The group first went to the county government office. The sky was very dark and pitch black. It was still the afternoon, and the government office was still closed.
After Xu Qinyu and the others arrived, they explained their purpose and the yamen runners took them to see the county magistrate. The county magistrate was a middle-aged man in his forties with a goatee, ordinary looks, and deep wrinkles between his eyebrows. After seeing the documents that already had the seal of the Raozhou government office, he readily and efficiently stamped their settlement documents.
Looking at the document, Xu Qinyu felt a little inexplicable emotion. She had finally become a member of this dynasty.
After leaving the county government office, looking at the sky covered with dark clouds and strong winds, everyone knew that now was not a good time to look for a house. Moreover, they had just arrived from Yuanbao Town and were not familiar with the situation in the town. They would ask the real estate agent tomorrow to see the situation in the town before making any plans.
A few of them found an inn near the yamen, as they felt more at ease staying next to the yamen.
The yamen is located to the east of Yuanbao Town. Even though Xu Qinyu doesn't know the situation of Yuanbao Town, he has a rough idea of the distribution in the town.
In ancient times, the east was considered valuable, and usually there were government offices and houses of wealthy families in the east.
Some documents have records that say, "East City is rich and West City is expensive, North City is poor and South City is cheap."
The inn Xu Qinyu found was located at the intersection of the east and west streets. The price was more expensive than the inn owned by Manager Zhou in Raozhou City. A large bunk bed cost two hundred coins per night. Even though it was twice as expensive, several people still stayed there.
After checking into the inn, Xu Qinyu asked the innkeeper if she could use the kitchen.
But the shopkeeper said that the stove could only be borrowed to boil water or decoct medicine, and could not be used for anything else. It seemed that he was unwilling to let others borrow his cooking skills to make food. Borrowing the stove also cost ten cents per hour.
Xu Qinyu had no choice but to give up.
It was not yet dark and time for dinner, so she planned to go out to buy some dinner and take a walk around the town.
Wen wanted to go out with her, but was rejected by Xu Qinyu. Wen was getting older and had been very busy along the way. Xu Qinyu often caught her crying secretly. Now she just wanted her to rest more, otherwise she was afraid that her body would collapse. Wen was almost forty years old and her body was not as good as hers, so it would be better for her to rest more.
She had just observed that there were patrolling yamen runners on the street. Moreover, she was dressed in shabby clothes, and her face was red and swollen. She did not look very good at the moment, and she did not have much money on her. Who would be so foolish as to rob her?
Xu Qinyu went for a walk around the town by herself, which took her an hour.
Even in such cold weather, the small vendors outside are all there, and the shops on the streets and in the market are also open. It's just that because it's snowing, there aren't many customers.
Most of the small vendors also gather on the North Street, which is close to the wharf and is a mixed crowd with all kinds of people and all kinds of shops. Most of the small vendors deal in food because it is close to the wharf and there are many fleets and caravans coming and going. People cannot live without food, clothing, housing and transportation, and food is the most important thing.
There are also two markets, West Street and East Street.
The East Street is full of nobles' houses and government offices, as well as a large restaurant and a large inn, some jewelry shops, wine shops, bookstores, cloth shops, rice shops, snack shops, butcher shops and the like.
It's similar on West Street, not so mixed. People who dislike the chaos on North Street prefer to come to the West Street market.
So, most of the businesses in Yuanbao Town are concentrated in these three places.
After learning about this, Xu Qinyu bought some food from North Street and brought it back.
The food sold at the stalls here are mostly wontons, noodles, sesame cakes, steamed cakes, porridge, buns, meat and vegetable soup, and the rest are basically the same.
Xu Qinyu bought some meat and vegetable soup, as well as some buns, and took them back. On her way back, she also bought two pieces of malt candy for the two children.
She had just returned to the inn and put the food on the table when Pei Weixuan came over and handed her two small white porcelain medicine jars.
"Fourth brother, what is this?"
Xu Qinyu reacted as soon as she asked.
This should be the ointment that her cheap husband said he would make for her to treat her wrist bruises.
Pei Weixuan said, "The ointment in the smaller medicine jar can treat the bruise on your wrist, and the larger medicine jar can treat the chilblains on your face and hands." He had just found time to borrow the kitchen stove to make ointment. He made three batches of ointment for treating chilblains, and gave two batches to his mother Jianing and Feng'er and Yan'er for use.
Xu Qinyu happily accepted it, "Thank you, Fourth Brother. Mother, Sister Ning, come and eat."
The whole family sat around the square table and had their evening meal.
Xu Qinyu first tasted the meat and vegetable soup. It tasted very ordinary, a bit meaty, and had no other flavor except saltiness.
The buns were stuffed with radish and meat, and they were also very average. The dough probably hadn't risen enough, the skin wasn't fluffy enough, and it tasted a bit sour. The taste was really bad.
She ate a steamed bun and some meat and vegetable soup and then stopped.
The others didn't have much appetite either, but they finished their meal, drank some hot water, and then decided to rest.
…
Xu Qinyu woke up at dawn. She applied the ointment she had used last night after washing up. The effect was excellent. Now her wrist was not as painful as it was yesterday.
Also, we had no conditions during our exile and hadn't washed or brushed our teeth for more than a month. Now that we have a place to stay temporarily, it would naturally be more comfortable to sleep after washing or brushing our teeth. However, we don't have any change of clothes yet. I'll go out and clean up the house later, and then buy two sets of clothes for everyone.
For breakfast, Xu Qinyu also bought wontons from a nearby store, and asked the waiter to help run errands.
The Pei family took a bite of the wontons and paused. Some of the wontons had their skins broken. The wonton skins were too soft and rotten, and the fillings tasted average, soft and soggy. The soup base was not fresh either. In comparison, they missed the breakfast made by Xu Qinyu even more.
Before Pei Weixuan's family met with the accident, they also lived a life of luxury in the palace. However, after eating the food cooked by Xu Qinyu, they realized that the imperial meals were not only more exquisite and tasted slightly better than those in restaurants outside, but were still far inferior to the food cooked by Xu Qinyu.
In fact, they also felt that Xu Qinyu's cooking skills were too amazing. It was just a simple bowl of wontons, but it tasted like a million different flavors.
After breakfast, Xu Qinyu announced, "Sister Ning and Fourth Brother will stay home to look after the children. Mother and I will go to the real estate agency to inquire about the real estate market in Yuanbao Town. What do Fourth Brother and Sister Ning think?"
Pei Jianing was only eleven or twelve years old, so she could only give a reference on matters like renting or buying a house, so she naturally agreed.
Pei Weixuan also agreed, and Xu Qinyu went out with Wen.
It was snowing heavily outside, and there was a thick layer of snow on the ground. The two men borrowed an umbrella from the inn and went to the pawnshop first.
The snow was so heavy that there were few pedestrians on the road. Most shops were still open, but the small vendors setting up stalls on the roadside could not come out to continue their business, so the scene was much quieter.
A yahang was a transaction intermediary in ancient times. They did all kinds of business, as long as it was an intermediary type, and house buying and leasing were naturally included.
Xu Qinyu had asked someone about the location of the pawnshop yesterday. It was about a quarter of an hour's walk from the inn where they were staying.
The dental clinic is quite big, but because of the snow, there are not many customers.
When the broker learned that the two wanted to rent or buy a house in Yuanbao Town, he immediately led them into the inner room, made them some tea, and said with a smile, "You two gentlemen, please have some tea to moisten your throats first. I wonder if you have any houses you would like? There are several good houses in the east and west of the city, available for rent or purchase. There are also two three-story houses in the south and north of the city, as well as several small courtyard houses. Let's see what you two guests are interested in."
After saying that, he went over and got a stack of rice paper, on which were drawn the shapes and orientations of these houses.
Xu Qinyu thought to herself that this real estate agency was quite innovative, much like the real estate agencies of her time.
They can't afford to buy or rent a large house with two or more courtyards, so they just want to buy or rent an ordinary farmhouse with three rooms, so naturally they also look at it this way.
Even an ordinary three-room courtyard in the east and west of the city would cost seven or eight hundred coins to rent a month, which is almost ten taels of silver a year. How could it be affordable? You know, ten taels of silver is enough for a family of four or five people to live on for a year.
The same type of house in the north and south of the city is more than half the price, and can be rented for two or three hundred coins a month.
The houses in the east and west of the city are so expensive to rent, so buying them must be even more expensive. Xu Qinyu asked about the price of buying a house, and sure enough, the minimum price for this ordinary three-room courtyard is one hundred taels of silver.
It is much cheaper in the south and north of the city, and you can buy it for dozens of taels of silver.
After careful selection, Xu Qinyu and Wen Shi both fell in love with a three-room courtyard in the south of the city. Although the courtyard was not big and was located in the south of the city, there was a well in the courtyard, which saved them a lot of trouble. If there was no well, they would have to fetch water from the well at the entrance of the town, and wash clothes in the small river in the town that was connected to the canal.
Since both of them liked this set, they naturally went over to take a look first.
The shop assistant immediately harnessed the horse-drawn carriage and drove the two men to see the house.
With the carriage, they no longer had to run errands themselves, which was much more comfortable. They reached the south of the city in just a quarter of an hour.
When they arrived at the south of the city, the escort drove the carriage directly to the entrance of the alley where the houses were.
When they reached the entrance of the alley, the carriage couldn't go in. The broker pointed to the entrance and told them, "This alley is called Osmanthus Alley. The house you're looking at is in it. But first we have to go find the owner to get the key and show us the house. The owner runs a cloth shop. After making some money, he bought a two-story house in front of Osmanthus Alley. This small courtyard is now vacant. He's looking to sell it or rent it out."
The two followed the broker to find the owner of the house.
The two-story house bought by the owner was just in front of Guihua Lane and they arrived there quickly.
The broker knocked on the door, and a little maid, about eleven or twelve years old, opened it. Seeing the person, she turned around and called inside, "Madam, there are guests."
A woman's voice came from inside, "I told you to come inside and tell me when we have guests, not to stand at the door and shout. Why can't you change your ways?"
The little maid grinned and heard her mistress's helpless voice, "Please invite the guests into the house."
The little maid listened to the lady's words and led the three of them to see her own lady.
The little maid led the three of them to the living room. Before they entered, Xu Qinyu saw a woman in the living room feeding a three or four-year-old child breakfast. The child had his lips tightly closed, and his mouth was covered with a circle of food residue, and he refused to open his mouth.
The woman was so anxious that she was sweating profusely, and she kept yelling, "Little Ancestor, just have a bite. Look at you, you are almost as thin as a monkey."
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