A lonely, unlucky military officer with a stubborn fate insisted on marrying me.

The two returned to the compound and went straight to Lin Yinyin's house.

Wang Erhua and Wang Dani were loosening the soil in the yard.

"Yinyin's back!" Wang Erhua straightened up, her gaze falling on Gao Ming. "And this is?"

"This is Brother Gao, a partner I found to do mooncake business together," Lin Yinyin introduced simply.

Wang Erhua instantly understood that the three hundred mooncakes she brought were not for her own consumption; she had long seen through Lin Yinyin's intention to make a business.

Lin Yinyin turned and went into the room, carrying out a large basket. "Brother Gao, take this hundred yuan and use it to find distributors. Set the price at 35 cents a yuan."

The cost of the mooncakes was 25 cents, and the price of 35 cents was considered expensive. She never even considered making money through black market retail.

Gao Ming readily agreed: "Sure, all the money I earn is yours."

"No problem." Lin Yinyin nodded.

Gao Ming took the bamboo basket, thanked him, and left in a hurry.

Lin Yinyin pulled Wang Erhua aside and asked, "Aunt Erhua, how's Master Fu's mooncake production going? If I place an additional order, will he be able to supply it?"

"Yinyin, let me tell you, that old Fu is a real treasure! He doesn't just know how to make brown sugar mooncakes, his father is a pastry chef in the princess's mansion, he can make all kinds of pastries."

Because of his bad class background back then, he spent all his wealth to save his family, so life hasn't been easy these past few years.

She paused, then added, "The youngest daughter of the Fu family was often sick, and they lived a very hard life until his eldest daughter married a worker at a brown sugar factory, which provided them with a source of brown sugar. Only then did Old Fu secretly make some mooncakes to sell privately."

"If you hadn't asked me to order 300 yuan, they wouldn't have been able to afford the medical bills for their youngest daughter."

"I see." Lin Yinyin had an even bolder idea.

"Aunt Erhua, do you think he would agree if I bought the formula?"

"Why wouldn't I agree!"

Wang Erhua slammed the spatula on the stove. "His youngest daughter needs a lot of money for surgery!"

Moreover, making mooncakes is physically demanding; kneading the dough, mixing the filling, and baking them are all tiring tasks. Old Fu is getting on in years, so to meet the deadline, Da Ni and I helped wrap mooncakes for two days.

"That's what we'll do then!"

Lin Yinyin made the decision, "Auntie, you go back to your hometown tomorrow and order two hundred brown sugar mooncakes for me. Then go to Lianhua Station to find Zhu Jianguo and tell him I asked you to bring him something. I'll have someone pick you up from the station afterwards."

"Yinyin, how are you so capable! You even know people at the train station."

"Auntie, don't praise me yet. I've brought you a letter for Director Zhu."

"Okay, I can handle this."

"Auntie, the second thing is for you to talk to Old Fu about buying three prescriptions from him."

Besides brown sugar mooncakes, I'd like two more easy-to-make, delicate, and beautiful dessert recipes, NT$100 for each.

"My goodness, three hundred yuan!" Wang Erhua was so shocked that she dropped the spatula on the ground.

"That much money is enough to build a big brick house. But I think it's feasible. Old Fu can agree to it; his second daughter seems to need surgery."

That's perfect.

There's another very important task for you. You need to learn how to make mooncakes and pastries from Master Fu, and then come back and teach it to my sister.

Later, we'll set up a small workshop near the compound, specializing in pastry sales.

"Start a workshop?" Wang Erhua's eyes lit up. "Then can we make money every day?"

"Absolutely!" Lin Yinyin nodded with a smile. "You're one of my key technical personnel. Once the workshop opens, we'll need you to train the apprentices!"

"Then wouldn't I become a master chef?"

Wang Erhua grinned from ear to ear, then suddenly became serious. "Yinyin, don't worry, I, Wang Erhua, am absolutely not an ungrateful person! Even if I learn a skill, I will never go it alone and steal your business."

"Aunt Erhua, I agree if you want to do it yourself, as long as it's not in Hebei Province."

Lin Yinyin's intention was that the brown sugar mooncake business was merely a starting point to raise funds. Her true purpose lay elsewhere. Besides, she trusted Wang Erhua.

"No, no, Yinyin, I swear right now I will never steal your business, or may I be struck by lightning!"

"Aunt Erhua, I believe you."

Lin Yinyin patted her arm, then turned to Lin Dani, who was leaning closer, and said, "If Dani wants to learn, she can learn too, and work in the workshop in the future. But we should discuss this with her uncle, right?"

"Ignore him!" Lin Dani said quickly. "I can make my own decisions!"

Lin Yinyin noticed Lin Dani's rejection of her father, but didn't intend to ask any more questions. Everyone has their own path to growth, and only by experiencing hardships can one stand tall.

"Okay, it's settled then! I'll go book your train tickets first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yinyin, come here for a moment." Lin Huizhi called out to her at this moment.

Back in the room, Lin Huizhi handed a wad of cash to Lin Yinyin. "This is five hundred yuan from selling Li Jianjun. It's for you to use in your business."

"Sister, I have money!" Lin Yinyin quickly declined.

"Take it!"

Lin Huizhi held her hand, "Just buying the house cost three hundred, and we still need to order raw materials and rent a workshop. We'll need money for everything. I'll feel more at ease if you bring more money."

Seeing the worry in her sister's eyes, Lin Yinyin stopped refusing: "Okay, then I'll consider it as you investing. You'll get a share of the profits!"

Lin Yinyin wanted to say no, but she knew that accepting it would put her sister at ease.

Thinking of money, Lin Yinyin suddenly remembered what Li Jinye had said before he left.

He also has a bankbook with Political Commissar Huang, and she'll be going there later to retrieve it.

Tonight's dinner was exceptionally lavish: braised pork hock, braised pork ribs, pork cracklings with cabbage, stir-fried potato shreds with chili peppers, and egg drop soup.

As Lin Dani ate, she said that the two days she stayed at the Lin family's house were better than the entire year she had eaten.

After the meal, Lin Yinyin found a bamboo basket and put in a braised pork knuckle, a pound of steamed egg cake, eight brown sugar mooncakes, and ten red-skinned lucky eggs.

But the moment the red-skinned fertilized eggs were placed into the basket, Lin Yinyin's body froze instantly.

Done!

She and Li Jinye have already registered their marriage, but she hasn't told her sister yet!

Lin Yinyin carefully walked to Lin Huizhi's room.

"sister!"

"What's wrong? What did you do that you feel guilty about?" Lin Huizhi teased when she saw her younger sister dawdling over to her side.

"Sis, I have something to tell you, but...you mustn't get excited." Lin Yinyin's palms were sweating.

Lin Huizhi raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead and say it. As long as it's not murder or arson, your sister can handle it."

"Then look at this..."

Lin Yinyin immediately moved her hand from behind her back to the front and handed over the marriage certificate.

The moment Lin Huizhi opened the book, her fingertips suddenly stopped.

The large red "囍" (double happiness) character is flanked by two red flags.

The three big characters "Marriage Certificate" made her eyes blur!

Male: Li Jinye; Female: Lin Huiyin.

Her hands, holding the certificate, began to tremble, and she remained silent for a long time.

"Sis? What's wrong?"

Lin Yinyin panicked and waved her hand in front of her eyes. "Don't scare me! Let's talk this out!"

Lin Huizhi finally came to her senses, and tears streamed down her face.

"Yinyin, did you only agree to be with Commander Li because of me? Just so you could settle down in the compound?"

In her eyes, her younger sister had always protected her, probably because she was afraid that her sister would have no one to rely on after the divorce, which was why she was in a hurry to find a backer.