Rebirth: My Dear Little Wife Is So Scheming

Chapter 277 - 277 277 Dissatisfied

?Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Dissatisfied Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Dissatisfied After the meal, An Zhiyuan indeed arrived on time to knock on the door. The adults decided that the three children need not come, as it was freezing cold outside, and they wouldn’t be of much help anyhow. The necessary decisions would still fall on Bai Yue and Wang Yan, so the four adults set out.

To prevent them from getting bored, Bai Xiao turned on the television for them. It was currently re-broadcasting the Spring Festival Gala, interspersed with occasional TV dramas, so the three children were quickly captivated by the characters and scenes in the little box.

Driving for over half an hour, An Zhiyuan brought them to the location. Bai Xiao looked around at the environment; it was quite nice, even though they were single-story houses!

However, because it was a factory’s residential area, there were old, long rows of single-story houses that were also very tidy, somewhat like the dormitory houses where her second sister lived.

But these houses, lined up in rows, ensured mutual warmth.

An Zhiyuan took out the keys and opened one of the doors. Upon entering, they saw that although there wasn’t a fire lit, it was surprisingly warm— not very cold. The house was like a train carriage, a big, three-room family home. The three rooms were indeed spacious, each separated by a door; only the room in the middle had poor lighting, mainly because it was wedged between the other two, but it was certainly large.

It was spacious enough to fit two beds in every room and still have space for other cabinets—which was quite roomy for their family. The house was definitely adequate for them to live in.

An Zhiyuan led them through each room, “This house belongs to a platoon leader’s family, an old home. Originally his parents lived here, but now they have moved to another city to live with his brother, so the house is vacant. They are thinking of renting it out to earn some rent. The monthly rent for this house is fifteen yuan. Utilities are separate, and you can use the remaining beds and furniture for the time being! As long as they are not damaged, you are free to borrow them.

There’s also a small kitchen in the yard outside. It’s big, but it’s decent enough for cooking and storing things in the summer.”

Bai Yue and Wang Yan were very satisfied. Although they could not compare with the spacious countryside homes with gardens for planting vegetables, they knew such a foothold in the city was hard to come by.

“Platoon Leader An, isn’t the rent a bit expensive?” Bai Yue calculated the money in her hand. Fifteen yuan a month—they had no income yet. Back in the village, that was equal to a hundred eggs.

“Big sister, don’t just look at the rent. Let’s check out the surroundings! Didn’t they say this place is close to the commercial street, pedestrian street, and night market? Renting a house is not just for living; we also need to see if it’s suitable for doing business,” Bai Xiao wasn’t concerned about the expensive rent but wanted to evaluate the location.

Bai Yue fell silent! She was not as savvy as her sister in this regard, so she just watched without speaking.

Wang Yan also nodded. He knew this little auntie had more say in it than they did—she had at least spent many days in the city.

Bai Xiao led the group to the commercial street.

This was the busiest street in the city, with undoubtedly an incredible flow of customers. Typically, when people went shopping, they headed here. They arrived early, but it didn’t stop many people from busily opening their stores, ready for business.

Observing the crowd, Bai Xiao noted that the traffic was impressive. It all depended on what her sister intended to do.

If the business was hot pot, this location would not be quite right since the commercial street favored quick dining culture, like beef noodles for example. A hot pot restaurant here would be too rushed.

People came here to shop; how could they afford to spend a lot on hot pot during a meal? Regular customers would be hard to maintain in the future. For long-term development, of course, a more appropriate spot was needed, a storefront facing the street, with reasonable parking. It’s just that the current rent was unknown?

All these considerations were important. After looking around, Bai Xiao began to suspect whether she was being too hasty! Was the scale she had initially planned for her older sister and brother-in-law too ambitious? Maybe they should start with smaller street snacks like spicy hot foods and skewers.

But looking at the weather outside, Bai Xiao completely gave up hope.

If they were in their provincial city, selling skewer dishes and spicy hot pot would’ve been no problem! But here, the climate was an issue. Having his sister and brother-in-law running a small stall outdoors would mean enduring great hardship for the money earned.

Bai Xiao flatly rejected the idea.

An Zhiyuan could see that Bai Xiao was somewhat dissatisfied, “What kind of house do you want? Tell me! Maybe I can help you find it!”

“I’m looking for a storefront facing the street, big enough to fit at least ten tables, with convenient plumbing! There should also be a spacious kitchen in the back. It would be best if it came with an attached living space, so they wouldn’t need to rent a separate apartment.” Bai Xiao understood that running back and forth was a daunting task.

An Zhiyuan thought for a moment, “Let’s do this. Since there’s no rush to settle down right now, I’ll ask around for you in the next couple of days. The month isn’t over yet, so there’s no need to hurry. A lot of stores aren’t even open at this time.”

Bai Xiao laughed, “That’s also my fault! I was a bit too anxious. Since we’ve looked around already, let’s head back. It’s already afternoon after this entire day of looking. When we get back, I’ll make hotpot for us. Let’s go! And we’ll see if my idea catches on!” The four of them had been walking the whole day and hadn’t even managed to have lunch.

An Zhiyuan nodded with a smile, “Let’s go. There’s a food market nearby, the biggest one around here. It should be open today since it’s the sixth day of the new year. Let’s check it out, buy what we need, and head back to cook. I’m quite curious about this hotpot of yours!”

They bought loads of stuff! The four of them returned to the dormitory.

Bai Yue wanted to complain about Bai Xiao’s excessive spending, but with An Zhiyuan there, showing no displeasure, it wasn’t appropriate for her to criticize her sister in front of others. She could scold Bai Xiao in private, but she would never embarrass Bai Xiao in public! Nor would she want to make An Zhiyuan dissatisfied with Bai Xiao.

Bai Yue was very clear about that.

The four of them returned, and the three younger ones hurried to help carry things. Bai Xiao and Bai Yue took off their coats and headed for the kitchen.

Bai Xiao thought about it, realizing she didn’t have an induction cooker or a coal-burning stove here. She went out to find An Zhiyuan, “Second Brother, could you find an electric hotplate? You’re familiar with this place.”

An Zhiyuan nodded, put on his clothes, and drove out.

Bai Xiao began working with her sister; Bai Yue washed and prepared the vegetables while Bai Xiao was in charge of making the hotpot base. Since everyone in their family loved spicy food, there was no concern about having to prepare a “Mandarin Duck” pot (half-spicy, half-not). They managed to buy a four-person clay pot, as Bai Xiao couldn’t find an appropriate pot or basin to use. If they were to open a hotpot restaurant in the future, she guessed they would need to find a place to custom-make copper hotpots based on their specifications.

Smelling the strong aroma, Bai Yue coughed, covering her nose, “Xiao, this is way too spicy!”

Bai Xiao herself was also coughing. It was her own doing, trying to create an authentic Sichuan-style hotpot.

The younger ones outside also caught a whiff of the scent. Bai Xiao opened the kitchen window! It was cold, but the air improved significantly right away.

By the time they finished washing the vegetables, Bai Xiao had already sliced the rock-hard frozen lamb meat into thin pieces. In this kind of weather, they didn’t even need a functioning fridge; it was cold enough outside that anything would freeze solid in no time – perfect for slicing lamb meat.