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"Young Master, it's a good idea to rent out the yard. Needless to say, the inner house has to be kept for you and Aunt Wang and the others. The front yard where Lao Nu lives is divided into east-west yards, and each yard can be divided into two small yards. Now Lao Nu lives in one of them. In this way, at least three yards can be freed up for rent, but..." When Butler Xu said this, he looked up at Zhou Chong, as if he didn't dare to say something.

"If you have anything, just say it. Now there are only two men in the family. Don't treat me as a young master, just treat me as your junior!" Zhou Chong also saw Butler Xu's hesitation, so he spoke.

Zhou Chong had previously suspected that Butler Xu stayed to make a living, but now he was also a little moved to see the other party considering the Zhou family so much. However, while he was moved, Zhou Chong became more convinced of his previous suspicion, because the other party had been a butler for so many years, and the money he saved was not enough for them to eat for the New Year. With his situation, he would definitely starve to death after leaving the Zhou family, so naturally he could only hold the Zhou family and refuse to let go.

When Mr. Xu heard Zhou Chong's kind words, he also showed some excitement on his face. He said dryly: "Young Master, the idea of ​​renting a yard is very good, but the key is that our Songjiang Mansion is a small place, and there are not many people who need to rent a house. For example, those shops recruited from the countryside, the main house provides food and accommodation. In addition, it is mid-October now, and the Chinese New Year will be celebrated in two months, so it is probably not easy for us to rent the yard at this time!"

After hearing the explanation from Butler Xu, Zhou Chong felt a basin of cold water pouring on his head. He had never thought about this problem before. Although Songjiang Prefecture was Shanghai in later generations, Songjiang Prefecture is now a small place that cannot be smaller. The mansion only governs two counties, Huating and Shanghai, and the population is not very large. Not to mention that compared with Shanghai in later generations, even Suzhou and Hangzhou next to it are countless times more prosperous than Songjiang Prefecture.

In a small place like Songjiang, the population flow is low, and most people have their own residences. If you want to rent out the house, someone must be willing to live there! Thinking of this, Zhou Chong couldn't help but feel a headache again, and he also secretly hated in his heart, why is it not Shanghai in the 21st century now? Otherwise, the yard in his hand alone would be enough to become a millionaire!

Seeing Zhou Chong a little depressed, Butler Xu hurriedly comforted: "But young master, don't be discouraged. We can release the news of renting the yard. Although Songjiang Mansion is not big, there are still many people doing business. Maybe one of them needs a yard to store goods. Then we will set the rent a little lower, and we should be able to rent it out!"

After hearing this, Zhou Chong had to nodded powerlessly and said, "Okay, let's leave the rental business to Mr. Xu to do it. Just use the other clothes for us as well. Don't move the clothes of my aunt and younger sister. Don't tell them the situation at home for the time being, I will find a way myself!"

"Yeah!" Butler Xu agreed and stood up and took the clothes he was about to get to the pawnshop into a bag. However, when Zhou Chong saw him stuffing the big red silk shorts into the bag, he couldn't help but stop him and said, "Butler Xu, just keep the big shorts yourself. I have more clothes, just take a few more!"

Hearing Zhou Chong's words, Butler Xu agreed, and then reluctantly took out his shorts. Although he thought the fabric of the shorts was very good and could be at least a few cents, since the young master said so, he had to leave them. In fact, this kind of shorts was called a trouser in ancient times, and it was a kind of shorts that were only knee-length. Its function was similar to that of the underwear of later generations, but it was looser.

Butler Xu and Zhou Chong came to the inner house together and picked a few clothes with exquisite materials. However, it was getting late and the wind outside was very cold, so Zhou Chong specifically told Butler Xu to ask him to cook first and go to the pawn shop tomorrow.

When it was almost dark, Zhou Chong went to the kitchen to find Butler Xu and prepared to deliver the prepared food to the yard where Aunt Wang lived. Although there was a special restaurant in the house, only five of them lived in the whole house, and it was dark at night. In addition, it was cold, so it was not convenient for Aunt Wang and the others to come out, so they usually had supper at Aunt Wang.

The kitchen of Zhou Mansion is located on the right side of the main entrance. In the past, the food and food of the entire Zhou Mansion were prepared, so the area was quite large. The kitchen was also divided into two parts. The large kitchen was a place for the servants to cook, and the small kitchen was the place for the aunts of Zhou Chong and the back house, and it was not far from the main entrance.

Just when Zhou Chong poured the prepared porridge into a porcelain basin and helped Butler Xu prepare two pickles to serve to the inner house, he suddenly heard someone knocking on the door of Zhou's mansion, which made Zhou Chong and Butler Xu look at each other in surprise. Then Zhou Chong put down the dinner and said to Butler Xu: "I'll go and take a look, I don't know who will come to us in this cold weather?"

Zhou Chong said and turned around and left the kitchen, but it was windy at this time. Although the wind was not strong, it felt cold in the wet and cold air in winter. Zhou Chong couldn't help but shrink his neck and speeded up to the front door to open the door. He found an acquaintance standing outside, which made Zhou Chong stunned.

"Aunt Luo, why are you here?" Zhou Chong said in surprise. Standing outside the door was a fat woman in her fifties, with thick hands, thick feet and thick neck. She could tell at first glance that she was the kind of person who often worked. Her fat face was covered with oil and looked overnutrition. In fact, this person who Zhou Chong called Aunt Luo was a chef. To be precise, she was the chef of the Zhou family in the past, and her cooking skills were very exquisite. She used to be responsible for cooking for the owners such as Zhou Chong and Cheonger. Later, when the Zhou family fell, Aunt Luo and a group of servants were dismissed by Zhou Chong.

Aunt Luo was holding a food box in her hand. When she saw that it was the young master who opened the door for herself, her eyes were red and said, "Young Master, I am now hired by Mr. Wu from the north of the city to cook. I am worried that you and the two ladies will not be used to the food made by others. It just so happened that there are a lot of dishes in the Wu Mansion today, so I will send you a few of them. Don't worry, these are all that have not been on the table and are absolutely clean!"

When Zhou Chong heard that Aunt Luo was specially delivering food to him in the cold wind, he felt a sense of warmth and wanted to thank him, but his throat seemed to be blocked and he couldn't make any noise. Finally, he finally thanked Aunt Luo: "Thank you so much, Aunt Luo. You are so old, why don't you let Luo Da or Luo Er deliver it? Come in and warm it up quickly, don't get frozen outside!"

Aunt Luo's husband passed away early in his life and only had two sons around him, named Luo Da and Luo Er, who were a little more important than Zhou. He was also his playmate when he was a child. However, later Zhou Chong liked to study, and Luo Da and Luo Er had to work in the mansion again, so the three of them had no intersection.

"Young Master, you're so frustrated. My family died of illness and two more children were clamoring for dinner. Fortunately, I met the master and Aunt Wang. In the end, the master not only paid to bury my wife, but also arranged work for me, so that I could raise my two sons. Although the mansion is facing difficulties, it's enough to pass this hurdle. As for the two kids in the family, I'm so frustrated that I'm not at ease!" Aunt Luo is also an old man from the Zhou mansion. He has lived in the mansion for more than ten years, so he didn't be polite to Zhou Chong. He brought the food box into the mansion. During this period, Zhou Chong wanted to take the heavy food box, but was rejected by Aunt Luo.

Aunt Luo carried the food box into the kitchen on the right side of the door. When Butler Xu found out about Aunt Luo's purpose, he also praised Aunt Luo for his affection and righteousness. However, when Aunt Luo saw the supper prepared by Butler Xu, she couldn't help but shed a few tears.

Aunt Luo was a refreshing woman. She quickly stopped her tears, then took off the lid of the food box and took out the dishes inside, namely a plate of steamed fish, a portion of Guru pork, a dish of stir-fried cabbage and a bowl of mushroom soup. Steamed fish is Jianer's favorite dish, and Guru pork is Zhou Chong and Duoer's favorite, so the portion is the most abundant. The fried cabbage and mushroom soup are prepared for the vegetarian Aunt Wang. In addition, the food box in Aunt Luo is also specially used by wealthy families. The bottom is a partition containing boiled water, which can be used to keep warm, so the few dishes are still steaming when they are taken out.

It can be seen from these dishes that these dishes are definitely not leftovers from the Wu family, but Aunt Luo should have been secretly cooked for them. If her behavior is known by the Wu family, she will be scolded at the least, and at the worst, she may not even be able to save her job. However, she is afraid that Zhou Chong and others will be worried, so she did not tell the truth.

Zhou Chong is no longer the nerd who was confused about human affairs before. Naturally, it can be seen from these dishes that Aunt Luo was lying before, which also made him even more moved.

At this time, Aunt Luo put a few dishes on the tray in the kitchen, then picked up the pickles on the tray and put them aside and said, "Young Master, it's not good to eat too much pickles. You can eat these dishes first today, and I'll send some to you tomorrow night!"

When Zhou Chong heard that Aunt Luo would give her a gift tomorrow, he was moved and hurriedly advised: "Aunt Luo, the weather is so cold now, and the north of the city is so far away from here. Don't deliver vegetables anymore. Butler Xu and I have already figured out a way to make money in the past two days. The situation at home will be recovered slowly. Maybe we will ask Aunt Luo, you will come back to cook at that time!"

Butler Xu is also a smart person, and he also advised: "Yes, the young master said it well. Aunt Luo, it is not easy to find a job. Besides, the Wu family is full of eyes. If someone finds out that you deliver food to the old master's house, the Wu family will not be willing, so you must not deliver food again in the future!"

Hearing Zhou Chong and Butler Xu's words, Aunt Luo didn't understand that they were doing it for her own good? She packed up the food box, then nodded to Zhou Chong and the others and said, "Okay, Young Master, you are a very capable person. You will definitely revitalize the Zhou family's prestige. The old woman will come back to cook for you and the two ladies!"

Aunt Luo has never been a dragging person. After saying the above words, she said goodbye to Zhou Chong. Zhou Chong also knew that Aunt Luo would have to walk a long way back to the north of the city, so she did not keep her. She took her out of the gate with Butler Xu, and then brought the food to Aunt Wang's yard.

Aunt Wang, Cheye and Duoer were also surprised when they saw the food they brought. After all, since they dismissed the servants at home, most of the food they ate every day was made by Butler Xu. In addition, they were burdened with debt, so the food they ate was naturally very simple. Now they were sent a few of their favorite dishes at once, which made them a little confused while being happy.

Zhou Chong did not hide it and told Aunt Luo about delivering food just now, but Aunt Wang and Cheer were so moved that they burst into tears. Duoer, who was only four years old, was still ignorant and just stared at the plate of her favorite Guluo meat and drooling.

Seeing Duoer's appearance, Zhou Chong hurriedly persuaded Aunt Wang and Jianer a few words, and took the opportunity to point at Duoer again. As a result, Aunt Wang and Jianer were both funny and distressed. They stopped crying and asked Butler Xu to sit down and have dinner together. Butler Xu's status in the Zhou Mansion was originally high, but now that the Zhou family is defeated, he still loyally refused to leave, so Aunt Wang did not treat him as an outsider. Everyone has eaten together these days. At the beginning, Butler Xu refused a few times, but then he sat down.

Aunt Luo’s craftsmanship is beyond words, especially Zhou Chong’s favorite Guru pork, which is a kind of southern Cantonese cuisine. It tastes mainly sweet and sour, so it is also called sweet and sour meat. It is wrapped in tenderloin with flour, then fryed in oil until it is 60% ripe, and then mixed with the prepared sweet and sour sauce. When eating, it is sweet and sour, and the tenderloin is smooth and tender, which feels really great.

All the beaked meat was eliminated by Zhou Chong and Duoer. Even the bracelet, which had never had a large appetite, ate most of the steamed fish. Aunt Wang drank a bowl of porridge and some stir-fried cabbage, and the mushroom soup was drunk by Butler Xu alone. The remaining vegetables and half of the basin of porridge were all in the stomach. Even so, Zhou Chong estimated that Butler Xu was still not full. After all, he had seen it with his own eyes before. Butler Xu even ate eight bowls of rice for a meal, which was definitely a real bucket.

After dinner, Butler Xu brought the things to the kitchen to clean up. Duoer's mother, Aunt Zhao, ran away, so he could only sleep with Aunt Wang at night. In addition, Duoer ate a lot of meat tonight. Aunt Wang was worried that she would not digest it if she slept too early, so she took Duoer to play in the room with Jianer. As for Zhou Chong, he returned to the room and continued to worry about supporting the family.

There was nothing to say all night. The next day, butler Xu took the clothes he had packed yesterday to the pawn shop, and released the news about renting out several yards in front of Zhou's mansion. However, what he didn't expect was that as soon as the news was released, the first tenant came to the door soon.
Chapter completed!