"Oh, no, I figured out your Third Aunt's situation long ago. With your Third Uncle being the way he is, it would indeed be wrong of me to stop your Third Aunt from remarrying. I was thinking about Ning Xuan's injury. You mentioned something about business; what is it?" Er Niu asked, a touch of urgency in his voice.

Er Niu had been to Qinghe County and vaguely knew that Ning Xuan's Cai Die Xuan competed directly with his third brother's Yin Ruo Xuan. The words just spoken by He'er made Er Niu feel Lin He had put things too simply. If it were just a minor injury, Old Boss Wen wouldn't have brought it up specifically. But He'er didn't want to elaborate in front of them, which led Er Niu to connect all the dots: could this matter involve the third son?

Lin He looked at Er Niu, guessing her father's thoughts, and said, "Father, Ning Xuan truly only suffered minor injuries; don't worry. As for his business matters, I'm not very clear on them either; he didn't tell me the specifics, but it sounded like it wasn't related to Qinghe County business."

Hearing Lin He's words, Er Niu looked at her with skepticism, nodded, and didn't press the matter further. The three of them sat in the courtyard for a while. After a pause, Lin He spoke up again, "Mother, with Elder Brother's wife about to arrive, have you and Father discussed what I mentioned last time? Have you sorted out the household belongings?"

"What matter? What household belongings?" Huang Shi was momentarily slow to recall.

Lin He secretly shook her head; she knew that with the eldest son getting married, her mother had likely forgotten about these things. She continued, "When Big Sister-in-law enters the household, it will probably be difficult for me to manage things anymore. I'll take the money from the ointment workshop you mentioned earlier for now. What about the other things in the house? And with Big Sister-in-law coming, are you planning to manage the house yourself, or let her take over?"

Er Niu had intended to discuss this with Huang Shi last time, but Huang Shi had distracted him, and he never found the opportunity again. Now that He'er brought it up, he chimed in, "Yes, my dear, you need to think this through. It's time to clearly divide the household assets, especially what belongs to He'er and Chen'er. Xiao Bao and the others can wait a little longer; we can divide their shares equally among the brothers later."

"Doesn't He'er manage the household quite well? Even if Da Bao's wife joins the household, she won't know anything, right? Just let He'er continue managing it. We can decide later," Huang Shi said dismissively.

Huang Shi herself had always disliked worrying. She felt that all the household assets were earned by He'er, and He'er understood all the household matters. She treated all her children the same, and He'er wasn't biased. Since He'er didn't care about these things and kept managing them, when Yun Qi arrived, she could learn from He'er, and once Yun Qi was ready, she could take over.

Lin He understood from Huang Shi's words that this was a manifestation of Huang Shi’s reliance and trust in her, but she couldn't rely on her forever. Lin He said somewhat sternly, "Mother, once Elder Brother marries, the household will be different from before. In my view, you must take complete charge of the household from now on. Even though we will have a Big Sister-in-law, we still have three younger brothers. When they grow up and start their own lives, you need to consider all these things."

"Yes, He'er is right, my dear. The income from the ointment workshop now should be distributed by He'er, and she should keep the money. When she gets married, she will naturally make arrangements. You need to properly manage the income from other household sources, as the three younger ones will need money later. If you let Da Bao's wife manage this money, what will happen to the three younger ones? Besides, with a mother-in-law present, it's not the daughter-in-law's place to handle the finances anyway."

"Think about it: if Da Bao's wife is good, fine. If not, I fear that in the future, not only the three young ones but even you and I won't have a place in this house. The children are grown and marrying; some preparations must be made now, so we don't end up with chaos because of these matters." Er Niu, usually a man of few words, spoke words that were exceptionally reasonable this time; after all, Er Niu needed to consider things with a longer view.

"Yes, that's the principle. Mother, you have more than one son. When Xiao Bao and the others grow up and marry, there will be more people. The household still needs someone who knows how to manage things," Lin He added.

"Hmm, that is true. Then you tell me, how should I manage this household? I don't know where to start. We have many people, and the income and expenditures are many. I'm illiterate; how can I manage? If I manage, I can only handle trivial matters," Huang Shi said, looking troubled.

Hearing Huang Shi’s words, Lin He pondered for a moment and said, "How about this: Father knows some characters, and he can look at simple accounts. Also, don't we have Uncle Chang Geng? He is managing the accounts now, and he knows how to handle all that paperwork. He usually shows it to you after it's done, so that's not a major issue. As for household matters, I think you should start by dividing the monthly income. Things like the household's grain, the pastry shop's income, and the rent collected from the shop in Tianxin Town—you need to have a clear idea of how much each person gets monthly. After Elder Brother gets married, you should give his share to him. As for the younger ones, you should save theirs for them until they marry later."

"As for Father, I think you still need to learn to read more characters and look at accounts. Chen'er is learning from me every day; when you have nothing to do, you should study with us too. The family will rely on you in the future." Lin He outlined the general direction for Huang Shi.

"As for my ointment workshop income, this is what I plan: I will take one share for myself, the brothers and sisters in the family will each get one share, and you and Father will share one portion. I will save Xiao Bao's share for him, and I will give Chen'er's when she marries. I will discuss Big Brother's share with him. As for your portion, I will allocate it to you monthly, and you can dispose of it as you wish. In short, once I clearly delineate the household accounts, it will be difficult for me to interfere when Big Sister-in-law arrives."

"In short, my meaning is, Mother, you can no longer remain detached as before. In the future, you must manage the social obligations of the family and the future lives of your younger siblings. You also need to maintain a sense of proportion with Yun Qi; you cannot indulge her unconditionally."

Lin He had laid out the household affairs very clearly; this was also one of the reasons she had returned early this time. (To be continued.)