That afternoon, both Lin Zhong and Lin Da returned.
“Master, please keep this land deed safe.”
As soon as Lin Zhong returned from the county town, he handed her the completed land deed.
Lin Luoluo accepted it and carefully put it away.
“Master, the houses have all been rented. Two adjacent second-courtyard residences.”
Lin Luoluo nodded.
“Uncle Zhong, Lin Da, thank you for your hard work. My pregnancy is getting heavier, so I’ll have to trouble you to make a trip around the village. Send some gifts to every household. Give a few extra bolts of cloth to Lin Jingming’s family, Fifth Grandfather’s family, and the others.”
“Don’t worry, Master. We’ll get it done properly.”
Lin Zhong and Lin Da called a few people over and headed into the village carrying gifts.
After they finished and returned, Lin Luoluo gathered Lin Zhong and the others inside the house.
She took out a large pile of storage pouches.
“Uncle Zhong, Aunt Zhong, Huzi, these are for you. Just drip a drop of blood onto them.”
The three of them were overjoyed. They had long known that Lin Da and the others already had them and had been incredibly envious.
Lin Zhong and Aunt Zhong were relatively calm. After thanking her, they dripped blood onto the pouches to recognize them as their masters.
Huzi, however, was far less composed.
“Ah! Thank you, Master! You’re the best! I don’t have to envy Lin Da and the others anymore!”
Mwah!
He hugged the storage pouch and kissed it.
Lin Luoluo shook her head in amusement. When she turned around, she saw pairs of sparkling eyes staring at her with anticipation.
Helpless, she decided not to keep them waiting any longer.
She gave one storage pouch each to Chun Tao and Gu Changqing.
When all the storage pouches had been distributed, Divine Doctor Zhou became anxious. Even his disciple had received one. How could he, the master, be left out?
“Girl, where’s mine? I’m Wan girl’s master.”
“They’re gone. I’ve handed them all out.”
The moment Divine Doctor Zhou heard there were none left, he immediately wilted.
“However…”
‘Hm? There’s still hope.’
His eyes lit up again.
He stared fixedly at her mouth, afraid she might say there weren’t any after all.
“Here. This is a storage ring. The space inside is even larger than a storage pouch.”
She took a storage ring out of her Space and handed it to him.
Divine Doctor Zhou’s eyes shone as he accepted it.
‘I knew it. As Wan girl’s master, how could I possibly not get one?’
“Now that’s more like it, Luo girl. Don’t worry, when the time comes, I’ll make sure both mother and children are safe.”
“What? If I hadn’t given you this storage ring, would you not ensure I have a safe delivery?”
“How could that be? Absolutely impossible! Even if you hadn’t given it to me, I’d still make sure every one of you comes through safely. Our Luo girl is too lovable. Even if you had only one breath left, I’d drag you back from death.”
As he spoke, he clutched the storage ring tightly against his chest, afraid Lin Luoluo might ask for it back.
“Why, thank you.”
She hadn’t even given birth yet, and he was already talking about her being left with only one breath.
Now it was everyone else’s turn to envy Divine Doctor Zhou.
Although they were jealous, none of them were greedy. They felt that receiving storage pouches from their master was already more than enough, and they were very satisfied.
Lin Luoluo instructed the girls with the “Yue” names to leave behind six or seven who knew how to cook. Among Lin Da’s group, Lin Yi and Lin Er were left behind to run errands, while everyone else was sent to stay in town.
She then asked if anyone among them could read.
The woman who had originally led the group in begging to be taken in stepped forward and respectfully bowed to Lin Luoluo.
“Master, this subordinate, Yue Yi, can read.”
“Does anyone else know how to read?”
Seeing that only one person was literate, she unwillingly asked again.
‘That’s way too few! They’re practically all illiterate. Literacy classes are a must.’
“Master, this subordinate, Yue Thirteen, can write my own name. Does that count?”
It was the delicate and pretty-looking woman from before.
Lin Luoluo pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed.
“Yue Yi, it looks like you’ll have a difficult job ahead of you. Teach all of them. Eliminate illiteracy completely. This is your reward.”
As she spoke, she took out a storage pouch and handed it to Yue Yi.
The other girls were instantly filled with envy.
Then she turned to the rest of the women with “Yue” names.
“You all need to study hard as well. If you want to accomplish great things, you must first learn to read properly.”
She saw the envy in their eyes.
“As long as you work hard and perform well, you’ll all get storage pouches eventually.”
“Do you want them?”
she asked loudly.
“Yes!”
The response came back neat and thunderously loud.
“Then study hard and work hard.”
“Yes!”
“Dismissed.”
After finishing her speech, Lin Luoluo waved them away.
When she turned around, she found the two little ones staring at her with sparkling eyes like gemstones.
‘Tsk. I overlooked them.’
“You want one too?”
The two siblings nodded in perfect unison.
“You can have them, but you must never use them in front of outsiders.”
“Thank you, Big Sister!”
The two of them jumped up excitedly.
Lin Luoluo remained behind. Aunt Zhong was worried about her, so she had Chun Tao accompany Lin Ziyu to town while she herself stayed to take care of Lin Luoluo.
Early the next morning, Lin Youcai arrived with a stonemason.
“Luo girl, this is Master Yang, the stonemason from town. You can discuss your house plans with him.”
“Uncle Youcai, thank you for your hard work. Thank you for making the trip.”
“Ah, what’s so hard about it? We’re all family. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back first.”
“Alright, then I won’t stand on ceremony with you. Uncle Zhong brought back some pastries this morning. Please take them home for the children to enjoy.”
Lin Luoluo had Aunt Zhong hand over the prepared pastries.
“Alright then. I won’t be polite either. I’ll shamelessly accept them.”
Lin Youcai accepted the pastries with a broad smile and returned home.
“Hello, Master Yang.”
“Greetings, Employer.”
“Where would you like the house built? How large should it be? What style do you want? Do you have any specific requirements?”
Lin Luoluo thought for a moment before listing her requests.
“The house will be built to the right of this one. I have ten mu of residential land. I want a two-mu martial arts training ground inside. There should be a large stable capable of holding twenty to thirty horses. Leave another two-mu courtyard area. Then build several rows of smaller rooms for my subordinates to live in. Of course, the rooms shouldn’t be too small.”
“As for the rest, I’ll add details later.”
“Understood. I’ve written down everything you’ve said, Employer.”
‘Ai… If only I could draw. Then I wouldn’t have to explain everything so laboriously. I could just throw him a blueprint.’
“Master Yang, how much silver will it cost to build such a residence?”
“Materials and labor together will cost around three thousand taels.”
Lin Luoluo thought for a moment and then took out one thousand taels.
“Alright. Take this thousand taels first. The day after tomorrow is an auspicious day, so come begin construction then. We’ll provide lunch.”
“Thank you for your trust, Employer. Once the house is finished, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”
Master Yang accepted the silver and excitedly stuffed it inside his clothing.
After drinking a cup of tea, Master Yang inspected the foundation area next door. Once everything was settled, he said he would bring workers to begin construction the day after tomorrow and took his leave.
Before he left, Lin Luoluo stuffed a packet of pastries into his hands to take home.
At noon, Lin Jingming arrived carrying two wild chickens.
“My father caught these this morning. Have someone stew them and nourish your body.”
Lin Luoluo accepted the chickens and had Aunt Zhong take them to the kitchen.
As she looked at Lin Jingming, her eyes suddenly lit up.
How had she forgotten about this scholar?
“Cousin, what are you doing during this period? Are you attending classes at the academy?”
Lin Jingming shook his head.
“I’ll return after the New Year. For now, I’ll stay home and study on my own.”
“How about this? I’ll pay you ten taels a month to teach my younger brother and sister, and while you’re at it, teach that group of children too.”
“Teaching them will help reinforce the knowledge you’ve already learned, and you’ll still have time to read and learn new things at night. What do you think?”
Lin Jingming thought about it.
He didn’t have much to do at home anyway, and teaching the children would help ease some of his family’s financial burden, so he agreed.
“Deal! When should I come over?”
“Go home and pack your things first. This afternoon, return with Uncle Zhong.”
And just like that, Lin Jingming was talked into joining them, which greatly reduced Yue Yi’s burden.