Chapter 52

There was indeed some leftover rice at home, so Ye Jia made him some egg fried rice. That was the good thing about Zhou Jingchen: he'd eat anything he was given, no matter how good or bad it tasted, he'd finish it all. Ye Jia sat by and watched him slowly finish a large bowl of rice, but she finally softened her heart. She went to the cupboard to get the medicinal oil, put it on the bedside table, and said nothing more.

Zhou Jingchen put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth, then looked up at Ye Jia and smiled.

Ye Jia caught a glimpse of the wound on his back from the corner of her eye. He didn't even cry out, as if he didn't feel any pain. After a long moment, she sighed, "Laugh, laugh, laugh! All you do is laugh. Are you full?"

"Um."

"Clean up the pots and bowls after you finish eating." Ye Jia took out the cash box again, sat opposite Zhou Jingchen and started counting. While counting, he kept the account and calculated the profit by deducting the cost. "Come over after you wash up, and I'll massage it for you."

Zhou Jingchen's heart moved, and he obediently took the dishes out to wash them. Just one pot and one bowl, washing them clean with hot water. After boiling some water, he washed them in the kitchen, still soaking wet, before returning to the house.

When I came back, Ye Jia was still counting the accounts. She calculated very quickly.

During this period, I'd actually made quite a bit of money. The bulk of the profits from the fragrant soap sales had already reached 1,100 taels in three months. Adding in the profits from the cooked food and breakfast, the total was 1,156 taels, 3 qian, and 65 wen. I still had another batch of fragrant soap to ship out, and if I added in the payment due in two weeks, I'd have about 1,400 taels left.

This amount of money was enough to buy a mule cart, or even a horse carriage. Ye Jia was considering buying another mule cart for the family, and if Ajiu did a good job this time, he would consider signing a long-term cooperation agreement with Ajiu.

After all, there are only a few businessmen in this world who do not abide by contracts. Most businessmen still know that integrity is the basis.

Thoughtful, she looked up to see Zhou Jingchen, his black hair dripping with water. After eating a large bowl of rice, his face finally regained some color. His eyelashes drooped, casting a dark shadow beneath his eyelids. He sat quietly before her. Ye Jia blinked, locked the cash box, and returned it to the partition on the roof. As she put the money in, she turned her head to look. The people at the table were very self-conscious, not even glancing in her direction.

Ye Jia jumped down from the stool, clapped his hands and asked him to lie down on the bed: "You are sitting too high, it will be easier for me to do it if you lie down."

Zhou Jingchen didn't resist, and obediently sat down beside the bed. With drooping eyelids, he watched Ye Jia untie his belt and remove his shirt. His eyelashes trembled slightly, and he looked like a weak and dignified man being teased and dared not resist. Ye Jia pulled the corner of her mouth to shake off the strange feeling, rubbed some medicated oil in her hands to warm them, and began to massage him.

As soon as my hand touched him, his body trembled slightly.

Ye Jia: "..." What's going on! Can't she even touch me?

Zhou Jingchen's injuries weren't actually very serious. Fifty military sticks sounded scary, but the person administering them was a private acquaintance of theirs, and they used skillful force. The reason they were so shocking was simply because his skin was so pale. Regardless of whether the injury was truly serious or not, Jia Niang was willing to sympathize with him and wouldn't deliberately expose it: "Jia Niang, be gentle, it hurts a little..."

…It turned out that he was throbbing with pain.

Ye Jia silently used less force, rubbing it while asking him if it hurt.

Zhou Jingchen replied vaguely, his voice soft and sweet. He had to ask Ye Jia to massage the wound on his back for a quarter of an hour before it healed.

The greasy oil on his body made it difficult to get dressed, but he was truly eye-catching just walking around like that. Ye Jia couldn't help but gravitate to his slender neck and straight, concave collarbone. His waist was thin, its line fading smoothly into his trousers. He wasn't too old, not even twenty. His physique was somewhere between adult and adolescent, lean and slender, and incredibly handsome.

Exhaling deeply, Ye Jia told herself not to act rashly. There was a price to pay for lusting after beauty, and it was a heavy price to pay. She wasn't yet determined to take responsibility, so she had to hold on.

"Aren't you going to bed yet? It's already so late." Zhou Jingchen noticed the change in Ye Jia's expression from the corner of his eye. He swayed with such a frankness that it was almost shameless. He slowly took out his bedding from the cabinet and spread it on the floor, then turned his head and looked at Ye Jia sideways.

Ye Jia narrowed her eyes, glanced at his beautiful shoulder blades, turned over and fell asleep with her back facing him.

The next day, before dawn, there was already a commotion in the yard. The shop hadn't opened yesterday, so today was generally a bit rushed. Old Man Sun had already loaded the braised meat onto the cart, while Fifth Sister Ye was still preparing ingredients for the breakfast stall. Seeing Ye Jia coming out, she asked if he wanted to bring the red eggs along with the sale. Ye Jia was stunned for a moment, and it took him a long time to realize something. It seems that in the northwest, they don't give red eggs to children when they have babies.

Yesterday, Ye Jia was busy cooking eggs with sumac, and Ye Wumei, blindly trusting Ye Jia, followed his lead. However, after cooking so many red eggs without seeing what Ye Jia was going to do, she assumed they were for sale the next day.

Ye Jia opened her mouth, but almost didn't mention the custom of giving red eggs when a child is born. Otherwise, the truth would be revealed.

"It's a great joy that my fourth sister gave birth to twins. We should at least celebrate." Ye Jia's mind raced, and he said, "We don't have anything nice to celebrate with, so I'll just cook some eggs for the neighbors to share in the good news."

When Ye Wumei heard what Ye Jia said, she realized that these red eggs were for Ye Simei to celebrate.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say, shouldn't we kill sheep and chickens to celebrate the birth of a child? But Ye Jia said so, so she blindly believed it. She nodded and said, "Sister, who are we distributing these eggs to? The people in the shop next door?"

"Take it to the store and distribute it to our customers."

Ye Jia's generosity with customers was well-known. Back when she ran a small stall, she often placed a bowl of food nearby, claiming it was for tasting. Later, when she opened her own shop, she openly gave away new products as gifts. Now, she'd suddenly thought of giving away red eggs, and neither Ye Wumei nor Yu Shi found it odd. After all, a daughter-in-law never does things without a purpose; she must have her reasons for doing so.

With this belief in mind, Ye Wumei loaded the basket of red eggs onto the ox cart and drove it to the store.

It's true that the act of sending large intestines the day before was a smart move. This morning, when their shop door opened early, a passerby saw them carrying something in. Zhangtou came over and asked, "Are you selling that new product today?"

Old Man Sun hung a large pile of pork belly and pig's head on hooks and carried a large pot of pig intestines to the back of the bar. Ye Wumei set up the breakfast stall outside, and the diners arrived just as the fire was lit.

After all, good food always attracts repeat customers. There aren't many food stalls in this town, but Xishi's stall is the only one with unique flavors. The older sister used to run the place, but now the younger sister has taken over and is even better. Ye Wumei's hands are nimble, chatting with people in a crisp voice as she cooks.

Many women in the town who passed by to buy vegetables early in the morning would look at Ye Wumei for a long time.

If nothing else, it was Ye Wumei's skill in cooking. She could make money, was good at talking, and was clearly a good housekeeper. Plus, she was handsome, her sister's family owned a shop, and I heard her brother-in-law was an officer stationed there. With such good conditions, who with a son wouldn't take a second look? If she could get married to this family, would her sister let her sister's family suffer without supporting them?

Some people, with their calculations, deliberately came to Xishi's stall every few days to make themselves familiar. They didn't have much money and didn't buy food, but just hung out and chatted with Ye Wumei. They took every opportunity to ask about Ye Wumei's family situation.

Ye Wumei is easy to talk to most of the time, but when it comes to the situation at home, she is very incoherent and impossible to get the answer from.

Ye Jia didn't know about this, but Fifth Sister Ye was much more assertive and shrewd than Fourth Sister Ye. She wouldn't talk about her family's situation, but she also didn't want to offend anyone. If she couldn't respond, she'd just smile. As a result, she actually earned a higher regard for herself—she had a clear mind.

Early in the morning, the breakfast stall closed up shop as soon as it ran out of batter. Back inside, I found a number of customers already waiting for their cooked meats. Previously, they'd looked down on large intestines, but now they were all asking if there were any new items.

Honestly, pig intestines aren't considered respectable these days, far inferior to meat. Had Xishi Shop offered them as a new product, no one would have bought them. But given them for free to try, they were sure to eat them, adhering to the principle of not wasting. After tasting them, they realized they were even more fragrant than meat, soft and chewy. And if you get a little fat mixed in, it's truly delicious.

This is what delicious food is like. If you taste good and suit my taste, I will be a repeat customer next time.

"We've got everything. We made quite a bit today." Ye Jia was prepared for a brisk business today, so he braised more meat. "My sister gave birth to twins yesterday, so I cooked a lot of red eggs today. I'll give them away to anyone who comes to buy meat, so everyone can share in the good luck."

After Ye Jia said this, the guests waiting outside naturally cheered.

"Congratulations, Madam! This is such a great event, congratulations!" The owner of Xishi Shop was truly generous. She gave away pig intestines on the first day and eggs on the second. No other shop was as generous as hers, but it was precisely because of this that customers were always willing to patronize Xishi Shop.

Someone immediately said, "That's great! Madam Boss, please leave some extra pig intestines for me today!"

Ye Jia naturally agreed readily.

Business was already booming early in the morning, making the nearby food shops envious. The owner of the vegetarian noodle shop, standing outside with his hands on his hips, heard Xishi's shop busy with deliveries and couldn't help but spit on the ground, "Deliveries every day! You're not even afraid of bankrupting your shop by delivering meat and eggs! I wonder how long you can keep delivering!"

"I think it's bound to go bankrupt sooner or later." He was not the only one who was jealous. "So many people went there, just to see how good those two sisters are."

None of the nearby shops had ever lived up to Xishi's success. While Dongxiang Town was far more prosperous than Libei Town, not all shops were packed. Some cursed Ye Jia's shop for bankruptcy, while others criticized him for relying on his reputation to sell food.

People in small places are all different, so it’s not worth worrying about such a small matter.

While Ye Jia was busy, things were brewing back at the garrison. The new lieutenant commander was a tough guy, a level above him, and he wouldn't let Captain Shen mess around under his watch. On his first day, he'd already made an example of someone. While his tactics weren't particularly sophisticated, they had infuriated Shen Hai. The two men were now locked in a fierce confrontation in the camp, and tensions were high throughout the garrison.

A deputy general, a mixed-race with Turkic ancestry named Oghuz, was unable to rise to the top despite his distinguished military achievements due to his ancestral lineage. The Yan court disowned him, citing his impure bloodline as a barrier to promotion. The Grand Commander also disliked his ruthless nature, so he was transferred to the northwestern garrison to guard the border.

Upon his arrival, Ogus confronted Shen Hai, who secretly mocked him as a bastard. He flattered and coaxed him outwardly, but in reality, no matter what orders came down, he would either make excuses or pretend to obey. In short, he never truly acted.

The two men now clash daily, leaving their subordinates suffering. Oguz, seizing upon rumors circulating in the market, has reopened his investigation into alleged collusion between military and bandit forces, allegedly allowing horse bandits to massacre the village. Shen Hai, who insisted that Niu Buqun was solely responsible, has since been beheaded. Many facts remain unproven, leaving the two sides in a stalemate. Shen Hai is also anxious to exploit the Zengqing mine.

Now everyone was desperate and trying all sorts of remedies, or perhaps they had been reminded by the earlier rumors that had reached Niu Buqun. After much deliberation, he actually instructed Zhou Jingchen to spread rumors that the Oghuz were colluding with the Turks.

Not to mention how ugly Zhou Jingchen's expression was when he received this order, Liu Yuan couldn't help but gloat when she saw his face was livid with anger: "I guess Ogus's move of using you as a scapegoat gave Shen Hai a false impression. He thought you hated Ogus so much that you must be firmly on his side now, daring to order you to do such a thing."

He nodded and commented, "No matter how stupid the trick is, as long as it works. It's indeed a good idea."

"Shut up," Zhou Jingchen glanced at him coldly and said calmly, "You are my deputy. I believe you are capable of doing a good job. In that case, I will leave this matter to you."

Liu Yuan: “…” Zhou Jingchen, be a human being!