Yang Haiyan knew that the Qin family were straightforward people, especially Grandpa and Grandma Qin, who understood everything clearly in their hearts.

Therefore, facing such elders, she wouldn’t play any tricks.

She said honestly, “To be honest, Grandma, I’ve already sent Granny Lian to inform my mother. I thought it would be more appropriate for my mother, as her biological sister, to receive my uncle, rather than me, as a niece-in-law.”

Grandma Qin replied, “You did the right thing.”

Military Camp and Fields

It was just past noon, and Mother Qin was resting.

The thirty soldiers had already finished their meals, and the maids sent by Yang Haiyan, along with her hired help, were busy cleaning.

In fact, with two people helping, Mother Qin was still busy; someone washed the vegetables, someone washed the dishes, and she just needed to oversee things while cooking.

Although thirty soldiers were eating, there were only two dishes and a soup.

The meals had been prearranged by Yang Haiyan: each meal consisted of one meat, one vegetable, and one soup.

It seemed like three dishes were a lot, but in reality, it wasn’t.

The meals were like rice bowls, with a layer of vegetables on top of the rice, a few pieces of meat, and then a bowl of egg drop soup.

On days without meat, they would make scrambled eggs instead.

They ensured that even with a smaller portion, there was always some protein in each meal.

Because of this, the soldiers were active in their training and work, and they were also eager to feed the chickens, ducks, and pigs, as this was all part of their rations.

The soldiers ate better than they did at home, which made them very grateful and loyal to General Qin.

“Madam…” Granny Lian called out as she got off the carriage.

Mother Qin, who was resting, heard Granny Lian’s voice and came out from the house.

Having spent her whole life as a farmer, she had yet to fully accept her new status as a noblewoman.

Moreover, she preferred the simple life of a farmer, where everything was about rules and customs, which made her uncomfortable.

For her, living in the general’s mansion was less enjoyable than in the military camp and fields.

Next to the military camp were rural areas, and when some women came by to wash clothes by the creek, they would often stop to chat with her.

She found her life quite pleasant.

Of course, the women who came to chat were partly because they had family members who were soldiers under Qin Fang.

Everyone knew she was General Qin’s mother, so they came to visit her.

Some did so to curry favor, while others were just being friendly.

Regardless of their motives, at least Mother Qin felt it was lively.

Mother Qin was very warm toward Granny Lian, knowing her daughter-in-law valued her. “Granny Lian, what brings you here?”

Granny Lian first bowed to Mother Qin and then said, “Madam, it’s your daughter-in-law who sent me. There are guests in the mansion—General’s maternal uncle and cousin, the one named Tadpole. Madam said that Third Uncle Ding misses his sister, so he asked you to come over.”

Upon hearing Granny Lian’s words, Mother Qin’s expression darkened immediately.

Her daughter-in-law’s words were polite, but whether her third brother truly missed his sister, only she knew.

She hadn’t expected her third brother’s wife to still be so stubborn, even coaxing her brother to bring Tadpole here.

The thought made Mother Qin feel as if she had eaten rat droppings—it was utterly disgusting.

Wanting to marry her daughter off to Tadpole was out of the question.

Having grown up in the countryside, Mother Qin had seen shameless behaviors, such as locking boys and girls together. Even if nothing had happened, it could ruin a girl’s reputation.

The mere thought that her sister-in-law might have ulterior motives made her worry for Siya.

She immediately said, “Let’s go; I’ll go with you right now.”

She rushed into the house, instructed some maids on a few matters, and then left with Granny Lian.

On the way, Mother Qin asked Granny Lian about the situation.

Learning that Tadpole had fainted at the entrance of the general’s mansion made her even more disgusted with his Third Brother’s wife.

Was she truly sending her nephew to his doom?

Her third brother and nephew had never ventured far from home; how could they dare to make this journey?

Just making it this far was already a miracle.

By the time Mother Qin arrived at the general’s mansion, Tadpole had regained consciousness.

Third Uncle Ding and Tadpole had already bathed and changed into clean clothes for their meal.

Third Uncle Ding was wearing a guard’s uniform, while Tadpole was in clothing that belonged to Qin Shoucheng.

It wasn’t that Yang Haiyan was unwilling to provide with better clothes; the guard’s uniform was entirely new, and although it was made of ordinary fabric, it was much better than the clothing worn by farmers.

The main reason was that they had a uniform that fit Third uncle’s height, so they let him wear it first.

Uncle Sanjiu had no particular thoughts about it; he was just glad to have clothes to wear, especially since they were new.

From this brief interaction, Yang Haiyan had already grasped Third Uncle Sanjiu’s character—he was a bit dim-witted.

She also understood their purpose for coming: it was Third Uncle Sanjiu’s wife who had instigated them to come, hoping Third Uncle Sanjiu would develop alongside Qin Fang.

Speaking of which, Yang Haiyan found it hard to express her feelings.

Third Uncle Sanjiu was somewhat simple-minded, like a spoiled giant infant.

However, unlike the typical giant infant, he had one advantage: he wasn’t cunning.

While sipping his rice porridge, the tadpole said, “Cousin, I haven’t eaten for several days. My father begs for food every day, but it’s not enough for me.”

Hearing his son say this, Third Uncle Sanjiu wished he could hide his head under the table.

His face turned red as he explained, “Well… we’ve spent all the money we brought from home.”

The main issue was that they hadn’t realized how far Yunxiang County was and had prepared insufficient funds.

Had he known it would be so far, he wouldn’t have come, even if it killed him.

“Bah, you’ve really accomplished something, coming here to beg with your son. Why don’t you just pawn your head for money?” Qin Mother scolded as she entered.

Uncle Sanjiu didn’t need to see her to know it was his older sister.

He instinctively shrank back; who did Uncle Sanjiu fear the most?

Undoubtedly, it was his older sister.

Both he and his sister had been spoiled by their parents, and when she reprimanded him, their parents would never intervene.

Hence, Uncle Sanjiu was most afraid of his sister.

He no longer drank his porridge, looking timidly at Qin Mother. “Sister… you’re here?”

The tadpole also feared his eldest aunt, as every time she visited their home, he would inevitably receive a scolding.

Therefore, whenever his aunt came, he would run off to play.

This time, he came to his cousin’s house mainly because his mother said they could eat meat every day, and she mentioned that if he married cousin Siya, he wouldn’t have to do any work, just lie at home eating meat with people waiting on him.

He didn’t care about the service; he didn’t have to do any chores at home either.

He just craved the daily meat, so he followed his father.

However, imagining it was beautiful, the reality was frightening.

Facing his aunt was the scariest thing. “Aunt… Auntie…” The tadpole wore the same expression as his father, looking meekly at Qin Mother.

Qin Mother looked at her brother and nephew, filled with anger.

Even though they were in new clothes, she found them utterly displeasing.

She sat down heavily at the dining table: “Third brother, why are you here?”

Uncle Sanjiu swallowed hard. “Um… the child’s mother said that the two of us have no future in the countryside, so we should come out to try our luck, so… so we came to Afang’s side. I thought… since Afang is here, at least we would have some support.”

Scared by Qin Mother, Third Uncle Sanjiu ended up implicating his wife.

All the prepared lines he had in mind were completely forgotten.

However, Qin Mother didn’t believe this: “What did your wife say? Does she want to make a match for Siya?”

Third Uncle Sanjiu didn’t say anything, although his wife had indeed said that.

But Third Uncle Sanjiu didn’t speak, and the tadpole dared to say, “Auntie, my mother said for Siya to be my wife.”

Qin Mother scoffed, “She really has lofty ambitions.”

Yet, in front of her nephew, she didn’t overly criticize her sister-in-law, as she was after all the mother of her nephew. “Let me ask you, do you know what being a wife means?”

The tadpole immediately replied, “I know, it means she has to have children for me and also earn money to support me.”

“Bah…” Qin Mother was almost ready to curse, “In our family, there’s no reason for a girl to support a boy. In our family, your aunt and I are supported by your uncle, and your cousin’s wife is supported by your cousin. If you want Siya to be your wife, you have to earn money to support her.”

The tadpole felt this was too complicated: “But I can’t earn money; my mother didn’t say that to me.”

Third Uncle Sanjiu listened quietly; as long as his sister wasn’t targeting him, he could remain uninvolved in how she disciplined his son.

Qin Mother said, “Hurry up and eat. After you finish, come back with me. I’ll teach you how to make money.”

Yang Haiyan was somewhat surprised; she looked at Qin Mother.

Qin Mother smiled at her: “Yanyan, let’s change places; I have something to discuss with you.”

Yang Haiyan stood up: “Okay.”

The two women left the hall and went to a quiet place.

Qin Mother didn’t beat around the bush and directly said, “Yanyan, Afang’s third uncle is a brainless person, and the tadpole is just a glutton. I don’t want to embarrass the family, but if it were someone else’s family, I would dislike them even at a glance. But they are my relatives, so I have to say something.

You probably don’t know that after news of Afang’s situation reached our hometown, we held a banquet on the way here. I mentioned this to you before, but there’s more to it.

At that time, the tadpole’s mother came to me, wanting Siya to be betrothed to the tadpole.

I might be selfish or domineering, but given our family’s current situation, I really can’t look up to the tadpole, even if I want to help my maternal family.

I could send some silver to Afang’s grandparents every year, but marrying my daughter off is out of the question.

I initially thought that if I rejected this matter, it would be settled, but who would have thought the tadpole’s mother is so persistent?

She even sent Afang’s third uncle and the tadpole over. Sigh…” At this point, Qin Mother sighed.

That heartless sister-in-law of hers didn’t even consider whether her third brother had the ability to reach Yunxiang County safely.

Fortunately, they arrived safely, albeit having begged for food along the way.

Thinking of this, Qin Mother felt both amused and exasperated.

Yang Haiyan said, “Mother, don’t worry. Even if the third uncle is unreliable, they made it here safely for the sake of the tadpole.”

Qin Mother shook her head: “I’m not worried about them; I’m worried about Afang’s grandparents. However, I’m planning to take them to the military camp fields.”