Qin Shouye opened the second letter, and along with the paper came one tael of silver and two pairs of silver earrings. “Mother…”

Qin Shouye looked at his mother, Qin’s mother.

The main household was taken aback as well.

Qin’s mother had felt the weight of the letter and suspected there might be silver inside, but seeing the earrings surprised her even more.

She quickly asked, “What does the letter say?”

Qin Shouye replied, “…Sister-in-law said this one tael of silver is for us to buy some food to nourish our bodies, and one pair of earrings is for you, and the other for Grandma.”

During her time with Qin Fang, Yang Haiyan had come to understand his character.

Many men were not greedy for their wives’ private funds, but finding one who wouldn’t be swayed by a fortune of five thousand taels was rare.

Thus, Yang Haiyan was genuinely pleased with Qin Fang.

Additionally, in the few mentions in novels, Qin Fang’s good character was evident.

Moreover, through her conversations with Qin Fang, Yang Haiyan learned a bit about Grandma Qin and Qin’s mother.

Though Qin Fang described his family with some embellishment, a common issue across generations is that mothers-in-law often worry that their sons will forget their roots after marrying.

Yang Haiyan’s thoughtful gift of two pairs of earrings was also a way to endear herself to Qin’s mother.

Whether it would be successful or not mattered little; her intentions were clear.

She had faith that Qin Fang would appreciate saving money and looking out for his immediate family, not being the type to cling to outdated filial piety.

As Qin’s mother listened to her son reading the letter and saw the earrings in her hand, she felt genuinely pleased.

There was no denying that a well-educated daughter-in-law was different.

Previously, her satisfaction stemmed from the meet-and-greet gifts and the fact that her daughter-in-law could read and write.

Now, her contentment grew as she recognized the thoughtful nature of the gifts.

The concern was never about the daughter-in-law’s high birth but whether she would be haughty.

Feeling the weight of the earrings—approximately half a tael each—along with the one tael of silver and the previous three taels, Qin’s mother felt a twinge of worry for her son and daughter-in-law’s well-being away from home.

After a while, Qin’s mother went to find Grandma Qin.

When Grandma Qin saw the earrings, her thoughts mirrored those of Qin’s mother: “In my lifetime, I’ve never worn silver earrings, neither as a girl nor as a wife. Who would have thought that my grandson’s wife would bring them? This must be thanks to our good fortune with A Fang’s marriage!”

Qin’s mother smiled. “Your good fortune is yet to come. When A Fang has children, you’ll be a great-grandmother and will get to hold them!”

Grandma Qin chuckled, “Indeed. Thinking back to when I chose you, now A Fang has a good wife. The Qin family truly is blessed. Both Tieniu and A Fang are the eldest sons; if they had married the wrong women, that would have been troublesome.”

Looking at others’ families and then her own, Grandma Qin felt proud of her good judgment in selecting Qin’s mother as a daughter-in-law.

Qin’s mother replied, “You flatter me, Mother.”

Grandma Qin laughed, “Your face is quite thick, you know! But on a serious note, even though A Fang’s wife was arranged by the court, A Fang is still our Qin family’s eldest son. We should prepare something for them too. However, since they are away, we can’t follow the usual rules. What are your thoughts?”

Qin’s mother replied, “I wanted to discuss this with you.”

…

Meanwhile, Yang Haiyan was completely absorbed in her pastry shop, named “Delicious Pastries.”

Aunt Fan and Uncle Hong’s family were living there.

To make pastries more conveniently, Yang Haiyan had bought two ewes that had given birth since ewes only produce milk after giving birth.

The shop was set to open the day after tomorrow, and they were busy preparing long-lasting pastries like small cakes and cookies.

Currently, there were three people in the shop: Uncle Hong was responsible for security but typically stayed in the backyard as most customers were women, avoiding any potential issues with men that could affect the women’s reputation.

Meanwhile, Uncle Hong was also looking after his son.

Aunt Hong and Aunt Fan assisted with customer service.

As for Aunt Fan, when Qin Fang was on the night shift, she stayed in the military camp’s family quarters to keep Yang Haiyan company for safety.

If Qin Fang worked during the day, she would return to the bustling marketplace.

In the marketplace yard, three baking ovens had been set up.

Yang Haiyan had spent the last two days teaching Aunt Fan and Aunt Hong how to make small cakes, cookies, and various pastries like sweet potato, mung bean, red bean, and yellow bean cakes, which had to be made fresh to be enjoyable.

Delicious aromas wafted through the yard as Aunt Fan and Aunt Hong placed the freshly made small cakes and cookies into round baskets.

The baskets were intended for display on the counter, standing five centimeters high, lined with white cloth underneath to keep everything clean and visible.

Yang Haiyan said, “Let’s set these aside for the shop opening the day after tomorrow. Aunt Hong, please get a basket and pack the leftover small cakes and cookies into it.

Then go to a busy spot on the street and distribute them—one cookie and one small cake to each person. Tell them that the Delicious Snack Shop will open the day after tomorrow, with four cookies for one wen or two small cakes for one wen.”

Yang Haiyan calculated that one pound of flour could make 200 cookies, selling for 50 wen, yielding a profit of 35 wen.

For small cakes, one pound could make 100 pieces, also selling for 50 wen, with a profit of 30 wen after costs.

The soybean cakes, mung bean cakes, and red bean cakes could be made at 30 pieces per pound, selling for 2 wen each and yielding a profit of 30 wen.

Although the profit wasn’t huge, both the cookies and cakes included butter bought from the platform, making them exceptionally fragrant.

Even if Aunt Fan and Uncle Hong tried to replicate them, they wouldn’t achieve the authentic taste since they didn’t have the butter, which Yang Haiyan brought with her.

Aunt Hong asked, “Madam, should we prepare more snacks for the street promotion? What if we have too many customers on opening day?” Aunt Fan agreed that having more would be fine since they keep well.

Yang Haiyan replied, “No need. This is enough. Aside from the opening day, we’ll prepare two pounds of cookies and two pounds of cakes each day, along with two pounds of soybean, mung bean, and red bean cakes, plus 20 cups of milk tea. If everything sells out, the daily gross profit will be 350 wen, totaling about 10 taels of silver a month. I’m not greedy; I think this amount is just right.”

Although Aunt Fan and Aunt Hong didn’t fully understand, they certainly wouldn’t oppose their mistress’s decision.

Aunt Hong took the basket filled with cakes and cookies and headed out.

It was afternoon, and while there weren’t many people on the street, the aroma of freshly baked cakes and cookies still drew quite a few to stop and look.

Seeing people gathered, Aunt Hong called out, “Dear villagers, don’t miss out! The Delicious Snack Shop opens the day after tomorrow, and today we’re offering free tastings!”

Having lived through the poorest times, when her husband sold himself for her, Aunt Hong had no qualms about this form of advertising.

“Free tastings? Is that for real?”
“Really free?”
“I want to taste one, give me one.”
“I want one too…”

Following Yang Haiyan’s instructions, Aunt Hong handed out cookies while saying, “The Delicious Snack Shop opens the day after tomorrow, four cookies for one wen.”

For each small cake, she added, “The Delicious Snack Shop opens the day after tomorrow, two small cakes for one wen.”

Though she had a basketful, it was only about two pounds, and it quickly ran out.

After distributing everything, Aunt Hong returned home.

She found her son awake, and Uncle Hong was feeding the child goat milk.

In the past couple of days, Aunt Hong and Aunt Fan had prepared goat milk for their children, as Madam would let Aunt Hong feed her son a small bowl after boiling it to sanitize and kill bacteria.

With Aunt Hong’s health issues, her milk had long stopped, but the child had looked much better after a few days of goat milk, for which she was very grateful.

She even offered to pay Madam, but she refused.

To Yang Haiyan, it was just a small bowl of goat milk—not worth much—but it could win hearts.

Uncle Hong asked, “You’re back? How was the promotion?”

Aunt Hong replied, “We finished the small cakes and cookies. Some people even wanted seconds and thirds. I remembered some faces, so I didn’t give them any more, but I might have given some to others I didn’t recognize.”

Yang Haiyan emerged from the kitchen, “It’s fine; if they got some, it’s okay. Tomorrow, everyone has the day off, and the day after, we open. Aunt Hong and Aunt Fan need to get up early to make snacks.”

“Understood.”

That evening, Aunt Fan prepared fish head tofu soup, sour shredded potatoes, stir-fried mushrooms with vegetables, and braised pork ribs.

Following Yang Haiyan’s instructions, she packed some of the dishes and took them to the bustling courtyard to share a meal with Uncle Hong and his wife.

She usually ate quickly, as she needed to return home to tidy up, but eating there felt more relaxed than at home.

After Aunt Fan returned to the bustling courtyard and saw that Qin Fang had not come back yet, Yang Haiyan decided to make a cotton coat for him.

As it was late September, the weather had turned cold, especially in the border areas where winter arrived early and was particularly harsh.

Hearing a commotion outside, she stepped out and was startled. “What happened? Why is there so much blood?”

Seeing her pale face, Qin Fang hurried to explain, “It’s not my blood; it’s from a wild boar. I was coming back with Brother Lu when we spotted one charging down the mountain. We dealt with it, and the boar is in the neighboring yard.”

There were mountains between the town and the military camp, but usually, wild animals stayed away.

Today was unusual.

Yang Haiyan had not considered this while reading novels, as they didn’t mention it.

Only upon hearing Qin Fang did she realize that ancient wildlife was different from modern times; wild animals in the past were not protected and roamed freely: “There are wild animals on those mountains? Something that large?”

Qin Fang replied, “There always have been, but they rarely come down these past few years. They stay deep in the woods, as we’ve scared them away through hunting. When we have free time, we often take people out to hunt.”

This was how military life changed over time; animals learned to fear humans.

Sister Lu shouted from next door, “Haiyan, come help after dinner!”

Yang Haiyan responded, “Coming!”

Because they needed to process the wild boar, both households ate especially quickly that meal.

Just as Yang Haiyan finished eating, Aunt Fan arrived.

Yang Haiyan said, “Aunt Fan, you came at the right time. We need to handle the wild boar today.”

Aunt Fan asked, “Where’s the boar?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “It’s at Sister Lu’s house.”

When Aunt Fan saw the wild boar, she was stunned. “Such a big wild boar?”

This one weighed at least five or six hundred pounds—most hunters wouldn’t be able to take it down.

Yang Haiyan replied, “It was my husband and Brother Lu who took it down together.”

Qin Fang chimed in, “I could have done it myself.”

Yang Haiyan smiled, “I know; my husband is the strongest.”

Qin Fang’s face flushed slightly. “I’m serious.”

Yang Haiyan continued to smile, “I know, but dear, even if you can, I want you to prioritize safety. If you get hurt, I would be so upset.”

Qin Fang’s face turned even redder. “I understand.”

Aunt Fan, working from a wealthy family, thought to herself how impressive Yang Haiyan was.

Women should be flexible and soft; they could melt the ice that men often present.