Not far away, He Cui’er hid in the corner of a dilapidated house, eyes gleaming green as she observed the courtyard of Gu Daya’s house. What a fool that He Danhua is. Gu Dexing is so proud; would he ever take a liking to a poor farmer girl? Don’t be silly. And Gu Dexing is no golden son-in-law either. The real golden son-in-laws are Gu Jin’an, as well as Luo Wu from the Luo Family and those two cold-faced men from the Qin family. But He Cui’er wasn’t interested in them; her eyes were set on Qi Kangming. Qi Kangming had merely injured his hand, which could be healed in the future, and he had a handsome look, quite dashing. He Cui’er stayed hidden in the corner of the dilapidated house for a while. After Gu Jinli entered the workshop, she left, pretending to help He Danhua who was crying, and took her back home. In the workshop, everyone was busily engrossed in their work. Seeing Gu Jinli arrive, they all greeted her: "Young Master, you’ve come." He San Lai approached obsequiously and said, "Young Master, the workshop is doing fine. We made 300 pounds more tofu than yesterday, and we’ve also ground a lot of spices. We still have half an hour before finishing work, and we’ve already ground 65 pounds of spices today." Gu Jinli nodded and asked, "There haven’t been any unsavory characters visiting the workshop, right?" He San Lai replied, "Since the Lu Family was taken down, who would dare to cause trouble now? Plus, with Uncle Zhu and me watching, Young Master can rest assured." Gu Jinli separated Old Zhu and his son, arranging for Zhu Changshou to keep watch at night with Wang Yongfu, while Old Zhu kept an eye with He San Lai. This way, the watchers didn’t all belong to one family and could monitor each other, preventing collusion and theft. "You go on with your work." Gu Jinli entered the main room and saw He Dazhuang’s wife and others grinding spices. Gu Daya was also sitting in the main room, grinding spices with them. Qi Kangming was going over the books with Gu Jin’an, learning how Gu Jin’an kept the accounts. When they saw Gu Jinli come in, Gu Jin’an handed her the account book: "The progress is good. At this rate, we can deliver ahead of schedule." They had a target of 2,400 pounds of seasoning spices, and they had already ground 650 pounds. Adding today’s amount, that would be 700 pounds. Gu Jinli looked at the account book and breathed a sigh of relief, smiling, "Then in a few days’ time, we can start frying the spices." After the spices are ground and blended, they still need to be fried. Fried spices have a stronger flavor and last longer in storage. "Mhm, but the workshop’s kitchen isn’t big enough. We’ll need to move to individual homes to fry the spice." Gu Jin’an sighed, the workshop was still too small. Once they had enough money, they must build a larger one; otherwise, they can’t operate at full capacity. Gu Jinli nodded, "Indeed, we need to build another one. The tofu workshop and the spice workshop should be kept separate." "Brother An, Uncle Guo and the others have finished grinding the soaked beans. They need to weigh the beans for tomorrow; come over to take notes." Gu Dalin called from the doorway of the main room. "Right, I’m coming." Gu Jin’an took out the tofu account book and, with Qi Kangming, left the main room to weigh the beans for Old Guo and the others in the courtyard. After being busy for a while, He Dazhuang’s wife and the others finished their work and took their ground spices to be weighed and recorded. Since Gu Jin’an was occupied, Gu Jinli took out the spice account book, called Mo Chunyue over, one to weigh the spices for He Dazhuang’s wife and the others, and one to record the numbers. The two siblings were busy in the workshop for half an hour before they finally finished their tasks. They went home with Gu Dashan and Third Grandpa, who had completed the tofu-making. Before leaving, because of the matter with Gu Dexing, Gu Jinli thought of Qi Kangping and reminded Gu Daya to keep an eye on him so that he wouldn’t be deceived by some girls in the village. Good Brother An is too gullible; he was deceived by Chunyue Yan before, and who knows if he’ll be deceived by others in the future. Gu Daya knew about Chunyue Yan too; she harshly scolded Qi Kangping, telling him that "Chunyue Yan was definitely not forced. Before the famine, she was already deflowered by Li Junping. After discovering her pregnancy, the lady of the house had someone force-fed her an abortion concoction, causing her to lose the child." "Many people in the mansion know about this; you’re the only fool who believed Chunyue Yan’s lies. Do you think she becomes a maiden again just by wearing her hair like one? She’s already been ruined, yet you treat her like a treasure!" "And the matter of her serving in Old Master Li’s carriage during the escape from the famine; you think she was forced? Bullshit, she went willingly. She knew that Li Junping was tired of her and was seeking to cling onto Old Master Li to secure her future." "Of all the maids in the Li Family, she’s the filthiest!" Gu Daya had laid bare all of Chunyue Yan’s dirty laundry, and Qi Kangping only then realized how despicable Chunyue Yan really was. "My aunt has taken note of this; she will surely tell Good Brother An, as well as your Uncle and the others, so that they all stay cautious to avoid being deceived." Gu Jinli, having heard this, was relieved and followed Third Grandpa back home. On the way home, Gu Jinli brought up the matter about Wenhao to Third Grandpa: "Third Grandpa, this coincidence is too perfect; I fear that person has ulterior motives. Please be extra cautious." He also asked if he had examined the donkey’s wound and whether it was neatly cut or deliberately inflicted. If the cut was intentional, it would not be an accident but premeditated, targeting them. "I’ve seen that wound; it’s jagged, not cut by a knife. More like it was scratched by a stone or branch; the flesh around the wound looks ugly," Third Grandpa had lived through many experiences and, fearing that Wenhao might be a swindler, had inspected the donkey’s injury closely. Third Grandpa didn’t want Gu Jinli to worry, so he said, "He said he would come return the money tomorrow. When he comes, I’ll ask him some questions and see if I can find anything out." "Okay," Gu Jinli replied. But they did not expect that Wenhao would not show up; Third Grandpa waited for a few days and saw no one coming to return the money. He even went to Xuanhu Fang to inquire, worried that Wenhao didn’t know the location of their tofu stall and might have delivered the silver coin to Xuanhu Fang, but the people there said they hadn’t seen that young man return. Third Grandpa was very puzzled, wondering what happened to Wenhao. But Third Grandma said, "Who cares about him? If he doesn’t come to return the money, then so be it. Xiao Yu said those books are quite valuable, right? We can just sell them at the bookstore, and the money we lent him will be returned." Xiao Yu said Wenhao might be a swindler, and Third Grandma was all too happy if he never came back. Hearing this, Third Grandpa stopped pondering over Wenhao’s affairs. They didn’t sell the books, though, but kept them for Gu Jin’an and the others to use. However, as Third Grandpa and the others let go of this matter, Wenhao arrived in a mule cart, bringing generous gifts. Wenhao’s foot was still not healed; he relied on a cane and was supported by a servant as he alighted from the cart. Upon seeing Third Grandpa, he hurriedly bowed and saluted: "Old sir, do you still remember me? On an earlier occasion, outside the town’s Gate Tower, you and Miss Luo saved me." "Be careful, Young Master," a servant supported Wenhao, afraid that he might fall if not stable enough.