Mrs. Shang treated Lin Qingwan with courtesy, and the other members of the Shang family naturally didn't dare to have a second expression, no matter what they thought in their hearts, they all welcomed her with a happy face at this time.

  The second lady held her hand and praised: "Not much older than Danzhu, how can you be so capable and hold up a family?"

  The several girls of the Shang family also came forward to pay their respects. They had all met Lin Qingyu before, or rather, they had all met Elder Sister Yu.

  When she was young, her aunt would return home. At that time, Lin Yuhbin was still small and had a weak body, so it wasn't good for him to travel far. Therefore, during festivals when he returned to his mother's home or when the old lady celebrated her birthday, he would always bring along Ruan Jie'er.

  So they used to play together when they were young, but it's just that in the past few years, Auntie passed away, Lin Yubin was brought to the Shang family, and Lin Qingwen is also a bit older now, so she doesn't come over anymore.

  Lin Qingwan didn't have any memories of Wan Jie, but she had the information that Lin Jiang and Wan Jie had given her, as well as a private portrait. Adding to the fact that the three Shang sisters looked different in age and appearance, she was able to tell them apart at a glance and even greeted them with a familiar tone.

  The Shang family has four sisters, named after the plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum. Shang Danmei is already married, so now the eldest at home is Shang Danlan, who is also Shang Mingyuan's younger sister by birth and coincidentally of the same age as her. She too was a posthumous child. However, unlike Lin Zhi's death from illness, Shang Dajie's passing was somewhat dishonorable, casting a shadow over her own birth.

  Wen Jie said before, she is a very strong girl.

  The third in line is Shang Er's legitimate second daughter, Shang Danzhu, who is the same age as Yu Bin. The fourth in line is her younger half-sister, Shang Danju, who is not more than two months older than her.

  Lin Yuhong had lived here for a few years, so they were more familiar with her. They had met Lin Qingwan before, and the three of them pulled her aside to whisper something to each other.

  "Tan Lan: 'Cousin sister, your younger aunt is really beautiful, quite different from when she was a kid.'"

  "Women change eighteen times when they grow up, and they become more beautiful with each change. Right, cousin? This time you've returned to your hometown, aren't you going to stay?"

  Lin Yuhbin nodded, "Little aunt said we should observe mourning at home."

  "That's really great, next time you should invite us to your home to play, no need to do anything else, just reading books is fine." Dan Hua said softly: "It's really boring at home."

  Bamboo whispered: "Speak softly, don't let them hear."

  Danlan furrowed her brow and thought for a moment before asking, "Is that cousin still in school? Is she going to come here with us to study or will she be hiring a private tutor?"

  Lin Yuhbin sighed and shook his head, saying: "Now that things are still unsettled, let's put off the matter of going to school for a while. I'm currently reading books and practicing calligraphy on my own, which is quite interesting."

  "After all, it's lonely," Danzhu said, rolling her eyes. "I told the old lady to let you continue coming to our house to study."

  "Don't," Lin Yuhu hastily stopped her and said in a low voice: "My little aunt may have made arrangements, let me ask her first."

  The three Danlan sisters looked at her suspiciously, hesitated for a moment, glanced up at Lin Qingyuan who was chatting happily with the old lady, and pulled Lin Yuhong to one side, lowering their voices to ask, "Cousin, be honest with us, is it because your aunt doesn't like you getting close to our family?"

  Otherwise, how can we promote three and block four? We must know that Lin Yubin is weak in appearance but strong in will.

  Lin Yuhong pursed his lips and said in a low voice, "Don't think too much, my aunt treats me very well. The Shang family is my maternal grandparents' home, and she even lets me get closer to you all. Apart from her, you are the closest relatives I have, how could she not be happy about me getting close to you?"

  She just sensed the malice of Zhao's family, even her second aunt towards Lin's family. During this time, she had seen too many conspiracies and experienced worldly affairs, so when something happened, she couldn't help but think more.

  She didn't want to ruin Xiaojie's arrangements, so whether or not she came to the Shang family to study still had to be asked with Xiaojie first.

  She couldn't say that, so Lin Yubin said vaguely: "It's just that our family situation is complicated now, many things are not settled yet, and I still need to stay at home to help my little aunt..."

  The three sisters finally breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her along, smiling: "That's good, we were worried that you weren't having a happy time at home."

  "Now among the four of us, you're actually the most successful, able to manage a household."

  Lin Yuhong smiled slightly, she would rather not have this kind of talent, if her father were still around, where would she need to worry about those things?

  It's just that little aunt is also being pampered.

  Lin Qingwan's eyes had been keeping an eye on the four little girls all along, and seeing them getting along harmoniously, she couldn't help but smile.

  The old lady smiled and patted her hand, saying: "Don't worry, Auntie, the four children grew up together and have a very good relationship."

  Lin Qingwan took the opportunity to invite: "Yu Bin is alone, and in the future, I will invite them to visit. I hope that the old lady will not stop them from letting the sisters get close."

  "I'd love to have the kids get along," said the old lady, pausing for a moment before continuing, "If her aunt doesn't mind, why not bring Yubin home to stay for a while? She's used to living here anyway."

  After all, it's too difficult for two girls to support a family on their own. Once the door is closed, the servants bully them and outsiders don't know about it.

  Lin Qingwan smiled and said, "I know the old lady is kind-hearted, but there are many things at home that we can't bother her with. Fortunately, our two families live close by, so in the future if the old lady misses my sister, she can just send someone to say hello, and I'll have her come over to pay her respects."

  A golden nest or a silver nest is not as good as one's own dog kennel, let alone this place where there are people with impure intentions. She must be out of her mind to let Lin Yubin stay at the Shang's house.

  The reason for getting along well with the Shang family is that Old Lady Shang is Lin Yuhong's great aunt. No matter what others think, at least now Old Lady Shang truly cares about Lin Yuhong. She also hopes that Yuhong can have a few more relatives who care about her.

  Secondly, the Shang family and the Lin family are actually in a restrictive relationship to some extent. If there is anything unfavorable to their aunt and niece in the future, as Yu Bin's maternal relatives, the Shang family has the right to speak up.

  Similarly, if Shang Jia is not in favor of Yu Bin later on, Lin Shi will also have the right to balance.

  This was also the policy she and Lin Jiang had decided on after much deliberation, no matter what they thought in their hearts, they would have to be polite to both the Shang family and the Lin family first, and then improve their relationship.

  Even if things really go wrong, she doesn't have to lower herself and lose her dignity.

  Now they have a good intention, the old lady has feelings, and both parties are in harmony. This gathering is very pleasant.

  At noon, the aunt and niece had lunch here. Because they were taking care of Lin Qingyuan and Lin Yuhong, there was not a single meat dish on the table, all were vegetarian dishes.

  Lin Qingyuan expressed great satisfaction with this, in any case, the Shang family showed their attitude and showed respect.

  After lunch, the old lady asked Danlan and her sisters to take Lin Yubin out for a walk and rest, and also sent Shang Er Furen away. Only then did she pull Lin Qingyuan into the inner room to whisper something.

  "Her elder sister-in-law is in the Buddhist hall worshipping Buddha and doesn't care about anything else, that's why she didn't come. She also asked her aunt not to mind."

  "No, Yu Bin is younger and should be the one to pay respects to Madame."

  The old lady sighed and told Nanchun to bring the things over, "Of my three children, I liked your sister-in-law the most. Her eldest brother was a good-for-nothing who died just as well, her second brother wasn't much better. The smartest and most capable one had to be born a girl..."

  The old lady wiped away her tears and said: "It's just that she left early, leaving a white-haired person to see off a black-haired one."

  Lin Qingwan stretched her mouth and didn't know how to comfort her.

  She's struggling so hard to live on, isn't it just because she's afraid that her grandfather will experience the pain of "white-haired people sending off black-haired people" again?

  Otherwise, who in the world doesn't die? Everyone knows that after death, they can be reincarnated. What's the big deal about dying and coming back to life again? Why take the risk of losing one's soul and wandering around?

  She just wants to live, to live well, for her grandfather to see, and let him spend the rest of his life without worries.

  Lin Qingwan's eyes became moist and she lowered her head.

  The old lady had already stuffed the box into Lin Qingyan's hands, choking with sobs: "This is the deed sent by your brother, I was indeed angry before, and in a fit of rage, I wanted to keep Yu Bin's mother's dowry for her. Your brother has such a ruthless heart, leaving so little property to Yu Bin, how can I not be heartbroken?"

  Lin Qingwan lowered her head and didn't say anything.

  "It wasn't until Your Majesty's decree arrived that I realized your brother's thoughts were far-reaching. While wealth is important, having the honor of being a county lord would make Yubin's life even better."

  Lin Qingwan was speechless, thinking that Lin Jiang had donated his property in order to help Yu Bin get a noble title.

  "Since your brother doesn't care about Yu Bin, and only wants the reputation, then I won't keep this thing either, let's just hand it over to you for safekeeping," the old lady said with a smile: "Your brother can entrust the family business to you, which shows that your ability is outstanding. As an old person, my brain is muddled, so I won't interfere."

  The dowry list of the Shang family was in triplicate, with one copy for her to keep, one for the Shang family, and another kept by the Lin family clan. However, while the deeds and other documents were in the hands of Old Mrs. Shang, the management rights rested with Lin Qingyuan.

  This was also what Lin Jiang had previously discussed with the Shang family.

  She naturally wanted to take these things herself, but she also knew that although the old lady had given them to her, she might not be at ease if she took them directly. For the sake of long-term planning, Lin Qingyan still pushed them back, "Old lady, these were all arranged by my brother, and my sister and I are still young, taking these things makes us anxious, why don't you hold onto them for now and give them to her after she gets engaged?"

  "Those industries are all under your control, so it's better to give them evidence, otherwise the lower people won't listen."

  "It's precisely because I'm in charge of the business that we need to be careful," Lin Qingyan said seriously. "You can't put all your eggs in one basket, it's better to spread them out. As for the servants' problem, what's there to worry about? If they don't listen, just fire them. Can't our two families find a loyal and capable servant?"

  The old lady saw Lin Qingyan firmly stuffing the box into her arms, and knew that she really didn't want to take it. The smile on her face became even more sincere, "Then I'll keep it for Yuhong first, you can come find me when you need it."

  Lin Qingwan smiled and said, "Where is the need to use sister-in-law's dowry? Although brother has sold most of the property, he also left us two estates, the book office and bookstore have income, and if all else fails, there is still the fief granted by His Majesty."

  The old lady let out a sigh of relief. "I heard that only Jue Tian has thirty hectares, except for some official fields that have been cultivated, the rest are all barren?"

  "It's not always barren, there are also good fields that were reclaimed in the past two years, just need some maintenance."

  The old lady sighed, "With so much land, how can it be managed? Even renting it out for a while won't be enough, I'm afraid some of it will still be left idle. Fortunately, it's a noble field, no need to pay taxes, otherwise it would be worrying."

  Lin Qingwan smiled and didn't say a word, she had already roughly determined how to deal with those fields. This world has no machinery, all farming relies on manpower, so it requires a lot of labor force. It's impossible to open up all the land at once, but it can be done slowly. It is expected that within three years, all those fields will be made ready.