When she returned to the inn, Xu Qinyu saw her adopted husband sitting by the window, reading a tattered book he had taken out from somewhere.
My sister-in-law Pei Jianing was leaning against the window on the other side, staring blankly.
The two children sat listlessly on the bed, playing with their fingers.
Seeing this scene, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but feel helpless. Why were they all keeping silent with their heads down?
Hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, the four people in the room looked towards the door and subconsciously set their eyes on Xu Qinyu.
Xu Qinyu entered the room, picked up the kettle from the table, poured a bowl of already cold tea, and drank it in one gulp.
Mrs. Wen wanted to stop it but it was too late because she was afraid that her daughter-in-law would get sick if she drank cold water in such a cold weather.
After quenching her thirst, Xu Qinyu excitedly told Pei Weixuan and Pei Jianing about the house on South Street. "My mother and I both like that house. It's really nice. The house is paved with bricks and there's a well in the yard. It's comfortable to live in. Sister Xia's son likes the food I cook, so Sister Xia is willing to rent it to us for two hundred coins. If you want to buy it, it's eighty taels of silver. If you sell it to someone else, Sister Xia wants ninety taels, and she won't give you a penny less. Fourth brother, Sister Ning, do you think it's better to rent it or buy it directly?"
Of course she wanted to buy it.
Modern people always want to have their own house and a place to stay.
As the saying goes, a nest of gold or silver is not as good as your own doghouse.
Pei Jianing was not interested. To her, there was no difference between buying and renting. They had already moved to such a remote place and were living in a slum, so what was the difference?
The southwestern border town was indeed a remote and poor place for the princess who lived in luxury in the capital.
The two children didn't understand, so naturally they didn't say anything.
Pei Weixuan only looked at Xu Qinyu's expression. When she talked about buying a house, her eyes lit up, and he knew whether she preferred to buy or rent.
He said, "Buy it. It will be more comfortable and free to live in your own home."
Xu Qinyu's eyes brightened. "Fourth brother, I think so too. After buying it, we will have more than ten taels of silver left, which is enough for future food and expenses. With a stable residence, I can also set up a small food stall. It won't be as profitable as what I made in Raozhou City, but it will definitely be enough to support my family."
Wen wanted to keep more money and rent a house, but the sister-in-law of the Xia family was willing to sell it at a much lower price for eighty taels of silver because of her daughter-in-law's cooking skills. Fifty taels of the ninety taels of silver they had belonged to her daughter-in-law. Even Xuan Ge'er thought it was better to buy a house, so Wen had no choice but to agree. In fact, even if they rented a house, the ninety taels of silver would not be enough to give Xuan Ge'er health care and medicine.
In the past, every dose of medicine Xuan Ge'er took in the palace cost dozens of taels of silver.
After buying a house, the whole family had a place to stay, and she could also do some embroidery and help people wash clothes to earn some money.
As for Xuan Ge'er's illness, she had always thought that he was weak, but now she knew that Xuan Ge'er had been poisoned in the palace a long time ago, and ordinary medicines might not be effective.
Jianwen also nodded in agreement, and Xu Qinyu looked at her sister-in-law with anticipation.
Pei Jianing met the expectant gaze of the fourth sister-in-law and nodded, "Buy it."
The whole family agreed to buy the house. Xu Qinyu was happy and full of expectations for her future life. No matter what situation she was in, she didn't want to give up on herself or her future life.
Since she had decided to buy a house, Xu Qinyu did not delay and immediately went back with Wen.
When Mrs. Wu learned that they wanted to buy a house, she was very happy and decided to lower the price to seventy-five taels.
She had tasted the food made by Xu Qinyu, and knew that in the future she would have to trouble Miss Xu for Shao Ge'er's breakfast and evening meals. After all, she would work as a chef in a good restaurant and earn several taels of silver a month, and she might not have to stay at home to cook. She hoped that Miss Xu could take more care of Shao Ge'er in the future. She only hoped that Shao Ge'er could eat well and grow up healthily.
This is really a very cheap price. The houses that cost 75 taels in the south city are all located in very narrow alleys. They are dilapidated, have no wells, and the floors of the houses are all dirt.
Xu Qinyu also accepted Wu's kindness and planned to give a portion of the food she cooked to Shao Ge'er in the future.
The house was finally sold for seventy-five taels.
The house transfer deed was quickly stamped and obtained. Xu Qinyu did not have to worry about the commission from the brokerage firm, as it was all paid by the seller.
It was already late when the house transfer was completed.
When he went to the government office to get the house deed, he rode in the donkey cart of the Wu family.
Wu asked Xiao Cui to look after the child at home, and took Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan to the yamen to do it.
The owners of the house are Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan, so they need to go to the government office in person.
After completing the house documents, Mrs. Wu knew that they had no belongings, so she took the two of them to buy cooking utensils, bedding, and other daily necessities.
Except for the iron pot and iron shovel, other cooking utensils are relatively cheap, but the bedding is a bit expensive. There is no cotton here, so there are no quilts and mattresses made of cotton. Rich families and nobles use fur, or animal hair and silk as fillings in their bedding, which are extremely expensive. Xu Qinyu can't afford it at all, so she bought a quilt and mattress filled with reed fluff, which is also not cheap.
Some poorer families used straw and cattail as mattresses, and their quilts were stuffed with cattail or something like that.
I bought three quilts and mattresses, cooking utensils, and several sets of spare coats and clothes for my family.
As for ingredients, Xu Qinyu bought some radishes, cabbages, tofu, and a basket of eggs, which are also the most common dishes in winter. She also bought a fish, five pounds of spare ribs, two pounds of pork belly, and two pounds of pork fat.
As for pork, pork belly is the most expensive, costing thirty-five cents per catty, lean meat costs twenty-seven or twenty-eight cents per catty, spare ribs only cost twenty-two or twenty-three cents per catty, and lard costs thirty cents, which is more expensive than lean meat and spare ribs. Because oil is expensive, and the oil residue can still be eaten, ordinary people are reluctant to use oil when cooking. They just use a little to coat the bottom of the pot. A can of lard can be used for half a year.
She bought a lot, and since it was cold there were not many customers, the butcher also gave her two large bones. Seeing that there was also a pair of pig intestines and pig stomach on the stall, Xu Qinyu asked about the price and learned that they were two cents per pound, the same price as the large bones. A pair of pig intestines and pig stomach weighed twenty pounds. The butcher said that if she wanted them, she just had to pay thirty cents.
There was no meat on the big bones, and they only cost two cents each, so not many people bought them. Occasionally, someone would buy one to feed their guard dog at home.
Pig intestines and pig stomachs are even more fishy and smelly, and they don’t taste good when cooked. They are only two cents per pound, and not many people buy them. It is even harder to sell them in cold weather, so I plan to sell them at a low price when people ask about them.
Xu Qinyu was very happy to get the big bones and large intestines. The big bones can be used to make soup to nourish the body, and the large intestines and pig stomach are also delicious when braised. The pig stomach can also be used to make pig stomach chicken, which is nutritious and nourishing to the spleen and stomach, so she bought both the pig stomach and pig intestines.
After buying these, Xu Qinyu bought another fifty kilograms of white flour and fifty kilograms of japonica rice, which are all fine grains.
Ordinary people mostly eat coarse grains, such as bean rice and bean porridge. They are reluctant to eat japonica rice and white flour because they are too expensive.
But Xu Qinyu felt that her family had suffered a lot during the exile, and their bodies were damaged, so they needed to be replenished and should eat some fine food.
Furthermore, whole grains are not tastier than fine grains.
Xu Qinyu also bought some other coarse grains, such as various soybeans, taro and the like.
She also bought various seasonings, but they were just simple ginger, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, with some dogwood and Sichuan peppercorns. The other ingredients, star anise and cinnamon, were about the same price as the Sichuan peppercorns, but she couldn't bear to buy them for the time being because there were too many things to spend money on at home.
The car was filled with these things, and Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan had no place to sit. They walked in the snow, and the snow made a crunching sound when they stepped on it.
Pei Weixuan had a high fever for the past two days, and Xu Qinyu was still a little worried. As they walked, she would glance at him from time to time and ask, "Are you tired, Fourth Brother? Do you want to take a break? Otherwise, Fourth Brother, why don't you get in the car? It's okay if you squeeze in."
"Nothing."
Pei Weixuan's voice was faint.
Seeing that he was unwilling, Xu Qinyu did not force him.
Along the way, she was thinking about what else to buy for the family. Today she bought a lot of things, including food, clothing and daily necessities. She spent eight taels of silver, and only eleven taels of silver were left at home. After settling down tomorrow, she would have to think about what kind of business she would do to make a living, whether she would go out to set up a stall to cook or something like that. But no matter what, she would definitely rely on her cooking skills.
After returning to Guihua Lane, Wu helped unload the things from the car into the main room. Since she couldn't help with other things, she prepared to go back first.
When she returned, she discussed with Xu Qinyu, "Miss Xu, you also know the situation of my Shao Ge'er, so I was thinking about whether I could give you some silver every month to take care of my Shao Ge'er's breakfast and evening meals. Don't worry, my lady, you only need to take care of my Shao Ge'er's meals, and give him one or two taels of silver every month." She was willing to let Shao Ge spend as much silver as possible, as one or two taels of silver was enough for an ordinary family to eat.
There were five of them in total, including Xiao Cui, her husband, and a servant.
The servant usually helps her husband with the business in the shop.
Xiao Cui and the boy were siblings. The pawnbroker bought them out of pity for them.
Mrs. Wu only hoped that Miss Xu could take care of her son Shao'er's food, but not theirs. She was not so shameless as to let Miss Xu take care of their whole family.
Xu Qinyu said hurriedly, "How can I accept Sister Xia's money? Don't worry, Sister Xia, our two families are not far away. I will prepare breakfast and dinner every day and send some to Shao Ge'er, or let Xiao Cui come and get it."
Sister-in-law Xia helped her so much that the house was directly reduced by fifteen taels. Of course, she couldn't charge Shao Ge'er for food expenses anymore.
Mrs. Wu thanked him and then drove the donkey cart back.
Wen was sitting in the main room with her two children, and Pei Jianing should be in the wing room on the left.
She heard the noise outside, but she didn't come out.
It was very dark, it was already the evening hour, and most other families had already had their evening meal.
Xu Qinyu looked at the things piled up in the main room and began to order everyone to work.
Xu Qinyu shouted, "Sister Ning, come out quickly."
Pei Jianing had just left the wing room and was standing in the main hall, not quite sure why her fourth sister-in-law called her out.
Xu Qinyu said, "Mother and Sister Ning, please bring some water to clean the wooden beds in the three rooms, and then put the mattresses I bought on them. Fourth brother, bring Brother Feng and Sister Yan to the kitchen to help me light the fire. I will make dinner. After dinner, everyone can rest early."
Pei Jianing was stunned. She had never done such rough work before.
Seeing this, Wen stood up and said, "Yuniang, go to the kitchen and I'll clean the bed and mattress."
She was also reluctant to let her daughter do housework. When she was still a concubine's daughter in the Anping Marquis's mansion, her stepmother was difficult to get along with and always wasted her time, so she did all these rough work.
Xu Qinyu glanced at Pei Jianing and without saying much, took the rice and flour to the kitchen first.
Pei Weixuan also helped carry other ingredients to the kitchen. Even Feng Ge'er and Yan Jie'er followed, stumbling along with radishes and cabbages in their arms.
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