"You should know that our alley might not look like much, but it’s in a great location. Once you step out of the alley, right across the street is the busiest street in Jing County where you can buy anything cheaply. Not to mention, if you pass through our alley and keep going, it’s the way to the Academy."
"A lot of scholars want to rent houses in our alley for studying, finding a place as suitable as ours is probably hard..."
Madam Gu was a straightforward person who, once she started talking, was like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube and wouldn’t stop.
Wang Yongzhu listened and felt even more satisfied with her understanding; the former Boss Tian indeed had some foresight, this house was indeed well-located.
Convenient, not to mention quiet.
Madam Gu went on to say that there are probably many scholars renting on this street; the learning atmosphere is good, which is perfect for Song Chongjin to study.
After exchanging a few words with Madam Gu and clarifying that the house was purchased, not rented, Madam Gu’s attitude became even warmer.
She held on to Wang Yongzhu’s hand, asking if she needed to go shopping, and if she knew where to go -- she insisted on taking her.
Wang Yongzhu had no choice but to say that having just moved, there was nothing at home yet, so she planned to buy some food to bring back and buy cooking utensils in the afternoon.
Madam Gu clapped her hands with a slap: "Then you’ve found the right person, just follow me. I’m also going out to buy pancakes for the little devils at home, come with me. There’s a street nearby that sells street food, it’s clean, tastes good, and the prices are cheap."
Leading the way, Madam Gu took Wang Yongzhu through two intersections to an alley. Before even entering, they could smell the various fragrances of stir-frying, boiling, and frying, which made Wang Yongzhu swallow her saliva several times.
Following Madam Gu into the alley, Wang Yongzhu was almost dazzled by the sight: there were steaming buns, plump and white steamed buns, and various deep-fried sweet pastries glowing golden brown.
Not to mention the various stalls along the road, like the wonton stall, where tiny, delicate wontons were dropped into boiling water and quickly turned transparent, revealing the tender meat filling inside.
Scooped up swiftly into a big bowl, the bottom layered with savory dried shrimp, finely chopped green onions, then topped with a spoonful of chicken broth. The round, translucent wontons rolled and bobbed in the chicken broth, with bright green onions interspersed throughout, truly making one’s mouth water.
It was just a pity that as she was still in mourning, she could only look on longingly.
Wang Yongzhu shamefully slurped up her saliva, forced herself to look away, and checked out other stalls. There was spicy soup, roasted meats, and an assortment of pancakes, with the air filled with these tantalizing scents mingling together, which stimulated the appetite immensely.
Wang Yongzhu barely managed to restrain her cravings and bought a bunch of vegetarian-filled buns, four or five meat buns, some steamed buns, pancakes, two bowls of sweet tofu pudding, and a large bowl of Egg soup noodles.
Seeing her buy so much, Madam Gu enthusiastically helped carry the bags to the entrance.
Wang Yongzhu hurriedly stuffed a few buns into Madam Gu’s hands, "Thank you, Madam Gu, if it weren’t for your guidance today, I wouldn’t have known where to buy these. Our family is in mourning, these buns are for the ladies at your home to taste; I won’t come to bother you."
Madam Gu declined a couple of times, but seeing Wang Yongzhu was sincerely offering them, she accepted graciously.
Previously, when she saw Wang Yongzhu buying meat buns, she had wondered why a widow in mourning would eat meat, but now she understood that they were bought for her children, as gifts of thanks.
To think that this young lady appeared to handle things with such maturity, aware of her family’s mourning, she had avoided impropriety from the start.
Madam Gu’s first impression of Wang Yongzhu was favorable.
Not to mention anything else, their family had lived there for several decades, and all the neighbors in the vicinity were well-acquainted with them. The previous owner of this courtyard, surnamed Tian, was a merchant. He seemed amiable but was not serious; instead of staying with his proper wife, he always mingled with disreputable women.
Later, it was heard that the merchant Tian’s business failed, and he sold the house and returned to his hometown. Then it was only seen that a well-known middleman from Jing County came to tidy up the house and then rented it out.
The new neighbors who bought the house had not yet been seen by them. After the New Year, however, there was some activity in the courtyard, as if someone was living there. Since they kept their door closed every day, it was not good to intrude.
After a couple of days, the courtyard was empty again, and no one knew when they left.
Unexpectedly, people had finally arrived, and it was the homeowner, who would be their neighbor from then on.
Madam Gu then took the time to observe carefully. Despite her blunt appearance and seeming willingness to talk about everything, she was also able to distinguish right from wrong.
The new neighbors, although she saw only a young girl, had a clear gaze and a generous demeanor.
Especially when they went to that snack street, where an average girl her size would want to try something new, Madam Gu noticed that although the girl seemed very eager to eat, she mostly bought vegetarian food, and eggs counted as semi-vegetarian.
No household observing mourning was known to prohibit even eggs.
Even those few meat buns were purchased as gifts for her own family.
Such a well-mannered young girl likely indicated that the adults at home were also very polite. Madam Gu entered her own courtyard, feeling delighted with the buns.
Wang Yongzhu entered the courtyard with food in hand; it had already been mostly put in order. Seeing Wang Yongzhu return, Old Granny Zhang and Song Chongjin had washed their hands and were sitting in the courtyard, eating on clean stone stools.
The courtyard had indeed been a focus of attention for the former Boss Tian. Who knows whether it was to show culture or refinement, but he had planted a grape trellis in the courtyard, under which stood a square stone table surrounded by four round stone stools.
It was thought that come summertime, sitting under the grape trellis on those stools, enjoying the cool air and appreciating the moon, would be a delightful experience.
Old Granny Zhang saw that everything on the table was vegetarian, save for a bowl of egg soup with noodles, and could not help saying, "Now that we have no outsiders in our house, why still be so hard on yourself? Look at you, Yongzhu, you’ve lost weight, and your eyes have grown larger. And Chongjin, you need to study, how can you only eat vegetarian food? Won’t your body become worn out? After the funeral period passes, you can start eating a little meat."
Wang Yongzhu, however, felt that this was pretty good. Everyone gains weight during the New Year, and this year, especially, the celebration was particularly lavish, with an overindulgence in greasy foods; it was better now to cleanse the stomach.
Still, Old Granny Zhang was concerned for her and Song Chongjin, and she immediately agreed, bringing the bowl of soup noodles to Old Granny Zhang, "Mother, eat this, it’s warm and comforting."
Old Granny Zhang refused to eat it: "I am an old lady now, why do I need to eat an egg? Keep it for you two to nourish yourselves."
Wang Yongzhu quickly grabbed a bowl of sweet beancurd: "I’ve been craving this for a long time, mom, don’t fight me for it."
Song Chongjin silently took away the leftover bowl of sweet beancurd and started nibbling on the buns.
Old Granny Zhang, having no other option, began to eat the egg soup noodles. As the warm soup filled her stomach, her eyes became a little moist.
This kind of scene where a family sits together, each yielding to the others, Old Granny Zhang had once fantasized about. Yet, it had been worn away in the noisy and contentious days of her past life.
She never expected, in her lifetime, to enjoy such peaceful and easy moments.