Madam Huang said she needed to take meat to Aunt Xu's house, as she had some matters to discuss with her, instructing Lin He to take the meat to Madam He's place instead. Truthfully, Lin He was reluctant to go to Madam He's, yet failing to deliver seemed improper; everyone else had received a share, and skipping their household would certainly cause talk. With Father gone to visit Grandmother and Mother visiting Aunt Xu, it fell to Lin He. She asked Ziqing to stay home and watch Xiao Bao and the others, taking only Ziyu with her to deliver the meat.

When they arrived at Madam He’s, only Song Yuemei was in the courtyard. Song Yuemei was seated in a chair, casually eating a packaged pastry, acting as if she carried some great treasure within her. Lin He stepped into the yard and called out, "Sister-in-law Yuemei, I've brought the meat."

Noticing Lin He had come alone, Song Yuemei responded but made no move to stand, claiming it was inconvenient for her to rise and asking Lin He to place the meat in the kitchen. Ziyu, standing nearby, carried the meat into the kitchen for her. It was then Song Yuemei said, "He'er, how much does this meat cost? I'll go get the money for you."

Despite saying this, her body remained utterly still. Lin He found Song Yuemei utterly disingenuous; she knew full well they were distributing the meat from their own slaughter and deliberately mentioned payment after being told it was a gift. Lin He quickly replied, "No need, Mother asked me to bring it over; no money is required."

Song Yuemei smiled deliberately, "My, that's very kind... Then please pass my thanks on to Second Mother."

Lin He acknowledged this and prepared to leave with Ziyu, but Song Yuemei pulled them both back to sit down, saying, "He'er, is this little girl someone you hired as a maid? Your family is living like landlord gentry now, with both hired hands and a maid! You must be earning quite a bit of silver a year, aren't you?"

Lin He offered no reply to Song Yuemei; she truly disliked this kind of person. Normally, when adults were present, Song Yuemei behaved modestly, but today, seeing Lin He arrive with only a maid to deliver and place goods for her, she suddenly became overly talkative.

"What exactly does your family sell to earn so much money? You never go out. He'er, I heard you were the one who came up with those ideas. Why don't you tell me how to do it? Then I can follow suit and earn some silver too."

Lin He stated coldly, "I saw those methods in a book. They are merely common tricks, earning very little money—less than what Sister-in-law earns in a day doing embroidery. If Sister-in-law has nothing else, I must take my leave now."

With that, she led Ziyu away. Song Yuemei watched their retreating figures, a flicker of disdain crossing her lips. It’s just a bit of money, she thought, and their child is already running a fever like that. Let's see how many more days they can keep this up.

As Ziyu walked alongside Lin He, she spoke up, "Miss, that person is truly annoying. Why ask about everything? If they have food to eat, they should just eat; why pry so much?"

Lin He chuckled, "Pay her no mind. In the future, if we see her, we’ll take a detour around her. We don’t run into her often anyway."

Not long after Lin He returned home, Madam He arrived in their courtyard. Lin He found this strange; Madam He hadn't visited their home in a long time, and she wasn't sure why she was here now. Approaching her, Lin He offered a greeting. Ziyu and Ziqing stood beside her. Madam He looked towards Lin He, but her gaze was fixed firmly on Ziyu, saying, "So this must be Ziyu. Both of these sisters are quite capable, aren't they?"

As she spoke, her eyes circled Ziyu, examining her. Lin He felt a surge of suspicion. What was Madam He after? Ziyu had never met her before and had certainly never offended her. Why stare at Ziyu like that? Lin He instructed Ziyu to pay her respects to Madam He, then sent both maids to the kitchen to work together, deciding to sit down and observe what Madam He truly intended.

Madam He began, "Second Sister-in-law, you are too polite. Even when slaughtering a pig, you send meat to our house. You gave meat to every family, didn't you? You must have sent quite a lot. Sister Yuemei offered to pay, but He'er refused. This is truly..."

"It's nothing, Sister-in-law. We only slaughter a pig once a year. A little bit to each family for a taste—it isn't much. Just don't look down on it. Your Yuemei's belly is starting to show, isn't it? In a few more months, Eldest Sister-in-law will be a grandmother!" Madam Huang said with a smile.

"Indeed. Thinking of my big, fat grandson, I can't sleep at night! This is our family's first grandson. Since Yuemei became pregnant, our household has been incredibly busy. Da Jiang works at your place, Qing Shan and I have to work the fields, and Yu'er, who has never worked a day in her life, now has to cook at home too. It’s pitiful, but there’s no choice; the household is just too swamped," Madam He elaborated.

Lin He suspected that by constantly emphasizing how busy her household was, Madam He was angling for her father to give Eldest Uncle a few days off. But only a few days ago, Father had asked Eldest Uncle, who insisted he didn't need time off and could manage.

Thinking this, Lin He asked directly, "Eldest Aunt, since your home is so busy, are you hoping Eldest Uncle can rest for a few days to help out? If so, I can mention it to Father later. There aren't many fish in the pond right now, so it shouldn't be too hectic."

Madam He smiled brightly, "He'er is indeed clever. Things are indeed busy, but what good would it do to send Da Jiang back for a few days? The pregnant woman can't wait on herself. I have an idea that would be much better than Da Jiang coming back."

Madam Huang watched her, waiting for her to continue. Madam He then said, "You don't have many people in your own family, and you don't have many chores. Yet you’ve hired two maids! I heard these two girls are very capable, skilled at everything. Surely your family doesn't need two maids, right? I was hoping to borrow one maid from you to look after Yuemei. It won't be for long—as soon as Yuemei's baby is a month old, I will return her to you."

Lin He was genuinely surprised that Madam He had come for this very purpose. This was truly an excellent scheme: using her family's maids to serve theirs. Lin He replied, "Eldest Aunt, your family isn't that large either. Doesn't Yu'er have little to do at home? She should be able to manage cooking while looking after Sister-in-law. Why think of borrowing a maid from us?"

"You silly child, look what you're saying. How old is Yu'er? What could she possibly do? If I let her do things, I wouldn't trust it. Besides, how could she compare to your two capable maids?" Madam He said, smiling.

Madam Huang also felt Madam He’s suggestion was too much, saying, "Sister-in-law, this won't do. They came to our house to work for us; we cannot do without them right now. They handle all the cooking and washing. If your family is truly busy, then Eldest Brother should request a few days off to come home and work."

Madam He saw that both Lin He and Madam Huang were unwilling, and her face darkened. She snapped, "What is the meaning of this? You don't need that many people anyway. What's the harm in lending me one girl to use? Isn't our Da Jiang also working for your family?"