Lin Mansion.

The servants were hard at work working on the pond.

Zhi Yong gave out a roar and lifted a huge rock over his shoulder.

"Xue Cong, where?" He glanced at his side where Xue Cong was.

"Over there."

Xue Cong quickly pointed to the side of the pond where she thought it would be great for the rock to be with the plants and flowers there.

With some effort, Zhi Yong staggered with the rock over his shoulder, took a few steps, and placed the rock down when he got to the side of the pond.

"Perfect!" Xue Cong was glad to have Zhi Yong around helping with the heavy-duty work.

"Take a rest first, Zhi Yong," she said, and Zhi Yong shook his head.

"Me, still strong." Zhi Yong thumped his chest and said.

Xue Cong shook her head at him and glanced over at Yue Jie.

Yue Jie was with Yue Xin and the other servants pouring water from the well into the pond.

"Go help them if you want to." Xue Cong sighed and said.

Zhi Yong gave her a smile and jogged eagerly to pick up a bucket of water.

Xue Cong, Yue Jie and Yue Xin had discussed among themselves that they wanted to get the garden completed for Lin Xuan Qi.

The garden had been on his mind for ages, and they wanted to give him a surprise.

Even Liu Shi Shi was agreeable with the idea, and she had arranged for some fish to be delivered to fill up the pond.

Everyone worked hard together in getting the garden ready for Lin Xuan Qi's return.

Splash.

With the last bucket of water poured into the pond, the servants gave out a soft cheer.

They were too exhausted to give anything better.

All they wanted to do now was to take a good rest.

Mei Jiao came up to her daughter, Xue Cong, and passed her a handkerchief.

"It's hot out here, take a rest in the pavilion."

"Yes, mum." Xue Cong took the handkerchief and wiped the sweat off her forehead.

"Come, get into the pavilion before you turn dark with all the sun.

"Master Lin might not like it..." Mei Jiao ushered Xue Cong into the pavilion.

Xue Cong blushed at what her mother had said.

Having your mother urge you to be with a young master?

That somehow felt wrong for her, but she didn't protest it.

Master Lin was the young master for her.

Yue Xin skipped into the pavilion and picked up the teapot inside.

She wanted to pour the tea straight from the teapot but stopped when she felt the stare from Yue Jie on her.

With the stare from her sister at her, Yue Xin reluctantly poured the tea from the teapot into a cup instead.

Yue Jie shook her head and sighed.

When will she grow up, Yue Jie thought to herself.

She can't look over her forever.

"Yue Jie, with the fish and the flowers we purchased, how much money do we have left?" Xue Cong asked when she saw Yue Jie enter the pavilion.

Yue Jie did some mental calculations and said, "Don't worry. There's enough to last us for over a month."

With the eighty-eight taels of silver they had, where seventy-eight was from Hun Xiong Kun as the deposit for the rice, and ten from the sale of soap after splitting the profit with Sima Long, it was more than sufficient for the mansion.

There were another seventy-eight taels of silver that Hun Xiong Kun had to pay before the end of the month.

Things were now different from when they started.

Xue Cong nodded her head to the good news.

She wouldn't know what to do without Yue Jie helping her with the finances.

Taking control of the household was a handful for her.

Luckily, so far, the servants haven't given her many troubles.

And she hoped that it would remain so.

"All this talk of money is giving me a headache." Yue Xin rubbed her temple and said with a painful look on her face.

Yue Jie wanted to say that she would need to take care of monetary matters for her family when she got married.

But she realized their status now and kept quiet.

"Great, everyone is here." Liu Shi Shi came into the pavilion and clapped her hands.

"Where should they put the fish?" She gestured to the men behind her pushing water carts.

Xue Cong got up and pointed at the pond.

"Put the fish inside," she said excitedly.

With the fish inside the pond, Master Lin would be able to enjoy the scenery of the garden, she thought.

The men nodded their heads and pushed the cart over to the side of the pond.

"We need to wait for the water to settle." One of the men shouted to them when he saw that the water in the pond was muddy, since it was just filled up.

"Then, we shall wait first," Xue Cong said.

"Auntie Sue, make some dishes for these men," she shouted to the other servants resting under the shades of the trees.

Auntie Sue nodded her head and got to work quickly.

Xue Cong was now much more comfortable instructing the servants to do their work.

She would have hesitated about what to do previously.

Liu Shi Shi shook her head and took a seat inside the pavilion.

She poured herself a cup of tea and savored the view while taking a sip from her teacup.

It was much better than she had expected.

The pond with the plants and flowers at the water edge was pleasing and calming to the mind.

Maybe Lin Xuan Qi would have the inspiration to come up with new poems with the view here, she thought.

Xue Cong, Yue Jie and Yue Xin also joined in to savor the view while they waited.

With the breeze sweeping across the pond, it cooled them down, and they could understand why Lin Xuan Qi was obsessed with getting the garden done.

Or so, they thought.

When Lin Xuan Qi got back to the mansion, he was all excited at the pond and exclaimed, "Now I can get to fish next to the pond! I need to get a fishing rod fast!"

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