When Fan Cuiliu was sold off, she had already been married and had a daughter, who was also married.

Typically, for people like Fan Cuiliu, their family could pay to redeem them from the broker.

If they had the money themselves, they could even buy their own freedom.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have any money, and since her husband was in charge of the household, he didn’t want to redeem her, especially now that she was no longer young.

Her daughter had wanted to borrow money to buy her mother back, but before she could gather the funds, Fan Cuiliu was sold by the broker.

To this day, she hadn’t had the opportunity or means to contact her daughter.

When Yang Haiyan learned of her situation, she didn’t know how to describe her feelings.

Both Hong Xuexi and Fan Cuiliu were pitiful people.

In this society, it was rare for masters to sell off their servants.

Usually, servants were only freed after death, and even then, their sale contracts were returned to them.

After all, servants knew a lot about the master’s affairs, and holding onto their contracts was a way for masters to control them and keep their mouths shut.

Yang Haiyan said, “From now on, you will both live here. I plan to run a business in the shop at the front. Aunt Fan, you’ll be in charge of managing the shop, and Uncle Hong, you’ll drive the cart and take care of the courtyard.”

Hong Xuexi was 32, and Fan Cuiliu was 38, so it was appropriate for Yang Haiyan to address them as “uncle” and “aunt.”

Even though she was now in a society governed by imperial power, the habits of politeness from modern times were ingrained in her.

“Yes, madam,” Hong and Fan replied.

Hong then asked, “Madam, once we’ve cleaned up the courtyard, may I go visit my family?”

Yang Haiyan nodded, “Of course.”

She handed a tael of silver to Fan. “Aunt Fan, take this silver and use it to buy anything that’s missing here. You and Uncle Hong can arrange your own lunch. Once you’re done cleaning, come find me at the military housing where I live.”

“Yes, madam,” Fan replied, though she was a bit nervous holding the silver.

She understood that this was Yang Haiyan testing her trustworthiness.

As someone who had worked as a cook in a wealthy household, she wasn’t naive.

She only wanted to do her job well and, if possible, reconnect with her daughter.

After spending a good amount of time with the matchmaker inspecting the courtyard and buying servants, it was already midday by the time Yang Haiyan returned to her quarters.

Though she was eating lunch alone, she didn’t want to skimp on the meal.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many ingredients left at home, so she ordered some broccoli, pork belly, and a tomato from the online platform for 20 yuan.

She made stir-fried pork belly with broccoli and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

She bought just enough for one meal, since broccoli and tomatoes didn’t exist in this world.

However, just because those vegetables didn’t exist didn’t mean they couldn’t be grown.

As for where the seeds came from, she could simply say they were purchased from foreign merchants or discovered in the mountains.

This town was located on the border, and many merchants from different countries passed through, so it wouldn’t raise suspicion.

After lunch, Yang Haiyan visited Mrs. Tang to let her know she no longer needed her help with washing blankets and fetching water.

Those tasks would now be handled by Aunt Fan and Uncle Hong.

Yang Haiyan didn’t feel uncomfortable about having servants.

She had already accepted the reality of living in a society governed by imperial power, and clinging to modern notions of equality would be foolish.

She adapted well.

However, she wasn’t like the aristocrats of this time who treated their servants as mere slaves.

To her, Aunt Fan and Uncle Hong were employees, and she was their employer.

Now that she had adapted to her new life and made some money, Yang Haiyan started thinking about how to improve her quality of life and ensure her safety in this world.

To live well in any place, it was essential to understand the society in which you resided.

The knowledge she had gained from the novel was too limited, mostly focusing on things related to the protagonist, Yang Dahua.

However, while the author had created the framework of the novel, Yang Haiyan was now part of this world.

For her, it was a real place, and the parts the author didn’t write about would naturally fill in on their own.

Rather than trying to understand the entire world, it was more important for her to understand this country specifically.

This meant learning its history and its laws.

Even in a society ruled by imperial power, where might often triumphed over justice, the law could sometimes still offer protection.

After leaving the Tang family, Yang Haiyan went to the study to buy the “Qiguo History” and “Qiguo Legal Code.”

This country was called Qiguo, and the legal code contained all the laws issued by the state.

Although it was a thick volume, it couldn’t compare to modern legal books, which include criminal law, civil law, constitutional law, intellectual property law, and many others.

Qiguo only had this one code.

Upon returning home, Yang Haiyan saw Aunt Fan and Uncle Hong at the entrance of her courtyard.

As they were about to call out to her, Sister Lu came out. “Haiyan, you’re back! These two have been here for a while, saying they’re looking for you. Do you know them?”

She didn’t mean any harm; she was just concerned about the arrival of strangers.

Yang Haiyan replied, “I know them; I just bought them from the matchmaker. Aunt Fan, Uncle Hong, this is Sister Lu, the wife of the Centurion.”

She stated that they were bought servants without any insult intended, just a fact.

Aunt Fan and Uncle Hong said, “Hello, Sister Lu.” In their eyes, the Centurion was a figure of authority.

Sister Lu was taken aback, struggling to process that Yang Haiyan had actually bought servants.

For a moment, she was speechless.

Yang Haiyan continued, “Sister, I bought a shop in the marketplace to sell pastries, as I want to contribute to the family.”

Sister Lu responded, “Oh… is that so? Then I wish you great success with your business.”

She was still trying to absorb the news and didn’t know what else to say.

Yang Haiyan thanked her.

Meanwhile, eavesdropping, Mother Zhang had initially intended to watch the drama unfold, thinking Aunt Fan and Uncle Hong were poor relatives of the Qin family due to their shabby appearance.

However, upon learning they were Yang Haiyan’s bought servants, she was stunned, then scoffed. “A wasteful daughter-in-law buying servants—what a disgrace! But her pastries are delicious; I hope her shop fails.”

Yang Haiyan was unaware of Mother Zhang’s thoughts.

She brought Aunt Fan and Uncle Hong into the courtyard and showed them the study. “My husband and I live in this military family compound. My husband’s name is Qin Fang; he’s a battalion commander, a Centurion. The courtyard in the marketplace will be your home. The shop is for the pastry business, and the back courtyard will be your residence. I’ll pay you 200 wen each month.” Servants sold by contract typically received room and board, and 200 wen was a decent monthly wage in town.

Aunt Fan and Uncle Hong had no objections.

Yang Haiyan added, “Aunt Fan, your main job will be making pastries. I’ll teach you how, and once you’re familiar, you can manage on your own. But remember, if you leak the recipes, I won’t be lenient.”

Aunt Fan immediately pledged, “Don’t worry, madam; I won’t divulge any recipes.”

Yang Haiyan nodded; while she wasn’t overly concerned about recipe leaks, establishing authority was necessary.

She continued, “Aunt Fan, you’ll also handle the household chores—cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. I’ll keep looking for more suitable servants.”

Aunt Fan replied, “Yes.”

Yang Haiyan then asked Uncle Hong, “Do you know how to drive a donkey cart?”

Uncle Hong said, “Yes, madam, I do.”

Yang Haiyan instructed, “Then go buy a donkey cart. You’ll keep it in your courtyard, and every noon, you’ll deliver lunch to my husband. I’ll also buy two milking goats, which you’ll take care of, along with the cart. For now, that’s all.”

Uncle Hong acknowledged, “Yes, madam.”

Next, Yang Haiyan took Aunt Fan and Uncle Hong to purchase the donkey cart and acquire some necessities for their new residence, also getting them each two sets of clothing, totaling ten taels of silver.

The shop was empty but had previously been used for food business, so it needed some renovation.

Yang Haiyan called in workers to renovate it in a simple style reminiscent of modern tea shops, with four long tables (two on each side), each equipped with four stools.

One side would have a counter displaying cakes, cookies, and soy milk cakes, with space behind for making milk tea and a cash register.

The renovation was straightforward; they just needed to clean up, whitewash the walls with lime, and set up the tables and counter.

After leaving the shop, Yang Haiyan took Aunt Fan to the market while Uncle Hong returned home to check on his wife.

The shop wouldn’t open immediately due to custom furniture orders.

At the market, Yang Haiyan bought vegetables.

That evening, she let Aunt Fan take charge of cooking, preparing braised fish, stir-fried pork with potatoes, tomato and egg soup, paired with homemade pickles, with brown rice and sweet potatoes as the staple.

Watching Aunt Fan’s deft movements and careful oil measurements confirmed she had experience from working in a wealthy household, where cooks would be generous with ingredients since they didn’t have to worry about costs.

When dinner time came, Qin Fang returned home and was momentarily surprised to see an extra person in the house.

After Yang Haiyan explained, he didn’t say much.

After all, this was her money, and he wouldn’t interfere.

Moreover, he thought it was great that his wife was using her skills to open a small business.

Although merchants held a low status, the court did recognize certain merchants based on their business volume and tax contributions, defining them as merchants only above a specific threshold.

Yang Haiyan, however, would not fall into that category.