A few days after leaving, Zhang Rui returned to the business.

Chen Xiaomai and Yuanbao circled around him curiously, "Cousin, you got married!"

Zhang Rui scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Yeah!"

"Uncle, your wife is beautiful!"

"nice."

Zhang Rui had just shed his novice status and was now being pestered by Xiaomai and Yuanbao with all sorts of questions, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

Chen Xiaomai looked at Zhang Rui and said, "Big brother said that getting married means you're an adult, but you don't seem any different. Don't you feel anything is different?"

Zhang Rui blushed and said, "It's still a little different."

Chen Xiaomai said excitedly, "Really? Really? How is it different? I also want to become an adult."

Zhang Rui: "..."

“Xiaomai, don’t talk nonsense.” Lu Lin came out and said with a stern face.

Chen Xiaomai glared at Lu Lin with a tense face, then ran away.

Zhang Rui: "..."

Lu Lin brought Granny Shen back from Liuzhen and discussed the marriage arrangements with her.

Grandma Shen was overjoyed to hear that Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi wanted to arrange things between Shen Chi and Chen Xiaocai.

Chen Xiaolai and Shen Chi have been working hard in Liuzhen for several years and have established themselves there. Many people in Liuzhen respect Chen Xiaocai very much. Some wealthy people in Liuzhen will respectfully call Chen Xiaocai "Manager Chen" or "Young Boss Chen".

With such capable sons-in-law, Granny Shen was naturally happy. However, despite her happiness, she couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Chen Xiaocai and Shen Chi have been engaged for some years, and their relationship is still good. However, since they are not married, Granny Chen is somewhat worried.

Chen Xiaocai and Shen Chi got engaged in a hurry back then to stop the rumors in the village. If Chen Xiaolai and Shen Chi were to get married, they would be too young, and Granny Shen would be too embarrassed to urge them.

When Lu Lin brought it up, Granny Shen just went along with it.

It wouldn't have mattered if they hadn't gotten married before, but now that they're married, the house issue has become a problem. Granny Shen asked Lu Lin, "If Chen Xiaocai and Shen Chi get married, where will they put the house?"

If the house in the countryside isn't sold, then naturally the business can be held there. However, if the house in the countryside is sold, then it's not good.

Lu Lin then told Granny Shen that if Shen Chi and Chen Xiaocai got married, he would transfer the Liuzhen business to them.

Grandma Shen had been suspicious for years, but when she heard Lu Lin say it, she was still shocked.

The scale of Liuzhen Huaxia Trading Company has expanded considerably. Two years ago, Lu Lin bought and combined two shops around Huaxia Trading Company, making the shops two or three times larger than when they were first purchased.

Originally, the location of Huaxia Trading Company in Liuzhen was relatively remote, so the prices of the surrounding shops were not very high. However, as Huaxia Trading Company's reputation grew, it boosted the business of the surrounding shops.

This caused the prices of shops along the entire street to rise.

Granny Shen murmured, "A trading company!" Although Granny Shen had suspected that the trading company belonged to Chen Xiaomi and Lu Lin, a trading company would cost at least a hundred taels of silver, not to mention the house. Granny Shen felt it was unbelievable.

Lu Lin smiled and said, "Yes, but it's best for you to keep the business to yourself, Grandma. Don't tell the villagers, or it might cause some trouble."

Grandma Shen nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes, yes, that's for sure."

Grandma Shen secretly wanted to show off a bit. After all, what does a person want in life but to have a good reputation? However, thinking that the Lu and Chen families in the village were not to be trifled with, Grandma Shen held back. It would be very unwise to reveal her true colors for the sake of temporary glory.

However, this principle sounds simple, but it is not easy to do. Looking at Lu Lin, Granny Shen felt a surge of admiration. Granny Shen thought to herself: Lu Lin is really amazing. He has built such a large family business without making a sound. What is rare is that he has built such a large business and is still able to remain calm.

Lu Lin asked Lin Chun to accompany Granny Chen to the countryside, but Granny Chen repeatedly declined, saying it wasn't necessary. However, Lu Lin still decided to let Lin Chun go along.

After returning to the countryside, Granny Shen and Lin Chun tidied up the house.

"Grandma Shen, you're back!" Several villagers greeted Grandma Shen as they saw her.

Grandma Shen greeted everyone with a smile.

"Grandma, who came back with you?"

"She's a female worker from the shop, she came back to help," Granny Shen said.

"Chen Xiaomi sent him along, didn't she?"

Grandma Shen smiled but didn't say anything.

"Grandma, why did you suddenly come back?" After Grandma Shen went to Liuzhen, she rarely returned to the village, so many people were paying attention to her return this time.

"Xiao Cai and A Chi are getting married, so I've come back to tidy up," said Granny Chen.

A few villagers asked curiously: "Grandma Chen, the Chen family has sold their house. Where are they planning to hold the marriage? It seems the Chen family doesn't have a house anymore."

Granny Shen smiled and said, "The Chen family doesn't have a house, but I do." A few villagers chuckled and said that if they married into the Shen family, wouldn't that be considered marrying into the family?

Regardless, as soon as Granny Shen returned to the village, the news of Chen Xiaolai and Shen Chi's upcoming marriage spread throughout the small village. Several years had passed since Lu Chengyu's wedding, but Lu Chengyu's wedding to Li Fangyue was still the most extravagant in the village. The villagers were also quite curious about what kind of scene Chen Xiaolai would have when she married Shen Chi. Back then, when Chen Jing got into trouble, Chen Xiaomi gave Chen Jing thirty taels of silver to solve the problem.

Several years have passed, and the villagers all think that Chen Xiaomi should be quite wealthy by now.

"Grandma Chen, how much dowry is Chen Xiaocai planning to offer? Has your grandson told you?"

Granny Chen smiled and said, "Hey, don't talk about money. Just live a good life and that's all that matters."

Once the marriage was settled, Chen Xiaomi transferred the Liuzhen business to Chen Xiaocai and the house to Chen Chi. The house and business together were worth at least three hundred taels of silver. This was something the villagers shouldn't know about; if they did, they would be green with envy.

"Grandma Chen, this Xiao Lai seems to be a shopkeeper. She must make quite a bit of money every year." Although Chen Xiao Lai has been far away in Liuzhen for the past few years, the villagers have still heard some rumors.

Granny Shen smiled and said, "He's just a boy, how much silver can he earn? It's barely enough to make ends meet."

Several villagers were gossiping, unsure whether Granny Shen was being modest or whether the Chen brothers were only putting on a show and actually didn't have much money.

Lu Chengyu passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, which made him quite famous in the village for a while. However, several months have passed, and the villagers' excitement has faded.

When Granny Shen returned, she started arranging Shen Chi's wedding, which immediately changed the topic of conversation among the villagers.

The Chen family members reacted differently when they heard that Chen Xiaocai was getting married.

The two brothers, Chen He and Chen Qu, have both gotten married in recent years. They are both older than Chen Xiaocai, so it's not good for them to stay married past the age of eighteen.

The Chen family was originally a wealthy family in the village, and many families came to introduce their daughters to them. However, the incident involving Chen Jing severely damaged the Chen family's fortunes. Although the Chen brothers, Chen He and Chen Jing, managed to get married, the women they married were of much lower quality than before the incident.

The villagers were all talking about how much dowry Chen Xiaocai would give, which made Old Mrs. Chen feel very uncomfortable.

Chen Xiaomi and Granny Shen discussed that the wedding should not be a big affair. They would just invite two tables of guests. Granny Shen would host a few tables in the lower part of the house, while they would host a few tables in a restaurant, gathering familiar people together.

Grandma Shen agreed without hesitation. In her opinion, this was her own special day, and there was no need to make a big fuss and attract envy.

Chen Xiaomi didn't want to make a big fuss about Chen Xiaocai's wedding, but it still caused quite a stir.

Chen Xiaomi's banquet was held in a restaurant. The price of a banquet held in a restaurant is several times higher. The banquet was held in Hongyun Restaurant, and the restaurant owner and Lu Lin have always had a good relationship.

Two years ago, Lu Lin sold three recipes to a restaurant owner, which greatly boosted the restaurant's business. The owner was very grateful to Lu Lin.

Upon hearing that Chen Xiaocai was getting married and holding a banquet, Manager Wang offered Lu Lin a 50% discount. As for the drinks, Lu Lin brought his own.

Lu Lin invited some of the wealthy men he knew in the city and the shop assistants, but neither the Lu family nor the Chen family invited Chen Xiaocai to the wedding. Although Chen Xiaocai had kept it very simple, it was still the talk of the village.

Many people think that Chen Xiaomi's banquet must have cost a lot of money.

The betrothal gifts that Chen Xiaocai sent to the Shen family were fairly standard, but still much more presentable than those of ordinary families in the countryside. There were ten taels of silver, and the rest were clothes, shoes, quilts, mattresses, and dolls. Just like last time, the house deed to be transferred to Chen Chi was placed in a hidden compartment of the jewelry box. That was the real prize, worth over a hundred taels of silver. The Chen family's betrothal gifts were not much; they only gave a little over ten taels of silver.

"When we got engaged, we had already given quite a lot of gifts, and it added up to quite a lot."

"Even so, Chen Xiaomi must have earned quite a bit over the past few years, but her spending is still a bit too little."

“Chen Chi is just a minor concubine; giving her a dozen taels is already incredibly generous.”

"It's just that Shen Chi got engaged to Chen Xiaocai early and got a good deal. In recent years, Chen Xiaolai has become more and more successful. If it were now, she might not even look at Shen Chi."

Rumors spread throughout the village that Chen Xiaomi was too stingy and only gave a small dowry, and these rumors naturally reached Granny Shen's ears as well.

Several old women who were familiar with Granny Shen approached her, asking whether Chen Xiaomi was dissatisfied with Shen Chi and that was why the betrothal gifts were less. Granny Shen could only say that the two children did not earn much, so the betrothal gifts were less. However, she added that they should live a good life, and the amount of the betrothal gifts did not matter.