In his dazed state, Yang Haiyan called him to wake up for the medicine.

After he took the medicine, he became more alert and remembered something he had overlooked. “Yanyan, you said you’d give me a gift; where is it?”

Yang Haiyan opened the desk drawer and took out a small box. “Here.”

Qin Fang took it, looking very curious about the small box.

“Quick, open it and see,” she urged.

“Okay.” Filled with curiosity and anticipation, Qin Fang opened the box to find a black jade hairpin and a black jade crown.

He held them with affection, even instinctively placing the crown on his head. “How do I look?” he asked, a hint of shyness in his voice.

Yang Haiyan smiled and said, “My husband is truly handsome.”

Qin Fang felt delighted, his face slightly flushed.

Then Yang Haiyan began discussing the family letters…

The next day, Sister Lu and Yang Dahua came to congratulate her.

Sister Lu said, “Haiyan, from now on, you’ll be the true wife of a court official. Congratulations!”

Yang Dahua added, “Indeed, Haiyan, congratulations!”

Yang Haiyan responded, “You’re too kind! Regardless, we are sisters. When I first came here and was unwell, Sister Lu took care of me, and I grew up with Sister Dahua. Our bond is just as strong.”

The three chatted for a while until someone else arrived. “Is this the home of Master Qin Fang, the thousand-man commander?”

“Is Madam Qin at home?”

“Qin…”

One after another, several wives of the hundred-man commanders visited that morning.

It was nearly two months since Yang Haiyan arrived, and some were visiting for the first time, while others she had seen at the pastry shop.

It was indeed true that when one person rises, their connections rise too.

As Yang Haiyan sent off wave after wave of visitors, she said, “Once the military department’s documents come through, I’ll treat everyone to tea. You must all come!” By then, Qin Fang would truly be the thousand-man commander.

“Of course, we’ll come at Madam Qin’s invitation.”

Once everyone had left, Yang Haiyan sighed in relief.

She wasn’t bad at socializing; she just didn’t enjoy it.

Just as Yang Haiyan relaxed, she heard Zhang’s mother’s voice.

She was about to speak when Zhang’s mother interrupted, “Madam Qin, I’m truly sorry. A while ago, I lent some money to someone who didn’t return it until just now. Since I finally have some money, I’ve brought you the five coins for the pastries.”

Yang Haiyan was speechless…

…

Before she knew it, the end of October arrived, and Qin Fang began his night shifts again.

Although he had been promoted to thousand-man commander, the Qin family didn’t hold a celebration since the military department’s documents hadn’t come through yet.

Generally, the military department wouldn’t make things difficult for someone promoted to thousand-man commander; after all, it was a seventh-grade military position that they didn’t care much about.

Moreover, seventh-grade positions were never assigned by the court because no one coveted them, so they were typically chosen from within the military.

For the department, choosing someone else or Qin Fang was essentially the same.

Besides, Qin Fang earned his position by being the top performer in martial arts.

One day, after delivering lunch, Uncle Hong returned to the shop and said to Yang Haiyan, “Madam, congratulations! Congratulations!”

Yang Haiyan asked, “What’s the reason for the celebration?”

Seeing Uncle Hong’s expression, it was clear he was genuinely happy.

After all, he usually returned from delivering lunch and went to gather firewood, but today he didn’t even pick up any.

Uncle Hong replied, “The official documents for Master’s promotion to thousand-man commander have arrived.”

Only those with a formal title could be referred to as “Master,” so while they had previously called Qin Fang “Sir” or “Master,” they could now address him as “Lord.”

Yang Haiyan’s face lit up with joy upon hearing this. “That’s truly great news! Are you sure?”

“Absolutely! Since Master couldn’t return himself, he asked me to bring you the news so you wouldn’t worry,” Uncle Hong confirmed.

Yang Haiyan immediately said, “Aunt Fan, hang a sign outside the shop. Starting tomorrow for three days, we’ll have a special promotion—buy one coin’s worth of pastries and get a free cookie. The first twenty customers will also get a cup of milk tea!”

Aunt Fan replied, “Got it!”

Once Aunt Fan hung up the promotional sign, passersby began to inquire, “What promotion do you have today?”

Aunt Fan explained, “Our master has good news, so starting tomorrow for three days, buy one coin’s worth of pastries and get a free cookie. The first twenty customers will also get a cup of milk tea.”

“Congratulations! That’s wonderful news! Is our master expecting a son? Is he pregnant?” someone asked excitedly.

Aunt Fan replied, “Our master has been promoted; he’s now a lord.”

“Oh, what a joyous occasion! Truly a grand celebration…”

“Shopkeeper, are you having a promotion today?”

“Shopkeeper, what’s the promotion this time?”

Soon, everyone in the neighborhood learned that the husband of the popular pastry shop owner had been promoted.

He used to be a hundred-man commander, but now he was a thousand-man commander.

The difference between the two ranks was as vast as heaven and earth.

To put it in modern terms, the military camp is a state unit; a hundred-man commander is like a contractor, while a thousand-man commander is a civil servant.

Originally, the pastry shop was already doing well, and other bakeries were a bit envious, but everyone knew Qin Fang was in the military.

In this town, who would dare provoke a military family?

Now that Qin Fang had become a seventh-grade official, a thousand-man commander, no one would dare mess with the pastry shop.

As the news spread, Yang Haiyan said, “Aunt Fan, Aunt Hong, it’s still noon. Go make some small cakes and cookies. Tomorrow, I’ll take them to the military camp to distribute among his men.”

Aunt Fan asked, “How many should we make?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “Since he has a thousand men, let’s make plenty.”

Aunt Fan nodded, “Understood.”

However, even after working all afternoon, there still wasn’t enough for Qin Fang to distribute among a thousand men.

So, that night, Aunt Fan and Aunt Hong worked overnight, continuing until the next morning.

Fortunately, making the small cakes and cookies was quite simple, just mixing flour and water.

By noon, Yang Haiyan set off to the military camp with a donkey cart full of several baskets of cakes and cookies.

When Qin Fang came to pick up his lunchbox, he was surprised to see his wife. “What are you doing here? Did Uncle Hong tell you about the military documents?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “Didn’t you ask him to?”

“I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t worry, especially since I have night shifts this month and can’t return,” he explained, sitting in the cart to eat. “Have you eaten?”

“Of course! By the way, look.” She lifted the cart curtain.

Since Qin Fang was outside eating, he hadn’t seen inside.

When he saw her lift the curtain, the sight of four baskets of pastries caught his attention.

“What’s all this?” Qin Fang asked.

Yang Haiyan explained, “You’ve been promoted to Captain (thousand-man commander), so I made some pastries for you to distribute to your subordinates to celebrate. Is that appropriate?”

Qin Fang was delighted. “That’s absolutely appropriate! Normally, I’d invite everyone out for drinks to celebrate, but with so many subordinates, it’s impractical to treat them all individually. This is even better. But I’m afraid four baskets won’t be enough; I can just invite a few hundred commanders to the tavern for drinks, but what about the over a thousand soldiers…”

In the military, it was customary to treat a team of soldiers when someone got promoted, and Qin Fang hadn’t expected his wife to prepare for this.

Yang Haiyan jumped down from the cart. “I know this isn’t enough; there’s more, look.”

Following her, he saw there were four more baskets of pastries in the back of the cart, placed on a wooden board for support. “Yanyan, thank you.”

After Qin Fang finished his meal and unloaded the eight baskets of pastries from the cart, Yang Haiyan took the cart back home.

The fragrant smell of the pastries was so strong that it made the guards at the gate of the camp sniffle.

One soldier came over and asked, “Lord Qin, do you need help?”

Qin Fang replied, “Thank you very much.”

The soldier responded, “You’re too polite.”

Due to one soldier’s initiative, other soldiers also came forward to help carry things.

Qin Fang and the gatekeeping soldiers each carried some snacks into the tent, drawing the attention of many other soldiers.

“Qin Laoda, did you buy so many snacks?” Those who called him Qin Laoda were the soldiers under him when he was a hundred-man leader.

“Captain Qin, are you handing out snacks?”

“Commander Qin …”

“Lord Qin…”

In an instant, many soldiers gathered around.

Qin Fang said, “Our soldiers from the 18th District have returned to the camp, so we’re handing out snacks.”

The Yong family army had fifty thousand soldiers, divided into five major districts, and each district was further split into fifty smaller ones.

Hearing Qin Fang’s words, the over a thousand soldiers from the 18th District cheered happily.

Han Zhen and the others arrived after finishing their meal. “Captain Qin, what’s going on here?”

Although Han Zhen and Qin Fang were sworn brothers and usually called each other by name in private, in the military camp, Han Zhen respectfully referred to him as Captain since Qin Fang needed to establish authority.

Centurion Zhang asked, “These snacks were made by Lady Qin, right?”

Qin Fang proudly replied, “Come on, let’s share them with everyone! These are the snacks my wife made; let’s celebrate together as a team.”

His tone was filled with pride, not for his promotion to Captain, but for having such a wonderful wife.

Han Zhen made a sound of mock disgust.

Qin Fang had really changed; he used to have a cold demeanor and rarely spoke, but now he often talked, and it was always about his wife.

Before long, everyone in the military camp knew that the 18th District was distributing snacks, making the other districts envious.

“This place is lively,” General Ao and the Young Master of Yonghe arrived.

Seeing them, everyone quickly saluted, “Greetings, Young Master; greetings, General Ao.”

In the entire Yong family army, there was no soldier who didn’t know the Young Master; only the Young Master didn’t know some soldiers.

The Young Master of Yonghe said, “No need for such formality. I heard you were handing out snacks here, so I came to join the fun.”