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On either side of the gate, soldiers were posted, checking the household registration and travel passes of each merchant and traveler entering the city.

Once they were inside the city, the group first found an inn to stay near the Imperial College. Chunniang paid the escorts their escort silver, and also gave them twenty taels of silver for their accommodation.

Jiang Quan then went to the Imperial College to deliver a letter to Jiang Jie.

At noon, Jiang Jie arrived at the inn enthusiastically with his second cousin.

“Mom! Sister!” As soon as Jiang Jie entered, he saluted Chunniang and Yingbao, “Was the journey smooth?”

“Yes.” Chunniang nodded, smiling broadly as she pulled her son in for a closer look: “You’ve grown so tall, it’s a good thing I made your clothes a little longer.”

Jiang Jie scratched his head: “I’m not as tall as my sister yet.”

Yingbao smiled: “In a few more years, you’ll be taller than your sister.”

After chatting for a while, Yingbao asked: “Where does Mr. Wu live? Once we settle down, we’ll go visit him.”

Jiang Jie: “Grandpa Wu is currently staying with his daughter-in-law. Once I’m rested, I’ll take you to visit him.”

“Are there any properties for sale in the city? I brought money with me, and I want to buy a house here. It would be more convenient for us to live here.” Yingbao asked.

Jiang Jie: “There are, but the locations are a bit off. Wu Grandpa and I have been to Teeth Row to have a look.”

Mr. Wu also wanted to buy a house, but because the location was too remote and the transportation was not convenient, he temporarily stayed at his daughter’s house.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a bit remote, as long as it’s in the city.” Yingbao handed her brother a package: “It contains various kinds of incense pills and health pills. You can take them first.”

Jiang Jie took the small package, chuckling: “Grandpa Wu often misses the medicine pills you make. He specifically asked me to write to you to come over.”

Yingbao: …

In fact, Yingbao had sent a few batches of medicine pills to her brother and Mr. Wu, but because the postal service did not accept mail from ordinary people, she had to ask someone else to deliver them, which was somewhat slow.

From the side, Chunniang asked, “I heard that Magistrate Wu also came to Beijing. Is he living with his parents at his sister’s home?”

Jiang Jie shook his head: “Uncle lives in the government office. The emperor said he will assign them a place to live in the future.”

As the new dynasty had just stabilized, the living quarters for the officers had not been built yet, so they had to take it slow.

Jiang Quan walked into the room and handed the food he bought to the two little maids to set up.

Then he sat down on a chair nearby and said to his little cousin, “Yingbao, let’s open a shop in the county. I walked around earlier, and it’s bustling with people doing business in stalls. It’s very lively.”

“What kind of business are you planning to do?” Yingbao asked.

Jiang Quan blinked: “How about we open a specialty store?”

“Where will we get our stock? Where do you plan to buy it from?” It was not realistic or cost-effective to get supplies from their hometown.

Since the supply of mushrooms was limited, if they supplied them to their eldest cousin, they wouldn’t have any for Beijing. The mushrooms in their own cave were also limited, and fruits and the like could not be taken out for sale.

“Well, what about…” Jiang Quan scratched the back of his head, “How about we open a pastry shop?”

Yingbao thought for a moment, saying, “That could work, but I don’t think it’ll make much money.”

The pastry shops in Beijing are all old brands, and they offer a diverse range of premium products. Some of them, she’d never even seen before. Her second cousin’s half-baked pastry making skills could hardly compete with the popular street food vendors.

Hearing this, Jiang Quan immediately wilted.

Chunniang said: “You two go out and take a look tomorrow, rest well today and recharge your energy.”

“Okay.”

By this time, Magnolia had already prepared the braised dishes and went to the innkeeper to get several sets of bowls and chopsticks. She then went to the kitchen to fetch a large bucket of rice, inviting her masters to dine.

Chunniang and her children took their seats at the table with their nephew, saying, “Eat up, we have plenty to do tomorrow.”

Everyone agreed, picked up their chopsticks and ate their meals.

The next day, Yingbao, with Magnolia and her second cousin, arrived at the Teeth Row.

“We want to buy a residence nearby, do you have any suitable properties here?”

The dealer opened up the ledger, “We do have some, but those large mansions can only be sold to officers above the rank of grade six.”

He looked the siblings up and down: “What rank is your husband? ”

Yingbao and Jiang Quan were silent, after a while, she asked again, “Where is a suitable house for an Imperial College student?”

The dealer chuckled, flipped open another booklet: “We have one here, but the price is a bit high. If you can afford it, I can take you to have a look…”

Hence, Yingbao chose a residence with a courtyard extending into two areas and with a dozen rooms or so.

There was also a large pond nearby, occupying about ten acres.

However, this pond was not deep; it was filled with black sludge and foul-smelling waste water, many ducks were frolicking in it.

“Does this pond have an owner?” Yingbao asked.

The dealer replied, “No owner, do you, Miss, want to buy this pond?”

“I’m just asking; if the price is suitable, I may buy it and integrate it with the nearby residence.”

Yingbao was interested in the pond because it reminded her of the house in Qinchuan County.

There was no pool in the courtyard of this house, if she bought them together, she would spend money to renovate it, adding a waterside walkway on one side and a lotus pond on the other.

The dealer chuckled,”The young lady has made such a thorough plan. Let me check with the County Government. If it is possible to sell, I will inform you.”

Yingbao nodded, going back to the Teeth Row with the dealer to complete the property transaction, under the name of Jiang Jie.

Only Jiang Jie, as a student of the Imperial College, qualified to buy a house in Beijing.

Although the house didn’t have many rooms and was quite far from the Imperial City, the yard was large enough, and there were also plenty of open spaces outside, where she could plant some trees and even dig out a vegetable garden.

If they could also buy the pond, that would be even better.

Once they had bought the house, Jiang Quan quickly found someone to refurbish the building and the walls of the courtyard, even replacing the decayed doors and windows.

After all that, it was time to buy wood to make furniture.

This renovation cost Yingbao over a thousand taels of silver, including buying the adjacent pond.

One day, after taking a break, Jiang Jie went to visit Mr. Wu’s family with his mother and sister, bringing two baskets of fruit, four jars of fruit wine, and a shell-covered packet of medicated pills as gifts.

Upon arriving at a residence, they saw a plaque on the gate that read “Luo” – Mr. Wu’s son-in-law’s home.

Mr. Wu’s son-in-law, last name Luo, first name Guang, was an officer in the Department of Rites of the sixth rank. His residence was also merely deux courts style, with just over twenty rooms.

Under the guidance of the servant, Yingbao and her party entered the courtyard, the front yard was quite cramped with a stable on each side and a part that served as a kitchen yard.

They went through the Moon Gate, into the backyard – the main living area of the residents.

They saw a lady of about thirty and two maids standing under the porch. When they saw Yingbao and Spring Mother arrived, they hurried forward to greet them.

“You must be Sister-in-law Jiang,” the lady greeted Spring Mother with a beaming smile, “Please come in.”

Spring Mother and Yingbao hurriedly returned the courtesy.

Jiang Jie introduced at the side, “Mother, this is Aunt Wu, Mr. Wu’s daughter.”

Spring mother smiled and said, “Greetings, Madam Wu.”

Yingbao also greeted her, “Hello, Madam Wu.”

“Oh, Sister-in-law Jiang, don’t be too formal, just call me Mei. Come in quickly, it’s too hot outside,” Madam Wu grabbed Yingbao’s hand, beaming at her and said: “Father always talked about you. It’s great to finally meet you today. Thank you so much for the medicated pills you sent, my mother is safe now because of it.”