Chapter 189: Sincere Invitation
The coachman’s name was Lin Ping’er, who smiled and said, "This is the food my family sells at our stall in the town, it’s called a hand cake, it costs a few pennies each and it’s not expensive."
The coachman swallowed hard when he heard that. He had only had a cold bun for breakfast before driving out that morning. Maybe he should stop by for a taste at lunch?
Bai Ruozhu and her mother didn’t realize that this little exchange would bring a lot more customers to their stall. If they had known, they would have invited the coachman to eat directly. At lunchtime, he bought a hand cake, drank a bowl of complimentary soup and then bought another one for the road. The aroma attracted the people in his carriage, who also learned about the Bai’s stall after asking.
The business was very good the next day. Xiaosi was very curious about the people passing by the stall, his eyes showing more colour. He no longer stared blankly all the time.
Bai Ruozhu watched sneakily and was secretly happy for Xiaosi, but she felt suffocated when she thought of her family’s inevitable departure. She was really afraid that Xiaosi’s condition would regress once they left.
They prepared double the number of servings they had the previous day, but it still ran out before noon. The soup, which could only be cooked in one pot, was also completely gone early, even those who wanted to pay for it couldn’t get a bowl.
Lin Ping’er elbowed Bai Yihong and whispered, "Ruozhu was right. If we lived in town, we could have restocked by now and kept selling."
Bai Yihong gently nodded. He knew his daughter’s analysis was reasonable, but he was still reluctant to part with his fields.
As the family was preparing to pack up the stall, two familiar figures approached from a distance, Yu Hongxiu and Fang Guizhi.
"Ruozhu, you’re too mean! You didn’t even call me when you set up a stall, and you didn’t bother to come to see me when you were free," Yu Hongxiu joked in a faux angry tone.
Fang Guizhi stood behind Yu Hongxiu, smiling behind a covering hand. She seemed quite reserved in front of Yu Hongxiu, different from her usual carefree self.
Bai Ruozhu showed a look of shame, and said apologetically, "I’ve been really busy these two days. As soon as I set up the stall, everything was sold out. It wouldn’t be good to visit you empty-handed, right?"
Yu Hongxiu took Bai Ruozhu’s arm, not caring at all about the sooty sleeves dirtying her clothes.
"Are you being formal with me now? Are you packing up now? If so, why don’t you come over to my house for dinner? I’ve been craving your cooking," Yu Hongxiu said, licking her lip. The action would have seemed indecent on anyone else, but on her, it was just cheeky and cute.
"You’re trying to trick me into doing the heavy lifting, aren’t you? Besides, you need to eat according to your dietary regimen. What does it matter what I cook?" Bai Ruozhu said, jokingly.
Yu Hongxiu wrinkled her nose unhappily, "Don’t remind me. Even when the chefs at home prepare meals according to the diet, it’s just not as good as your cooking. I’ve been craving it for days."
Yu Hongxiu was open, straightforward, and genuine, her voice was soft and relaxed, which made her particularly comfortable to listen to. Not only Bai Ruozhu but also other members of her family liked Yu Hongxiu very much.
"Lady Bai, please accept my invitation. I’ve been nagging her non-stop," Yu Hongxiu said, turning to Lin Ping’er with a hint of coquetry in her voice.
Lin Ping’er felt it’s awkward to bother Mister Xie, but when she heard Yu Hongxiu’s coquettish appeal, she didn’t have the heart to refuse.
Bai Ruozhu smiled and tugged at Yu Hongxiu, saying, "Don’t act spoiled in front of my mom. We’re really busy today. We need to go to town and look for a small courtyard to rent for a while."
Yu Hongxiu’s eyes lit up, "Are you moving to town?"
Fang Guizhi also looked at Bai Ruozhu, waiting for her answer. She didn’t care about manners in front of the lady and said excitedly, "Ruozhu, if you move to town, we can see each other often."
Bai Ruozhu nodded and smiled at them. "Our business is quite good. It’s not practical to run back and forth every day. It makes more sense to rent a place to live. That way, we’ll save travel time and make more money."
"This is great news! You don’t need to look for a place. Just move into the Xie Residence. We have several vacant rooms. I was even worried about having to hire someone to clean them. It just doesn’t make sense," Yu Hongxiu proposed.
Bai Ruozhu quickly waved her hand, "No, no. Our relationship is one thing. But we can’t take advantage of your family like that. We won’t be able to ease our conscience."
Bai Yihong, Lin Ping’er, and Bai Zehao all nodded. They thought Bai Ruozhu was right. Their family shouldn’t take advantage of the Xie family, nor any other family for that matter.
Seeing that the Bai family was unanimous, Yu Hongxiu stamped her foot in frustration. She held Bai Ruozhu and said in a low voice. "The house we’re living in now was given to us by someone else. We’re living there for free anyway. There’s a row of separate rooms on the west side, it wouldn’t be inconvenient for you to move in. It’d also add a bit of life to the courtyard. Otherwise, the house will fall into disrepair if it’s left vacant for too long."
"Why are you keeping account of everything with me? You’ve been treating me and my husband. Shouldn’t we pay you for medical expenses? And those recipes you gave me for therapeutic meals? If I took them back to the Capital City, they’d probably be worth so much that not even gold could buy them. Why can’t I do a little something for you?"
Everyone in the Bai family was surprised to hear this. Were those recipes really worth so much?
Bai Ruozhu scratched her head and said, "I don’t know about them being worth their weight in gold. As long as you find them beneficial, that’s fine. But we really can’t move into your house. We’ll be cooking and frying and making a mess every day, coming and going all the time. We’re bound to disturb you and your husband’s rest. It wouldn’t look good if people found out."
Yu Hongxiu flapped her handkerchief, "I don’t care what people think. My husband and I don’t care at all. Besides, we don’t even know them. And the problems you mentioned wouldn’t even exist. Those rooms on the west side are quite isolated. Your cooking wouldn’t bother me. Plus, the main courtyard is also separate, with a side door for coming in and out. There’s a back door that leads to the street for your convenience."
Then, she added somewhat apologetically, "Those rooms were actually meant to house servants. So, it might be a bit of a downgrade for you."
The issue wasn’t whether they’d feel put upon, it was that the Bai family felt uncomfortable taking advantage of others.
Yu Hongxiu, frustrated, stamped her foot again. She turned to Fang Guizhi and said,"Guizhi, help me persuade her. If they moved in, you could see her every day, and even go help her directly."
Fang Guizhi was very tempted, but seeing Bai Ruozhu refusing, she also dare not agree immediately. She hesitated and said, "Ruozhu, why not consider it, and discuss it with your uncle and aunt?"
"Yes, yes, you guys discuss it. I’ll go home and talk to my husband, we’ll try to persuade Er Lang," said Yu Hongxiu, "It would be so good if you could move in. You could help me with my health and cook delicious food. Any discomfort I have could be taken care of by you. We would save the money we pay to the doctor. Wouldn’t that be great!"