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Because some steps in tofu making are not precise under a man’s control, Lin Yuan had already notified Shopkeeper Zhou before recruiting workers.

She asked him not to hire only men but also to recruit several capable women, preferably honest and steadfast middle-aged women.

This way, she wouldn’t have to worry about leaving Lan Hua alone in the tofu workshop, fearing something might go wrong.

Speaking of making tofu, Lan Hua was indeed skilled at it, and she was personally trained by Lin Yuan.

Most importantly, Lin Yuan had absolute trust in her.

Although Lan Hua couldn’t yet manage everything on her own, with her character, she would have no problem overseeing the workshop’s production process and those honest women.

Shopkeeper Zhou took care of the accounting and the distribution of workers in the front, while Lan Hua managed tofu production in the back factory. With them at the workshop, Lin Yuan felt relieved.

As she left the tofu workshop, she saw Xia Zheng sitting silently on the shaft of the horse carriage, frowning as if lost in thought about something.

This was the first time Lin Yuan had seen him like this, and she couldn’t help but feel puzzled. She patted him on the shoulder from behind, "Hey, what lucrative business are you dreaming up now? You seem so engrossed."

Xia Zheng turned his head, a fleeting look of reluctance in his eyes before resuming his usual frivolity, chuckling, "Of course, it’s a top-notch money-making scheme. Tell me, Chunfeng Building in town is making a fortune now. Shouldn’t I also open a brothel? I’m sure it would rake in a fortune!"

Lin Yuan snorted, hopped onto the carriage, and dived into the compartment, grumbling, "What’s so lucrative about a brothel? If you’re going to open anything, open a male brothel. Forget about a fortune, you’ll surely fill up even a large water tank!"

Xia Zheng was stunned, taking half a day to burst out laughing, realizing the young lady must be irritated with him.

"Rest assured, even if I truly opened a brothel, I definitely won’t step foot in there!"

Inside the carriage, Lin Yuan rolled her eyes, murmuring softly, "Go or don’t go, what’s it to me!"

However, her upward-curving eyes still revealed her good mood at the moment.

Xia Zheng affectionately glanced at the carriage, turned his head, and lightly whipped the horse’s rear, slowly heading toward Fuman Building.

His brows furrowed again, as he had just received a Flying Pigeon Letter from his elder brother.

He’d thought the recent heavy rain hadn’t caused much impact, but it turned out there were still flood disasters in the South.

Xia Zheng pulled a face and whipped the horse again, grumpily criticizing his unreliable father. Usually, his father either scolded him or locked him up and forbade him from doing business, always driving him with a whip to train with soldiers at the military ground.

Now, with the floods in the South and the Imperial Court needing silver for disaster relief, his father suddenly remembered his son who was secretly doing business outside and insisted on having his elder brother call him back.

"What the hell, always after my silver! My silver is reserved for important uses!" Thinking about the promise he had once made to that person, Xia Zheng rubbed his chest somewhat painfully, feeling as if his father had already commandeered a large portion of his silver.

Glancing at the quiet carriage behind him, Xia Zheng knew the young lady must have started to nod off again. Every time she rode in a carriage, the young lady tended to fall asleep.

With a gentle smile, Xia Zheng took a small piece of paper from his pocket and swiftly wrote a few words with the fine brush he carried. He then whistled up to the sky and summoned a small, snow-white pigeon.

After releasing the pigeon carrying his message, Xia Zheng bent his mouth into a smile, "Want me to go back? Not unless you bleed a little."

By the time they reached Fuman Building, Lin Yuan had already been asleep for nearly two hours. Wiping off the shiny drool at the corner of her mouth, Lin Yuan cursed herself in annoyance, "How embarrassing. I’m lucky that guy didn’t see me or he would have definitely looked down on me."