Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 79

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Shangjing is the capital

Chapter 79

Arriving at Changshui Street, it was noticeably quieter, with fewer people around, and occasionally, children could be seen playing and laughing.

Lu Yao nodded inwardly. Adults allowing their children to play outside indicated that the area’s public security was good.

The street was lined with long alleys, each housing dozens of families. A rough count revealed that there were over a hundred alleys on this street, meaning a significant number of residents lived here!

Lu Yao noticed an elderly woman washing clothes by the roadside. He approached and asked, “Auntie, may I ask if there are any houses for rent on this street?”

With his handsome looks and gentle, polite demeanor, he left a good impression at first glance.

The elderly woman wiped her hands and said, “Young man, are you from out of town?”

“I’m from Pingyang County, here with my brother for the provincial examination.”

Upon hearing he was a scholar, the old woman’s attitude became even kinder. “Walk three alleys ahead, turn into the fifth house on the left, and ask there. I heard they were renting out a house some time ago, but I’m not sure if it’s still available.”

“Thank you very much.”

“No need to thank me.” Watching his retreating figure, the elderly woman muttered softly, “Such a fine young man. I wonder if he has found a family yet.”

Lu Yao arrived at the house she mentioned and knocked on the door, but after waiting for a while, no one came out.

Instead, a young man from the opposite house opened his door slightly and asked, “Who are you looking for?”

“May I ask if this family is still renting out their house?”

“Uncle Yu and his family aren’t home. You should come back tomorrow.”

“Alright, thank you.”

“No need.” The young man started to close the door.

Lu Yao quickly stopped him. “Brother, may I ask how much it costs to rent a house around here for a year?”

“I’m not too sure, but I overheard Uncle Yu mention that their house rents for fifteen taels of silver a year. But I might not have heard correctly, so you should confirm with them yourself.”

“Got it, thanks.”

With a general idea in mind, Lu Yao thought fifteen taels a year was within their budget. Most importantly, the area had a good environment, ensuring Douzi’s studies wouldn’t be disturbed and Xiaonian could make some friends.

Having made up his mind, Lu Yao hurried back.

At the inn, Zhao Beichuan anxiously paced, not seeing Lu Yao return. “You two stay here and watch the belongings. I’m going out to find your sister-in-law.”

“Okay,” the two children obediently replied.

Just as he stepped out, he saw Lu Yao returning. He quickly grabbed him and asked, “Where have you been so long?”

“I asked a street peddler where to find rental houses and went to have a look.”

“Did you find a suitable house?”

“Yes, the place is good. You should go check it out this afternoon.”

Lu Yao also bought some food on his way back. As soon as he entered, the two children hugged him tightly, worried sick.

“Look, your sister-in-law brought you something.”

“Sweet cakes!”

“Eat them while they’re still warm.”

For lunch, the family had two sweet cakes and a bowl of oil tea noodles, considering it a meal.

After eating, Zhao Beichuan said, “After you left, a lot of constables came to the inn.”

Lu Yao was taken aback. “Why did they come?”

“The person who lost silver last night reported it to the authorities.”

“Did they find the silver?”

Zhao Beichuan laughed. “Where would they find it? The thief must have fled long ago. The constables were just going through the motions. The victim cursed in the courtyard for over an hour before leaving.”

In the afternoon, Zhao Beichuan followed Lu Yao’s directions to Changshui Street. After inquiring, he found seven or eight families renting out houses, with prices ranging from fifteen to thirty taels of silver.

Bigger houses were naturally more expensive, but since their group was small, they didn’t plan to rent anything too large. A house with three or four rooms, like the one in their hometown, would suffice.

After some comparison, they found the house Lu Yao had initially inquired about to be the most suitable. The price was low, and the location was good. Walking out of the alley led directly to Changxing Street, which would be convenient for shopping and doing business in the future.

However, the homeowner wasn’t in, so they planned to return early the next day to view the house.

—

Three carriages slowly departed from the capital. The first one, with a redwood cabin engraved with pine and crane motifs, exuded elegance and nobility. The door bore the character “Lin,” and inside sat Old Master Lin and Lin Zijian.

“I wonder if Beidou and the others have arrived in Pingzhou yet. I miss him so much.” This time, Lin Zijian had brought plenty of gifts, including snacks from the capital, travel books, Xuan paper from Yunzhou, and unused ink brushes from home—all packed into a large chest in the rear carriage.

Leaning against a cushion, Old Master Lin said, “Judging by the timing of the provincial exam, they should have already set out.”

“Grandfather, what if he doesn’t pass…” When Xiaodou wrote back, the results of the county exam hadn’t been announced yet, so they didn’t know whether he had passed.

“It’s fine. If he doesn’t pass, he can try again next year. He’s only seven. Rushing things wouldn’t be good.”

“But…what about the gifts I brought? The snacks will spoil if they’re left too long.”

“Then you eat them yourself. As for the other items, you can pay a courier to deliver them through a passing security firm.”

Lin Zijian thought about it and agreed, though he still felt a bit sad at not being able to see his close friend. Resting his face in his hands, he sighed, “I still hope he passes the exam.”

—

The next morning, Zhao Beichuan checked out of the inn and loaded their belongings onto the cart. With Lu Yao and his siblings, he headed toward Changshui Street.

The mule cart stopped at the alley entrance, and Lu Yao jumped off to knock on the door. This time, someone responded, and soon a man in his thirties came out.

“Are you renting out your house?”

The man nodded. “Yes. Are you looking to rent?”

“Yes, I came by yesterday, but your neighbor said you weren’t home.”

The man opened the door. “I went to my father’s place yesterday. Come in and take a look.”

As soon as Lu Yao entered the yard, a small black dog jumped out and barked at him.

Yu Dacang kicked it aside. “Get lost!”

The dog yelped twice before squeezing through a gap in the fence.

There were four rooms in total, looking fairly new, though the yard was messy, with items scattered everywhere and plenty of chicken droppings and dog feces. It was clear the household lived quite casually.

Yu Dacang accidentally stepped in dog feces and angrily muttered curses. “There are four rooms in the main house and a small annex at the back. The house was built six or seven years ago, still as good as new—no leaks and no drafts. The rent is fifteen taels a year. If you rent for three years, I can reduce it to thirteen taels a year.”

This was considered a very affordable price for a city, but Lu Yao still wanted to ask why they were renting it out. Was there some underlying issue?

Hearing this, Yu Dacang sighed. “There’s no hidden issue. My wife gave birth to another pair of twins this year. We have eight kids now, and it’s too much to manage, so we’re moving to my parents’ place for help. Renting this out will also bring in some money for household expenses.”

“Ah?” Lu Yao was taken aback. No wonder the yard was such a mess; eight children would make any day feel like a battle.

“Do you want to rent it?”

“Yes.” As long as there weren’t other issues, it was fine. While Lu Yao wasn’t superstitious, renting a house with bad feng shui would still feel uncomfortable.

“How long do you want to rent it for?”

“I’ll discuss it with my companions first.” Lu Yao left the yard and quickly returned to the cart.

“The house is good, but the yard’s a bit dirty. We can clean it up. It’s fifteen taels a year, or thirteen taels a year if we rent for three years. What do you think?”

Zhao Beichuan nodded. “Alright, let’s rent it for three years.”

“Come on, let’s all go take a look.”

Zhao Beichuan drove the cart into the alley and stopped at the house. The yard was indeed a mess, but it was more spacious than the one in Qiushui Town, and the mule cart fit easily inside.

Xiaonian and Xiaodou got off the cart and curiously looked around, spotting the small black dog by the fence.

“There’s a puppy! Woof woof woof~~~” Xiao Nian squatted down and called to it, and the puppy happily ran over.

Zhao Beichuan shouted, “Don’t touch it, be careful it doesn’t bite you.”

Yu Dacang waved his hand, “It’s a puppy just weaned, it hasn’t grown many teeth yet, it won’t bite anyone.”

He pushed open the door and entered the house, and a strong smell of urine hit him, so intense that it made it hard to open his eyes.

Remembering that the family had eight children, Lu Yao felt relieved. With so many kids, it was normal for there to be some smell as they couldn’t keep up with cleaning all the mess.

The four rooms were laid out similarly to their house in Wangou Village: three bedrooms and one kitchen. The difference was that the west room had a separate door, making it much more convenient since they didn’t have to go through the middle room.

In the kitchen, there were two stoves, both with ceramic pots on them. It seemed that even in the capital, not every family had iron pots.

Most of the things in the house had been moved out, leaving only a bare mat, a table, and a few wooden stools.

Aside from the dirtiness, the two of them were quite satisfied. “Let’s rent it for three years. Big brother, please draft a contract.”

Yu Dacang’s face brightened, “Good, good, good, wait for me to call someone to come help.”

However, he brought an elderly man over and said, “This is my uncle. He’ll help draft the rental agreement.”

The old man came prepared with a brush, ink, and paper. He sat on a stool and started writing. His handwriting was decent, but the content wasn’t quite right. Lu Yao glanced at it and said, “It says here that the owner can reclaim the house if needed, but it doesn’t specify how the money will be refunded. That’s not quite proper, is it?”

The old man hadn’t expected Lu Yao to be literate and quickly said, “That was my oversight.” He immediately added a line stating that the money would be refunded at the original price.

Yu Dacang said, “You can live here for now. My eldest son is only nine years old, so at least wait until he’s sixteen or seventeen and ready to marry before we reclaim it.”

The agreement couldn’t afford any ambiguity. What if they had to move out after just a few days? Lu Yao carefully reviewed it again. After confirming everything was in order, Zhao Beichuan pressed his fingerprint on it, and Yu Dacang did the same.

Lu Yao took out thirty-eight taels of silver and one string of coins, completing the payment. The house was officially rented.

Yu Dacang pocketed the money with a big smile and said, “My father lives just ahead in Fathead Alley. His name is Yu Laomao. You can ask around for him if you need anything.”

“Oh, by the way, Brother Yu, where do we get water around here?”

“There’s a well in the backyard, shared with the neighbors,” he said, leading the two to have a look.

The backyard was even messier, overgrown with dry weeds. The rear house was still relatively new, with a sickle and a broom inside. The well was between the two properties, separated by a fence.

Lu Yao silently calculated that when the weather warmed up, he would clean up the backyard and plant some vegetables to save on grocery costs.

After everything was explained, Yu Dacang removed the iron lock on the door and said, “You should buy your own. It’s not safe to use the old one. I’ll head off now—let me know if anything comes up.” Spotting the small black dog, he asked, “Are you keeping this dog? If not, I’ll take it back.”

“Yes, yes, we’ll keep it!” Xiaonian and Xiaodou quickly nodded.

Lu Yao said, “Then let it stay.”

The two children cheered in delight and started playing with the puppy.

The yard was filthy. Zhao Beichuan unloaded the mule and eagerly picked up a broom to start cleaning. Meanwhile, Lu Yao opened the doors and windows to air out the rooms, as it would be impossible to sleep otherwise.

Zhao Beichuan said, “Xiaonian, Xiaodou, stop playing with the dog and help your sister-in-law tidy up the house.”

“Okay.” The two kids put down the puppy and ran inside.

There wasn’t much to clean indoors. They swept the floors and took the mats on the kang outside to air. After a while, the smell subsided significantly.

Once the weather warmed up, they planned to scrub the floors thoroughly and lay down fresh soil to eliminate the odor.

Lu Yao and Zhao Beichuan continued to sleep in the east room, while Xiaonian and Xiaodou stayed in the middle room. When the children grew older, they could separate their sleeping arrangements.

“You two bring the things from the cart inside. I’ll go to the back to gather some firewood.”

“Alright.”

Earlier, Lu Yao had noticed some decayed wood piled in the backyard, which would be perfect for firewood once split.

When Zhao Beichuan saw him carrying the wood over, he quickly put down the broom in his hand. “Let me handle this. You should go inside.”

“It’s stuffy inside; I’d rather stay out here with you for a while.”

Zhao Beichuan chuckled. “You complain it smells, yet you still rented this place.”

“It’s so cheap! If it weren’t this dirty, it wouldn’t rent for this price. Think about it—those rundown houses in Niujia Garden cost eight strings of coins a year, and this place is much more secure.”

“That’s true.”

“Plus, with the money we saved, I’m planning to rent a shop. Then we’ll see whether to sell breakfast or other food.”

Hearing this, Zhao Beichuan immediately felt reassured. He patted Lu Yao’s hand and said, “Alright, we’ll do whatever you decide.”

At noon, Lu Yao set up their iron pot, cleaned it thoroughly, and cooked a pot of millet rice.

With no vegetables at home, Lu Yao took a stroll down the street and spent thirty coins on a jar of bean paste and ten coins on four small pieces of salted radish.

The salted radish was washed, shredded, and tossed with hot oil, providing enough food to fill all four of them.

In the afternoon, they continued tidying up the house. They finally managed to clean up most of the filth in the yard, and the smell in the house lessened considerably. Lu Yao decided to let the children take a break. Xiaodou needed to prepare for the upcoming provincial exam, while Xiaonian, after traveling such a long distance, needed to rest to avoid falling ill.

It had to be said that the Zhao family’s two children were incredibly adaptable. Over the past two years, they had moved from Wanggou Village to the town and then from Qiushui Town to Pingzhou Prefecture.

A journey of over a thousand miles, something even adults might find unbearable, had never drawn a word of complaint from them. To Xiaonian and Xiaodou, wherever they were, as long as they were with their elder brother and sister-in-law, it felt like home.

The next day, they began purchasing daily necessities. Items like firewood, rice, oil, and salt were indispensable. They also needed new pots, bowls, ladles, and basins. Additionally, they had to buy two large earthen jars for storing water and rice.

Without storing rice in a jar, it would quickly be eaten by rats.

All these items could be bought on the street. Zhao Beichuan drove the mule cart while accompanying Lu Yao. They spent two taels of silver in the morning, buying everything they needed for the household.

In the afternoon, while purchasing rice at a grain store, Lu Yao spotted a tofu shop and bought two pounds for ten coins.

The tofu was quite firm and couldn’t compare to what they made, but the fact that it had made its way from Qiushui Town to Pingzhou Prefecture indicated it was well-received by the public.

Seeing Lu Yao buy tofu, Zhao Beichuan thought they were going to sell tofu again. “Should we buy a millstone?”

“No rush. These next few days, I plan to explore the city and count how many food shops there are and what they sell.”

Back in the town, they had haphazardly opened a shop and only succeeded because there were few competitors and their offerings were unique. Now that they were in the prefecture, they needed to conduct proper market research, as they had limited funds. A single failure could make it difficult to recover.

Zhao Beichuan nodded. He trusted his husband’s abilities. In the meantime, he stayed home to clean up the yard, build a shed for the livestock, and even make a kennel for the little black dog.

He cleaned the house and yard until they were spotless, a stark contrast to their previous condition.

In the morning, a man from next door glanced into the yard as he passed by. Seeing Zhao Beichuan sawing wood, he couldn’t help but walk in and ask, “You’re new here?”

“Yes, we just rented the place a few days ago.”

“It’s clear you’re a family that knows how to live properly. The yard is so tidy!”

Zhao Beichuan smiled. “If it’s where you live, it’s better to keep it clean for comfort.”

“Exactly! When Yu Dacang’s family lived here, it was such a mess. They had so many kids, and the man was busy earning money while the woman couldn’t manage. They’d dump waste right in the yard, and the smell was unbearable.”

“In the summer, flies and mosquitoes would swarm the place. Even we, living next door, suffered because of it. It’s great that you’ve moved in—now we don’t have to worry about summer anymore.”

The man asked for Zhao Beichuan’s name and, upon learning he was also surnamed Zhao, said with a laugh, “What a coincidence! We’re from the same family! My name’s Zhao Haifeng. If you ever need anything, just let me know!” After all, distant relatives weren’t as helpful as nearby neighbors. Most people preferred to maintain good relations with their neighbors.

In the afternoon, Lu Yao returned with a bighead carp. “I just bought this on the street. It was already floating belly up, so it only cost forty coins.”

Zhao Beichuan frowned slightly. “It’s cheap, but the fishy taste is strong. Most people can’t handle it.”

It was rare to see fish sold in town because people didn’t know how to remove the fishy smell. The cooked fish often tasted bad and had many fine bones that could easily get stuck in one’s throat, causing discomfort for days.

“Let me show you my fish-cooking skills. I guarantee you’ll want a second serving after the first!”

Zhao Beichuan went to fetch a bucket of water. The two squatted in the yard and started cleaning the fish. Xiao Hei(little black(dog)) smelled the scent and came over, so Lu Yao threw the fish guts to it.

“How did the survey of food stalls go today?”

“Pretty much done.” Lu Yao washed his hands and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. Over the past few days, he had visited nearly all the breakfast stalls in town and recorded them with paper and charcoal.

“There are eleven breakfast stalls in the city, mostly concentrated near the city gate, Changxing Street, and our Changshui Street.” Lu Yao hadn’t gone to the Niujia Courtyard area, not because he looked down on the business there, but because the roads were too difficult to walk. Before he even got there, his shoes would have been soaked in muddy water.

“The items sold at these stalls are largely the same: buns, fried dough balls, millet porridge, bean porridge, and a few also sell soy milk. The common trait is that everything is inexpensive.”

“The most expensive meat buns are six coins each, but there are also ones sold at ten coins for three, though they barely have any meat—just a little mince. Vegetarian buns are three coins each.”

“The fried dough balls are similar to our fried dough sticks, except they’re ball-shaped. One ball costs three coins. As for porridge and soy milk, they are both two coins per bowl.”

Zhao Beichuan frowned deeply after hearing this. “Why are prices in the prefectural city cheaper than in the county?”

This involved competition, monopolies, and population density, which Lu Yao couldn’t explain clearly in a short time. He simply said, “If we open a breakfast stall, the only thing we’d have over others is tofu pudding, which isn’t very competitive.”

“Then what should we do?”

Lu Yao’s eyes lit up. “I’m thinking we should open a full-fledged eatery.”