Yang Haiyan immediately refused, “That might not be convenient. I’ve been busy all day and haven’t had time to tidy up the room since this morning. Your granddaughter is keeping watch, so why don’t you take her home? If anything happens, we’ll hear you call out.” Inwardly, she couldn’t help but think, This old woman is really troublesome.

Sister Lu chimed in, “Didn’t you two just have your wedding night yesterday? You must be tired this morning, so you didn’t get around to cleaning up.”

Yang Haiyan immediately caught on to Sister Lu’s meaning and blushed, playing along, “Oh, Sister…”

Mother Zhang, hearing Yang Haiyan’s response, reluctantly said, “Then I’ll take her back to my place.”

She had realized that Qin Fang’s household had consummated their marriage last night and hadn’t cleaned up yet.

But her eyes flickered, and she added, “Qin Fang’s wife, my granddaughter hasn’t eaten enough yet. She’ll be watching my little grandson, so I’ll take these snacks as her meal.” With that, she took the plates of cake, cookies, and soybean cakes.

Yang Haiyan: “…Alright.”

Sister Lu’s eldest son, Lu Dawei, said, “Mom, the snacks Auntie made are so delicious.” He implied that if the snacks were taken, they wouldn’t get to eat them.

Yang Haiyan smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I have some more saved. I’ll give you some later.”

Lu Dawei was thrilled. “Really?”

Sister Lu sighed, “Haiyan, you don’t have to listen to this child.”

Yang Haiyan replied, “It’s fine, Sister. I promised, so I won’t lie to Dawei.”

Lu Dawei grinned widely. “Thank you, Auntie.”

The women at the table ate relatively quickly since they weren’t drinking alcohol.

Yang Haiyan, who always focused on her health, typically ate light dinners, so watching Mother Zhang’s appetite made her eat even less.

She didn’t touch any of the dishes that Mother Zhang had eaten from, especially the meat dishes, and only had a few bites of the vegetables.

After the meal, Mother Zhang said, “I’m a bit worried about my grandson. Qin Fang’s wife, I’ll head back now. Let me know when it’s time to clean up.”

She sounded helpful, but in truth, she had no intention of returning to help clean.

Yang Haiyan didn’t mind her not helping and politely replied, “No need, Auntie. You take care of the kids. We have enough people to clean.”

The men were still eating, so Yang Haiyan, Yang Dahua, and Sister Lu began cleaning up the women’s side.

They used warm water to wash the dishes, naturally adding lye to help clean.

Sister Lu remarked, “Oh my, what is this? These dishes are spotless. Look, the grease is all gone.”

Yang Haiyan explained, “This is something specifically for washing dishes. When I was sold by my parents at five, I didn’t have much memory of them, but I do remember, before I was sold, either my mother or grandmother had me help mix this for washing dishes.”

Sister Lu exclaimed, “This stuff is amazing.”

Yang Haiyan offered, “When you and Dahua head back, you can each take a bowl of it.” Lye didn’t cost anything, so she didn’t mind sharing some.

Of course, she wouldn’t reveal the recipe, which was why she made up the story about mixing it.

Sister Lu hesitated, “No, no, this must be expensive.”

Yang Haiyan teased, “It’s no big deal, just this once. If you come asking every time, I won’t have any left.”

This made Sister Lu and Yang Dahua laugh.

Sister Lu thought to herself, Qin Fang’s wife is really generous. She knows how to embroider and make money, and she doesn’t hold back.

Once they finished washing, the men had also finished eating, and it was time for everyone to leave.

Yang Haiyan stood up and went to the bedroom to get the small red pouches.

Captain Ao said, “You’ve already fed us so much, and now you’re even giving us something to take home. This is too much!”

Yang Haiyan smiled, “It’s just a few small snacks. Please don’t be polite, take them home to share the joy with your family.”

Since most of the soldiers were straightforward and had a good relationship with Qin Fang, they accepted the red pouches and bid farewell.

After everyone had left, only Qin Fang’s family, Han Zhen’s family, and Lu Zhide’s family remained in the courtyard.

The three centurions also helped clean up, bringing the dishes and utensils out so that Yang Haiyan, Yang Dahua, and Sister Lu could wash them in the courtyard.

With only a dozen or so dishes, the three women were able to finish quickly.

After washing up, Han Zhen’s family was the first to leave, as their home was further than Sister Lu’s.

Before leaving, Yang Haiyan gave Yang Dahua a small red pouch and a large bowl of lye water.

Han Zhen carried the basket, and Yang Dahua walked beside him, holding his arm as they strolled under the moonlight.

Yang Dahua said, “Haiyan is really amazing. She was outstanding when she lived in the capital, and now she’s even more remarkable here. Not only is her cooking delicious, but her pastries are also incredible.”

Han Zhen smiled and said, “You are remarkable too, learning embroidery and cooking from her. Marrying you is the blessing I’ve gained from three lifetimes of good fortune.” Though his wife wasn’t particularly beautiful, she was gentle and virtuous, and he was very content with that.

Hearing this, Yang Dahua smiled sweetly.

At the Qin family home, Sister Lu’s family was also leaving with their baskets.

Lu Dawei and Lu Xiaowei each held a small red pouch, both of them filled with joy.

---

The next day.

Although they had been busy all day yesterday, the couple didn’t sleep in.

Given their modern habits, they still went to bed relatively early, so today Yang Haiyan woke up early.

After their morning exercise, they had breakfast: sweet potato and brown rice porridge with a boiled egg each.

The meal provided both whole grains and protein.

Afterward, they headed to Yongji.

Today was the 21st, the day to deliver soap.

As for the pig intestines, they had bought them yesterday, so Yang Haiyan told the boss not to deliver today.

She didn’t plan to let Qin Fang know about this business.

Just as the couple stepped out, they saw Mother Zhang playing outside the yard with her child.

Seeing them leave, Mother Zhang warmly greeted them, “Are you heading out?”

Yang Haiyan smiled, “Yes, Auntie.”

Mother Zhang’s eyes flickered. “Are you going to buy groceries? It’s inconvenient for me to go to the market with the child. Could you help me buy some?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “I’m sorry, Auntie, but we had a wedding feast yesterday, and we’ve exceeded our monthly budget, so today we plan to just eat sweet potatoes and won’t be going to buy groceries.”

Mother Zhang: “…”

Once they had left the residential compound, Qin Fang suddenly held Yang Haiyan’s hand. “I’m sorry. Right now, I’m not capable of giving you a better life, or letting you eat whatever you want every day. But please wait for me. I’ll work hard, earn merits, get promoted, and make life better for you.”

Yang Haiyan was taken aback, then smiled. “Were you thinking about what I said earlier?”

Qin Fang nodded. “Yes.”

Yang Haiyan chuckled, patting his hand. “Don’t overthink it. I was just making excuses to her. I’ve noticed that Aunt Zhang isn’t quite like others, she always tries to take advantage of people…”

Then she told him about a previous incident when Mother Zhang had asked for things and shared what Sister Lu had told her. “That’s why I said what I said.”

Qin Fang understood.

Upon further thought, he realized that Zhang Baihu was the same way.

Zhang Baihu had asked him to help buy food from the army canteen several times, which had cost 15 wen in total, and he still hadn’t paid him back.

Qin Fang only thought about it but didn’t mention it to Yang Haiyan.

He figured that since Zhang Baihu was a man, he needed to save face, and the incident had happened before he got married anyway.

---

The shopkeeper had already dealt with Yang Haiyan three times and, having done a thorough background check on her, now understood the soap’s market potential over the past twenty days.

So, the shopkeeper broached the subject with Yang Haiyan.

“Centurion Qin, Madam Qin, have you thought about selling the soap recipe?” he asked, glancing at Qin Fang, assuming he was in charge as it was a patriarchal society.

Qin Fang looked at Yang Haiyan.

This was part of her dowry, so he naturally wouldn’t make the decision himself.

Yang Haiyan had considered selling the recipe.

Otherwise, it would be too much trouble to make it every month, and having the silver to live leisurely would be better.

Also, since she had read novels about this family before, she knew that the Yonghe Marquis family had good morals, including the Marquis’s wife.

So, she felt reassured about selling the recipe to them.

The question was: “How much does the shopkeeper want to offer for this recipe?”

The shopkeeper was surprised.

He hadn’t expected Yang Haiyan to speak first.

He glanced again at Qin Fang.

Qin Fang understood. “In my household, my wife makes the decisions.”

He didn’t feel embarrassed at all about saying this.

However, the shopkeeper wasn’t entirely convinced.

Knowing Yang Haiyan, he believed she was smart.

He also knew from the Marquis’s wife that Yang Haiyan had once been the chief maidservant to the young lady of the prestigious Yang family.

In such households, a personal maidservant held more status than a county magistrate’s daughter, akin to a seventh-rank official at the prime minister’s gate.

Thus, the shopkeeper assumed Qin Fang had intentionally left the decision to Yang Haiyan.

“Centurion Qin, Madam Qin, how about this figure?” The shopkeeper raised one finger.

Yang Haiyan knew he meant 1,000 taels. Based on the current situation, she could earn sixty or seventy taels a year by delivering 300 bars of soap each month.

So, the shopkeeper wouldn’t offer just 100 taels—1,000 seemed reasonable.

But that wasn’t the price she had in mind.

“There are actually two things I haven’t told you about this soap,” Yang Haiyan said.

The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow. “Please, Madam Qin, go on.” He had thought 1,000 taels was reasonable, but he was surprised Yang Haiyan hadn’t agreed right away.

Of course, he also knew that someone as knowledgeable as Yang Haiyan wouldn’t be easily swayed by 1,000 taels.

Yang Haiyan explained, “Shopkeeper, to be honest, if I have enough materials, I can make 1,000 bars of soap in a day. Moreover, the cost of each bar of soap is just one wen. Now, how much do you think the recipe is worth?”

The shopkeeper was stunned. “What?”

He thought he had misheard her.

One bar of soap only cost one wen? The profit margin was unimaginable!