Her gaze was so fervent that Chi Qing, holding the potted plant, couldn’t help but glance at her.

He noticed that she looked at the plant as if she had seen gold and thought to himself that this little chef really knew her stuff, recognizing that this plant was rare and only found outside the borders!

Jiang Yanyi was brought back to reality by his stare.

She knew she couldn’t linger any longer.

Reluctantly, she glanced at the potted plant in Chi Qing’s hands and then bowed slightly before leaving.

Her heart raced a bit.

This dynasty has chili peppers!

They just haven’t made it to the dining table yet!

Once she left the military camp, she planned to search the market for some and buy a lot!

In that moment, hotpot, skewers, spicy soup, and chicken pots all flashed through Jiang Yanyi’s mind.

She couldn’t wait to leave the military camp and quickly open her own hotpot restaurant!

After she left, Chi Qing turned to Feng Shuo with a face full of accusation: “Did you see that? Even the little chef knows the value of this!”

Feng Shuo glanced at him indifferently: “Go wash the potted plant clean.”

Chi Qing wanted to say that whoever made the mess should clean it, but thinking about how Feng Shuo had poured the water used for washing brushes on the chili peppers, he knew it was pointless to expect anything from him.

Unless pigs could fly!

With a sigh, Chi Qing could only grumble as he carried the potted plant out of the tent to find some water.

At this moment, he had yet to realize why Feng Shuo, who usually couldn’t be bothered to take care of this potted plant, suddenly wanted him to clean the ink stains off it.

When Jiang Yanyi returned to the cooking squad, she ran into several fire squad members who had come to find her.

It was Chef Li, worried that she hadn’t returned for a long time and might have run into some trouble, who sent them to check on her.

As soon as she got back to the stove, Jiang Yanyi was served hot rice and dishes that Chef Li had specially warmed up for her.

He was rarely still at this time of night.

Chef Li had learned from Head Zhao about the location of the shop that Jiang Yanyi intended to rent.

While Jiang Yanyi ate, he rambled on about many things, from hiring a few assistants to discussing social connections, advising her to be friendly in business and not to offend the powerful figures around her.

For the first time since arriving in this strange world, Jiang Yanyi felt someone treating her this well.

While she was touched, her eyes also grew a bit misty.

In her past life, whenever she had to go on a long journey, her father would nag her just like this, reminding her of everything he could think of.

She had died in a car accident in that world, and her parents must be heartbroken…

Just as Jiang Yanyi’s eyes misted over, she heard a muffled sobbing from behind the stove.

It was Qiu Kui.

Jiang Yanyi jumped in surprise, fearing something had happened, and hurried over to ask what was wrong.

Qiu Kui was crying so hard she was having trouble breathing.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and choked out, “I miss my father…”

Hearing Chef Li speak to Jiang Yanyi reminded her of her own parents, who had starved to death while fleeing.

When she was a child, she had suffered a serious illness and had a high fever for several days.

After recovering, she was somewhat dull-witted.

The village children laughed at her, calling her foolish, but her parents still cherished her dearly.

However, when her parents died, she was on the road to escape and couldn’t even find a straw mat to wrap their bodies in.

She spent two whole days digging a shallow pit with sticks before she could bury them.

Jiang Yanyi’s tears, which she had just managed to hold back, spilled out again because of Qiu Kui’s words.

She squatted down and hugged Qiu Kui, saying, “Don’t cry; your father must be hoping you’re doing well. If you’re doing well, he will be at peace.”

Qiu Kui cried out loudly on Jiang Yanyi’s shoulder, helpless like a child, and soon her tears soaked Jiang Yanyi’s shoulder.

“I… sob… don’t want to be a camp prostitute… sob sob…”

“I really… sob… wanted to go with my parents… sob sob…”

“But my parents… sob… before they died… sob sob… told me… sob… to live well…”

Jiang Yanyi gently patted her back to soothe her, comforting her, “We won’t be camp prostitutes anymore. Tomorrow we’ll leave the military camp.”

Qiu Kui shook her head, almost unable to speak due to her intense crying: “I… sob sob… I want to be like you, Huahua… hiccup…”

She hiccupped before continuing: “I want to live a pure life… sob sob… and go back to properly bury my parents…”

Chef Li, being older, couldn’t stand seeing such a tearful scene.

He wiped his eyes and turned his head away.

But he felt a deep sense of sorrow in his heart.

He had joined the military at fifteen and had spent his entire life in the cooking squad, with no children of his own, and was uncertain how to spend his old age.

Before tonight, he had looked down on Qiu Kui, thinking her simple and dull, without any insight.

But seeing her filial piety stirred his compassion, and he even felt a twinge of envy for her parents.

Jiang Yanyi’s heart ached for Qiu Kui, especially remembering what she had said about her parents dying on the road.

She felt quite uncomfortable, but also grateful for the favor Feng Shuo had granted her today.

She quickly told Qiu Kui about the favor.

Qiu Kui was already so overwhelmed with tears that when she heard this news, it felt like a dream: “Is… is it true?”

Jiang Yanyi hurriedly replied, “The Great General personally agreed to help you clear your criminal record. It will take some time for the memorial to be sent to the capital, but tomorrow I will buy you out. You will come with me to open a restaurant, and once your legitimate status is settled, you can go back and properly bury your parents.”

Upon hearing this, Qiu Kui’s tears rolled down like beads: “Thank you, Huahua. After I bury my parents, I’ll work for you in the restaurant for the rest of my life without pay; just give me a meal.”

Jiang Yanyi was both touched and heartbroken: “What silly things are you saying!”

Once Qiu Kui had calmed down, Chef Li gave Jiang Yanyi a few more instructions.

Seeing that it was getting late, he asked the big guy and a few others to escort Jiang Yanyi and the others back to the barracks to rest.

When the two returned to the poplar forest barracks, they found that not many people were asleep.

Those about to regain their freedom were filled with a mix of joy and sorrow, making it hard to sleep, while those burdened with criminal records were brainstorming ways to find a way out.

Some handed over their hard-earned money to their partners, hoping they could buy them back; others, unwilling to endure the harsh labor of washing clothes, washed themselves from head to toe in the cool water from the tub outside the barracks, hoping to be noticed by the madams from the brothels tomorrow; while others stared blankly, seemingly resigned to their fate.

Jiang Yanyi was somewhat surprised to see Chunxiang, who had someone bring water to help her wash and even changed her into her prettiest clothes.

The reward for doing this was a box of rouge.

She had already spent all her money on medicine for her injuries.

In her previous prosperous days, she had saved quite a bit of makeup.

Other courtesans, thinking like her, were willing to help her out to look better for tomorrow.

Watching the busy women in the barracks, Jiang Yanyi suddenly felt a lump in her chest, a heavy oppression that made her uncomfortable.

This was the sadness of the era; she, herself like a floating duckweed, could do nothing to help them.

She turned over, forcing herself not to think about it.

Qiu Kui was a simple-minded person; knowing she would leave with Jiang Yanyi tomorrow, she felt no worries.

In just a short time, she had already fallen asleep, even snoring lightly.

On the opposite bed, Chunxiang, having been asked for makeup by many tonight, felt a fleeting illusion that she had returned to her former glory.

Hearing Qiu Kui snore, she mocked, “They say silly people have silly blessings, and it’s true. At this time, she can still sleep so soundly; she must be going somewhere good with our Chef Jiang tomorrow.”

Before returning, Jiang Yanyi had instructed Qiu Kui not to tell others about her good prospects of regaining her status and that she would buy her tomorrow.

After the earlier lessons from Chunxiang and Liu Cheng, Jiang Yanyi was now cautious about revealing her wealth.

When Feng Shuo gave her the silver notes that day, apart from Qiu Kui, none of the courtesans were present.

Still, there was a chance that someone might have heard about it from the few soldiers on duty that night.

Moreover, the news of tonight’s rewards could not be hidden.

Jiang Yanyi deliberately kept the rewards she received tonight, as well as the scattered silver and copper coins, under her pillow, preparing for the worst.

Even if someone stole it, she would still have the hundred taels of silver notes.

As for the one or two hundred silver notes, she had hidden them under Qiu Kui’s shoe insoles before returning to the barracks.

Jiang Yanyi knew that in this desperate situation, if someone wanted to steal money, she would definitely be the first target, especially since she had received quite a bit of reward in the fire team.

Her sleeping space was so small that she could hardly hide anything, and her shoe soles would surely be checked by someone.

In contrast, Qiu Kui, who usually looked foolish and was the least capable of saving money among the courtesans, would naturally not attract suspicion.

Chunxiang was unaware of all this.

Feeling proud and unchanged in her nature, she deliberately mocked Jiang Yanyi.

Jiang Yanyi did not want to stir trouble on this last night and pretended not to hear.

Chunxiang, thinking that Jiang Yanyi had no intention of caring for Qiu Kui and feeling guilty, could not muster the courage to confront her.

She grew even prouder: “So, you see, before climbing up, one should ponder carefully, lest they end up with nothing in the end.”

As the courtesans prepared to part ways, apart from a few who wanted to borrow cosmetics from Chunxiang and compliment her, no one spoke further.

Chunxiang felt bored and, having regained her pride, stopped her chatter.

After midnight, the barracks fell completely silent.

However, Jiang Yanyi dared not sleep deeply and only managed to doze off for a bit until nearly the fourth watch.

The next morning, at the first crow of the rooster, the women in the barracks began to get up one by one to tidy up.

Jiang Yanyi woke up to find the silver still under her pillow.

But as she was preparing to get out of bed, she noticed that the insole of her shoe was a bit loose, as if someone had rummaged through it.

She was startled and casually glanced at Qiu Kui’s shoes nearby, noticing that her insoles had not been disturbed, and finally let out a sigh of relief.

Since nothing was lost, she kept quiet about it, dressed herself, and then called Qiu Kui to wake up.

During the hour of the tiger, their small supervisor came over, shouting at them to follow, just like on the day Jiang Yanyi first arrived.

However, this time, they were not being taken to the fire team to work but were leaving the camp.

On the way, Jiang Yanyi looked at the military tents that had doubled since her arrival and the patrolling soldiers, feeling a wave of emotion.

Upon reaching the entrance of the West State barracks, she immediately spotted several mule carts and ox carts scattered outside, likely there to buy courtesans or to fetch good families’ daughters who had been captured and were now able to return home.

The small supervisor took out a register.

As he called out each name, someone from the line would step forward, and the soldier behind him would hand over the household registration and five taels of silver to the woman in front.