"Dr. Gu, please stay for a simple meal. I'll start cooking right away." Jiang Nuan said, not giving the two a chance to refuse, and directly asked her daughter-in-law to help with the cooking.

"I can't accept this," Yuzhu said, scratching her head. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Auntie."

“Yu Zhu,” Doctor Gu scolded, “you cannot be rude.”

"Master~" Yu Zhu didn't argue, but looked pitifully at the old doctor, her eyes unblinking.

It's a rare opportunity to have a proper meal, so please, please don't refuse it.

He didn't want to eat those bland and undercooked meals anymore.

"Very well," Doctor Gu sighed softly, "we can only trouble Lady Jiang."

The pharmacy hasn't had anything major going on lately; I should be able to squeeze in some time during a meal.

He wasn't particularly concerned with his appetite; as long as he could eat, he was fine. But his grand-apprentice's cooking skills were just too poor, and it took him a long time to get used to it before his diarrhea stopped.

Later, Doctor Gu realized that it wasn't that he didn't care about his appetite, but that he hadn't met the right person.

Needless to say, the grand-apprentice's cooking skills are superb; he can cook a meal so well that it can make the father and son happy all day.

Although the food in the capital is good, doctors emphasize health preservation, so the food is mostly light and nourishing medicinal cuisine, with a medicinal taste, which is not very palatable.

The Jiang family's meals are characterized by their emphasis on nourishment, with only the soup containing medicinal herbs; the other dishes prioritize flavor.

Dr. Gu hadn't held out much hope. When practicing medicine, he sometimes couldn't come home and had to eat out, but the food was always just so-so.

In the countryside, it's fine; it's just scallions and tofu, and it tastes refreshing.

In wealthy families, the food is either even simpler than what they would eat at home, or it's all kinds of greasy fish and meat.

As for the Jiang family's dishes, the fish is fresh and tender, the chicken is fragrant, the mutton has no gamey smell, and the meatballs are soft, chewy, and flavorful—delicious!

The two devoured the meal in no time, which made Xiao Wu feel sorry for them. "Master, if you don't have any food at home, come and eat at my house."

"Hmm?" Doctor Gu looked up and saw that the entire Jiang family had stopped eating and were looking at the two of them as they ate.

Instantly, an awkward situation arose.

He casually wiped his mouth and put down his chopsticks, saying, "I've finished eating too."

I usually only eat until I'm 70% full, but today I ate until I was 120% full, and my abdomen is severely uncomfortable, with a bloated stomach that hurts.

"Master, I'm not done yet." After saying this, Yu Zhu continued to eat heartily.

He doesn't care about saving face; eating is the most important thing in the world.

He couldn't even remember the last time he had such a delicious meal. It was such a rare opportunity, wasn't it?

“Dr. Gu,” Jiang Nuan asked tentatively, “there are only the two of you in the pharmacy. Who takes care of your daily needs?”

Neither of these two people seemed like the type to do such trivial things.

“Yu Zhu,” Doctor Gu shook his head and sighed softly, “it’s been tough on this child.”

When Yuzhu first came to town, she only reached my waist. The little girl had to stand on tiptoe to cook, which was heartbreaking.

But he really didn't have time to process medicinal materials, take pulses, and dispense medicine; sometimes he even had to go out to collect herbs.

It's not that we haven't thought about hiring people, but since someone died in this place before, many people feel it's unlucky and are unwilling to come.

Buying people is no different from living in the capital, which goes against the original intention.

“No trouble at all,” Yu Zhu said nonchalantly. “Grandson is here to serve his master.”

Yu Zhu always felt that her master had it even harder, having eaten half-cooked rice that she cooked for two years without a single complaint.

"If Doctor Gu doesn't mind," Jiang Nuan said after a moment's thought, "how about my family delivers three meals a day to you?"

Judging from the way the two of them eat, you can tell that their usual meals aren't very good.

Two rough men, as long as they don't eat stones, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Her daughter is not good; she is small and has a delicate stomach, so her diet cannot be neglected.

Sure enough, we still need to buy a house in town. All the children in the family come to town, so it would be good to have a place to stay.

"I'm so sorry," Yu Zhu put down her chopsticks, her eyes narrowed to slits, and turned her head, asking nervously and apprehensively, "Master, how is it?"

She prayed in her heart: "Master, you must agree! I don't care about myself, but it would be a terrible sin if my little aunt got sick from eating too much food."

"This is too much trouble," Doctor Gu said hesitantly.

The Jiang family's food is very tempting, but such a large-scale effort is not appropriate.

"No trouble at all," Grandma Jiang said with a smile. "It's just a small thing. My four children are studying in town, and I need to take care of them too."

"Grandma, Fourth Brother isn't..."

Before Xiao Wu could finish speaking, Xie Shi, quick as a flash, covered his mouth, saying, "Grandma, don't talk nonsense."

Who is the family doing this for? It's all because they're afraid this little darling will suffer.

She herself started sabotaging things.

However, Mother really does favor girls over boys!

Xiao Si has been at school for so many days, complaining every day that the school only serves radishes and cabbages, making him feel green, but his mother has never brought him food.

Xiao Wu hasn't even become an apprentice yet, but his mother has already made plans in advance.

"Master," Yuzhu said cautiously, "please agree."

Even if he trains for another hundred years, he still can't cook such delicious food.

As someone who has seen it all, Yu Zhu was certain that the Jiang family's food was comparable to that of restaurants in the capital, and even had a unique flavor.

I can't describe it, but it felt especially comforting to eat there.

“That’s right,” Grandma Huang chimed in, “It’s not a big deal. We eat every day, so it’s just a matter of having two more pairs of chopsticks and two more bowls.”

“No,” Doctor Gu shook his head. “It’s too much trouble. Huangjiakou is not close to the town, and it will take a lot of time to go back and forth.”

"In that case, I won't force you," Jiang Nuan smiled and didn't object.

But in his heart, he had made up his mind to buy a house in town.

The two men, Master Gu and Master Gu, did not stay long. After eating and resting for a while, they left.

After the two left, Jiang Nuan immediately called her three sons over.

"I have something to tell you today," she said, pulling out a silver note with a denomination of one thousand taels. "Go to town this afternoon and buy a house. It should have many rooms, a large yard, and preferably a backyard where you can grow some vegetables."

"Buy a house?" Huang Lao Er asked doubtfully. "Are we moving?"

“It’s obviously impossible,” Xie shook her head. “Mother did it for Xiao Wu.”

“Not entirely,” Jiang Nuan touched her nose, “there’s also Xiao Si and Xiao Pang.”

When she said this, Jiang Nuan had no confidence at all.

Since sending her two sons to school, she felt the air in the house had become fresher, but she never considered the difficulties her sons faced.

These two rascals are both so naughty; they should suffer more to toughen up their character.

But she couldn't bear to raise her daughter so casually.

If it weren't for the fact that Xiao Wu needed a place to stay while studying medicine with the doctor, she would never have imagined buying a house in town even a hundred years later.

Buying a house in town is a waste of money and has no potential for appreciation; it's just a waste of time and energy.