Yummy Yummy Yummy

Shen Shaoguang was preparing elm seed cakes when the elderly man from next door limped over.

She quickly instructed A Chang to assist him.

The old man waved his hand, "I can manage, I can manage. Thank you, young lady."

A Chang still helped the old man sit down, while Shen Shaoguang personally served him tea.

Since the old man had injured his leg in a fall during the rain last year and rented his front shop to Shen Shaoguang, he had kept mostly to himself, with only his wife occasionally coming out to buy rice and vegetables. Shen Shaoguang wondered what could have brought this mobility-impaired elder to her doorstep—perhaps something about the property?

Indeed! "Seeing your thriving business, young lady, I wonder if you'd be interested in purchasing my two shops and the house at the back?"

Without committing either way, Shen Shaoguang smiled and asked, "Are you moving to a bigger house, elder? Congratulations!"

The old man understood that Young Lady Shen was tactfully inquiring about his reason for selling. He chuckled, "How could we old folks earn money like you young people and afford bigger houses? I have no children or grandchildren, so I've adopted a branch from my clan—they live in the suburbs with larger farmland and houses, and they've invited us to live with them. One can't just become parents without giving something in return, so I thought of selling this house as a welcoming gift for my new descendants."

Shen Shaoguang promptly offered her congratulations.

The old man nodded with some emotion, "Having descendants to care for us in old age is always a good thing."

Though she sensed resignation in his words—likely the adoption papers and clan records were already finalized—Shen Shaoguang cheerfully encouraged him, "Living in the suburbs is nice too. Last time I went outside the city, I saw clear rivers, lush wheat fields, mulberry and hemp around the houses, chickens clucking and dogs barking. Even the air seemed fresher than in the city—it was wonderful!"

At the mention of country living, the old man also smiled, "I truly like it there too. If nothing else, it's spacious!"

After this exchange, they turned to the matter of selling the house.

The old man asked for sixty thousand coins—a fair price for the location.

Shen Shaoguang was honest with him, "I am interested in buying your house, elder, since I've grown accustomed to living here. But as you can see, with all these messy stalls and people, just your shop and house probably wouldn't be enough space."

"As for this side's property, I'm only renting it. I'm afraid the owner might take it back..." If I bought your property but couldn't fully utilize it or rent it out for much, wouldn't that mean tying up money in a bad investment?

"Young lady, are you thinking of buying both properties together?" the old man asked, rather surprised. Though he'd long known Shen Xiao Niangzi was shrewd and capable, with a very prosperous small tavern, he never imagined that in less than a year, she'd already saved enough to buy both properties—especially since this side was considerably larger than his, likely costing over a hundred thousand coins.

Shen Shaoguang smiled, "I'm just worried the owner here might not sell, or that I can't afford it. Let me go ask first, then give you a definite answer. Would that be alright?"

The old man knew her "can't afford it" was likely modesty—her real concern was the former—so he nodded, "Very well, I'll wait for your word."

Had the old man not approached her, Shen Shaoguang would have waited until the lease was nearly up before considering whether to buy or renew. But now that he wanted to sell, she decided to try her luck.

Taking A Yuan with her to Yanshou Ward, she found the home of landlord Song Shilang. Sitting in the gatehouse of the large compound, Shen Shaoguang explained her purpose to the steward who usually collected the rent.The steward shook his head, "To be honest with you, young lady, this is part of my mistress's dowry. Her dowry is quite substantial, and she has no shortage of money. Usually, these properties and shops are only rented out, not sold."

This situation matched Shen Shaoguang's estimation. Families like these rarely sold such immovable assets unless they had fallen into decline.

With a hopeful smile, Shen Shaoguang said, "Could you please ask your mistress for me? Just in case she might consider selling?"

Faced with Shen Shaoguang's charming smile, the steward finally relented, "Very well, I'll make the trip for you, young lady."

This steward was one of the servants brought by Song Shilang's wife from her maiden family, specifically tasked with managing some of her shops and properties in the capital. He held considerable influence in front of his masters.

Before long, the steward emerged and, upon seeing Shen Shaoguang, smiled, "Congratulations, young lady! My mistress and master have agreed to sell the shop to you."

Shen Shaoguang was pleasantly surprised and quickly expressed her gratitude.

The steward chuckled, "But this is also due to the goodwill you've cultivated yourself. Isn't your tavern the first to popularize the Hot Pot? Someone gifted two Hot Pots to my master before the New Year, and he took quite a liking to them. I mentioned it just now, and my master said, 'For the sake of these Hot Pots, we should help with this small favor.' Upon hearing this, my mistress also agreed. Isn't this the goodwill you've cultivated yourself?"

Shen Shaoguang hurriedly responded with polite modesty. If the steward hadn't mentioned it, how would the master have known?

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they discussed the price. Naturally, this property was more expensive than the old man's—100,000 coins—but still cheaper than Shen Shaoguang had anticipated. Could it really be thanks to those two Hot Pots?

Not one to be overly greedy, Shen Shaoguang didn't haggle further and agreed immediately. She thanked the steward once more, arranged to finalize the deed the next day, and took her leave. The steward saw her out.

At the gate, she happened to encounter the master of the house departing. Shen Shaoguang stepped aside to let his carriage pass first.

Song Shilang noticed Shen Shaoguang and raised an eyebrow slightly in surprise before riding off on his horse.

Shen Shaoguang thought Song Shilang's demeanor somewhat resembled Lord Lin's—both were the cold, aloof type, though Lord Lin was more reserved. Was this the current trend among the nobility? Then again, Lord Li was quite amiable.

Regardless, the matter was settled.

A Yuan was even more excited than Shen Shaoguang. "Young lady, does this mean we have our own property now? Right? Young lady? You used to say you didn't know when we'd be able to buy a house, and now we have..." A Yuan chattered on incessantly.

Shen Shaoguang laughed. It was her own fault for always talking about buying property with A Yuan before.

But thinking about it, it really was quite an achievement. This was Chang'an, the city where even great poets lamented how hard it was to settle. Countless talented individuals, after years of arduous study and passing the imperial exams to become officials, still lived as "Chang'an drifters."

Of course, this was partly because the property she bought was small and modest. Officials would at least need a compound with over a dozen rooms and two courtyards to be considered decent, which would double or triple the price. And of course, it was also because their official lifestyles demanded extravagance—like Liu the Clerk, a low-ranking official earning just over 10,000 coins a month, probably spending nearly all of it. Earning money was hard, but saving it was even harder...Even so, Shen Shaoguang was quite content. Perhaps it was ingrained in the Chinese DNA to be Monopoly players—buying land and property was a genetic inheritance. There was always a sense of security in living in a home that truly belonged to you.

A Yuan was still buzzing with excitement, but Shen Shaoguang, like all annoying bosses, had already set her sights on loftier "spiritual pursuits." "This is just the beginning! A Yuan, imagine how wonderful it would be if we earned enough to buy a grand mansion like Lord Lin's in the future? With a garden you could stroll through at leisure."

If it were Yu San, he would have scoffed at Shen Shaoguang's grand ambitions—after all, that was an official residence. Even with money, you couldn't just live there, and even if you could, certain modifications would be needed to avoid violating regulations. If it were A Chang, he would have looked at her in disbelief—our young mistress actually wants to buy such a grand mansion?

A Yuan, however, was different. After a moment's thought, she nodded. "We’ll definitely live in a mansion like that one day. Then we’ll have a corridor carved with designs—not flowers, but food! All kinds of vegetables, jade tip noodles, steamed buns, roast chicken, skewered meat, sweet and sour fish..."

Just as Shen Shaoguang was beginning to feel a twinge of melancholy at the mention of a carved corridor, A Yuan’s Dish Reporting dispelled it. "Alright, we’ll carve it just as you said! Every dish we serve in the shop will be featured. And in the garden, we won’t plant flowers or grass—that’s too cliché. We’ll grow vegetables instead—cucumbers, radishes, coriander, scallions... Then we’ll till the soil with a golden hoe..."

A Yuan burst into laughter.

Shen Shaoguang laughed too. Dreaming was truly wonderful.

But speaking of tidying up gardens, the newly purchased courtyard did need some work.

The next day, after completing the transfer procedures for both properties, a few days later, a middle-aged man arrived with a mule cart to fetch the elderly couple. As usual, Shen Shaoguang gifted them Flower Cakes before hiring masons to begin renovating the house and courtyard.

The wall between the two courtyards was knocked down, merging them into one. The ground was leveled, and the paths were paved with blue bricks. The small shed in the north used for hanging meat was dismantled—from now on, cured meats would be dried in the newly purchased house. Vegetables, grains, and other provisions were also moved there. The two new rooms would serve as storage—one for dry goods, the other for fresh produce—making the most of the space. The eastern side of the courtyard was turned into a garden plot...

A Yuan suggested, "Let’s also fence off an area to raise a few chickens, or maybe a couple of geese."

Shen Shaoguang, who valued peace and cleanliness, hesitated, fearing the chaos of chickens and geese running amok and the mess of feathers and droppings everywhere.

"With our own chickens, we could gather the freshest eggs every day—scrambled with chives, stir-fried with gourds, cooked with cucumbers, steamed with sugar, steamed with shrimp roe... And during festivals, we could just grab a couple of chickens to stew. Wouldn’t that be better than buying from outside?"

Shen Shaoguang made the decision: "Fine, we’ll raise them!" A foodie had no dignity when it came to such temptations.

A few days later, when a poultry vendor passed by, Shen Shaoguang had the seller bring in a small basket of chicks for her and A Yuan to pick from.

They selected over a dozen pullets, checking their liveliness, when the vendor asked, "Would you like to pick a couple of roosters too?"

"Yes."

"Why roosters? They don’t lay eggs," A Yuan wondered.

Before Shen Shaoguang could explain, the vendor chuckled, "You’ll need them for hatching chicks."

"And if we don’t need that many roosters, we can always cook them for meat," Shen Shaoguang added.Suddenly looking up, she met the somewhat indescribable gaze of Lord Lin—since the weather had turned warm, the shop door had been left wide open, and she hadn't noticed anyone entering.

Shen Shaoguang felt a bit awkward. In truth, there was nothing wrong with what she had said, but for some reason, facing Lord Lin's clear and noble countenance, she suddenly felt as if she had acted like a ruffian. Then she abruptly recalled the tale of the female demon capturing Tang Sanzang—if things worked out, they'd live together; if not, she'd just eat the meat...