Jiang Yanyi was somewhat surprised—did Chef Li mean to let her handle this order?

Head Zhao, who had also noticed the girl’s diligence tonight, said, “You can help yourself to the ingredients. Just let me know the weight afterward.”

Jiang Yanyi accepted the coins, thanked both Chef Li and Captain Zhao, and hurried into the barracks to prepare the food.

Two soldiers nearby saw this and grumbled, “Chef Li, aren’t you cooking for us personally?”

Chef Li patted his lower back, sighing, “I’ve been on my feet for too long. My back’s killing me. Let the new assistant make something for you.”

Upon hearing that it was merely an assistant cooking, the soldiers’ expressions soured.

How could an assistant make anything decent?

They had paid for this meal, after all!

But wary of Chef Li, and perhaps swayed by the fact that the assistant was a young woman, they refrained from voicing their complaints outright.

Instead, they impatiently urged, “Fine, fine, just get us something to fill our stomachs!”

Their voices were loud enough for Jiang Yanyi to hear clearly inside the barracks, and she sensed their displeasure.

She weighed the coins in her hand, having no idea what she could buy with eight copper coins.

After all, she was originally the daughter of a high-ranking minister, accustomed to handling gold and jewels.

She’d never even touched silver coins, let alone copper ones.

Fortunately, she had previously helped Chef Li gather ingredients, so she knew their approximate costs.

By her estimation, eight copper coins would only cover the cost of two bowls of noodles.

She headed to the storeroom to find flour but discovered it was all gone.

The remaining flour was reserved for making buns for the soldiers’ breakfast, so she couldn’t use it.

What could she do?

Then she noticed some leftover starch and sweet potato flour.

Her eyes lit up.

On a cold autumn night, nothing would warm the stomach better than a bowl of hot and sour noodles.

Besides, sweet potato flour was cheaper than regular flour here.

While she wasn’t accustomed to ancient measuring tools, her experience as a cook allowed her to estimate weights by feel.

Head Zhao had trusted her to gather the ingredients alone, so she made sure to overestimate the weight a bit when reporting it to him, just to be safe.

After gathering the ingredients, she started a fire in the kitchen and set a pot of water to boil.

She mixed the starch and sweet potato flour with water in a bowl, creating a thick paste.

Once the water was nearly boiling, she poured the paste through a large sieve, pressing it down hard.

Thick strands of noodles emerged from the holes, landing in the hot water.

While the noodles cooked, she fried some peanuts and soybeans until crispy.

Once the noodles were done, she drained them and prepared a savory base in two large bowls.

She added some pepper oil, aged vinegar, and a ladle of hot broth.

The tangy and spicy aroma filled the air.

She topped the noodles with the fried peanuts, soybeans, chopped scallions, and cilantro—just looking at the bowls would make anyone’s mouth water.

Unfortunately, there was no meat, so the dish wasn’t quite perfect.

She carried the two bowls out on a tray. “Enjoy your meal, sirs!”

The two soldiers looked up and were briefly dazzled by her smile in the lamplight, noting that her beauty surpassed even that of some noble ladies.

However, when they looked at the bowls, their displeasure returned.

They had never seen noodles like this before.

The color was dull and grey, unlike the usual white noodles, and the noodles themselves were thick and rustic.

Surely, these weren’t made from good flour!

The noodles were almost as thick as chopsticks; the cook clearly lacked skill.

They had paid money for this?

They felt like complaining but, seeing her smile, held their tongues.

Besides, the bowl looked appetizing, with plenty of toppings and a pleasant aroma.

One of them hesitated, picked up a noodle, and tasted it.

His expression shifted to one of surprise.

He took another bite, savoring it, and then started eating in earnest.

His companion thought he was just trying to impress the girl and laughed to himself at the thought.

But then he tried a bite and was stunned.

The noodles were sour, spicy, and perfectly chewy, with the fried peanuts and soybeans adding a delightful crunch.

His tongue tingled from the heat, and he was amazed at how delicious this seemingly plain dish tasted.

They both eagerly dug in, slurping noisily.

“What kind of noodles are these?” one of them asked, his mouth half-full.

Jiang Yanyi smiled proudly. “Hot and sour noodles.”

Seeing the soldiers finish, Jiang Yanyi headed back to the kitchen and made herself a bowl as well.

Chef Li had initially been taken aback when he saw the thick noodles she had prepared, finding them rather unappealing.

In all his years as a cook, he’d never seen noodles so thick and unsightly.

He was a bit disappointed in her skill.

Watching the soldiers wolf down their food, he merely assumed they were starving and shook his head in sympathy.

But when they finished, the soldiers handed him more coins, saying they would be back for these noodles again tomorrow.

Chef Li chuckled, suspecting they were more interested in the young woman than the noodles.

Yet, as he cleared the bowls and noticed they had been wiped clean, he couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking to himself, “Ah, youth!”

By the time Jiang Yanyi returned to the barracks where she had been staying, it was already late at night (the Hour of the Pig).

However, none of the women in the barracks were asleep.

The place was brightly lit, and a small military officer was there with a roster, registering something.

As soon as Jiang Yanyi entered, several women greeted her warmly, which made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

She asked, “What are these officers here for?”

“They’re registering our names and places of origin. Didn’t you hear that a woman in the next barrack died of malaria? In the afternoon, two soldiers brought a fine coffin to collect her body and give her a proper burial. But that woman was abducted and brought here years ago. We all called her Hui Niang, but no one knew her real name or where she came from. Now that she’s dead, they don’t even know what to inscribe on her tombstone.”

“I heard the coffin was a gift from the general. The general truly has a kind heart!”

“The previous officer in charge of this barrack was beheaded a few days ago.

The new one found out that the old roster didn’t match the actual number of women here, so he’s drafting a new one, probably to avoid punishment if the general asks.”

Listening to the women’s chatter made Jiang Yanyi’s heart race.

She was undocumented, and if they found out, who knows what would happen to her?

These days, the country was peaceful, and every household was registered, as taxes and labor were major sources of revenue for the treasury.

You couldn’t even buy property or travel far without proper registration.

If you left town without a travel permit, you’d be thrown into prison.

If she wanted to survive and settle down after leaving this camp, Jiang Yanyi needed to get herself some form of identification.

She squeezed into the crowd to see how others were being registered.

“What’s your name?”

“Where are you from?”

“What crime did you commit and when were you sent to the Western Prefecture camp?”

The officer asked mechanically.

Most of the women had been exiled for crimes, and after answering, the officer would verify their names on the old roster before moving to the next one.

Some, like the deceased Hui Niang, had been kidnapped and sold into the camp.

Those women sobbed uncontrollably when questioned, as their lives, once peaceful, had been completely ruined.

The officer would note down their names and origins, then say they’d send a letter to their hometown’s government to verify their identities.

If everything checked out, they’d report it to their superiors, and their future would be decided.

There was a faint glimmer of hope in the officer’s words, suggesting that if a woman had been a respectable citizen, she might regain her freedom.

But no one seemed happy.

Women who left these camps had a worse reputation than brothel workers.

Marriage prospects were bleak, and whether their families would even accept them back was uncertain.

The rumors alone could destroy them.

Next in line was a round-faced woman. Jiang Yanyi heard her say, “My name is Qiukui, from Wuxian in Yunzhou. In the year of Dingyou, Wuxian suffered a drought. My parents died of hunger while fleeing the famine, and I came to the Western Prefecture to seek refuge with my uncle. But my aunt sold me to a brothel, and when a high-ranking official died in the brothel, I was arrested along with the others and sent here.”

She didn’t cry hysterically like the others, but her face carried a kind of numb sorrow, as if she had already given up on this miserable life.

The roster already had Qiukui’s name on it.

Her aunt had signed a contract with the local authorities when she was sold, so her sale was officially recorded.

When she was exiled here, she was already marked as a criminal.

She was just another pitiful soul.

After answering the questions, Qiukui quietly returned to her bed, her calm demeanor tugging at Jiang Yanyi’s heart.

Jiang Yanyi was the last to register.

The officer asked her, “What’s your name?”

“Jiang Hua.”

“Where are you from?”

“I’m from Kanshi Village, Fengxian County, Dengzhou.”

Jiang Yanyi gave the name of a place from a story she knew, a village that had been wiped out by a plague, leaving no survivors.

This way, even if they sent a letter to the local government, there would be no way to verify her identity.

The officer hesitated, glancing at her. “Didn’t everyone in that village die of the plague last year?”

The women around her immediately backed away upon hearing the word “plague.”

Jiang Yanyi showed just the right amount of sadness. “I wasn’t in the village when the plague hit. My father was a chef, and a wealthy family in a neighboring county hired him to prepare a banquet. Unfortunately, my father hurt his foot, so I went in his place. By the time I returned, the village was gone…”

The officer was still suspicious. “You can cook?”

Someone nearby, eager to curry favor, quickly chimed in, “Her cooking is excellent! She made tofu pudding today, and the general himself praised it!”

Hearing that the general had praised her, the officer stopped doubting her. “How did you end up in the Western Prefecture?”

Jiang Yanyi tried to squeeze out some tears but only managed to redden her eyes. “Both my parents died in the plague. My father had arranged a childhood betrothal for me, so I came to the Western Prefecture to find that family. But I was captured and brought to the camp…”

The bandage on her forehead stood out, and the officer assumed only a respectable woman would be so fiercely protective of her honor, so he didn’t question her further.

After registering her, the officer and his men left the barracks.

Jiang Yanyi returned to her bed, still feeling her heart race.

If everything went smoothly, she would not only acquire new identification but might also regain her freedom.

She could only hope the general would show mercy and release them.

At this moment, Jiang Yanyi thought of the Southern Liao King as a savior, practically a saint.

If circumstances allowed, she would’ve gladly burned three incense sticks and prayed to the king’s tent.

Meanwhile, the “savior” Feng Shuo was back in his mansion, consulting a doctor.

The elderly physician, who had practiced medicine for decades, placed his fingers on Feng Shuo’s wrist, but after a long time, he couldn’t make sense of the situation.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, the doctor cautiously said, “Your Highness, your symptoms are unlike anything I’ve encountered before.”

Feng Shuo frowned deeply. “I regained my sense of taste when I was in the military camp, but once I returned to the mansion, I lost it again.”

The doctor hesitated. “Could it be that the camp’s cook used some special ingredients that temporarily restored your taste?”

Feng Shuo’s gaze suddenly darkened.