Lin Yuan smiled inwardly. This little girl was still too green; although she had been through a lot, her little tricks were no match for Lin Yuan, the thousand-year-old fox.
"Oh? Do you want me to take extra care of your dad? Well, that’s easy to manage. Uncle Wang is one of my people at Rice Flower Fragrance, and as the Boss, I naturally won’t let him down," Lin Yuan pretended not to catch her implication and steered the conversation toward Uncle Wang with a laugh.
Panpan was practically speechless. Lin Yuan clearly understood what she meant, but deliberately refused to fall into her trap—it was both annoying and funny.
Panpan sighed, her little nose wrinkled as she said, "Boss Lin, look at you. You clearly know what I’m talking about, yet you insist on playing dumb. Never mind, I saw you at the entrance of the teahouse that day. But don’t worry, they didn’t see you."
It was indeed about that matter.
Lin Yuan’s lips curled, but she said nothing.
Seeing that Lin Yuan didn’t plan to bring up that matter again, Panpan naturally assumed she didn’t want to get involved in the affairs of Li Mansion, and she didn’t press the subject further.
"However, the reason I’ve come today is to ask you for a favor, to shelter someone. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean anything else. This person is the elder brother of a friend of mine, an outsider, and my friend is uneasy about him being alone in town. Hearing that my dad works for you, not only eating well but also without being mistreated, she wanted me to speak with you. To see if you could do us the honor of allowing her brother to also work under your guidance."
Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow: "Since your dad is working for me, you should know that I don’t just take in anybody."
Panpan hurriedly replied, "I know, I know. My friend’s elder brother is from the countryside, a very honest person. Although he can’t make pastries or dishes, he’s full of strength, capable of chopping firewood, carrying water, and such!"
As she spoke, Panpan called out towards the outside, and a tall man walked in. He seemed very honest and didn’t look around after entering. He gave Lin Yuan a simple-minded smile, then lowered his head and stayed quiet.
"This is him, his name is Shen Dajun," Panpan said cautiously, watching Lin Yuan closely, "Boss Lin, you have sharp eyes and can surely tell at a glance what kind of person Brother Shen is. I assure you, he’s definitely an honest man who works efficiently and never slacks off."
The moment Lin Yuan saw Shen Dajun, she indeed thought he looked very honest; however, upon a second glance, she felt a sense of déjà vu, as if they had met somewhere before.
"Have we met before?" Lin Yuan asked Shen Dajun suspiciously.
Shen Dajun was startled and hastily glanced at Lin Yuan. Because it was inappropriate for a man to stare at a woman, he looked away quickly, but then it dawned on him—wasn’t this the same girl who had appeared out of nowhere when he was giving Sister Yingtao some silver?
Feeling a bit uneasy and wanting to leave, Shen Dajun knew that the affair between him and Mrs. Liu should not be common knowledge; if it were, Mrs. Liu would have a hard time at Li Mansion.
"No, no, we haven’t met. Let’s go, sister. We’ll look for work elsewhere," he said.
With that, Shen Dajun turned and hurried towards the exit.
Panpan grew anxious, stamping her feet while tugging at his sleeve and blocking his way: "Hey, don’t go! Do you still want to haul heavy sacks for others? Do you still want to live in the leaking Land Temple? I’ve found you such a good job, how can you just leave ? If Sister Yingtao learns of this, she’ll definitely blame me."
Lin Yuan repeated the name in her mind twice and finally remembered where she had seen Shen Dajun. That day, as she passed by an alley, she saw a man dragging a woman into it. She chased after them, intending to play the hero, only to realize she had misunderstood the situation. Upon leaving, she vaguely heard the man call the woman Ying Tao.