Jiang Ning slept all the way until the afternoon. When Wu Yi saw that she was up, she quickly went to serve her food.
“I made chicken soup at noon. Drink it now while it’s still warm.”
At the mention of chicken, Jiang Ning suddenly remembered the unused space she had.
Wu Yi’s cooking was excellent—the chicken was stewed until tender and falling apart, the soup perfectly seasoned, with mushrooms added for extra umami. It was incredibly delicious.
“Where are Zhang Hu and Zhao Long?”
“Oh, they got up early. They’re sorting things out right now.”
“Earlier, Madam He came by again and brought a lot of food and daily necessities, saying they’re for your trip to the eastern province.”
Wu Yi sighed emotionally as she spoke. “Even those old hens were brought over by Madam He.”
Jiang Ning paused mid-sip. Only then did she realize she had been so busy dealing with revenge that she hadn’t visited the He family in a while.
She silently planned it—after fully stocking her space in the afternoon, she would go to the He family early tomorrow.
After eating two chicken drumsticks and two bowls of soup, Jiang Ning felt completely satisfied.
“I’m going out to buy some things. I’ll be back later,” she said.
Before Wu Yi could even ask where she was going, Jiang Ning had already left.
She was going to the black market—and she couldn’t take anyone with her. The things she needed to buy were too many, and she couldn’t explain their purpose.
After leaving home, Jiang Ning first went to the bank and withdrew 38,888 yuan from Zhou Yaozu’s passbook, then stored it in her space before heading to the black market.
Beijing had two well-known black markets, and Jiang Ning quickly found the largest one thanks to its obvious direction.
Goods in the black market were more expensive than in supply stores, but no ration tickets were needed—so she planned to buy everything in bulk.
The eastern frontier province was covered in snow year-round and lacked vegetables. So she decided to buy every type of vegetable seed available and scatter them across the fertile black soil—whatever survived, they would eat.
After all, Jiang Ning, a young lady from two lifetimes, had no idea how to farm.
She was allergic to seafood, so she skipped aquatic products entirely.
Piglets were a must.
She directly bought 30 live chickens, ducks, and geese each—and thought even 100 wouldn’t be too many. Male and female, all taken.
Lambs were adorable—minimum 30.
In the winter, nothing beat eating hot lamb hotpot.
Calves? Buy them all. Her space was big enough anyway.
Just like that, the black market livestock was almost entirely cleared out. Enough to last three to five years.
She also bought rice, flour, oil, seasonings, and large amounts of cotton. The northern province was extremely cold, so thick padded clothes were essential.
And she was planning to follow the army soon anyway.
Jiang Ning didn’t believe she would be “busy every night” with He Linzhou and still not get pregnant. Even if the chances were low, she had spiritual spring water—daily nourishment would improve everything.
Anything was possible.
Thinking of He Linzhou’s medical report, she suddenly remembered Wei Yuzhu’s nephew still in the military hospital.
That report of He Linzhou’s—Wei Yuzhu must have tampered with it.
Since she had already dealt with the vicious stepmother, there was no harm in sending that ungrateful nephew to accompany her.
Jiang Ning was never a saint. She was clear about love and hate—if someone harmed her, she would repay it.
After finishing her shopping spree, night had fallen.
Zhang Hu and Zhao Long were anxiously searching the streets for her. When they finally saw her walking back slowly, they hurried over.
“Miss, next time you go out, you must take us with you!”
“Got it. I’ll bring you next time,” Jiang Ning replied lazily.
They returned home before nightfall and rested peacefully.
The next morning, because she was going to the He family, Jiang Ning woke up early.
“Is there any alcohol at home?”
“Yes, there are still dozens of jars in the cellar.”
“Then bring out four jars. I’ll take them to Mother-in-law’s house.”
Jiang Ning remembered that the He family’s wedding gifts included many rare medicinal herbs.
The He parents were getting older, and He Linzhou was not at home, so she decided to make medicinal wine using spiritual spring water.
In her previous life, her family had been a leading liquor enterprise in China, specializing in medicinal wine. As a successor, she had learned traditional brewing methods since childhood. Combined with her spiritual spring water, the wine she made was perfect for gifting.
She selected two hundred-year-old ginseng roots and two lingzhi mushrooms, placing them into two jars and adding spiritual spring water.
Two jars were for the He family, and two were to be sent to the southern island for Grandpa Jiu.
After breakfast, Zhang Hu and Zhao Long escorted her to the He residence.
It was the weekend, and He Jun was at home.
“Dad, Mom, I’m back,” Jiang Ning greeted with a smile.
Madam He walked out of the kitchen in surprise. “Ningning, you’re here! Come sit!”
“You child, coming is enough—why bring such heavy wine? Linzhou should have carried it for you.”
Jiang Ning felt warmth rise in her heart.
“It was prepared by Grandpa Jiu. My bodyguards helped me carry it.”
Upon hearing this, Madam He’s eyes reddened.
“That’s good… your father and I were worried you’d be wronged going to the frontier. We wanted to keep you here, but we were also afraid it would affect your marriage.”
“With Zhang Hu and the others following you, we’re relieved.”
Tears almost fell from Jiang Ning’s eyes. “Thank you, Mom.”
“Silly child, we’re family.”
Just then, He Linzhe came downstairs, drawn by the smell of wine.
“I want a taste too!”
“Too young to drink!” Madam He scolded.
Jiang Ning smiled. “This wine is for Mom and Dad. It strengthens the body and prolongs life. Linzhe can have a little occasionally.”
He Linyue also wandered over, sniffing the aroma.
“I want some too…”