159 Ten Families Alley
Li Yu smiled. “Go ahead. You don’t have to be so polite when you’re outside.”
“Aye! Young Madam,” He Tiezhu agreed with a smile and went out with the fodder.
Li Yu walked to the courtyard and saw that the sky was still gray. There were no signs of sunny weather. It was already white outside the house. Under the eaves and on the treetops behind the house, they were hung with crystal clear ice.
On the way out of the courtyard, Li Yu stepped on the snow until it reached the back of her feet. She looked up and saw no traces of anyone walking on the road. The world seemed to have lost other colors and turned into a vast expanse of white.
Li Yu watched from outside for a while. When she returned to the house, she realized that everyone had woken up. Xiaoyu and Ah Gou had already started cooking.
When Xiaoyu saw Li Yu return, she pointed at the copper pot on the mud stove. “Young Madam, have you washed up? There’s hot water in the pot.”
“Not yet!” After Li Yu poured water and washed up, she said to Zhou Jia, “Xiao Xi, the snow has just passed the instep. I’m afraid it’s going to snow again. I wonder if there’s a town ahead?”
Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu with a smile. “Yes, there’s a town not far away. Let’s eat something and pack our luggage before setting off. If it snows again, we’ll stay in the town ahead.”
Li Yu smiled and said, “That’s the only way.”
Zhou Jia instructed Ruyi and Zhao Cai, “Ruyi, you, Zhao Cai, and Tiezhu, pack your luggage first. We’ll set off after dinner.”
Ruyi took a broom. “Okay, young master. Let’s sweep the snow off the shed before we move the luggage.”
After cleaning up, they began to move the luggage to the car. Zhou Jia went to the master’s main room to take a look. Seeing that the door was closed, he thought to himself, It seems that the master hasn’t woken up yet.
After dinner, Zhou Jia took two boxes of pastries and a piece of silver to the main room. He saw Yu San, a woman, and two half-grown boys eating. There was a pot of coarse rice porridge with soup in it. At a glance, it was more soup than rice. It seemed that life was quite difficult.
Zhou Jia exchanged the silver pieces in his pocket for one or two taels of silver. He placed the silver and the pastries on the table and smiled at Yu San. “Brother Yu, thank you for allowing us to stay the night. We’ll set off now.”
Yu San and his wife looked at the silver and pastries on the table and said belatedly with a red face. “Sir, you’re too polite. The house is empty, to begin with. How can I accept your money?”
“You should. Thank you.” Zhou Jia turned around and left. Yu San and his wife followed him out. Seeing them get into the cart, they waved gratefully. “Thank you, Mr. Zhou.”
Zhou Jia waved at Yu San and his wife and drove the car forward. Along the way, although the sky was gloomy, it did not snow. The group walked for a few days and safely passed Immortal Peak.
They set off from the end of October and traveled until the middle of the 29th day of the new year. The group finally arrived at the capital of Great Yong. In front of the majestic city gate, there was a row of carts waiting to enter the city.
Zhou Jia looked at the towering city gate and thought to himself, Grandfather, Mother, Xiao Xi is back.
Zhou Jia whispered to Li Yu, “Yu’er, this is the north city gate. That family lives in the south city. After we enter the city, we’ll go to the house my grandfather left for me to stay in. Sigh! No one has lived there for so many years. I wonder what that house has become. I’m afraid it’s dilapidated.”
Li Yu smiled. “It’s fine. It’s fine as long as there’s a place to stay. We’ll slowly repair it after staying.”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.” Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu and felt a little sorry for her. After more than three months of long travel, she was tired and thin. Her face was also a little pale. When she settled down, he had to nourish her.
When it was Li Yu and the others’ turn, Zhou Jia took out his identifications. After the guards checked the cart, they waved their hands and let it go.
After entering the city, Zhou Jia drove the cart south. After walking for more than an hour, he entered an alley and smiled at Li Yu. “This alley is called Ten Families Alley. You’ll reach it after entering the third house.”
As they spoke, they arrived at the third residence. Zhou Jia stopped the car and said with a smile, “We’re finally here.”
The two of them got out of the car and saw that the paint on the door was mottled and the lock on the door was rusty. Li Yu looked at the lock and smiled. “I’m afraid the lock is useless.”
Ruyi walked over from behind with the key and said to Zhou Jia, “Young Master, can you try to open it first?”
Zhou Jia took the key and inserted it into the lock. He smiled. “It’s alright. It’s open.” Zhou Jia pushed open the courtyard door and the few of them saw that it was already overgrown with weeds.
Li Yu suddenly felt that someone was watching her. She turned around and saw that the courtyard door opposite was closed. Since she didn’t find anything amiss, she didn’t pay attention to it.
Seeing Zhou Jia standing at the door, she nudged him and said with a smile, “What are you hesitating for? It’s already like this inside. You still have to clean it!”
“Alright, Ruyi and Zhao Cai, quickly move your luggage into the house.” Zhou Jia waved at them.
Li Yu and Zhou Jia entered the courtyard and realized that it was a house with two entrances. The courtyard was 30 to 40 square meters big. There were five main rooms in the outer courtyard, three in the east and west rooms. One of the rooms was built to pass through the hall. They walked over and arrived at the inner courtyard. The inner courtyard was the same size as the front courtyard. Although the house was a little old, it was still not bad overall.
Ruyi and Zhao Cai had already moved their things into the courtyard and started cleaning.
Just as Zhou Jia and the others entered the house and closed the courtyard door, a thin old woman with dark red skin came out of the house opposite. She quietly stood in front of the door and looked in. She went out of the alley and hired a cart. She said to the coachman, “Go to South City’s Baoping Street, the Zhou residence.”
“Sure.” The coachman drove the mule cart toward the south city.
It took them more than two hours to sweep up the weeds in the yard and the dust and cobwebs in the house.
Li Yu and Zhou Jia lived in the inner courtyard. Ruyi and the others chose rooms in the outer courtyard. Tie Zhu said to Ah Gou, “Ah Gou, are you afraid of living alone? Do you want Brother Tie Zhu to accompany you?”
Ah Gou shook his head like a rattle. “I’m going to live in my own room. I’ve never lived alone in all my life!”
He Tie Zhu looked at Ah Gou with a sad expression. Why did Young Master have so many rooms?
Li Yu looked at the two of them and smiled. “Ah Gou, go out with Brother Ruyi and buy some rice and vegetables. We’ll cook something delicious.”
“Aye!” Ah Gou replied cheerfully. Ruyi looked at him. “Then you’ll have to stay close later. Don’t get lost.”
Ah Gou smiled at Ruyi. “I’m pulling your sleeve. I can’t get lost !”
When Li Yu returned to the inner courtyard, Zhou Jia said to Li Yu, “Yu’er, let’s pay our respects to Grandfather and my mother tomorrow morning.”
Li Yu held the broom. “Alright, we’ll go tomorrow morning.”
The old woman took a car to South City’s Baoping Street. She got out of the car in front of a large residence and went to the alley beside the residence. She stopped in front of a small door and knocked a few times. A gray-haired old woman opened the door. When she saw the old woman, she smiled exaggeratedly and said, “Aiyo! Isn’t this Old Granny Ren! What wind blew you here today!”
Granny Ren plastered a smile on her face. “Sister Lin, I’m looking for the Old Madam. I have something to report.”
“Please.” Old Granny Lin stepped aside to let Granny Ren enter the courtyard. She walked past the small garden and crossed the veranda. Old Madam Ren looked at the courtyard and thought to herself that the garden didn’t look as good as it used to. It looked much more dilapidated.
Old Granny Lin led her to the old lady’s courtyard and said to the maidservant at the door, “Qiu Ju, Old Granny Ren wants to see Old Madam.”
Qiu Ju glanced at Granny Ren and turned into the courtyard. Soon, she came out and said to Granny Ren, “Granny Ren, Old Madam wants you to go in.”
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