Baozi Xishi's Struggle

After moving all the luggage, I stopped and felt hungry. I guess Yutao and the others must have been hungry for a long time, but they were busy moving so they didn't say anything.

Shen Yu quickly took out his purse and told Yutao how to get there, asking her and Yucheng to go to the bakery on the street to buy some cakes.

She and Li stayed at home to continue packing. They took out the bedding and spread it out on the bed, and piled the bundle of clothes beside the bed.

There was a stove in the kitchen, which had not been used for a long time, and cracks appeared at the corners. After measuring the size, they found that the large iron pot they brought from home could fit in the stove. The two of them worked together to put the iron pot on the stove. Li said proudly, "See, I was right to bring this pot. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to drink a sip of the hot water."

Shen Yu smiled and said yes, then he mixed some mud and smeared the gaps on the stove tightly, poured some water into the pot and brushed it clean, then poured another half pot of water in, used the broken wood he picked out yesterday as firewood, and started to boil water.

As soon as the water boiled and some mixed noodles were added, Yutao and Yucheng came back with a bag of vegetarian cakes.

The family had a delicious meal with hot mixed noodle porridge, soft dough cakes fresh from the oven, a plate of pickled vegetables brought from home, and three fried quails left over from yesterday.

After finishing a late breakfast, Shen Yu asked Yutao and Yucheng to fetch water from Mrs. Liu's house next door, clear the weeds in the yard, and clean the floor in the house.

She and Li took the silver and prepared to go to the street to buy things, most importantly, to buy kitchen utensils such as steamers and chopping boards needed for the food stalls.

The family split up and Shen Yu and Li asked passers-by on the street and easily found the Lin family shop that the coachman mentioned. When they went in and asked, they found that the shop had a complete range of products and reasonable prices.

Comparing the size of the iron pot at home, he bought a six-layer bamboo steamer, a six-foot-long wooden chopping board, some other necessities such as ceramic basins, bowls, chopsticks, brooms, etc., a portable stove, and a flat-bottomed deep iron pot of the same size as the steamer. After a long calculation, the flat-bottomed iron pot cost 800 wen because it was made of iron, and the others started at only 5 or 6 wen. The shop owner charged a total of 900 wen. Because he bought a lot of goods, he called a waiter to push a small wheelbarrow. He packed all the things and put them in the basket of the small truck, ready to deliver them to the customers' homes.

Shen Yu asked Li to lead the servants to deliver the purchased kitchen utensils back to Liushu Lane. She also needed to buy some gray powder. The rented house had not been lived in for a long time and the walls were very dirty. They had to be painted before people could live in it.

After asking the shop owner, I found out that the grocery store next door sells ash powder, brushes, etc.

The owner of the grocery store was very enthusiastic. Shen Yu bought the ash powder and brushes, and asked diligently whether they were used to paint the house. He also asked if he wanted help in finding a handyman, saying that it would only cost a hundred coins to paint two rooms.

Shen Yu pinched his wallet, rejected the boss's kindness, and decided to do it himself. The rented house was very short and narrow, so it should be easy for several people to paint it together.

Carrying half a heavy bag of dust powder in one hand and two wall brushes in the other, Shen Yu walked back with difficulty. After walking only ten steps, he felt his heart beating rapidly and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

The weather was hot and there were few people on the streets. The sun was shining brightly on the eaves along the street.

Just as I was worrying about how to get the ash powder back, I heard Yutao calling from afar, "Sister."

When I looked up, I saw Yutao walking towards me hurriedly with a bamboo basket and a carrying stick in her hands.

Shen Yu took one look and said happily, "Why are you here? You're just in time. I was just wondering how to get this ash powder back."

Yu Tao found Shen Yu and breathed a sigh of relief. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and said, "My mother took someone to deliver the kitchenware. I saw that my sister hadn't come back yet, so I asked her if she had gone to buy ash powder. I thought it would be hard for her to move the ash powder by herself. The clerk at the Lin Family Store said that the grocery store next door sold ash powder, so my sister would most likely go there to buy it. So I borrowed a bamboo basket and stick from Sister Liu's house next door, and followed the clerk at the Lin Family Store over here."

Shen Yu felt warm in his heart, thinking that although Yutao was young, she was considerate and sensible.

The two of them put the ash powder and brushes in a bamboo basket and lifted it up with a wooden stick, which really made the job a lot easier.

As they walked, Shen Yu said to Yu Tao, "When we get it home, you guys can paint the walls while I go see if we can get wheels for the cart. With a small cart, we can push the stove to set up the food stall."

Yu Tao nodded and said, "Well, I'll listen to my sister. Yu Cheng and I will definitely be able to paint the wall well."

When they got home, Li had already cleaned up the kitchen and put away the newly bought dishes and chopsticks. She and Yucheng went to the next door to fetch a large basin of water, preparing to wash and dry the newly bought chopping board and steamer.

Seeing Shen Yu and Yu Tao carrying the basket and walking into the yard sweating, Li's face flashed with distress, and she blamed herself and said, "It's all my fault. I was thinking that I had paid for the things in this cart and had to keep a close eye on the clerk to make sure he didn't steal them, so I forgot about the heavy weight of the ash powder. Fortunately, Yu Tao was thinking about it. Otherwise, if it wasn't so heavy, you, a girl, would not be able to move it alone."

Shen Yu fanned the air with his hands and said comfortingly, "Mother is very thoughtful. She must have watched carefully that the clerk brought it back. It would have been a shame if the iron pot was lost. I had only taken a few steps carrying it when Yutao came. We carried it back together and didn't get tired. I'll go get a wheel for the cart later. It will be more convenient to buy things with a cart, and I'll need it when I go out to sell things."

After hearing this, Li's self-blame faded a little. She wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist, moved the steamer to the side, and asked Yucheng to pour some water for the sisters.

Shen Yu looked at the yard. The weeds in the yard had been pulled out, and the yard looked much cleaner and bigger.

While drinking water, she praised Yutao and Yucheng for their abilities.

It was noon and the weather was hot. When Li saw Shen Yu wanted to go out after drinking some water, she stopped her and asked her to have lunch and take a short rest before going out.

As she walked towards the kitchen, she said, "I know you're anxious and want to get everything ready so you can set up a food stall, but you can't get fat in one bite. You have to do things one by one. In this hot weather, don't let the food stall open before you get sick from exhaustion. That would be troublesome."

Shen Yu was shocked when he heard what Li said. He thought about how he had hardly slept for more than three hours every day in the past few days. He was anxious to open the business and had been running around everywhere. He suddenly felt a little scared.

This was in ancient times when there was a shortage of medical care and medicine. This was also an ancient time when a simple cold could be fatal. If you got sick and collapsed all of a sudden, it would be too unfair.

She had finally traveled through time and space and had a chance to live again, so she couldn't lose her life again.

She calmed herself down, suppressed her momentary fear, and said with a smile, "What mother said makes sense. I was a little impatient. Let's eat first, take a rest after eating, and then go out. Anyway, we have moved here, the rent is cheap, and the money in hand is enough to sustain for a while. Don't worry, everything will take its time."