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Lady Liu quickly shook her head, dispelling from her mind what seemed like an absurd idea.

Although she was fond of Xia Zheng, who didn’t put on any airs, how could their kind of family possibly match up to the Young Master of Fuman Building?

Old Chen next door, whose son hadn’t even passed the imperial exams, already looked down on his own daughter.

Wouldn’t Xia Zheng’s family disdain Lin Yuan even more?

Biting her lip, Lady Liu decided that it would be best to limit her daughter’s contact with Xia Zheng. Otherwise, it would surely be her daughter who ended up getting hurt in the long run.

Lin Yuan, busy preparing lunch outside, was oblivious to Lady Liu’s fleeting thoughts of linking her with Xia Zheng. She was currently busy making steamed buns with Loudmouth, Aunt Wang, and a few others.

The day before, Lin Yuan had already prepared the dough, which took two large bowls due to the number of people eating.

Having fermented overnight, the dough was ready; all that was left was to steam the buns.

Loudmouth, Aunt Wang, and another aunt were each holding a large chunk of dough, vigorously kneading it on the boards. The dough needed to be worked hard and for a long time to make the steamed buns tasty. There weren’t enough boards at home, so they had even borrowed one from Sister Guizhi.

Because Lin Yuan was building a house, Sister Guizhi didn’t set up her cold skin stall that day and was helping Lin Yuan and Lan Hua to pick vegetables instead.

These vegetables and pork were all brought by Liuzi at Lin Yuan’s request. She had intended to bring a lot at once, but Xia Zheng said that vegetables and meat must be delivered fresh daily to taste good.

So now, he had another reason to visit Lin Yuan’s house every day.

Young Master Xia, at this point, had conscientiously taken on the role of a supervisor, although he wasn’t overseeing Chief Sun and the workmen but Lin Jiaxin.

Since Mid-Autumn Festival had passed and the weather had cooled, Lin Jiaxin, with his bad leg, couldn’t catch a chill.

Xia Zheng would bring a blanket or fetch a quilt now and then.

To prevent Lin Jiaxin from getting bored, he would also happily chat with him.

Whenever Lin Yuan glanced out from the kitchen door, she could see her father laughing with his mouth wide open, not knowing what Xia Zheng had said to him.

But she had to admit, Xia Zheng knew how to ingratiate himself with elders.

She just wondered what sort of temper Xia Zheng’s father had to drive his son away from home.

With her father, mother, and grandmother all there, Xiao Shitou naturally stayed, along with Xiao Linshuang.

The two children, like little bundles of curiosity, ran back and forth in the yard.

Concerned they might get hit by a brick, Lin Yuan instructed Lin Wei to watch over the two little ones, relieving her of all other duties.

But Xiao Shitou and Xiao Linshuang, being children, would run here and there, and sometimes Lin Wei, sweating profusely, couldn’t even keep track of them.

It was the first day of work, and aside from those who were working, there were others staying for lunch, including Lan Hua and Sister Guizhi’s family who had come to help.

Thus, making lunch was a bit challenging.

Fortunately, with many hands, Lin Yuan decided to cook a large pot of food.

After all, they had plenty of vegetables and potatoes, and with the bigger steamed buns, those with larger appetites would be satisfied with just three.

Ever since last time when Lin Yuan cooked with potatoes, Xia Zheng discovered that these "poisonous" potatoes were actually a special and delicious ingredient, and began to gather them from all over. Because Lin Yuan had warned beforehand that sprouted potatoes were toxic and should not be eaten but could be used as seeds, Xia Zheng had people separate and collect the potatoes accordingly. Fresh ones were sent to Lin Yuan’s house for cooking, and the sprouted ones were sent to Fuman Building’s private garden to grow potato sprouts.

When Lin Yuan heard from Liuzi that the Young Master had started growing potatoes, she secretly praised him again in her mind.

She couldn’t help but acknowledge that Xia Zheng’s business acumen was indeed not bad.

Where ordinary people were afraid to try, he had already seen the opportunity.

No wonder he had made Fuman Building so successful.

If potatoes could be planted on a large scale, it would be more convenient for her to use whatever new things she wanted in the future.

Just take today’s noon pot of food, for example.

Without vermicelli, she could only stew it with pork, cabbage, and potatoes, but that made the dish too simple.

In the end, Lin Yuan reluctantly cut several pieces of tofu into it.

When Xia Zheng saw her put the tofu in, he almost dropped his eyeballs. A plate of tofu sold for more than two taels of silver at Fuman Building, and here she was, in just a few swift cuts, adding more than ten taels of silver worth of tofu!

There was no helping it; Lin Yuan felt the pinch too, but what could she do without vermicelli? However, once the potatoes were grown and turned into vermicelli, things would be better.

Although there was no vermicelli, because Lin Yuan personally took charge of cooking, the big pot dish turned out especially fragrant.

The pork, in particular, with its caramel color done just right—it looked oily but tasted rich without being greasy, and the lean meat was tender, not dry or tough.

Add to that, the potatoes and tofu were something everyone had never tasted before, so the big pot of food made everyone fully satisfied.

This was still Lin Yuan being a bit sly, having added some chili peppers to it; otherwise, there might not have been enough to go around.

Other people were one thing, but the men working alongside Chief Sun had all eaten their fill.

Chief Sun was an honest man, and those he picked to work with him were much like him, pure-hearted.

They covered their stomachs, burping apologetically, and without even taking a break, they got back to work.

Lin Yuan urged them to rest, but all the men, blushing, laughed and said that having eaten such good food from their host, how could there be any reason to rest?

Chief Sun also cheerfully promised Lin Yuan that the North Room could be built in twenty days.

Lin Yuan smiled and said nothing more. Indeed, Chief Sun did not boast. By the end of work that evening, not only was the well in the courtyard completed, with even its edges properly built, but the foundation was almost done, too. With one more day’s work, it should be finished.

After saying goodbye to everyone with a smile, Lin Yuan stood at the doorway and quietly sighed in relief.

It had been quite a busy day, but thankfully, nothing untoward had happened.

Lin Yuan’s gaze unconsciously turned towards the old house.

She heard from Lan Hua that the people there hadn’t left their home all day, likely stewing in their anger.

Just as she was about to go back inside, Lin Yuan suddenly felt a chill on her back and quickly turned to look, but she couldn’t find anyone who might have been there.

Shaking her head at what she figured was just her being too sensitive, Lin Yuan secured the door and went back home.