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Lady Liu pretended to be angry and glanced at Xiao Linshuang, who was still running wildly, telling Lin Yuan to quickly call her into the estate.

At the end, she couldn’t help but joke with a laugh, "Luckily, Sister Chang didn’t come; otherwise, seeing you two like this, she would definitely have punished you when you went back."

Lin Wei, who was giggling and watching Xiao Linshuang go crazy with Xiao He, playfully stuck out her tongue and both shrank their necks, exchanging a smile.

Lin Yuan certainly wouldn’t run into that bumpy vineyard to call Xiao Linshuang; she looked across the field and exchanged a glance with Xia Zheng, laughing loudly, "Hurry, let’s go to the estate and try those figs. Ever since I had that fig last time, I’ve been thinking about it for days!"

Xia Zheng pursed his lips, nodding in agreement, "That fig is not just any ordinary fruit; it only grows seven in a year. Last time we each had one, and now only five are left. With so many people, there definitely won’t be enough to go around, and if we’re late, there won’t be any left."

"What, figs? How come I haven’t heard of them before, where are they? Are they tasty? What do they look like?"

Lao Fan grabbed their arms in a hurry, eagerly asking, his whiskers curling up with greed.

Lin Yuan, speechless, touched her forehead. She hadn’t even tricked Xiao Linshuang yet, but she had already fooled Lao Fan. These two gluttons were truly worthy of being mentor and apprentice!

Watching Lao Fan hurry into the estate, Xiao Linshuang couldn’t sit still any longer. Where would she care about those bare grapevines? She ran towards the end of the field, taking big and small steps, and while running she kept shouting, "Master, grab a couple for me! Grab a couple for me!"

Before Lin Wei and Xiao He had time to ask what figs were, they felt as if a gust of wind had swept by their side, and in the blink of an eye, Xiao Linshuang was gone.

Xiao He couldn’t help but sigh, "The power of delicious food, ah!"

By the time a few people leisurely made their way into the estate, they saw Xiao Linshuang and Lao Fan had already surrounded He Xiaodong, bombarding her with questions about the figs.

He Xiaodong looked bewildered. She had been managing this estate for a few years now and had never heard of any figs here! There might be fig plants, sure, but definitely no edible figs!

Seeing Lin Yuan enter, He Xiaodong quickly sought her help.

Lin Yuan chuckled, hands behind her back, looking up into the sky, "Hmm, the air in the countryside is really good, clean and fresh."

Seeing her obviously dodging the subject, Lao Fan and Xiao Linshuang understood everything, didn’t they?

"You little rat!"

"Big sister!"

Hearing the sounds behind her like death chasing after her, Lin Yuan inwardly exclaimed it was big trouble and took off running to the back yard.

Without the figs to eat, Xiao Linshuang and Lao Fan were only slightly disappointed for a moment, as they were soon attracted to the various "grass" in the back yard.

They called them weeds simply because Lin Yuan, like other laypeople, didn’t understand them. In the eyes of Lao Fan and Xiao Linshuang, however, these were anything but ordinary grasses; they were herbal medicines.

Speaking of herbal medicines, He Chengfang suddenly slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "No wonder that old rural gentry entrusted such a big vineyard to our He family village to manage, yet insisted on taking care of this backyard garden himself. So, it turns out these are all herbal medicines!"

He Xiaodong nodded and said, "My father mentioned that when the old rural gentry was seriously ill, his son rushed back to take over and seemed to carry a scent of medicine on him.

My father thought that it was because the old man had taken too much medicine due to his condition, but later we learned his son made his fortune by growing medicinal herbs. So, it was all true!"

Hearing their conversation, Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng also understood. Since they were in this courtyard anyway, Lao Fan and Xiao Linshuang certainly wouldn’t go far, so they simply left the two there without minding them further.

He Guangming accompanied Lin Jiaxin and his wife on a tour of the estate, while Lin Wei and Xiao He curiously looked around behind them.

Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng had seen it before, so together with He Xiaodong, they returned to the vineyard.

When she first got off the carriage, she noticed that the vineyard looked different from when she’d seen it last time; although there were still some uneven spots, it had clearly been smoothed over. The grape trellises, too, where they had been knocked down, had been nailed back up.

"Xiao Dong, this is your work, isn’t it? Really nice job," Lin Yuan thought, quite pleased inwardly.

He Xiaodong smiled, but didn’t take all the credit for himself, "How could I have done all this work alone? All the people from our He family village did it together. The men put those frames together."

Pointing to an empty area nearby, He Xiaodong continued, "The frames over there can’t be fixed anymore. My father has already found someone to buy wood and plans to build new ones. I guess it’ll be finished in just a few days."

Lin Yuan listened and nodded along.

Looking at the large vineyard before him, Xia Zheng asked subconsciously, "Such a lot of work must require many people, right?"

He Xiaodong nodded, "Yes, it’s not even spring yet, and the men don’t have much work to do, so they are mostly idling at home.

My father is afraid that if they have nothing to do they’ll get lazier, so he got everyone to come here for work.

Although the pay is not much, everyone is happily chatting and laughing together, and since there isn’t a lot of work, they treat it like a get-together and don’t mind the wages that much. "

He Xiaodong brought up the matter of wages on purpose because he didn’t want Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng to pay them any extra.

When He Guangming handed out silver to the villagers, he told them about the two sorting out the Lizheng issue; everyone was grateful to Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng for their generous help.

If not for them, they feared that they’d be getting much less silver by now.

Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng tacitly understood, and a slight smile passed between them as they accepted this unique way of repayment.

However, upon hearing He Xiaodong’s words, Lin Yuan suddenly remembered something. Since almost half of He family village was working here, there must be at least forty or fifty people, right? It would be a waste not to fully utilize such an available resource.

Having made up her mind, Lin Yuan quickly returned to the estate and pulled Lin Wei and Xiao He aside, saying, "Younger sister, Xiao He, I have a favor to ask of you two."

Lin Yuan was not one to seek help from others, much less from her younger sisters. Yet, eager to assist their elder sister, both expressed their willingness without hesitation.

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Just now, while I was outside looking at the vineyard, Xiao Dong mentioned that all the people from He family village will come to help, and we won’t even need to pay them wages.

I feel it’s really necessary to give something in return, so I think it’s best if someone is with them at all times.

But as you know, I’m planning to open an inn and am in the process of looking for the right staff, so I might not be able to come here every day, therefore. .."

Hearing this, both understood Lin Yuan wanted them to stay and watch over the place.