Wang Ying stood next to her and said, "When you were taken away by Young Master Shen, I felt the same way. Just like the young man in the storyteller's tale."

Wang Yan was amused by her, "Then Young Master Shen can't be a monster either."

On the way back, Aunt Wang bought a string of candies wrapped in walnut kernels (tanghulu) for both her and Wang Ying.

After resting for a while, Aunt Wang sat in her room making tea. Wang Ying bought two storybooks for Wang Yan on the way.

Wang Yan sat on the soft couch in the living room, drinking tea and reading a storybook. It felt like she had just finished reading one book when it was already time for dinner.

At Baifanlou Restaurant, you can see the actual dishes before ordering. Since Wang Yan and her brother really liked pork ribs this morning, the first dish Wang Da Niang chose in the private room was pan-fried pork ribs with rice flour.

Ginger and fermented black beans (aspicy pork skin), crispy lettuce salad, pan-fried pork ribs with rice flour, shredded fish, braised pork hock, pufferfish soup with reed shoots, and soft mutton noodles (mutton noodles).

Pan-fried pork ribs with mung bean flour: Chop tender pork bones into pieces and blanch them briefly in boiling water. Coat the ribs with ginger, salt, soy sauce, Sichuan peppercorns, wine, and mung bean flour, then pan-fry them in boiling oil.

The inside is tender and juicy, while the outside is crispy and delicious. It smells amazing!

After eating half a plate of fried pork ribs, Wang Yan drank a bowl of pufferfish soup. After that, she couldn't eat any other dishes.

Sitting in the private room waiting for dessert, a light, refreshing chilled dessert, this was the perfect seasonal treat.

Soak agar-agar in rice water, then crush it in a mortar and pestle. Take a pot of spring water, put the crushed agar-agar in it and boil it to extract the gelatinous substance, then add fresh plum blossoms.

After cooling, it will solidify into a crystal-clear jelly, similar to modern-day jelly.

However, nowadays people eat this vegetarian hangover shaved ice with orange juice.

After finishing the jelly, when the maid came to hand out the breath fresheners, Wang Yan asked shyly if she could have an extra one.

The manager of the banquet hall also came over at this time to ask if the guests were satisfied with today's dishes.

When Wang Yan said she wanted an extra chewing gum, she gave the maid at the door a wink, and soon the maid brought over a box.

This made Wang Yan quite embarrassed. "I just think it tastes sweet and fragrant, and it's quite delicious."

After dinner, the building manager sent a female employee to personally escort them to the room they had booked at the banquet hall.

Wang Yan spent the whole day shopping and then stood there listening to storytelling for a long time.

When I feel tired, I wash my face and feet, then crawl into bed and snuggle under the warm blankets. In no time, I drift off to sleep.

I woke up a little late the next day, around 10 a.m.

After Aunt Wang and the others had finished breakfast, Wang Yan stretched and woke up half-asleep.

The building manager is so kind; he delivered breakfast and face wash to Wang Yan and the others this morning for free.

Therefore, Wang Yan plans to move to the inn over there as soon as possible, so that the innkeepers here will have more time to clean and tidy up.

As the year draws to a close, everyone is incredibly busy, yet the manager of the Yanbinlou Restaurant still came to see them off at the Baifanlou gate.

They also packed a box of chewing gum for Wang Yan. They only brought one suitcase in total, and they weren't asked to carry it themselves.

They sent one of their female assistants to lead the three people to the back to take a carriage, which took them on a long detour to Renhe Tower.

After the waiters from Renhelou caught them, the waitresses from Baifanlou turned and left.

Aunt Wang, looking at Wang Yan and Wang Ying, said, "Why do I feel that 13 taels of silver a day is quite cheap?"

I want to go again, and I don't think it's expensive at all now.

When they decided to stay at Baifanlou, Aunt Wang hesitated for a moment before going, wondering if it was a bit expensive.

Wang Yan glanced at her but didn't reply. How could it not be expensive? Their family's foot shop earned 27 taels of silver in its first month of operation, and that didn't even include the cost of buying candy.

Staying at someone's place for one day is equivalent to half a month's income. You should know that Wang Yan's foot massage parlor is considered to have an above-average income.

They were so overwhelmed by the service that they wanted to spend more and more!

Let's go, let's continue our blissful slumber in the comfortable private room of the new inn!

Upon entering Renhelou, one is greeted by a spacious hall. A few dozen steps further along the hall, there is a courtyard with private dining rooms on both sides.

Yes, their private dining rooms are on the first floor, and a few dozen steps further ahead is another building for accommodation.

Go up to the second floor from here, and you'll reach the room they booked earlier.

Actually, you could turn left from the main entrance, go straight up to the second floor, and then walk straight back, but they wanted to see the layout behind the pavilion, so they walked from the first floor and went up another staircase.

When I arrived at the room, I found that they had already changed the beds to two single beds of room size A4.

Yes, the single bed was also half again as wide as the modern single bed.

As usual, we put on a duvet cover when we arrived. Luckily, we brought two sets, and we'll have the innkeeper wash the one we used at the last restaurant later.

It's not easy to dry these days, so I'll let them air out for four or five days, which will be just right for changing them. I just wonder how much it costs to wash a set of duvet covers?

………………………………………………

It's Lunar New Year's Eve at the Gu family residence on Xilou Street, but none of Gu Ting's family are celebrating the New Year here.

Aren't they all eager to go back to the Marquis's mansion? They went back several days ago.

Wang Ying knew this too, so she felt at ease taking her younger sister around here.

It's Chinese New Year, so lively! There must be over a hundred shops from Baifanlou to this side.

Don't think it's too small; it's only three streets away, but the streets are bustling with people, shoulder to shoulder.

The stalls were packed tightly together, one next to the other, squeezed together.

So the family is quite satisfied with living here, especially since it's a bustling area.

Except for Aunt Wang, who was initially a little dissatisfied because living in Baifanlou meant she could go to the top of the west building to watch fireworks on New Year's Eve.

That's not possible now; we can only stand on the arched bridge in front to watch the fireworks that will be set off in the palace tonight.

However, the room facilities here are quite good, and it saves nine taels of silver a day.

Even though I'm spending money with the mindset of a nouveau riche, I'll still try to save money wherever possible!

Aunt Wang changed her mind again, happily thinking about how much money she could save in a day.

Wang Yan thought that even if they stayed at Baifanlou, they probably wouldn't be able to go up to the west building to watch the fireworks at night.

Are you kidding me? How many people live in Baifan Tower? They may be rich now, but compared to those nobles, they're nothing.

When you get to the theater, can you compete with others to grab a seat and watch the show?

If you can't get a view, you can't see anything from the back! But now if you go to the arched bridge outside, it's much better.

Go early, go early tonight, so you can get a good spot.

When night fell, they went out, and Wang Ying stood at the entrance of the inn waiting for her sister.

Wang Yan bought a bag of maltose from the counter, planning to share half a piece with each child she met.

So she came out a little late. Wang Ying waited for a while but couldn't see her. There were just too many people during the New Year. The inn counter was surrounded by people, and she didn't know what they were all doing.

Wang Ying couldn't stand at the gate. People were coming and going, and even if she didn't block their way, everyone coming in and going would glance at her. Wang Ying felt uncomfortable and wanted to move forward.

Just as they stepped outside the alley, they bumped into the Third Young Mistress.

Xu Shaoqing did not know Wang Yan, but Wang Yan knew her.

Hesitating whether or not she should go up to greet her, she paused for a moment, then looked up and saw Gui Xiang gently shaking her head at her.

Wang Ying understood and immediately lowered her head. Xu Shaoqing really didn't notice her and quickly walked back to her own courtyard, waving her handkerchief.

Xu Shaoqing returned because she had a conflict with Gu Xiao, and the two had a big argument that almost turned physical.

After the argument, Xu Shaoqing knew that as a junior, she was in the wrong and would definitely be taught a lesson if she stayed in the Marquis's mansion.

So, taking advantage of the chaotic situation, he led Guixiang and the others back to their house on Xilou Street to take shelter.

There isn't really any major conflict between the second wife's family today.

It's simply that Xu Shaoqing doesn't like Gu Xiao; she never really had any feelings for the second wife and the second master.

However, after Gu Xiao cheated Xu Shaoqing out of her money last time, she was extremely disgusted and critical of her father-in-law. Today, it was just a joke by Gu Xiao that caused a quarrel.

Gu Xiao said that the whole family should go to Baifanlou to watch the fireworks during the Spring Festival.

Xu Shaoqing happened to be sitting next to her. Upon hearing this, she spoke sarcastically in a lukewarm tone, "You have to make a purchase to go up to the third-floor rooftop of Baifan Tower."

But a single dish there would probably cost several dozen taels of silver.

"Father, you'd better not even think about it. Just stay at the Marquis's mansion and eat there."

She was deliberately mocking Gu Xiao, implying that he always got money from the second wife for his expenses.

What's with the boasting? Why are you talking such big talk? And you were even looking at Gu Ting while you were speaking—what, are you expecting your illegitimate son to pay for this for you?

She was wronging Gu Xiao. Even if Gu Xiao was a spoiled brat, he could still distinguish between what was important and what was not.

Of course, he was going back to the mansion to curry favor with the old lady. The old master was even more important, and he hadn't given up on the shipping business. The second old master was also spending the New Year at the mansion this year.

With such a golden opportunity, why would anyone abandon the entire household to spend the New Year at Baifan Tower?

But Xu Shaoqing did it on purpose; whether he really wanted Gu Ting to pay is unknown.

However, Xu Shaoqing hadn't let bygones be bygones the last time Gu Xiao cheated her out of ten thousand taels of silver.

What a shameless man, scheming to steal his own daughter-in-law's dowry!

Therefore, Gu Xiao, and even the Second Madam, were not good people in Xu Shaoqing's eyes.

It's one thing for them to bicker a few times in the houses on Xilou Street, but today at the Marquis's residence, Gu Xiao especially intends to tidy up his image.

Xu Shaoqing suddenly came over and made a hole in Gu Xiao's clothes, which made Gu Xiao feel embarrassed, and the two couldn't help but have a fight!