The gate opened, and the scene in the courtyard appeared before the people.

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 tidy, even the courtyard was clean without rotten or fallen leaves or other debris. It must be that the owner of the house often came to clean it.

The roads in the yard connecting the courtyard gate and the three room gates are all paved with cobblestones, about three or four feet wide.

There is a crooked jujube tree on the left side of the yard, and under the tree is a well. There are stone platforms around the well, and the ground is also paved with flat pebbles. It is clean and beautiful.

But it is winter now, and the crooked date trees are 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 clean up 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 delighted, and even Wen Shi fell in love with this 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, her life 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, Wu unlocked the locks of several rooms and opened the doors so that everyone could see the structure and condition of the room clearly.

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 north and south, and is also the largest and longest house. Xu Qinyu went in to take a look. The main house is divided into three rooms. The middle one is the main room, which can be used for dining or receiving guests. The main room is a bit small, but it is sufficient because the two sides of the main room are divided into two small rooms. Entering the two small rooms, the room is not big, there is only a wooden bed, a small wooden table, and an ordinary standing cabinet in the corner of the wall. The other room is 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 good.

Actually, it’s not really a backyard, it’s just a small passage between the house and the backyard wall, and the width is only about 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 side 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 side is the kitchen, and next to it is a small wooden shed with some firewood piled inside.

Apart from the kitchen and the main room, there is one large room and two small rooms in the three rooms, which are enough for their family of six.

Wu smiled and said, "What do you think, young lady and aunt? If you rent this house, it will cost three hundred coins a month. If you 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. However, the house is definitely shabby and uncomfortable to live in, and there is no well inside.

Xu Qinyu looked at the Wen family. She could afford the rent with three hundred coins. She was confident in her cooking skills and knew she would have no problem supporting her family.

But if they want to buy this house, they need ninety taels of silver. All their belongings now are these ninety taels of silver. In addition, she earned about 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, they will only have four taels left. They also need to buy cooking utensils and other daily necessities. It may be a bit difficult.

Wen was also moved.

Finally, the two decided to go back and discuss with Pei Weixuan and Pei Jianing to see whether to buy or rent the house.

Xu Qinyu said to Mrs. Wu, "Sister-in-law Xia, my mother and I 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, "Of course."

After looking at the house, Mrs. Wu was also worried about her son and planned to go back quickly. Ever since the accident of her daughter, she was always worried about leaving her son alone at home, even if Xiao Cui was looking after him, she was still worried. But it was snowing heavily today and her son was weak, so she couldn't take him out.

Mrs. Wu was just about to go back, so she asked the pawnshop manager, Mr. Liu, to take them back.

But I heard the young lady say, "Sister Xia, do you have any fish at home? I'll go make some food for Shao 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 best 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.

Liu, the shopkeeper of the pawnshop, 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 pawnshop, so he went to take a look. He also wanted to know why this 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 well-renovated, 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 well maintained.

The Wu family’s house is indeed very good. Even though it is five or ten taels more expensive, many people are still willing to buy it.

After buying the herring, Xu Qinyu followed Mrs. Wu back home.

Xiao Cui had finished feeding Shao Ge'er, but there was still little movement in the bowl.

Seeing her wife, Xiao Cui cried, "Madam, my son won't eat."

Wu sighed, "Forget it, go play with Shao first."

Xu Qinyu also said, "Please ask Sister Xia to take me to the kitchen."

The Xia family’s kitchen was quite large and clean. There were a lot of ingredients in it. 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 juicy meat on the pig and should be a good ingredient for children.

The Xia family actually had pepper, although only a little bit, but it showed that they had spent a lot of money for their children.

There are both white sugar and brown sugar.

Seeing so many ingredients, Xu Qinyu had a plan in mind. She started to kill the fish. She discarded the fish head, bones and belly. She washed and dried the fish meat and chopped it into fine paste. She added ginger water, pepper, and a little 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 more sticky and better shaped.

She originally planned to make fish fillet porridge, but when she saw yam and plum meat, she decided to change the fish fillet porridge to yam and lean meat porridge. The fish meat can be made into fish balls, which are chewy and children will like it more.

Xu Qinyu was busy and methodical, preparing several dishes at the same time, but she didn't seem flustered at all.

When the alluring aroma gradually wafted from the kitchen, Mrs. Wu and the shopkeeper Liu standing nearby were a little stunned. They had never smelled such a strong food aroma 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 said nothing, but stared at the casserole on the stove and the food in it.

Even Shao Ge'er in Xiao Cui's arms looked at her 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 cooked porridge is rich and sticky, bubbling with steam and fragrance.

It took Xu Qinyu about quarter of an hour to finish all this.

One dish of fish balls, one dish of shredded yam, one dish of stir-fried Chinese cabbage and a casserole of yam and lean meat congee.

When the fish balls came out of the pot, she tasted one herself. It was delicious, crisp, fragrant and fresh. The fish was really fresh.

The fish balls are cooked with fish bones and big bones, which makes them extra delicious.

The freshly cooked fish balls are the most delicious and can be eaten directly. The finished fish balls can be stored a lot and can be roasted 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, I'll do it for you."

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 bulging. The aroma and juice of the fish ball rushed into his mouth.

Although he doesn't talk much and doesn't understand the meaning of many words, he knows what delicious food is, just like the white and plump meatballs in his mouth, he wants to eat more after eating it.

Shao 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 that Shao Ge'er said to her, "Mom, I want to eat more."

Mrs. Wu took the chopsticks and put another fish ball in Shao'er's mouth.

Xiao Cui was stunned. She had been in the Xia family for two years and knew how troublesome it was to eat with the young master. She had never asked for food on her own initiative.

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Sister Xia, please take the food to the main room and let Shao Ge'er sit and eat by himself."

When the food was brought to the main room, Shao Ge'er finished the second fish ball and asked for the third one.

After returning to the main hall, Wu cooled the fish balls and placed them in Shao'er's bowl. He then grabbed a pair of chopsticks and picked up the fish balls and started eating.

I ate five in a row before stopping.

Finally, I used chopsticks to pick up a piece of shredded yam and ate it.

The candied yam has a crunchy syrupy outside and is soft and sweet inside.

Xu Qinyu did not use too much sugar in the candied yam dish, making it 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 even ate half a bowl of yam and lean meat porridge. He also ate a few mouthfuls of the stir-fried cabbage. He put down his chopsticks when he couldn't eat any more and looked at Wu eagerly, "Mom, I'm full."

Mrs. Wu held Shao Ge'er in her arms and touched her belly, which was round and plump.

This was the first time that Mrs. Wu saw her son’s round belly 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 taste the food.

Mrs. Wu really hopes that the young lady can live there.

She couldn't help but say, "If you still think the price is a little 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, become strong and live a healthy life in the future.

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Okay, I like that house too. I'll just go back and discuss with my family whether to rent it or buy it. I should be able to give Sister Xia an answer this afternoon. Can we come over in the afternoon?"

"Of course." Mrs. Wu nodded repeatedly, "Then I will wait for the young lady and aunt at home in the afternoon."

"good."

Xu Qinyu and Wen followed Manager Liu and left the Xia family.

After the three men left, Wu held Shao Ge'er in her arms and tasted the food.

The fish balls were extremely fresh, without any fishy smell at all. She had only eaten meatballs, but never fishballs. She had no idea fish balls tasted like this, so fresh and chewy.

And the candied yam, not only did the children like it, but 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 snacks. It is much better than the snacks in Bai Xiang Zhai. No, the snacks in Bai Xiang Zhai can't compare to the snacks made by you."

This dish is more like a snack.

——————

Shopkeeper Liu sent Xu Qinyu and Wen back to the inn.

When I returned to the inn, it was very quiet inside. There were clearly four people in the room, and they were all awake, but it was so quiet for four people to be in the same room, and no one was talking.