To welcome Zhang Rui, Lu Lin asked Yunniang to make Dongpo pork.

Dongpo pork uses pork that is half fat and half lean, cut into square shapes, and is cooked with rice wine, rock sugar, soy sauce, etc. The resulting Dongpo pork is bright red, like agate, tender but not mushy, and fatty but not greasy, making it irresistible.

Given that Chen Chun'er, her aunt, was very worried about whether her son would have enough to eat after he came over, Lu Lin felt it was necessary for him to put Chen Chun'er's mind at ease.

Zhang Rui's father was a butcher, and unlike most villagers who rarely ate meat, the Zhang family was captivated by the taste of Dongpo pork. Zhang Rui had never eaten such delicious meat before, and he ate three large bowls of rice in one go.

Chen Xiaomai was very curious about her new cousin. Seeing that he had eaten three big bowls of rice, she clapped her hands.

"Cousin, you're amazing! You eat so much. Brother Lin is so picky; he won't even eat fatty meat." Chen Xiaomai glanced at Lu Lin and blinked her eyes as she spoke.

Lu Lin curled his lip and thought to himself: "That brat Xiaomai actually complains that he's picky about food. If it weren't for his pickiness, these guys wouldn't be able to eat anything good."

Seeing Chen Xiaomai clapping, Zhang Rui felt a little embarrassed.

Zhang Rui scratched his head awkwardly. If someone else had said that, he would probably have suspected that the other person was being sarcastic. But since it was Xiaomai who said it, Zhang Rui knew that Xiaomai probably didn't mean any harm. She was just envious of his ability to eat.

Lu Lin put a large piece of meat on Zhang Rui's plate and said with a smile, "Being able to eat is a blessing, eat more."

Zhang Rui said somewhat awkwardly, "Brother Lin, I never knew that meat could be cooked so deliciously."

Lu Lin smiled to himself, thinking: It's just Dongpo pork. There were just too many delicious things in my past life.

"Eat more if you like it. Don't worry, there's plenty of food here."

Previously, when Lin Chun'er came over, she specifically mentioned that Zhang Rui could eat a lot and that meals would be plentiful. Zhang Rui nodded solemnly. Previously, when Zhang Rui went on trade runs with the caravan, the caravan members complained about his large appetite. Although they didn't say it explicitly, they often gossiped about him being a glutton.

Zhang Rui thought to himself: If I worked here, I could eat meat like this every now and then, but even if I didn't get paid, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Although Zhang Rui tried his best to restrain himself, he still couldn't control himself and ended up mixing the meat gravy into his rice and eating it. If Lu Lin hadn't stopped him, Zhang Rui would have licked the bottom of the bowl clean.

Zhang Rui was so excited during the meal that he even began to be completely devoted to Huaxia Trading Company.

Kids like to hang out with older kids, and as soon as Zhang Rui arrived, Chen Xiaomai started to cling to him.

Zhang Changrui had a good impression of his younger cousin, who had a life full of hardships and who sometimes shared snacks with him. The two got along quite well.

"Cousin, do you have someone you like?" Chen Xiaomai asked Zhang Rui, who was rowing, while carrying a small stool.

Zhang Rui smiled awkwardly and said, "Not yet."

Zhang Rui scratched his head. He felt there was no need to get married too early, but his parents seemed quite anxious. They had met two women before, but when they heard that his father was a butcher, they were so scared that their legs went weak, and naturally, the relationship ended without a trace.

Chen Xiaomai swung her legs and said with a hint of pride, "Cousin, do you know? Second Brother has a fiancé."

"Your second brother is really amazing," Zhang Rui casually complimented.

Zhang Rui had heard her mother mention Chen Xiaocai's affair. Apparently, Chen Xiaolai was often seen with a young woman named Shuang'er, and some bad rumors were circulating. Fortunately, Xiaocai and Shuang'er had a good relationship, so they decided to get married.

Chen Xiaomai nodded, somewhat proudly saying, "Yes, Second Brother is very capable. He's a master strategist."

Zhang Rui asked with some doubt, "Where did your second brother go?" Zhang Rui had been here for many days, but he hadn't even seen Chen Xiaocai.

“He went to do business elsewhere,” Lin Ge said. “Second Brother went to make money.” Chen Xiaomai said.

"Can I make money?" Zhang Rui asked curiously.

Chen Xiaomai replied matter-of-factly, "Yes, you can make money! Brother Lin said that Second Brother can make a lot of money and has a limitless future. Every time Second Brother comes back, he brings me food."

A flicker of envy crossed Zhang Rui's mind. Everyone dreams of getting rich. A few months ago, Zhang Rui went out with a merchant caravan, but the goods they were carrying were seized by the authorities halfway through the journey. He didn't earn a single penny and even lost money. To make matters worse, when the villagers found out, he was ridiculed.

Hearing Chen Xiaomai's words, Zhang Rui felt even more admiration for his cousin Chen Xiaocai, whom he hadn't had much contact with.

As the weather gradually gets warmer, the dolls in the store start to sell slowly.

When the weather is cold, hugging a plush toy is a great pleasure, but as the weather gets warmer, the fluffy toy becomes cumbersome.

Seeing that the toys weren't selling, Lu Lin wondered if he should sell something else.

Chen Xiaomi tapped the abacus and said, "The recent income has been a bit low."

Lu Lin nodded and said, "I can see that."

Chen Xiaomi sighed and said, "Business is really tough!" Things that sold very well before seem to be a bit outdated now. People still like novelty. Once the novelty wears off, they don't like it anymore. They're so hard to please.

No rush, we can clear out the rice and grain in the cellar now.

In autumn, when the crops are plentiful, grain prices are relatively low. In spring, when there is a shortage of fresh produce, prices rise.

Lu Lin dug a large cellar near his house and bought a lot of grain in the autumn to store. He sold it off gradually in the spring and earned about ten taels of silver. Ten taels of silver is not much, but every little bit helps. This amount of silver is equivalent to a farmer's annual income.

Lu Lin discovered that, indeed, once he had silver, earning more silver became much easier.

Lu Lin encountered the same problem of unsold dolls as Chen Xiaocai.

Chen Xiaocai, in Liuzhen, tilted her head and said, "Recently, dolls don't seem to be selling very well."

Chen Chi nodded and said, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it. And nothing can always sell well."

Just like farming, it's impossible to have a bumper harvest every year. If you encounter drought or flood, it's already good enough if you can break even.

Counterfeit versions of these dolls have started appearing recently, and they're being produced in large quantities. Although other stores sell them for a bit less, their store has already established a brand. To be honest, their store's dolls still sell better. Lately, the overall market seems to be in a slump.

The fake Huaxia store that previously snatched their rented shop at a high price seems to be struggling to stay afloat lately.

The shop owner might be a bit too eager for quick profits; the dolls he made were rather ugly. With so many affordable dolls available, the counterfeit ones don't have much of an advantage. I heard he's been losing money lately and is about to go out of business.

"Although the goods are not easy to sell, I can still make fifty or sixty taels a month." When Chen Xiaocai first took over the shop, he was terrified when he had a dozen taels of silver in his hand. However, recently Chen Xiaocai has become more experienced and can remain calm even when he has a hundred taels of silver in his hand.

Chen Chi, holding the doll, said, "In the summer, we really should sell fans."

Chen Xiaocai shook her head. The fans that had been sitting unsold in the shop had been brought out. Since they were last year's models, Chen Xiaocai sold them at half price, just as Lu Lin had suggested. However, even so, not many people were buying them. Perhaps, as Lu Lin had said, the market had reached saturation, and everyone who wanted to buy them had already done so.

Although business was a bit slow, the principal could still be recovered.

Chen Xiaocai puffed out her cheeks and said, "Brother Lin said last time that doing business always involves both gains and losses, and you should take it in stride."

Chen Chi blinked and said, "Brother Lin is so magnanimous!"

Chen Xiaocai nodded and said, "Maybe."

Chen Xiaocai thought to herself: Lu Lin might not be so open-minded. Lu Lin has already made enough money in the early stages, so it doesn't matter to him. Putting aside everything else, the silver he earned from selling his few prized possessions would last him a long time.

Chen Xiaomai, dressed in a beautiful outfit, sat in the shop minding the store.

Saying he's minding the shop is just a euphemism; he's just sitting there like a mascot.

Lu Lin didn't expect Xiaomai to be able to stand on her own like Chen Xiaocai, but he still hoped that Chen Xiaomai could do some things within her ability.

As the family business grew bigger and bigger, Lu Lin felt that it wasn't a good thing to always keep Chen Xiaomai out of the picture.

Chen Xiaomai learned a lot from being in the shop all the time. For example, she could tell the prices of various items. Although she couldn't keep track of the prices when customers bought a lot of things, she could still quickly find out what the customers needed.

Chen Xiaomai is quite cute. When female customers come to the store, they will occasionally tease Chen Xiaomai a bit.

"Are you going to the countryside?" Chen Xiaomi asked.

Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes." A couple of days ago, Chen Xiaomai was minding the shop when she ran into Zhang Dahu, the village's king of kids. Zhang Dahu said that the wild berries on the mountain were all ripe, in large patches, and very delicious. He asked Xiaomai if she wanted to go to the mountain to play, and also asked Xiaomai to ask Lu Lin if he wanted to buy wild berries.

Lu Lin guessed that Zhang Dahu's question to Chen Xiaomai about whether they were going to the mountains was a pretense, and that his real intention was to ask Xiaomai to ask him if they wanted to buy wild berries.

Back then, Lu Lin gathered many children from the village to pick wild berries, and Zhang Dahu picked the most and earned the most copper coins.

After hearing Lu Lin's explanation of the whole story, Chen Xiaomi couldn't help but shake her head. Xiaomai really had no self-control; she was easily fooled by a little devil and wanted to go to the village.

“Kids are always a bit playful. Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I’ve been back to the village,” Lu Lin said.

"Why don't you accompany Xiaomai on this trip?"

"He's fine." Lu Lin pondered. Business at the shop hadn't been good lately, so maybe he could make some jam to sell. If there was a small shop, the preservation problem could be solved.

Chen Xiaomi sighed and said, "It's a pity the house has been sold."

Lu Lin was a little embarrassed. "Grandma Shen gave me the key to her house, so I can use it directly." Lu Lin figured that if he went to the countryside to collect things, many people would be willing to help.

Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, "Okay."