When Chen Xiaolai returned from the camp, she heard the news that Chen Xiaomi was pregnant, and she couldn't help but feel excited.

"Big brother, is it again?" Chen Xiaocai asked excitedly.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "That's right!"

Chen Xiaocai was mature beyond his years, but when he heard the news that Chen Xiaomi was pregnant again, he jumped around happily like a child.

Chen Xiaocai said excitedly, "That's great! I'm going to have another nephew!"

Lu Lin smiled. People in this era don't care about eugenics; they believe that having many children brings many blessings. Even the poorest families will choose to have more children if they can afford it.

Lu Lin sized up Chen Xiaocai, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. "You and Shen Chi will have one too."

Chen Xiaocai scratched his head and gave an awkward smile.

Although Chen Xiaocai and Shen Chi got engaged and married early, Chen Xiaomi asked them to take it slow. Chen Xiaocai listened to Chen Xiaomi and had not yet tasted the forbidden fruit.

Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaocai and thought to himself: This kid should still be a novice. But, it's true that he's a novice, he's still a greenhorn.

Looking at Lu Lin's expression, Chen Xiaocai probably guessed what Lu Lin was thinking, and glared at Lu Lin fiercely.

Looking at Chen Xiaolai's expression, Lu Lin thought to himself: "A kid is a kid, so impatient."

After the house was completed, it was left to air out for a few days before Lu Lin and the others moved into the newly built house.

The new house was built somewhat hastily and is less exquisite than Lu Lin's original house, but it is spacious. Surprisingly, there isn't even a chair in the entire government office. Lu Lin shook his head, planning to find a carpenter to make a few chairs in a few days.

Chen Xiaomi said helplessly, "Perhaps it's not that it didn't exist, but that someone secretly moved it away."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Possibly." Lu Lin thought to himself: Everyone says that being an official is good, being an official is good, but for him, being an official doesn't seem so good. There's no authority at all. However, since he has already chosen this path, he can only continue on it without looking back.

Looking at the drawings Lu Lin had made, Chen Xiaomi exclaimed, "This stone mill is huge!"

Lu Lin nodded and said, "A large enough stone mill will produce fine enough powder, which will make the tofu taste better. A small one won't be useful."

In this era, stone mills already existed. Many coarse grains taste very rough and need to be ground into powder to taste good. There is a type of millet here that tastes similar to corn, and many farmers like to make it into millet flour to eat.

Making this stone mill was quite laborious. As far as Lu Lin knew, there were a few stone mills in Sha County, basically one in each village, and anyone who needed one would borrow it from the village. Lu Lin had ordered this stone mill for one tael of silver.

"When can I finally eat that tofu you mentioned?" Chen Xiaomi asked.

Chen Xiaomi's appetite has been strange lately; she can barely eat meat. Lu Lin finally managed to buy some meat bones and stew them into soup, but Chen Xiaomi still couldn't eat any of it, only drinking some of the broth.

Hearing Lu Lin praise tofu repeatedly, I couldn't help but feel a little more curious.

"No need to rush, we can eat it once the stone mill is finished," Lu Lin said.

Chen Xiaomi said with some disappointment, "Making this stone mill must have taken a lot of time. It'll be finished soon, won't it?" He ordered it a few days ago, but it's still not finished today. However, it should be done soon.

"Brother Lin, the stone mill has been delivered," Qin Ming said as he walked in.

Lu Lin nodded, somewhat pleased, and said, "Okay."

Chen Xiaomi stood up and said with some pleasure, "We were just talking about it, and now it's been delivered. What a coincidence. I'll go take a look."

Several family members worked together to carry the stone mill into the courtyard. The courtyard behind the county government office was quite large, more than enough to accommodate the stone mill.

The millstone was heavy, and it took several people a lot of effort to get it to the designated location.

Chen Xiaomi wanted to go up and help, but Lu Lin held her back.

Qin Ming asked excitedly, "Brother Lin, are you going to make something delicious?" Qin Ming had already heard from Chen Xiaomai that Lu Lin had set up the stone mill to make delicious food, so he had been thinking about it for a long time.

Qin Lang glanced at Qin Ming and said irritably, "All you ever do is eat."

Qin Ming said sullenly, "Big brother, you don't want to eat?"

Qin Lang glared at Qin Ming, thinking to himself: Qin Ming is getting more and more outrageous; I'll sabotage him.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes, now that this stuff is back, we can make some delicious food. We'll make tofu." As far as Lu Lin knew, tofu had appeared in this area before, but it hadn't been widely adopted yet, and the ways to eat tofu in this area were also quite limited.

Qin Ming was very curious about the newly delivered stone mill. After hearing Lu Lin say that grinding beans into powder could make tofu, he volunteered to take on the task of grinding the mill.

Qin Ming volunteered to push the millstone, but Chen Xiaomai was not satisfied and pushed Qin Ming aside, making him do it instead.

Lu Lin watched speechlessly as the children around the millstone, finding the scene somewhat incomprehensible. He thought to himself: "Pushing a millstone is hard work, but these kids seem to be treating it like a game. Two of them are even fighting over who gets to push it. These little devils are really too bored, treating such rough work like a game."

"Yo-ho, start!" Chen Xiaomai pushed the millstone and started turning it.

Lu Lin watched Chen Xiaomai circling the millstone and thought to himself: Xiaomai's monstrous strength has finally found a use. Lu Lin took out some plaster to make some tofu and boiled some soy milk.

"Daddy, it's delicious, it's delicious!" Yuanbao said excitedly.

The soy milk with sugar tasted incredibly sweet, and Yuanbao drank it with great satisfaction. Chen Xiaomai and Shen Chi were also very pleased with the taste of the soy milk.

Once the tofu was made, Lu Lin demonstrated how to make Mapo Tofu for Yun Niang, and Yun Niang quickly got the hang of it.

"Brother Lin, I never imagined that these beans could be made into something so delicious," Qin Ming said.

Lu Lin smiled and said, "If you like it, eat more."

Lu Lin thought to himself: Winter is coming soon, and then there will be fewer things to eat. At that time, he can eat all kinds of tofu, including tofu pudding, Mapo tofu, stinky tofu, dried tofu, tofu skin, frozen tofu, and so on, until he feels like throwing up at the sight of tofu.

Tofu is inexpensive, much cheaper than meat, and very filling. It's also quite nutritious. Making more of it can save you money.

Chen Xiaomi took a bite of Mapo Tofu, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. "It's delicious."

Lu Lin smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it."

Chen Xiaomi said excitedly, "I never thought beans could be made into something so delicious. I never liked to eat tofu before. Are there any other ways to eat tofu?"

"Yes, I'll make you tofu and fish soup tomorrow."

Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, "Okay."

The millstone, placed in the courtyard, became a new favorite among the family's children.

Chen Xiaomai followed behind Chen Xiaocai, saying excitedly, "Second brother, second brother, it's my turn to push the millstone, it's my turn."

Chen Xiaocai glanced at Chen Xiaomai and said, "Xiaomai, don't be in such a hurry. I haven't been pushing it for very long yet."

Chen Xiaomai kicked her leg and complained, "Second brother, you cheated. It's my turn, it's my turn..." Chen Xiaocai said helplessly, "Fine, I'll let you have it."

Chen Xiaomai replaced Chen Xiaocai and started pushing the millstone, which whirred and turned.

Looking at Chen Xiaomai working hard, Lu Lin secretly marveled at Xiaomai's strength. Pushing such a large stone mill was effortless for her. If they still lived in the mountains and made a living by hunting, she would surely be a skilled hunter.

Yuanbao sat to the side, watching Chen Xiaomai and the others push the millstone, his eyes shining, a hint of eagerness in his eyes. He was too small, not even as tall as the millstone, and couldn't push it at all, so he could only watch anxiously.

Chen Xiaomi came out and saw Lu Lin sitting to one side, watching the family members push the millstone.

Chen Xiaomi looked at Lu Lin and said, "Do you want to go up and give him a push too?"

Lu Lin shook his head and said, "I'm not that bored."

Chen Xiaomi: "This thing seems quite interesting..."

Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaomi and thought to himself: I hope everyone's interest can last for a few more days and not just be a passing fad.

Lu Lin's expectations went unanswered. A few days later, several family members gradually lost interest in pushing the millstone. The only one who remained somewhat interested was Chen Xiaomai. However, judging from Chen Xiaomai's expression, Lu Lin felt that Chen Xiaomai would probably lose interest soon as well.

Lu Lin thought to himself: Kids really are all fickle. When this thing was first delivered, several children were squatting by the millstone. Lu Lin could even hear the sound of grinding the millstone in the middle of the night. If he hadn't seen the little devils working all night, he would have thought it was haunted.

Qin Lang walked in from outside, looking travel-worn. "My lord."

Lu Lin glanced at Qin Lang and said, "You're back. Did you find the carpenter and blacksmith I asked you to find?"

Qin Lang nodded and said, "Found it."

"Let's find some time to bring them over."

"Why do you need a carpenter and a blacksmith?" Chen Xiaomi asked.

Lu Lin smiled and said, "Now that I'm an official, I feel it's necessary to make some contributions to the progress of the times." In the past few years, when he came here, he was only focused on making money. Now he should contribute to scientific progress.

Chen Xiaomi glanced at Lu Lin and felt that Lu Lin seemed a bit strange.

Lu Lin took out a blueprint and said, "Look at this."

Chen Xiaomi looked at the blueprints and asked, "What is this?"

“These are the blueprints for a curved plow, but I probably didn’t draw them very well,” Lu Lin said.

Looking at the blueprints, Chen Xiaomi said, "With this, farming will be much easier!" Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes!"

“This thing looks quite complicated, and it must take a lot of effort to make it,” Chen Xiaomi said.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes, even if we build it, no one might be able to afford it. But it doesn't matter, let's get it done first."

Lu Lin had a lot of money, so spending some wouldn't be a problem.

Although his salary wasn't much, it was enough to live on.

Luo Wen carried two pieces of tofu and hurried home.

During this time, Luo Wen had been doing errands for the county magistrate's office. Sometimes, if it was mealtime, Lu Lin would invite Luo Wen to stay for a meal. The Lu family had many members, so they wouldn't miss a bite to eat from Luo Wen.

Although Luo Wen felt embarrassed, when he was starving, he would often go to the county government office around mealtimes.

Lu Lin knew about Luo Wen's little scheme, but he didn't expose him, since his family wasn't short of food.

"Awen, you're back!" The old lady next door greeted Luo Wen.

Rowan nodded and said, "Yes!"

"You're working for the county magistrate now!" the old woman said worriedly.

Luo Wen smiled and said, "It's nothing."

Luo Wen thought to himself: The previous officials of Sha County were not good people. This old woman must have mistaken Lu Lin for someone like the previous officials. Luo Wen had been a little worried before, but after getting to know him, he felt that Lu Lin was quite different from the previous officials.

Luo Wen returned home. His mother looked at him and said, "Wen is back?"

Luo Wen nodded and said, "Yes, Mother, I brought you tofu."

Luo's mother asked, somewhat puzzled, "What is tofu?"

"It's a dish created by the county magistrate. It's delicious when eaten with soy sauce," Luo Wen said.

Luo's mother said helplessly, "How could you take things from the magistrate's house so carelessly? What if you offend the magistrate?"

Luo Wen calmly replied, "Mother, it was a reward from the master because he thought I did a good job. The master is a good person."

"The official is still a local official, so you must not offend him," Luo's mother instructed.

Luo Wen nodded and said, "I'll save it."