"The crispy mountain is here," Hongye greeted Xiaodong with a smile. "The kitchen made two portions. Miss, please have them with you. I had someone add extra honey and winter melon to your portion."

Xiao Dong's mouth watered at the sight. The crystal-clear shaved ice, along with the milky white and soft cheese, was poured onto a small mountain of melons, topped with transparent and bright yellow honey.

"It looks delicious," Xiao Dong couldn't help but exclaim, then made a difficult decision: "I'll eat this and then go back to drawing."

Qin Yuan laughed and said, "Eat more if you like it. I can't eat this much. Hongye and Cuiming, share some."

Hongye and Cuiming then took small bowls to share, sat on small stools, and savored the taste.

Xiao Dong was a little uneasy and said, "I'll share some of mine with my two older sisters too."

Qin Yuan stopped her, saying, "They've been keeping me company and eating a lot of these things. You don't come often, and even if you do, you might not get to see them. If it weren't for the fact that my master is too old to eat these cold things, I would have let you take some back with you."

Hongye and Cuiming had said their piece and left Xiaodong to eat by himself.

Xiao Dong happily savored the food while sighing contentedly.

Seeing his reaction, Qin Yuan smiled and said, "There are quite a few people who like Su Shan. A man named Yang Wanli even wrote a poem after eating it, which was praised by many people."

"What poem?"

Xiao Dong looked up from the bowl, his dark eyes fixed on Qin Yuan.

"It seems greasy yet refreshing, just as it congeals, it seems about to float away. Like jade shattering at the bottom of a plate, like snow melting at the edge of the mouth." After reciting it, Qin Yuan asked, "Is it fitting?"

“That’s fitting,” Xiao Dong nodded thoughtfully.

Qin Yuan said, "That's why Sixth Master Gu liked to write poems. In just four short lines, he could make people admire him. Whenever later generations eat Su Shan, they will think of his poem. Isn't that wonderful?"

After finishing his meal, Xiao Dong stood up and said, "Senior Sister, I'm going back to study painting. I'll come see you again when I have time."

"Okay, go ahead. When the pumpkin sticky rice is ready, I'll have someone send it to the master. You just need to go back and study hard."

Xiao Dong grinned, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Senior Sister, don't worry, I will definitely not let you down."

"Okay," Qin Yuan nodded and asked Hongye to see him out.

When Hongye returned, she asked, "Miss, why didn't you invite Xiaodong to have dinner here tonight?"

“The Prince of Jin is visiting today, and the Marquis will likely have much to say during his meal, so it’s not convenient for Xiao Dong to be here. Besides, one’s momentum wanes after a while, and eventually it’s exhausted. If he stays too long, he might lose his desire to learn. It would be better to let him go back to painting as soon as possible.”

Hongye was deeply impressed by Qin Yuan's words.

Hongye was puzzled, "Xiao Dong is learning medicine from Li Lang and will inherit Renhetang when he grows up. With the Hou family backing him up, why is he in such a hurry?"

Qin Yuan said, "He has the will and the talent, so I should help him. Doctor Li doesn't want him to enter the Imperial Hospital, so this is all I can do for him. Who can say what will happen in the future? It's always good to have more skills. If he gets better, I'll get better too. That's what they call 'a rising tide lifts all boats.'"

Seeing that Hongye and Cuiming looked thoughtful, Qin Yuan said, "If Qin Heng had the ability, I would also urge him. It's just a pity that Qin Heng has neither the mind nor the talent. He is the one who has to rely on others. Fortunately, my cousin Siyuan is a scholar. He will surely achieve great things in his official career in the future, and the Qin family's connections in the scholarly circles will not be wasted."

Cuiming sighed, "If Young Master Siyuan could find another good marriage, he would have a bright future, and Miss would have more support from her family."

Hongye suddenly realized and said, "I see."

Qin Yuan smiled.

Hongye said, "Miss, we will also work hard to become your support in the Marquis's mansion in the future."

“Alright, I’ll wait and see,” Qin Yuan said with a smile. “You should think more about how to get some useful information for me. Hong Mian is right. There are two vacancies, Steward Zhang and Accountant Sun. With so many people watching, I have to arrange for someone to fill them.”

Hongye immediately asked, "What did Hongmian say?"

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "She didn't say anything, but she reminded me that these days, many people are restless and trying to curry favor with Wutong Garden. I thought she had some selfish motives and wanted to take the opportunity to speak well of someone, but I underestimated her. She suggested that I ask Rong Mama."

Hongye stamped her foot and said, "This little girl is really good at scheming. She's clever. In the long run, I'm afraid even I will be surpassed."

Cui Ming laughed and said, "Who told you to be so clever, and to like clever people? If she weren't clever, she wouldn't have caught your eye. You only think of yourself as a talent scout for Miss, so you have no complaints."

Hongye slapped her thigh and laughed, "I've been following Miss for so long, I'm not completely incompetent. Once I bring Xiaohong back, I'll let those two clever girls fight it out, and I'll just sit on the sidelines eating melon seeds and watching the fun. That's when you'll realize how powerful I am."

Qin Yuan laughed and said, "You're so shrewd, you're like a female Zhuge Liang. I'm talking about serious matters, and you're just rambling on."

"Miss, what do you think? I'm listening."

Qin Yuan said solemnly, "These two positions are crucial. I have little influence in the manor and no trusted confidants. Few of the servants I brought are capable, and none of them have established themselves yet. The only one, Shen Changle, I still need to have him help me with things outside. I need to find two capable and easy-going people. Please help me think about who would be suitable. If we can settle on two capable people, it will save us so much trouble in the future. So the most important thing for a steward is to find the right people to manage things. If the right people are right, everything will be right."

“I never imagined that my position would be so important,” Hongye said, speechless. “I’ll find out right away and try to find a few good ones for you, Miss.”

Qin Yuan nodded: "That's good. Once we have a candidate, I'll mention it to the old lady and the marquis to see if there's anyone we can use."

With a heavy responsibility on her shoulders, Hongye was immediately full of energy, having long forgotten about Hongmian's hard work.

Qin Yuan then asked Cui Ming to bring out the account books from previous years to look through the gift lists for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Finally, she said, "I'm entrusting the Mid-Autumn Festival to you. Please think about how to prepare and arrange it. The affairs and social interactions during the festival are no small matter, much more complicated than yesterday's banquet. Fortunately, there are still some days left, so it's not too late to start planning."

Cui Ming chuckled and said, "Miss, you've assigned Hongye such an easy job, but I'm not having it. I won't stand for it."

"She finished that one and then came to help you with this one, didn't she? I'm worried about leaving you all alone."

Cui Ming smiled and said, "That's enough, Miss."

Everyone was busy with something, and Qin Yuan went to her desk to continue pondering the poem.

Poetry requires a certain mood and state of mind to produce good lines; right now, all I can do is polish and refine it.

Sure enough, after writing only a few lines, Gu Jinghui strode in, holding a small jade box in his hand. He casually handed it to Mo Zhu, who was standing by the door, and exclaimed, "How can we live like this?"