Huang Huzi’s wife explained, “I’m not sure either. On the first day we arrived, Aunt Fan mentioned that the meals sent from the kitchen are only for the men. The house doesn’t provide food for the family members. I figured since my husband is away today, they might not send any, so I just cooked something myself. Even if they do send it, we can always save it for dinner.”

The truth was, the portions sent to the men were quite sufficient.

Though not overly filling, they provided about 70% of what one might eat to feel full.

Breakfast usually consisted of sweet potato and brown rice porridge, sometimes accompanied by a boiled egg, meat bun, or steamed bun.

Lunch and dinner featured a mix of brown and white rice with potatoes, along with one meat dish and one vegetable dish.

Compared to life back home, this was a significant improvement—at least there was meat daily.

Huang Huzi’s wife was content with the current arrangement, knowing she could share some of her husband’s meal, and if it wasn’t enough, she could always cook more herself.

This way, they didn’t face too much of a burden.

Listening to this, Meng Ping’s wife realized, “Ah, I didn’t think of that! Even if they do send it, we can just save it for dinner.”

While the wives of the private guards discussed such matters, Yang Haiyan was in her study, thinking over household issues.

The private guards’ wives visiting had brought up another thought—why continue delivering food to the guards individually?

It might be simpler to provide a monthly food allowance instead.

Yang Haiyan had calculated that each private guard’s meals cost about 200 wen per month.

If she provided food instead, they could receive 5 jin of white rice, 10 jin of brown rice, 10 jin of sweet potatoes, and 10 jin of regular potatoes—a total of 90 wen.

For additional provisions, they could receive 10 eggs, 40 jin of vegetables, 2 jin of meat, and 2 jin of pork ribs—amounting to 100 wen.

Altogether, each guard’s monthly allowance would come to 190 wen.

This approach seemed more convenient than managing daily meal deliveries.

“Madam, Uncle Hong is here,” Granny Lian’s voice called from outside.

Yang Haiyan set down her pen. “Let him in.”

Uncle Hong entered the study respectfully. “Madam, you called for me?”

Yang Haiyan nodded. “Uncle Hong, how much does farmland cost per acre in the countryside?”

Uncle Hong was momentarily taken aback but answered truthfully. “Top-grade land is 10 taels of silver per acre, medium-grade land is 6 taels, and lower-grade land is 4 taels per acre.”

Yang Haiyan thought for a moment, then took out 100 taels of silver. “Go buy 10 acres of medium-grade land.”

Although 60 taels would be enough, it was always better to have extra money on hand when making purchases.

Uncle Hong took the silver and asked curiously, “Are you planning to plant crops, Madam?”

Yang Haiyan responded, “Yes, I plan to grow potatoes, sweet potatoes, and turnips. I also want to set up a pig pen, chicken coop, and duck coop on the land. With more people in the house, buying these things from the market will cost more than if we raise and grow them ourselves. Plus, I’ll need to ‘purchase’ additional seeds for other fruits and vegetables from the traveling merchants. We can’t do without farmland.”

Uncle Hong nodded in understanding. “I’ll get started on this right away.”

After Uncle Hong left, the wives of the private guards arrived—Kun Zhang’s wife with her son, Meng Ping’s wife and her daughter Meng Ju, and her sister Meng An, along with Huang Huzi’s wife.

The private guards’ wives entered the study nervously. “Greetings, Madam,” they said.

Not accustomed to formal etiquette, their bows were awkward, heads bowed low, avoiding eye contact.

Yang Haiyan’s voice was gentle. “No need for such formalities. Please, have a seat.”

The study was furnished with a custom-made wooden sofa, long enough to seat several people.

The wives hesitated, saying, “We don’t dare sit.”

Yang Haiyan smiled, “It’s fine. We need to talk, and if you don’t sit, I won’t keep you long because standing is tiring.”

With her words, the wives finally sat down.

Once they were seated, Yang Haiyan said, “Besides the family of Captain Kun, the rest of you can introduce yourselves. Tell me your age and what kind of work you did back home.”

Meng Ping’s wife was the first to speak. “Madam, my husband is Meng Ping. My maiden name is Qiu, and I’m 25 years old. I’m used to doing farm work, and there isn’t any farm labor I can’t do.”

Yang Haiyan took in the appearance of the so-called Meng Ping’s wife, Qiu Shi.

Her features were somewhat rough, giving her a slightly masculine look.

From her words, she was clearly a straightforward country woman.

However, Yang Haiyan noticed an air of honesty in her gaze.

Yang Haiyan found that Meng Qiu was quite different from what she had imagined.

Someone who came to ask about the monthly supplies and complained about insufficient food; she had pictured Meng Qiu more like Second Aunt Qin, or perhaps even worse, someone out of a novel’s “bad wife” trope.

But Meng Qiu seemed rather carefree and straightforward.

Simply put, she didn’t appear very clever and spoke her mind without much filter.

Had she been influenced too much by novels?

Meng Qiu continued, “Madam, this is my daughter, Meng Qiu, named after autumn. She’s eight years old this year and is quite capable, able to cut pig grass, feed the chickens, and cook. This is my sister-in-law, Meng An. She’s had a tough time; originally, she had a fiancé, but he was seduced by a wealthy girl and they broke off their engagement at the beginning of this year.”

Meng Qiu went on to explain that the break-up was bad enough, but her sister-in-law’s ex-fiancé also spread rumors about her, making it seem as though the engagement ended because of Meng An’s faults.

Consequently, Meng Ping received a letter asking how to handle the situation, and when he returned home, he brought Meng An along.

Hearing this, Yang Haiyan recalled that Meng Ping had asked to take a leave of absence back in January.

She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now realized it must have been because of his sister’s troubles.

Since it involved reputation, he likely didn’t want to discuss it.

Naturally, bringing his sister here meant he needed to explain the situation to her.

Yang Haiyan nodded, looking at Meng An, who was shyly lowering her head.

Noticing Yang Haiyan’s gaze, Meng An stood up nervously, saying, “I apologize for bothering you, Madam, by coming here with my brother.”

Yang Haiyan replied, “It’s no trouble at all.”

Initially, she had considered the possibility of young girls seeking to become concubines, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Next, she turned to the other woman.

Huang Huzi’s wife said, “Hello, Madam. I’m from Huang Huzi’s family, with the maiden surname Xu. I’m twenty-four this year. Huang Huzi went to serve in the military just three days after our marriage, so I’ve been living with my in-laws in our hometown. As they’ve grown older, I’ve taken care of everything back home.”

Like how Granny Lian perceived Huang Xu, it was clear that Huang Xu was more composed than Meng Qiu.

However, Huang Xu was also sharper than Meng Qiu.

Yang Haiyan asked, “Your husbands serve as the lord’s personal guards and have their meals and lodging covered, but since you’re not servants of the manor and weren’t hired by us, your food isn’t arranged for. You should understand that, right?”

Both Kun Zhang and Huang Xu replied, “We understand.”

Indeed, they did understand; no one expects to feed the families of hired hands.

Meng Qiu added, “Madam, we do understand, but with four of us in our family, Meng Ping’s earnings are hardly enough. We have to use his money for food. If we were back home, it wouldn’t be an issue; we could grow our own food. But here, we have nothing, and everything costs money. How can we manage that?”

Yang Haiyan regarded Meng Qiu with a newfound perspective.

It seemed she was quite the chatterbox.

However, she kept her face neutral and asked, “Have you considered looking for work yourselves?”

Meng Qiu said, “But… I don’t know how to do anything besides farm work. I can wash clothes, sweep, go out… but I don’t know how to do anything else.”

Yang Haiyan looked at Kun Zhang and the others, “What about you? Haven’t you thought about finding work?”

Kun Zhang, who had just arrived, replied, “I plan to rest for a couple of days before checking the town for any work.”

Huang Xu said, “I’m thinking the same thing.”

In truth, she hoped to wait for Yang Haiyan’s return to see if there were any arrangements before deciding what to do.

Meng An spoke up, “I… I’ve thought about finding work. I went to town the other day and saw that some people were looking for laundry help, and they also need firewood. I asked around, and they pay nine wen for a bundle of firewood. I thought I could do laundry or gather firewood.”

Yang Haiyan found Meng An’s suggestions quite reasonable and responded, “You’re very ambitious! That’s indeed a good idea. Firewood sells well in town since there are family quarters that require it. Plus, during the winter, no one goes outside for about two months, so firewood needs to be prepared in advance.”

Flattered by Yang Haiyan’s praise, Meng An blushed slightly.

After a while of chatting with the families, Yang Haiyan said, “I’m feeling a bit tired. You can leave now.”

“Yes, Madam.”

The families departed.

Once they were gone, Granny Lian expressed her curiosity, “Madam, aren’t you planning to settle them in?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “There’s no rush. I will need to hire people anyway, and I can arrange for them, but it’s not urgent.”

As the hour grew late, Qin Fang returned with five personal guards, three horses ridden into the family quarters, looking quite impressive with their haul of game.

There was a knock on the door.

Since the guards and Uncle Hong were absent, Aunt Fan went to open the door, asking, “Who is it?”

“It’s me,” came Qin Fang’s voice.