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.

Sister-in-law Pei Jianing was leaning against the window on the other side in a daze.

The two children sat listlessly on their beds, playing with their fingers.

Seeing this scene, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but feel helpless. Why were they all keeping silent?

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 slightly cold tea, and drank it all 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 the cold water in such a cold weather.

Xu Qinyu quenched her thirst and excitedly told Pei Weixuan and Pei Jianing about the house on South Street. "My mother and I both liked that house. It's really nice. The house is paved with bricks and there is a well in the yard. It's comfortable to live in. Because the food I cook is loved by the son of the sister-in-law of the Xia family, the sister-in-law of the Xia family is willing to rent it to us for two hundred coins. If we want to buy it, it will cost eighty taels of silver. If we sell it to outsiders, the sister-in-law of the Xia family will ask for ninety taels of silver. She won't pay less than a penny. Fourth brother, Sister Ning, do you think it's better to rent it or buy it directly?"

Of course she hopes 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 dog's nest.

Pei Jianing was not interested. To her, there was no difference between buying and renting. They had already come to such a remote place and were still 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 sparkled, 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 still have more than ten taels of silver left, which is enough for future consumption and expenses. With a stable residence, I can also set up a small food stall. It won't be as much 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 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 their daughter-in-law. Even Xuan Ge'er thought it would be 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, the medicines that Xuan'er took in the palace cost dozens of taels of silver per dose.

After buying the house, the whole family had a place to stay, and she could also make some embroidery and help people wash clothes to earn some living expenses.

As for Xuan'er's illness, she had always thought that he was weak, but now she knew that Xuan'er had been poisoned in the palace a long time ago, and she was afraid that ordinary medicines would 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 the house, she was very happy and she even lowered the price to seventy-five taels.

She had tasted the food Xu Qinyu had prepared, and knew that in the future Shao Ge'er would have to trouble Miss Xu for his meals. After all, if someone worked as a chef in a fancy restaurant, he would get several taels of silver a month, and he might not have to stay at home to cook. So she hoped that Miss Xu would 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 need to handle the commission from the brokerage firm, as it was all paid by the seller.

By the time the house transfer was completed, it was already late.

When he went to the government office to get the house deed, he rode in the Wu family's donkey cart.

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 paperwork, 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 simply cannot afford them, so she bought a quilt and mattress filled with reed velvet, which is also of this type, and the price is not cheap either.

Some poorer families used straw and cattail as mattresses, and their quilts were stuffed with cattail.

I bought three quilts and mattresses, cooking utensils, and several sets of spare underwear and clothes for the family.

In terms of ingredients, Xu Qinyu bought some radishes, cabbage, tofu and a basket of eggs, which are also the most common dishes in winter. She also bought a fish, five pounds of 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 pound, lean meat costs twenty-seven or twenty-eight cents per pound, and spare ribs only costs twenty-two or twenty-three cents per pound. The price of lard is thirty cents, which is more expensive than lean meat and spare ribs. Because oil is expensive, the lard residue is still edible, so ordinary people are reluctant to use oil when cooking. They just put a little on the bottom of the pot. A can of lard can be used for half a year.

She bought a lot, and as it was cold there were not many customers, the butcher 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 both 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 give him thirty cents.

There was no meat on the big bones, and they only cost two cents each, so not many people would buy them. Occasionally, someone would buy one to feed their guard dog at home.

Pork intestines and stomachs are even more smelly and not tasty when cooked. They are only two cents per pound and still not many people buy them. They are even harder to sell in cold weather, so when people ask about them, I just sell them at a low price.

Xu Qinyu was very happy to get the large bones and large intestines. The large bones can be used to make soup to nourish the body, and the large intestines and pig stomach are delicious when eaten salted. Pig stomach can also be used to make pig stomach chicken, which is nutritious and good for the spleen and stomach, so she bought both the pig stomach and pig intestines.

After buying these, Xu Qinyu bought another 50 kilograms of white flour and 50 kilograms of polished rice, all of which were fine grains.

Ordinary people mostly eat coarse grains, such as bean rice and bean porridge. They are reluctant to eat polished 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 and needed to be replenished. They should eat some fine food.

Besides, coarse grains are not tastier than fine grains.

Xu Qinyu also bought some other coarse grains, such as various types of soybeans, taro and the like.

She also bought various seasonings, but they were just simple ginger, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, with a little cornel and Sichuan peppercorns. The other seasonings, 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 as there were too many things to spend money on at home.

The car was filled with all these things, and Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan had no place to sit, so they walked in the snow, which made a crunching sound under their feet.

Pei Weixuan had a high fever two days ago, so Xu Qinyu was still a little worried. As they walked, she would look at him from time to time and say, "Are you tired, Fourth Brother? Do you want to take a rest? Otherwise, Fourth Brother, just get in the car. It should be fine 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 she needed to buy for her family. She had bought a lot of things today, including all the food, clothing and daily necessities. She had spent eight taels of silver, leaving only eleven taels of silver at home. After settling down tomorrow, she would have to think about what kind of business she would do, whether she would 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. She couldn't help with other things, so she prepared to go back first.

On the way back, she discussed with Xu Qinyu, "Miss Xu, you also know the situation of my Shao Ge'er, so I was thinking, can I give you some money every month to take care of our Shao Ge'er's breakfast and evening meals? Don't worry, miss, you only need to take care of my Shao Ge'er's food, and give him one or two taels of silver every month." She was willing to let Shao Ge'er spend as much money as possible, as one or two taels of silver was enough for an ordinary family to live on.

There were five of them in total, including Xiao Cui, her husband, and a servant.

The servant usually helps her husband with the noodle business.

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 the young lady take care of their whole family.

Xu Qinyu said hurriedly, "Where can I get money from Sister Xia? Sister Xia, don't worry, our two families are not far away. Prepare breakfast and dinner every day, and I will send some to Shao Ge'er, or let Xiao Cui come to get it."

Sister-in-law Xia helped her so much that the house price was directly reduced by 15 taels. Of course, she couldn't charge Shao Ge'er for food expenses.

Wu thanked him and then hurried back in her donkey cart.

Mrs. Wen was sitting in the main room with her two children, and Pei Jianing should be in the side room on the left.

When she heard the noise outside, she didn't come out.

It was very dark, it was already the evening hour, and almost everyone else had already had their evening meal.

Xu Qinyu looked at the things piled up in the main room and began to tell everyone to work.

Xu Qinyu shouted, "Sister Ning, come out quickly."

Pei Jianing had just left the chamber and was standing in the main room, not quite knowing why her fourth sister-in-law had 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 top. Fourth brother, bring Brother Feng and Sister Yan to the kitchen to help me light the fire. I will make dinner. After dinner, we can all rest early."

Pei Jianing was stunned. She had never done such rough work before.

Seeing this, Wen stood up and said, "Yuniang, please go to the kitchen. I will just clean the bed and make the 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 neglected her. She knew how to do all these rough work.

Xu Qinyu glanced at Pei Jianing and without saying much, she took the rice and flour to the kitchen first.

Pei Weixuan also helped to carry other ingredients to the kitchen. Even Feng Ge'er and Yan Jie'er followed, stumbling along, holding radishes and cabbages.