Since two years ago, Chu Yan had been bringing in a considerable number of refugees from outside the county, without even the oversight of Cui Lie, who monitored Qiao Yan.

Qiao Yan hid them in fortresses similar to those used by northern aristocrats, engaging in activities in Leping County that were kept secret from outsiders.

Of course, for these refugees, having a safe place to settle and enough to eat

It’s clear that Xi Zhicai regarded a good meal as one of life’s greatest pleasures.

While Qiao Yan’s use of cost-saving red bricks was practical, their appearance was too conspicuous, prompting him to “invent” something new: adobe cement.

Xi Zhicai had been astonished multiple times by Qiao Yan’s innovations.

Whether intentional or not, the development of adobe cement seemed quite peculiar to him.

According to his understanding, starting with coal combustion efficiency improvements, Qiao Yan progressed to making red bricks from coal gangue and clay, then developed cement from limestone, clay, iron ore, and coal—a comprehensive operation.

Ultimately, within Leping’s boundaries, red brick houses concealed with curtains were swiftly coated with a layer of cement and then painted, presenting a modest yet robust appearance to Guo Jia.

Guo Jia accepted this reasoning quite well.

However, he pondered that if Xi Zhicai had slipped some classified Leping secrets into these books, his curiosity about such a recording method might lead him to inadvertently reveal secrets and be compelled to stay.

Yet, having already perused the six books, suppressing curiosity about the blank seventh book was challenging.

As he flipped through its empty pages, a frustrating feeling gnawed at him, yet he persisted in maintaining his earlier resolve—not to be too direct.

Yes, he couldn’t!

The next moment, Xi Zhicai snatched the blank book from his hand.

“You really don’t know the value of this blank book made from paper mulberry bark. Even though it hasn’t been filled with content, it’s not something you can just handle carelessly,” Xizicai gestured, prompting someone to clear his empty plate and the books in front of Guo Jia.

“Let’s go, I’ll show you other places in Leping that outsiders can visit.”

Guo Jia didn’t rise.

Although the book had been taken away, it wasn’t his to begin with.

However, his youthful temperament flared up, and he gritted his teeth, uttering a few words, “But I haven’t finished my meal!”

He teased his friend with the idea that books were spiritual nourishment,

After helping Qiao Yan deceive someone into a full scheme, Xì Zhìcái pondered for a moment and then chuckled, saying, “Serve him a plate of soup cakes.”

Soup cakes weren’t really cakes; they referred to noodles at this time.

Due to Qiao Yan’s preferences, the chefs in this academy were accustomed to pulling the noodles into sheets rather than strictly into strips, which suited the name “soup cakes” quite well.

The soup cakes were half-dry, with the broth being the turnip spare rib soup from earlier, topped with a mixture of lean and fatty pork minced into sauce.

Since Guo Jia had been growing tall, he had long held a somewhat longing sentiment towards Le Ping’s food, and now, as he tasted the soup cakes, he couldn’t care less about what his joking friend might think.

He swiftly scooped up the soup cakes with bamboo chopsticks, not letting a drop of the broth go to waste, feeling that Xi Zhicai had indeed become a bit plump, which was quite understandable.

Having eaten his fill, he leisurely stood up and said, “Let’s go, let’s see other parts of Le Ping.”

He figured he had already been scared enough in the academy since arriving in this town, and there shouldn’t be anything left that could surprise him.

But he was proven to be wrong again.

As he walked around Le Ping County, he realized that the cleanliness he felt upon entering the town was clearly related to the renovated drainage ditches and hidden channels.

Considering the time Qiao Yan had arrived here, achieving such basic improvements was not easy.

To mobilize the locals to accomplish this task meant her influence in the area had reached a frightening level.

Apart from the soldiers running training exercises like Fu Gan outside the county, the town did not have a militarized appearance.

Guo Jia stood under the eaves for a while, watching the pastry shop across the street burn a fire hotter than usual.

The master quickly handed freshly baked cakes to two children waiting outside.

The children paid contentedly and walked towards the neighboring clothing shop, whose owner was their mother.

A vendor carrying a large box passed by, bearing a logo similar to the one drawn in front of Le Ping Academy.

Called over by the shopkeeper, he took out several bars from his box and made a transaction.

Guo Jia overheard them mention something called soap.

Of course, he knew soap nuts.

It was mentioned in the Classic of Herbal Medicine,

Regarding its ability to remove dirt, when Xì Zhicai mentioned that “soap” was also used for cleaning, Guo Jia asked, “How is this related to soap nuts?”

“No relation,” Xi Zhicai replied slowly. “Actually, this is a product from our pig farming industry in Le Ping. It got its name because its effectiveness is similar to soap nuts, and they are also placed where you are staying.”

Upon arriving at his lodging, Guo Jia realized it wasn’t just the soap that felt unfamiliar; even the tooth-cleaning tools were unusual.

He held the oddly shaped object in his hand, silently contemplating alongside the box of ointment nearby.

Considering the many new things he had encountered in Le Ping today, he had a strange feeling that this wasn’t meant to be used in the way he was accustomed to.

But asking Xì Zhicai about it now would be too embarrassing!

He gritted his teeth, dipped the brush into the ointment, mixed it with water, and sniffed the scent of willow, ginger, and faintly, a hint of asarum.

He figured it was similar to mouthwash, so he decided to use it that way.

Guo Jia didn’t realize how unconventional his actions were.

He simply felt relieved to have successfully completed his first day in the city and lay down on the inn’s bed.

Whether it was the sense of security provided by Le Ping’s displayed strength or the positive atmosphere throughout the county, from leaving Yǐngchuān until now, Guo Jia had finally managed to get a good night’s sleep.

He slept soundly until he naturally woke up.

Because he had retired early, when he got up, the autumn daylight was already significantly delayed, with just a hint of dawn breaking on the horizon when he stepped out into the courtyard.

He decided to walk outside the courtyard altogether.

At this hour, the entire town of Le Ping was still shrouded in the quiet before dawn, occasionally interrupted by the crowing of a few roosters and the occasional sound from various houses.

Guo Jia found it peculiar that he had woken up so early, without being troubled in his dreams by the bizarre scenes he had witnessed here.

However, as he recalled yesterday’s mistaken incident, he instinctively glanced towards the eastern mountain range.

With this glance, he noticed something unusual.

His eyesight being keen, he clearly saw a moving spot of color along the mountain path.

It was a fiery red color.

In the mountain breeze, this fluttering crimson cloak, worn not by someone walking but by someone riding a horse, resembled a waving red flag.

Even though the distance made it impossible for him to see the horse or the rider clearly, Guo Jia had an almost intuitive sense that it might be the Marquis of Le Ping.

But the figure quickly disappeared from his view, leaving him unable to confirm his suspicion.

Qiao Yan, unaware that her guest had witnessed this scene, rode swiftly along the mountain path, ascending until she reached a high point on the eastern ridge.

To the north stretched her distinctive fortress and workshops, while to the south lay villages beyond the fields.

In front of her, Le Ping County gradually came alive in the faint morning light.

From this elevated perspective, Guo Jia couldn’t discern anything particularly special about Le Ping Academy or the town he had explored the previous day.

But as the mistress of this place, Qiao Yan could almost sense, even with her eyes closed, from which direction the first cries of the market would echo in the town.

“This is today’s Le Ping…”

She gazed towards a wisp of smoke rising from below in the morning light, her eyes illuminated by the rising sun, gradually spreading into a carefree smile on her youthful face. “And it is my Le Ping.”