Another half month passed, and the fame of Little Lin Manor’s canteen had spread far and wide.
Not only did nearby villagers come to eat, but even people from the city made the trip on horseback.
The reasons were simple: delicious, affordable, and fresh.
At noon, the canteen was packed.
There were farmers in coarse cotton clothes, merchants in silk robes, and even two scholars in Confucian gowns.
“Brother Zhao, this place is really something,” the younger scholar said to his companion. “Great variety, fair prices, and excellent flavor—much better than those restaurants in the city.”
“Indeed,” Brother Zhao nodded. “Especially these greens—so crisp and refreshing. I’ve never tasted greens this good in all of Jinling.”
Just as they were talking, another person entered.
He was a man in his forties, wearing a half-worn silk robe, with a thin face and a folding fan in his hand.
As soon as he walked in, he began looking around with an appraising gaze.
A Li greeted him: “Sir, are you here for a meal? Please get a tray here.”
The man nodded, took a tray, and slowly walked along the long table.
He asked about every dish: “What’s this? What’s in it? Is it fresh?”
Auntie Liu answered patiently, but she had her suspicions: this man didn’t look like he was here to eat—he looked like he was here to audit.
In the end, the man ordered one meat dish, one vegetable, and one soup. At checkout, he asked again: “How long has this canteen been open? Who’s the owner?”
A Li grew cautious and replied vaguely: “A little over a month. The owner… is surnamed Lin.”
“Surnamed Lin?” The man looked thoughtful. “Would that be the wealthiest Lin family in the city?”
A Li didn’t answer directly, only said: “Please enjoy your meal, sir.”
The man took his tray and found a seat in the corner, eating slowly and deliberately.
With every bite, he would savor it carefully, then jot down a few notes in a small book.
A-Gua spotted this from the side.
He snuck into the kitchen and reported to Lin Shuying: “Miss, there’s a strange man out there—he takes notes while eating. I’m afraid he might be here to steal our recipes.”
Lin Shuying peeked through the small kitchen window and saw the man holding a piece of greens up to the light, examining it closely. “Let him be,” she said calmly. “Recipes can be stolen, but ingredients can’t.”
She wasn’t being arrogant. The vegetables and fruits grown on the estate couldn’t be replicated by outsiders even if they got the seeds—they just wouldn’t taste the same.
Sure enough, after finishing his meal, the man wandered over to the vegetable patch behind the canteen and stared at the thriving melons and greens for a long time before finally leaving, looking somewhat deflated.
During the evening tally, A Li reported excitedly: “Miss, today’s revenue broke records—eight taels and seven qian! And we sold twelve monthly meal packages!”
Lin Shuying was also a bit surprised.
“That’s all because the food is so good,” Wei Fuyu chimed in, just coming in from training the estate guards, sweaty and heading straight for a meal. “Shuying, did you put some kind of magic spell on your vegetables? How are they so delicious? I’ve never had greens this sweet at home.”
Lin Shuying smiled but said nothing. There was no magic spell, but she did have a bit of a gift.
“Oh, by the way,” Wei Fuyu remembered something, “my father sent word today—he’s turned down that marriage proposal from the Marquis of Zhenbei’s family.”
“Really?” Lin Shuying was happy for her. “Congratulations.”
“It’s all thanks to you.” Wei Fuyu said earnestly. “If you hadn’t made me this security instructor and shown my father that I could do something useful, he would never have relented. Shuying, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it—we’re friends.” Lin Shuying patted her shoulder.
Just then, Nurse Lin came in with a bowl of rock sugar stewed pear: “Second Miss, your voice has been a little hoarse these past few days—have some of this to soothe it.”
Lin Shuying took it, a warmth spreading through her heart.
— —
A few more days passed, and the canteen’s business grew ever more prosperous.
A Li suggested expanding—knocking through the adjoining side room to add more seating.
Lin Shuying agreed, but with a reminder: “We can expand, but quality must not drop. Ingredients must stay fresh, and hygiene must be maintained.”
“Rest assured, Miss,” A Li pounded her chest in assurance. “I’m keeping an eye on everything.”
One morning, while Lin Shuying was in the greenhouse setting up trellises for the grape seedlings, A-Gua came running again—the boy had been getting faster and faster at running errands these days.
“Miss! Miss! Someone wants to discuss a partnership!”
Lin Shuying straightened up: “Partnership? What kind?”
“The owner of ‘Fortune Full House’ in the city wants to go into business with us—to open a similar canteen in the city,” A-Gua panted. “He’s waiting in the front hall right now.”
— —
Lin Shuying washed her hands, changed into appropriate attire, and went to the front hall.
Inside sat a plump middle-aged man in a patterned silk robe, wearing a jade thumb ring—clearly a businessman. When he saw Lin Shuying enter, he quickly rose and bowed: “Greetings, Second Miss. I’m Manager Qian of Fortune Full House.”
“Please, have a seat, Manager Qian.” Lin Shuying sat down and got straight to the point. “I hear you’re interested in a partnership?”
“Exactly.” Manager Qian rubbed his hands together, beaming. “I’ve come to your canteen several times, and I must say—it’s astounding. The self-service concept is novel, the food is delicious, and the prices are reasonable. I thought that if we opened one in the city, business would be explosive.”
Lin Shuying remained impassive: “What kind of partnership did you have in mind?”
“I provide the capital, the location, and the staff; you provide the techniques and the ingredients,” Manager Qian said. “We split the profits thirty-seventy—thirty for you, seventy for me.”
Lin Shuying smiled.
Thirty-seventy? Dream on.
“Manager Qian,” she said slowly, “do you know why the food here tastes so good?”
“Wh-why?”
“Because the ingredients are superior.” Lin Shuying picked up her teacup. “The vegetables from my estate are grown using special methods—unique in all of Jinling. Even if you took my recipes and used ordinary produce, you couldn’t replicate the flavor.”
Manager Qian’s expression shifted slightly.
“So,” Lin Shuying continued, “a partnership is possible, but on my terms. First, I take a fifty percent stake. Second, all ingredients must be sourced from me. Third, I have the final say on the business model.”
Manager Qian blurted out: “Fifty percent? That’s too much!”
“Then no partnership.” Lin Shuying set down her teacup, her tone cool. “My canteen is doing perfectly well—I’m not short of customers. But your Fortune Full House… I hear business hasn’t been so good lately, has it?”
Manager Qian winced at the jab, his face flushing and paling in turns.
Fortune Full House was indeed suffering a downturn.
Ever since Little Lin Manor’s canteen had gained fame, many common folk had started coming here to eat.
After all, what a meal cost in the city could buy two meals here—and the food was better to boot. Besides, it was only an incense stick’s worth of extra travel.
“Forty percent,” Manager Qian ground out. “Second Miss, forty percent—I can’t go any higher.”
Lin Shuying shook her head: “Fifty percent. Not one percent less.”
The two were at an impasse for a while. Seeing that Lin Shuying wouldn’t budge an inch, Manager Qian finally slumped: “Let… let me think it over.”
“Take your time.” Lin Shuying rose to see him out. “A Li, see Manager Qian out.”
After seeing him off, A Li asked quietly: “Miss, wasn’t fifty percent a bit too harsh?”
“Not at all,” Lin Shuying said. “What he’s after isn’t the canteen—it’s my ingredients and techniques. Without me, he can’t make it work. So the leverage is in my hands.”
A Li nodded, half-understanding.
“However,” Lin Shuying shifted gears, “a partnership is indeed a good path. The city has a larger market and more people. But we need someone reliable—not Manager Qian.”
“Then who?”
Lin Shuying thought for a moment, then smiled: “Isn’t there an obvious choice right in front of us?”
“Who?”
“My eldest brother! The Lin family’s businesses span the entire country—opening a canteen would be easy for him. And since he’s family, I can trust him completely.”
Just as she was speaking, the sound of hooves came from outside again.
A-Gua peeked out and turned back: “Miss, it’s your cousin from the Gu family—Young Master Gu Hanzhou has arrived. He says he’s come to the capital for the imperial examinations and would like to stay here for a while.”
Lin Shuying raised an eyebrow.
Gu Hanzhou?
That distant cousin?
She had only met him once at a family banquet a few years ago and didn’t remember him well—only that he was a gentle, scholarly type who spoke in a refined manner.
Before long, a young man in a green Confucian robe walked in.
He was in his early twenties, with a handsome face and refined manners, though his complexion was somewhat pale—perhaps tired from the journey.
Gu Hanzhou clasped his hands in greeting: “I apologize for the intrusion. I have come to the capital for the examinations and wondered if I might stay here for a while to review my studies. Would that be convenient?”
Lin Shuying studied him, calculating quickly in her mind.
The Gu family were distant relatives on her mother’s side, of modest means.
This cousin was said to be a good scholar with a strong chance of passing the imperial exams.
It would be proper and reasonable to let him stay.
But…
This was, after all, her own estate, and he was a relative.
Lin Shuying’s smile was warm: “You’re too kind, Cousin. I hope you don’t mind the humble conditions of this estate.”
“Not at all.” Gu Hanzhou understood her reservations. “The Lin residence is too prominent for my liking—a scholar like me coming and going from there would invite gossip. Rest assured, I’ll only stay in the outer quarters. I’ve already spoken with your mother—I certainly won’t disturb your peace.”
“You’re too polite, Cousin. A-Gua, take Cousin to the outer wing to settle in. Have the servants attend to him these few days.” Lin Shuying couldn’t think of a reason to refuse, so she agreed for now.
“Thank you.” Gu Hanzhou bowed again and followed A-Gua out.
Once he was gone, Wei Fuyu sidled over and whispered: “Shuying, your cousin… he seems quite refined.”
“Mm.” Lin Shuying hummed in acknowledgment, lost in thought.
Refined he was—but whether his inner character matched his outward appearance was another matter.
Something about him felt… off.
“Oh, by the way,” she remembered something, “Fuyu, I need a favor.”
“What?”
“Keep an eye on this cousin of mine.” Lin Shuying lowered her voice. “If he wanders around the estate, note where he goes and who he meets, and report back to me.”
Wei Fuyu’s eyes lit up: “You suspect him of—”
“Better safe than sorry.” Lin Shuying said calmly. “If the Lin residence is inconvenient, why not stay at an inn or a tavern? Why come here? After all, we have quite a few ‘treasures’ at the moment~”
The rare melons and fruits in the greenhouse, the agricultural notes in the study, and the canteen’s trade secrets…
Any one of them leaking would be trouble.
Wei Fuyu pounded her chest: “Leave it to me! I’ll watch him like a hawk!”
Lin Shuying smiled and patted her shoulder: “No need to be too tense—maybe he really did just come to study.”
That said, she still had A Li put away all the important notes in the study that night.
And she took A Li back to the Lin residence—she needed to ask her mother about this in person.
Better safe than sorry—that was her motto across two lifetimes.
Wei Fuyu did keep an eye on Gu Hanzhou for two days, but couldn’t find anything unusual about him.
So the matter was dropped.
— —
Late at night, the estate grew quiet.
In the western guest room, Gu Hanzhou lit an oil lamp and spread out his books.
But his gaze wasn’t on the pages—it was fixed through the window toward the greenhouse.
These past two days, as he passed by, he had glimpsed some unusual plants growing inside.
And that canteen… business was booming.
This Second Miss Lin was no ordinary person.
He picked up his brush, jotted down a few notes, and a meaningful smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Outside, moonlight flowed like water.
The night at Little Lin Manor was peaceful—but beneath the surface, undercurrents stirred.
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