The little boy shrank back, his not-so-clean face slightly flushed with embarrassment.

After a moment, he poked his head out again.

When he saw that Yang Haiyan was still looking at him and smiling, he shyly returned her smile.

Yang Haiyan said, “Come over, and I’ll give you a snack.”

Although the little boy was tempted, he didn’t approach immediately.

Instead, he hesitated at the doorway for a while, being young and fearless.

In the end, he wobbled out across the threshold.

The boy was quite young, probably about three or four years old, with a round face and a chubby figure.

His dark, bright eyes sparkled with curiosity.

His hair wasn’t completely black; it was somewhere between brown and auburn, a common trait for young children, as their hair usually darkens as they grow older.

He walked up to Yang Haiyan, staring blankly at her while drooling.

Yang Haiyan took out a handkerchief and wiped his drool.

Noticing that his hands were a bit dirty, she gently said, “Go wash your hands, and then I’ll give you some cookies.”

As she spoke, she broke a small cookie and placed a piece in his mouth, saying, “Is it delicious? Go wash your hands first.”

The little boy, perhaps never having tasted such a delicious treat, lit up with delight and said in his sweet, childish voice, “Delicious.”

He then trotted off to wash his hands.

In farmyards, there is usually a water vat, allowing children to fetch water themselves to wash up.

Once the boy finished washing, he dashed back to Yang Haiyan.

Being so young, he stumbled a bit as he ran, causing Yang Haiyan to worry he might fall, but her concern was unwarranted as he safely reached her side.

Since he was so young, his hands were still dirty from washing.

Yang Haiyan used the handkerchief she had wiped his mouth with to clean his hands.

She wasn’t generally a very patient person, but patience was reserved for people.

If it were a rambunctious child around seven or eight years old, she might not have been as indulgent.

However, for a three- or four-year-old, who was in one of the cutest stages of life, she found herself filled with patience.

Yang Haiyan placed the bag in front of him, saying, “Take whatever you want.”

The little boy looked at the cookies and the twisted rolls, eventually picking up a small cookie he had just tasted, knowing it was delicious.

He took a small bite, and as the crisp sound echoed, he laughed and continued to nibble, much like a little squirrel eating pine nuts, making little munching noises.

The village chief’s daughter-in-law came back carrying a basket of vegetables.

Seeing her son eating treats with the noble lady startled her. “What are you doing, you little rascal? Don’t disturb the noble lady!”

The little boy smiled at his mother.

Yang Haiyan chuckled, saying, “It’s fine. I was just bored; this child is very cute. Let him keep me company for a while.”

Since the noble lady said so, the village chief’s daughter-in-law couldn’t say anything further.

The meals were for a thousand portions, and her father-in-law had chosen fifty households, with each household receiving twenty portions.

They could earn twenty wen for a meal and sixty wen for three meals, so everyone valued this opportunity and worried about not preparing a meal well, as that would jeopardize the next two meals.

The village chief’s daughter-in-law wanted to prepare more for her family, but she also knew that her father-in-law, as the village chief, couldn’t be partial, so he could only select fifty households.

As Yang Haiyan continued to feed the little boy, she asked, “Sister-in-law, how long does it take to get from here to the county seat?”

The village chief’s daughter-in-law replied, “I’ve never been to the county seat; I’ve only been to the town. Usually, it takes half an hour to walk to the town,” which meant about an hour.

Upon hearing this, Yang Haiyan said to Meng Ping, “Meng Ping, go tell Kun Shi to buy fifty jin of meat in town. Let’s add a piece of meat to everyone’s cabbage tonight.”

They had been traveling for three days, and aside from the bone added to the porridge on the first night, there had been no oil or meat since.

Traveling every day was exhausting, and without any oil or meat, even if the food was acceptable, their bodies wouldn’t be able to hold up.

The boiled egg for breakfast tomorrow was intended to be a supplement, but if they could also have a piece of meat tonight, everyone would surely be even happier.

Adding a piece of meat would only increase the cost by one wen, and they likely wouldn’t mind that.

Meng Ping acknowledged, “Understood.”

After leaving the village chief’s house, Meng Ping ran into Kun Shi at the village entrance. “Captain, the lady asked me to buy fifty jin of meat in town, so we can add some to everyone’s dishes for dinner.”

Upon hearing there would be meat for dinner, not only did Kun Shi’s mouth water, but the remaining soldiers and women also swallowed hard.

In the past, when they were poorer, it was normal not to see meat for an entire year.

However, after they had improved their conditions, three days without meat was truly something they weren’t used to.

Whether they were personal guards or servants, anyone in the Qin household had at least one meal with meat each day. So after three days without meat, everyone realized it was quite unusual.

With fifty households, each household receiving twenty portions, it was all arranged quickly.

After cooking, they kept the food warm in the pot.

Kun Shi bought the meat and took it directly to the village chief’s house.

Yang Haiyan instructed the village chief’s daughter-in-law to cut each jin of meat into twenty pieces.

Even though there were twenty pieces, a jin in ancient times weighed sixteen taels, which is equivalent to about one and a half jin today.

Therefore, twenty pieces from one and a half jin of meat meant each piece was quite substantial.

After cutting the meat, she had the village chief’s daughter-in-law prepare braised pork.

Once the braised pork was ready, the delicious aroma made even the village chief’s daughter-in-law salivate.

Even Yang Haiyan, who was outside the yard, couldn’t help but feel pleased with her cleverness in buying the meat.

“Yanyan.” Qin Fang stopped a certain distance from the village with the main force, not wanting to disturb the villagers.

He then came to find Yang Haiyan.

When he saw his wife playing with a little boy in the yard, he watched for a while.

Qin Fang felt that his wife must want a child, seeing how gently and sweetly she smiled at the little boy, which stirred something in his heart.

Once they settled in Yunxiang County, he would work harder to have her bear him a child.

Hearing Qin Fang’s voice, Yang Haiyan looked up.

Seeing him dusty and weary standing at the gate, she walked towards him. “Tired?”

Although he was just leading the team, he still felt pressure.

Until everyone was settled, Qin Fang couldn’t alleviate the weight on his heart.

Moreover, they had only covered one-fifth of the journey, and there could be accidents at any moment.

Qin Fang held her hand, warming it in his palm.

Her hand was smooth and tender, contrasting with his rough and dark hand. This strong contrast had once been a source of insecurity for him.

Yet, her persistence and companionship were also the deepest motivation within him.

Qin Fang shook his head. “Not tired. Kun Shi told me about today’s arrangements; I think it’s quite good. We can do this in the future.” It was much easier than having her instruct the servants to cook.

Yang Haiyan nodded. “I thought so too. We have plenty of food at home, so we started eating. After all, having so much food is a burden, and it would be tiring to bring it all over.”

At dinnertime, the village chief organized everyone to carry sweet potato rice and stir-fried cabbage to where the main force was resting.

In total, there were fifty households, and over a thousand people lined up to receive their dinner.

It turned out that with twenty people per household, the speed was relatively quick.

A soldier exclaimed, “We’re having meat today! Smells so good, I almost can’t bear to eat it.”

As he spoke, he licked his lips.

The braised pork not only smelled good but was also a bit sweet, with the juice soaking into the cabbage and rice, making the mixed dish delicious.

“Really meat? Awesome!” “Meat, this is meat!” “……”

Watching everyone’s surprised expressions and voices as they spoke about the meat, Yang Haiyan felt happy too.

Perhaps it was the joy of being recognized.

Compared to the others who had only one piece of meat, the Qin family clearly had a whole platter of meat.

Although everyone envied them, they understood.

After all, their portion only cost three wen, while the Qin family had spent their own money to buy it.

After finishing dinner, like the previous two days, everyone began to rest.

Yang Haiyan sought out Qin Fang. “Husband, I talked with the village chief’s daughter-in-law. I’ll borrow a room at her house to stay overnight. I want to take a bath, and we also need to prepare breakfast for tomorrow.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Fang said, “Let Granny Lian and Aunt Fan accompany you.”

Yang Haiyan nodded. “Yes, that’s what I planned.”

Not only did Yang Haiyan go to the village for a bath, but also Madam Yang and Madam(Sister) Lu followed her.

They brought their children along, wanting to wash up and have a good sleep.

Perhaps because this village had shared three meals with them, some villagers came over to the main force to play after dinner.

Yang Haiyan took a thorough bath at the village chief’s house.

The next morning, just as the sky was lightening, she and the village chief’s daughter-in-law led the villagers to deliver food to the main force.

Again, there were fifty households, and the people collecting food queued up at the front of their households, but today there were even more people than yesterday.

Following yesterday’s braised pork, today everyone was treated to boiled eggs, making them feel so happy they wanted to cry.

At this moment, Yang Haiyan said, “Everyone, listen to me. The villagers have prepared some boiled eggs. If you want to buy a few boiled eggs privately, you can ask them. Each boiled egg costs one wen.”

Although boiled eggs couldn’t be stored for long and would spoil, eggs bought today would definitely be fine tomorrow.

As for overnight stays, nobody was picky when traveling.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, it didn’t take long for the villagers’ surplus boiled eggs to be sold out.

The villagers with good business didn’t want the main force to leave.

Usually, they took their eggs to the town to sell for one wen each, and if they brought too many, they had to bring some back.

Today, they regretted not having enough eggs.

After breakfast, everyone prepared to hit the road, with lunch consisting of two steamed buns, and some also had boiled eggs.

After another two days, early one morning, while everyone was still having breakfast, Niu Da came to find Yang Haiyan. “Madam, I have some thoughts, and I’m not sure if I should say them.”