Even in a sleeper car, it's hard to sleep well on a train. Both children were exhausted. Shuyan didn't let them go to sleep right away. She asked the older sister to watch the younger brother and went to buy two bowls of wontons.

The portions in the 1990s were very generous; two bowls were enough to fill the mother and her two children up.

When she woke up, it was already afternoon. She didn't have a watch or a phone, so she didn't even know the time. The two children were still sleeping, so Shuyan woke them up. They had slept too much during the day, so they wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

"Mom," Ye Jingjing called softly, rubbing her eyes.

"Get up, Mom will take you out to eat."

In comparison, Ye Tianbao had a much bigger temper. He was woken up and started crying. Shu Yan whispered a few words to comfort him and helped him change his clothes.

"What do you want to eat?" Shu Yan was very familiar with this area, but not with the environment more than ten years later. Fortunately, the street was very similar and had not changed much.

Shu Yan was a little disappointed when she found the restaurant she remembered, but the owner was not the same person she remembered.

It turns out the owner of this restaurant is from Xicheng District, and many of my college classmates from the north used to frequent his place. Judging from their conversation in the Xicheng dialect, they are also from Xicheng, but the food they serve has a southern flavor.

"Mom, it's so sweet." Ye Tianbao took a bite and wanted to spit it out but didn't dare to.

Back in his hometown, if he didn't like something, he would just vomit, and his grandma would comfort him. But during those few days in Xicheng with his mother, if he vomited and refused to eat, his mother would really ignore him. After experiencing hunger a few times, he learned his lesson.

Shu Yan took a bite. She was fine, after all, she had lived in Nancheng for so long and had gradually come to accept the local tastes. It was normal for the two children to be unaccustomed to the taste since it was their first time eating it.

"Boss, could you please make the dish that hasn't been served yet according to the Xicheng style?" She had overlooked this, thinking that only the boss had changed, but she didn't expect that the taste could also be changed.

"Are you from Xicheng too, young lady?" the proprietress asked warmly as she brought out the dishes.

"Yes, I'm fine, I can eat anything. It's just that the two kids aren't used to the food from Nancheng for the first time." Shu Yan looked at the dishes in the proprietress's hands. "It's already cooked, so I'll leave it at that. Could you please cook me a home-style dish with a Xicheng flavor as well?"

The proprietress smiled warmly and said, "We eat late because we run a restaurant. We're just about to eat, so we've cooked quite a lot of dishes. If you don't mind, you can share some."

"How could I complain?" Shu Yan thanked the proprietress. A moment later, she brought over a large plate of food, a platter of three dishes.

"I took a little of everything, just let me know if you need more." The proprietress was especially happy to meet someone from Xicheng.

The food was authentically Northwest Chinese style, and the two children ate it with great relish. Shuyan only ate two bites before stopping. She could eat either the southern or western style of the dish that was cooked before, but she left the western style for the children.

"Mom, you should eat too." Ye Jingjing noticed that Shu Yan hadn't taken much of the food the proprietress had given her.

No wonder everyone says daughters are thoughtful and considerate. Shu Yan smiled and put a piece of meat on her plate. "Mom likes sweeter dishes. You and your brother can have these." She then put another piece on Ye Tianbao's plate, who was looking at her expectantly. "You eat too. Grow up quickly so you can protect Mom and your sister."

"Protect Mom and Sister?" He had never heard such words before. His grandmother told him that his mother and sister were outsiders who only helped him with chores, and that they had to listen to him.

“Yes, Mom and sister are girls. As a man, shouldn’t Tianbao protect Mom and sister?” The child is still young and will learn whatever the adults teach him. He was spoiled by Grandma Ye before, but it’s not too late to correct him now.

Ye Tianbao looked at Shu Yan with bright eyes, "A real man? Like Dad, a real man?"

Shu Yan paused. In the child's mind, of course, his father is the most powerful. He is still too young, and Shu Yan is not foolish enough to reason with him.

"Yes, a real man like Dad."

Ye Tianbao happily ate another half bowl of rice. Since he started following Shu Yan, Shu Yan has stopped feeding him. Now he eats very well by himself with a small spoon.

So if a child doesn't eat and you have to feed them, it's because they're spoiled. They'll learn to eat after a few meals of hunger.

After paying the bill, the proprietress was very kind and even gave Shuyan some of her homemade side dishes.

"I'm already very grateful for all the food you've given me," Shu Yan declined.

"It's rare to meet someone from my hometown, it's all fate. Please come and support my business in the future."

"Thank you very much, sister." During their conversation, Shu Yan learned that the proprietress was 36 years old, 11 years older than her, but she looked much younger than Shu Yan because of her happy and fulfilling life.

The hotel we're staying at has one advantage: there's a shared kitchen in the backyard. We prepare our own tableware and ingredients, and it costs 50 cents a day if we want to use it. Shuyan plans to buy some things and bowls and chopsticks to cook for herself.

There was a department store nearby with everything. She originally planned to settle in the south of the city and could have bought everything she needed, but with two children, she wanted to keep things as light as possible. She chose three bowls, three pairs of chopsticks, two spoons, a large soup bowl, a dishcloth, and two vegetable plates, and that was all she needed.

Ye Jingjing was very sensible and helped Shu Yan carry some light things. When Ye Tianbao saw this, he also helped carry some things. Shu Yan didn't stop his enthusiasm and praised them both highly.

You shouldn't stop children from helping with chores. This is something she learned from an expert who said that parents will foster laziness and dependency in their children. Shu Yan thought it made a lot of sense.

Ye Jingjing played with Ye Tianbao in the room, while Shu Yan went to the kitchen to wash and scald the dishes, all the while contemplating her future.

First, you need to find a place to live. It would be best if you could buy one, but if not, you can rent one first.

Then there's the issue of Ye Jingjing's school. The registration period has already passed, and classes have started. If she wants to get in, she'll have to use connections. If all else fails, she'll have to go to a private school. And then there's Ye Tianbao, who's about to start kindergarten. Choosing a kindergarten is also a hassle. All of these things are quite significant.

Let's make arrangements for the two children first, and then we can think about other things later.

The next day, Shu Yan went out and bought breakfast before coming back to eat.

"Mom is going out to look for a house in a bit. You and your brother play in the room. Don't open the door for anyone except Mom, and don't go out either, okay?" This daughter is really sensible. It's good to have such a sensible daughter, otherwise Shu Yan might be even more tired than she is now.

The hotel had few amenities; the only electrical appliance was a fan, which she deliberately placed high to prevent the two children from accidentally bumping into it. In the morning, she intentionally left the kettle lid open to let it cool so they could pour out a drink without getting burned. After checking that it was indeed safe, she finally left.

Instead of blindly searching for a house, she knew there was an old residential area nearby that used to be staff dormitories. After the factory moved away, the school bought it and allocated it to teachers as welfare housing. Some teachers who had other houses would rent out their houses to supplement their household income.

She went directly to the gatekeeper and explained her purpose, but unfortunately, the gatekeeper told Shuyan that very few houses here were rented out, and any that were were immediately rented out.

However, she didn't consider things carefully enough. It's 1992 now, not 2019. Teachers' salaries are still very low, and many single teachers can't even get housing and can only live in dormitories. Moreover, housing in Nancheng has always been in short supply, so how could Shu Yan possibly rent one?

"Grandpa, do you know where I can still rent a place around here?" Shu Yan wasn't discouraged and continued to ask the old man.

"It's not easy to find a house around here," the old man said, shaking his head.

The economy has improved a lot now, and many students' families have made money from business, so they want to give their children a better life. As a result, students' living expenses have increased, and more students are living off-campus.

Shu Yan was somewhat disappointed. She had originally thought that she was familiar with this place and there were many teachers there. She would try to find a way to get Ye Jingjing into the nearby Chengxi Elementary School. Once she got into that elementary school, she wouldn't have to worry too much about junior and senior high school. Moreover, Nancheng University would give priority to students from Nancheng High School when it came to the college entrance examination.

"Why don't you go check out Xiaonanmen? There are plenty of houses for rent there," the old man suggested, seeing Shu Yan's expression.

Shu Yan's eyes lit up. Of course she knew about Xiao Nanmen, the future most prosperous commercial center. But right now, it was all old houses, right? And they were all large courtyards, with five or six people living in a house of twenty or thirty square meters, and one bathroom shared by the whole floor. Needless to say, the environment was terrible.

Shu Yan could tolerate everything else, but she just couldn't stand that restroom.

"Sir, do you know where there are any apartment buildings nearby?"

"There are apartment buildings too! Go a kilometer north, there's a big boss who built a residential complex, but that place is only for sale, not for rent. The houses are really impressive, and the environment is great. The only downside is that it's expensive. You should buy one there, you'll definitely live comfortably." The gatekeeper thought Shu Yan was too boastful and deliberately tried to scare her.

"Over there?" In her own world, that place had been taken over by the school and a branch campus had been built there, so she thought it was still a wasteland and never thought to look over there. She didn't expect that it had been bought up and developed into real estate.

As the saying goes, even if they are similar, they are not the same world. They can be used as a reference but cannot be compared. Shu Yan reminded herself again, thanked the old man, and immediately headed towards Xiaonanmen.

After walking for about a mile, Shu Yan saw a towering building with a residential community behind it. The landscaping was excellent, and it looked very comfortable from the outside. When she found the sales center, it was deserted compared to the future.

It's not hard to understand. At this time, companies would allocate housing, and many people stuck to their jobs because they were entitled to housing, even thinking that people who bought houses were foolish.

Another reason is that housing prices were really too high at that time. For example, the community that Shu Yan is looking at now is priced at 1,500 yuan per square meter. It may sound like a lot, but don't forget that this is 1992. The average monthly salary in Nancheng is 300 to 400 yuan, and the annual salary is more than 3,000 yuan. If you don't eat or drink, you can only buy two square meters. In fact, it's not much different from the future.