Ms. Wei shook her head again: "This... is quite troublesome, let's forget about it."

Seeing this, Ye Caiping didn't press the matter further: "Alright then. Second sister-in-law, are you eating here? Mother and Xiaoyan are cooking."

"I'm not eating anymore, haha, I'm going home first."

With that, he turned and left.

Ye Daquan said, "She's running so fast, it's like she's afraid someone will drag her onto a pirate ship."

Ye Lizheng and his second uncle were utterly speechless. How could someone be so inflexible?

Ye Caiping said, "Then let's keep these 7 shares for now. Everyone should contribute according to the shares I just mentioned. I'll prepare the deed in three days, and then we can all pay and sign it together. As for the workshop location, let's build it behind the Hu La Tang workshop!"

Ye Caiping bought 5 mu of land. She built a house and a spicy soup workshop on 2 mu of land, leaving 3 mu of land available for operation. The furniture workshop would only need about one mu.

"good."

Ye Lizheng and Wang Shuantou and the others responded happily.

"Uncle Village Head and Second Uncle, why don't you stay here for dinner? I'll go back and ask Mother to add two extra spoonfuls of rice." After saying this, Ye Caiping turned and went through the second gate.

Ye Daquan and Ye Yong chatted with Ye Lizheng and others in the outer hall. The furniture workshop brought them closer together, as if they had endless topics to discuss.

...

In the kitchen, Grandma Ye, Hu Xiuxiu, Madam Du, and Xiao Yan were all busy.

Fortunately, the kitchen is big enough and has enough stoves, so even with so many people working together, it's not crowded at all; it's quite spacious.

Ye Caiping went into the kitchen, but the rice was already half-cooked.

Ye Caiping then rinsed two spoonfuls of white rice and placed them on top of the half-cooked rice to steam.

Grandma Ye said, "Oh, why is rice being added?"

"Uncle Village Head and Second Uncle are here, let's cook one more dish."

After leaving the kitchen, Ye Caiping asked Huan'er to call Yinhua. After all, Manman had come, and Yinhua, as her classmate, should also come.

When Huan'er returned, she said that Yin Hua's family was already cooking and she wouldn't be coming.

Fifteen minutes later, the food was ready, enough for 19 people, and they were divided into three tables.

Ye Caiping, accompanied by several maids, sat at a table with Shen Manman and her maid Xiao Qiu.

Shen Manman ate with relish: "Which dish did Auntie cook?"

Ye Caiping said, "Ah...not a single one."

Shen Manman: "..."

Ye Caiping smiled and said, "I was discussing business just now and couldn't leave. Later I'll cook you two dishes and make you a soup so you can take it home and eat, okay?"

If we leave after dinner, it will be dark. It's dangerous for a young girl like me, even with a servant accompanying me.

Shen Manman nodded: "Okay. Although it wasn't Auntie who cooked it, Grandma Ye and Aunt Du's dishes are delicious too."

Mrs. Du and Mrs. Ye at the next table both laughed when they heard this.

Ye Caiping then asked, "Have you finished the cured meat I gave you last time?"

"I've eaten there once. But the taste was different from last time; it wasn't very good."

Ye Jin'er said softly, "That wasn't dried by my mother."

"Oh, I was wondering why it tastes different. Didn't Auntie say she was going to dry it for me?" she said, looking at Ye Caiping.

Ye Caiping said, "It can't be sunbathed in this weather; it has to be autumn, otherwise it won't have the right flavor."

Shen Manman nodded: "I've heard the saying 'When the autumn wind blows, people eat preserved meat.'"

After the meal, Ye Jin'er took Shen Manman and her servant for a stroll around the village.

The villagers all praised her, saying, "Whose daughter is this? She's so beautiful!"

Shen Manman proudly said, "I can be from your village too, and my father can marry into the village."

The villagers laughed as they listened, wondering where this little girl came from, how she could be so funny and witty.

Ye Jin'er: "..."

Ye Huan'er: "..."

Ye Jin'er quickly laughed and said, "Hahaha, that's so funny!"

Ye Huan'er: "That's hilarious!"

The two of them pulled Shen Manman aside and hid behind a large, deserted tree.

Ye Jin'er: "Sister Man, aren't you afraid of getting beaten up if you chat like that!"

Shen Manman: "Who hit me? Look at that uncle just now, wasn't he laughing quite happily?"

Ye Huan'er: "Uncle laughed, but can Master Shen laugh?"

Ye Jin'er: "Uncle won't hit you, but will Master Shen?"

Shen Manman's face stiffened for a moment, and she pouted, "Don't tell my dad about this."

"Don't worry, I won't tell."

The three continued to stroll happily through the village, beckoning to cats and petting cows.

Even the useless dog at the village entrance, Shen Manman would tease it with a twig.

A true example of teasing cats and dogs.

After wandering around for a while, it was past 4 PM.

When the group returned home, they were greeted by a fragrant aroma as soon as they entered.

Ye Jin'er and the others went into the kitchen and saw Ye Caiping putting bowls of food into a food box.

Ye Jin'er asked, "Mother, what smells so good?"

"Didn't Manman bring a lot of 'Xu Yu' today? I made some coconut chicken soup."

Ye Jin'er and the other two were already drooling just from the smell.

Ye Caiping filled three bowls of soup and placed them in a food box.

Next came the other dishes, also three dishes.

This large food box has four layers, which fits perfectly.

Ye Caiping smiled and said, "Alright, you should go home now."

Shen Manman pouted, "I want to stay here for one night. Auntie's house is so much fun, so interesting."

Ye Caiping said, "No. You can come and stay next time after you get your father's permission."

Shen Manman looked at the large food box and thought, "Forget it, I'd better go back. I'm just afraid that servant won't know how to speak properly."

"Okay, I'm going now."

Ye Caiping saw her off at the door and helped her into the carriage.

...

Inside the carriage, Shen Manman opened the food box.

At the bottom were three bowls of soup, and she took out two of them.

Xiao Qiu's eyes widened: "Miss... even if you're hungry, you can't drink soup in the carriage!"

"Shh!" Shen Manman put her finger to her lips. "Let's drink these two cups now. When we get home, we'll tell Dad that this is the only cup that Aunt Ye specially made for him."

Xiao Qiu's eyes lit up; she was also craving it: "Master is wise!"

Ye Caiping only gave them the vegetables, but not the spoons and utensils.

The two girls could only hold their soup bowls and gulp down the soup.

Xiao Qiu: "Ah, it's so delicious! It's a pity there's no spoon, so I can only gulp it down."

The two drank for a long time before finally finishing, their bellies bulging.

Shen Manman: "This soup bowl looks small, but it actually holds so much..."

Xiao Qiu let out a burp: "Yeah, if only I didn't drink it, I could just secretly put it back in my room when I got home."

Shen Manman: "..."

Xiao Qiu: "..."

Whether this guy is smart or not is a matter of opinion, but at least he's holding on.