Yang Haiyan realized that she could sell items from this world on her platform and then buy silver with the profits—silver was the one thing people in this world wouldn’t question.

Among the items she could trade between the two worlds, the price difference in meat could yield a good profit, and she might also explore selling wild game and eggs.

After finishing her pork rib congee, Yang Haiyan took a nap.

When she woke up, she went out to buy clothes, fabric, needles, and thread since she had no spare clothes.

The original host had been promised to a soldier and hadn’t brought any personal belongings, not even the hidden treasures she once had.

The fact that she managed to bring out fake medicine was a rare exception.

In addition to the fabric, Yang Haiyan bought 20 eggs, priced at one wen each. She spent 200 wen in total, leaving her with another 200 wen.

She used fine cotton fabric to make herself some panties and a camisole.

The camisole was designed like a bra, as the inner garments of this world were quite uncomfortable without proper support, causing everything to bounce around.

The original host had some skills in needlework, and since Yang Haiyan graduated from a fashion design academy, it only took her an hour to make two pairs of panties and two camisole-style bras, all with perfect seams and finishes.

After finishing, she immediately washed them while the sun was still up.

However, she used up the half-bucket of water she had fetched earlier.

So, she ended up carrying water four more times before filling one-third of the large wooden barrel, leaving her exhausted.

After dinner, Yang Haiyan heated some water to wash herself and used the fire to dry her new underwear and camisole before putting them on.

But when it was time to go to bed, she felt uneasy about the cleanliness of the bed.

It was the same bed the original host had slept in for two to three days without washing.

Unfortunately, there were no extra blankets for her to use in this room.

Looking at the platform, which showed 112 yuan, she decided to endure it.

Before sleeping, she put 19 eggs up for sale on the platform, priced at one yuan each.

The next morning, as dawn broke, Yang Haiyan got up early for her shopping spree, hoping to avoid drawing attention.

After rinsing her mouth and washing her face, she checked the platform and saw that the 19 eggs had sold, bringing her balance to 131 yuan.

Watching her savings grow filled her with a glimmer of hope.

With that, she grabbed her small bucket and basket and set out.

First, she headed to the meat stall.

The market vendors were already setting up early, though there were few customers at this hour.

“Boss, do you have pig intestines?” Yang Haiyan asked.

The meat vendor recognized her as the one who bought pork ribs and trotters yesterday. “Yes, they’re cheap. If you take them all, it’s 4 wen per jin.” Usually, nobody bought them, as they were considered food for the very poor.

“How many do you have?” she inquired.

“About 20 jin, so that’ll be 75 wen,” he replied, explaining that he only slaughtered one pig at a time.

“Alright, I’ll take them all, but I can’t carry them. Could you send someone to deliver them to my house?”

“I’ll have my daughter bring them over. Just give me your address.”

Yang Haiyan provided her address. “Thank you, Boss, that’s a big help.”

“Not a problem! If you like, I can set some aside for you the day after tomorrow. I slaughter a pig every two days,” the vendor added, noting that pig intestines often went unsold.

Yang Haiyan calculated how much 20 jin was and realized that it was far too much for an ordinary person to eat. “That’s too much! How about you send me 10 jin the day before each of your slaughter days—on the 1st, 11th, and 21st? If the market’s closed that day, just push it to the next.”

“Alright, I can do that,” he agreed.

Next, she bought a basket of 100 eggs for 100 wen, which, combined with the pig intestines, brought her total spending to 175 wen.

She was left with only 25 wen and couldn’t buy anything else.

Although she wanted to get trotters and additional pig intestines from another stall, buying too many would raise suspicions.

Back home, she placed 80 eggs on the platform and started boiling some for breakfast while making plain congee.

Just as breakfast was almost ready, the delivery for the pig intestines arrived, and they agreed to come back at the hour of the tiger—between 3 and 5 a.m.

Yang Haiyan set aside 2 jin of pig intestines for herself and placed the remaining 18 jin on the platform.

After finishing her breakfast, she washed the 2 jin she had saved and checked the platform again.

To her astonishment, all the eggs and pig intestines had sold out quickly—trade on the platform was surprisingly efficient.

She earned 80 yuan from the sale of 80 eggs and 720 yuan from the 18 jin of pig intestines, bringing her total to 931 yuan.

Yang Haiyan was amazed by the success of her pig intestine business; it seemed she could become wealthy just from this.

Excited by her profits, she spent 30 yuan on spices like star anise, Sichuan pepper, chili, and cinnamon, leaving her with 901 yuan.

As she looked at her balance, she felt a newfound interest in making money.

She even considered hiring someone to help her out.

In modern terms, she wanted to hire a maid or a part-time worker to fetch water since hauling buckets was becoming too much for her.

However, hiring a permanent servant would complicate her “business,” so a part-time worker seemed like the best option.

With this plan in mind, Yang Haiyan happily sought out Sister Lü. “Sister Lu, are you there?”

Sister Lu was also free at that moment; her child was at school, leaving her with some time.

She was just thinking of checking on Yang Haiyan when she saw her approaching. “I’m here.”

Today, Yang Haiyan wore a fresh blue outfit she had bought yesterday.

Her hair was styled up, and the bangs framed her face, giving her a calm and graceful appearance.

She had no accessories but looked refreshing and attractive.

The fabric was of good quality—better than common folks but less refined than that of wealthy families—fitting for the wives of the centurions.

Sister Lu thought to herself that beautiful people always looked good, no matter what they wore.

Yang Haiyan asked, “Is there a place nearby that does laundry, especially for bedding?”

“Of course, I’ll take you there. It’s just next door in our housing area. They’ve been in the business for generations and are very reliable. Many families use their services; they do a great job,” Sister Lu replied.

“Do they only take items at their place, or can they come to our home?” Yang Haiyan inquired.

“They can come to your house. Some people prefer that because they worry about their clothes getting mixed up with others. Many households have this concern, so door-to-door services are common.”

It was only a ten-minute walk from the military family area to the laundry service. Not just one family offered this service, but Sister Lu led her to one she had used before.

The laundry house was lively, with women hanging clothes to dry.

Several baskets were filled with unwashed items, each labeled for different households, neatly organized.

Seeing Sister Lu arrive, a middle-aged woman greeted her warmly. “Ah, Mrs. Lu is here!”

She had a good memory and recognized her regular customers.

“This is Mrs. Qin, the wife of Centurion Qin,” Lü introduced.

“Hello, Mrs. Qin!” the middle-aged woman said.

Yang Haiyan replied, “Hello! I have some sheets and duvet covers to wash, but I’d like to request door-to-door service. Would that be possible?”

“Absolutely, but for door service, it will cost an extra wen,” the woman said.

“That’s fine. Here’s the plan: I’d like you to come every five days to wash the bedding and every other day to fetch two buckets of water. Would you take on the water-fetching service?” Yang Haiyan asked.

This was the first time they had been asked for a water-fetching service, but the woman readily accepted. “We charge by weight for laundry, one wen per jin. For the water, it will be ten wen for 15 trips over a month, and since you’re having us fetch water, we won’t charge for the door fee,” she explained.

“Sounds good! When can you start?” Yang Haiyan asked.

“We can come at the fourth quarter of the hour of the goat (2 p.m.), if that works for you,” the woman replied.

“Perfect!” Yang Haiyan agreed.

Leaving the laundry service, she felt relieved.

With someone taking care of her laundry and fetching water, she felt a burden lift off her shoulders.

However, Sister Lu noticed that the Qin family was likely well-off, given their background.

It made sense for them to have some spending money.

Once home, Yang Haiyan began cooking.

Since she planned to visit Qin Fang at the military camp around noon—a journey that took an hour—she needed to prepare her meal early.

For her first visit, she wanted to impress him with a hearty meal.

She made pork trotter soup, stir-fried pig intestines, and sautéed cabbage, with steamed buns as the staple.

She made sure the portions were large enough to cater not only to Qin Fang but also to his comrades.

Given the scandal surrounding the original host’s “newlywed poisoning” incident, she felt it was her duty to help clear their names, especially since she would need to get along with Qin Fang for some time.

After finishing the meal around 10:30 a.m., she went to fetch Sister Lu.

Since both of their husbands were in the military, they decided to prepare some good food to take along.

They were both on night duty this month, so they wanted to make sure their men were well-fed.

An hour later, Yang Haiyan and Sister Lu arrived at the military camp.

At the entrance, soldiers stood guard, preventing women from entering.

However, the camp had two entrances; the front gate was for official business and was off-limits to women, while the back gate was used for families visiting.

Most people who came to visit or shop for supplies used the back entrance.