Marco fell asleep with the spoon still in his mouth.

  The jam made by Sister Elena was as sweet as honey. Why is it so sweet? Marco couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought. Even more magical, after holding just half a spoonful of jam in his mouth, his arms didn't feel sore anymore.

  In his dream, Marco owned an entire room full of jam. He gave a jar to every child in the village. Every child who received the jam had to call him "Great King."

  Roan didn’t dare fall asleep. With his younger brother sleeping with a spoon in his mouth, he was truly afraid it would block his windpipe. He had tried to pull the spoon out, but the sleeping Marco would actually start wailing.

  How could Marco not cry? In his dream, someone was trying to steal his jam.

  Roan got up again in the middle of the night. He lit the oil lamp and continued making jam, only to find that he still couldn't recreate the taste Elena made. He listened closely to his brother’s breathing—it was smooth. Finally, he felt relieved!

  Roan went out the back door.

  In the near-total darkness, he found the outhouse in the backyard vegetable patch and relieved himself comfortably. Elena’s house was still lit with a faint oil lamp. Usually, these two women sleep very early.

  What’s wrong with them tonight?

  Roan once thought about asking Elena exactly how the jam was made and if she could teach him again.

  But his pride wouldn't allow it.He felt like a thief, stealing Elena’s method to make money.

  It was shameless, wasn't it?

  Thinking this, Roan felt discouraged. He went back inside and sat there dejectedly, huffing for breath.

  In the darkness, Sofia wasn't asleep either. She kept her sightless eyes open, listening to her second brother’s mumbles in his sleep, and hearing her eldest brother’s sighs after failing to make the jam. Tears unknowingly seeped from her eyes.

  The doctor said crying was very bad for her eyes. Sofia immediately and firmly stopped her tears.

  Elena stayed up because she was helping Lucy pack chestnuts.

  Some chestnuts had dried after being in the sun for many days. They picked those out and packed them, planning to go to Beldora tomorrow to mail them to Lucy’s family so they could taste them too.

  As for Elena’s own family? Not a chance. She wouldn't even send back half a chestnut shell.

  By the time the packing was done, it was likely past nine o'clock. Elena needed to sleep; only by sleeping and waking early could her health improve. Before sleeping, she suddenly remembered something.

  Soon, on a certain day in the town of Beldora, she would encounter Elias. His family had secured a position for him at a farm camp with light labor, also under Beldora’s jurisdiction. But because he was bad at farm work and showed no military discipline during training, he would soon be demoted and sent here.

  If Elias appeared, Elena’s life would face many complications. Remembering her previous life—how Sienna had shamelessly wedged herself into their marriage after Elena married Elias, and how that pair of lovers couldn't even wait for Elena to draw her last breath before planning their own wedding—Elena’s heart began to surge with huge waves of emotion.

  But she quickly found a reason to calm herself.

  What if Elias appears? I’ve already successfully changed Lucy’s fate; I believe I can change the relationship between Elias and myself too. It would be best to let Elias and Sienna get together as early as possible.

  The next day’s work was still spreading fertilizer in the rice fields. Sienna could barely tolerate the nauseating smell of dry cow dung, but Juana was now even harsher towards her.

  "Sienna, you are responsible for this pile of cow dung."

  Sienna was furious. The wet cow dung was heavy, and more importantly, that stench—how was it any different from human waste! She felt she had truly misjudged Matthew; instead of helping remind his mother to be kind, he had made things worse?

  Sienna thought for a long time. She felt that no matter what, this should be blamed on Elena. It was because Elena moved to the "ghost house" and hid away every day that Sienna couldn't target her, which led to her being distracted by Matthew and offending Juana.

  Why should that bitch Elena live so peacefully while I am being targeted by Juana!

  Fuming, Sienna carried the cow dung and crashed around like a lioness, nearly splashing it onto a man.

  "Don't you have eyes?"

  The man wore a plain white shirt. His skin was clean and fair; he looked like an educated man. Sienna looked at him twice before recognizing him as Elias, the man who looked like he wanted to die at the post office entrance.

  She was the one who lost her temper first, but the man didn't dare talk back. Sienna decided to push her luck: "What are you doing here? You're blocking me!"

  "Uh... I..." Elias paused. "Excuse me, do you know Elena? I couldn't find her. Does she work here?"

  "Oh, you're looking for her?" Sienna dropped the cow dung on the ground and scrutinized the man who was only slightly taller than herself. "What do you want with her?"

  "I'm her first love... oh, no, her fiancé... Please, where is she?"

  "Don't know, you're asking the wrong person!" Sienna lowered her head and used the shovel to scoop the dung, ignoring Elias. People who offended her deserved this end: give them a bit of hope, let them expect it, and then reject them.

  As Elias walked away, he cursed under his breath: "Crazy woman!"

  At that moment, watching Elias’s back, Sienna finally realized the main point: "What? Elena’s first love? Fiancé? Fine, now he’s fallen into my hands."

  She felt a mixture of jealousy and rage. She thought about how, even though Elena joined the army, her family didn't forget to find her a clean-cut scholar as a fiancé. And what about her? How did her own adoptive mother treat her? Sienna was both envious and furious.

  It was normal that Elias couldn't find Elena. Elena and Lucy had finished their farm work early and went to find Agnes to learn how to make chestnut cakes. Elena felt she might have a talent for gourmet food; she learned the chestnut cakes everyone praised in just two days.

  "Learned it in two days, truly amazing," Agnes marveled at Elena’s quick mind.

  Elena didn't think much of the praise, but she was still grateful to the grandmother for teaching her.

  She thought to herself: Isn't it just mashing and adding sugar, mixing in some sticky rice, steaming it, mashing it again, then adding some eggs and honey, putting it into a wooden mold to shape it like a brick, and steaming it once more to set the shape? Truly, it’s not hard at all!

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Elena discovered that the chestnut cakes she made were even more delicious than the ones sold on the street. She was already imagining how special and tasty these cakes would be if she added some of her homemade red snake-berry jam! If fresh, ripe red snake-berries were stuck onto the chestnut cakes, it would simply be the most exquisite little pastry in the whole country.

  ...

  Antonio had transferred the most handsome gatekeeper, Dante, to be his guard, but this meant his team was now over-staffed. When he announced this decision in the office this morning, everyone except the driver, Tom, turned pale.

  Five days ago, Antonio was just a Brigade Commander. Except for his four personal guards, no one here had been personally promoted by him. When he became Deputy Division Commander, those four guards followed him. Consequently, the original guards in this office lost their prestigious jobs.

  But now, Antonio was going to personally "eliminate" one of his own guards. The rest of the team, the Colonel, Mimi, and others, began to feel their own positions were in danger.

  The one dismissed by Antonio was the short and stout one who had flirted with Mimi in the office yesterday—Rocco.Rocco would exchange jobs with Dante and become the gatekeeper. His salary would be cut by a quarter, and he’d have to work night shifts. In the office today, no one dared to joke anymore. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

  Strangely, Dante was late to report.

  At this moment, Dante was indeed preparing to head to the Division Commander’s office, but he was lingering in the locker room, agonizing in front of the mirror.

  "Where exactly am I handsome?"

  "Am I really that handsome?"

  "Why would this man, after drinking all night with the old guy, transfer me over? What does he want? To... possess me?"

  Despite these thoughts, when Dante arrived at the strictly disciplined office where everyone seemed busy, he still seriously stomped his feet and saluted Antonio, who was sitting in the private office.

  "General Antonio, I, Dante Valeriano, report for duty."

  Antonio stood up and returned a standard military salute. He wasn't arrogant like Bernardo. After closing the office door, Antonio began to "interrogate" Dante.

  "Do you know why I transferred you here?" "Report, sir, I don't know." As soon as Dante answered, Antonio immediately drew a red cross behind the first question on the paper in front of him.

  Dante’s face turned green! What did I say wrong?

  Antonio’s second question: "What do the people around you say about me?"

  "Report, sir, that you are a very handsome Division Commander."

  To his surprise, Antonio continued to draw a red cross behind the second question.

  Dante: "..."

  Antonio’s third question: "What is your relationship with Commander Bernardo?"

  This time, Dante didn't dare answer immediately.

  Why is he asking this? Did he get involved with the old guy last night? If I say I have a great relationship with the old guy, won't he be jealous?

  "Report, sir, I don't have that kind of relationship with him."

  The result was that Antonio continued to draw a red cross behind the third question.

  What should I do? Sweat began to bead on Dante’s forehead.He saw that there were a total of ten questions on the paper. If all ten were marked with crosses, what would his end be? It was a real headache; besides the rumors of him being gay, Dante found he knew nothing about his new boss.

  To Dante’s surprise, Antonio stopped asking. He waved his hand for him to leave: "Go out. Get your personal items from the Colonel. The Colonel will arrange your specific tasks."

  ...

  Elias’s social skills were not very good. He asked the old soldier guarding the warehouse in the air-raid shelter, then asked the female soldiers' dormitory, but no one knew where Elena was. Actually, it wasn't that they didn't know; it was because Sienna was always targeting Elena, and none of them wanted to offend Sienna.

  Offending Sienna means no snacks and no friends. This had become a private mantra among the people. Although it sounded a bit funny, Sienna was indeed a big star in the camp now.

  When Elias found Camp Commander Barda, Barda was in a foul mood. Last night, his sister-in-law Juana had come to complain to him. She wanted him to discipline his nephew, manage that "vixen" Sienna, and keep an eye on that "dead-looking" woman Elena... it was all a mess.

  Barda only had three daughters, so his nephew Matthew was like a son to him. He should discipline Matthew; the burden of continuing the family line fell on Matthew’s shoulders. But for his sister-in-law to ask him to target two female soldiers was a bit unreasonable.

  With his mind in a jumble, Barda saw a stranger looking for him and simply waved his hand to tell the man to go away.

  Elias was naturally timid and didn't dare provoke an officer of Barda's rank. He sat under a tree outside the camp fuming for most of the day.

  Elena had no idea Elias had come looking for her. After finishing her work in the afternoon, she went with Lucy to the town to mail the chestnuts. Elena was prepared to meet Elias on the street, but she never saw a sign of him until they returned to the small house at dinner time.

  At this time, Elias was walking from Solana towards Beldora. He had no money and nothing to eat.

  He had originally thought he could find Elena at Solana and borrow some money for food, but since he couldn't find her, he could only leave on an empty stomach.

  As he reached the edge of the fields, he happened to run into Sienna, who was being punished with extra work by Juana. Sienna was already exhausted. Seeing the man walking over was like seeing a savior.

  Her pride had finally crumbled. "Excuse me, can you help me carry this cow dung? My shoulder is about to break."

  Elias had no strength left either, but as soon as he saw Sienna, he thought of his own miserable state of being bullied in the camp. Moreover, she was a pathetic-looking girl who, if you looked closely, looked a bit like Elena.

  Elias nodded and helped Sienna carry the load of cow dung to the designated spot a hundred meters away before leaving Solana.

  He planned to bring some rice balls and come back to Solana to report for duty tomorrow; he only had three days to report.