C48

Elementary Scholar Li nodded, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Do you want me to stay and help you to defeat the hundred flavors of happiness opposite you and restore your prosperity?"

"That's right, that's exactly what I meant. Little Su is really intelligent."

Su Zhi pursed the corner of her lips and pulled his hand away. Helpless, she said, "To be honest, if you keep me as your chef, there's no way I can defeat you."

Seeing that he was not willing to believe her, Su Zhi continued, "Firstly, I do have some culinary skills, but I am still far from being able to compare with the hundred flavors of Clear Joyous. I have carefully observed that their dishes cover eight main cuisines and can satisfy the tastes of different guests. Lunch is just a few dishes and yet you can cook so well, so how about having a delicacy? "

"Second, if Flower Mansion does not make a living for a long time, it will be impossible to restore its former prosperity with the help of a chef. Furthermore, the things in your shop are cheap and are already well-known by everyone. If you want to sell them for expensive, it will be very difficult. "

"Even if you sell the ingredients at a low price, regardless of the cost, you won't be able to support the rising cost. Besides, there's also the labor cost and so on."

Hearing her recount the dishes in detail, Elementary Scholar Li gave up and started drooling as he looked at the dishes.

Whether it was the color or the taste of the dish, the dish could be said to be of high quality. It would be a waste of talent not to be a chef.

Elementary Scholar Li followed closely behind Su Zhi in an attempt to persuade her, but it was to no avail.

During dinner time, Li Yi went through each of the dishes that Su Zhi had cooked and praised them endlessly. At the same time, he was envious of anyone who was blessed enough to have such a lovely wife.

"Xiaosu, are you sure you don't want to think about it? Do you have the final say on the salary? "

Su Zhi shook her head and did not consider this matter.

It was just as she said, with the Hundred Flavors Clear Huanhuan pressing on her side, wanting to rely on her skills to make a comeback was extremely difficult, and she wasn't willing to take the risk.

She was able to create some new dishes from normal dishes, but she was not able to reach the high difficulty level of carving flowers or cutting silk with tofu.

"Brother Li, do you understand a principle?" "If there's nothing for me to do, then there's something for me to do. If there's something for me to do, then I'll change."

"You mean, if we can't win the fight, we have to give up?"

Su Zhi giggled. "Of course not."

Business still had to be done, but not restaurants. This road had already been blocked, so there was only a new road to be opened.

"Oh yeah, does Brother Li know where there are people selling courtyards around here?"

Elementary Scholar Li raised his head and looked at her, puzzled. "Little Su wants to own a house?"

Su Zhi nodded. Since she wanted to stay in Xuan City, she needed a place to stay. Staying in an inn was not a long term solution, and not only was it expensive, it also made her uncomfortable.

"I do know that Great Lady Liu's house in Spring Leaf Alley, on the east side street, is being resold. "I heard that her nephew, who was a high official in the capital, saw that she had no one to rely on, so he took her away because he wanted to be filial and filial. So there is no need for him to keep that half-new house."

Su Zhi considered the silver in her pocket and was a little troubled. "Since I'm from a Shangguan family, the courtyard must be magnificent. I probably won't be able to buy it even if I took all my belongings."

I've heard that Lady Liu does have a nephew who is a high official, but she is a bereaved child of an old age. Originally, having a son could be considered quite thorough. However, after a bout of malaria a few years ago, people disappeared. "One of her daughters died when she was far away from home, and her husband died fighting the Huns when she was young. She was the only one left.

Su Zhi was also confused when she heard this. For some reason, she felt that that Liu fellow was especially amiable. Perhaps it was because she had received help from Liu Yu An and had a favorable impression of the Liu family.

"I've seen that courtyard before when I passed by. It's not that big, but it's also a bit old. You can ask about the price."

Su Zhi was tempted by Elementary Scholar Li's words and wanted to try her luck.

If one was able to successfully purchase a decent courtyard, they would be able to peacefully stay there before considering the issue of living.

Sleeping through the night at Flower Mansion didn't feel good.

At night, there were always rats nibbling on tables, chairs, and the corner of the bed. Or else, some kind of wild cat would come in through the window of the room next door, howling in the middle of the night.

The family of three slept restlessly throughout the night.

Early the next morning, Su Zhi woke up, took her two children with her, and rented a carriage to rush to the place where Elementary Scholar Li had told her to go.

Spring Leaf Alley was not too far from the market place. This place was relatively open, and there were a few families scattered about.

Su Zhi got off the carriage, and according to the directions, she quickly found the legendary Lady Liu's house.

From the outside, the courtyard was not very eye-catching. It was obvious that a large part of the roof had collapsed. Fortunately, the courtyard was clean and quiet.

"Excuse me, is this Lady Liu's home?"

"Who is it?"

Su Zhi looked through the gap in the door and saw about forty women walking in from the main hall.

The door was opened. The woman wearing silky silky silks looked at Su Zhi up and down and asked, "Who is this little lady looking for?"

Su Zhi smiled politely. "You must be Auntie Liu. I heard that you were reselling this courtyard, that's why I heard it all the way."

When Lady Liu heard this, she opened the door gracefully and replied with a smile, "What is your surname?"

"I'm surnamed Su. I'm called Zhi. You can just call me Little Su."

Lady Liu nodded her head in a pleasant manner. When she saw that she was carrying two children with her, she gave birth to a cute and lovable appearance, and her smile deepened.

"You finally came to the right place, and coincidentally, I'm going to the capital today. My nephew will be coming to pick me up soon." "Since this mansion has nothing better to do, I might as well sell it. I wonder if this little lady can bring enough money with her?"

Su Zhi was invited by her to take a look at the courtyard. It was as Elementary Scholar Li had said; the house was indeed half-new. It took up a moderate amount of space. Thinking about it, this Auntie Liu should be wealthy.

However, without descendants, it would be a waste to keep these assets. It would be better to sell them for money so that he could have access to them.

"Then what is Aunty Liu's offer?"

"Xiaosu is a straightforward person, I'll go straight to the point. The price is 1200 taels of silver."

Su Zhi clicked her tongue in surprise. It was so expensive!

Seeing her dilemma, Auntie Liu explained, "Little Su, I'll be honest with you. I didn't want to sell this house. There were too many memories carried within me. My husband died early, and my two children died one after the other. I was the only one left. My nephew was filial and did not want me to sell my family property to take me to the capital for old age. "I was thinking that I still had some farmland that I could leave to him. He probably didn't need this mansion, which is why he sold it."

"Go to Xuan City and ask around, where's the small courtyard that can't be counted with a few thousand taels?" "This is considered cheap. If it weren't for the fact that two martial artists from the martial arts world had come all the way here a few days ago and destroyed my roof, I would not have said the price so low."

Su Zhi quickly nodded and replied, "Auntie Liu really has a filial nephew. Others can't envy him."

Auntie Liu smiled and let out a long breath, "That's right. My children and grandchildren were lucky and unlucky. They relied entirely on my nephew to look after me. "He's a popular figure in front of His Majesty right now. In the future, he might even be able to become a prime minister."

Auntie Liu brought Su Zhi to the inner room and the backyard, and looked around. Other than the old courtyard, there were indeed no other unsatisfactory areas.

The furniture and utensils were all available, and the mahogany table and chairs in the main hall required quite a bit of silver. It was just that the items were a little old. Even if he did not sell them with him, it would not be easy to get rid of them.

"Little Su, take a look. My courtyard isn't bad indeed." "All of the tools in the rooms are there. You can't afford to lose anything by spending a thousand taels of silver."

Su Zhi was somewhat troubled. All the silver she had was not enough to gather up this much. How could she buy this courtyard?

Furthermore, he didn't raise the price. If he made the other party cheaper, perhaps he would make others unhappy.

"Aunty Liu, let me be honest with you. I really do like this small courtyard." However … "I don't have that much money on me. You see, can't we make a deal? I'll pay the down payment first and then mortgage it?"