But that man betrayed her in an instant, and naturally, she wouldn’t think about it.

Her thoughts were clear; she couldn’t be a single woman for her entire life.

Eventually, she would need to get married and have children, so she wasn’t opposed to the idea of looking at a partner.

Now that her brother asked her about the two private soldiers, she thought it was not bad.

Living in such a small courtyard, with a man who had a proper job, she could find her own work, and in case something went wrong, her brother would be there to look after her.

Having come to this conclusion, Meng An nodded, “I think Chen Dashih is pretty good.” Chen Dashih was a bit taller than Tao Shan.

Meng Ping was pleased to hear this, “Then I’ll greet Chen Dashih and see what he thinks. If he’s also interested in you, I’ll take charge and arrange for you to get married.”

Meng An blushed, “I’ll listen to my brother.”

Meng Ping happily left to find Chen Dashih to discuss this matter.

Chen Dashih had just finished eating six pieces of meat and a big bowl of chicken soup, feeling quite full.

Chicken soup was indeed very filling.

Then he sat on a stool, wondering how to handle the meals for tomorrow.

Madam said that starting tomorrow, he would have to take care of his own meals.

Although the kitchen would provide grain, he didn’t know how to cook. What should he do?

While Chen Dashih was worrying about this, Meng Ping arrived.

“Meng Ge,” he said.

Meng Ping was older than Chen Dashih; when Chen Dashih came to serve in the military, he was only fifteen, but now he was twenty-one.

Meng Ping chuckled, “Dashih, we’ve known each other for five years, so I won’t keep you in suspense. You need to answer my questions honestly.”

Chen Dashih was startled. “What’s going on, Meng Ge?”

Meng Ping asked, “Dashih, has your family arranged for a wife?”

Chen Dashih felt quite depressed, “This time when I returned home, my family did introduce someone to me, but I didn’t like her. As soon as they heard I was stationed on the border, they thought I would make them widows at any moment. Besides, they didn’t want to travel all the way to the border with me.” This was the truth.

Of course, he didn’t mention that he was following a seventh-rank officer; he only said he found a job on the border.

If he got married, his wife would have to go with him.

People like Meng Ping were willing to leave their parents to go to the border, and naturally, they didn’t have just one son.

So he was at ease.

Moreover, not just Meng Ping, but the other private soldiers also had more than one son at home.

Who would be willing to abandon their parents?

Besides, if there was only one son in the family, the parents wouldn’t be able to bear sending him to serve in the military; they would even borrow money to buy a military service quota.

One son was a lifeline.

Meng Ping listened and directly asked, “What do you think of my sister?”

Chen Dashih was taken aback at first, then quickly understood Meng Ping’s intention.

They were both private soldiers for a higher-up, and their five-man group had a good relationship.

After all, before becoming private soldiers, they were all soldiers in the camp and from the same squad, so their bond grew closer after becoming private soldiers.

When Meng An came, he had seen her; she appeared gentle and virtuous, very suitable to be a wife.

However, Chen Dashih regarded Meng An as a sister since she was Meng Ping’s sister, so he hadn’t thought much of it back then.

Now that Meng Ping asked like this, he thought for a moment, “She’s quite good.”

Knowing Meng Ping’s intention, his answer was naturally from a man’s perspective rather than a brother looking at a sister.

Besides, since everyone else had wives and he didn’t, and he was of the right age, he actually thought about it a lot.

Having a wife meant he wouldn’t have to wash clothes, his bed would be warm, and he wouldn’t have to cook; that sounded nice.

Meng Ping was also happy to hear this.

His sister was liked by someone, and of course, he was pleased.

However, he said, “About Meng An, let me tell you something…”

Then Meng Ping recounted the matter of Meng An’s previous engagement.

While speaking, he carefully observed Chen Dashih’s expression.

If there was even a hint of disdain, then they wouldn’t need to continue discussing it.

However, after he finished, Chen Dashih didn’t show any sign of disdain.

Instead, he said, “That has nothing to do with Meng An; that person was not good.”

Chen Dashih truly didn’t feel there was anything wrong, as when he returned home in March, he had been rejected as well.

Therefore, he didn’t think he had the right to look down on Meng An.

Besides, Meng Ping’s home was far from his hometown, so news about Meng An wouldn’t reach his home.

Moreover, he believed that a person’s character was much more important than such superficial reputation. “Meng Ge, I don’t mind; I think Meng An is quite good.”

So, when could they get married?

He was eager to marry.

Meng Ping didn’t know about Chen Dashih’s eagerness. “Then I’ll officially introduce you, and you can get to know each other better?”

Chen Dashih replied, “Okay.”

In the Main Courtyard

Yang Haiyan wiped the sticky residue off her hands with a wet cloth.

Ever since she discovered the skills of her hands, Qin Fang had been a bit reckless, frequently grabbing her hands for this and that.

For instance, today, even though he hadn’t drunk deer antler wine, this man was particularly excited.

After she cleaned her hands, she stretched them out in front of Qin Fang: “Look, they’re all red.”

She felt like her skin might break.

Qin Fang held her hand and gently rubbed it, “It’s my fault.”

Yang Haiyan was not pleased with his frequent mistakes; he would readily admit his faults but forget them just as easily afterward.

Under her fierce gaze, Qin Fang gently massaged her hands, feeling wronged. “You should feel a bit sorry for me,” he said.

As a normal twenty-one-year-old man, he had been holding in so much frustration.

Yang Haiyan snorted but couldn’t help but feel touched by Qin Fang’s patience.

Many men could say sweet words without taking any real action, but then would turn around and seek to take advantage of you. “By the way, I asked Uncle Hong to buy some land in the nearby village. We’re getting ten mu of medium-quality land.”

Qin Fang paused his massage, surprised. “Buying that much?”

Yang Haiyan explained, “I plan to grow some vegetables and raise pigs, chickens, and ducks. I realized that since we’re getting food subsidies for the personal guards and we have household expenses, it would be more cost-effective in the long run to buy land for farming and raising livestock.

Besides, with the families of the personal guards arriving, if they can’t find work, it could become a burden for them. Although it doesn’t directly concern us, it still impacts the guards. So, I thought if I buy the land, I’ll need workers anyway, so why not arrange for the guards’ families to help out?”

She had thought of this when instructing Uncle Hong to buy the land.

After hearing the families say they could do farm work, she felt this arrangement was quite practical.

With ten mu of land, the personal guards and their families could work it.

They would watch over it, and she planned to build a small house on the land for them to stay in.

The women would be especially skilled at raising pigs, chickens, and ducks.

Although the total cost for the year, including food and monthly allowances, would amount to at least six taels of silver for three families, each guard’s monthly subsidy of two hundred wen for food could help save money.

Additionally, they could sell any surplus vegetables, chickens, ducks, and pigs. Overall, it would be a profitable venture.

Of course, these were just her plans.

She hadn’t revealed anything to the guards’ families yet, wanting to observe their character first.

While looking after crops might seem straightforward, she didn’t want to hire anyone with poor moral character.

As Qin Fang listened to Yang Haiyan’s detailed arrangements, he gradually dozed off.

When Yang Haiyan noticed him snoring, she felt an urge to pinch his muscles, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

After all, he had spent the day hunting with the guards and must have been exhausted.

The Next Day

Early the next morning, Aunt Fan and Aunt Yu returned from buying groceries.

A while later, Kun Shi and the other four personal guards went to the kitchen to collect their grain for April.

Aunt Fan informed them, “Each person gets forty pounds of grain in one lump sum, and the remaining vegetables can be picked up on the first, eighth, fifteenth, and twenty-second of each month. After this pick-up, you’ll have to wait until the eighth.”

Kun Shi and the others replied, “Got it.”

Aunt Fan continued, “The forty pounds of grain includes five pounds of white rice, fifteen pounds of brown rice, ten pounds of sweet potatoes, and ten pounds of potatoes.

The ten pounds of vegetables consist of greens, asparagus lettuce, water bamboo, and cabbage, while the meat portion is one pound of pork ribs. Additionally, there are ten eggs each month. For the remaining days this month, Madam has allocated fifty wen. Please check and sign if everything is correct.”

The guards verified their supplies, collected the fifty wen, and headed back to their courtyard with their grain.

At the courtyard entrance, the family members were eagerly waiting to see what they had brought back.

As the guards returned, the family members rushed forward.

Meng Ping’s wife was the first to speak up, her voice like a machine gun, “What did you all get?”

Meng Ping replied, “We have rice and eggs.”

Meng Ping’s wife exclaimed, “Oh, let’s make soup with the pork ribs! We can marinate the two pounds of meat we got last night.”

Meng Ping nodded, “Sounds good.”

Chen Dashu, overhearing Meng Ping’s wife, realized he had no one to cook for him.

His gaze shifted towards Meng An, who was secretly glancing at him as well.

After hearing her brother’s opinion on Chen Dashu the night before, she felt curious.

Their eyes met, and her face flushed as she quickly looked away.

Chen Dashu, a rough man, also blushed slightly but gathered his courage to approach her. “Do you like eggs?” he asked.

Meng An wanted to downplay her interest, saying she wasn’t particularly fond of them, but who doesn’t like eggs? She nodded, “Yes.”

Chen Dashu, still blushing, said, “I have some eggs too; they’ll be good for your health.”

Meng An shook her head, “You should keep them for yourself; my brother has eggs at home.”

Chen Dashu replied, “I can’t cook; if I leave them, they might go bad.”

Meng An smiled, “Eggs don’t go bad so easily. You can just boil them in water; it’s quite easy to cook.”

Seizing the opportunity, Chen Dashu said, “I really can’t. Would you help me boil them? If I leave them like this, they’ll definitely spoil.”

Meng An’s face grew even redder, “I can come over later to help you make lunch.”

Chen Dashu beamed, “Alright!”

After finishing her breakfast, Yang Haiyan went with Qin Fang, taking Qin Siya and Qin Shoucheng to visit Sister Lu.

Qin Shoucheng was going to the same school as Lu Dawei, and Yang Haiyan wanted them to get familiar with the place.