Zi Yu nodded. Lin He spoke, "These dishes will do. Since it's just a few of us eating, we'll stick to this simple menu from now on."

Zi Yu replied with an affirmative sound and stepped aside to serve. Wen Ningxuan said, "Go down and eat with the others. You don't need to wait on us here. From now on, when He'er and I eat, none of you need to be present for service."

Zi Yu acknowledged the order and headed toward the kitchen. Upon arrival, she found the two young maids sitting by the stove. They rose immediately when they saw her approach. Zi Yu motioned for them to join her for the meal, but at first, the girls hesitated, insisting they must wait for their master and mistress to finish so they could clear the table. Zi Yu smiled warmly. "It’s fine. Miss eats what she eats, and we eat here. We can clean up afterward. After you spend more time with the Miss, you’ll understand that our household rules aren't as rigid as in other families. The Miss treats us like family."

With that, she sat down at the small table in the kitchen and began to eat. The two maids exchanged glances before cautiously taking their seats by the table, picking up their bowls, and eating in quiet reverence. Zi Yu shook her head with a gentle smile, remembering how she was when she first arrived at the Miss’s home—so tentative in every move. Having become accustomed to the routines at the Wen residence previously, after spending time with Lin He’s family, she had truly grown to love this simple, rustic life—uncomplicated, warm, and devoid of the plotting and backstabbing that characterized the grander households.

Meanwhile, Lin He and Wen Ningxuan dined together. This was not their first time, so there was little formality. Wen Ningxuan had a small appetite; he ate sparingly before setting down his chopsticks, claiming he was full. Seeing him finish, Lin He immediately picked up a fresh bowl and ladled soup for him, saying, "Drink a bowl of soup after your meal; it’s good for the stomach. Eating irregularly is bad for you."

Wen Ningxuan smiled and nodded, accepting the bowl from Lin He. Lin He continued eating, and they occasionally exchanged quiet words during the meal—a rare moment of soothing warmth. Wen Ningxuan cherished this feeling deeply. Having lost his mother at a young age, most of his meals were solitary affairs. When the entire extended family gathered, the table groaned under delicacies, yet the atmosphere was invariably severe, bound by countless rules that created intense pressure. In such settings, one hardly tasted the food. But eating simple fare with Lin He, free from constraint and ceremony, felt wonderfully relaxed. She acted like a young wife, offering gentle reminders and sharing simple news of the household. Wen Ningxuan, having never experienced this before, couldn't quite articulate the feeling, only knowing that it was profoundly good.

After they finished eating, Wen Ningxuan led Lin He toward his own courtyard. He mentioned that since they had just dined, there was no immediate rush to look at the ledgers, so he showed her around his section of the grounds. That courtyard was easily more than twice the size of the current one, yet its decoration was exceedingly simple, containing only essential items. It was clear Wen Ningxuan made few demands of his personal necessities, and compared to her own side, his was noticeably plainer.

Lin He recalled visiting this courtyard shortly after purchasing the property; at that time, the spaces were connected and entirely unfurnished. After this latest round of decoration, it looked quite different. If she hadn't known the front section was the Cai Die Xuan, Lin He might not have recognized the area.

After a brief stroll through the courtyard, they entered the study. The room was equally transparent, utterly devoid of superfluous objects. Lin He smiled, thinking that this must be how a gentleman’s study appeared.

Wen Ningxuan guided Lin He toward the large desk, gesturing at the stacks piled high. "Here are the ledgers. Quite a lot, aren't there?"

Thick accounting books were stacked everywhere—on the desk and beneath it. The output volume for Cai Die Xuan was indeed massive. A few months' worth looked equivalent to several years' worth from her own family's pastry shops. It was understandable why Wen Ningxuan anticipated needing several days to review them; using the standard methods of accounting calculation for that era, even a few days would be considered fast for an accurate tally.

Lin He wasted no time, sitting in the chair before the desk. Wen Ningxuan sat opposite her. They temporarily divided the ledgers on the desk into two large piles, each taking half.

They worked through the afternoon. When darkness fell, Zi Yu came to summon them for dinner. Lin He had managed to reduce her stack to only a few books, while Wen Ningxuan still had well over half remaining. In truth, Wen Ningxuan had noticed Lin He’s method of ledger review was unusual from the start. He watched her use the specialized twig-pen she made, scribbling quickly on paper to arrive at conclusions, and he had checked her results—they were never wrong. However, Lin He’s annotations were somewhat indecipherable to him. Seeing her deep concentration, he refrained from asking too many questions, though he felt a distinct shock internally.

When Zi Yu arrived, Lin He suddenly realized how long they had been working. She called out, "Ningxuan, let’s look at the rest tomorrow. Let’s go eat now. The remainder should take about a full day tomorrow."

Just as Wen Ningxuan was about to speak, Lin He interjected, "Don't ask why. This method of reviewing accounts was taught to me by a scholar who educated the younger boys back home. It’s a method passed down from the West. If you are willing, I can teach you."

Wen Ningxuan nodded. Though many questions churned in his mind, he saw Lin He seemed reluctant to elaborate further, so he dropped the matter, simply expressing his willingness to learn her approach to accounting. Yet, if anyone else had displayed such an aptitude today, Wen Ningxuan would have harbored numerous doubts. But this was Lin He; somehow, it didn't feel overly astonishing, as she had already performed numerous unexpected feats. This was simply one more unusual occurrence.

Thus, after dinner, Lin He began teaching Wen Ningxuan the principles, much as she had instructed Da Bao previously. However, Wen Ningxuan was far quicker than Da Bao. He absorbed the concepts rapidly and could apply his own reasoning to understand them. Teaching him was not taxing. Furthermore, these modern methods shared certain fundamental similarities with the current numerical systems, allowing Wen Ningxuan to grasp the patterns quickly through deduction and application. Lin He mused that if all her students were as intelligent as Wen Ningxuan, a teacher’s job would likely be the easiest profession.

However clever Wen Ningxuan might be, the amount he could absorb in a single session was finite; the rest would require slow, dedicated practice on his own. After teaching him for over an hour that evening, Wen Ningxuan noticed the clear fatigue shadowing Lin He's face. He said gently, "He'er, let's stop for tonight. You should rest early. We can continue tomorrow evening."