Transmigrating to the Ancient Times with Lu's Convenience

by Usui Takumii

not mine, melisa Garcia and ye yiluo, on ao3. Beware Bl.

24. 24

In Butcher Zhang's house.

Butcher Zhang glanced at Chen Chun'er who had just returned home, and asked, "How did it go?"

Chen Chun'er nodded and said, "It's settled. One tale of silver per month."

"That's great," Butcher Zhang looked at his son who was sitting by the table and smiled.

Their family had been doing butchering for generations, it was not a respectable occupation, but it provided a comfortable life for them. Butcher Zhang hoped that his son would be able to follow his footsteps and become a butcher. However, his son would feel dizzy and out of breath every time he tried to teach him how to butcher a pig.

In the past, Butcher Zhang had done something extreme to force his son to learn butchering, he once tied Zhang Rui to a tree and made him watch how he butchered a pig. To his surprise, Zhang Rui fainted after a few screams.

When Zhang Chun'er saw her son's miserable state, she had a fight with her husband. Butcher Zhang himself regretted it very much as well. In the end, they all agreed that Zhang Rui was not cut out for being a butcher, so they had been trying to find a suitable job for him.

Zhang Rui who had also heard the good news didn't say anything but his face turned red.

Chen Chun'er glanced at Zhang Rui and said, "Rui, I'll take you to Sino Commercial House tomorrow."

"Great, but Mother, is it free board?" Zhang Rui asked.

Chen Chun'er glanced at Zhang Rui and said helplessly, "Don't worry, I've already asked them, they will provide you with three meals per day."

"Rui, me and your mother dote on you, but you need to keep this in mind, you are in the commercial house to work, no one is going to dote on you in your work place, you need to work hard," Butcher Zhang said earnestly.

Zhang Rui nodded, "Don't worry, father, I know what to do!"

Butcher Zhang took a sip of wine with satisfaction. Then he hesitated for a moment before asking Zhang Chun'er, "Your nephew Jing is out of debt now, right?"

Chen Chun'er nodded and said, "It's all settled."

"It's good that it's settled, otherwise who knows what Grandma Chen and Grandpa Chen will do to force Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin give them more money!"

When Butcher Zhang was young, he had a hard time finding a girl willing to marry him. They all found him too ferocious dur to his occupation. Grandma Chen and Grandpa Chen married Chun'er to him when they heard he could offer 20 taels of silver as betrothal present. Actually, Butcher Zhang respected Grandma Chen and Grandpa Chen when he and Chen Chun'er got married, he always visited them because he thought that would make Chen Chun'er happy.

He would always carry a basket full of meat whenever he visited them, but never had Grandma Chen nor Grandpa Chen showed any appreciation. There was one time when he visited them he happened to overhear Grandpa Chen told a friend that he considered it bad luck to have dinner with Butcher Zhang at the same table.

In a towering rage, Butcher Zhang left their house and he hadn't visited them even once since that.

The last time he saw then was when they came to look for Chun'er for Chen Jing's debt. They had the nerve to ask for 10 taels of silver. Butcher Zhang and Chun'er only had a total of 10 taels of silver, and they were saving it for Zhang Rui and their daughter. Naturally, they were unwilling to give even one tale to Chen Jing. Butcher Zhang cudgeled his brains and came up with the idea of butchering a pig in front of them to scare them away.

…

The next day, Zhang Rui came over to the store together with Chen Chun'er. Zhang Rui was a good-looking boy with a bright smile.

Although Zhang Rui lived far away from this commercial house, he had heard of the Sino Commercial House.

Zhang Rui knew the whole town would go crazy every time this store launched new and novel products.

Even though the products were expensive, the owner of the commercial house was a smart businessman. All the products in the store couldn't be bought anywhere else, so although the products were pricy, the store was still always bustling with visitors.

Chen Chun'er and Zhang Rui arrived at the Sino Commercial House around noon even though they left home early in the morning.

"Lin! This is my son, Zhang Rui, please discipline him for me," Chen Chun'er said sincerely.

Lu Lin smiled and said, "Aunt, I will look after him."

Zhang Rui looked at Lu Lin curiously, "Lin Ge, I heard that there is a Big Boss in this store, but he has been away the whole time, is that true?"

Zhang Rui knew his Cousin Mi was working in this store, so he had been very curious about this store, but he lived too far, even his villagers didn't know much about the store.

Chen Chun'er didn't want to help Chen Jing when he borrowed usury, but she couldn't help worrying for that nephew, so she had secretly asked Zhang Rui to sneak into Big Stone Village for more updates. So Zhang Rui knew that the villagers had been selling embroidery products to Xiao Mi and Lu Lin, he also found out that Xiao Mi had given Chen Jing 30 taels of silver and a house.

Zhang Rui admired this Cousin Mi so much, and he didn't believe it when the villagers said that Chen Xiao Mi only got rich from embezzlement.

Chen Chun'er gave Zhang Rui a look and said, "Rui, why are you asking so many questions?"

Lu Lin smiled and said, "It's fine. Actually, the Big Boss is occupied somewhere else, so he doesn't come often. We just have to give him the account book and the profit from on a regular basis."

Zhang Rui nodded, he didn't understand what account book and the profit from were, he was just so impressed by Cousin Mi and Lu Lin.

Looking at Zhang Rui's expression, Lu Lin vaguely felt that Zhang Rui might have heard something in the village.

Lu Lin had heard about the rumors about him and Mi doing embezzlement. Lu An was fired because he took bribes from the workers. Lu Lin thought that someone must have spread the rumors in the hope that it would reach the Big Boss' ears so that he and Xiao Mi would be fired.

My Second Brother Is Amazing

To welcome Zhang Rui, Lu Lin asked Yun Niang to cook Braised Dongpo Pork for him.

Braised Dongpo Pork was an iconic traditional Chinese braised pork belly recipe of Hangzhou, created by Su Dong Po, a famous scholar in history. It was made with pork belly. Half fat, half lean meat and was stewed with yellow rice wine. The taste would leave everyone's mouth watering copiously for more.

Chen Chun'er doted on her son, she was secretly worried what if her son couldn't eat well in the store. Lu Lin felt that he needed to set Chun'er's mind at rest.

Zhang Rui's father was a butcher, so they were able to eat meat all the time, unlike other villagers who tended to only cook meat at festivals. However, the taste of Braised Dongpo Pork had won Zhang Rui's heart. Zhang Rui had never eaten such delicious dish before, so he ate three bowls of rice in one go.

Chen Xiao Mai was very curious about this cousin he met for the first time. He was amazed that Cousin Rui could eat three bowls of rice in one meal, he couldn't help but clap his hands for Cousin Rui.

"Cousin, you're awesome. Tell you a little secret, Lin Gege over there is a picky eater, he only eats lean meat, he won't touch any fat meat," Chen Xiao Mai glanced at Lu Lin and made a face.

Lu Lin curled his lips and thought to himself, 'The little brat Mai is calling me a picky eater, come on, I'd like to call myself a foodie, I only eat food that I love."

Seeing Chen Xiao Mai clapping his hands for him, Zhang Rui couldn't help but blush a little.

Zhang Rui scratched his head awkwardly. If someone else said this to him, he would most likely suspect that the other person was being sarcastic, but this was said by innocent Mai. Zhang Rui knew that Mai really meant that he wished he could eat as much, he didn't have any bad intentions when he said that.

Lu Lin served Zhang Rui a large piece of meat and smiled. "A good appetite is a blessing, I'm happy you are enjoying the food, Rui."

Zhang Rui said awkwardly, "Lin Ge, I never knew that you could cook meat like this, it's so delicious."

Lu Lin smiled and thought to himself, 'This is just Braised Dongpo Pork, I think people would go crazy if I play the documentary A Bite of China for them.'

"Eat, Rui. Don't worry, the food here is enough."

When Chen Chun'er was here, she specifically said that Zhang Rui had a big appetite, so Lu Lin felt he had to make sure that Zhang Rui could have a full belly.

Zhang Rui nodded his head, feeling so grateful. When Zhang Rui and his friends went to a neighboring town to do business, all of them talked about him behind his back that he ate too much.

Zhang Rui thought to himself, 'The people here are so nice, I really need to work hard. If every meal is as delicious as this one, I don't mind working for free.'

Although Zhang Rui had tried his best to restrain himself, he still didn't resist the temptation to mix the rice with the gravy. In the end, he meant to lick his bowl, but Lu Lin stopped him by saying they would have even better food for dinner.

Zhang Rui was so excited to hear that, he once again told himself that he would work hard and not let down his parents and cousins.

…

Kids all idolized bigger kids, so Chen Xiao Mai kept following his Cousin Rui around like a shadow, he had even shared his snacks with his Cousin Rui.

Zhang Rui adored this younger cousin, they got along so well.

"Cousin Rui, do you have a beloved?" Chen Xiao Mai sat by Zhang Rui who was chopping firewood.

Zhang Rui smiled awkwardly, "Not yet."

Zhang Rui scratched his head. He felt that there was no need for him to get married too early, but his parents seemed to be anxious for his marriage. Matchmakers in his village had introduced two girls to her before, but both girls took to their heels when they heard that his father was Butcher Zhang.

Chen Xiao Mai shook his legs and said proudly, "Cousin Rui, but do you know my Second Brother is already engaged?"

"Your second brother is amazing!" Zhang Rui played along.

Zhang Rui recalled his mother had mentioned that Chen Xiao Cai got engaged with a Bio. It seemed like there were rumors since Chen Xiao Cai and that Bio were always together, so their families decided to help them to get engaged to dispel the rumors.

Chen Xiao Mai nodded and said proudly, "Yeah! Second Brother is indeed very amazing, he can do math and he is proficient in abacus."

Zhang Rui was confused. "Your second brother, where did he go?" Zhang Rui had been here for many days, but he hadn't met Chen Xiao Cai.

"He went to a neighboring town to do business. Lin Ge said that Second Brother was doing great," Chen Xiao Mai said.

"Really? Has he made money?" Zhang Rui asked curiously.

Chen Xiao Mai said with a proud look on his face, "Of course! Lin Ge said that Second Brother had made a lot of money already. With a talent like his, the sky's the limit. Every time Second Brother came back, he would bring me some local specialties."

Zhang Rui's eyes sparkled as he heard that, he admired the Chen Brothers even more now. A few months ago, Zhang Rui and a few friends went to a neighboring town to do business, but some officials took their goods on the way. He didn't earn a single cent of money from that trip, as a matter of fact, he had suffered great loss.

Hearing Chen Xiao Mai's words, Zhang Rui felt a little more admiration for his cousin Chen Xiao Cai, who he had never met.

…

The sales of dolls in the store started to go downhill as the days got warmer.

When it was cold, cuddling a doll was a great enjoyment, but furry dolls started to get in the way as the weather slowly heated up.

Seeing that the dolls got less popular, Lu Lin wondered if he should launch something new now.

Chen Xiao Mi checked the account book and said, "Business is going slow recently."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "It is true."

Chen Xiao Mi sighed and said, "Business is really not easy to do! We always need to set trend, constantly launching new products and keeping people interested. People are always expecting novel products."

"There's no rush. We can deal with the grain in the cellar first."

In autumn, there was a bountiful harvest in the field and the food prices were relatively low. In spring, the new crop has not yet come in, the price of grain had increased.

Lu Lin dug a huge cellar near the residence. In autumn, he bulk bought a lot of grain and stored it in the cellar. Now he had been selling them slowly, earning about 10 taels of silver so far. Although 10 taels of silver was not much, it was important to 'not put all your eggs into one basket'. A lot of farmers would only have an income of 10 tales of silver a year.

Lu Lin found that it was a universal fact that the rich got richer.

…

Chen Xiao Cai also encountered the same problem in Willow Town.

Chen Xiao Cai tilted his head and said to Shen Chi, "Chi, have you noticed that the dolls aren't as popular now?"

Shen Chi nodded and said, "Yes. But that's doing business, we can't rely on one product, we need to have new things in different seasons."

Nothing was absolute risk-free in the world. There were good years and bad years in harvesting, let alone doing business.

There were copycat stores starting to sell counterfeit dolls, and they were selling them for cheaper. With that being said, most customers would still ignore those copycat stores and come to Sino Commercial Store directly. To be honest, it was the whole industry that was not doing great.

The fake store that had snatched their title and their rental was struggling real hard.

The shop owner might have some be anxious to achieve quick success and instant benefits, the dolls sold in his store were not as exquisite, the rough craftsmanship was really unappealing. There were many other copycat stores on the market, so that store didn't have any any advantage. It was said that the owner had been losing money and he was considering closing the business.

"Although business starts to go downhill, we still have at least 50 taels of silver turnover per day, that's not bad to be honest." When Chen Xiao Cai just took over the shop, he would shudder with fear when he held more than ten taels of silver in his hand. However, as days went by, Chen Xiao Cai was used to dealing with a lot of money, he was able to hold 100 taels of silver in hand with poise.

Shen Chi held a doll and said, "It's summer time soon. Sure enough, we should sell fans like last year."

Chen Xiao Cai shook his head. The fans in the store now were all from last year. Since they were old ones from last year, Chen Xiao Cai sold them at half the price like Lu Lin had said. However, there weren't many people who bought them even though they were fifty percent off. It turned out rich people cared about style more than anything.

Even though the business was a bit slow, the account balance was still positive.

Chen Xiao Cai puffed up his cheeks and said, "Lin Ge has told us before, doing business is like this, there's ups and downs, and we should remain calm and collected."

Shen Chi blinked and said, " Lin Ge is really a broad-minded man!"

Chen Xiao Cai nodded without saying anything."

Chen Xiao Cai thought to himself, 'Chi, as a matter of fact, I don't think Lin Ge is as broad-minded as you think he is, he is just filthy rich now, he has what it takes to be calm and collected no matter what life throws at him now. He has sold several lifesize dolls already, he can lead a comfortable life from those sales alone.'

…

Chen Xiao Mai sat in the shop in his fancy brocade clothes.

Lu Lin said that he needed Xiao Mai to watch the store for him to make Mai feel better, Mai was actually just being adorable and being a mascot.

Lu Lin had never expected Mai could be as capable as Cai considering Mai's condition, but he still hoped that Chen Xiao Mai could contribute a little and feel proud of himself.

The business was getting bigger and bigger. Lu Lin felt that it was not a good thing to keep Chen Xiao Mai out of everything.

Chen Xiao Mai would play in the store from time to time, he had learned quite a lot already, he had memorized the price of each item, he had also memorized where every item was. Chen Xiao Mai could not do the math when customers bought more than one item. But he could tell the customer where everything was and the individual price.

Chen Xiao Mai was an adorable looking kid. Whenever female guests came, they would always tease Chen Xiao Mai a bit.

"Are you going back to the village?" asked Chen Xiao Mi.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes." Chen Xiao Mai met Zhang Da Hu at the shop two days ago. Zhang Da Hu said that the wild berries on the mountain were all ripe now, they were even sweeter than last year. He asked if Mai wanted to go back to the mountain to play like they used to, he also asked Mai whether Lu Lin wanted to buy wild berries from the kids this year.

Lu Lin smiled when Mai asked him whether he still wanted the kids to collet berries for him this year.

Lu Lin recalled last year when he asked Cai and Chi to organize the kids in the village to collect berries, Zhang Da Hu collected the most out of all the kids in the village.

Mai kept asking Lu Lin whether he could go back to the village because he missed all the kids. Chen Xiao Mi teased Mai for that, "Mai, I remember you used to tell me that you have no interest in playing with the kids in the village, but look at you now, hurrying us to take you back to village."

"Children are always like this, they like to play with their friends once they become close. It has been a long time since I returned to the village, I'll take Mai back." Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "I know, I was just teasing him, I'm glad he has friends now."

"Alright," Lu Lin thought it might be a good idea to make jam again. He could always keep the jam in the convenience store to keep it fresh.

Chen Xiao Mi sighed and said, "It's a shame that our house is sold."

"Granny Shen gave me the key to her house. We can live at her house, don't worry." Lu Lin comforted Chen Xiao Mi, plus he was back in the village to do business with the villagers, he didn't think anyone would give him a hard time.

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "Okay. Granny Shen is so considerate."

Relaunching Collecting Wild Berries Business

Lu Lin took Chen Xiao Mai, Qin Ming, and Zhang Rui to the village together. As soon as Lu Lin arrived, several villagers greeted Lu Lin.

Although many people in the village had been gossiping that Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin had been embezzling the turnover in the store, they were still very polite when they met him in person. After all, in the eyes of the villagers, Lu Lin was a capable person. Many people in the village had to rely on Lu Lin to make money, so naturally, it was not good to offend him.

Lu Lin announced that he was here to buy wild berries.

He wanted to find a few kids to pick up wild berries for him like last year, provoking an uproar from the villagers.

Zhang Rui looked at Lu Lin and asked in confusion, "Lin Ge, why are we collecting so many wild berries? It won't be long before they all get rotten."

It was already quite hot. People would get the runs after having unfresh berries, and it would cost money to send for the doctors.

Lu Lin smiled and said, "Don't worry, Rui, I will sell them for money."

Zhang Rui said sullenly, "This thing isn't easy to sell!"

Lu Lin said with a meaningful smile, "You just do it and leave the rest to me."

Lu Lin asked Xiao Cai to call for quite a few kids in the village to do this last year, but many adults joined the kids in the end. Lu Lin borrowed several big baskets in the village this year in case adults decided to join the kids again.

As soon as Chen Xiao Mai returned to the village, he started to frisk in the fields with the bigger kids in the village.

Lu Lin asked Qin Ming to keep an eye on Chen Xiao Mai in case the kids went too crazy. Qin Ming grew up in the mountains, he just loved running around, so he took this task with alacrity.

…

Zhang Mei Zi looked at Zhang Da Hu and said, "Big Brother, you are amazing. Lu Lin really is back now!"

Zhang Da Hu said smugly, "Of course. Look at your brother, is there anything I cannot do?" Zhang Da Hu was too embarrassed to say that he didn't even see Lu Lin when he went to town. He only got to see Chen Xiao Mai, Lu Lin was too busy to see him. Fortunately, Chen Xiao Mai managed to convince Lu Lin to come back, otherwise Zhang Da Hu would be embarrassed this time.

The kids in the village earned some pocket money from working for Lu Lin last year. Especially Zhang Da Hu, his parents had even praised him.

However, they didn't have a chance to earn pocket money since Lu Lin and his family moved to town.

Zhang Da Hu was so worried that the wild berries in the mountains would end up rotting in the field, so were the other kids. They came to Zhang Da Hu's house and asked him whether he had talked to Lu Lin and whether Lu Lin would collet wild berries this year.

Lu Lin was now a "big shot" in town, he seldom came back to the village, so no one had the chance to ask him yet. Zhang Da Hu who was the group leader volunteered to go to town and talk to Lu Lin.

The other kids were impressed by their group leader's courage.

And now Lu Lin was really back Zhang Da Hu was held in higher esteem by the other kids.

"Big Brother, many adults are here this time," Zhang Mei Zi said.

Zhang Da Hu said sullenly, "Yeah! These adults are really annoying, this is supposed to be our job, how can we pick as many as them adults?"

…

Zhang Rui was surrounded by a few villagers when he distributed the baskets.

"Rui, I heard that you're working in Sino Commercial House too!"

"Yeah!" Zhang Rui was honest.

"Rui, how is it like working in Sino Commercial House. Are you tired?"

"No. Everyone is nice."

Zhang Rui was patient in the beginning, but the villagers started to ask personal and embarrassing questions.

"Rui, why haven't you become a butcher like your father, do you like working in the commercial house more?"

"Rui, what's your salary now?"

"Rui, is the commercial house still hiring?"

"Some people are just so lucky, their family can find them a job in the commercial house as the wish!"

…

When the villagers found out that Zhang Rui was Chen Chun'er's son, they started to feel jealous.

Working in Sino Commercial House was a dream for the villagers! Quite a few people in the village wanted to go to Sino Commercial House to work, but the Sino Commercial House had a strict system in hiring the villagers, they could only manage to sell embroidery products to them instead of establishing an employer-employee relationship.

In fact, because Lu Lin had many secrets, he tended to not hire people from Big Stone Village.

Seeing as the villagers 'questions were getting more and more persona, Zhang Rui pulled a long face. The villagers noticed that and they restrained themselves a little.

However, they escalated their discussion right after Zhang Rui left.

"Chen Jing's debt has really taken a toll on the Chen family, they cannot even support Chen Jing in his study."

"That over 100 tale of silver, how can they still support him?"

"Chen Jing has caused such a big disaster. I would feel grateful that my family hadn't disown me if I were him."

"I didn't expect that Chen Xiao Mi would treat his Aunt's son so well! I think he hated all the Chens."

"Chen Xiao Mi's father was on great terms with Chen Chun'er when he was alive!"

"Honestly, if the Chen family hadn't gone too far, Chen Xiao Mi wouldn't insist on signing Renouncement Letter with them."

…

Seeing Zhang Rui's sulked face, Lu Lin walked over and asked, "Why the long face? Did everything go well?"

Zhang Rui forced a smile and said, "Yeah, everything was smooth. People just bombarded me with questions."

Lu Lin glanced at Zhang Rui's expression and vaguely understood something, but he didn't say anything.

Chen Xiao Mi and the Chen family had just signed the Renouncement Letter, but he and Chen Xiao Mi had hired Chen Chun'er's son the next day. Of course the villagers would talk about it profusely.

…

Chen Xiao Mai and Qin Ming were walking towards them now, Lu Lin was amused by Chen Xiao Mai's jubilant smile.

"Mai, you're back so early," Lu Lin thought Chen Xiao Mai would play with his friends for a long while, he didn't expect them to come back so soon.

Chen Xiao Mai said smugly, "Qin Ming Gege has caught something good, so we brought it back for you to see, Lin Gege."

"What good thing?" Lu Lin asked with interest.

Chen Xiao Mai opened the mat covering the basket.

Lu Lin took a few steps back subconsciously on seeing the thing inside.

It was a one-meter-long snake. There are some strange patterns on the snake's body. The snake's head wasn't in triangle shape, but Lu Lin couldn't tell whether it was venomous or not.

Chen Xiao Mai did not notice that Lu Lin's expression was not right. He said proudly, "It was caught by Qin Ming Gege. He is amazing. We can take it back to town and cook some snake soup with it."

Qin Ming scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Mai, don't mention it, it's not hard to catch snakes."

Qin Ming had frightened many people in the village when he caught the snake with bare hands.

However, many bold children expressed their admiration for Qin Ming, Qin Ming was secretly enjoying the attention.

The corner of Lu Lin's mouth twitched. 'These two kids! Catching snakes is dangerous! Such a long snake, it must be dangerous! Qin Ming surely has a lot of guts for a boy of his age!'

Zhang Rui glanced at Lu Lin and found that Lu Lin's face was extremely pale as if he were frightened…

He Zhang Rui admired Lu Lin so much ever since he was hired, he was impressed by Lu Lin's capability to manage such a big store.

"Catching snakes is dangerous!" Lu Lin said coldly.

Qin Ming patted his chest and said, "Brother Lin, don't worry. I know how to tell whether a snake is venomous. I've caught many snakes."

Qin Ming was experienced, and he could only hit a snake with just one blow.

Lu Lin nodded his head in silence. He almost forgot that this person in front of him was not an ordinary child, he grew up in deep mountains like a wild beast. Even though people in this world were less sophisticated, they all had strong desires to survive!

Chen Xiao Mai grabbed the basket and handed it to Lu Lin, "Lin Ge, look at it. This snake is very fat!"

Lu Lin took two steps back and said, "I'm good, I'm good, I appreciate it, Mai, now take away the basket!"

Seeing Lu Lin retreating, Chen Xiao Mai took a few steps forward and handed the basket closer to Lu Lin.

Zhang Rui stopped Chen Xiao Mai and said, "Alright, alright, Mai. We all have seen the snake, it is indeed very fat. Good job, Mai."

Chen Xiao Mai said sullenly, "Okay, I'll put it aside now."

Lu Lin collected over a dozen baskets of berries within a short time, the villagers and the kids were still enthusiastic to pick up more, but Lu Lin had to call it a day.

Lu Lin was surprised to see how many adults joined the kids this time, he paid the adults less than the kids, but no one had complained.

This time he specially told the kids that they were only allowed to pick berries in the safe areas, only adults were allowed to go to deep mountains.

At the end of the day, everyone got about 20 cents, they were all grateful for this opportunity to earn some pocket money.

Lu Lin borrowed an ox-cart in the village and transported all the wild berries to town.

…

Chen Jing was stripped the opportunity of going to school now, Grandpa Chen had even asked him to do farm work. Chen Jing had never done any farm work in his life, so he had been slacking off.

Chen He and Chen Qu both hated Chen Jing's guts for borrowing usury and wrecking their marriages for them.

The two of them would report it to Grandpa Chen whenever they saw Chen Jing slacking off. Grandpa Chen was thoroughly disappointed at this grandson.

Grandpa Chen felt sorry for Chen He and Chen Qu about their marriages, so he would take their sides whenever they argued or fought with Chen Jing. Chen He suggested that whoever slacked off in the field should only have one meal as punishment, if you want to have three meals, you need to work hard and earn that.

Chen Jing rolled his eyes when he heard that ridiculous suggestion.

However, Grandpa Chen agreed with Chen He, he warned Chen Jing that he had to work hard now, otherwise they would only give him one meal per day.

Chen Jing originally thought that things would go back to normal after his debt was repaid, but little did he expect that his two cousins, Chen He and Chen Qu, who used to respect him were now treating him as enemies.

As soon as Lu Lin came back to the village, many people came to greet him. That had hurt Chen Jing.

Chen Jing looked down upon those villages, but deep down he wished they would respect him like that.

Chen Jing used to be ashamed of Lu Lin who was married into Chen Xiao Mi's family, but in the blink of an eye, Lu Lin was a big shot and he had fallen into such a state.

Regardless of what the villagers said behind Lu Lin's back, they would greet him politely on seeing him.

Chen Jing felt so depressed that a man who married a Bio enjoyed a higher status than himself.

Jam Business as Side Hustle Again

Grandma Chen had stolen a few glances at Lu Lin when he was in the village asking the kids to pick wild berries. Grandma Chen was furious when she saw Zhang Rui.

Grandma Chen couldn't help but recall how Zhang Rui's father Butcher Zhang had scared them away when they went to his house asking for money. They were reduced to laughingstocks due to that, so Grandma Chen hated Butcher Zhang, and she wasn't happy to see Zhang Rui.

Seeing Zhang Rui working for Lu Lin now, Grandma Chen felt like they had ganged up and gave her a hard time, she hated them all.

Grandma Chen sat on the bed and said sullenly, "Married off daughters are like spilled water! I didn't expect Chun'er to be so ruthless, she had ganged up with Xiao Mi and Lu Lin!"

Grandpa Chen was also a little depressed. Since Chen Jing made such a mess, Grandpa Chen hoped that his daughter could share the burden.

If Chen Chun'er was married to an ordinary person, she would definitely give them several taels of silver. However, Chen Chun'er was married to a butcher, and they managed to not give Chen Jing even one tael.

Lu Lin returned to town after he got the wild berries he wanted. The Chen family's grievance didn't affect Lu Lin at all.

As soon as Chen Xiao Mai returned home, he went to Chen Xiao Mi to show off the snake as a precious treasure.

"Big Brother, look, there's a snake in the basket."

"Yes, it's a big snake. It looks so fat!" Unlike Lu Lin, Chen Xiao Mi acted so excited.

Chen Xiao Mi used to catch snakes in the mountains as well.

whenever Chen Xiao Mi caught a snake, the three of them would make fire and eat roasted snake meat in the mountains. Therefore, in Chen Xiao Mai's eyes, snakes were no different from chickens and ducks. He wasn't afraid of snakes at all.

Chen Xiao Mai tilted his head and said, "I showed Lin Gege this, but he didn't even want to look. Qin Ming Gege said that Lin Gege is afraid of snakes. But I don't think so, Lin Gege is so powerful, is he really afraid of snakes?"

Chen Xiao Mi smiled. Lu Lin was indeed afraid of snakes. There was one time when he caught a snake when they were in the mountains together, Lu Lin only approached him after he confirm repeatedly that he had cut the head of the snake.

Chen Xiao Mi rubbed his nose and said, "Your Lin Gege is very powerful, but he just doesn't like snakes. If you catch a snake in the future, you don't have to show it to your Lin Gege, all right?"

Chen Xiao Mai tilted his head and said, "That's so funny, I thought Qin Ming Gege was kidding."

Chen Xiao Mi stroked Chen Xiao Mai's hair with affection, "Mai, don't laugh at your Lin Gege."

…

Lu Lin was busy with unloading all the wild berries from the ox-cart in the yard, having no idea that he was no longer a big and strong manly man in Chen Xiao Mai's little heart.

Chen Xiao Mi came out from his room and looked at the wild berries in the yard. He frowned and said, "Isn't this too much?"

Lu Lin nodded, "Yeah, I've accidently gone too far this time! So, we better deal with them quickly, we can put them in the convenience store for now, but let's start making jam soon. Speaking of jam, can you please buy more jars to store the jam?"

Chen Xiao Mi replied without thinking, "Consider it done."

Zhang Rui and Qin Ming sat in the yard washing the wild berries while Chen Xiao Cai was eating and occasionally washing…

Zhang Rui frowned and said, "Qin Ming, I need to be honest with you, berries are easier to get rotten after being washed!"

Qin Ming glanced at Zhang Rui and said, "Don't worry, brother Rui, Lin Ge can sell everything."

Qin Ming now came to a point where he worshipped Lu Lin blindly. Ever since Lu Lin sold a doll for 30 taels of silver, or maybe long before that, Qin Ming had become a fan of Lu Lin's. In a fan's eye, everything Lu Lin did was correct.

Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi got into the kitchen and chased everyone out.

Lu Lin had made a batch of jam last year, he used the sugar in the convenience store back then. Now the sugar in the store was finished up, so Lu Lin had to buy more sugar from the market, the cost thus was increased greatly.

Chen Xiao Mi looked at the piled-up wild berries and said, "Wow, you did go a bit crazy, didn't you? This is a large amount."

Lu Lin nodded, "Haha, a lot of kids and villagers joined us! All righty, shall we get started?"

"Yes, we shall," Chen Xiao Mi said.

Chen Xiao Mi licked his lips. It had been a long time since Lu Lin made jam last time. He missed the sweet and fruity flavor.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Okay."

Lu Lin poured a large number of wild berries into the pot while Chen Xiao Mi helped to watch the fire.

After the jam cooled down, Lu Lin took them to the commercial house directly.

Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi decided to a promotion, customers could get a jar of jam for free if they spent over 3 taels of silver at the store. Many customers who had tried Lu Lin's jam at Manager Wang's Good Luck restaurant last year all came to the commercial house support their business.

Three taels of silver was not too pricy for the products in the commercial house, the sales had increased sharply thanks to the jam as freebie.

Yang Heng Zhi bought eight jars with a grin. "Brother Lu, you've finally started selling jams again."

Old Madam Yang, Yang Heng Zhi's grandmother, was a big fan of jam.

Lu Lin sighed, "I have no other option now, my business isn't doing great, I would go broke soon if I didn't start launching something new for the store!"

Yang Heng Zhi showed a meaningful smile and said, "Brother Lu, are you serious? Everyone in Forest Town knows your business has been booming since day 1."

Lu Lin smiled and said, "I feel so flattered."

…

Three days later, Lu Lin went to Willow Town with the delivery team. Lu Lin was afraid that the jam would go bad on the way, he had secretly put them in the convenience store and put a few empty jars on the ox-cart to deceive others.

Chen Xiao Cai was very excited when he saw Lu Lin.

" Lin Ge, let me guess, you've brought jam, haven't you?" asked Chen Xiao Cai.

Lu Lin glanced at Chen Xiao Cai and asked suspiciously, "How do you know about the jam?"

"Because there was a customer asked me whether I have the same promotion as the store in Forest Town, customers who spends over 3 taels in the store will get a jar of jam for free. " Chen Xiao Cai said.

Lu Lin raised an eyebrow and thought to himself, 'I didn't expect this news to spread so quickly.'

"I brought you a batch, but the shelf life of the jam is limited. If you can't sell them out within the time limit, just throw them away," Lu Lin reminded Chen Xiao Cai.

Chen Xiao Cai nodded and said, "Don't worry, Lin Ge, I know what to do."

Chen Xiao Cai thought to himself 'Throwing them away? If I can't sell them, of course I will eat them with Chi, why would I throw them away!?'

…

Lu Cheng Yu failed the Spring Imperial Examination again. After a making ruckus at home, he went to school again.

Lu Cheng Yu had been studying for so many years, and his family was really counting on him to become a Xiucai. Therefore, the family wouldn't give up on Lu Cheng Yu now that they had sacrificed so much already.

However, the Lu family was no longer as wealthy as before. Although Grandma Lu doted on Lu Cheng Yu, the pocket money she gave him had decreased greatly.

Lu Cheng Yu didn't get to social as much without pocket money. Lu Cheng Yu became much gloomier than before.

"Brother Lu, I haven't seen Brother Chen for so long, you are from the same village, right? Do you know how he's doing?" A classmate Liu Feng asked.

Chen Jing used to hand out with a few bad friends at school, Liu Feng was one of them. Chen Jing didn't come back to school, leaving his old friends feeling so sorry.

Lu Cheng Yu said lightly, "Something has happened to his family and I don't think he is coming back to school anymore."

Liu Feng sighed and said, "Is it because he borrowed usury?"

Chen Jing had also asked Liu Feng whether he could borrow some silver from him. Liu Feng and Chen Jing were just friends in debauchery. Of course he had turned Chen Jing down when he wanted to borrow money.

Lu Cheng Yu nodded, "Correct."

Lu Cheng Yu originally thought that Chen Jing was annoying, but he found himself having mixed feelings when he heard that Chen Jing had quit school. He started to panic when there was no such a person who could boost his ego.

Liu Feng sighed and said, "I didn't expect Chen Jing to give up like this. Brother Cheng Yu, I heard that your cousin is Lu Lin, and he is married to Chen Jing's cousin, is that so?"

Hearing Liu Feng mentioning Lu Lin, Lu Cheng Yu couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable. Lu Cheng Yu was very upset that everyone now was so interested in Lu Lin, all the villagers back home all wished they would work for Lu Lin.

"There is an old Tongsheng in my village who has been attending Imperial Examinations for a lifetime and has yet to pass. He has opened a home school in our village to teach kids how to read. He charged a high tuition fee, so there aren't many kids who go to his school. I heard that last winter, he was hired by Sino Commercial House."

Lu Cheng Yu was confused, "Are you sure? The Sino Commercial House?"

Liu Feng played with the folding fan in his hand and said, "It seems that he was hired to teach a few kids there. There's a kid called Chen Xiao Cai and a Bio kid. That's such a joke, teaching a Bio! Ridiculous!"

Lu Cheng Yu said suspiciously, "A younger Bio Kid, is that Bio kid a bit slow?"

Liu Feng shook his head and said, "I heard that there is a special Bio kid, but he would listen to the class occasionally. This Bio kid who is there with Chen Xiao Cai is called Shen something, I also heard that they are engaged."

Lu Cheng Yu suddenly thought of Shen Chi. Many people in the village said that Shen Chi and Chen Xiao Cai had an affair. They thought Shen Chi's reputation was going to be ruined for dure, but in the end, they were really engaged. It was said that many girls in the village envied Shen Chi's luck.

If it were a few years ago, Lu Cheng Yu would never have thought that Chen Xiao Cai, an orphan, could be as popular as a hotcake.

Liu Feng shook his head. "I just don't get it, why would they pay tuition fee for a Bio kid? But the old Tongsheng said Lu Lin paid him great money, so he didn't care. Cheng Yu, is your cousin Lu Lin very rich? He actually has money to pay tuition fee for a Bio kid!"

Lu Cheng Yu said sullenly, "I'm not sure either. I just heard that he is work for the owner of Sino Commercial House. But the thing if the owner of the shop has been on a business trip and he hasn't come back even once!"

Lu Cheng Yu thought to himself, 'Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi must have embezzled money in the store. Otherwise, how could they afford to hire a private tutor for Chen Xiao Cai and a Bio kid.

Lu Cheng Yu had always felt privileged that he was the only kid in the family who went to school. Seeing Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi getting education as well, he couldn't help feeling depressed.

Liu Feng said bitterly, "This Sino Commercial House should have earned a lot of money. The boss behind the scenes is just… I'm speechless, how can he entrust his business to two strangers!"

Lu Cheng Yu thought to himself, 'Rumor about Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi embezzling money from the commercial store has given rise to much discussion in the village, how come the big boss still trusts them so much!'

It was said that Chen Xiao Mi raised 3 goats in the yard for his son, how could anyone allow an employee to do that in his property!

…

Shen Chi who was sitting opposite Chen Xiao Cai asked with concern, "Can we eat jam like this? This thing is very expensive."

Chen Xiao Cai nodded with a grin and said, "Yes, we can. Before Lin Ge left, he told me to only sell fresh jam to the customers. Of course we can eat some when they are about to go bad."

Shen Chi said with a frown, "Actually, if we lower the price, we can sell them all."

Chen Xiao Cai shook his head and said, "There's no way we are going to do that. Lin Ge always said that we should never lower our products' price. What's more, we don't have much jam left in the first place. Don't worry about a thing, we can eat this jar of jam!"

Shen Chi scooped a mouthful of jam and put it into his mouth. He said happily, "It's so yummy."

Chen Xiao Cai took a bite and thought to himself, 'It's yummy, but it seems a bit too sweet.'

Chen Xiao Cai was so shocked because Lu Lin, a picky eater in his opinion, had said exactly the same thing before.

Yuan Bao Turing One

Things became quite uneventful after the Spring Imperial Examinations, days went by peacefully.

Yuan Bao grew up quicky, he could sit up this summer. Lu Lin laid bamboo sheets on the floor of the room. In this way, Yuan Bao could crawl around without getting dirty. Bamboo sheets could lower the temperature of the room as well.

Yuan Bao was able to grasp things in hand as well, he was extremely fond of grasping things and then throwing them far away.

Chen Xiao Mai adored his nephew Yuan Bao. Every time after Yuan Bao threw stuff out, Mai would help him pick up and return the stuff to him. The two of them enjoyed this extremely, they could play it for hours. Yuan Bao had actually reached a stage where he should be shy with strangers, but this baby liked everyone, he would not make a scene or cry even though it was a stranger who was holding him.

Of course, there was a difference. He would just laugh and giggle if it was his family who was holding him, if it was a stranger, he would become reserved and he would just close his eyes and sleep.

Even though everyone in the family said that the Yuan Bao was such a good baby, Lu Lin was a little worried that the Yuan Bao would be abducted and sold off because he didn't cry or scream when a stranger held him.

'It's going to be hard to find him if a stranger stole him away from us, he just doesn't cry or make any loud noises.' Lu Lin would frown whenever he thought about that possibility. But on a second thought, he would breathe a sigh of relief, even though Yuan Bao always behaved like a little angel, he would cry his eyes out if he were hungry.

Lu Lin was very satisfied with his life in this time and space. From time to time, he would launch some novel products to attract new customers and keep regular customers interested.

…

Babies grew very quickly. In the blink of an eye, Yuan Bao was one year old.

Yuan Bao was so chubby and adorable, his skin was as delicate as fine china. No one could take his eyes off of Yuan Bao.

Although Yuan Bao seems to be a little chubby, but he moved very fast.

At Yuan Bao's birthday banquet, Lu Lin prepared 'one-year-old catch' for him. (T/N: 'One-year-old catch', zhuazhou in pinyin, is a Chinese tradition. On a baby's first birthday, parents will lay out a lot of items on the floor for the child to pick from. It's said that whatever they pick is an indicator of the child's future career.)

Lu Lin laid a bamboo mat in the room. There were pen, ink, paper, ink, abacus, coins and ingot on the bamboo mat.

After everything was set, Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi put Yuan Bao in front of the mat.

Yuan Bao seemed a little confused by the situation, he looked around and yawned.

Chen Xiao Mai glanced at Lu Lin and said, "Lin Gege, Yuan Bao is not interested in these things! He likes nothing in front of him, is that possible?"

Lu Lin glanced at Chen Xiao Mai and said, "How is it possible, Yuan Bao just needs some time to make up his mind."

'As the saying goes, a true hero can startle the world with a single cry. Just wait for it, everyone, Yuan Bao will pick something soon.' Thought Lu Lin.

Chen Xiao Mai said disapprovingly, "I don't think he likes anything on the mat."

Chen Xiao Mai took a pancake from his pocket and put it on the bamboo seat. Lu Lin's lips twitched when he saw what Chen Xiao Mai put on the mat. 'What does a baby know? Of course he is going to pick food! But whatever a baby picks on this 'catch' is an indicator of his future career! What's Yuan Bao going to become if he picks the pancake? A foodie?'

Lu Lin looked at Yuan Bao, his heart thumping. Yuan Bao sucked his fingers and looked left and right, it looked like he was not tempted by the pancake.

Lu Lin looked at Yuan Bao and thought, 'Good job, boy! You are something else, a baby who is not drooling over food!'

Chen Xiao Mi who had been watching nervously finally could not hold his breath anymore. He started to call Yuan Bao and gestured for him to catch something from the mat.

Yuan Bao finally started to crawl thanks to Chen Xiao Mi's passionate calling.

Yuan Bao moved his chubby legs and grabbed a bunch of coins.

Catching coins was not a top choice. It would be regarded as profits-before-everything.

Lu Lin didn't mind that at all though! First of all, this was just a superstition, secondly, this meant his son was down-to-earth.

However, Yuan Bao threw the coins away after he grabbed them.

Lu Lin blinked and thought to himself, 'He has actually thrown them out? Money is like dirt to him, haha, good boy!'

After the Yuan Bao threw the coins away, he grabbed an ingot of silver. Seeing this, Lu Lin felt a little gratified and thought to himself, 'He thinks he is too good for those petty coins?' It looked like he was destined to make big money in his life.

Yuan Bao waved his hand and threw the silver out.

Qin Lang, who was watching from the side, couldn't help saying, " Yuan Bao is going to be a big shot one day! The way he treats money is amazing! He just threw away such a big ingot of silver! Does he know how many buns this ingot can buy?"

Yuan Bao then threw away the writing brushes, ink sticks, paper and inkstones, he couldn't help giggling while he threw them away, he seemed to be amused by this whole thing!

Seeing that Yuan Bao was holding a book and smashing it onto the ground, Lu Lin suddenly felt that his son was probably not scholar material.

After the Yuan Bao threw everything out, he grabbed the abacus and fondled it admiringly.

Lu Lin looked at Yuan Bao who was holding the abacus and thought to himself, 'Yuan Bao has picked the abacus. It indicates that he will become a big businessman in the future just like me and Xiao Mi!'

…

In the blink of an eye, two years had passed.

On the fourth year of Lu Lin's arrival, Lu Cheng Yu finally passed the exam and became a Xiucai.

When Tang heard that Lu Cheng Yu had passed the exam, she suddenly felt like the sky had grown bright and everything seemed to work out all right. The entire Lu family seemed to be able to hold their heads up high now.

Tang said excitedly, "Everything works out just fine!"

Xiucai were exempted from military service and corvee, their fields enjoyed tax exemption, and they could just greet the county magistrate instead of kowtowing. They got 2 taels of silver as subsidy from the government per year, and more importantly, it was a great way to enjoy vanity.

"Son, it all paid off, all sorts of ordeal you have gone through is worth it!" Tang said excitedly.

Lu Cheng Yu had failed so many times. There were many rumors in the village and Tang was under pressure as well.

Lu Cheng Yu also breathed a sigh of relief at this moment. He knew it the best how much effort he had put into his study. With the title of Xiucai, it wouldn't be a problem for him to have a home school and make a living in the future, but having a home school was not his goal, he aspired to become an official.

The next step was to pass the imperial examinations at the provincial level. Only when he passed that exam could he become a government official and tread Lu Lin underfoot.

Business in Sino Commercial House had been stable for the past few years. Quite a number of villagers would sell the mountain specialties and game to Lu Lin. Lu Lin would pay them a good price because they were from the same village. Lu Lin's reputation in the village was getting better and better.

At one point, the villagers had discussed whether Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi had embezzled money of the store, but the 'big boss' had never suspended them or fired them, soon the villagers stopped that gossip.

In the past few years, Lu Cheng Yu had to bear the pressure of his studies, and on the other hand, he had to bear all kinds of praises from the villagers for Lu Lin. Lu Cheng Yu was green with envy at Lu Lin.

…

Chen Xiao Mi looked at Lu Lin and said, "Lu Cheng Yu has passed the exam on the county level! He is a Xiucai now!"

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Lu Cheng Yu studies hard, but he can't become an official when he is just a Xiucai."

Xiucai indeed had some privileges, but it was just a good reputation. Of course, if Lu Cheng Yu was willing to teach kids in the village, he could lead a comfortable life. If he wanted to become an official, he still had a long way to go.

Knowing Lu Cheng Yu, Lu Lin was sure that he would meet difficulties head-on.

Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Lu Lin and said, "A lot of students spend their lifetime on the exams, but the majority of them will die a Tongsheng. Lu Cheng Yu is already very lucky, he is now a Xiucai, I don't think he can easily pass the exam on the provincial level and become an official."

Lu Lin raised an eyebrow. This official's prestige was very high. If there was an official in a village, it could even affect the fate of the entire village.

The imperial examination at the county level took place annually, but it was every three years at the provincial level. Apart from that, the cost of going to the provincial capital was not low! Many Xiucai failed to collect the travelling expenses or got sick on the long journey.

Lu Lin pouted and thought to himself, 'In the past few years, we have saved a lot of money. It's already more than 4000 taels. Maybe it's almost time for us to buy an official title."

Business in Sino Commercial House was good, but Lu Lin didn't just rely on Sino Commercial House to make money, he had side hustles.

In the past two years, Lu Lin had earned a lot of money by brewing wine. In addition to beer, there were also some high wine in Lu Lin's convenience store. Lu Lin had been blending those wine and selling them to the restaurants.

"Lu Cheng Yu now can walk with his head held high," Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiao Mi nodded and said, "I agree."

When they first moved to town, Chen Xiao Mi often went back to the village to collect vegetables. However, after Granny Shen rented out her field, Chen Xiao Mi had been buying veggies from the villagers. Therefore, he had heard so much about Lu Cheng Yu from the villagers recently. Lu Cheng Yu did well in the exam, the entire Big Stone Village felt honored with him. It was a very prestigious thing to have a Xiucai in the village, and it was even helpful for the villagers' betrothals.

…

The Lu family had specially organized a banquet to celebrate. Tang had invited all the respected villagers to attend the banquet.

Li Fang Yue and Lu Cheng Yu had been on a tight rope in the past two years. Li Fang Yue thought that Lu Cheng Yu would treat her better now that he had passed the exam, but things went contrary to her wishes, there were more tensions between them now.

In the past few years, Lu Cheng Yu had been a laughingstock in the village. The villagers all said that it was useless for Lu Cheng Yu to marry Li Fang Yue, an official's sister-in-law. But now some villagers who were jealous said that Lu Cheng Yu had only passed the exam because Li Fang Yue's brother-in-law had pulled some stings.

The second year Lu Cheng Yu married Li Fang Yue, he was completely disappointed with Li Fang Yue.

Lu Cheng Yu did not even bother to ask Li Fang Yue to visit her sister and brother-in-law this year. Therefore, Lu Cheng Yu felt so wronged that some people thought he had pulled strings when he did it fair and square. It had nothing to do with Li Fang Yue. It was a big mistake to marry Li Fang Yue.

Tang made a pot chicken soup for Lu Cheng Yu and said complacently, "Son, you really make me proud this time."

The Lu family had spent quite a lot on the banquet, but most of the villagers had given them gifts and red packet money. In this way, the Lus managed to make some profit. Tang felt that she was finally starting to see hope.

"Cheng Yu, what's your plan next?"

Lu Cheng Yu said with a determined gaze, "Since I've passed the exam on the county lever, I will work on the provincial exam." If he could pass that exam, even the Secretary-General would look up to me!

Lu Cheng Yu harbored hatred against both Li Fang Yue and the Secretary-General. He was obsessed in rising head and shoulders above others and treading those who looked down on him underfoot.

Tang said regretfully, "I've invited Lu Lin to your banquet, but he didn't come, he just stays in town the whole time."

The reason why Tang invited Lu Lin was because she wanted to show off to Lu Lin.

In the past few years, the villagers praised Lu Lin for his ability and generosity. Tang got so jealous.

With great difficulty, Lu Cheng Yu passed the exam. Tang was dying to use this opportunity to tell Lu Lin that her son was destined for great achievements, but to her disappointment, Lu Lin spurned her invitation.

Lu Cheng Yu said sullenly, "Lu Lin has been working in Sino Commercial House for a really long time."

Tang nodded and said, "Yeah!"

Chen Xiao Mi took out 30 taels of silver to renounce the Chen family years ago. Tang wished to get 30 tales from them as well.

The owner of the store had never shown up during the past few years. Lu Lin had been managing the store with great ease, Tang had always suspected that Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi had been embezzling money in the store.

Tang reckoned that Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin could make more than forty taels per year. On top of the embezzlement, their savings now were immeasurable.

Whenever she thought about how Lu Lin made a fortune with Chen Xiao Mi, but their family didn't get any benefits, Tang's heart would ache!

Tang looked at Lu Cheng Yu and said, "Cheng Yu! You're not young anymore. When are you going to have another child?!"

Since Lu Cheng Yu had passed the exam already, Tang couldn't help thinking about other things that had been bothering her, she wanted a grandson.

Lu Cheng Yu and Li Fang Yue had been married for a few years and they only had a little girl.

Tang knew that her son had not been on good terms with Li Fang Yue for the past few years, they had been sleeping in separate rooms, considering she didn't like Li Fang Yue, so she just let that go. However, the older she got, the more she wanted to have a grandson, and gradually she became anxious.

Lu Cheng Yu said sullenly, "Let's talk about it later."

Recently, Lu Cheng Yu became more impatient with Li Fang Yue. He and his classmates had visited a brothel, he couldn't help but give loose rein to his fancy when he was entertained by the harlots.

Xiao Cai is Unimpressed

In Sino Commercial House.

Chen Xiao Cai walked down from the mule-carriage. Two years ago, Lu Lin bought another mule-carriage for Chen Xiao Cai so he could travel between Willow Town and Forest Town.

"Big Brother," Chen Xiao Cai went to see Chen Xiao Mi first after he returned to Sino Commercial House.

Chen Xiao Mi glanced at Chen Xiao Cai and said, "You're back, Cai! Look at you how come I feel you are taller than the last time I saw you."

Chen Xiao Cai was fourteen years old. In this era, he could be considered an adult.

Chen Xiao Cai smiled shyly and said, "Big Brother, you are flattering me."

Lu Lin walked in and Chen Xiao Cai greeted Lu Lin.

Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiao Cai and felt that Chen Xiao Cai had an air of successful businessman.

Back then, Lu Lin had no one else that he trusted except Cai, so he sent Cai to Willow Town regardless of his age to be the shopkeeper there. In the past few years, Chen Xiao Cai seemed to have in become more and more in his element. Chen Xiao Cai seemed to have developed his social circle in Willow Town, he was now friends with some big shots in Willow Town.

"How's Granny Shen," Lu Lin asked.

Granny Shen worked at the store in Forest Town for a long time. But Lu Lin sent her to Willow Town to reunite with Shen Chi considering the workers in the store had mastered the skills thanks to Granny Shen's training.

With Granny Shen in Willow Town, she could cook and take care of the boys. Lu Lin didn't have to worry whether they had been looking after themselves. Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi tended to be too busy to eat sometimes.

"Granny Shen is very well, she is getting old, but she is hale and hearty."

" Lin Ge, I heard that Lu Cheng Yu is a Xiucai now, is sthat true," Chen Xiao Cai asked.

Lu Lin nodded, "Yeah! It has been many years since he first attended the exam, the Lu family has spent a lot on him, it's high time that he should pass the exam and cheer up the family."

"Actually, Xiucai doesn't mean anything."

When Chen Xiao Cai was back in the village, he was green and inexperienced, he had the highest respect for a Xiucai. However, he had been working in town in recent years and had seen many big shots. He was no longer the innocent village boy, and he was unimpressed by the title of Xiucai.

Xiucais were not that rare in towns where educational standards were higher.

Over the years, Chen Xiao Cai had seen many poor Xiucais.

Lu Lin glanced at Chen Xiao Cai and thought to himself, 'Cai really is something else. In Lu Lin's opinion, a Xiucai is equivalent to a graduate from a prestigious university, that's not easy to achieve. In modern society, graduates of those unis have a great advantage when looking for a job. But look at Cai now, he seems so unimpressed.'

However, graduating from a prestigious university didn't necessarily guarantee anyone a bright future.

…

In Chen family.

Chen Jing was badly upset by the news that Lu Cheng Yu had now passed the exam.

Ever since Chen Jing borrowed usury a few years ago, he was forced to quit school. In the past few years, he worked hard in the field and now he looked haggard.

When he heard that Lu Cheng Yu was a Xiucai now, Chen Jing couldn't help but think that he might also be able to pass the exam and become a Xiucai if he wasn't forced to quit school.

Thinking of this, Chen Jing felt deeply grieved, he wished he could have an opportunity.

Grandma Chen was also unconvinced. Grandma Chen was anxious to outdo others, so she didn't get along with Grandma Lu. When Chen Jing had that scandal back then, Grandma Lu often laughed at Chen Jing. And Grandma Chen paid it back when Lu Cheng Yu didn't pass the exam later.

Grandma Chen kept sighing and groaning at home after she heard that Lu Cheng Yu had passed the exam. She couldn't help but wonder if they should have had supported Chen Jing all along. If Chen Jing had passed the exam, she was going to the one who enjoyed all the flattering from the villagers. Grandma Chen had always thought that her grandson was more capable than Lu Cheng Yu.

Grandma Chen recalled the situation at home and felt more discouraged. The trouble that Chen Jing had brought for their family was too big. Although it had been a few years, the Chen family still hadn't fully recovered.

"I heard that Zhang Rui is engaged!" Chen Chun'er was married far away and the two families didn't interact much. The old lady didn't pay much attention to this grandson until she found out that Zhang Rui was working for Lu Lin.

Grandma Chen was very curious about how much money Chen Xiao Mi and Chen Xiao Cai could make. People who often went to town always mentioned it to Grandma Chen that the Chen Brothers all looked like rich young masters in big families.

Grandma Chen couldn't reach Chen Xiao Mi, so she went to ask Zhang Rui. Although Zhang Rui was not too shrewd, he knew quite a bit about the grudge between Chen Xiao Mi and the Chen family. He knew it very well that he shouldn't be talking about Chen Xiao Mi's private matters with anyone, especially with Grandma Chen, so he just shook his head and said he had no idea when Grandma Chen asked him. In fact, Zhang Rui was not lying, all he knew was Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin were the actual managers of the store.

"Mother, no one seems to know many details, right?" Chen Shou Xin said.

Grandma Chen pouted and said, "I think Zhang Rui knows it very well, he just chose to take their said and keep it from me! So unfilial!"

Grandma Chen didn't get any information from Zhang Rui, so she regarded Zhang Rui as an enemy just like Chen Xiao Mi.

…

In Lu family.

"Alright, alright, I can finally hold my head high when I walk in the village," Grandma Lu sighed with emotion.

Grandma Lu had been feeling very aggrieved for the past few years. She deliberately took a long walk around the village after Lu Cheng Yu passed the exam.

Many people in the village went up to praise Grandma Lu and made Grandma Lu smug.

"Mom! I told you that Cheng Yu will make us proud," Tang said.

Grandma Lu nodded and said, "I have every faith in our Cheng Yu, unlike that Lu Lin who is working for a businessman, Our Cheng Yu has a lot of potential, he is destined to become an official."

Tang smiled smugly and said, "Mother, you got that right."

As Tang said this, she was still envious of Lu Lin's wealth. She couldn't help but that that mountain peoples Qin Yi who just bought a property in town! Qin Yi used to be penniless, but he now bought a huge property after he worked for Lu Lin for a couple of years. Qin Yi's two sons who were working for Lu Lin were both doing great as well.

'They must have made a lot of money!' thought Tang.

Zhang Rui, Chen Xiao Mi's cousin, was just an ordinary village boy. His father was a butcher, no one was willing to betrothed with him before he worked for Lu Lin. It was said that Zhang Rui could make more than a dozen of silver per year now, and he was about to get married soon.

Lu Lin's employees all seemed to be doing great, Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi themselves were doing even better.

Tang was very satisfied with what Lu Cheng Yu had achieved in the exam. But the title of Xiucai wouldn't bring them any tangible benefits, they would get some tax exemption, but what Tang wanted was some immediate benefits.

…

In Butcher Zhang's house.

Seeing Zhang Rui coming back home, his little sister Zhang Qin grinned.

"Big Brother, you're back!"

Chen Chun'er was also very happy when she saw Zhang Rui, "Rui, you're back! How many days can you stay home for this time?"

"Lin Ge has given me ten days off, he said congratulations to me. I don't have to rush back," Zhang Rui scratched his head and said with a reserved smile.

Chen Chun'er couldn't help but say, " Lin is too considerate."

Chen Chun'er secretly let out a sigh of relief. She didn't want her son to lose his job, nor did she want to slight the in-laws by rushing the wedding ceremony. Her son was turning eighteen this year, and he seemed to enjoy his work a lot. But she also wanted to have a proper wedding ceremony for her son and daughter-in-law, she had met her soon-to-be daughter-in-law and she was satisfied to the utmost degree.

Zhang Rui had worked in the Sino Commercial House for a long time. At first, he got paid 1 tale of silver per month, then 1.5 tales since a year ago. In addition to his wages, Zhang Rui would get some bonus money from time to time.

Zhang Rui nodded, "He is the best."

His job was so coveted by all the villagers. In Zhang Rui's opinion, he did enjoy his work, but what he enjoyed even more was the food!

"How's work?" asked Chen Chun'er.

Zhang Rui nodded, "Very good. Business in the commercial house is always good."

Zhang Rui scratched his head and thought to himself, 'The products sold in the commercial house are so expensive though. Although I have some savings now, there are not many things in the store I can afford easily. However, I'm an employee and I enjoy some discount. Shall I buy a pair of matching dolls for my wedding?'

Lu Lin had launched matching dolls for happy events like weddings and anniversaries at one point, and it was a hit.

Chen Chun'er looked at Zhang Rui and said happily, "Work hard and don't let us down, son."

Chen Chun'er couldn't help but look at her son with a big smile on her face. Her baby boy was getting married soon, then she recalled how the villagers used to laugh at her son for blood phobia.

Some villagers even held Zhang Rui up to ridicule, saying that he was not a real man. Some villagers went so far as to say that this was bad karma for his father being a butcher…

In Willow Town.

Chen Xiao Cai hurried to the gate to meet Shen Chi and Granny Shen, "You're back, how did everything go?"

Shen Chi and Granny Shen went back to the village to pay respects to Shen Chi's father at his tomb two days ago.

Shen Chi nodded and said, "Yes, it went well, we offered sacrifices to father and cleaned his tomb."

When Shen Chi returned to the village, many people followed Shen Chi around and asked him about his recent situation. There were also many people who told Shen Chi that Lu Cheng Yu was now a Xiucai.

Someone told Shen Chi that Lu Cheng Yu was aspiring to become an official one day. Lu Lin should come round and patch things up with Lu Cheng Yu, because chances were Lu Cheng Yu was able to help Lu Lin out in the future. After all, blood was thicker than water, they were cousins and they should bury the hatchet.

Shen Chi told Chen Xiao Cai what he heard in the village.

Chen Xiao Cai's face darkened and he said, "That's such a lousy idea! To bury the hatchet with the Lu Family?"

In Chen Xiao Cai's opinion, Lu Cheng Yu was a hypocrite who didn't blink an eye when Grandma Lu sold Lu Lin for money, who stood by with folded arms when his mother married his younger sister to a widower for money, who married a girl in town in the hope of taking shortcuts!

Shen Chi shook his head, "Everyone in the village looks at Lu Cheng Yu with admiration now."

"He has just passed the exam on the county level, not the provincial level!"

Two years ago, Lu Lin hired a private tutor teach Xiao Cai and Shen Chi to read and write. The two had read a lot of books now, they didn't revere Lu Cheng Yu like the villagers who were completely illiterate.

Eggs Are a Dime a Dozen in Our Kitchen

Lu Lin was looking after the store at the when Tang turned up uninvited And Yuan Bao was riding on a rocking horse.

Lu Lin had introduced children's toys in the store in the past few years. Rocking horses was one of them. Rocking horses are fun and educational toys that help children to improve their mobility and encourage exercise.

Lu Lin had launched quite a few toys during the past few years. More often than not, the people here didn't know how to play with the toys when they just came out. Yuan Bao had naturally become an ambassador, he would just sit in the store and 'demonstrate' it to the customers.

Yuan Bao made a perfect spokesman, lots of kids would pester their parents to buy the toys after seeing how much fun Yuan Bao was having.

In modern society where mobile phones and tablets ruled, kids wouldn't get crazy over a rocking horse. However, in this time and space where entertainment was a scarcity, a rocking horse would win a kid's heart hands down. Rich families were more than willing to buy a rocking horse for the kids in the family.

Chen Xiao Mai was more thrilled about all the toys than Yuan Bao.

Mai was very interested in all kinds of toys, especially baby toys. Mai loved Yuan Bao's toys. Lu Lin made various experimental products and piled them in Yuan Bao's room.

Although Mai loved those toys, he would never scratch toys from Yuan Bao, he would only have a go at them when Yuan Bao was asleep.

Tang glanced at Yuan Bao who was wearing a pretty outfit in green. There were several pockets sewn on the coat and each pocket was filled with snacks.

There was a pair of silver bracelets on Yuan Bao's chubby arms and a silver pendant hanging around his neck.

Tang looked at adorable Yuan Bao and the outfit Yuan Bao was wearing, she felt sour in her heart. Compared to Yuan Bao, her granddaughter was thin and small, 'one is high up in the sky while the other is down to earth' was what was in Tang's mind. To make matters worse, her granddaughter was actually older than Yuan Bao.

'Why do they spoil a Bio baby to such a degree, that's ridiculous!'

"Oh wow, to what do I owe this honor, Auntie," Lu Lin put on a dry smile.

Tang said complacently, "Lu Lin, there are so many rare things in your store! That horse is called rocking horse, huh? I heard it's not cheap, right?"

Lu Lin smiled and said, "It's all right."

Rocking horses were sold for two tales of silver each, which was a bit expensive. The production process was complicated, it wouldn't be profitable if they sold it for cheaper.

"Your cousin has passed the exam this year."

"I heard about it. Cousin Cheng Yu is indeed capable."

Tang smiled and said, "Your cousin has a promising future, that's for sure, Lin! Don't call me nosy, Lin, although you make a lot of money, at the end of the day, you are working for someone else! Only study can bring glory to your family. Your cousin is a Xiucai now, he can greet the county officials instead of kneeling.

"Auntie is right," Lu Lin said coldly.

Tang handed the basket in her hand to Lu Lin and said, "Lin, you're still a member of the Lu family although you are married into the Chen Family. Blood is thicker than water. This is for you. We made these red-painted eggs to celebrate your cousin's success, have some, let's share the happiness."

Lu Lin glanced at the eight red eggs in the basket and raised an eyebrow. Eggs were rare to ordinary people. Many people who had hens at home would save the eggs and trade them for salt.

When the host Lu Lin was alive, he could seldom eat eggs because Grandma Lu would save all the eggs for Lu Cheng Yu. The host Lu Lin once was caught eating an egg, he got a tongue-lashing from Grandma Lu. Luckily his father showed up and saved him when Grandma Lu was about to beat him.

Although Lu Lin could afford to eat eggs whenever he felt like now, he guessed that Tang must have spent some savings on the eggs.

When Lu Lin had just transmigrated, the Chen Brothers were poor. Eggs were luxurious for them. However, at that time, Lu Lin had two baskets of eggs in his convenience store back then and never had he seen eggs as a luxury.

"Auntie, that is s nice of you. No need to stand on ceremony with me, why not take them back and save them for Cousin Cheng Yu?" Lu Lin said casually.

Lu Lin did not want to owe Tang a favor for just a few eggs.

"Hey, it's just a few eggs. Auntie brought them for you."

Lu Lin's lips curled, "I don't dare to take things belong to my cousin. When I was younger, I ate an egg and Grandma Lu almost beat me to death. There are 8 eggs in the basket, I dread to think what Grandma Lu is going to do to me if she finds this out." Lu Lin couldn't forget it was Tang who caught him and reported it to Grandma Lu.

Tang smiled awkwardly and said, "It has been so long, why are you still holding a grudge?"

Lu Lin said lightly, "This is how I see it, I committed suicide once, so I told myself to remember everything clearly."

Tang's face darkened as she heard the undertone from what Lu Lin just said.

Chen Xiao Mi who walked into the store from the backyard glanced at Tang and said with indifference, "Auntie? A rare guest indeed! Auntie, to what do we owe this honor?"

Tang smiled and said, "I'm here to share some red-painted eggs with you guys. Lu Lin stands on ceremony with me, he doesn't accept them."

"What's so special about these eggs? They are a dime a dozen in our kitchen, we really don't have cravings for them. Auntie, you'd better take them back," Chen Xiao Mi said.

Tang turned red with anger on hearing Chen Xiao Mi's contemptuous remarks. Tang felt that she was already showing favor to them by bringing 8 eggs, but neither Chen Xiao Mi nor Lu Lin showed any appreciation.

Tang left in a huff.

Seeing Tang's retiring figure, Chen Xiao Mi pouted and said, "Why was she here in the first place?"

Lu Lin smiled and said, "Probably she is here to ask for some silver. However, neither of us has shown any appreciation, so she left before she had a chance to bring it up."

…

When Tang returned home in a great rage, Lu Cheng Yu looked at Tang and asked, "Mother, who made you angry?"

Tang said angrily, "Who else could it be! It's that Lu Lin. This guy used to be so tame and docile, but he is a mean guy. I've really underestimated him before."

'Chen Xiao Mi is no better, he is really arrogant. He actually said that he was tired of eating eggs. I don't know what he wants to eat! What has he taken himself for, an empire?'

Lu Cheng Yu clenched his fists, feeling a little uncomfortable.

Never had Lu Cheng Yu expected that Lu Lin would thrive like this after they sold him to Chen Xiao Mi.

"Lu Lin must have made a lot of money. Their Bio kid was playing a rocking horse in the store when I visited them, he has a pair of bracelets and a silver pendant. Hmm, I say they are worth at least 2 taels of silver! Isn't it ridiculous that they spent so much money on a Bio kid?"

Lu Cheng Yu felt sour when he heard this and said in a depressed tone, "Lu Lin is too proud."

Lu Cheng Yu thought to himself 'The boss of Sino Commercial House is still nowhere to be seen! Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi are dominating the store with total authority, maybe I can investigate in this…'

…

As Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi were chitchatting in the store, Yang Heng Zhi walked in.

"Master Lu, your business is getting better and better! There are always so many customers very time I come."

Lu Lin smiled and said, "Young Master Yang, you are flattering me again. In fact, the business is just all right. Most people here are just browsing."

"When can I get the rocking chairs I ordered?" asked Yang Heng Zhi.

Lu Lin looked at Yang Heng Zhi helplessly and said, "That's a big order, we've already made two."

The rocking horses in Lu Lin's shop attracted children, he followed up a victory with hot pursuit and launched rocking chairs which had won the wealthy old masters' hearts.

Lu Lin only started to sell the rocking chairs when the stock reached 20. And they were the same price as rocking horses, 2 tales of silver each.

On the first day he launched the rocking chairs, a rich master bought them all in one go.

Seeing that the rocking chairs were sold out, the other masters had no choice but to buy from the guy for 5 tales each. That was an eye-opening experience for Lu Lin.

Yang Heng Zhi booked ten rocking chairs from Lu Lin days ago. He planned to save a few for his family members and send the rest to some friends as presents.

Yang Heng Zhi looked at Lu Lin and said with admiration, "Master. Lu, you really are a genius. You never cease to surprise us with your ideas and products."

In the past few years, the Sino Commercial House had launched a lot of things. Every time a new product came out, a new trend would be set and they would make a fortune.

Lu Lin smiled and said, "Young Master Yang, you are overpraising mee. I just want to make a living. At the end of the day, I'm just a merchant, a businessman. Unlike Master Yang, you are a scholar, you will be an official once you pass the provincial exam!"

Yang Heng Zhi smiled bitterly, "Passing the exam on the provincial level? That's easier said than done!"

…

Since Zhang Rui was not around, Lu Lin was a little busy.

Chen Xiao Mai sat on a rocking chair and looked at the Yuan Bao. "Yuan Bao, do you know Cousin Zhang Rui is getting married?"

Yuan Bao glanced at Chen Xiao Mai and said, "I know about getting married. Father said that getting married means you would have someone to share a bed with you. I don't want anyone to share my bed with me. My bed is too small."

Chen Xiao Mai blinked and said, "To share a bed with you?"

It was more than that, but Mai was not sure what it was.

"I didn't expect Cousin Rui to be married so early," Chen Xiao Mai thought to himself, 'When Cousin Rui first came to the store, he wasn't even engaged. But, Second Brother and Shen Ge were engaged. Now, Cousin Rui is getting married, ahead of Second Brother and Shen Gege!'

When Chen Xiao Mi walked into the yard, he heard Chen Xiao Mai and Yuan Bao discussing Zhang Rui was getting married and Xiao Cai was still not. Chen Xiao Mi frowned and walked back to the room to talk to Lu Lin.

"In the blink of an eye, Rui is getting married!" Chen Xiao Mi said to Lu Lin who was checking the account book.

Lu Lin nodded, "Yeah, time flies!"

"Let's pick a date for Cai and Shen Chi, shall we?" Chen Xiao Mi said.

Lu Lin was a bit surprised, "Isn't that a bit too soon?"

Lu Lin thought to himself 'Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi are still young, there's no hurry.'.

In Lu Lin's opinion, the two kids were too young when they got engaged. However, that was the only way to protects their reputation back then.

Chen Xiao Mi sighed and said, "They can consummate when they get older, we can just hold a wedding ceremony, Granny Shen is not getting any younger after all."

Lu Lin thought about it and agreed. Chen Xiao Mi had renounced the Chen family. Granny Shen was the only elder they both respected. Granny Shen was getting older and older, and they really needed to hold the wedding ceremony while Granny Shen was still hale and hearty. Otherwise, they would bitterly regret it forever.

Lu Lin estimated that Granny Shen hoped to see her grandson's wedding soon as well.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "It's a good idea to hold the wedding ceremony first. There are a lot of young masters in rich families who have child brides. Cai is much older than them. All right then, let's make it happen."

Chen Xiao Mi thought for a moment and said, "Sounds great. I'll find a fortuneteller to pick a date for us first."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Alright, let's pick an auspicious day for the kids. He and Chi are going to enter a new chapter in their life. There's no rush though, I don't want people say we are trying to steal Lu Cheng Yu's thunder."

Cai and Chi are Getting Married

Zhang Rui returned to commercial house after a few days.

Chen Xiao Mai and Yuan Bao followed him around curiously, "Cousin, you're married!"

Zhang Rui scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Yeah!"

"Uncle Rui, is your wife pretty?" asked Yuan Bao.

"Very."

Zhang Rui couldn't help but feel awkward when Mai and Yuan Bao bombarded him with questions.

Chen Xiao Mai looked at Zhang Rui and said, "Big Brother said that you will be an adult after getting married, but you don't look any different!" Do you feel anything different?! Do you think you have suddenly become an adult?!"

Zhang Rui, who was no longer a virgin blushed and said, "It's still a bit different."

Chen Xiao Mai asked excitedly, "Really? Is that so? I want to become an adult too."

Zhang Rui blushed, he was rendered speechless by Xiao Mai.

"Mai, don't talk nonsense," Lu Lin stopped Mai.

Chen Xiao Mai made a face at Lu Lin and ran away.

…

Lu Lin picked Granny Shen up from Willow Town and to discuss the wedding ceremony with Granny Shen.

Granny Shen was very happy when she heard that Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Mi wanted to hold the wedding ceremony soon for Shen Chi and Chen Xiao Cai.

Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi had worked together in Willow Town for a few years. They had established themselves in Willow Town. Many people in Willow Town respected Chen Xiao Cai very much. Some masters and officials would address Chen Xiao Cai as Master Chen or Manager Chen respectfully when they saw him.

Granny Shen was more than happy that Cai became so capable, but sometimes she couldn't help worrying because Cai and Chi were still not married.

It has been some time since Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi were engaged. They got along great, but Granny Shen always hoped they could get married soon.

Chen Xiao Cai and Shen Chi got engaged years ago when they were really young to protect their reputation, strictly speaking, they were still a bit too young to get married. So Granny Shen had never brought it up that she wanted them to get married soon.

When Lu Lin picked her up from Willow Town and discussed the details of the wedding with her, Granny Shen showered praise on him by saying that was a great idea.

It did occur to Granny Shen that Chen Xiao Mi had sold their village house already, so she asked them where they wanted to hold the wedding ceremony.

Lu Lin told Granny Shen that they would hold the ceremony in Granny Shen's house, and he would transfer the commercial house of Willow Town to them. That meant Lu Lin admitted that he and Chen Xiao Mi were the actual owners of the business.

Granny Shen had long suspected it for the past few years, but she was still shocked when she heard it from Lu Lin.

The Sino Commercial House in Willow Town had greatly expanded in size. Two years ago, Lu Lin bought two shops near the Sino Commercial House, hence the actual size of the shop was at least twice as big.

The Sino Commercial House Willow Town was located in a remote area originally, so the prices of the surrounding stores were not expensive. However, after the Sino Commercial House's reputation grew bigger, the surrounding areas had raised more on commercial values recently.

The price of the entire street had increased.

Granny Shen murmured, "The commercial house!" The commercial house in Willow Town was worth more than 100 taels of silver. Plus the residential area in the backyard, that was a number Granny Shen wouldn't dare to imagine.

Lu Lin smiled, "Gran, can I ask you a favor though? Me and Xiao Mi are still trying to hide the fact that we are the actual owners of the business in case it gives rise to other contingencies."

Granny Shen nodded in a hurry and said, "Yes, yes, I will keep it to myself."

Deep down, Granny Shen really wanted to show off to the villagers who used to look down upon her and Shen Chi. However, when she thought that the Lu family and Chen family were not easy to deal with, she decided to keep it to herself. There was no need to 'wake a sleeping dog' or in this case, 'sleeping dogs'.

However, this logic sounded simple but it was not easy to do. Granny Shen looked at Lu Lin with admiration.

Granny Shen thought to herself, 'Lu Lin is an amazing young man! He has been managing the business without ever showing off! That's very hard for a young man to do!'

Lu Lin asked Lin Chun to accompany Granny Shen to the village, Granny Shen insisted that she could take care of herself, but Lu Lin still decided to let Lin Chun keep her company on the way.

…

After Granny Shen returned to the village, she and Lin Chun had a great house cleaning. .

"Granny Shen, you're back!" Several villagers came over to greet Granny Shen.

Granny Shen smiled and greeted everyone.

"Granny, who is that girl that comes back with you?"

"She is Lin Chun, a worker in the store, she is here to help me out," Granny Shen said.

"Is it Chen Xiao Mi who asked her to follow you back?"

Granny Shen smiled and didn't say anything.

"Granny, why are you suddenly back?" Granny Shen rarely returned to the village after going to Willow Town, so this time there were many people who were curious.

"Cai and Chi are getting married. I'm back to clean the house," Granny Shen said.

Several villagers asked with confusion, "Granny Shen, the Chen family's house is sold. Where are they going to hold the wedding ceremony then?"

Granny Shen smiled and said, "There is no house in the Chen family. Don't I have my house right here?"

Several villagers laughed dryly and said that if they were to stay in the Shen family, it was more like Chen Xiao Cai was marrying into the Shen Family, not the other way around.

…