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Lin Yuan was indifferent to the grand display of the Yao family.

There were plenty of rich and powerful people in the Capital city; if she envied, resented, and hated at the sight of every one of them, wouldn’t she just suffocate herself with frustration?

Besides, who could be certain her future wouldn’t include such pageantry?

However, the Yao family’s elaborate travel arrangements did serve as a wake-up call for Lin Yuan.

Owning fewer than several carriages was simply not acceptable in the Capital.

Although they brought a carriage from Zhuma Town, and those were the fine ones specially prepared by Shopkeeper Liu as arranged by Xia Zheng.

Yet when compared to the Yao family’s carriages, there was indeed a gap.

It wasn’t that Lin Yuan judged people by their appearance; it was just that there were many who were short-sighted in the Capital. She wasn’t bothered for herself, but it would break her heart if her parents and sisters were looked down upon for their few carriages during outings.

True to her word, Lin Yuan went straight to the butler’s office after coming back from the main entrance and asked Butler Zhou to find two good carriages for them—one for her parents and another for her sisters to use. She herself had the one given by Xia Zheng and so had no need for another.

As for the several ordinary carriages brought from Zhuma Town, they would be put to use for transporting goods in the future.

After discussing the carriages with Butler Zhou, Lin Yuan then instructed him to also purchase two sedans, one with a darker color and another brighter, for convenience in future outings.

After leaving the butler’s office, the sisters walked back while chatting. Du Ruo and Lian Qiao, following behind, wiped the light sweat from their foreheads and breathed slightly heavily.

Ever since following Xiao Linshuang, their time was split between intense studying and running around with the young girl.

Maid’s work in other households typically involved tasks like making the beds and sweeping, but their chores, though lacking in heavy labor, were more tiring than actual physical work.

Neither of them were naturally inclined towards studying and often complained. Every time Xiao Linshuang explained the knowledge of herbs, it sounded like gibberish to them, and seeing other maids doing simple cleaning, they couldn’t help but feel envious.

Today was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the first significant festival since the family had come to the Capital, and naturally called for some special food.

They initially planned to make dumplings, but after preparing the meat filling, Lin Yuan had a flash of inspiration and suddenly changed her mind.

She had the kitchen ladies prepare fresh eggs, beat them, and then set about making egg dumplings herself.

Making egg dumplings required a low flame, so she brought out the small charcoal stove. The gentle heat and flickering flames were quite beautiful.

Lin Yuan chose a frying ladle of appropriate size, dipped a clean piece of gauze in oil, and after heating the ladle, she wiped it with the oiled gauze using chopsticks, then scooped a spoonful of beaten egg into the hot ladle.

The egg batter sizzled enticingly when it met the hot oil.

Without waiting for the batter to set, Lin Yuan carefully swirled the ladle to allow the egg to adhere and form a thin layer all over.

"Come, the meat filling."

Lin Yuan, ever alert and attentive, watched over the ladle in her hand while calling for Xiao He to scoop some meat filling.

Xiao He would take the chance to stay in the kitchen whenever possible, and although her skills were still too raw to do delicate work, she started with the basics.

Lin Yuan had assigned her to tend the fire to learn to manage different levels of heat, given her vegetables to chop to practice her knife skills continuously, and tasked her with slaughtering chickens and fish to familiarize herself with basic ingredients.

Despite the simplicity of the work in others’ eyes, the knowledge involved was immense.

After several days of practice, Xiao He had at least mastered all the steps in the kitchen.

Hearing Lin Yuan’s request for the meat filling, she promptly scooped some into the center of the ladle with a small spoon—just the right amount, neither too much nor too little, exactly to Lin Yuan’s liking.

"Not bad." Although it was just a simple compliment, Xiao He couldn’t help but beam with joy.

Once the meat filling was in the ladle, Lin Yuan folded the egg layer over, using the still-soft batter to encapsulate the filling much like wrapping a dumpling. Once the egg set on both sides and changed color slightly, the egg dumpling was ready.

Placing the completed egg dumpling onto a plate, Lin Yuan picked up the chopsticks again and readied the ladle for the second one.

When Lin Yuan cooked, it was no surprise that she would have two eager followers tagging along: one Xiao Linshuang, the other Lao Fan.