Chapter 541: Theater Tower

"You want to buy the opera house?"

The young man paused, scrutinizing Chen Ling with a strange expression. "This opera house... well... don't let its exterior fool you. The location is quite good. If you tear everything down and rebuild it as a record store or a bar, business wouldn't be bad. So, the asking price definitely won't be low..."

Hearing this, Chen Ling smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry, I have plenty of money."

Disbelief deepened in the young man's eyes, and he spoke again, earnestly, "I'm not joking, this opera house won't be sold cheaply. It'll cost at least... at least a hundred thousand! And it must be paid in full upfront! Also, I should tell you, someone else is already looking at this place. They seem quite wealthy and plan to turn it into a record store too, so I can't really..."

"Here's two hundred thousand." Chen Ling pulled out a stack of large denomination banknotes from his pocket, placed them directly on the counter beside him, and calmly stated, "Two hundred thousand, paid in full upfront. Are you selling or not?"

The young man was stunned. His voice abruptly cut off.

When Chen Ling left the ancient treasury of the theatrical path, his senior brothers and sisters had insisted he take a large sum of banknotes. This money was originally earned by him, and since their junior brother was returning to the mortal world, they naturally couldn't let him go back empty-handed. While this money wasn't enough to cause any major stir, it was more than sufficient to buy a dilapidated opera house.

"You... you..." The young man's mouth hung open. He temporarily put down the money he was holding, hurried to the counter, took the two hundred thousand, and carefully examined it. His gaze towards Chen Ling was filled with shock. "You... you really want to buy it??"

"The money's all here, what do you think?"

"But, but this opera house isn't worth two hundred thousand. You've offered too much."

Chen Ling suddenly smiled, narrowing his eyes at the young man in front of him, finding it amusing. During auctions at the Mortal World Restaurant, a simple bidding trick from him could multiply the bids of the five major conglomerates several times over. Now, in this opera house, someone was actually voluntarily saying he'd paid too much. This young man's honesty was beyond his expectation.

Perhaps it was Chen Ling's smiling gaze, but the young man instinctively took half a step back. Still, seeing the two hundred thousand banknotes on the table, he gritted his teeth and asked, "What do you plan to do after buying this opera house? Are you turning it into a record store too?"

"No, I won't tear it down," Chen Ling shook his head. "Since this was an opera house before, it will continue to be one..."

"You mean, you're going to keep the opera house running?? You spent two hundred thousand just for that?" The young man stood stunned.

"Is there a problem with that?" Chen Ling bought the place simply because its location across from the casino was ideal for monitoring the surroundings. He wasn't truly planning to run a business; for him, the best solution was to keep it in its original state and avoid attracting too much attention.

The young man stared at Chen Ling. After a long silence, he returned half of the banknotes in his hand to Chen Ling.

"From now on, this opera house is yours," the young man said, lowering his head. "Grandma used to say that if someone in this world still wanted to run an opera house, this place could be sold for half price... Actually, I should have only charged you fifty thousand, but right now I really need the money urgently, so..."

Without waiting for him to finish, Chen Ling pushed the banknotes back to him.

"You..."

"This opera house needs someone to manage it, and I'm too lazy to bother with those things," Chen Ling said unhurriedly. "Consider this hundred thousand as your advance salary. From now on, you'll work for me diligently."

The young man hadn't expected Chen Ling to use the money to hire him. After all, he was only fifteen years old. While child labor wasn't a recognized concept in the Mortal World, hiring a child for a hundred thousand was truly unheard of.

Meanwhile, Chen Ling, with his hands clasped behind his back, began to stroll around the opera house as if it already belonged to him. "Show me around, let's see what's here."

The young man collected himself, his palm unconsciously clenching around the two hundred thousand banknotes in his hand, a hint of excitement on his face. He carefully put all the money away, then quickly followed Chen Ling.

"Sir, how should I address you?" the young man asked respectfully.

"My surname is Lin, Lin Yan."

"Alright, Mr. Lin. My name is Kong Baosheng, you can just call me Baosheng."

As Kong Baosheng spoke, he proactively walked beside Chen Ling, lit a kerosene lamp, and used its light to begin his tour. "Mr. Lin, please don't let the dilapidated state of this opera house fool you. Decades ago, it was quite famous, and many renowned performers started their careers here. Though it's not a large place, it has everything it needs."

The two walked to the center of the first floor. Dozens of old wooden chairs were arranged in the open space, with a simple stage directly in front of them. The area above the stage and audience seating was open, extending straight up to the second floor, making the space feel particularly spacious. The drawback was that most of the windows on the second floor were derelict and offered no protection from wind or rain, leaving only a small roof covering the top. At this moment, one could even look up and see the stars, making it no different from a semi-open-air venue.

The stage was fully equipped, with no issues other than being old. Chen Ling walked directly onto the stage, his gaze sweeping over the dim and unlit surroundings. He asked, puzzled, "What about the electric lights? Aren't there any?"

"There are... but the electricity bill is too expensive. I usually can't afford to turn them on," Kong Baosheng scratched his head sheepishly. "Right now, the bill is overdue."

"...Find some time tomorrow to pay the electricity bill."

"Understood, Mr. Lin."

After touring the first floor, Chen Ling ascended the creaking stairs to the second. Due to the high ceilings occupying a large portion of the space, the usable area on the second floor was small, consisting of only three or four rooms. Just then, Chen Ling seemed to sense something. He frowned and slowly walked to one of the rooms. He gently pulled the door open.

Inside the cramped room, a kerosene lamp silently burned. A bed was placed in the center, on which an old person seemed to be curled up. Beside the bed was a simple mat on the floor, currently unoccupied.

Seeing this, Kong Baosheng explained, "Mr. Lin, this is where my grandmother and I live."

Chen Ling nodded slightly. "Your grandmother isn't in good health?"

"Yes..." A complex emotion flickered in Kong Baosheng's eyes. "She has thyroid cancer. The hospital said it's late stage and untreatable... Almost all our family's money has gone towards medication and treatment." Kong Baosheng paused for a moment, then turned to look at Chen Ling, his gaze full of plea: "Mr. Lin, could you please leave this room for us? We have nowhere else to live, and my grandmother's health is poor. If we have to move again, I'm afraid she won't be able to bear it."

"Of course, that's fine," Chen Ling nodded, closing the door again.

He looked through the other rooms on the second floor. The room facing the street was the largest, and just outside its door, around a bend, was a railing overlooking the street. Chen Ling didn't hesitate much before deciding on this as his own living quarters.

He walked to the railing on the second floor of the opera house. The entire casino and its surroundings were clearly reflected in his eyes. The surveillance personnel were also largely within his line of sight, offering an excellent vantage point.

Chen Ling's clothes gently swayed in the breeze. Standing on the neglected opera house, he looked down at the bustling street below, a slight smile on his face. "This place, I've certainly found the right one."