Yang Haiyan: "That's good. Take it and eat it quickly. The noodles are a little mushy. Oh, I'll wait for you outside. When you're done eating, give me the food and I'll take it back with you." As she said that, she gave him the basket and took yesterday's basket from his hand.
Qin Fang thought about it, then pulled her up and said, "Come here."
Yang Haiyan lowered her eyes and looked at him holding her hand. His rough hands were covered with calluses, but they were very strong. She couldn't help but smile and was in a good mood.
Qin Fang was a little nervous, and he didn't pay attention when he pulled her hand, but now, the woman's soft hand was in his hand, and the touch was too obvious. Fortunately, the destination was about to arrive, which was a few rocks nearby. Qin Fang immediately let go of her hand: "You sit here and rest for a while, I'll eat here, and I'll give it to you when I'm done."
Yang Haiyan: “Okay.”
Qin Fang took out a large soup bowl from the basket, opened the lid, and saw two golden poached eggs on top. His appetite was whetted, but he didn't eat it right away. Instead, he asked, "Have you eaten?"
Yang Haiyan: “I ate it.”
Qin Fang ate with big mouthfuls. The delicious soup and sweet cabbage made him feel happy with every bite. He joined the army at the age of sixteen. He is twenty years old this year. In four years, he has climbed from a soldier to a centurion. He has made a lot of efforts, and he has endured all the hardships in these efforts. He never told his family about it. At this moment, someone cooked and brought him food, and he felt warm in his heart.
Qin Fang ate very quickly. After a big bowl of noodle soup, he was at least 70% full. He had a big appetite, but he didn't expect this annoying woman to eat so much. "I left a tael of silver for Sister Lu to take care of you. Did Sister Lu give you the silver?"
Yang Haiyan: "I gave it to my family the day before yesterday when I woke up. I bought buckets, bowls, chopsticks, cutlery, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, etc., but now it's gone."
Qin Fang felt a pang of pain. Two years ago, he was just a soldier serving in the army, and he had no monthly allowance, so he could not save money. At the age of 19, he became a centurion and received a monthly allowance of one or two taels of silver every month. After deducting what he ate, he sent the rest back home. In these two years, he saved five taels of silver. However, in just three days, one tael of silver was gone. This was more painful than cutting his flesh.
But Qin Fang also knew that there was no way to buy more furniture.
Qin Fang: "Yes." He stood up and took out a purse from his arms. He fumbled around in it, finally gritted his teeth and took out a piece of silver, about three hundred coins, "Here." He thought about it, thirty kilograms of food a month was not enough for him, and he had to spend three hundred coins every month to buy food. Is three hundred coins a month enough for this woman? Gritting his teeth, Qin Fang said, "Spend sparingly, and ask me for more if it's not enough. Also, you've become so thin, don't just focus on giving me food, you should also eat something good." He felt like he deserved a slap in the face.
Yang Haiyan noticed his expression and smiled sweetly: "Thank you, husband. I will spend it sparingly."
Qin Fang was not particular about food, as long as he could fill his stomach, he could have simple meals, but he had to fill his stomach. Because only when he filled his stomach could he grow well, have strength, and fight. His thinking was very clear. "You don't have to send it tomorrow, I'll just eat from the kitchen."
Yang Haiyan: "I like to bring you meals. When I come to bring you meals, I feel relieved to see that you are doing well."
Qin Fang: "..." Damn, his heart was beating a little fast. This annoying woman was too good at talking. First she tricked him into giving her money with food, and now she was trying to trick his heart. "Then it's up to you."
Yang Haiyan: "Okay. Don't forget to eat the snacks in these lunch boxes."
Qin Fang: "I know." As he approached the military camp with his lunch box, he was thinking that he couldn't save any money this year, and he was upset. When he entered the tent and saw a box full of lard, he felt his heart beating again. This woman... left all the delicious food for him. No wonder he was so thin. Next time he came, he would make himself well nourished.
"It smells so good, Boss Qin. What did your sister-in-law bring you?"
"Boss Qin, don't eat alone."
"Boss Qin..."
"Boss Qin, the brothers are drooling."
"Boss Qin..."
Qin Fang looked at the people who squeezed in at the door, their dark smiling faces, and wanted to throw them out.
Yang Haiyan walked on the road with a smile on her face, thinking to herself: This man is a little cute.
Yang Haiyan returned home and saw someone standing at her door. This person... "Dahua." It was the heroine Yang Dahua.
Yang Dahua is ordinary in every way, with an ordinary appearance and an ordinary figure, but in fact, she is very smart.
Yang Dahua had just arrived as well. She was here to look for Yang Haiyan. Seeing the door closed, she thought Yang Haiyan was sleeping inside and didn't expect that she had just returned from outside: "Miss Haiyan." She called her by the same name she used when she was at Yang's house. She was polite and her tone was neither humble nor overbearing.
The original owner was a maidservant beside the young lady. When ordinary maids saw her, they all called her Miss Haiyan.
Yang Haiyan: "Dahua, please don't call me girl. We are all from the Yang family. We are a family in this unfamiliar place. I am sixteen years old this year. Let's call each other sisters."
Yang Dahua was a little surprised. When Yang Haiyan was with the young lady before, she didn't bully them, the lower-ranking maids, but she looked very arrogant on weekdays. But today... she was particularly kind. Yang Dahua didn't refuse: "I'm 17 years old, one year older than you." Although Yang Haiyan was the head maid and she was the rough maid before, their men were centurions, and now their status is the same, so she originally planned to call Yang Haiyan by her name, so as not to embarrass the man. It's just that they just met today, and she still wants to be polite to Yang Haiyan.
But I didn't expect that Yang Haiyan gave me a way out first and was more polite.
Yang Haiyan: "Then I'll call you Sister Dahua, and you can just call me Haiyan."
Yang Dahua: "Okay. Haiyan, I was not feeling well a few days ago. I heard about you today when I got better, so I came to see you." The reason why she was not feeling well was because she had just had her wedding night. There was such a plot in the original novel, but the original owner thought that Yang Dahua was showing off, so he ridiculed Yang Dahua by taking advantage of her status in the Yang Mansion, and the conflict between the two was buried.
Yang Haiyan: "I'm fine. When I left Yang's house, I brought a pill for treatment. On my wedding day, I had a headache and a sore throat, so I took the pill. I didn't know that the pill might have been stored for too long. Not only did it lose its efficacy, but it was also harmful to my body. I really suffered."
Yang Dahua didn't doubt it. After all, no one would have thought that the original owner would take the medicine on purpose. "Health is the most important thing. If you need my help with anything, you must tell me. After all, we know each other here."
Yang Haiyan: "Thank you, Sister Dahua, for caring about me. Come in and sit down?"
Yang Dahua: "No, I'm relieved to see that you are okay. You can keep these eggs and cakes to replenish your body."
Yang Haiyan: "No need, you have worked hard all the way from the capital, it is important to keep it for yourself. I have the silver Qin Fang gave me, I will buy some for myself."
Seeing that she was determined not to accept the gift, Yang Dahua did not force her: "Then I will go back first, I still need to clean up the house." Everyone was newly married, and the family also needed to buy things, so she also had something to do. After Yang Dahua left, Yang Haiyan took a nap, woke up in the afternoon, went to the market again, bought a piece of tofu and two fish, and spent fourteen cents.
the next day
Although each of these rows of family housing has its own front and back yards, they are all next to each other, so when Yang Haiyan cooks something, the fragrance will drift to the side.
Especially the pig intestines that day, the taste was really overbearing. But everyone knew that Yang Haiyan had just recovered from a serious illness and needed to replenish her body, so no one said anything. Now that she smelled the fragrance of the fish head tofu soup, she really couldn't stand it.
The tofu soup made by Yang Haiyan is made by frying the fish first, so it is particularly fragrant.
"Is anyone there?"
Yang Haiyan heard a noise outside and went out. She saw a strange middle-aged woman and asked, "Hello, auntie. Who are you?"
Middle-aged woman: "I live next door to you. What are you doing? It smells so good. The kids at home are clamoring for food."
Yang Haiyan: "... I cooked fish head and tofu soup, which I will send to the military camp to nourish my husband. If you like it, I will tell you the recipe. You can try it yourself tomorrow?" She had porridge and a boiled egg in the morning and a light meal at night. She had a better meal at noon. She could make more dishes for the lunch and send the extra ones to Qin Fang. It would be a waste if she ate it herself at night, and she liked to eat fresh meals.
Woman: "You are such an ignorant girl. You made my child cry. Shouldn't you pay me some compensation?"
Yang Haiyan felt that some people were shameless, so she didn't need to save face for them. But before she could say anything, the voice of Lu's wife came from the next room: "This face grows in the pants, and I thought I could cover it up by pulling up the waistband when I didn't need it."
The middle-aged woman's face darkened when she heard this.
Yang Haiyan: "My sister-in-law is right. If you have no shame, you are invincible. Tomorrow I will go to the Qianfu family or the general's mansion and ask the Qianfu family's wife and the general's wife whether they need to pay compensation for this matter."
Mrs. Lu: "That's really hilarious."
The middle-aged woman said: "You... bah, spendthrift women, you only know how to eat every day, and you don't know how hard it is for men to make money." After saying that, she hurried away. She thought Yang Haiyan was a new bride who wanted to save face, but she didn't expect that she was also fearless.
Mrs. Lu came over from next door and said, "Don't pay attention to her. She is Zhang Baifu's mother. Zhang Baifu's wife gave birth last year, and his mother came to take care of the child. She likes to take advantage of others. I was embarrassed to refuse her the first two times, so I ate her anyway. Now she wants more, so I won't give her face."
Yang Haiyan didn't expect there would be such a person: "Thank you sister-in-law for reminding me."