry, Granny. Soldiers from the military camp have arrived outside. They say the general sent him to inform the Madam that he and Lord Du Ke will be arriving shortly. Lord Du has been waiting at the foot of Beast Mountain for over two hours without having eaten anything.”