Chapter 61

Zhou Jingchen had been scouting the Turkic spies and kidnappers these days, braving the wind and snow. Even his natural beauty had left him somewhat battered by the wind and snow. He stood by the kang, still wearing his thick, somewhat dirty armor. He hadn't washed in days, and fearing his body would smell, he didn't dare stand too close to Ye Jia.

Their eyes met, and Zhou Jingchen touched his cheek. The look in his eyes when he looked at Ye Jia was a little melancholy.

"There's water on the stove, go get it yourself." Ye Jia said and then lowered his head to continue calculating the bill.

Zhou Jingchen couldn't help but narrow his eyes. He silently went to the closet to get a set of clean clothes and went to the next room. Now that the room over there was empty, Ye Jia had placed a bathtub there. Soaking in hot water was particularly comfortable in the winter. When he was at home and not busy, Ye Jia would soak in it at night. Zhou Jingchen went to the stove to fetch a bucket of hot water and deliberately came over to glance at Ye Jia before taking a bath.

A shadow loomed over Ye Jia, and Ye Jia, who was settling accounts, asked, “?”

Zhou Jingchen didn't look at her. He walked past Ye Jia to the dressing table and took away a scented soap that Ye Jia often used. He turned back to look at Ye Jia and left.

Ye Jia: “…”

The man usually washed quickly, but this time, he took half an hour to come back, drenched in sweat. His hair, washed carefully, was now a soft, black sheen, and his hip-length, black hair was dripping with water. The water flowed down his hair and soaked his undergarments, which soaked up the cotton and clung to his body. The light shone through, revealing his increasingly handsome figure and the smooth texture beneath his clothes.

I don’t know if this person is not afraid of the cold or what, but he walked in without wearing a coat and just holding a cloth towel.

Zhou Jingchen draped the cloth over his shoulders, leaving his clothes behind in a thin undergarment. The enviable amount of hair on his back, shoulders, and neck was incredibly absorbent. A patch of water quickly formed beneath the spot where he sat. The man wiped it off carelessly, with a half-hearted touch. His eyelids drooped, his thick lashes casting a dark, bluish hue beneath them.

Ye Jia glanced at him, then lowered her head to look at the account book. She couldn't help but look up again. The man was still walking slowly, his cheeks frostbitten, but his handsome features couldn't hide his striking appearance, which made the viewer feel the urge to ravage him.

"Tsk..." Ye Jia, that damn obsessive-compulsive disorder, was so anxious seeing his hands taking so long to dry his hair, "Aren't you cold?"

Zhou Jingchen raised his eyes and glanced at Ye Jia quietly.

Ye Jia couldn't stand his gaze anymore. She threw off the covers, got off the kang, put on her shoes, and stood behind him. She snatched the towel from Zhou Jingchen's hand and patted his gesturing hands. Only then did she notice that one of his hands was also frostbitten. Oh my god! Zhou Jingchen really was... Ye Jia loved his hands the most, and they had frostbite.

Frowning, she gathered his hair back, the heavy weight weighing down her hands.

Ye Jia carefully wrung his hair dry, then wiped the moisture off his neck. Pulling him over, he sat on the kang. "To be honest, I'm a very superficial person. If you ever get ugly, I'll definitely dump you and replace you with someone else."

Zhou Jingchen: "...Is this true?"

There was firewood burning under the kang, making it so warm that even without covering himself, he wouldn't feel cold. Seeing him sitting on the edge of the kang with his legs bent, Ye Jia couldn't help but glance at the area where the kang reached her thighs. Never mind, she definitely wouldn't be able to bend her legs if she sat on it. "Of course it's true. I'm not as chaste as you think."

Zhou Jingchen chuckled softly and nodded. Seeing that he didn't seem to be convinced, Ye Jia turned around and went to the dressing table to get a bottle of pear blossom cream.

Originally, this pear blossom ointment was a medicinal ointment, good for frostbite and minor wounds. But Yu Shi claimed it had skin-rejuvenating properties, so she bought a lot for Ye Jia to use as a body lotion and face cream. And surprisingly, while it wasn't noticeable in summer and autumn, the effects were quite noticeable in winter. Ye Jia experienced it herself. It was truly moisturizing. Even in the harsh northwest winter winds, her face remained radiant and unruffled.

He walked over with the things and sat down next to Zhou Jingchen.

The light illuminated the two of them. Zhou Jingchen lowered his eyes as Ye Jia opened the bottle and used his pinky finger to scoop out a little transparent ointment. Then, he raised his hand and rubbed it onto his cheek. Zhou Jingchen was stunned, but he didn't move despite the icy feeling. With his eyelashes lowered, he stared at Ye Jia unblinkingly. Ye Jia used the tip of her ring finger to gently spread the ointment in circular motions.

A faint fragrance of pear blossoms filled the air. Ye Jia took a little more from the bottle and said, "Turn around, that side of your face."

For some reason, Zhou Jingchen felt as if something was squeezing his heart in his chest, a strange, sour, and soft sensation. His eyelashes trembled, and he turned his face slightly. Ye Jia reached out to reach... Really, how tall is this person!

"Bend down a little, it's hard for me to do it!"

Zhou Jingchen leaned down very meekly, moving very close. His breath gently sprayed on Ye Jia's shoulders and neck, and Ye Jia's ears couldn't help but feel a little hot. She endured it and didn't show any strange expression. She deliberately kept a stern face, pinched the man's chin with one hand, gently pinching it, and rubbed it with the ring finger of the other hand in circles. During this time, Zhou Jingchen looked like he was letting others do whatever they wanted.

Ye Jia: “…” He’s so obedient that it makes people feel itchy.

Seeing that the ointment was almost applied, Ye Jia handed it to him. Staring at his chilblained hand, she raised her chin. Trying to hide her habit, she said, "Apply it to your hand yourself."

Zhou Jingchen's eyes flashed slightly, his gaze swept across her face, and he reached out to take the ointment.

The knuckles of his slender fingers were actually a little pink from the cold. He pinched the cork and gently pulled it out. Then, imitating Ye Jia's little trick, he used his little finger to hook a little ointment and smeared it on the back of his hand. "Does this stuff really work?"

"We'll see tomorrow whether it works or not." She didn't know whether Ye Jia had frostbite or not, but it was better than applying nothing at all.

Zhou Jingchen didn't say anything, silently wiping his hand and spreading the remaining ointment evenly. He was a man with the elegance of a noble family etched in his bones, and every move was very handsome. Zhou Jingchen seemed to be wiping his hand, but in fact he was always paying attention to Ye Jia out of the corner of his eye. He noticed that Ye Jia's eyes had never left his hand since just now. He frowned slightly, and calmly put the ointment back to its place.

He came back, lifted the quilt and lay down next to Ye Jia.

Ye Jia had almost finished her account and was about to pack up when she turned to see him lying on his side beside her, his eyes wide open. His black hair flowed like a waterfall, covering half the kang in an alluring manner. His expression was cold but also righteous and confident, yet it was also quietly alluring.

Zhou Jingchen spoke first: "What's wrong?"

"...No, you blocked me from going down." Suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable, Ye Jia felt that his moral integrity was gradually approaching the bottom line, and he was afraid that he would lose his mind due to lust.

Zhou Jingchen: “…”

No words were spoken that night.

It was rare that Zhou Jingchen didn't wake up from the tossing and turning. Perhaps he was too exhausted from being away from home, and the familiar scent of Ye Jia comforted him. Zhou Jingchen didn't open his eyes the entire night. The next day, he slept until noon, and no one at home woke him.

When he changed his clothes and washed up, he came out and saw several people in the main room drinking porridge with their bowls.

"Mom." Zhou Jingchen called out.

"Puff, cough, cough..." Although Yu knew her son had returned last night, it was too late and the mother and son didn't speak, let alone see him clearly. Naturally, she didn't know Zhou Jingchen was in such a state. Glancing at the red chilblains on his face, she was immediately surprised: "Hey Yun'an, how did your face get like this! No matter how busy you are outside, you have to pay attention to keep warm. Look at your face... It's so dirty!"

Zhou Jingchen: “…”

He is truly her biological son. Yu wouldn’t speak like this to an ordinary person.

Zhou Jingchen subconsciously shifted his gaze to Ye Jia, who was sitting across from Yu. The only people who had gotten up early to drink porridge were Yu's Ye Jia and Fifth Sister. Fourth Sister Ye was a little embarrassed to come over because of Ah Jiu's incident. Ye Jia was picking up a pancake with chopsticks. It was just an ordinary scallion pancake. Since Fifth Sister had made it, she'd used lots of ingredients and oil, so the flavor was naturally fragrant.

When his eyes swept over, Ye Jia silently avoided them.

Zhou Jingchen narrowed his eyes dangerously.

Initially, Zhou Jingchen thought Ye Jia was teasing him. He knew Ye Jia had a mischievous nature and loved to tease him. Last night, she'd said his face was ruined and ugly, just to tease him. But then he realized—every time he looked at her, she looked like she didn't want to see his face! Zhou Jingchen found this incredibly amusing, thinking to himself that as someone who'd lived two lives, there was no way he was going to be upset over such a small matter.

But the fact is, he was so angry that his chest was blocked by a breath of air, and he was angry and wronged. The invulnerable heart of stone in his chest could not hold on and broke.

If you don’t want to see him, then forget it. But can’t he just leave?

Thinking about it, he was furious at himself for going backwards in life. He was actually upset by such a small thing. But, how could Ye Jia be so realistic? He turned around and went back inside. He caught sight of a small mirror on the dressing table and picked it up to look around. The chilblains on his face were indeed a bit unsightly, but the ointment Ye Jia had applied to him last night seemed to be having some effect. The broken skin had healed, though it was a little swollen.

...Or try applying the ointment again?

Zhou Jingchen couldn't rest at home; he had a lot of things to do. The fighting in Libei Town was temporarily under control. Ogus was still guarding there. He had stayed at home for two days, which was his limit. On the third morning, he carried the box and returned to the camp.

Yu was sweeping snow in the yard at the time. Seeing him carrying a box, she asked, "What's in that?"

Zhou Jingchen smiled and said, "Nothing, just from the base."

Yu looked at the box—about a foot long, a foot high, and a foot wide. What could such a large box possibly hold? Winter melons? Just as she was wondering, she saw her son walking through the snow. Something had leaked out of the box's crack. It was red, and it made a dent on the ground. She walked over to take a peek, and her heart skipped a beat.

It looked like blood, but there couldn't possibly be a human head in it, could it? Quickly shaking the thought off, she put down her broom and went into the house.

Ajiu had been cooped up in the house for a long time and couldn't stand it any longer. He found a free day at home and came to talk to Ye Jia.

Ever since he was thirteen, he'd been out and about every winter, working in the fur trade. He'd gotten used to it, and when the season came, he wanted to do more. But as the year drew closer, he worried about the lack of activity from Ye Jia's business. He wondered if Ye Jia had any business for him recently, so he came over to ask.

Ye Jia hadn't originally planned to close the business, but the weather was cold so he had no choice: "In a month or two, it will be time for you to leave for the Western Regions with the Cheng family."

Going to the Western Regions requires arrangements. Ye Jia knew that Ajiu had someone under his control, but he didn't know how many people he had. "Take some time to go to the Cheng family and take a look."

Ah Jiu naturally thought about this matter: "Sister, I guess I have to go out in a few days."

"Huh?" Ye Jia was stunned.

"If you don't have anything else to ask me to do, I can make time for you." Since Ah Jiu's last conversation with Zhou Jingchen, they have been in more contact privately. However, there are some things that are not convenient to discuss with Ye Jia in detail. "Yuan Niang is counting on you to take care of this."

"They are living well in the Zhou family, you don't have to worry."

Ajiu nodded, not knowing what he was thinking. He packed up and left.

…

The closer it got to the end of the year, the more lazy I felt. Ye Jia gathered his thoughts and went to the kitchen to make some pan-fried buns with Ye Wumei.

It was cold, and they couldn't go out to work. There was no rush to grind the bath beans into powder; the women, with nothing to do at home, naturally thought of something delicious. Ye Jia had been craving shengjianbao for a long time, but it seemed they didn't have that kind of dish in the northwest.

It just so happened that Ye Jia was planning to ask his fifth sister to apprentice to a master in the spring of next year. By learning more, she would be able to cook more flexibly and more comprehensively in the future.

Making shengjianbao isn't difficult. Since there's no shrimp or crab, you can only make mutton or pork fillings. There aren't many other tricks, except for using warm water when kneading the dough. The dough should first rise for a quarter of an hour, then be cut into small pieces and wrapped like dumplings. Ye Jia used mutton as the filling. To get the juicy texture, add water when mincing the meat.

The shengjian (stir-fried dumplings) in Ye Jia's hometown are slightly sweet, with chopped scallions, ginger, salt, soy sauce, and other ingredients, and sugar is essential for enhancing the flavor. The oil used is still cooked oil, and the meat filling is mixed and left to marinate for 25 minutes. A small amount of pork skin is cut and frozen before wrapping.

When Ye Jiayi said he wanted to make something delicious, the whole family got excited. Fourth sister Ye, perhaps provoked by Fifth sister Ye or something, had been going to the kitchen quite often lately to hone her skills.

Now she rolled up her sleeves and began to cut the stuffing.

Everyone was free today, and with no other entertainment options at home, they naturally gathered in the kitchen. The stove was still burning, so it wasn't cold. Ruijie'er was in much better spirits. Children are very forgetful. Once coaxed, Ruijie'er would be her usual cheerful, laughing, and boisterous child. Yu, on the other hand, was left with a deep psychological scar, wishing she could tie Ruijie'er to her belt.

Ye Jia circled it but didn't ask about it. She had to get over this hurdle on her own.

As Ye Jia spoke, Ye Wumei began to work. Ye Simei, thinking that her fifth sister would be leaving soon, would definitely have to take over these tasks. Ye Jia couldn't do it alone, so Yu Shi followed along to learn.

Yu Shi now knows how to make dumplings. Ye Jia mixes the filling. She can't remember it, but she knows how to make dumplings.

A few people packed over three hundred. Since shengjianbao are smaller than regular buns, about the size of a grown man's mouthful, three hundred isn't really a lot... shit. Even if they were to be eaten as dumplings, three hundred would be too many. Ye Jia decided to put half aside; the weather wouldn't spoil them anyway. A natural freezer is even better than a freezer: "One pot makes about a hundred, more than enough for the whole family."

"Get some more and send some to Yun An and the others."

Although Mrs. Yu was never soft-hearted when it came to teasing her son, she still cared about him. "Young people like them travel so much, they don't have much good food to eat. We live nearby, so we might as well send some for them to try."

Since Yu said so, Ye Jia didn't keep half of the pan-fried buns and just cooked them all.

The frying pan at home, once covered, is just like shengjian (a type of fried dumpling). Making shengjian is simple: brush the bottom of the pan with oil and place the shengjian buns on top. Let them simmer for a while, then pour a ladle of water in. Put the lid on and continue simmering. Listen to the crackling sound of the oil and water mixing beneath the lid, and a rich aroma wafts out. This snack was a breakfast staple in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions of later times, and it's not available today.

After it had been simmered for two incense sticks, Ye Jia sprinkled a handful of roasted sesame seeds and chopped green onions on it and it was ready to be served.

Rui Jieer has grown into a fat girl without realizing it, with big eyes and chubby cheeks. If you eat well and take good care of yourself, your hair will grow well naturally. The Zhou family is full of beauties. Although Rui Jieer is only three years old, her facial features show that she will definitely be a beauty in the future. Her favorite person in the family now is Ye Jia. She stays by Ye Jia's side and shouts: "Auntie, I want it! Auntie, I want to have the first bite!"

Ye Jia took a small dipping saucer and scooped one for her, handing it to her: "Bite a little bit of the skin first, there is soup inside, it's very hot!"

Ruijie'er was a real eater now, nodding like crazy. She took the food and used her signature chopsticks to pick it up, gently nibbling on the skin. Sure enough, the overflowing broth gushed out. She quickly took a sip; the soup was fresh and hot. It burned so much that she stuck out her tongue.

Yu's fifth sister, Ye's fourth sister, and the others were all shocked: "Sister, why is there still soup in here!"

"Didn't I add water when mixing the stuffing?" Ye Jia scooped up a few and ate them slowly. "You guys scoop up as many as you want."

In the end, they misjudged their appetite.

Ye Jia could only eat four of the baby-sized shengjianbao (rolled dumplings). Yu Shi was about the same. Fifth Sister Ye could eat six, and Fourth Sister Ye, nursing her child, could eat more. But they could only eat ten. Ye Jia asked Old Man Sun and his grandson to scoop out about twenty. Between them, they couldn't even finish half. Looking at the remaining large pot, Ye Jia decisively put down his bowl.

"Mom, I need to go change my clothes." Shengjian should be eaten fresh. After a while, the soup will be absorbed by the dough. Not only will the dough be swollen from the soup, but the taste will also be very bad. "Please make a box to put these in."

Ye Wumei was quick and nimble, and immediately went to get two large three-layer food boxes.

Speaking of which, this food box was something they brought back from Luntai. Luntai has a special kind of baked mutton and scallion buns that Ye Jia found quite delicious. They'd bought a lot, but had nothing to put them in, so they bought two large food boxes. On the way back, a few eager youngsters devoured them all, leaving only empty boxes when they got home. Don't be fooled by their small size; they're quite spacious, holding twenty buns per layer.

The fifth and fourth sisters assisted, quickly filling a large food box. Ye Jia thought about it and asked them to fry another pot. This thing doesn't take long to cook, only a quarter of an hour for one pot. Before Ye Jia had time to change clothes, this one was ready to be served.

Ye Jia rummaged around the house and found a thick fur coat to put on. She also got a large scarf to wrap around herself.

Thinking about the cold wind outside, she wanted to avoid blowing her face into Zhou Jingchen's shape, so she went to the dressing table to find the pear blossom cream and put a layer of it on her hands and feet. Ye Jia glanced at the dressing table, but didn't see her pear blossom cream. She was a little puzzled. She had always kept it there, so why was it gone today?

Not finding it, Ye Jia opened the drawer again and took out a new bottle. He opened it and applied a layer on his face and hands. It was just right when the pan-fried dumplings came out of the pan.

Fourth Sister Ye quickly filled another lunch box. As she did so, she looked up and took a quick look. Seeing Ye Jia wrapped up like a bear, she couldn't help but laugh, "Sister, you're wrapped up so thickly, how can you even move your legs?"

"You have to move even if you can't. If you don't want to be cold, you have to endure it." Ye Jia actually felt a little tight, but he could still hold on. "If either of you has time, come with me. I'm afraid I can't carry it by myself."

The fifth sister came out directly with a food box in her hand: "Sister, let's go."

The two sisters each carried a large food box of shengjian (a type of fried dumpling) with a tightly closed lid. Yu, fearing it would be too cold and chilly walking, even brought two worn-out jackets she had long since discarded to cover the food boxes. The two of them swayed through the snow as they headed out the door.

The base is not far away, so there is no need to worry about anything happening within a hundred feet.

It was freezing cold, but two sentries were still standing guard at the camp entrance. When Ye Jia and Ye Wumei arrived, they didn't recognize the figures, wondering where these short, squat bears had come from. As they got closer, they realized they were two women, probably a little embarrassed to have mistaken them for bears. They spoke politely to the Ye Jia sisters.

As soon as they heard that they were looking for Zhou Jingchen, someone immediately ran over to call for help.

In Oghuz's absence, many people in the garrison were brought down. Zhou Jingchen had recently captured Turkic spies, busted a kidnapping ring, and rescued nearly a hundred kidnapped girls. Zhou Jingchen and his group were the most prestigious in the garrison. Many of the soldiers in the garrison were local men, some of whom had lost their daughters. Zhou Jingchen had not only achieved great success this time, but also saved the lives of many of the soldiers' families.

Ye Jia didn't know the inside story, but if he knew, he would definitely be relieved.

Zhou Jingchen arrived quickly, accompanied by Liu Yuan. Upon hearing that Ye Jialai had brought food, Liu Yuan immediately offered to help. Zhou Jingchen ignored him and simply followed him.

When he saw the two balls, he couldn't help but curl his eyes and asked, "What delicious food did you make?"

"A small snack." Ye Jia handed him the big bag of things in her hand, and signaled Ye Wumei to give the box over there to Liu Yuan. "It's a bit too much. If you can't finish it, share it with the people below. This thing doesn't keep well, so don't be stingy."

Zhou Jingchen: “…Okay.”

Reaching out to take it, the moment he got close, Ye Jia's canine nose could smell the fragrance of pear blossoms on him. Ye Jia reacted quickly and grabbed Zhou Jingchen by the collar: "Did you take the cream I use to apply on my face?"

The words were so powerful that they attracted two pairs of wide-open eyes the moment they landed.

Liu Yuan: “!!!!!!!!!”

Ye Wumei: "!!!!!!!"

“…” Zhou Jingchen’s face suddenly turned red.

...He, uh, can taking his wife's things be considered obedient?

Noticing that eyes were looking at him furtively, Liu Yuan was obviously enjoying the show, but Ye Jia still knew to give Zhou Jingchen some face.

Although this person doesn't seem to care much about these empty things, when he's out and about in the presence of his subordinates, he should be careful not to be deliberately rude. Ye Jia glanced at Liu Yuan, who was almost pricked up his ears, propped his lips, and coughed twice. The hand that was grabbing Zhou Jingchen's collar changed to stroking, slowly smoothing the collar: "Remember to eat breakfast, if you can't put it down, we'll go back first."

After saying that, Ye Jia pulled Ye Wumei, who had secretly glanced at her brother-in-law, and turned and left.

Ye Wumei felt a bit dreamy. Her brother-in-law, who she thought was a tough guy, was secretly rubbing the cream her sister was using to apply to her face. Oh my god! So her brother-in-law relied on his looks? But then she thought about it, her sister was so capable and able to make so much money, and her brother-in-law's family was so poor, so he relied on his looks, didn't he?

Ye Wumei lowered her head and thought for a moment, feeling that she had learned something new. She clenched her fist and said, "Sister, I will definitely make a lot of money in the future!"

Ye Jia was stunned for a moment. But that didn't stop her from agreeing: "Yes, I think so too."

The two sisters smiled at each other at this moment, showing a rare mutual understanding, and returned to Zhou's house together.

Zhou Jingchen was unaware that his image in Ye Wumei's heart had instantly shattered, and that he had also indirectly derailed her ideals. He and Liu Yuan each carried a large food box back to the tent. He now had his own tent. The tents were allocated according to official rank. The two placed their food on the table and opened their cotton jackets, and the aroma immediately filled the air.

Liu Yuan, who had been eating pig food for almost half a month, had bright eyes and stared at it eagerly.

When he opened the food box, the shengjian (stuffed dumplings) inside was still piping hot. Even wrapped in his cotton-padded jacket, he didn't feel cold at all, especially the one fresh from the pot, which was still steaming. Zhou Jingchen saw that one food box had three layers, and two had six layers. They couldn't finish it no matter how hard they tried. He raised his eyes and glanced at Liu Yuan, who was standing like a pillar in his tent and refused to leave: "If you want to eat, call Yushan, Zhabatu and the others over."

Liu Yuan was worried that the food would get cold and taste bad, so he quickly went out to call for help. He remembered what Ye Jia said: if you keep it for too long, the taste will go bad.

Soon, Sun Yushan Zhabatu came running over. Everyone was obedient and had brought their own bowls and chopsticks, no need to be reminded. Six boxes of Shengjian, which could easily fill the pantries of a poor family, were divvied up. The broth from the freshly-cooked box was a little hot, but it didn't matter; it was so delicious they refused to let go. As they ate, they praised, "After all these years, my sister-in-law's cooking is still the best..."

Liu Yuan couldn't help but glance at Zhou Jingchen with envy and jealousy. They were all exiled, so how come this guy had such good luck?

Let's not even talk about the garrison. With the troublemakers gone, the atmosphere was much calmer. With Ogus gone, Zhou Jingchen had to take on the heavy responsibility of guarding the dungeon. While the garrison might not look large, the mountain behind the grove had been hollowed out, holding no fewer than a thousand prisoners. Back when Shen Hai was still in power, not to mention the number of prisoners he'd held, this time alone, he'd sent over five hundred.

The most troublesome Turkic nobleman among them, the one who caused the Turks to go to war to get the people back, was the third son of the Turkic king, Selik.

This man was in a den of brothels below Lausanne Town. He was caught red-handed by Zhou Jingchen's men in the room of a Turkic girl. Selik, posing as an ordinary foreign merchant, used smooth talk and flexible tactics to kneel at his command, almost deceiving the man. If Zhou Jingchen hadn't arrived in time, this man would have slipped away and escaped long ago.

When he was caught, Zhou Jingchen tore the tendons out of both his hands and severed one of his legs. He was then escorted directly to the garrison.

Along with Selik, another man was captured. Zhou Jingchen beheaded him the moment they met. This was Kyrgyz, whose head Zhou Jingchen chopped off and put in a box. Although this man looks feminine, he is actually incredibly cruel and vicious. In his youth, he lurked in Dayan, spending years among prostitutes, gathering intelligence. Later, he returned to the Turks with his master and was directly appointed a general. In a previous life, Zhou Jingchen had fought him on the battlefield. Although he was defeated, he buried alive 30,000 Dayan soldiers.

Zhou Jingchen recognized Kyrgyzstan as soon as he saw him and killed him with his sword.

Zhou Jingchen killed all the remaining men he could. Those who couldn't be killed had their tendons severed and were transported back to the garrison. The garrison was in a bad state. Oghuz had taken two-thirds of the troops with him to fight the Turks. Now, less than a thousand men remained to guard it.

In order to prevent the Turks from launching a surprise attack and rescuing Selik, the garrison seems loose, but in fact people cannot leave it for a moment.

Let's put those aside for now and talk about the Zhou family. When Yu heard that Zhou Jingchen had taken a bottle of pear blossom cream from Ye Jia, she couldn't help but grin. She knew her son best; he was incredibly hard-hearted. He'd been so coy before, saying he couldn't talk about a romantic relationship until his family feud was avenged, and now he was secretly applying pear blossom cream to his face.

Ye Jia didn't know why Yu was so keen on seeing her son make a fool of himself, but he had to admit, it was quite funny when he thought about it.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

Zhou Jingchen had no idea that his family had been laughing about this for days; they just laughed whenever they thought about it. If he'd known, he'd probably have let her do what she wanted, even if she'd been upset for a while. After all, the ointment was the right one. After just half a month, the chilblains on his face were completely healed. Not even a single mark remained. Ye Jia would occasionally come to bring him food, and she'd always marvel at his face.

"...I didn't expect this cream to be so effective." Ye Jia didn't have any major blemishes on her body, and apart from feeling moisturized after applying it, she didn't see any noticeable effects. Instead, Zhou Jingchen had made her see a business opportunity this time.

After coming back, Ye Jia started to think about it.

This ointment was made by the old doctor in the town's pharmacy. Because he wasn't well-known, it was a bit expensive. People with chilblains on their faces and hands had to work. The price of the ointment was so high that either those who needed it couldn't afford it, or those who could afford it didn't. Every time the old doctor made ten or so bottles, Yu would buy them all.

After buying it, Yu used it for herself and for Ye Jia. She often urged her to apply it on her face and body. Later, seeing that Ye Wumei's hands and feet were red from the cold, Ye Jia gave a bottle to each of her fifth and fourth sisters. In other words, only the women living in the Zhou family knew that this thing could be used on the face.

Ye Jia wondered if he could buy this prescription and come up with a good gimmick to sell it at the same price as a skin care product?

These days, wealthy families always need skincare, and if the hype is good, the price can double. With this in mind, Ye Jia looked at the weather with a sense of anxiety. The herbal medicine shop shouldn't be closed, right? I'll go check it out one day when the weather is nice.

This winter is getting colder day by day.

As the twelfth lunar month progressed, the cold grew steadily colder, practically freezing water. Ye Jia doubted she'd even left the house. But she still had to deliver the Cheng family's fragrant soap. The Cheng family's caravan was set to depart on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of next year, and they'd agreed to produce at least three thousand pieces of fragrant soap. They'd been working on and off, and by the middle of the twelfth lunar month, they'd finally finished producing three thousand pieces.

Taking advantage of the day when it wasn't snowing, Ye Jia prepared to deliver the goods to the Cheng family. Meanwhile, the Cheng family had already received a batch of scented soap. Merchants in Luntai had already prepared it and, despite the heavy snow, had gone to the trouble of delivering it.

Manager Zhang looked at them one by one. Except that they were not as good as the one Ye Jia sent last time, their cleaning effects were similar.

Although the Cheng family asked Ye Jia to send 3,000 yuan, that didn't mean they would only accept Ye Jia's scented soap. They had so many shops, shipping to the five kingdoms of the Western Regions, so a little from each wouldn't be too much. Since the Cheng family wanted to exchange goods, they naturally had to get scented soap from many sources. Only those who had used it could tell whether it was good or not, and it wouldn't take a day or two to tell the difference; it would take at least ten to half a month.

This was the first time the Cheng family had sourced goods from the northwest, so they naturally chose from all sources and let the local customers choose for themselves. They would choose whichever company sold the best goods.

Ye Jia still didn't know what the Cheng family was planning, and it was thanks to her preparation that she was prepared. Otherwise, she would have been eliminated before even getting on the stage.