“What did Father leave for us? Let’s open it and see.” Shen Wenhe’s gaze also fell upon the wooden box.
“Let’s open it. I suspect it’s probably the land deed.” Bai Nianqing pushed the box toward him.
Shen Wenhe didn’t hesitate and opened it directly.
Inside was exactly as Bai Nianqing had predicted – a land deed and a letter.
Shen Wenhe picked up the land deed and examined it; it was indeed the deed for this very residence.
After reading it, Shen Wenhe handed the land deed to Bai Nianqing and picked up the letter to read.
The letter was from Master Shen, stating that their journey to the capital meant they likely wouldn’t return.
He urged Shen Wenhe to take care of himself and expressed that although this residence wasn’t their ancestral home, he had married and raised children here, developing deep attachment to it, making him reluctant to sell it.
The letter specified that the house would now belong to Shen Wenhe, and reminded him to visit his grandparents’ graves during festivals to burn offerings.
The two full pages were filled with Master Shen’s concerns for Shen Wenhe.
Although Shen Wenhe held some resentment toward his father, the truth remained – Master Shen was still his father.
Despite the hardships Shen Wenhe faced growing up in this household, he had never suffered from cold or hunger and had managed to reach adulthood.
Now with Master Shen’s departure, possibly never to see each other again in this lifetime, Shen Wenhe’s sorrow was completely understandable.
“What’s wrong? What does the letter say?” Bai Nianqing asked with concern, noticing Shen Wenhe’s prolonged silence after reading.
With red-rimmed eyes, Shen Wenhe handed her the letter.
Bai Nianqing took it and skimmed through the contents. Truthfully, being unfamiliar with Master Shen and his family, their departure didn’t affect her much.
But Shen Wenhe was his son after all. Though she couldn’t fully share his feelings, she understood them.
“They’re just giving us this house? Would Madam agree to this?” Bai Nianqing found it puzzling, remembering how just days ago they seemed eager to throw them out.
Now suddenly gifting them such a large residence seemed too good to be true.
“I suspect Father probably told Madam the house was sold, without mentioning he was transferring it to me,” Shen Wenhe speculated after some thought.
Bai Nianqing was speechless, astonished that such a thing could happen.
The change of topic helped lift Shen Wenhe’s spirits.
“Come, let’s see what else remains in the house. They left in such haste, there must be many things they couldn’t take with them.”
“You can store them away – they might prove useful later,” Shen Wenhe suggested.
“Let’s go! There’s still plenty of space in my Dimension. Maybe we’ll find some hidden treasures?” Bai Nianqing grew excited.
“We’ll start with the study in the front courtyard,” Shen Wenhe directed.
“Wait, let me collect the furniture from the gatekeeper’s quarters first.” Bai Nianqing quickly stored the cabinets and stove from the room into her Dimension.
“This is Father’s study? It must be nearly a hundred square meters!”
“These antique shelves and the desk – they’re rosewood, aren’t they?”
“How many books could such a large bookshelf hold?” Bai Nianqing marveled like a country visitor seeing the city for the first time, fascinated by everything.
“Yes, there were many books, but mostly for show. He hardly read any of them,” Shen Wenhe said while gathering the remaining books from the shelves.
Bai Nianqing stored the bookshelves, desk, and antique shelves into her Dimension.
Then the two moved on to the next room.
Bai Nianqing had no time to think about anything else, focusing solely on storing everything away.
The Shen family had over a dozen courtyards of varying sizes, including main rooms, side wings, and side rooms, all containing various amounts of furniture.
Perhaps because the furniture was too cumbersome, it was all left behind, along with some hard-to-transport clothing and heavy items like incense burners.
Bai Nianqing didn’t discriminate—she stored everything in her Dimension, useful or not, since the space was vast.
As the old saying goes, there are useless people but no useless items. Storing them now might come in handy someday.
“Nianqing, only the storeroom and kitchen are left. Should we eat first and continue this afternoon?” After traveling all morning and then tirelessly clearing out each courtyard without pause, Shen Wenhe was too exhausted to move.
Bai Nianqing was also tired, so she didn’t object to Shen Wenhe’s suggestion.
“There are still buns in the Dimension. Boil some water, and I’ll make you a bowl of instant noodles. Let’s make do with this for now. I see everything in the kitchen is still here. I’ll store it all away—it might be useful later.” Bai Nianqing wiped the sweat from her brow.
The weather was unbearably hot, with the sun blazing like a furnace.
“Alright, I’ll go boil water first. How about we stay here tonight? This afternoon, we can go out and explore. We’ll need to visit several grocery stores to stock up on salt.” Shen Wenhe suggested.
“That works. I also want to buy some coarse cloth and fabric scraps. If a famine really hits, dressing too well would make us stand out. We can get some fabric scraps too. Since we’ll have free time, doing some needlework will help pass the time. We should also buy more needles and thread. I’d like to stop by a bookstore for some travel journals—something to read when we’re bored. And lamp oil—we need to stock up on that. Who knows what the next few years will bring? Better to be prepared than caught off guard. Candles are expensive, but we should get some too, and…” The more Bai Nianqing thought about it, the more necessities came to mind.
“Alright, we’ll go out after eating and buy whatever we need.” Since money wasn’t an issue, Shen Wenhe had no objections.
“Nianqing, this instant noodles is delicious. How can there be such tasty noodles in the world?” Shen Wenhe ate with gusto.
Even though he had tried instant noodles twice before, he was still amazed by the flavor.
“I have plenty more in my Dimension. If you like it, I’ll cook it for you again when we have the chance.” Bai Nianqing loved it too but usually ate it sparingly for health reasons.
After finishing their meal and resting a while, Bai Nianqing stored everything from the kitchen into her Dimension.
With a large family, the kitchen was well-equipped: five large stoves, ten small stoves, and several small burners reserved for preparing tonics for the masters.
“Husband, take down all the large pots—we’re taking them with us. The small ones too.” After saying this, Bai Nianqing began storing other items.
Large steamers, small steaming trays, big and small basins, various large and small jars, ladles, spatulas, bowls, and chopsticks.
Not just that—in a corner of the kitchen, she found several jars of pickles.
Probably left behind during the move because they were too heavy and no one wanted to bother with them.
These were perfect with congee, so Bai Nianqing quickly stored them in her Dimension.
Besides that, she also found a large bundle of dried vegetables in a cabinet, likely sent from the Manor.
The masters of the Shen residence would never eat such things, and even the servants avoided them unless necessary. That was why they were left behind.
However, Bai Nianqing didn’t mind them at all—in fact, she quite enjoyed eating them.