The gate opened, and the scene in the courtyard appeared before them.
Xu Qinyu liked the appearance of the courtyard as soon as she saw it. Not to mention that the walls of the three houses were clean and neatly repaired, even the yard was clean, without rotten fallen leaves and other debris. It must be that the owner of the house came to clean it frequently.
The roads in the courtyard connecting the entrance to the small courtyard and the entrances to the three rooms are all paved with cobblestones, and are about three or four feet wide.
There is a crooked jujube tree on the left side of the yard, and a well under the tree. There are stone platforms around the well, and the ground is paved with flat pebbles, which looks clean and beautiful.
But it was already winter, and the crooked jujube tree was bare.
The yard was also covered with snow. The snow on the cobblestone paths was not thick and could be seen clearly. The snow on the roof was not thick either, probably because the snow had been cleared.
Mrs. Wu smiled and said, "I asked Xiao Cui to come over and clear the snow in the yard this morning."
The rest of the ground is dirt, but with these small gravel paths, even when it rains, the mud will not be brought into the room.
These small stones are all of similar size and relatively flat, which shows that the owner of the house takes good care of the house and cherishes it.
Xu Qinyu was pleasantly surprised, and even Wen fell in love with the small courtyard at first sight.
She had been in the palace for more than 20 years, living a life of luxury. Even when she was a concubine and lived in the Anping Marquis's mansion, it was better than the house in front of her. But among ordinary people, this small courtyard was indeed very clean and comfortable. The courtyard was full of ingenuity and skill, and she liked it very much.
After entering the yard, Mrs. Wu unlocked the locks of several rooms and opened the doors so that everyone could clearly see the structure and situation of the rooms.
Mrs. Wu said, "These furnitures are all ready-made. Although they are a bit old, they are quite clean. If you rent or buy this house, you can continue to use it."
The main house faces south and is also the largest and longest house. Xu Qinyu went in to take a look. The main house was divided into three rooms. The middle one was the main room, which could be used for dining or receiving guests. The main room was a bit small, but it was sufficient because the two sides of the main room were divided into two small rooms. When entering the two small rooms, the rooms were not big. There was only a wooden bed, a small wooden table, and an ordinary wardrobe in the corner. The other room was similar.
What made Xu Qinyu even happier was that both small rooms had windows. When the windows were opened, the backyard was visible and the light was very bright.
In fact, it’s not really a backyard. It’s just a small passage between the house and the backyard wall. The width is only three or four feet, which is about one meter.
There is also a courtyard wall around it, where you can put some sundries at the back.
On the left side of the main house is a wing room, which is as big as the two small rooms separated by the main house. It is also simply furnished with furniture and has windows.
On the right is the kitchen, and next to it is a small wooden shed with some firewood stored inside.
Apart from the kitchen and the main hall, there is one large room and two small rooms in the three houses, which are enough for their family of six.
Wu smiled and said, "What do you think, young lady and aunt? The rent for this house is three hundred coins a month, and if we want to buy it, it will cost ninety taels of silver."
The rent for a house on South Street is usually only two hundred coins, and there are even cheaper ones, only one hundred and fifty coins, but the houses are definitely shabby and uncomfortable to live in, and there are no wells inside.
Xu Qinyu looked at Wen. She could afford the rent of 300 Wen. She was very confident in her cooking skills and knew that she would have no problem supporting her family.
But if they want to buy this house, they need ninety taels of silver. All their current belongings are these ninety taels of silver. In addition, she earned almost five taels in the two days in Raozhou City, and her cheap husband borrowed one tael. If they really want to spend ninety taels to buy this house, there will only be four taels left. They also need to buy cooking utensils and other daily necessities, which may be a bit difficult.
Wen was also tempted.
Finally, the two decided to go back and discuss with Pei Weixuan and Pei Jianing to see whether to buy or rent.
Xu Qinyu said to Wu, "Sister-in-law Xia, my mother and I both like this house very much, but whether to rent or buy it, we need to go back and discuss it with our family."
Wu smiled and said, "As I should."
After looking at the house, Mrs. Wu was also worried about her son and planned to go back quickly. Ever since her daughter had an accident, she was always worried about leaving her son alone at home, even with Xiao Cui looking after him. But it was snowing heavily today and her son was weak, so it was not easy for her to take him out.
Wu was about to go back and asked the shopkeeper Liu to take them back.
But then I heard the young lady say, "Sister Xia, do you have any fish at home? I'll go make some food for Shao Ge'er later."
Fish is a good thing, especially since this is ancient times. Fish grow up by eating small fish, shrimps and algae. There is no pollution at all. The meat is tender and nutritious, making it the most suitable food for children.
"Ah?" Wu was stunned. She didn't expect that what the young lady said just now about going to cook for Shao Ge'er was true.
After hesitating for a moment, she said, "No, but we do have other ingredients."
Fish has a strong earthy smell and even adults don’t like to eat it, so how can children like it?
There seemed to be a fish stall in front, and Xu Qinyu went there and bought a grass carp weighing five or six kilograms.
Manager Liu of the brokerage firm had to send Xu Qinyu and Wen back to West Street, so he had to go back to Xia's house and wait. On normal days, he would not be willing to wait, but today it was snowing heavily and there were not many customers in the brokerage firm, so he went to take a look. He also wanted to know why the young lady looked so confident. You know, he also knew Shao Ge'er. He helped sell the house and had known Wu for half a year. He knew that her child was weak and didn't like to eat, which was very worrying.
The house was in good repair, and someone was willing to buy it for eighty-five taels of silver, but Mrs. Wu insisted on ninety taels of silver and refused to budge.
In fact, the price of houses here is mostly around seventy-five taels, but they all have no wells and are not in good repair.
Wu's house is indeed very good. Even though it costs five or ten taels more, many people are still willing to buy it.
After buying the black carp, Xu Qinyu followed Wu back home.
Xiao Cui had already finished feeding Shao Ge'er, but the food in the bowl was still barely touched.
Seeing her wife, Xiao Cui looked sad and said, "Madam, my brother won't eat."
Wu sighed, "Forget it, go play with Shao Ge'er first."
Xu Qinyu also said, "Sister Xia, please take me to the kitchen."
The Xia family’s kitchen was quite large and clean, and there were a lot of ingredients inside. Xu Qinyu also saw some sweet potatoes, also known as yam.
Yam is a good thing. It nourishes the spleen and stomach and is most suitable as a complementary food for children.
Yams are quite expensive, and yams in this season are even more expensive.
In addition to yam, there are also radish and cabbage, which are white radish and cabbage.
There is also a piece of pork belly, a few ribs and a piece of plum meat. Plum meat is the most tender meat on the pig and should be a suitable ingredient for children.
The Xia family actually has pepper, although only a little bit, but it shows that they have spent a lot of money for their children.
Even white sugar and brown sugar are available.
Seeing so many ingredients, Xu Qinyu had a plan in mind. She started to kill the fish. She didn't use the head, bones and belly of the fish. She cleaned the fish meat and minced it. She added the prepared ginger water, pepper, a little water starch and egg white. The starch was the one she had just precipitated with white flour. There was no starch in this dynasty, nor were there crops such as corn, potatoes and sweet potatoes, but there were mung beans and wheat, so starch could still be made.
Starch mainly plays a bonding role, which can make food thicker, make ingredients stick together and better shape.
She originally planned to make fish porridge, but when she saw the yam and plum meat, she decided to change the fish porridge to yam and lean meat porridge. The fish meat can be made into fish balls, which are chewy and children like more.
Xu Qinyu was busy in an orderly manner, preparing several dishes at the same time, but she didn't look flustered at all.
When the enchanting aroma gradually wafted from the kitchen, Mrs. Wu and Manager Liu, who were standing nearby, were a little dumbfounded. They had never smelled such a rich aroma of food before.
Even Xiao Cui, who was playing with Shao Ge'er in the main room, was attracted by the aroma. She carried Shao Ge'er to the kitchen and couldn't help asking, "Madam, what kind of food is this? It smells so good."
Mrs. Wu didn't say anything, staring at the casserole on the stove and the food in the pot.
Even Shao Ge'er in Xiao Cui's arms looked at it eagerly and swallowed his saliva.
On the two stoves, one casserole contains plump white fish balls, and the other casserole contains yam and lean meat porridge. The plum meat and yam are chopped into a paste. The porridge is rich and sticky, bubbling with heat and fragrance.
It took Xu Qinyu about quarter of an hour to finish all this.
One dish of fish balls, one dish of candied yam, one dish of stir-fried Chinese cabbage and one casserole of yam and lean meat porridge.
When the fish balls came out of the pot, she tasted one herself. They were delicious, crisp, fragrant and fresh. The fish was really fresh.
The fish balls are cooked with fish bones and large bones, which makes them extra fresh.
Freshly cooked fish balls are the most delicious and can be eaten directly. You can store a lot of them and eat them when you want to eat them on weekdays. They are also delicious when cooked with noodles or soup.
Shao Ge'er suddenly spoke, "Mom, I want to eat too."
Mrs. Wu was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "Okay, okay, mother will do it for you right away."
Xu Qinyu smiled and picked up a fish ball with chopsticks and handed it to Wu, asking her to blow on the fish ball before handing it to Shao Ge'er.
Shao Ge'er took the chopsticks and took a small bite of the plump white meatball in front of him. After putting it in his mouth, he widened his eyes slightly, and then bit off half of the fish ball in one bite. He chewed it with his little cheeks puffed up, and the aroma and juice of the fish ball rushed into his mouth.
Although he didn't talk much and didn't understand the meaning of many things he said, he knew what delicious food was, just like the white and plump meatballs in his mouth, which he wanted to eat again after eating them.
Shao Ge'er swallowed half of the fish ball and stuffed the remaining half into his mouth. He handed the chopsticks to Wu and said incoherently, "Mom, I want more."
Mrs. Wu covered her mouth and cried with joy.
This was the first time Shao Ge'er said to her, "Mom, I want to eat more."
Wu took the chopsticks and put another fish ball in Shao Ge'er's mouth.
Xiao Cui was stunned. She had been in the Xia family for two years and knew how annoying it was for the young master to eat. He had never asked for food on his own initiative.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Sister Xia, please take the food to the main room and let Shao Ge'er sit down and eat by himself."
When the food was brought to the main room, Shao Ge'er finished the second fish ball and started asking for the third one.
After returning to the main hall, Wu blew the fish balls cool and placed them in Shao Ge'er's bowl. He then grabbed a pair of chopsticks and picked up the fish balls to eat.
I ate five in a row before stopping.
Finally, I used chopsticks to pick up a piece of sweet potato and eat it.
The candied yam is crispy with syrup on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside.
Xu Qinyu did not use too much sugar in this candied yam dish, it was just slightly sweet, but just right.
What she made today were all suitable for children to eat. They were relatively light, but each had its own flavor.
Shao Ge'er also liked it very much and ate a lot. In the end, he finished half a bowl of yam and lean meat porridge. He even took several bites of the stir-fried cabbage. He put down his chopsticks when he was a little full and looked at Wu eagerly, "Mom, I'm full."
Mrs. Wu held Shao Ge'er in her arms and touched her belly, which was very round.
This was the first time Mrs. Wu saw her son’s belly so round from eating so much.
She cried with joy, grabbed Xu Qinyu's hand and said excitedly, "My dear, if you want to rent a house, just give me two hundred coins. If you want to buy the house, eighty taels of silver will do!" It suddenly became ten taels cheaper.
Shopkeeper Liu was a little confused, but the food made by this young lady was so delicious that if he wasn't embarrassed, he would have wanted to try the food too.
Mrs. Wu hoped that the young lady could live there.
She couldn't help but say, "If you still think the price is a bit high, it can be lowered."
She knew what it meant for the young lady to live there.
This means that Shao Ge'er will be able to eat well in the future, become strong and healthy, and live a healthy life.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Okay, I like that house too. I'll just go back and discuss with my family whether to rent or buy it. I should be able to give Sister Xia a decision this afternoon. Is it okay for us to come over later this afternoon?"
"Of course." Wu nodded repeatedly, "Then I will wait for the young lady and aunt at home this afternoon."
"good."
Xu Qinyu and Wen followed Manager Liu and left the Xia family.
After the three people left, Wu held Shao Ge'er in her arms and tasted all the dishes.
The fish balls were extremely fresh, without any fishy smell. She had only eaten meatballs, but never fishballs. She had no idea that fishballs could taste like this, so fresh and chewy.
And the candied yam dish, not only did the children love it, even she couldn't help but eat several pieces. Seeing Xiao Cui looking at it eagerly, she gave the remaining pieces to Xiao Cui. Xiao Cui ate while exclaiming, "Oh my God, madam, this is too delicious. I have never eaten such delicious dim sum. It is much better than the dim sum at Baixiangzhai. No, the dim sum at Baixiangzhai can't compare to the dim sum made by young lady."
This dish is indeed more like a snack.
——————
Manager Liu sent Xu Qinyu and Wen back to the inn.
When I returned to the inn, it was very quiet. There were clearly four people in the room, and they were all awake, but the four of them were staying in one room, and it was very quiet. No one was talking.
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