026, renting a house

026, renting a house

When they walked out of the pawnshop, they met Xu Yueniang who was returning from buying groceries on the street.

Liu Sanniang was taken aback, a little worried that Xu Yueniang would see them and their son coming out of the pawnshop. Fortunately, the other party didn't ask anything, but just smiled and showed them the chicken in her hand, saying that she had bought a chicken and would kill it for dinner that night.

"This, this is too expensive..." Liu Sanniang saw that Xu Yueniang was holding a hen and said, "It would be better to keep this hen in the yard to lay eggs."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yue Niang waved her hands and said, "No, no, we're in the food business, and it's not convenient to raise these birds in the yard. Otherwise, chicken feathers will fall into the flour, and the pancakes we make will be mixed with chicken feathers, and customers will come to us for trouble. Losing money is a small matter, but I'm afraid that if something goes wrong, our pancake shop will have to close down."

"Oh, then we need to pay attention." Only then did Liu Sanniang understand why Xu Yue's yard was so big, but there were no two hens laying eggs in it. So this was the reason.

On the way back, Xu Yueniang and Liu Sanniang talked as they walked. They talked about raising chickens in the city and then about raising chickens and growing vegetables in the countryside.

In fact, Xu Yueniang saw Liu Sanniang and her son walk out of the pawnshop. Even if she didn't ask, she knew that Liu Sanniang came to the pawnshop at this time, she must be pawning something for money to make ends meet. So there are some things that even if you see something, you should pretend not to see it. If you ask, everyone will be embarrassed.

Lu Mingfei listened to his mother and Xu Yueniang talking. When they almost reached the door of the pancake shop, the two of them finished their previous conversation. He interrupted and asked Xu Yueniang, "Aunt, we want to rent a small courtyard in the city. Do you know any houses for rent?"

"Yes, there are quite a few houses for rent nearby. What kind do you want to rent?" When Xu Yue Niang spoke, she was looking at the adult Liu San Niang. She didn't think a child could make this decision.

"It doesn't matter if it's a smaller one, but it's better if the rent is a little cheaper." Liu Sanniang said.

"Oh, I'll go ask for you later and tell you if there's a suitable one." Xu Yueniang was originally a little worried that the family of three would stay in their house and never leave, but now that she heard Liu Sanniang say that she wanted to rent a house, she felt that her original worry was a bit unnecessary, and she was a bit petty in thinking about others.

The three of them walked a few steps along the street and returned to the pancake shop.

It just so happened that the business in the store was not so busy at this time. Xu Yue Niang came back and said hello to her husband. After putting down her things, she took Liu San Niang and her son out to look for a house.

***

As the sun set, the sound of evening drums rang out, and several major city gates of Kyoto Prefecture closed one after another at the same time.

As soon as the city gates were closed, the streets became deserted with fewer pedestrians and vehicles. Most of the shops on the streets were closed and the vendors packed up and went home.

It’s just that the restaurant’s business is so good at this time that it’s enviable.

Xu Yueniang led Liu Sanniang and her son out of the alley, chatting along the way about the houses they had just looked at. "The house you rented is quite good. Although the yard is a bit small, it's enough for your family now that there are not many people. If you have more children in the future, you can clean up the small house next door and give it to the children to live in."

"There's a well in the courtyard. You can draw water from the well and drink it. You don't have to go out to fetch water or spend money to buy water. This will save you a lot of money over the year."

"Yes, that's right." Liu Sanniang finally realized that drinking water in the city actually cost money. No wonder people in her village didn't dare to talk about moving to the city. Life in the city was no easier than it was outside. If she had no other choice, she wouldn't have thought of moving her family to the city to make a living.

The small courtyard they had just rented, with just a few rooms, cost five taels of silver a month. Five taels of silver a month, two months later, would be ten taels. How much would that cost in a year? She was already worried that their family of three wouldn't even be able to earn enough to rent a house in the city. Where would they live then? Liu Sanniang felt uncertain and worried.

However, they had looked at several houses, and the monthly rent was no less than three taels of silver. In the end, under her son's persuasion, she rented the house they finally liked. Otherwise, she couldn't stay in someone else's house forever, could she? Her husband's injury hadn't healed yet, and they had nowhere else to go. They could only rent a yard to live in for the time being.

For now, they can only take one step at a time.

Xu Yueniang, walking ahead, didn't see Liu Sanniang's expression, so she continued to instruct her, "Winter is almost here. You should go buy firewood early. Otherwise, when it snows, no one will come into the city to sell firewood. And you should also prepare food in advance. The price of food in the city will rise sharply in winter."

Just now, when she was chatting with Liu Sanniang, she learned what happened in the Lu family. She knew that Liu Sanniang and Lu Youtian's family of three had separated from the family, and that was why they brought their husbands to the city for medical treatment, rented a house in the city and planned to live here in the future.

Turning back and seeing Liu Sanniang's expression, Xu Yueniang also knew the worry in Liu Sanniang's heart, but she still advised Liu Sanniang, "No matter how difficult this city is, the people of the Lu family would not dare to kill or burn people in this city. It's better for you to stay in this city than to go back to the village."

"In the future...if you have any difficulties, you can come to me. If we can help you, Old Lu and I will help you." When saying the last sentence, Xu Yue Niang glanced at the little boy following Liu San Niang, just, just think of it as for this child.

"Yeah, I know that too." It was precisely because of this that Liu Sanniang knew that the three of them could no longer return to Shihua Village. However, if they moved to another village, the people there would all be from the same clan, and if they moved there, they would inevitably be bullied by the people in their own village.

It would be better to live in the city. At least in the city, there are people of all surnames. They won't bully them just because they are from other families. Moreover, the master is in the city. No matter how cruel her mother-in-law and the people of the Lu family are, they dare not come to the city to kill them. This last point is the main reason that prompted Liu Sanniang to decide to rent a house in the city with her family.

But if you live in the city, you need money everywhere... Thinking of this, Liu Sanniang could only sigh in her heart.

Hearing Liu Sanniang's sigh, Xu Yueniang looked at Liu Sanniang and comforted her, "Sister, don't think too much. Everything will work out in the end. Mingfei is a smart child. He can help you make money now. In two years, this child will be a great help to the family." Today, Liu Sanniang and her son set up their stall next to their shop. She finally noticed how much business this little kid had taken in by himself. He was very talkative. Not only did the young ladies and ladies passing by like this child, but she also liked him very much.

It's a pity that such a good child belongs to someone else's. Thinking of this, Xu Yueniang felt a little regretful. The couple had worked hard for so many years, and she went to the temple to burn incense and worship Buddha countless times a year, but why was there no news about her own pregnancy?

"Qilang is a good boy. We, as his parents, are so sorry for him." Liu Sanniang looked at the child beside her and felt very sorry for him. If this child was born into a better family, he would definitely be sent to a private school by his family and might even pass the imperial examination and become an official. But since he was born into her belly, he could only suffer with her, his mother and father.

Hearing this, Lu Mingfei reached out and held his mother's hand, and said to his biological mother in this life with a serious face: "Mother, don't say that, you and father are very good."

Hearing this, a slight smile appeared on Liu Sanniang's face.

Xu Yue Niang looked at the mother and son looking at each other, with only envy in her eyes and heart.

The three of them walked back to the pancake shop and saw that the door of their shop was closed. Xu Yue Niang took Liu San Niang and her son and went in through the side door at the back of their house.

Since his wife had been out for a long time, Boss Lu closed the shop and went back to the backyard to kill chickens and cook. He killed the hens in the cage and stir-fried them with radishes to make a large dish of chicken. He also added some leftover sesame cakes from the day's sale. A pot of chicken and a pot of sesame cakes was enough for the four adults and one child.

They had guests at home these two days, and the food on the table was richer than what they usually ate.

With a new child in the family, their yard became much more lively than usual.