Chapter 868: Chapter 868 Hot Springs Manor (2)....
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“In other words, there are a total of 21 people. What is your family responsible for?” Gu Chengrui asked.
“My wife and daughter-in-law are in charge of the kitchen.
“My daughter is 16 this year and usually takes care of my granddaughter, who is less than three years old, at home.
“If you need it, she can help Master and Mistress run errands and be a servant girl.
“As for my son, he’s a good farmer, so he’s the one who does all the work in the fields.”
“How big is this manor?”
“Less than 30 acres, except for this house and the two acres of empty land behind it where vegetables are planted.
“There’s also a pond of about ten acres. There are fish and lotus roots in it, with the rest being a mountainous area with peach trees planted all over.
“The peaches in our village are big and sweet—a rare treat of this place.
“Some chickens, ducks, and geese also live in the forest.
“When spring comes, the pond will thaw, and the ducks and geese will enter the water. It will be much livelier then.”
Head Hu led them into the second entrance as he introduced the place. “The second entrance was newly renovated when we came here. Of course, it was just reinforced and repainted.
“If you have any special requests, you can tell us. We can clean up and refurbish the place this coming spring.”
“Let’s take a look first.” Gu Chengrui nodded, pushed the door open, and walked in.
Although there was a brazier in the room, it was still cold. It was so cold that his face was nearly frozen.
The structure of the place was simple. There was one big room and two small rooms—not even a storeroom.
“By the way, where is the hot spring?” Gu Chengrui asked.
“At the back of here and beside the vegetable field with two separate courtyards. The interior is made of stone and is very clean.”
“Okay, you go ahead with your work. We can settle the rest ourselves.”
“What would you like to eat for lunch?”
“Stewed goose. I haven’t eaten goose meat in a long time, and you can decide the rest.”
“Yes, then I will take my leave.” After Head Hu bowed, he turned around and walked out.
After he left, Gu Chengrui checked the inside and outside of the house. After confirming there were no problems, he asked Niu Lirong and Mrs. Lin to help clean up the house.
“I’m cold.” Guoguo shrunk her neck and said.
“There are no heaters here, so it’s a little cold. You have to wear more clothes.” After Zhou Ying finished speaking, she asked Mrs. Lin to take out Guoguo’s sheepskin cloak and put it on her.
She also asked Niu Lirong to get one more brazier and more charcoal and place them in each room. “For the next few days, you can sleep in the west courtyard. I’m afraid the wing rooms here are too cold.”
“Yes.” Niu Lirong and Mrs. Lin responded, turned around, and tidied their rooms.
“It looks like I’ll have to prepare floor heating next year. Or else, I’ll have to build a brick bed, or it’ll be too cold in the middle of winter.” Gu Chengrui commented.
“Yeah, let’s make do for now.” Zhou Ying echoed.
“You keep an eye on Guoguo. I’ll see if there’s anything else I need to clean up.”
After saying that, she walked into the other rooms. As expected, they were even colder. If they relied on the brazier alone, she knew it would not be able to warm everyone up in such a short time.
She took out a set of batteries and a set of electric heaters from her interspace and placed them in a corner.
When they were almost done cleaning, the food was ready.
There was a plate of stewed goose, a braised carp that weighed about two pounds, a plate of fried eggs with mushrooms, a plate of fried garlic with bacon, a plate of fried cole with minced garlic, and finally, a plate of fried peanuts with cold spinach.
There was also mushroom soup and some small flower rolls.
“Master, Mistress, is there anything else you need?” Mrs. Hu asked after serving all the dishes..