"Everyone, calm down. Please go back for now. I promise you, I'll make sure each of you gets a portion. Consider it my Mid-Autumn Festival gift to you, alright?" Xue Qin quickly addressed the wealthy women, urging them not to worry.

  "Really?"

  "Really." Xue Qin nodded. The women finally quieted down and moved away from Lin Yu.

  Lin Yu let out a sigh of relief and glanced at Xue Qin with a wry smile. Since she had made the promise, she could handle the grinding herself.

  In just a few hours, the wealthy women's attitudes toward Xue Qin had completely changed. They repeatedly shook her hands in gratitude, reluctant to leave, and made sure to exchange contact information with Lin Yu.

  "Handsome, here's my business card. Let's keep in touch."

  "Handsome, this is mine. I'll visit you when I have time."

  "And mine. Handsome, my family makes mooncakes. Don't buy any for Mid-Autumn Festival—I'll bring some to you."

  "This is mine. Love you, handsome. Mwah!"

  Lin Yu accepted their business cards with a苦笑 (kǔxiào - bitter smile). He paused at the mooncake business card—it would be useful since Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching.

  If they were ordinary mooncakes, Lin Yu wouldn't have cared, but these were from Guihualou, reputedly priceless.

  Guihualou was a time-honored brand in Qinghai, famous throughout China. During Mid-Autumn Festival, their mooncakes were so scarce that even money couldn't buy them. They were often reserved for high-ranking officials in Qinghai and Beijing, making them inaccessible to ordinary people.

  A few days earlier, his father-in-law had lamented never having tasted Guihualou mooncakes despite all these years. So, Lin Yu decided to ask this wealthy woman to help get some for his in-laws to try.

  After seeing off the wealthy women, Xue Qin eagerly approached Lin Yu. "Have you ever thought about turning this herbal paste into a skincare product? We could mass-produce it and launch it on the market."

  "No." Lin Yu shook his head. He hadn't considered it at all.

  "This paste is so effective. If we mass-produce it and build its reputation, sales would skyrocket." Seeing Lin Yu's lack of interest, Xue Qin pressed enthusiastically.

  "Hmm... If you want to mass-produce it, I'll give you the formula. You can easily get the herbs from Song Zheng." Lin Yu directly wrote down the formula and handed it to Xue Qin, explaining the grinding method and mixing ratio.

  Xue Qin stared at the formula in astonishment. This wasn't just a simple recipe—to her, it represented tens of millions, even billions, in profits.

  Yet Lin Yu had given it to her so casually.

  "What's wrong? Take it." Lin Yu smiled. "When you make money, remember to treat me."

  Xue Qin bit her lip and accepted the formula. "Then I'll consider you an investor. You'll be the major shareholder."

  "Alright, handle it as you see fit. If you encounter any difficulties, you can always come to me." Lin Yu smiled at her without refusing.

  He didn't take it too seriously, as he knew nothing about the cosmetics market.

  A few days later, it was Mid-Autumn Festival. According to the Jiang family's tradition, they would usually cook at home and enjoy a meal together. But this year, Jiang Jingren insisted on booking a table at a restaurant near his office.

  Jiang Yan and Li Suqin didn't object. As long as the family was together, it didn't matter where they ate.

  On the night of the festival, Lin Yu was about to leave in his sportswear when Jiang Yan stopped him. She pulled a brand-new black trench coat from the closet and handed it to him. "Wear this."

  "Oh, you bought this specially for me?" Lin Yu was surprised.

  "I don't want you embarrassing me outside." Jiang Yan snorted, though her heart fluttered. Lately, she had started caring about Lin Yu's appearance and wanted him to look handsome. In the past, she wouldn't have bothered with this good-for-nothing.

  Just as the family was about to leave, Zhou Chen called. "Jiarong, where are you? Are you home? Yuxuan and I are coming over."

  Hearing the urgency in Zhou Chen's voice, Lin Yu thought something might be wrong. "Alright, come over."

  "Dad, Mom, you go ahead. I'll take a taxi later."

  Stolen story; please report.

  After hanging up, Lin Yu explained to Jiang Yan and waited alone at the小区门口 (xiǎoqū ménkǒu - residential area entrance) for Zhou Chen and Shen Yuxuan.

  Soon, a sports car roared up and screeched to a halt. Shen Yuxuan stepped out and laughed, "So, Jiarong, how's my driving?"

  "Much improved." Lin Yu smiled inwardly, thinking it would take him a decade to drive like that.

  "Jiarong, why are you here?" Zhou Chen also got out, carrying a long brocade box.

  "We were about to go out for dinner. Since you were coming, I let them go ahead." Lin Yu replied.

  "Oh, it's nothing major. We just came specifically to bring Uncle Jiang a Mid-Autumn Festival gift." Zhou Chen handed the brocade box to Lin Yu. "Open it and see what's inside."

  Lin Yu opened the box to find a scroll of ink painting emitting a vibrant spiritual energy—clearly invaluable.

  He unrolled it to reveal a墨梅图 (mòméitú - ink plum painting) by Bada Shanren.

  "Zhou Chen, I can't accept this. It's too valuable." Lin Yu hurriedly rolled it up and returned it.

  Masterpieces by Bada Shanren had auctioned for hundreds of millions. Though this piece was slightly less refined, it was still worth at least twenty million. Such an extravagant gift for Mid-Autumn Festival was something Lin Yu couldn't accept.

  "This is from both of us. We bought it together, knowing Uncle Jiang appreciates such things. If you refuse, you're looking down on us." Zhou Chen complained.

  "Exactly, Jiarong. Why are you being polite with us? Let me tell you, Zhou Chen made a fortune from those two pieces of agarwood you gave him. This painting is nothing in comparison." Shen Yuxuan added.

  "Right, I almost forgot. Jiarong, I've sold all the agarwood. The profits were substantial. I've transferred Uncle Jiang's twenty percent share, but there might be a bank delay—it should arrive by evening." Zhou Chen said.

  "You two." Lin Yu shook his head helplessly and smiled. "Alright, I'll accept it for now. Thank you both on behalf of my father-in-law."

  "Who are we to each other?"

  "Exactly. Okay, go enjoy the festival. We'll head off now."

  Zhou Chen and Shen Yuxuan got back into the car and sped away.

  Not wanting to trouble himself, Lin Yu didn't take the painting upstairs. Instead, he hailed a taxi to the restaurant his father-in-law had booked.

  On the way, Lin Yu received another call—this time from a Guihualou employee. The老板娘 (lǎobǎnniáng - boss's wife) had specially reserved several boxes of premium mooncakes for him and asked for his address to deliver them.

  "We're eating out. Please deliver them to the restaurant." Lin Yu provided the address.

  Despite the festival, the restaurant was packed—business was booming. It seemed more people preferred dining out during holidays.

  Following Jiang Yan's directions, Lin Yu found their semi-private room. To his surprise, another family was already at the large round table.

  An elderly couple slightly older than Jiang Jingren and Li Suqin, a couple in their mid-thirties, and a pair of seven- or eight-year-old twins—three generations of a family.

  "This is Dad's colleague, Uncle Zhang, Aunt Yan, their son and daughter-in-law, Brother Zhang and Sister Liu." Jiang Yan quickly stood to introduce them. "The table Dad booked was gone, but Uncle Zhang had also booked one here, so they invited us to join."

  "So frustrating! I booked it early!" Jiang Jingren slammed the table in anger.

  He wasn't just angry about losing the table; he was upset that the restaurant had given it to Old Zhang instead, making him lose face. At work, he and Old Zhang were always competing, trying to outdo each other.

  "Come on, isn't this nice? Both families together—it's livelier." Uncle Zhang said cheerfully, feeling quite proud.

  "This must be Jiarong? I heard you opened a clinic?" Aunt Yan asked with a smile.

  "Yes, Auntie." Lin Yu replied honestly.

  "Is being a doctor promising? How's the income?" Uncle Zhang asked with a faint smile, his tone slightly mocking.

  "It's alright. Just opened, so not many patients yet. About seven or eight thousand a month." Lin Yu answered truthfully.

  Since his fees were low, his income wasn't substantial, but it was enough to get by.

  "Oh, that's not bad. Almost as much as our Zhihui makes in a day, right, Zhihui?" Uncle Zhang turned to his son, Zhang Zhihui.

  "More than that, Dad. With bonuses, I make over ten thousand a day now." Zhang Zhihui said proudly.

  He was a returned overseas PhD who had joined a major state-owned enterprise. Thanks to his aunt's connections, he had quickly risen to become a regional manager with excellent benefits.

  As he spoke, he glanced subtly at Jiang Yan, feeling a sense of satisfaction. His father had once proposed marriage between their families, but Jiang Yan had refused due to the age difference, leaving him resentful.

  After all, who wouldn't feel不甘心 (bùgānxīn - unwilling) after being rejected by a beauty like Jiang Yan?

  "My son-in-law's income isn't high, but at the last antique auction—"

  "Enough, Old Jiang. That's old news. Don't bring it up. Those few million are dead money—the more you spend, the less you have!"

  Just as Jiang Jingren was about to speak, Uncle Zhang cut him off. Jiang Jingren swallowed his words, fuming. He had momentarily forgotten about Lin Yu's side job at the珠宝公司 (zhūbǎo gōngsī - jewelry company).

  Lin Yu shook his head helplessly. Remembering how angry Jiang Jingren had been when he returned home last time, he guessed that "Old Zhang" was this Uncle Zhang. No wonder his father-in-law was upset—Uncle Zhang's words were indeed harsh.

  "Alright, let's eat." Aunt Yan, sensing the tension, hurriedly urged everyone to start.

  Jiang Jingren and Old Zhang were incompatible. Throughout the meal, their conversations repeatedly turned into arguments.

  Lin Yu found it both amusing and frustrating—they were like stubborn children.

  "By the way, Dad, Uncle Jiang, I specially asked someone to get mooncakes from Changshengzhai. Please try them." Zhang Zhihui suddenly remembered and hurriedly brought out a brocade box. He took out exquisitely packaged mooncakes and distributed them.

  "Old Jiang, Changshengzhai mooncakes are hard to come by, especially during Mid-Autumn Festival. You need connections to get them. Our Zhihui had to ask many people to get these." Uncle Zhang said cheerfully. "What kind of mooncakes did your family get this year?"

  Changshengzhai was another time-honored brand in Qinghai, second only to Guihualou. During Mid-Autumn Festival, they were also highly sought after.

  "Hmph, who eats Changshengzhai? If we're having mooncakes, we only eat Guihualou!" Jiang Jingren knew Old Zhang was provoking him and retorted defiantly.

  "Haha, really? Guihualou mooncakes are only for mayors and party secretaries. Has your status risen that high? So you managed to get some? Can you share one with us?"

  Old Zhang laughed, his tone heavily sarcastic.

  Jiang Jingren trembled with anger, clenching his fists, unable to speak.

  "If Uncle Zhang wants to try, that's easy. Once the Guihualou staff deliver them, I'll give you a box."

  Lin Yu said calmly with a smile.