Is the beginning of a catastrophe? The little farm cook is raising a family with a full warehouse.

When the two arrived outside the teahouse, Li Fu was already standing there waiting.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Li, I kept you waiting. Yesterday, I saw that you liked the yam pancakes I made, so I made some Eight Treasures Cakes today for you to take home and try."

Cheng Yuntao stuffed the packed pastries in her hand into Li Fu's arms without giving him a chance to refuse.

"Okay, okay, thank you for your trouble. I'll take it without hesitation."

Li Fu accepted the cakes, took the lead and walked in front, leading the two of them towards Beifang City.

When we arrived in Taipei, we saw rows of shops, bustling crowds of people, and the sounds of hawking coming one after another.

They first came to a house with three courtyards. Li Fu went forward and knocked on the door. After the doorman came out, Li Fu handed over his business card and explained his purpose. The doorman then led them inside.

Li Fu introduced as they walked, "Miss Cheng, this house is located in the heart of Taipei City. Transportation is convenient and there are many shops nearby, making daily shopping extremely convenient. It covers an area of ​​approximately one acre. The main hall is spacious and bright, suitable for meetings and banquets. There is a garden in the backyard, and the owner has tended to many flowers and plants."

Cheng Yuntao nodded slightly, walked back and forth in the yard to observe it, and felt that the courtyard was indeed nice, so she was a little tempted and asked in a low voice about the annual rent.

"This location is great, so the price is naturally a bit higher. A year's rent would cost about fifteen taels. If you can bargain a little with the owner, you might be able to get it even cheaper."

Cheng Yuntao took a deep breath when she heard the price. It turned out that the housing prices in this prosperous area had never been low from ancient times to the present. Even the relatively ordinary Beifang City was no exception.

She now has limited funds on hand. The silver she obtained by chance and all the silver she received as a reward from Shen Shulan added up to only about thirty taels.

Next, not only do you have to buy some things needed to set up a stall, but you also have to take into account all aspects of the family. You have to keep some extra money on hand to prepare for emergencies.

In fact, these thirty taels are already a huge sum of money for an ordinary family, but for them who have just come to Junhua City, it is far from enough.

Taking this into consideration, Cheng Yuntao's face showed an embarrassment at the right moment.

"Uncle Li, this courtyard is nice, and the location is good, but the price... is still a little high."

"Is there anything cheaper? Ideally... no more than ten taels."

Hearing her say this, Li Fu felt a little embarrassed and quickly searched for a suitable house in his mind.

"Miss Cheng, there are indeed quite a few houses that cost less than ten taels, but the location and quality of the houses are far inferior to what you see now."

"Plus, you told me yesterday that you wanted to find a place with multiple rooms that could accommodate a family of five, preferably with front and back yards. With that said, the options are even smaller."

Cheng Yuntao also understood that a good house would not be cheap. After hesitating for a moment, she raised her budget slightly.

"How about this, Uncle Li, could you please show me a few more properties? The annual rent is probably between ten and fifteen taels."

Seeing her embarrassment, Jiang Yu took the initiative to speak: "Yun Tao, I think this house is quite good. Tell me how much you need and I will make up for it directly."

Jiang Yu had just received a reward the day before, so he was relatively well-off and had more than enough to pay the rent.

"That won't do. We agreed to provide you with food and lodging!"

"Besides, Xiaozhu has been your disciple, but he hasn't paid any tuition for you yet. There's no reason for you to pay for it again."

"We just looked at one. It's still early. Let's look around a bit more. Who knows, we might find something more suitable?"

Seeing Cheng Yuntao's insistence, Jiang Yu didn't say anything more.

"Nothing, I'll take you somewhere else to have a look."

Then Li Fu took them to look at several houses along the alley, but Cheng Yuntao didn't find any of them satisfactory.

The rental prices of most houses are basically comparable to those I knew before, or even more expensive; there are also some that are very cheap, but those houses are dilapidated and overgrown with weeds, and it would probably take a lot of time and money to repair them.

In the blink of an eye, the morning was almost over. Seeing Li Fu's exhausted face, Cheng Yuntao felt a little sorry for him, so she suggested treating him to lunch first. After filling their stomachs, they could continue to look at the house.

After walking around for the whole morning, Li Fu was indeed hungry. Without being too polite, he turned around and took Cheng Yuntao and Jiang Yu to a small noodle restaurant in Beifang City.

The busy people crisscrossing the streets of Beifang City are ordinary citizens, rising at the crack of dawn each day to pursue their respective livelihoods. Some carry heavy loads through the marketplace, while others toil away in workshops, tools in hand, sweating profusely. Each task is carried out with sheer brute force.

As such, the flavors here are distinct from those of the East and West Markets. There's no elaborate plating, no elegant soups, but instead a rich, rich flavor. In street food stalls, dishes are stewed in large pots, simmered in generous ladles of savory, fragrant sauces. When they emerge from the pot, the leaves are glistening with oil, and the flavor is intensely salty and fresh.

Because they had to continue looking at houses in the afternoon, the group didn't want to walk too far, so they found a stall selling臊子面 nearby and ordered three bowls of noodles.

Not long after we sat down, the臊子面 was served. At first glance, it looked steaming hot and had a very homely feel.

The noodles are distinct and evenly thick, nestled neatly at the bottom of the bowl, covered with a layer of臊子. The soup is bright red and thickly wraps around the noodles, and is garnished with green chopped green onions and chopped coriander. From the appearance alone, it is indeed quite good.

But as soon as the noodles are brought under the nose, people with a keen sense of smell can detect something strange.

The smell emitted by the臊子 had a faint, strange smell that was hard to describe, as if the meat had been stored for too long and the stale smell had not been completely eliminated during the marinating process. Even though it was forcibly suppressed by the strong smell of the sauce, it still popped up from time to time like a stubborn thread.

Li Fu looked normal, as if he didn't feel anything was wrong. Jiang Yu hesitated a little, but because he was too hungry, he didn't care too much. He took a few big mouthfuls and swallowed them whole.

Cheng Yuntao suppressed the slight discomfort at the tip of her nose, picked up a piece of noodles with chopsticks and put it into her mouth.

When you chew the臊子 together with the noodles, the salty, fragrant and spicy taste of the seasoning will hit your taste buds first, trying to dominate the whole taste experience.

But in a moment, that strange, buried smell, like a long-lurking sentinel, quietly emerged and spread across the tip of the tongue. It wasn't so strong that it was hard to swallow, but it was like a very thin fishbone stuck in the throat, faint but lingering.

It constantly interfered with the smoothness of eating, making each swallow a bit difficult. I completely lost the refreshing feeling that a bowl of delicious臊子面 should have, and was left with only a feeling of resentment.

Cheng Yuntao's sense of taste was much more acute than that of ordinary people. She couldn't accept the taste spreading on her tongue, so she put down her chopsticks after taking only one bite.