But for that era, this was quite a large establishment; no wonder the business at Caidie Xuan was so good. It seemed to encompass everything the town's female gentry might require. It appeared Uncle Wen was far wealthier than she had imagined. Lin He wondered when she might afford a shop of this scale herself.

Lost in thought, Uncle Wen had already entered. Seeing Lin He and Da Bao, he chuckled softly. "He'er and Da Bao, you're so early. Did you set out before dawn? There’s no need to rush; it wouldn’t matter if you arrived later. Look, my shop isn't even open yet."

Lin He replied, "You're out of the Plum Blossom Cream. I feared customers would ask for it today, so I brought the delivery early. Uncle Wen, I redesigned the boxes—what do you think?"

Saying this, she brought over the bundle and took out a box of Plum Blossom Cream to show Uncle Wen. He examined it closely and declared, "Excellent. The material is fine, and the appearance is lovely—truly superior. This should certainly stand out more."

Lin He said, "Uncle Wen, I had these boxes custom-made myself. They’re crafted from redwood, so they are a bit pricier. I figured the new packaging should command a higher price. How much of an increase do you think is appropriate?"

Uncle Wen responded, "That's only natural. I recall you were selling the original for three hundred wen a box. Let's price this one at five hundred wen per box; it's certainly worth it. My finest rouge here costs over one liang, and in terms of effect, packaging, and material, yours surpasses it. However, yours is a new brand, so we'll keep the initial price slightly lower."

Lin He was inwardly surprised. Her own custom boxes cost thirty wen each. She had anticipated raising the price perhaps to four hundred wen, which would still yield a good profit. She never expected Uncle Wen to suggest an increase of two hundred wen per box; that was significantly more than a slight gain.

Da Bao, standing nearby, also parted his lips slightly. Da Bao knew the cost basis of this Plum Blossom Cream, and he hadn't anticipated Uncle Wen raising the price so substantially. Still, Da Bao remained silent, simply sitting and listening.

Though Lin He felt an immediate two-hundred-wen jump seemed steep, she trusted Uncle Wen had his reasons, so she nodded. "Mmm, we’ll listen to you, Uncle Wen."

Uncle Wen estimated that these eighty boxes should sell for about ten days. He told them to return in ten days to settle the accounts. Once everything was agreed upon with Uncle Wen, the two prepared to head home.

They walked past the butcher stalls, stopping at the very same vendor where Lin He had bought offal for the first time. The butcher spotted Lin He and greeted them. Recalling that her household hadn't had anything particularly tasty lately, Lin He handed the butcher two wen and bought a large pile of offal to take home and prepare herself.

Ever since the butcher had gifted Lin He offal that first time, whenever she came to buy more, she insisted on paying him two wen. The butcher initially refused, saying he'd just throw such items away anyway. But Lin He countered that if he wouldn't accept the money, she wouldn't come back in the future, so the butcher finally took the two wen.

The family members were all quite fond of offal. Coupled with Lin He's decent cooking skills, they often found it tastier than lean meat. However, Lin He knew that eating animal organs excessively wasn't good for health, so since the family's finances had improved a while back, she hadn't purchased any.

The household’s money had all been lent to her uncle’s family, and their food stores were mostly depleted after the New Year. They hadn't bought much meat these past few days, subsisting mostly on radishes and cabbages. Xiao Bao had been muttering about wanting meat just yesterday, which was why Lin He decided to buy some offal today to improve their diet.

Time passed quickly, almost two months slipping by unnoticed. During this period, Lin He and Da Bao had produced over three hundred boxes of Plum Blossom Cream for sale at Caidie Xuan, earning nearly one hundred liang of silver—a very gratifying income.

The plum blossoms had now been used up, and the season had passed. Lin He planned to switch to a different flower to create a new variety. Since spring offered numerous blooms, she thought she could develop many different kinds.

However, the household had no time or energy to dwell on other matters these days, as the time for Qingshan to marry Song Yuemei had arrived, set for three days hence.

These past few days, Er Niu hadn't been working the fields. Instead, he had been driving the ox cart with Da Bao, helping his uncle's family purchase necessary items for the wedding. He was so busy he was practically invisible every day. Old Madam Huang, Lin He, Lin Chen, and Zhou Shi were with Old Madam Zhao in the kitchen, preparing the provisions for the banquet.

Banquets here were generally self-catered, with relatives pitching in to help. Many items had to be started several days before the wedding, as it would be impossible to finish them all on the day itself.

Originally, because the Da Jiang family lacked funds, He Shi had intended to keep the wedding simple. But Old Madam Zhao and Old Man Lin disagreed, insisting that since this was the first joyous occasion for the Lin grandson generation, it ought to be celebrated lavishly. Furthermore, word had spread throughout the village about Qingshan and Yuemei, with malicious gossip circulating widely.

The Song family had also heard many of these unfavorable rumors, prompting them to impose numerous demands on the groom's side for the wedding. These included renovating the bridal chamber, providing the bride with several sets of new clothing—inside and out—and insisting the banquet be prepared according to the area's most extravagant standards. In the end, even He Shi, despite her objections, couldn't refuse.

As for the finances, Er Niu didn't involve himself this time, and He Shi found it difficult to bring up the topic herself. In the end, Old Madam Zhao contributed over one liang of silver, which, combined with the money He Shi got from pawning some belongings, totaled just over three liang—enough for a very grand wedding in that era.

The food alone was prepared quite meticulously. Each table was set with a large basket of white flour steamed buns and a basket of corn buns. For the main dishes, there were five meat courses and five vegetable and fruit courses, amounting to ten dishes per table.

Every day, He Shi watched the money flow out like water, intensifying her hatred for the daughter-in-law-to-be. It was only because of the impending wedding festivities that she couldn't openly express it, but her expression remained distinctly unpleasant.

Lin He observed the preparations. This time, her grandmother and uncle’s family had certainly invested heavily in the feast. To marry Yuemei, Qingshan’s family had spent a fortune. Lin He suspected that Song Yuemei’s life after arriving wouldn't be easy. For one, He Shi would never let her off lightly. Secondly, to marry her, the uncle’s family was now burdened with staggering debt, which Lin He knew would ultimately fall upon her to repay.