Yang Haiyan said, “That’s good. You should eat quickly; the noodles are getting a bit mushy. Ah, I’ll wait for you outside. When you’re done, just hand me the things, and I’ll take them back with me.” She spoke as she took the basket from him, handing him the one she had from yesterday.

Qin Fang thought for a moment and then pulled her along, saying, “Come this way.”

Yang Haiyan looked down at his hand holding hers, noticing the rough, calloused skin, but it felt very strong.

She couldn’t help but smile, feeling quite cheerful.

Qin Fang was a bit nervous.

He hadn’t paid much attention when he grabbed her hand, but now, with her soft hand in his, the sensation was quite pronounced.

Luckily, they soon reached their destination—a few stones nearby.

Qin Fang quickly released her hand, saying, “Sit here and rest for a moment while I eat. I’ll bring you some when I’m done.”

“Okay,” Yang Haiyan replied.

Qin Fang took out a large bowl from the basket, opened the lid, and was greeted by two golden fried eggs resting on top.

His appetite soared, but instead of diving in, he asked, “Have you eaten?”

“I have,” she answered.

With that, Qin Fang began to eat heartily.

The savory broth and sweet cabbage in every bite made him feel blissful.

Having joined the army at sixteen and now being twenty, he had worked hard for four years, rising from a lowly soldier to a captain.

The hardships he endured along the way were all borne by him alone, and he never shared them with his family.

At that moment, with someone preparing and delivering food for him, he felt warmth in his heart.

Qin Fang ate quickly.

He finished the large bowl of noodles and felt about seventy percent full.

With his big appetite, he hadn’t expected this troublesome woman to prepare so much food. “I left a tael of silver with Sister Lu for her to take care of you. Did she give you the money?”

“She did, the day before yesterday when I woke up. I bought some buckets, bowls, utensils, oil, salt, and vinegar for the house, and now it’s all gone.”

Qin Fang felt a pang in his heart.

Just two years ago, he was a low-ranking soldier without a salary, so he couldn’t save money.

Now, at nineteen, he became a captain with a monthly allowance of one tael of silver.

After accounting for his own meals and sending money home, he had saved five taels over the past two years.

But now, in just three days, one tael was gone, and it felt like cutting into his flesh.

Yet Qin Fang understood that acquiring furniture was unavoidable.

“Mm,” he said, then stood up, taking out a pouch from his pocket.

He rummaged around inside and finally bit his lip, pulling out a piece of silver, about three hundred wen. “Here.”

He thought about it: with thirty pounds of grain each month, he needed to set aside three hundred wen for food.

Would that be enough for her?

Gritting his teeth, he added, “Be careful with your spending. If you really need more, just ask me. Also, you’ve lost weight; don’t just worry about feeding me. You need to eat well, too.” He felt he was being a bit too generous.

Yang Haiyan noticed his expression and smiled sweetly. “Thank you, dear. I’ll be careful with the money.”

Qin Fang wasn’t picky about food; as long as it filled him up, he was satisfied.

He could manage with simple meals, but he had to eat enough.

Only by filling his stomach could he grow strong, gain energy, and fight. His thinking was quite pragmatic. “You don’t need to bring me meals tomorrow; I can eat at the mess hall.”

“I like bringing you food. When I see you’re doing well, I feel at ease,” Yang Haiyan said.

Qin Fang felt his heart racing a bit.

This troublesome woman was too good with words; first, she used food to get him to give her money, and now she was trying to win his heart. “Well, do as you like.”

Yang Haiyan smiled. “Don’t forget to eat the snacks in the lunchbox.”

“I know,” he replied, holding the lunchbox as he walked toward the military camp, feeling annoyed that he wouldn’t be able to save any money this year.

Upon entering the tent, he saw a box full of pig fat scraps, and his heart raced again.

This woman had saved all the delicious food for him—no wonder he felt so thin.

Next time she came, he would make sure to properly replenish himself.

“Wow, it smells great, Captain Qin! What did Sister-in-law bring you?”

“Captain Qin, don’t eat alone!”

“Boss Qin…”

“Boss Qin, the brothers are drooling.”

“Boss Qin…”

Qin Fang looked at the people squeezing into the doorway, their dark faces smiling, and he felt like throwing them out.

Yang Haiyan walked cheerfully down the road, thinking to herself, “This man is kind of cute.”

When Yang Haiyan returned home, she saw someone standing at her door.

This person… “Dahua.” It was the female lead, Yang Dahua.

Yang Dahua was ordinary in every way—her looks, her figure—but in fact, she was very clever.

Yang Dahua had just arrived, looking for Yang Haiyan.

Seeing the door closed, she assumed Yang Haiyan was inside sleeping, not expecting she had just returned from outside. “Miss Haiyan,” she greeted politely, using the formal address from the Yang household, her tone neither overly humble nor rude.

The original character had been the maid closest to the young lady of the household.

Ordinary maids would always address her as “Miss Haiyan.”

Yang Haiyan replied, “Dahua, you don’t have to call me ‘Miss’ anymore. We all came out of the Yang household, and here, where everything is unfamiliar, we’re practically family. I’m 16 this year, so let’s call each other sisters.”

Yang Dahua was a bit surprised.

When Yang Haiyan used to be by the young lady’s side, although she never bullied the lower-ranking maids, she had always seemed proud.

But today… she was unexpectedly friendly.

Yang Dahua didn’t refuse, saying, “I’m 17, a year older than you.”

Although Yang Haiyan had been a senior maid and Dahua a rough laborer, both of their husbands were now centurions, so their statuses were the same.

She had intended to call Yang Haiyan by her name, as she couldn’t afford to embarrass her husband.

But this being their first meeting, she had wanted to show some courtesy.

Unexpectedly, Yang Haiyan had already given her a way out, being even more polite.

Yang Haiyan smiled, “Then I’ll call you Sister Dahua, and you can just call me Haiyan.”

Yang Dahua nodded. “Alright. Haiyan, I was feeling unwell for the past few days, but now that I’m better, I heard about your situation and came to check on you.” Her illness had been due to just consummating her marriage, a detail the original novel had as well.

However, the original Yang Haiyan had believed Yang Dahua came to brag and had mocked her using her status from the Yang household, thus planting the seeds of their conflict.

Yang Haiyan replied, “I’m fine now. When I left the Yang household, I had some medicine with me. On my wedding night, I had a headache and a sore throat, so I took the medicine. Little did I know that it had been kept too long, not only losing its efficacy but also harming my body. It was quite the ordeal.”

Yang Dahua didn’t suspect anything, as no one would have imagined the original Yang Haiyan would have deliberately taken the medicine. “Health is the most important thing. If you need any help, just let me know. After all, we’re the only ones who know each other here.”

Yang Haiyan smiled, “Thank you for your concern, Sister Dahua. Would you like to come in and sit for a bit?”

Yang Dahua declined, “No need. Now that I see you’re alright, I’m relieved. These eggs and pastries are for you, to help you recover.”

Yang Haiyan waved her hand, “That’s not necessary. You’ve come all the way from the capital, which must’ve been exhausting. Keep them for yourself to nourish your body. I’ve got some silver from Qin Fang and can buy things to take care of myself.”

Seeing Yang Haiyan’s insistence, Yang Dahua didn’t press further. “Alright, then I’ll head back. I still have things to sort out at home.”

Since both had just been married, she also had things to arrange at her house.

After Yang Dahua left, Yang Haiyan took a nap.

In the afternoon, she went to the market, bought a block of tofu and two fish, spending 14 coins.

The next day…

Though each family home in this row had its own front and back yard, the houses were close to each other.

So whenever Yang Haiyan cooked something, the smell drifted to her neighbors.

Especially the pig intestines from the other day—the smell was overpowering.

But everyone knew that Yang Haiyan was “recovering from a serious illness” and needed to eat well, so no one said anything.

Today, when the smell of fish head tofu soup filled the air, it became impossible to resist.

Yang Haiyan had first fried the fish, making the tofu soup extra fragrant.

“Is anyone home?”

Hearing a voice from outside, Yang Haiyan went out and saw a middle-aged woman she didn’t recognize. “Hello, Auntie. You are…?”

The middle-aged woman responded, “I live next door. What are you making? It smells so good. My kids are crying because they want some.”

Yang Haiyan hesitated, “I’m making fish head tofu soup to send to the military camp for my husband’s health. If you like, I can give you the recipe, and you can try it yourself tomorrow?”

In the morning, she only had porridge and a boiled egg, a light meal in the evening, and a better lunch.

She always made more at lunch so she could send the extra to Qin Fang.

She didn’t want to waste food and liked to have fresh dishes at every meal.

The woman frowned. “You young girl! You’ve made my kids cry. Don’t you think you should compensate me for that?”

Yang Haiyan thought to herself, some people are just shameless.

Before she could respond, a voice came from the house next door. “Her sense of shame must be in her pants—thinks she can just pull them up to cover it.”

The middle-aged woman’s face darkened.

Yang Haiyan added, “Exactly! Someone with no shame is invincible. Maybe I should go visit the centurion’s or general’s house tomorrow and ask the madams if this situation calls for compensation.”

The woman from next door, Sister Lu, chuckled, “Now that would be the joke of the century.”

The middle-aged woman spat, “You… useless housewives, all you know is how to eat, with no thought to how hard your men work to earn that food!”

And with that, she hurried off.

She had thought Yang Haiyan, a newlywed young girl, would be too shy to confront her.

She hadn’t expected her to be so unafraid.

Sister Lu came over from next door. “Don’t mind her. She’s the mother of Centurion Zhang. His wife went back to her hometown last year to have a baby, so the old lady came over to take care of the child. She just loves to take advantage of others. The first couple of times, I was too embarrassed to refuse and gave her some food, but after that, I stopped being polite.”

Yang Haiyan smiled, “I didn’t realize there were people like that. Thanks for the heads-up, Sister.”