Chapter 18, Chapter 10...

Chapter Eighteen

Choosing the courtyard where she would live in the future was something Yao Anhui took very seriously. This was the first time in her life that she had the right to choose. However, the choice was only to select one of three dilapidated courtyards, but that did not dampen Yao Anhui's good mood.

Before entering the palace in her previous life, her father favored boys over girls. She was a girl who was sold to earn money just to buy meat for her younger brother. She was treated like a slave at home and never had her own room or even slept in a bed.

Later, when she became a palace maid, her life was completely in the hands of others.

Later, she made a deal with the dog emperor to become a concubine, and her life and fortune were in the hands of others. In the end, she lost her life due to a careless move.

So this is still her first real choice, no, it's the second. The first time was when she chose Lu Yuanqing from among Wu Chengan, Lu Yuanqing, and Jiao Jingming.

So even though she thought the three small courtyards were dilapidated and in need of major renovation, Yao Anhui was still happy.

Of course, the dilapidated state is only relative to the palace where Yao Anhui lived in her previous life. In fact, the houses here were only built a little over ten years ago. Even though they are mud-brick houses, the main structure is still quite good. With some renovations to the exterior, they can still be lived in for several more decades without any problem.

The three houses all look the same, as they were built by the military. The only differences are their location and whether the previous owners damaged them.

One of the houses was rejected by Yao Anhui before she even entered the yard. The previous owner was simply too unhygienic, and the whole house was in a terrible state. Yao Anhui didn't see the interior of the house, but the filth all over the yard made her hesitate to go in. If she had any other choice, Yao Anhui would not have chosen this house. It was a place that made her want to vomit just thinking about it.

Yao Anhui thought the second house was acceptable. The previous owner was very particular, and the whole courtyard was very clean and tidy. Apart from the possible graffiti on the walls, Yao Anhui was very satisfied. Moreover, the previous owner had just moved out, so there wasn't much dust.

After seeing the second Yao An Hui, I was ready to settle down, but I still need to check out the third one, just in case it's better than the current one.

Then Yao Anhui was tempted by a bowl of fragrant braised pork.

This brings us back to the past.

In her previous life, Yao Anhui was initially a farm girl who worked like a slave at home. She never had the chance to do a good job like cooking, which allowed her to steal food.

Later, even after entering the palace, she couldn't participate in the important palace intrigues, such as the kitchen. Later, as a favored concubine in name only, she had dozens of people serving her at that time.

Yao Anhui added some water to the pot and then had a palace maid carry the soup, which she claimed to have made herself, to the emperor to put on a show.

Therefore, Yao Anhui is not very good at cooking. She can do things that don't require much skill, such as steaming vegetables in a pot.

Yao Anhui had already picked up the skill of starting a fire back in her hometown. Back then, in order not to starve to death, she learned to cook using the memories of the original owner. When she successfully cooked the food, Yao Anhui even thought she had a talent.

Since arriving here, besides the meals she cooks herself, she eats boxed lunches on the train, then meals cooked by Xiang Jinghe, and then the meal she ate at the state-run restaurant yesterday.

To be honest, the food at the state-run restaurant was alright, but you have to remember that she lived in the palace for decades in her previous life and ate imperial cuisine, so it's perfectly normal that the food here wasn't as good.

But here comes the surprise: Yao Anhui never expected that Hua Fangling would suddenly become incredibly powerful.

Before she even got to the third house, a rich, mouthwatering aroma of braised pork wafted into her nostrils. At that moment, "mouthwatering" wasn't just an adjective; it was practically a verb.

I'm totally swooning over the aroma!

Yao Anhui could feel the saliva gushing out of her mouth, forcing her to keep her lips tightly closed, afraid that saliva would spill out if she opened her mouth to speak.

"Slurp...smells good, doesn't it? Every time I smell it, my mouth waters." The speaker was Ms. Xu, the staff member of the Women's Federation in the residential compound, who was there to accompany Yao Anhui to look at houses.

"Mmm-hmm." Yao Anhui nodded in strong agreement, not daring to speak. The closer she got, the more fragrant it became—it was too irresistible.

"Sister Fangling is the best cook in our compound. People who live nearby eat at Sister Fangling's house, and the aroma makes their meals more appealing."

Officer Xu joked, "However, I don't recommend you choose this place. The previous owner moved away because the food at Sister Fangling's house was too delicious. Sister Zhao is a dancer in the art troupe, and she's the principal dancer. Since Sister Fangling came, Sister Zhao has gained nearly 20 pounds and it took her more than a month to lose it. Later, Sister Zhao moved to the new staff housing building. In her words, if she continued to live here, she would lose her job."

"Is Sister-in-law Hua's medicine really that powerful?" Yao Anhui sniffed the aroma deeply, feeling that what Director Xu said made sense.

"That's right, Sister Zhao is really pitiful. She was seduced by Sister Fangling and comes over for a treat every now and then, and then she has to diet every day."

"Fangling, look, Tinglan is laughing at me behind my back again. I don't care, you have to share half of the braised pork with me today."

Yao Anhui turned her head toward the source of the sound and saw a woman with an oval face, big eyes, and two dimples when she smiled. She was pretending to stuff a bamboo basket into Hua Fangling's hands, as if she wouldn't give up until she got what she wanted.

Yao Anhui looked closely and found that the other person was indeed as Officer Xu had said. She was not thin, but she was not plump either. You could say that her figure was just right, healthy and energetic, full of vitality.

As Yao Anhui was sizing up the other person, Xu, the cadre beside her, rushed out and said, "Sister Zhao, why are you doing this again? I finally managed to get some meat from the supply and marketing cooperative, and you want to take half of it as soon as you arrive. That's too much."

"Who told you to gossip about me behind my back? I'm hurt, and I need braised pork to soothe my wounded heart," Sister Zhao retorted sharply, not backing down an argument.

"Isn't that the truth? You've already gained weight, why are you still trying to take food from me? I've been saving up my meat rations for months, do you know how hard that was? No way, I absolutely disagree."

“Where am I fat? My figure is perfect. Our commander said I have a face that looks like it’s bringing peace and prosperity to the country. Where am I fat? I’m much better looking than your skinny bean sprout.”

"Oh, you're resorting to personal attacks now..."

"Did I scare you, Xiaohui? Those two have always been like this, fighting since they were little. They'll be fine in a bit," Hua Fangling said to Yao Anhui, leaving the two bickering.

"It's alright, I'm quite energetic." Compared to that kind of energetic person, Yao Anhui felt that she was not bad either.

Honestly, it's a bit noisy.

"You're here to look at houses? Have you looked at the other two?" Everyone knows that there are only a few empty houses in the old residential compound.

"Yes, I've finished reading it."

"So, how about coming to be my neighbor? The neighbors here are all very easy to get along with, and I'm a pretty good cook." Hua Fangling smiled, her words incredibly alluring.

Yao Anhui: ...To be honest, I'm madly in love.

However, I'm afraid that moving here will be tough on my stomach. It would be so uncomfortable to smell the food every day but not be able to eat it.

Putting aside the question of whether or not it's possible to freeload at someone else's house, even if it were, Yao Anhui wouldn't be so shameless as to go to Hua Fangling's house every day to freeload.

However, Yao Anhui turned her attention to "Sister Zhao". If the money problem could be solved, then eating good food didn't seem so difficult.

"Alright, don't think about it so much. Let me take you inside and have a look. I'm telling you, staying here is definitely the right choice. Zhishan is a clean freak. Her house used to be the cleanest in the area, and she even had a bathroom built specifically for it."

Great! The fact that there was a bathroom made Yao Anhui even more interested, and then seeing the clean and tidy environment made her even more excited.

"Isn't that great? After a quick clean, you can move in right away."

"really."

"So it's decided then?"

"I'll think about it some more."

"Come on, I'll add another challenge for you. How about I teach your Lu Yuanqing how to cook?"

Excellent, you've hit Yao Anhui's sore spot perfectly.

"Why do I feel like you're even more eager than I am?" Yao Anhui asked curiously.

"We can't afford to be lazy. I heard that the mother of Company Commander Wang from the Third Battalion of the Third Regiment thinks the new family quarters are too small and wants to move to the old family quarters. Believe me, you don't want to meet her."

Very good, Yao Anhui understood immediately.

In the end, Yao Anhui decided on this house. Just then, Lu Yuanqing came over after get off work. Yao Anhui asked for his opinion as a formality, and then the house was finalized.

And perhaps to corroborate Hua Fangling's words, just as it was confirmed, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and a slightly plump old man led several children in.

A note from the author:

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