Fan Zehao, upon hearing the matter, immediately shrank back. He picked up his rice bowl and buried his head in eating, not daring to look at her.
A guilty conscience, indeed he had gone out and done something bad!
With a *snap*, Zhao Jiaqi slammed the dinner table. The dishes rattled, soup splashed all over the table, and she angrily questioned him, "Say, where did you go! Visiting courtesans? Found a few concubines, when are you bringing them home to me!"
Fan Zehao was dumbfounded, rice in his mouth, almost choking to death.
He quickly appeased his enraged wife: "My lady, I am pure and chaste for you, devoted to you, with no second thoughts. How could I possibly find those... I wouldn't dare. Those women are not as good-looking as you. Besides, my purse is cleaner than my face, and I don't have any extra money to visit brothels!"
Zhao Jiaqi's eyebrows shot up: "So you mean you dislike me for not giving you money and delaying your visit to the brothel, huh? You should have said so earlier, I'll get it for you right away, and you can get out of this house immediately!"
"Pure and chaste for her," what kind of beastly words were these?
No, when did this guy learn these idioms?
"Devoted, no second thoughts?"
It seemed that this past month, he had learned quite a bit from those unsavory people outside.
Just as she stood up, preparing to get money, Fan Zehao hugged her from behind: "Wife, I really didn't mean it that way, you misunderstood me."
Zhao Jiaqi didn't speak, turning her face to the side, too lazy to even glance at him.
Seeing this, Fan Zehao directly picked her up and threw her onto the big bed in the room. No matter how she clawed and bit, he just held her.
Facing her, he explained word for word: "During the day, I've been at Tianxiang Tower with Brother Sheng."
"He taught me to recognize characters, and also some ways to use weapons. I've learned quite a few characters recently, and I can smoothly read a small storybook. And besides the arrows I use for hunting, there are also sleeve arrows. They are the fastest and most satisfying for killing enemies when they are caught off guard!"
Zhao Jiaqi listened, her heart filled with trepidation. Learning to recognize characters was a good thing, but why was he suddenly learning cold weapons?
"What are you learning this for? Is it useful for hunting?"
She didn't understand any of this.
She, a high-achieving graduate from the Agricultural University, only researched the growth habits and functions of animals and plants. As for cold weapons, she had only encountered a cleaver.
At least a cleaver could kill people and chickens, so it could be considered a type of cold weapon!
She was no assassin or special forces soldier, and she had only read about battlefield matters in textbooks at school!
Fan Zehao sighed inwardly. His wife was too smart. He had just said something, and she immediately asked if it was useful for hunting.
He answered honestly, shaking his head, but then told her a secret.
"It's not useful for hunting, but it's useful for fighting wars. The border situation is tense. It's snowing there now, and the war hasn't started yet, but after spring, there will be movement. And I heard that every household will have to contribute strong men to prepare for wartime needs!"
This meant that if the front-line soldiers died in large numbers, the ones behind would fill in!
She wanted to cry. Hearing that every household would contribute strong men, her husband was clearly preparing for it!
"You're going to the front lines? That's a place of nine deaths out of ten. If you're lucky, and have a quick mind and a bit of skill in martial arts, you might come back alive. If you go, I..."
Tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes, like pearls falling from a broken string, pouring out.
This made Fan Zehao's heart ache. He immediately hugged her and gently patted her back: "I didn't dare to tell you because I was afraid you would worry too much. But don't worry, if I really have to go to the battlefield, I will cherish my life. I still have to live with you when I return!"
Who couldn't say nice words? But at that time, it wouldn't be up to you!
In Fan Zehao's arms, she raised her head, met his gentle eyes, and asked tearfully, "Do you have to go? Can't you spend more money to bribe the yamen runners?"
Fan Zehao smiled and flicked her little nose: "It's not yet confirmed whether there will be a war. And even if it breaks out, we'll have to see how the situation unfolds. What if our soldiers are mighty, then we won't need our reserve soldiers."
"Learning this now is just like a clumsy bird learning to fly early. You don't need to worry!"
A good phrase, "a clumsy bird learning to fly early," but this bird was flying too early!
The couple chatted for a long time, and Fan Zehao comforted her for a long time before Zhao Jiaqi gradually stopped crying. Perhaps she was tired from crying, and she fell asleep directly in his arms.
The next day when she woke up, she acted as if nothing had happened.
The only difference was that she started learning characters too, aiming to master these complex characters within a month so that she could write a simple Sun Tzu's Art of War and Thirty-Six Stratagems for the New Year.
She would write down whatever she remembered, anything useful for the battlefield, she would write it down.
Braised meat was very popular in winter. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhao Jiaqi quickly launched some new products.
Beef was hard to buy, but Murong Sheng had his ways, and it wasn't difficult to get some offal and beef.
As soon as December arrived, pickling sauerkraut began. Fan Guangping bought dozens of large vats, cleaned them, and according to Zhao Jiaqi's instructions, layered cabbage with salt.
When the layer of salt was sprinkled, it made him heartbroken, but in order to make money, he stamped his foot, gritted his teeth, and went for it.
Meanwhile, Fan He, a seasoned farmer, was diligently tending to the vegetable greenhouses for his son, coming home early and leaving late. Fortunately, the vegetables planted had all sprouted.
The temperature in the warm greenhouse was very comfortable, warmer than home. Because of this, Fan He and Zhang Cuihua directly moved into the greenhouse.
This greatly angered Fan Zhang. He made several attempts but failed, which also drew Fan He's attention.
That evening, Fan Zehao released the wolves from his home and let one of them lie outside the greenhouse. If anyone approached with ill intentions, the wolves would not show mercy and would go straight for a bite.
Fan Zhang, whose condition had just begun to improve, learned that they had released the 'dogs,' and now he had even less opportunity to cause trouble. He fell ill again, deteriorating day by day.
As December drew to a close, Zhu Rou Rong delivered meat, all by horse-drawn carriage, and also sent some pig bones: "There's not much meat on these bones, but they're good for making soup. You should nourish your auntie. I won't sell these pig bones anymore; they're all for you."
"That won't do, it should be the usual price. But you must save your bones for me, and give me as many as possible, I want them all!"
Thinking that she could also make sausages in winter, Zhao Jiaqi immediately opened her mouth: "Also save the pork shoulder and hind leg meat for me. Deliver it at this time every day, and I'll pay you each time, with no arrears."
This made Zhu Rou Rong so happy he didn't know where he was.
"Then you'll need quite a lot every day. I can slaughter a few more pigs daily. Meeting you is truly my good fortune. It's settled, I'll deliver them tomorrow!"
This year, her family had made quite a bit of money.
They upgraded from ox carts to horse-drawn carriages, built another house, and bought a shop in town. But not all of it was earned here; some was also earned in town.
"If possible, get me some pig's blood, cleaned thoroughly. I'll pay the going rate!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Rou Rong frowned deeply: "Oh my, Madam Fan, pig's blood is dirty stuff, very fishy, no one wants it. Why do you want to eat it!"
Zhao Jiaqi chuckled. Such a good thing, and they didn't eat it. What a waste!
"Wait until I make it, and you can taste it. You'll know it's a delicacy!"
Unable to dissuade her, Zhu Rou Rong had no choice but to leave by horse-drawn carriage, secretly thinking that no matter how delicious it was, he wouldn't eat it.