The three of them insisted on going for afternoon tea, and even brought along Yue Qinchun and several others. Feng Jiu’er had wanted to leave early, but there was no getting away.

The group of women went off together for afternoon tea, while Feng Jiu’er, Qiao Mu, Xiao Yingtao, and Jian Yi headed to Hou Mountain.

It had been over ten days since they’d last been there, and the base of that cliff had, one could say, undergone earth-shaking changes.

Before they even drew near, everyone could already hear the steady “thud, thud” sound of wood being struck.

To make the mining operation run smoothly, even the path leading in had been cleared, making it much easier to get in now.

“How are the log cabins coming along?” Feng Jiu’er glanced at Xiao Yingtao beside her.

Her husband was the type who knew everything — if you wanted to know something, you just asked her.

“Xing Zizhou said it’ll be finished today,” Xiao Yingtao replied.

“Once the storage cabin is done, and the other cabins are built, we’ll produce the gunpowder here, just as you intended.”

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded, glancing around at her surroundings with satisfaction.

“This place is far enough from residential areas that even if an accident happens, it won’t endanger anyone else.”

“When it comes to our own people, we absolutely must be careful in everything we do.”

“The ones staying to make the medicine are the guards Yang Sheng brought over, same as the situation over at Tianya Peak.”

Xiao Yingtao, spotting the log cabin not far ahead, quickened her pace.

“We’ll keep the poisoned guards working in Yongshan City for now, and once our antidote is ready, we can bring it to them.”

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded and quickened her pace too.

She hoped everything would go smoothly.

Leaving the forest, everything looked completely different at a glance.

What had once been an uneven patch of ground, dotted with trees and grass, had all been flattened out.

The whole area was now level and open, looking much more spacious.

A large log cabin was still under construction, with a number of brothers up on the roof, busy at work.

Once the roof was sealed, the building would truly be finished.

“Miss Jiu’er.”

“Miss Jiu’er.”

“Miss Jiu’er.”

People stood everywhere — on the roof, beside the cabin, in front and behind it.

Off to one side stood two large tents, their flaps open, with brothers going in and out working.

When everyone heard that Feng Jiu’er had arrived, they grew visibly excited.

“Miss Jiu’er.”

“Miss Jiu’er.”

The brothers came rushing out one after another, or poked their heads out to greet Feng Jiu’er.

Word had spread that the first batch of the antidote would be ready soon, and these men, who had suffered under the poison for so long, finally saw hope.

Each of them was tanned dark from the sun, yet full of spirit.

“Everyone’s worked hard, I’ve had someone bring pastries and sweet soup for you all, it’ll be here soon.” Feng Jiu’er waved to the brothers.

“These past days, thank you all for your hard work!”

“It’s no trouble!”

“No trouble at all!”

“Following Miss Jiu’er, none of it feels like hard work!” the brothers responded, smiling.

Ever since they’d left Lei Shenbao, even not knowing when they might die, their smiles had genuinely become more frequent.

“It’s all simple work, nothing hard about it.”

“That’s right, it’s only by following Miss Jiu’er that we’ve learned what happiness even means.”

“Miss Jiu’er is our great benefactor. There’s not much we can do, so all we can do is work hard and repay her.”

The brothers chattered on eagerly among themselves, all the while never letting up on the work in their hands.

Feng Jiu’er waved to them, nodded, then followed Zhao Yusheng toward the nearby tent.

“Jiu’er, all the sulfur we’ve gathered these past days is in here.” Zhao Yusheng said.

“The cave went in fairly deep, but nothing more turned up. After you gave the order, we stopped digging further.”

“Never thought that just from the scent of rouge, Jiu’er would be able to lead everyone to this much sulfur.”

“The quantity doesn’t match Tianya Peak, but it’s already more than half of what they have there.”

As Feng Jiu’er approached, she also glanced at the cave that had been dug not far off.

Stopping the digging had been her order.

“For now, enough is enough. A person shouldn’t be too greedy.”

Feng Jiu’er had ordered that the sulfur at Hou Mountain not be spoken of widely.

Now even the one outsider, Shen Rong’er, had become one of their own, and the path leading in had been sealed off, so word hadn’t spread far for the time being.

Feng Jiu’er wasn’t worried about the people of Yongshan City finding out — what worried her deeply was the information leaking beyond the city.

Yongshan City wasn’t large, and it now had both Tianya Peak and Hou Mountain. Who knew what schemes someone with ill intent might set their sights on for Yongshan City, once they learned of it?

Even if, once exposed, those people wouldn’t dare openly storm these two mountains, they would still turn their attention to the other mountains around Yongshan City.

After this recent battle, Yongshan City wasn’t in ruins, but the impact had still been significant.

Feng Jiu’er hoped Yongshan City could enjoy a bit more peace, so it could gradually develop and grow.

But paper can’t wrap fire forever — that was simply the truth. She only hoped that before the fire spread too far, she’d have gained enough strength to protect the people here.

This was, after all, her first time as a city lord within the Feng Clan, and her resolve to protect her people ran deep.

“Jiu’er’s right, a person shouldn’t be too greedy!” Xiao Yingtao glanced at Zhao Yusheng and said.

Zhao Yusheng smiled faintly, standing by the door curtain, and waved a hand.

Feng Jiu’er and Xiao Yingtao walked in, Qiao Mu followed, Jian Yi went in too, and Zhao Yusheng came in last.

“The smell’s a bit strong — take a look and come back out, it’s not good for your health,” Zhao Yusheng said, trailing behind them.

“Looks quite pure,” Xiao Yingtao said, opening a cloth sack and glancing inside.

She turned back and waved a hand. “Jiu’er, come take a look too.”

“It’s purer than what’s at Tianya Peak.”

Zhao Yusheng’s expression carried a touch of pride, along with some delight.

“Mm.” Xiao Yingtao nodded, without looking at him.

“Jiu’er, take a look — Xing Zizhou told me too, that the sulfur here is purer.”

“He also said that once refined, it might yield even more usable product than at Tianya Peak.”

Feng Jiu’er put on a pair of gloves, pulled out a piece from the sack, and examined it closely.

“Not bad!” She nodded, put it back into the sack, and pulled out another piece.

Qiao Mu was inspecting as well, having put on her own gloves.

Jian Yi stood off to the side, saying nothing.

Before long, the group left the tent and walked into the other one.

They spent a similarly short amount of time there before leaving again, appearing before the brothers.

Several brothers had been waiting outside the tent, each looking at the group as they emerged, faces full of pleasure.

For Jian Yi’s sake, Feng Jiu’er hadn’t come by in quite a few days, and the brothers had all missed her.

“Miss Jiu’er, how is it? Not bad, right?” one of the brothers asked.

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded.

One of the brothers carried over a bucket of water and set it down in front of Feng Jiu’er.

“Miss Jiu’er, Miss Qiao, Miss Xiao Yingtao, wash your hands — sulfur isn’t good for the skin.”

“Thank you,” Feng Jiu’er nodded, walked over, and bent down to put her hands into the bucket.

“You all be careful too — you really shouldn’t spend too much time around the sulfur.”