Fuqiu opened her mouth and stammered, unable to utter a single word. She just stared blankly in the direction of Shen Jia.

Facing Shen's mother's scolding, Shen Jia did not show any regret, but he did not object to Shen's mother's words. Instead, he looked at the market not far away and said:

"My daughter knows that people's words can be scary, but it's getting late, so let's not dwell on this topic. If we don't buy the goods in time, there will be nothing to eat at home tonight."

Seeing that her daughter did not object to her words, the anger in Mother Shen's heart dissipated immediately, and she comforted her: "Mother's words are correct. A girl's reputation is the most important thing. When you get married in the future, you will understand your mother's painstaking efforts.

Also, follow us when we go shopping later to see what's most important for a new home and gain experience for the future."

He also earnestly imparted life experience to three girls who were close to marriageable age.

After some business dealings, Shen Jia discovered that he had underestimated the women who managed households in ancient times.

Even though Shen's mother had always been in charge of the household affairs at home and taking inventory in the account books, she was very knowledgeable about the smallest business and knew exactly what items needed to be purchased. The three of them just followed the shelves behind and carried the purchased goods for their mother.

After buying pots, pans, and meat and vegetables, the four of them hurried to the rice shop in town. As soon as they entered the shop, the hospitable shop assistants immediately surrounded them and greeted them:

"We have some newly arrived rice from Jiangnan at 10 wen a pound. Would you be interested?"

Mother Shen knew immediately that the price was three cents more expensive than Shengjing, but the northern border was remote and there was no waterway from the south to the north, so it was understandable that the price was a little higher.

I grabbed a handful of the Jiangnan new rice recommended by the waiter and looked at it carefully. Sure enough, its freshness was also reduced.

Looking at the guy's expectant eyes, Shen's mother said lightly: "Let's take a look first."

After going through all the rice buckets displayed in the shop, Mother Shen didn't see any that satisfied her, so she finally chose the rice recommended by the clerk.

Pointing to the bucket of new rice, he said, "Your shop should be able to deliver the goods, right?"

The waiter was immediately delighted and said with a smile, "Of course. If the customer buys a lot, as long as the destination is in the surrounding towns, we can deliver it to your door."

Mother Shen calculated the number of people in the family and said, "Then buy one stone first and send it to the family that looks the most destitute on Qingyang Street. We are new here and just bought the last empty house on Qingyang Street."

As soon as he heard the name, the guy immediately understood what place Shen's mother was talking about. As for the rumor, he didn't care about it as a seller.

"Okay! I'll deliver it to your house right away."

Just buying rice cost more than one or two taels of silver, and I don’t know how long one stone of grain can last?

A light flashed in Shen Jia's eyes as he looked at the soybeans casually packed in a sack next to the counter, and recalled the three magical time-travel skills that the system had always been obsessed with.

Pretending to be indifferent, he asked, "What are those things next to the counter?"

The shopkeeper, calculating on his abacus, glanced at the items at his feet and replied, "The young lady and her family are new here and probably haven't seen this before. In our northern border, these soybeans are used to feed livestock. Eating them can make people look bad, so only some poor families can barely afford to eat some. We're selling them on consignment."

"Really? I've never seen it before. I wonder what the price is. I want to buy it and study it."

The shopkeeper paid no attention to the girl's unreasonable curiosity and replied, "Since the girl likes it, we will give her some as a gift.

Well, this is the remaining silver from the Madam."

With a "click", the shopkeeper finally calculated the silver. Because the amount in Shen's mother's hand was relatively large, he took out some small silver bills from under the counter to complete the transaction.

Shen's mother, who originally wanted to say that Shen Jia was wasteful, no longer had any objections after hearing what the shopkeeper said. She just regarded it as a way to please others.

On the way back, Shen's mother saw a cloth shop with piles of unused cloth in front of the door. She remembered that her family was still wearing clothes brought all the way from Shengjing. She was familiar with this smell, but suddenly she felt uncomfortable all over, as if lice were crawling on her.

He put down what he was holding and asked, "Boss, how much are these cotton cloths for?"

Seeing the visitor's tattered clothes and hands full of things, Shopkeeper Li knew that a big customer had arrived and immediately responded:

"These are old stock, and they've gotten a little damp, but don't worry, it won't affect your use. You can buy one for just 120 wen, which is a fair price."

The feeling of the clothes in her hands made Shen's mother sigh in her heart, but in order to save money, she gritted her teeth and bought two sets of clothes for everyone in the family.

Replied: "Can we get a cheaper price if we buy more?"

Shopkeeper Li's eyes lit up immediately, and he smiled until his eyes almost went blind. He replied, "I don't know how much you need, but the price is certainly negotiable."

"I'll buy ten. I wonder if your shop has any quilts. I need five as well."

“Okay, okay!”

Shopkeeper Li thought that he had met a big customer, and his hands were faster than his mouth. He immediately picked up a piece of fine cotton cloth on the ground and placed it in front of Shen's mother.

"You want quite a lot, so I won't hesitate to offer you a discount of ten cents per piece. All our cloth is Songjiang cloth from the south. If there hadn't been some mistake, you wouldn't be able to buy it at this price.

If you feel the texture of this cotton cloth carefully, you will find that it is one of the best quality goods in our town.

As for bedding, we have it in our cloth shop. Because it is stuffed with a lot of cotton, the price is not cheap, 300 coins per bed. Since you are generous today, I will give you 10 coins off.

What do you think? "

The three young girls who had no life experience had no idea what the price was, and they all looked towards Mother Shen’s position.

In fact, because Shen's mother has lived in the south for the longest time, and considering the price difference between the two places, she has her own thoughts on what Manager Li said.

Looking at the excited Shen Yue, he said to the three people: “Pick a color you like and take it.

Shopkeeper, the price is fair. Since our family is new here, could you give us some needlework?"

Then he told Manager Li his request, saying that he would definitely make the cloth himself this time, as it would be difficult to do without needle and thread.

"Yes, yes. I wonder where these ladies live? You four definitely can't take all these things back home. I can call a donkey cart to take them home later."

Mother Shen repeated what she had said to the rice shop owner to Shopkeeper Li again. Seeing her eyes that showed instant understanding, Mother Shen knew what was going on and her impression of the An family plummeted.

But who made the daughter and father feel that the house was most suitable for their current situation?

If she had the chance, the first thing she would change would be her own residence. She had already repaid the favor that night with silver, and in the future she would definitely restrain her family from getting close to the An family.

After all this going back and forth, it was getting late. The four people who had bought the things had no space left in their hands and returned home sweating profusely.

The entire yard has been cleaned up, revealing the stone slabs underneath, and the kitchen prepared for cooking has also been cleaned out.

When Shen Jia went in to put the things in, he could still see traces of water wiping on it, but what followed was silence among the people gathered in the kitchen.

Shen's mother has been in charge of household affairs for more than ten years and knows everything about the family, but it is not her turn to cook. Even if she occasionally wants to send food, she just tells the maids to cook for her and she can just tell others that she cooked it.

The two young ladies, Shen Jia and Chen Yue, don't need this skill. As the maid serving the young ladies, Fuqiu doesn't need to learn cooking either.

However, just because the previous Shen Jia couldn't do it doesn't mean that the current Shen Jia can't do it either. But how can I show it reasonably?

The difficulty of casually grilling meat over a fire is much different from actually cooking.

Especially this kind of traditional firewood rice, not many people today know how to make it.

Looking at the three motionless people, Shen Jia suggested: "Why don't we ask Uncle San to start a fire? I don't know how to start a fire with this stone."

Mother Shen refused without thinking, "How can your third uncle, a grown man, come in and out here!"

"But mother, can you light a fire?"

This time, Mother Shen had no objection. She deflated under the expectant eyes of the three people outside and compromised, “Let’s go and call your third uncle.”

It happened that the goods from the rice shop and cloth shop had been delivered to the Shen family, and Shen Hao walked towards the kitchen carrying a stone of rice.

He didn’t seem to notice that the atmosphere in the kitchen was a little weird, and excitedly put the rice aside and said to Mother Shen:

"Sister-in-law, someone outside said this is the item you just ordered, so I brought it in. Is there anything else you need my help with?"

Mother Shen was suddenly speechless and didn’t know how to start.

Shen Yue also thought that Shen Jia's suggestion was good. Moreover, they originally wanted to ask Uncle San to light the fire. They had already digested their lunch. Seeing the olive branch thrown by Shen Hao, they immediately said:

"Uncle San, can you make a fire with these stones?"

Shen Hao, who often goes out to play, of course knows how to make a fire. Looking at Shen Yue's curious eyes, he said, "Of course Third Uncle knows how to do it. When Zijie and I go out together, we often make a fire and roast something to eat."

"Could Third Uncle help me light a fire?"

When Shen Hao took a look, he saw that the three of them were looking at him expectantly. Only then did he realize that the women in his family had no chance to learn this kind of thing.

He immediately rolled up his sleeves, squatted in front of the stove, and demonstrated to the four people how to light a fire with stones.

After all the hassle, smoke finally began to come out of the Shen family's chimney. Several people imitated the actions of the cook at home and started cooking.

In order to ensure that at least the staple food tonight was edible, Shen Jia took on the task of cooking firewood rice. Fortunately, she was experienced and was still familiar with it even after a few years.

Cooking while keeping an eye on the noise from the kitchen next door was a challenge for someone who had never worked in a kitchen before. The last few dishes, aside from the burnt bits, were still manageable.

The whole family understood that this meal was hard-earned, and no one dared to despise their first meal in their new home.