Chapter 51

Fourth Sister's birth was predictably difficult. Her belly was too large, and she was young, so her body hadn't fully developed. Furthermore, this was in an ancient era with poor medical care, so she was truly risking her life.

It was already late at night when the screams came. Ye Jia didn't dare to sleep at night. When he heard the noise, he immediately ran over to guard.

The old doctor was about to leave, but Ye Jia was really afraid of something happening, so he persuaded the doctor to stay.

I have to say I'm glad I made this decision. If the doctor hadn't been there that night, something might have happened to Ye Simei. The old doctor and the midwife were in the delivery room, carrying out basins of blood. Ye Jia felt her scalp tingle at the smell of blood filling the room. In her past life, she'd read too much news, and she was somewhat afraid of marriage and having children. Her fourth sister's experience cast a shadow over her fear.

Ye Jiaren was standing outside the door, but Yu Shi wouldn't let her in. She said the room was too small and too many people wouldn't be able to squeeze in and would only get in the way.

She saw the door of the delivery room half-closed, with a faint candlelight shining through the crack. She thought it would be better to go in and take a look to put her mind at ease. However, as she reached the door, a hand grabbed her wrist. A warm hand covered her eyes from behind, and a clear and pleasant scent surrounded her. Zhou Jingchen sighed softly: "Don't look at it. You'll get scared if you look too much. Go to sleep. I'll watch over you from here."

...I'm not that worried, but people with poor mental quality may have psychological trauma.

While Ye Jia hadn't planned to be childless, she was generally cautious about the matter. Perhaps it was her selfish nature; she never considered others more important than herself. Having children was fine, but it had to be something she truly desired, and she couldn't compromise for anyone else.

This is Ye Jia's bottom line, and she only has one chance in her life.

The two stood by the door, watching four or five figures sway in the delivery room, their shadows looming. Yu had been guarding Fourth Sister's bedside since daytime, and the midwife was also inside. With an old doctor constantly watching over the situation and Fifth Sister Ye assisting, there really wasn't a need for another person getting in the way. After much deliberation, Ye Jia withdrew his foot from the threshold.

However, this standing posture is somewhat awkward.

The long and soft eyelashes trembled slightly, making Zhou Jingchen's palms itchy.

The bright moonlight filled the courtyard, though the darkness obscured nothing. Zhou Jingchen lowered his eyes to gaze at the woman before him. In his past life, he had been consumed by hatred, preoccupied with family feuds and national grievances, never able to find the time to open his heart to his wife. Perhaps he also harbored contempt, looking down on his wife of rural origin, which had prevented him from ever experiencing the fulfillment of marriage in his past life. In this life, blessed by heaven's grace, he had been given a second chance, and after a life of bloodshed and turmoil, he had long since calmed down. Now, he realized how fortunate he was to have unexpectedly married such a precious gem.

The girl before him had dark hair and snowy cheeks, cunning and clever. Not only was she beautiful and graceful, but what was even more surprising was how well her temperament matched his own, and her every move unexpectedly captured his heart.

Zhou Jingchen took the person's wrist and pulled him aside.

In truth, he wasn't unaware of Jia Niang's rejection of him. How discerning and insightful was Zhou Jingchen? He could read people's expressions and discern their true nature, discerning their thoughts and intentions from the smallest details. He knew Jia Niang might harbor a slight fondness for him because of his appearance, but she wouldn't recklessly pursue that affection. Jia Niang wasn't like those young women whose minds were filled with sentimentality. While she appeared young and lively, she was actually quite clear-headed. Zhou Jingchen felt frustrated at the thought. He truly didn't have anything to offer that would warrant Ye Jia's lifelong devotion.

A handsome face could trick Jia Niang into giving him a little more favor, and helping him take care of his mother and niece and earn money to support the family was already the best he could do. If he pushed too far and tried to exploit her chastity or deliberately get Jia Niang pregnant, that would be truly shameless.

Zhou Jingchen's pride did not allow him to do such a despicable thing.

Forget the nonsense about husband and wife being one. Countless people have fled when disaster strikes, and Zhou Jingchen never believed it. Besides, if he truly believed, as men do today, that a wife's life should be devoted to her husband's family, he wouldn't have ignored the saying, "There are three unfilial acts, and the worst is to have no descendants," and lived a lonely life in his previous life. He wasn't the rule-abiding man he was rumored to be. His true nature was simply more hidden. Rules, etiquette, and ethics didn't dictate his behavior. He only did what he believed was right, or rather, what he wouldn't regret.

He knew Jia Niang wasn't that into him, but Zhou Jingchen had no intention of backing down. As long as Jia Niang was by his side, he knew he'd finally see the light. He had plenty of patience.

"Let's go back to the house."

Zhou Jingchen's eyes unconsciously fixed on Ye Jia's face. Perhaps, even he himself didn't realize that he always looked at Ye Jia. Yu came out to get water and immediately saw two people in the yard, one tall and one short. Her son, who had always been indifferent to her feelings, had a look in his eyes: "What are you two doing here?"

"I came to see how Yuanniang is doing." Ye Jia was about to say something when he heard Yu's voice and immediately turned his head. "I just heard screaming in there. But what's wrong with Yuanniang? How's the baby? Did she give birth?"

"Not yet. It's not that easy." Yu glanced at her son, whose face was hidden in the darkness, and said to Ye Jia, "First births are always difficult. When I was pregnant with my first child, it took me two days to give birth to Yun'an's brother. Yuanniang's body is too slender and her pelvis is too narrow. Giving birth to twins smoothly would definitely be painful. Don't waste time here. Go back to your room with Yun'an. You two can't help, and you're just blocking the way out."

Ye Jia thought for a moment and felt that what Yu said made sense. But she couldn't sleep in this situation, so she went to the kitchen to boil some water. "Is there enough water in the house? Do you need any liquor? I'll go boil some water in the back."

There was indeed a shortage of hot water at the moment. Ye Wumei was in the delivery room, so someone had to boil the water. After thinking about it, she nodded: "Okay, you go and boil the water."

Ye Jia didn't delay and turned to go to the kitchen.

Yu glanced at Zhou Jingchen, whose eyes were chasing Ye Jia again. Seeing him turn around, she couldn't help but sneer at him, "What's the point of just watching! You don't even know how to put in the effort. People younger than you have already given birth!"

Zhou Jingchen smiled good-naturedly. His mother couldn't understand what he was thinking, so there was no point in saying more: "Mom, take good care of Fourth Sister."

"Do I need you to tell me that?" Yu rolled her eyes at him unhappily, then she flicked her sleeves and went back to the delivery room.

Ye Jia went to the kitchen, where Old Man Sun was boiling water. He had returned in the evening, bringing with him over a hundred pounds of bath beans. He'd arrived just as Fourth Sister Ye was about to give birth, and the family was too busy to attend to anything else. Ye Jia had initially thought he'd been tired from the day's work, so she told him to go back to bed early. But with such a major event happening in the Zhou family, how could Old Man Sun sleep? Seeing his two little grandsons fall asleep, he got up to help.

However, as an old man, he couldn't join in the fun in the delivery room, so he simply went to the kitchen to boil water. He had witnessed his wife giving birth several times before, so he knew more than the young people.

The Zhou family only had one stove, so Old Man Sun could boil water without Ye Jia having to worry about it. She simply made some soup in the back kitchen. A woman consumes a lot of energy after giving birth. If she wasn't fed with good food, she would be very weak in the future.

It was so late and there was no meat. Ye Jia simply went to find Zhou Jingchen and dragged him over to kill a chicken for her.

After Ye Wumei's guidance, Zhou Jingchen now knew that the best way to kill a chicken was to bleed it while it was still alive. He was very skilled at this, cleaning the chicken swiftly. Ye Jia then took a hanging pot and put some goji berries in it to stew.

As the two of them were busy, the day gradually brightened.

Fourth Sister Ye gave birth to twin boys just before dawn. The birth was extremely dangerous, and she suffered greatly from her small pelvis. If it weren't for the doctor and midwife watching over her, she would have suffocated all three of them in the delivery room.

Yu emerged, drenched in sweat, looking like she'd been pulled from the water. The two children were as big as red rats, and Ye Jia didn't dare touch them, even though their cries were so weak. Fourth Sister Ye had suffered terribly, lying there motionless. Ye Jia took a look and nearly died of fright. If Fourth Sister hadn't heard the noise, opened her eyes, and smiled at Ye Jia, Ye Jia would have thought she had died in the delivery bed.

"Jia Niang, quickly bring Yuan Niang some food." Yu was exhausted, and her eyes were full of tenderness as she looked at the two little mice. "She's been crying for so long, I'm afraid she's exhausted. Make her some easy-to-digest noodle soup to fill her stomach first. Remember to use less oil and salt."

Ye Jia nodded. Although she had never given birth, she had seen her relative's sister-in-law during her confinement period. The food she ate was very bland.

It just so happened that the soup she'd made last night had been simmering for over an hour, and it was incredibly delicious. Ye Jia used the chicken broth to make a bowl of noodles for Fourth Sister Ye, and brought it over to her first. Later, seeing that everyone had been busy all night, she simply kneaded a little more dough. She poured in the remaining chicken broth, and early in the morning, each person had a bowl of shredded chicken noodles. With all the delays from yesterday until now, there was no business to be done today.

After Ye Wumei cleaned up Simei's room, she cleaned up Simei's room inside and out. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill and went to sleep, everyone yawned and went back to their room to rest.

Zhou Jingchen still had training to do during the day, so he returned to the camp after breakfast. Ye Jia bolted the gate to the courtyard, and the Zhou family members all went back to their rooms to sleep.

Ah Jiu arrived at the gate at noon. He called out repeatedly from outside the courtyard, but no one answered. He could have scaled the wall, but then he remembered the numerous traps dug near the Zhou family compound. He was afraid he'd forget and jump in, potentially breaking his leg. So he decided to go check the shop on East Street. It was locked, too, and no one was there.

He ran several times worriedly, and when he returned to the Zhou family yard, he finally heard some movement inside.

It was old man Sun who came to open the door, and I said congratulations to him as soon as I opened the door.

Ah Jiu was stunned for a long time, not understanding where the congratulations were. When he entered the yard, he saw Ye Jia and Ye Wumei dyeing eggs red. His head seemed to be flicked, and he suddenly woke up: "Did Yuanniang give birth?! Sister, but Yuanniang gave birth!"

Ye Jia felt much better after a good sleep and smiled: "Yes! Congratulations, Ajiu, Yuanniang gave birth to twins for you!"

Ajiu had been running around outside for two days and was covered in dust. After hearing the news, she excitedly headed for the backyard. However, she ran into Yu Shi coming out of the room where they lived. Yu Shi stopped her immediately and said, "Little Ajiu, why are you running? Why don't you get a basin of water and clean yourself up first? What if you go back into the house covered in dust and let Yuan Niang and the two children get fumed?"

Ah Jiu cheerfully responded, not caring about the gradually cooling weather. He went to the well, fetched a bucket of ice water, and washed himself in the backyard behind the house. He bared his large white teeth as he rushed into the house, and soon he heard happy laughter from inside.

Yu smiled and shook her head, flicked the dust off her clothes and returned to the front yard.

Ah Jiu was truly happy, so happy that he simply took off all his dirty clothes and got into bed naked. He carefully hugged Ye Simei, buried his face in her neck, smiled at first, and then silently shed tears. His two red sons were placed aside, and he curled up in his body, not daring to touch them.

Ajiu held Ye Simei's hand, crying silently at first, and then sobbing softly.

Fourth Sister Ye was sleeping soundly when she was awakened by the sound and opened her eyes. She was startled to see her husband curled up beside her crying. "What's wrong, Ajiu? Are you tired?"

"No," Ajiu mumbled with a nasal tone in his voice, "Yuanniang, thank you for giving me a home."

Ajiu was an orphan, his family wiped out when he was seven or eight. He escaped from the vast steppes of Mobei and wandered the hills behind Yujia Village, seeking work. Although a master occasionally came to teach him martial arts and literacy, he lived alone for many years. His marriage to Yuanniang was an accident; he was tricked into taking her body, which allowed him to marry such a gentle and capable wife.

Ye Simei touched his face and curled her lips at him. Without saying anything, she hugged him and fell asleep together.

The mother should not be exposed to the wind or overwork after giving birth. Ye Jia let her stay at Zhou's house until she finished her confinement. Ajiu was very grateful for Ye Jia's help. After hearing her fourth sister's description of the dangerous birth, she knew that Yu and the doctor had helped a lot. After waking up, she came to Ye Jia and Yu to thank them.

"We are all family, there is no need to be so polite."

After a day of delay yesterday, they still had to prepare materials for tomorrow's business. When Ah Jiu came over, Ye Jia and Ye Wumei were still busy, braising the pig's head and pork, and washing the large intestine.

Yu was grinding bath beans on a millstone. A hundred pounds of bath beans would last a long time, and this time, she was truly lucky to have a turn of events.

Ah Jiu felt a little embarrassed. Her sister was being polite, so she said that. Ah Jiu knew in her heart that they had taken advantage of her sister by coming here to seek refuge. Just because Ye Jia didn't say these things didn't mean they could take it for granted.

"Sister," Ah Jiu said to Ye Jia with sincerity, "The matter of the cold melon has been settled. Someone will send it out tomorrow."

Ye Jia was stunned. She didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

"Fresh fruits and vegetables don't wait, do they?" Ajiu wasn't the type to wait for empty words. He expressed his gratitude directly by actually helping people. "I told those people yesterday that they'd be at the town entrance tonight. We need to pick all the winter melons and cantaloupes in the backyard before dark. They have a mule train, and they'll be able to deliver them to Luntai in a day or two."

This was such a pleasant surprise that Ye Jia quickly put down the large intestine in his hand and asked, "What's the price? What about the wages?"

"I'll keep an eye on the price. These things won't sell at the market." Ajiu is obviously a seasoned dealer, and he speaks about these things with great clarity. "Only the wealthy families are interested in novelty, so they probably have the final say on the price. As for wages, I'll pay them according to the escort master's rate. When they escorted furs in the past, I paid them 300 coins per trip, double the round trip, and included food and lodging. Sister, this price can't be lowered. We're doing hard work, and we have to be careful not to get robbed along the way, so it has to be higher."

Although Ye Jia wasn't sure how the escorts calculated their prices, he recalled how the son of the old lady next door always brought back a lot of goodies from his escort mission back in Wangjia Village. He guessed the escorts' prices were probably quite high. "Okay, winter melons and sweet melons are rare, and tribute melons aren't available elsewhere. I think we can sell them at a higher price."

This Ah Jiu naturally knew that he was young, but he had done a lot of such things: "Don't worry, sister, I will definitely get this done for you."

Since Ah Jiu had already mentioned the urgency of the matter, Ye Jia quickly dispatched the people to harvest the melons. The backyard was only a little over an acre, with just over two acres dedicated to winter melons and just over one acre dedicated to cantaloupes. The yield wasn't very high, actually. Old Man Sun and his two grandsons had picked them all in an hour.

"Okay, let's pile the melons in this corner of the house and wait for the mule caravan to come in the evening."

Since Ajiu had made all the arrangements, Ye Jia felt relieved: "Don't worry, I won't let you work for nothing. If you help me sell the melons, you can take a share of the profit. The higher the price, the higher the profit. You can also rest assured that Yuanniang is here, we will take good care of her."

When Ye Jia said this, Ajiu's face suddenly lit up. He wanted to say that he didn't want the money, but Ye Jia insisted, so he had no choice but to remember this favor.

"Okay, you'll go spend more time with Yuanniang, right?" Once the melons were picked, the backyard was empty. Ye Jia, thinking about business tomorrow, returned to scrubbing the pig intestines. Because of the day's break, only Liu Yuan and the others expressed their enjoyment. It was unclear what the rest of the town thought of the dish. Confident, Ye Jia decided to give it a try with three pots of braised pork.

When she returned from the backyard, Ye Wumei had already put the pig's head and pork belly into the pot for braising. She was beside her, kneading the dough and frying the crispy dough later. Ye Jia had handed over the breakfast stall to her, so she no longer had to worry about it. Watching the smoke rising from the pot, Ye Jia wondered if she should get two stoves.

"One doesn't seem enough. When things get busy, a lot of things have to wait." Ye Jia walked around the kitchen and decided that building another stove wasn't practical. While the kitchen was spacious, it wasn't big enough for another one. Besides, if two stoves were running, the chimney would have to be relocated. If they wanted to add another stove, they'd have to rebuild the current one and replace it with one that accommodated two pots.

"How much work will it take to rebuild it?" Yu didn't quite understand any of this, but she certainly felt it wasn't enough. Just like the meat and intestines had to be cooked in separate pots, they couldn't be cooked together, which took up a lot of time. And it wasted a lot of firewood. "If it doesn't take too long, we can just rebuild the stove."

"It can be done in one day." Ye Jia thought it was feasible. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time to keep cooking one pot and waiting for another. "I'll find someone to build it tomorrow."

As we talked, it grew dark. Grinding a hundred pounds of bath beans wasn't easy; even a stone mill would take three to five days. But the scented soap needed to be made quickly, otherwise, by the time this batch was shipped out, there wouldn't be any left for next month.

"Let's do this for today. Clean up and it's time to cook."

Towards evening, Ajiu arrived from the east with a group of people. Four or five mule carts formed a long line and parked inside the Zhou family's courtyard. Ajiu was accompanied by four or five young people of somewhat foreign descent. Entering the courtyard, it was clear the family consisted entirely of women, all strikingly beautiful. Even Mrs. Yu, despite her age, retained her charm, and her eyes were somewhat irresistible.

One of them glanced at Ye Jia a few more times before being frightened back by Ajiu's sharp eyes. Ajiu was shy in front of the Zhou family, but when he faced these people, Ye Jia realized the fierceness in his nature.

The look in his eyes was like a blade scraping against someone, and it frightened several people into silence.

"Let's go after we pack these up." Ajiu spoke coldly and bluntly, "We'll set off tonight. Fruits and vegetables can't wait. If they're left for too long, their flavor will be greatly reduced. Hurry up and do it!"

Ye Jia stopped interrupting Ah Jiu as he was scolding them. He watched them load the melons off the trucks. He said a few words, "Be careful on the road."

Ah Jiu nodded, went to the backyard and said a few words to Ye Simei and the child. Then he picked up the knife and left.

Just as they left, Zhou Jingchen returned from camp. He hadn't slept the previous night, and had spent another day training in the camp today. He looked pale when he returned, his eyes dark. He suspected something had happened in the camp again, so he sat in his room, lost in thought, and then went to get pen, ink, paper, and inkstone to write a few letters and send them off. He returned from the house just as dusk fell, his body damp with dew.

When he entered the room, Ye Jia was calculating accounts under the lamplight. Hearing the noise, he looked up and glanced at him.

It was only with a casual glance that Ye Jia noticed he looked injured. His clothes were neatly dressed, so it wasn't obvious without a closer look, but Ye Jia noticed his arm movements weren't very smooth. His hand paused as he counted the money, and Ye Jia frowned as he looked at him, "What's wrong with your arm?"

Zhou Jingchen didn't expect Ye Jia to have such sharp eyes that she could see even the smallest movement.

"Nothing." Zhou Jingchen took off his thin armor and walked over to sit down across from Ye Jia. The dim light illuminated the two of them, and Zhou Jingchen's gaze fell on Ye Jia's face. She had grown up, becoming even more radiant and charming. He smiled faintly. His skin was very fair, and the dark circles under his eyes were particularly noticeable after a night without sleep.

He wasn't ugly, but his complexion and demeanor made him look a bit frail. "A new official starts with three major changes."

"A new official starts with three things?" Ye Jia raised his eyebrows. "Has the new resident commander arrived?"

"Um."

Zhou Jingchen was so busy that he hadn't eaten a single grain of rice at this hour. He picked up the teapot on the table, turned a teacup over, poured a cup of tea and drank it.

The cold tea moistened his lips, making them even redder. "Although I'm the superior, I'm a newcomer after all. To keep the local tyrant in line, I naturally have to discipline his minions."

Seeing that his arms were moving awkwardly, Ye Jia put all the money back into the cash box and stood up.

She walked to Zhou Jingchen and grabbed his hand.

Zhou Jingchen's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he hissed softly, letting her grab his wrist. Ye Jia pinched his wrist from his forearm to his upper arm, and heard him hiss again.

Ye Jia pursed her lips and said, "Stand up and follow me to take a look over there."

Zhou Jingchen turned his head to look at Ye Jia. Light shone from the side, and his thick eyelashes obscured the dim light in his eyes.

He stood up very obediently and was pulled to the bed by Ye Jia to sit down.

But the clothes he was wearing were military uniforms, and the cuffs were very narrow, so he couldn't roll them up at all. Ye Jia frowned and looked at him for a long time. If he wanted to see where the injury was, he had to take off the clothes. The oil lamp was far away from the table, and it was too dark to see clearly. Ye Jia asked him to wait, went to the table to pick up the oil lamp and put it on the bedside. Her eyes fell on his belt several times, but she retracted them: "Do you want to take it off yourself or should I do it?"

Zhou Jingchen's expression was gentle, but his movements as he tugged at his belt were quick and decisive. Ye Jia had just told him to take it off when he tugged at the belt and loosened his outer garment. Don't be fooled by his thin figure; once his outer garment was off, his lean, smooth lines revealed a look of sculpture.

Ye Jia: “…”

Restraining her wandering eyes, she reached out to help him take off one sleeve of his shirt.

His fair skin was covered in bruises, not a single patch of healthy skin. His entire arm was swollen. Ye Jia gasped at the sight. It was a credit to him that he had such a calm demeanor, considering how injured he was. "What's going on? Why are there so many wounds on your body?"

"Fifty blows of the military stick." Zhou Jingchen mentioned this matter nonchalantly, his tone gentle, "I blocked it with my arm, and I got hit."

"Why? What did you do wrong to deserve fifty military sticks?" Ye Jia's face suddenly turned cold.

Seeing her like this, Zhou Jingchen couldn't help but smile, his eyebrows curved. "It's not a big deal, just a beating with a military stick. Jia Niang, I haven't eaten yet at this time today. Is there any leftover food at home that you can prepare for me?"

"You haven't eaten yet?"

Zhou Jingchen smiled good-naturedly: "I had dinner at home this morning, but didn't eat during the day."

Ye Jia: “…”

Ye Jia heard he'd been beaten, yet he still hadn't eaten. Somehow, a bitter feeling welled up inside her. But she also knew that things at the base couldn't be explained in a few words. If the superiors wanted to punish you, they'd always find an excuse. This was the norm in some large corporate workplaces in later generations, especially within state-owned enterprises. Ye Jia was well aware of this.

It was obvious that the power struggle between the old and new leaders had caused the people below them to suffer. Zhou Jingchen, a newcomer who had only recently risen to the top and whose foundation was unstable, was the target of the higher-ups' actions.

Taking a deep breath and swallowing the bitter taste, Ye Jia didn't say anything to comfort him. He turned around and walked out with a cold face.

"Where are you going?" Zhou Jingchen called her.

"Make you something to eat."

Ye Jia had already left the house as she spoke. Zhou Jingchen's eyes followed her as she left, his pupils twitching slightly. A moment later, he curled his lips into a faint smile. Jia Niang might not have liked him that much, but she was definitely attracted to him.

Although pretending to be pitiful would damage a man's heroic image, he wouldn't mind if Jia Niang fell for it.