Two rooms, two beds, Mo Yan shared the slightly smaller room with Mo Xin, leaving Mo Qingze and his son to sleep in the other room. Even though there were no blankets on the beds, it was much better than sleeping on the ground as they had before. On the first night in their new home, they all slept exceptionally well.
When Mo Yan woke up, Mo Qingze had already prepared the meal.
After breakfast, Mo Yan opened her small bundle and took out all her silver coins to count them carefully. She found that she had just over four taels of silver left. Money really didn't last long; just the rent and deposit from the day before had used up two taels.
She wasn't worried about money. Right now, the most important thing was to upgrade the Space. As long as the Space was upgraded by one level, not only would its area increase manifold, but it would also nurture a Spiritual Spring that could hasten the growth of all things. Moreover, she would be able to take items out with her thoughts alone, which meant she wouldn't have to enter the Space to retrieve things, very convenient indeed.
Upgrading the Space was not easy and required two conditions to be met. First, there must be sufficient Spiritual Energy; second, the transparent bead in the Space needed to be covered in red lines. Spiritual Energy was easy to come by; she just needed to keep planting crops. Red lines, however, were difficult to obtain. She had helped the grandfather and grandson of the Li family before, and two red lines appeared on the bead. In fact, to fill the entire bead, she had to help at least a hundred people.
But such things couldn't be rushed. After thinking about it for a while, Mo Yan set the thought aside. She took all she owned, dragging her father and siblings to the street for their first mad shopping spree in this different world.
Their first purchase was blankets. They needed four cotton blankets for two beds. Mo Yan thought one or two pieces of silver would more than suffice, but cotton production here was low, and the prices were always high. Cotton blankets made of old cotton cost three hundred fifty Wen, and those made of new cotton cost five hundred Wen.
Mo Qingze, unaware of how much money his daughter had, reacted reflexively to the hefty price tag, "Yanyan, let's wait until your father has earned some money before we buy them."
Mo Yan also felt the pinch, but as autumn was approaching and they would need the blankets when it got cooler, she clenched her teeth and said, "Let's still buy them. Xin Er and Zhenzhen are still young, and they might catch a cold at night without blankets."
The shop assistant tending to them kindly added, "Buying now is a good deal. In half a month, the weather will cool down, and the prices will be even higher."
Hearing his daughter and the assistant's words, Mo Qingze found himself unable to argue against the purchase, but internally he felt even more remorseful. As a father, he was unable to provide blankets for his children and had to rely on his daughter's hard-earned money.
Mo Yan, not noticing her father's expression, haggled with the assistant and finally spent one tael of silver and six hundred Wen Money to buy four cotton blankets: two new and two old, using the new as covers and the older ones as mattress toppers.
The blankets were too bulky to carry, but since they spent a full tael of silver, the assistant would deliver the items to their home. Mo Yan was surprised to find that ancient businesses were so comprehensive. Leaving their address, the family then visited the Cloth Shop.
Their clothing was pitifully sparse, with only two sets of clothes to change into each season, all patched over patches.
Mo Yan didn't mind wearing such clothes, but looking too shabby could lead to being underestimated, especially for the two younger ones. Both physically and psychologically in their growing phase, she didn't want them to feel inferior due to strange looks from others.
She bought two types of fabric, one a soft, breathable cotton, and the other a durable hemp. She planned to use the cotton to make undergarments and the hemp for outerwear. She purchased one bolt of each fabric, spending eight hundred Wen. The original owner was skilled in needlework, and making clothes was easy. Having inherited the original owner's memories, she slowly figured things out and making clothes shouldn't be a problem.
Then, they went to the rice and miscellaneous goods shops, buying some rice, flour, pots, pans, and hoes, as well as various small household necessities. Lastly, they went to the market with the intention of buying meat before returning home.
The cost of living in Jing City was indeed not cheap. Good streaky pork that cost twenty Wen per jin in Longshi Town was sold here for twenty-five Wen.
Mo Yan smacked his lips and calculated the remaining silver, spending fifty wen to buy two jin of good meat for braising, and another five wen to buy some cheap large bones to save for soup.
Thinking of the tasty bone soup and delicious braised meat, he couldn't help his mouth watering uncontrollably.
Mo Qingze followed behind with a large pile of items, looking at his daughter's back with some unease in his heart. His daughter spent money like water, yet he, as a father, had no idea where all this money came from. He trusted that his daughter would not do anything bad, but he couldn't help worrying.
Mo Yan, happily munching on a candied hawthorn stick, was oblivious to her father's dilemma. While enthusiastically touring the streets, with their ancient charm, she also kept an eye on the two little ones who kept looking around, to prevent them from getting lost.
Once home, Mo Yan got busy, putting away the things they bought before heading to the kitchen to start preparing lunch.
In her previous life, she came from a well-off family where her three brothers managed the company, sparing her the worry. After leaving school, her days were divided between managing "Space" and focusing on charity work, helping those in need. She devoted her remaining time to researching recipes.
Over the years, from famous heritage dishes to street corner snacks, she could make almost everything. While her culinary skills weren't necessarily on par with those of five-star hotel chefs, no one who had tasted her cooking had ever said it wasn't delicious.
During the escape, conditions limited her opportunities for cooking showcases. Now that she had settled down, how could she not treat herself to some delicious food?
Mo Yan prepared three dishes: braised pork, stir-fried greens with garlic, and salt and pepper corn on the cob. The big bone soup wasn't ready yet, so it had to be saved for dinner. She had originally wanted to take a chicken from "Space" to make braised chicken pieces, but considering she'd made all her purchases in full view of her family that day, it wouldn't make sense to magically produce a chicken from thin air.
The chickens in "Space" were the twenty chicks she had bought at Longshi Town earlier. Time inside "Space" flowed faster than outside. While only half a month had passed in the outside world, five months had gone by in "Space". Just two days ago, the hens had started laying eggs, and each time she entered, she was able to collect quite a few eggs.
However, these chickens did cause her some trouble; they had done quite a bit of damage to the cabbage and rice plants in "Space". There was no helping it—the time disparity between "Space" and the outside world was too great. She couldn't possibly tie up the chickens and only feed them occasionally when she went inside, so she had to let them forage freely.
When the dishes were served on the table, Xin Er and Zhenzhen, who had already smelled the fragrance, eagerly gathered around. Due to their good upbringing, they did not start eating immediately but waited for their father to serve himself first before they began to eat with their chopsticks.
"Wow, this is so delicious. Big sister, you must try this braised pork. It's too good," Zhenzhen exclaimed after taking a bite of the meat.
Xin Er also looked at her big sister in surprise, unusually not contradicting her silly brother, because she too felt that the food her big sister had made now was much tastier than before.
Although Mo Qingze didn't say anything, his gaze towards his daughter revealed his satisfaction. A woman skilled in cooking was indeed a significant advantage for her future marital home.
Mo Yan, the recipient of praises, smiled smugly, completely unaware of her father's thoughts. If she knew, she would definitely be annoyed; after all, she was only thirteen years old. Marriage was far too distant a prospect!
When that time actually came, she would definitely not admit that she was acting younger than her age!