After the start of autumn, it is cool in the mornings and evenings, but still hot at noon.

Lu Xi followed behind An Rong, walking on West Street in Ping'an Town. They were going to their newly purchased house to do some cleaning work, hoping to move in as soon as possible.

"We'll be there after just one more intersection," An Rong said excitedly.

When he left home, he secretly vowed to work hard to save money to buy a house in town, bring his mother and Dou Dou there, and never have to toil in the fields again.

They walked to the entrance of a shop with no sign. "This is it."

This is a shop along the street. The front is the main hall, used for doing business. Passing through the hall, there is a courtyard behind it. There are three main rooms, and side rooms on the left and right. The kitchen is on the left, and the woodshed and latrine are on the right.

"What a huge house!" Lu Xi exclaimed. Such a big house must be very expensive.

An Rong smiled and said, "This is the smallest one on this street."

It has to be said that the town's housing prices have been rising year after year. Three years ago, he came to inquire and found that such a house would cost at most one hundred taels. Now, only three years later, after negotiating the price for a long time, the seller was only willing to lower it by ten taels, and the house was finally sold for two hundred taels.

If he hadn't worked so hard to get some resettlement allowance, he would never have been able to afford this house in his lifetime.

"Does Sister Dou Dou know?" Lu Xi looked around and suddenly asked.

An Rong shook his head: "I want to give her a surprise."

Once they've settled into their house and are moving, DouDou will know that they've officially settled in town.

An Rong and Lu Xi spent half a day tidying up the house, and only then were they able to finish tidying up the three main rooms. The rooms were fully furnished and ready for immediate move-in.

"It's getting late, let's go buy some groceries and make dinner." An Rong put down the broom and walked outside. Seeing the two osmanthus trees in the yard, she thought that they would bloom in another month, and then she would make some osmanthus cakes and osmanthus lotus root.

Lu Xi thought of Dou Dou and the others, who must be hungry after waiting at home for so long, so she quickly put down the feather duster and followed An Rong out.

"Brother Anrong, what delicious food are you making for dinner?" He wanted to learn whatever it was about.

An Rong thought for a while. Dou Dou likes to eat chicken, so she made braised chicken pieces, stir-fried green peppers and eggs, and made tomato noodle soup.

"Let's go buy a chicken." Having a direction makes grocery shopping much faster.

The two of them carried the groceries back to the Lu residence and happened to run into Lu Chaoyang, who was returning from his shift.

"An Rong, you went to buy groceries?" Lu Chaoyang looked at An Rong curiously. "What are you making for dinner tonight? I want to come and freeload too."

An Rong's cooking skills have surpassed those of the cooks in the manor, and he is really craving it.

"Okay, let's have chicken tonight." An Rong thanked Lu Chaoyang for solving his big problem, and treating him to delicacies was well worth it.

Lu Chaoyang rubbed his hands together happily, "Okay, then I won't be polite."

"Lu Xi, you're so lucky. You'll have delicious food every day from now on, following your brother An Rong." Lu Chaoyang said enviously.

Lu Xi didn't know how to reply, so she lowered her head and remained silent.

"Lu Xi is just a quiet child, I'm used to it, An Rong, you have to be more tolerant of her." Lu Chaoyang smiled to cover up his embarrassment.

An Rong looked at the shy Lu Xi and knew that he was afraid to talk to outsiders, so she didn't force him.

“Lu Xi is very sensible and a good child.” An Rong praised sincerely, “It’s all thanks to you bringing him back that we were able to get to know each other.”

Lu Chaoyang waved his hand: "I was just being soft-hearted at the time and didn't think too much about it. Now that he's destined to be with you, you'll have to take good care of him from now on."

"My lord, I have no way to repay your life-saving grace. Please accept my bow." Suddenly remembering something, Lu Xi bent her knees and knelt straight in front of Lu Chaoyang.

Lu Chaoyang was startled. Lu Xi had been in the manor for three years and had never received such a grand gift before. How could things have changed so suddenly?

"Good boy, get up quickly. I already said it was just a small favor, nothing to mention. From now on, just be good to Sister Dou Dou and Brother An Rong, and don't worry about me." Lu Chaoyang helped him up.

An Rong also went to help him up. Lu Xi's behavior surprised him. This showed that Lu Xi was not ungrateful as Haitang had said. On the contrary, he was a grateful person.

"An Rong, I'm going back to change my clothes first. When your food is ready, have Lu Xi go and call me." Lu Chaoyang said to An Rong as he walked to the fork in the road.

“Okay.” An Rong turned left and entered Qingfeng Garden.

In the kitchen, An Rong was cleaning chicken, removing the feathers, especially from the head and neck, which had many small hairs.

Clean the chicken thoroughly and chop it into appropriately sized pieces. Set aside the chicken wings for DouDou.

“I’ll start the fire first, you just need to keep an eye on it,” An Rong said.

Lu Xi squatted to one side peeling garlic, which was needed for making chicken.

Clean the chicken pieces thoroughly. To preserve the original flavor, Anrong did not blanch them. Instead, she heated oil in a wok, sautéed ginger, and then added the chicken pieces to stir-fry.

"To make it taste better, you need to add chili peppers. If you can't eat spicy food, add less." Dou Dou can eat spicy food, but An Rong also had to take care of the child's taste buds, so she only added two red chili peppers.

He didn't buy star anise or Sichuan peppercorns because they were expensive, and if he did, the flavor would be too strong and not very tasty.

Braised chicken pieces can be served with side dishes such as potatoes, glass noodles, and mushrooms. However, whatever you put in will affect the taste of the chicken.

"If you want the chicken to taste good, don't put any side dishes in it. But if you prefer to eat the side dishes and don't care whether the chicken tastes good or not, then feel free to put in the side dishes."

Lu Xi wrote down everything An Rong said.

"Once the rice is cooked and the chicken is done, the rice will be ready too." They cook around the same time.

Lu Xi scooped out three bowls of rice; there were many people tonight, and he was afraid it wouldn't be enough to eat.

"Whether the rice tastes good or not depends on whether the water is added correctly. I'll teach you how to add water. Normally, it's one bowl of rice and one and a half bowls of water. After you've added the water, place your hand flat on the rice. If the water just covers the back of your hand, then the water is just right."

"If you want it firmer, put in less; if you want it softer, put in more."

Lu Xi nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

Lu Chaoyang is coming over for dinner, and two dishes definitely won't be enough. We still have some eggplant and green beans at home, so we'll stir-fry them with the pork we bought earlier.

Once all the dishes were ready, An Rong asked Lu Xi to call Lu Chaoyang.

"Daddy, why are there so many dishes today?" Anji looked at the table full of delicious food, his mouth watering.

Yuan Doudou was also curious. Dinner didn't need to be so lavish, did it? Men tend to spend money extravagantly.

During this time, she was injured, and all the money was given to An Rong to manage. At this rate, it probably won't last more than a few days.

“Your Uncle Lu will be coming over for dinner later, so of course we should cook extra,” An Rong replied patiently.

Ye Xiaoqian washed her hands and walked over. Seeing the table full of dishes, she felt resentful. "Even if Lu Chaoyang came, there was no need to make so much food. He's not a pig; he can't eat that much."

"Who are you calling a pig?" Lu Chaoyang had just entered the courtyard when he heard someone talking badly about him.