How time flies, the years slipping by like water through a sieve; three years passed in the blink of an eye. By now, Da Bao was sixteen, Lin He thirteen, Chen'er eleven, and Xiao Bao nine. Even Da Xiong and Xiao Xiong were over three years old, already toddling around the courtyard.

Over these past few years, quite a few changes had swept through Lin He’s household. First, the shop in town was finally open. When it first opened, Lin He was unwilling to simply sell the usual pastries common at the time, insisting that her own family shop should offer something different. She had managed the shop herself with the help of a young maid named Cai Zhi, making everything personally. Initially, she could just about keep up with the demand, but as more and more customers arrived, Lin He was left with no choice but to bring two more maids from home to help out in the town.

These two maids were Cai Lan and Cai Ling—Cai Ling being the former Ling'er. Both showed a surprising knack for making confections. Once Lin He showed them the techniques for making a pastry, they usually grasped the intricacies after just a couple of demonstrations. A few more repetitions, and they could handle the entire process independently, without needing Lin He’s intervention.

Thus, over these years, Lin He had taught these maids many of the dishes she knew how to prepare. Now, the shop had hired several more young maids to assist with manual labor, meaning Lin He rarely needed to be present herself, appearing only for a few days when she was developing new products.

During these three years, the food sold at Lin He’s shop had gained quite a reputation in town. Merely mentioning the name "Distinct Pastry Shop" was enough for the townsfolk to know exactly where it was. Although some of the snacks and treats were priced slightly higher, the flavor was incomparable to that of ordinary shops, and most people were willing to spend the extra money for good food.

Of course, running a shop brought its share of troubles. Fortunately, with Uncle Wen overseeing things, no major disasters had occurred. Lin He arranged for Da Bao to deliver one-tenth of the monthly earnings to Uncle Wen’s side, stating that regardless, managing the shop, dealing with people, and hiring help inevitably required funds.

At home, Chen'er was now eleven, no longer a small child. She had become much more sensible and could finally apply herself to learning embroidery. Through several years of training, her needlework, while not quite top-tier, was respectable enough for her to produce presentable silk handkerchiefs and sachets.

Xiao Bao was nine this year. After three years of schooling, he was no longer as mischievous as before, his temperament much more settled. His studies were progressing excellently; even his tutor praised him for being clever and diligent, suggesting that if he continued this way, he might be ready to participate in the county examinations in a few years.

Lin He’s father, Er Niu, had been living much the same as before these past few years, spending his days tending to his own fields when idle. Occasionally, he would stop by Da Bao’s shop to look around, but he never involved himself in the shop’s operations.

It was Lin He’s mother, Huang Shi, who had changed the most over these years. After bearing two more children, she had gained significant weight, and her demeanor had become much more cheerful than before; her timid nature had vanished. In fact, even when the bothersome He Shi occasionally came looking for trouble in recent years, Huang Shi had managed to turn her away. Sometimes, looking at her mother, Lin He felt that she truly possessed the bearing of a matriarch running a household.

However, Huang Shi’s assertiveness was mostly for show. In truth, all the major household management responsibilities had been gradually handed over to Lin He. Huang Shi claimed that since Lin He was getting older and might be discussing marriage arrangements in a couple of years, she needed to learn how to manage everything; unless absolutely necessary, these matters were left to Lin He to handle herself.

As for the household staff, several new young maids had been purchased over the years. Lin He felt Chen'er was old enough now and acquired two personal maids for her, one twelve and one thirteen, both of steady temperaments. Knowing Chen'er could be quite spirited, Lin He had deliberately chosen maids who were more composed, hoping they could offer a calming influence. Furthermore, several maids were transferred to the town shop, and a few new ones were brought in for the house, just enough to suffice. Several young male servants (xiaosi) had also been added; two accompanied Da Bao to town, and two new ones stayed at home, helping out with errands when Leng Geng and the others were busy.

As for the specialized counter business Lin He and Uncle Wen managed together, it had gradually found its footing over these years. Uncle Wen now had Lin He's specialized counters established in most locations not far from here. The goods in these counters, particularly items like soap and laundry soap, had become quite well-known among the wealthy, and increasingly, even those not rich were starting to use them—achieving Lin He’s original wish that they be accessible to the majority.

Moreover, it wasn't just soap. In recent years, Lin He had developed many other products: vanishing cream specifically for the face, hand cream, soaps with different scents, skin tonics, and facial masks. These brought Lin He a considerable income; her monthly share often amounted to several thousand taels of silver. Every time she received this money, Lin He felt a distinct sense of satisfaction.

Lin He's workforce had also expanded significantly, with the new workers housed in the old residence area. Lin He had made further improvements there, adding several specialized rooms dedicated to cosmetic production; this area now functioned essentially as a small processing factory.

The reason the old residence had been converted into a small factory was the increased volume of output, which naturally meant a larger workload. Lin He continued to hire women from the village to work there. Although these women sometimes experienced minor conflicts and friction among themselves, they were generally diligent in their tasks. Any who caused persistent trouble were promptly dismissed by Zi Qing. The others, knowing the wages and benefits here were quite good, naturally cherished the opportunity and dared not slack off, working diligently.

The person primarily in charge over there was naturally Zi Qing. Zhou Shi and Hong Yun also worked there. After Hong Yun’s eldest, Da Mao, turned one, Da Mao was left at home with her mother-in-law, while Hong Yun returned to work at Lin He’s house, visiting home once a month. Da Mao was nearly three now and very cute; thankfully, his looks resembled Hong Yun rather than Zhou Da Fa, bearing a slight likeness to Hong Yun herself. Hong Yun’s in-laws had never questioned the matter, and Hong Yun’s family life had been quite happy these past few years.

The younger sister-in-law, Hong Xia, had also been working at Lin He’s house throughout these years. Although she had to repay some money monthly, having room and board provided while caring for her children made life quite manageable. Moreover, Yuan Zhu was getting older and knew how to help her mother with some chores, easing Hong Xia’s burden. Er Niu noticed that Hong Xia sometimes seemed overwhelmed, and since Yuan Zhu was also helping quite a bit, he increased their combined monthly wages by two hundred da qian. Hong Xia was very pleased. For the moment, she had no other grand ambitions, only wishing to repay the debt quickly, then buy some land to build a house for Yuan Bao and save up a dowry for Yuan Zhu. However, since Yuan Zhu and Yuan Bao were still relatively young, she had time to save.