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Old Fan finished the plate of fish balls and was still longing for more. Hearing her mention shrimp balls and beef balls stuffed with fillings, he couldn’t help salivating, "Hurry up, you stinky girl, get this hot pot ready quickly, and let this old man have a taste first!"

Lin Yuan looked at the empty plate in front of him and smiled, "Alright! Tomorrow, I’ll have Shopkeeper Liu go to Old Iron Head and tell him to make fifty pots as soon as possible. We’ll debut the hot pot in Fuman Building first. If it does well, we can promote it to the other branches."

The hot pot idea was agreed upon in no time. Seizing the opportunity, Lin Yuan also casually mentioned her plan to introduce new soy products. Since she hadn’t worked out the details yet, she needed to deliberate for a couple more days before proceeding.

Xia Zheng had complete trust in her; otherwise, he wouldn’t have handed all six of his painstakingly established restaurants over to her. With only two months left until New Year’s, the hot pot matter was indeed urgent.

Although the weather was getting cooler, no matter how late Lin Yuan was busy in town, she would always return to Lin family’s hollow to spend the nights with her family.

Lin Yongyan had just turned one month old, and the little fellow had become more lively.

Moreover, Lady Fan was cooking delicious meals for Lady Liu every day following the recipes Lin Yuan taught her, and now Lady Liu’s breast milk was becoming increasingly plentiful.

There was hardly any need to feed the little one goat’s milk anymore.

But it must be said, that goat’s milk really was nourishing.

The little one had been drinking it for just a month, yet he was as robust as a little calf, with fair skin, his small hands constantly waving about, and those two little legs, which needed to kick about energetically for a good while before he was willing to sleep.

Two wing rooms had been tidied up and were now almost entirely taken over by Xia Zheng.

Lady Fan and Liu Limin were living with Lin Yuan and the other three, where a heated kang was fired up.

Upon entering the room, one could feel the warm air coming to meet them, with not the slightest hint of winter.

Compared to the small dilapidated house they used to live in, life now was truly comfortable.

Having lived here for a month, Lady Fan and Liu Limin had seen that their daughter and grandson were well, and began discussing returning home.

Lin Yuan, thinking of Liu Limin’s intention to start a brewery, persuaded them to stay a few more days. She believed it wouldn’t be long before the Century-old Cake Shop would send some news.

Having received an invitation from Madam Jin, the County Magistrate’s wife, Lin Yuan arrived at Rice Flower Fragrance early that day, where she had Liuzi prepare some of the best pastries for her to take to Li Mansion.

Looking at the tranquil and harmonious Li Mansion, Lin Yuan couldn’t help but recall the last time she had barged in; it was when Xiao Linshuang was lost, and all her focus was on worrying about her sister.

She hadn’t had the chance to appreciate the decor of the mansion, but now that she did, it was genuinely astonishing.

Arched gateways, the garden, pavilions, and rockeries – who would have thought that such a small County magistrate’s mansion could have such complete decorations. All of this must have cost a fair amount of silver.

A very clever maid was leading the way for Lin Yuan, quickly taking the pastries Lin Yuan brought as soon as they met.

Seeing Lin Yuan constantly looking at the mansion’s decorations, the maid was curious but did not show too much surprise or shock.

She inwardly praised the young woman for her composure.

The chatty maid kept talking as they walked, introducing, "This way is the garden. Miss, take a look at this corridor. Although it is winding, it actually runs through the entire mansion. It was all redone by Madam after she came. Isn’t it unique?

And this rockery was also reconstructed under Madam’s orders.

Before, there was only a bare mound of earth here, with just a few pots of nameless flowers on it. "