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  After Zhou's mother left, Lin Lan called Wen Shan again: "Do you understand everything about the store?"

  Wen Shan replied, "I've asked all the small ones clearly. Among the 18 rooms, 7 have signed a five-year contract, which means there are still two years left on the contract. The other eight have already renewed their contracts, some for one year, some for two years, and the longest for five years. The earliest will expire next May. There are two shops that are adjacent to each other."

  Lin Lan's lips were slightly pursed, and she thought for a moment. In that case, it would be at least next May before they could get it back. She wanted to open her own pharmacy, and since they had their own storefront, there was no reason why the old witch wouldn't give it to them.

  Wen Shan's eyes flickered with a hint of joy: "Second Young Mistress, there's something I'm not sure if it's good news or not."

  This kid has actually learned how to sell steamed buns now. Lin Lan pretended to be serious: "Say"

  A small fake intention to rent a shop, cheated a shop owner into taking out the rental contract to look at it, and guess what? Inside was actually attached a sublease agreement, which stated that it was the owner Li Ming who allowed his wife to rent out the shop.

  "Second Master's name is on those property deeds," Wenshan said excitedly.

  Lin Lan almost applauded and cheered, Ye Shi, Ye Shi, finally did something right, knowing to put the property in her son's name.

  "This shop belongs to Second Master, does Second Master himself know or not?" Lin Lan suppressed her excited and joyful impulse, her eyebrows and eyes all curved up, asking Wen Shan.

  Wen Shan thought to himself: "This little one doesn't know, and Second Master has never mentioned it before." He thought to himself: If even Second Madam doesn't know, how could I possibly know?

  Originally wanted to take a nap, but because of this matter, Lin Lan's brain was highly excited and couldn't sleep at all. The old witch even forged the sublease agreement, so she would have to ask for the rent back for these years. Can't help but sigh, the law in this era is also quite robust. So get up and calculate how much silver the old witch has collected over the years, and then happily make plans for the return of the rent.

  It's almost there~

  Yinliu wanted to pass on a message, Li Mingyu waved his hand and let her go down, walked behind Lin Lan to see what she was writing, so focused.

  All he saw was a white paper filled with numbers that he couldn't understand, written in all directions.

  "What are you writing?" Li Mingyun asked curiously.

  He suddenly spoke out, startling Lin Lan. She turned her head and glared at him: "When did you come back? Why didn't Silver Willow inform me?"

  Li Mingyun smiled and said: "Just came back, seeing you writing so intently, didn't let anyone disturb."

  Lin Lan stuffed the hand warmer from her leg into his: "Warm up..."

  Li Mingyu took the hand warmer but put it aside and grasped her hand instead.

  His palm was warm and hot, but she had been calculating for half a day, her fingers were stiff and cold, wrapped in his big hand, warm and solid.

  He rubbed her hands and complained in a low voice: "You can also freeze your hands like this at home."

  Lin Lan smiled awkwardly: "I'm not cold."

  My heart is burning with anxiety!

  Li Mingyu gently wrapped his arms around Lin Lan, holding her in his embrace, and softly asked: "What did you do today?"

  Lin Lan leaned into his arms, speaking softly: "What else can we do? Please take care of your aunt's fallen hairpin. Oh! Your uncle has sent an invitation, and our cousin is getting engaged the day after tomorrow. We're invited to attend. I've already asked Zhou Ma to prepare a gift. Here's the gift list, take a look and see if it's suitable?"

  Lin Lan was about to take the gift list, but Li Ming stopped her: "No need to look at these things, just make a decision."

  "Take a look! Although I'm very capable, I haven't handled this kind of thing before, no experience at all. Besides, my cousin is so considerate of her brother, it's only right to show some concern too..." Lin Lan said modestly and virtuously.

  It's almost there~"

  Lin Lan raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a hint of resentment, saying: "Whatever she likes, just give it to her?"

  This girl is deliberately annoying him! Li Mingyu nodded solemnly: "Of course."

  She blinked her big eyes and revealed a narrow smile: "I guarantee that my cousin will say she likes it, so get ready to package yourself up and send yourself off!"

  Li Mingyu knew he had been fooled again and couldn't help but grit his teeth and make a fierce face: "Clean up at night."

  Lin Lan understood the deep meaning of his words, blushed and quickly changed the subject: "Ming Yun, do you know whose name is written on the deed of the eighteen-room house in Dongzhimen?"

  Li Mingyun looked bewildered: "I don't know, how did you find out?"

  "I had Wen Shan go to investigate, originally thinking that it would be impossible to get back so many storefronts at once, and at the very least we should try to get a few back first. But then we discovered that the storefronts actually belonged to us, and the old witch had forged a sublease agreement and rented them out."

  Li Mingyun furrowed his brow and muttered to himself: "Now that you mention it, I seem to remember something. When I was ten years old, my mother brought me a few pieces of paper to press my handprint on, but at the time, I didn't pay attention to what they were for. It should be these house deeds. Let me think...the timing is about right."

  Lin Lan couldn't help but think to herself: Ah, the real Mrs. Li! Why didn't you entrust this matter before your passing? Are you still expecting that scoundrel Li to willingly hand over the house deed to my son? You only have one son, but that scoundrel Li has more than one son.

  Li Mingyun's face slowly sank, and it could be seen that his mood was somewhat depressed.

  Lin Lan comforted her: "Don't think too much, no matter what, knowing that these shops are hers is a good start. I'll first try to get my hands on the old witch's sublease agreement, and then we can find an opportunity to take back all the shops." Lin Lan felt that the old witch would definitely try to transfer these properties to her own name, otherwise they would eventually be taken back by Ming Yu. Rather than waiting for the old witch to make a move, it was better to take the initiative first.

  Li Mingyu nodded: "This is necessary." No one can afford to be cheap with the old witch.

  "There's something else I want to discuss with you." Lin Lan said with a smile.

  Li Mingyun raised an eyebrow: "Speak."

  "I thought that with 200,000 taels of silver stored in the bank for a year, not much interest would be earned, so it's better to take out some and invest it elsewhere."

  Li Mingyun smiled and said, "What's your idea now?"

  "I mentioned the Dong'e, Shandong thing to you last time. I think after the new year, we can send someone over to take a look. If it's feasible, we can set up a donkey hide processing point there, collect and process the hides locally. We'll first open up sales channels in Beijing, make some noise about our brand, and if possible, obtain the imperial tribute qualification for De Ren Tang. Then we can sell our products everywhere without worrying about business being slow. After all, we have stores in Suzhou and Hangzhou." Lin Lan excitedly laid out her plan.

  Li Mingyun slightly furrowed his brow, thinking about the possibility and success rate of this matter.

  "Why must it be Dong'a? The Hebei region can also receive donkey skin, right?" Li Mingyun was puzzled, Shandong is far away and inconvenient to manage.

  Lin Lan couldn't say that it was the experience of later generations, so she had to make up a story: "I also heard my master say that the water on that side is particularly suitable for stewing donkey hide gelatin, and the purity of the stewed product is very high, which helps to bring out the medicinal properties. De Ren Tang is a hundred-year-old shop, an old brand, if it's not something absolutely stronger than theirs, it would be difficult to defeat them."

  "It's true, if you like it, just do it! After all, that money is also yours. I'm only afraid of being too tired and too hardworking." Li Mingyun smiled warmly, with a loving gaze in her eyes. Since they had been through that experience together, he felt a different feeling when looking at her now - a sense of true possession, unconditional trust, and his heart truly felt at ease.

  Lin Lan leaned into his arms, her voice soft and gentle: "What's the harm in working hard? The most frightening thing in life is having no pursuit. Let's work together to not only defeat those evil people but also live a fulfilling life, and let those dark-hearted individuals hide in the shadows and cry!"

  Li Mingyu held her, listening to her soft and gentle words of ambition, a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips. As long as he was with her, no matter how cold the outside world was, with icy winds piercing through bones, his heart remained warm like spring.

  "Alright, let's work hard together and have a few more kids. Later on, our descendants will fill the house, each one calling me 'grandma' and wrapping themselves around you to call you 'grandpa'..." Li Mingyun went to nibble her ear, chuckling softly beside it.

  Lin Lan struggled out of his arms: "It's time to go and pay respects! And then serve the old witch, waaah... I reckon she'll learn her lesson today and take away all the dishes she doesn't like."

  Li Mingyun sympathetically patted her head and comforted, "Bear with it a bit longer! It won't be too long, come back and I'll serve you dinner, okay?"

  "No good, I'm afraid I've eaten too much again." Lin Lan said sullenly, brushing away his hand. She hated it when he touched her head and whatnot, making her feel like a pet dog, and he just happened to like touching her very much.

  Li Mingyun smiled and went to get her cloak, tying it around her: "It's windy outside."

  The blue satin was trimmed with a circle of white fox fur, which made her skin even whiter than snow, and also showed a hint of shy pink. Her face was as lovely as a peach blossom, and it was really tempting to love her. Li Mingyun couldn't help but kiss her tender cheek gently and ask in a soft voice: "Will walking hurt?"

  Lin Lan was stunned for a moment before she came back to her senses. Suddenly, the pink peach blossoms turned into a bright red glow on the horizon. With a bashful and charming expression, she glanced at him with a hint of annoyance: "What did you say?"

  Li Ming was stunned, how did he know?

  Lin Lan ignored him and quickly turned her head to lift the curtain and go out.

  Li Ming hesitated for a moment before catching up, thinking: He's running so fast, he must be fine.

  The atmosphere in the Chao Hui Tang was somewhat strange today, the old lady had a gloomy face, Han Qiu Yue also had a solemn expression, Li Ming looked like an eggplant that had been frostbitten, hanging his head in dejection, Ding Ruo Yan pursed her lips and lowered her head, with a dark expression, while Li Zha's father was full of discontent.

  Lin Lan and Li Ming stared at each other in dismay, what's going on?

  The atmosphere in the hall was somewhat strange today, the old lady's face was gloomy, Han Qiuyue also had a solemn expression, Li Ming looked like an eggplant that had been frostbitten, hanging his head in shame, Ding Ruoyan pursed her lips and lowered her head, with a dark expression, while Li Ba's eyes were filled with discontent.

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