Qin Fang picked up a piece of pig intestine, his eyes brightening; this troublesome woman could actually make such delicious food.

He quickened his pace eating, nearly licking the bottom of the bowl clean as he soaked bread in the sauce.

The pig trotters were braised to perfection, practically melting in his mouth.

Qin Fang thought to himself, coming from a wealthy family made all the difference; the food was exceptionally good.

After lunch, news of his wife’s supposed suicide on their wedding night took a new turn.

The soldiers under him praised his wife’s cooking skills, and it became clear that Qin Fang’s wife hadn’t attempted suicide but had simply taken the wrong medicine due to her poor health.

Yang Haiyan, unaware of any of this, had gone home with Sister Lu when the washerwomen and water carriers arrived.

They were led by the eldest daughter-in-law of the household, named Tang.

Tang brought her ten-year-old daughter along, pulling a cart.

This cart was quite unique, with four small wheels and a wooden plank on top, making it easy for women to pull back full wooden barrels of water.

Tang said, “Madam, you need to take out the things you want to wash. We have to take them to the washing area; otherwise, hauling large bed linens back and forth with buckets is too time-consuming.”

Yang Haiyan replied, “That makes sense. I’ll go with you; I have some clothes to wash too.”

She went back to her room to get the bed linens and also bought some laundry soap at the platform.

The ordinary soap cost two coins per block, and she bought one block and cut it in half.

She wasn’t worried about anyone recognizing the soap, as this was a frontier area, a trading hub where foreign merchants often came.

If anyone asked, she could just say she bought it from them.

However, seeing the soap sparked another idea for making money in her mind.

Yang Haiyan put that thought aside for now and followed Tang and her daughter to wash clothes.

The washing area was by the well, specifically designated for laundry.

Tang and her daughter helped her wash the bedding while she took care of the clothes she had changed out of yesterday.

She washed quickly and returned home first.

About fifteen minutes (half an hour) later, Tang and her daughter returned with the cart.

They spread out her bedding and carried two buckets of water into the kitchen.

The bed linens weighed a total of four pounds and cost four wen.

They made fifteen trips to fetch water in a month, charging ten wen per month, totaling fourteen wen.

After paying, she had only eleven wen left from her one tael of silver.

After receiving the payment, Tang hesitated for a moment before shyly asking, “Madam Qin, what do you call that laundry soap? It looks a bit like lye, but it works so well. It cleans well and has a lovely scent.”

Yang Haiyan replied, “I don’t really know what it is. This morning, when I went to the market, I saw some foreigners selling it. They called it soap; it looks like a plump pod, so I thought it was interesting and bought it.”

Tang felt a bit disappointed upon hearing this. “Then it must be hard to find now. You see, some ladies have more delicate clothing, and lye doesn’t clean them well. I can tell your soap would surely do the trick.”

Yang Haiyan smiled, “It’s quite expensive, though; one block costs twenty wen.”

Tang responded, “It is expensive, but it lasts and makes clothes clean and fragrant.” If they used this soap, they could charge a bit more each time they washed clothes, and the ladies wouldn’t mind.

This way, they’d have an advantage over others.

Yang Haiyan began to understand Tang’s intention. “Are you interested in this?”

Tang said, “Isn’t it hard to get?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “If I can find some later, I’ll buy a few blocks for you.”

Tang shook her head, “A few blocks won’t be enough. If only we could buy it regularly.” After all, they had to wash clothes every day.

Yang Haiyan said, “What a shame.”

Tang replied, “We’ll take our leave now, Madam. We’ll come back after dinner the day after tomorrow to fetch more water.”

Yang Haiyan responded, “Alright.”

Once Tang and her daughter left with the cart, Yang Haiyan calculated what was needed to make soap: plant ashes, a filter, clean water, a pot, salt, and lard.

Among these materials, lard would be the most costly.

With the idea forming in her mind, Yang Haiyan immediately began to take action.

She spent 18 coins on a traditional wooden balance scale from an online marketplace, the kind used at markets for weighing produce.

Then, she spent 10 coins on a simple filtration cloth, like the kind used for filtering soy milk.

After that, she spent 20 coins on a bottle of rose-scented perfume.

Lastly, she spent 250 coins on 50 grams of silver, which equaled one tael, or 1,000 wen.

Afterward, she went to the market and ordered 5 pounds of pork fat from a butcher for the next day, at a price of 10 wen per pound, costing her 50 wen.

Then, she went to the carpenter’s shop and commissioned a soap mold made of wooden grids, which had 20 rectangular molds on a single wooden board, costing her 15 wen.

The one tael of silver from Sister-in-law Lu, combined with the one tael she bought online, added up to 2,000 wen.

After all the spending, she had only 946 wen left.

That evening, Yang Haiyan cooked stir-fried cabbage and brown rice, keeping the meal light.

After dinner, she began filtering lime and adding water to stir it, then boiled the lye solution in a pot.

After finishing, she left it to settle and went to bed.

The next day, before dawn, the butcher delivered the 5 pounds of pork fat, so Yang Haiyan decided to render lard, producing 3 pounds.

Although the wooden soap molds hadn’t arrived yet, she was eager to start experimenting.

She began by taking 100 grams of lard for the trial, using a small amount.

First, she mixed the lard with the lye solution and heated it while stirring, adding a few drops of perfume and salt.

After half an hour, she poured the soap mixture into a bowl and left it.

She needed to prepare lunch next and still had to deliver food to Qin Fang later.

Thinking of Qin Fang, Yang Haiyan decided to just go with the flow for now.

She was unfamiliar with this place, and since Qin Fang was her type, she was willing to try living with him for a while.

If things didn’t work out, she would find another way.

Since she had rendered lard in the morning, there was a lot of crispy pork fat residue left over.

She sprinkled a little salt on it, and the crispy pork fat became a snack.

For the main dish, she made noodle soup with cabbage, using the leftover pig’s trotter soup from yesterday.

She also made three poached eggs—one for herself, two for Qin Fang.

She found it quite pleasant to bring lunch to Qin Fang every day, as it gave her a bit of post-meal exercise, which was good for her health.

After eating, she picked up the basket and headed out.

Passing by Sister-in-law Lu’s house, she said, “Sister-in-law, I’m going to bring lunch to my husband. Could you keep an eye on the yard for me?”

Since they lived in the military family quarters, it was very safe.

No one would dare cause trouble here, as the soldiers were highly respected by the common folk, similar to government officials in modern times.

Sister-in-law Lu responded, “Of course, don’t worry.”

Today, Yang Haiyan was delivering food by herself since Sister-in-law Lu had told her yesterday that she wouldn’t be going with her again.

The previous day, she had accompanied her to show her the way.

Yang Haiyan found it more relaxing to go alone.

The walk from the family quarters to the military camp seemed like it would take an hour, but the path wasn’t very long, and the area was safe.

After all, who would dare to cause trouble near the military camp?

They’d be risking their lives.

When Yang Haiyan arrived at the back gate of the camp, the guard on duty recognized her. “Oh, it’s Qin’s wife. Are you here to bring lunch to him?”

Among the military wives, it was rare to see someone as beautiful as Yang Haiyan.

After all, her original character had been trained in etiquette, and while she wasn’t as refined as a true lady, her manners and bearing were still quite good.

Even the daughters of seventh-rank county officials couldn’t compare to her grace.

Now, with Yang Haiyan’s soul in her body, she carried herself with more confidence, shedding the inferiority complex of her former self.

Her aura now resembled that of a well-bred lady from a wealthy family.

Yang Haiyan smiled slightly, “Yes, I told my husband yesterday I’d bring him lunch today. Could you please call him for me?”

The guard replied, “Of course, you’re too kind. Please wait a moment.”

The guard ran off toward Qin Fang’s barracks.

Qin Fang was already awake, lying in bed and staring at the top of his tent.

The troublesome woman had said she’d bring lunch today—would she actually come?

Qin Fang was unsure.

If she didn’t show up and he waited, he’d be the one going hungry.

But if he went to eat lunch and she did show up, then it would be a waste to have two meals.

Annoying.

“Boss Qin… Boss Qin… Your wife’s here with lunch.”

The other soldiers overheard and started teasing, “Boss Qin, your wife brought you lunch again!”

Qin Fang grabbed the basket from yesterday, which he had already cleaned, and strode out of the tent without showing any expression.

But in truth, his heart was racing a little.

That troublesome woman actually brought lunch again?

“Boss Qin, what did your wife bring this time? Let’s go check it out!”

“Yeah, Boss Qin, your wife’s cooking is so good; I bet she brought something delicious.”

Qin Fang shot them a glare.

Did they think he didn’t know they just wanted to eat his food?

From a distance, Qin Fang saw the woman standing at the gate, wearing the same light blue dress as yesterday.

Her face was clean, without any makeup or lipstick, looking like a delicate painting.

Unconsciously, he quickened his pace.

He couldn’t deny that he felt a bit happy hearing she’d come to bring him lunch again.

Perhaps it was because… she hadn’t broken her promise.

“Husband…” Yang Haiyan waved when she saw Qin Fang approaching.

Qin Fang thought to himself, was she really that excited to see him?

When he reached her, he said, “Why did you come again? Isn’t it exhausting? You don’t need to come tomorrow.”

Yang Haiyan teased, “You’re here defending the country, and I can’t even bring you some good food to keep you strong?”

Qin Fang pressed his lips together, but the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but lift slightly.

It always felt nice to be praised like that.

Yang Haiyan continued, “Today’s meal is simple—just noodles. I also brought some snacks. I’m not sure if they’ll suit your taste. Did you like what I made yesterday?”

Qin Fang replied, “Hm.”

After a pause, he added, “Everyone said it was good.”

She even brought him snacks.

Did she think he was a child?