Chapter 20: Exquisite Small House

Ji Yuan's fumbling movements and his eyes revealed to the nearby broker that he was actually blind. The broker hadn't noticed this on the way over. The shop assistant nearby also just realized that the person looking at the pen holder seemed to be blind.

"Uh, sir, do you like this pen holder?"

The shop assistant felt a bit awkward. After all, how could a blind person buy stationery? Asking the question was just a polite way to remind Ji Yuan to put the pen holder down. It wasn't cheap, and it would be bad if it broke.

This voice pulled Ji Yuan back to reality. Although he detected the cooling enthusiasm of the assistant, he wasn't displeased.

"Young man, how much is this pen holder?"

Because of his earlier words, which earned him a cold glance from Lu Chengfeng, the shop assistant realized his lapse and answered more respectfully this time.

"To answer you, sir, this huanghua wood pen holder, though displayed outside, is exquisitely crafted from its materials to its workmanship. The price is fair: two hundred copper coins. Outside Ning'an County, in other prefectures, it would easily fetch at least one tael of silver!"

Ji Yuan didn't have a precise idea if two hundred copper coins were expensive or not. However, he had paid three coins for a bowl of plain noodles earlier, so this pen holder was worth sixty to seventy meals. If common folk cooked their own meals, it would probably cover a hundred meals, so it wasn't cheap.

Ji Yuan now had what could be considered a large sum of money. One hundred and fifty taels of silver was one hundred and fifty strings of coins, and one string had 1,000 copper coins. Buying a pen holder was certainly well within his means. However, with no reliable source of income, Ji Yuan was still hesitant and didn't want to buy it.

Anyway, it wasn't particularly useful, and if he ever fell on hard times, those two hundred coins could save his life!

Ji Yuan's spending habits had always been conservative; he rarely spent much money throughout the year, except for buying games or computer parts. Now, with a bit of financial pressure, this tendency was even stronger.

As for feeling embarrassed about asking about something but not buying it, Ji Yuan had never experienced such a feeling. His thick skin was likely innate.

Ji Yuan put down the pen holder, stood up, and nodded in the direction of the house broker.

"We've looked around enough. Let's go see the houses now."

"Ah, yes, this way, this way. We'll start with the east side of the city."

The broker walked ahead, and Ji Yuan followed.

Lu Chengfeng deliberately lagged a step behind, looked at the pen holder on the display table, and, to the shop assistant's bewilderment, took out a piece of broken silver.

"I'll take the pen holder."

The shop assistant hadn't expected to actually make this sale and cheerfully accepted the broken silver at once.

"Please wait a moment, sir. I'll weigh it first, then wrap it for you!"

The shop assistant quickly took the pen holder and the broken silver into the store, handed the silver to the shopkeeper, who then used a tiny scale to weigh the silver and quickly calculated on an abacus.

Seeing that Lu Chengfeng had no intention of coming inside, the shop assistant soon came out with the roughly wrapped pen holder and the change.

"Here you go, sir. The silver weighs 6 zhu, which is 250 copper coins. Here's your change: ten 'Dangwu Tongbao' coins!"

"Dangwu Tongbao" was a common colloquial term among the people because these copper coins, regardless of weight or face value, were equivalent to 5 small coins. Their proper name was Hongyuan Tongbao.

Lu Chengfeng didn't even look at the change. He took the items and quickly hurried to catch up with Ji Yuan and the broker, who had already gone some distance.

***

From morning until noon, they visited several locations. Either the places were too remote, too small, or located in noisy areas.

Under the broker's guidance, Ji Yuan had now arrived at the fifth location they were viewing that day, situated in the south of the city.

A quick glance revealed a plaque above the main gate. Before Ji Yuan could ask, the broker began his introduction.

"Mr. Ji, this is it! Ju'an Small Pavilion. I guarantee you'll be satisfied with this place. It's quiet all around, a single-courtyard residence with its own well. The vacant land behind the back gate also belongs to this property, large enough to build a grand manor for a wealthy family if you decide to expand!"

As he spoke, the broker looked up at the fierce midday sun before taking out a brass key and unlocking the large brass lock on the gate.

"Click... creak~~"

As the main gate was pushed open, clouds of dust fell.

"Cough, cough, cough... cough... It's been quite a while since anyone lived here..."

The broker waved his hand to pat the dust off himself, then invited Ji Yuan and Lu Chengfeng inside.

Arriving here, Ji Yuan finally felt a sense of excitement. Although his eyesight was poor, he could vaguely discern that this was the best house they had seen all day.

The courtyard walls weren't tall, and the main gate wasn't particularly elaborate. Inside, it resembled a refined small siheyuan (quadrangle courtyard) in Ji Yuan's memory, with a back door between the main house and the wing rooms.

In the reasonably spacious courtyard was a well, covered with a large wooden lid, likely to keep out dust and fallen leaves from long disuse. Several round stones were placed on top to prevent the lid from coming off.

There was also a large tree in the courtyard, its branches swaying in the wind with a rustling sound. Perhaps due to its shade, the courtyard felt noticeably cooler.

"There's a tree in the courtyard? What kind of tree is it?"

Ji Yuan suddenly asked the broker.

"Uh, you knew there was a tree?"

Ji Yuan smiled and pointed to his ear, then gestured towards the large tree.

"My hearing is quite sharp. 'The tree desires stillness, yet the wind does not cease.'"

"Sir, that's a jujube tree. It looks quite old."

Lu Chengfeng answered respectfully, stepping in before the broker.

"Yes, yes, it's a jujube tree! In autumn, you can eat many fresh and sweet jujubes!"

The broker said with a smile.

"Let's go see outside the back door."

Sometimes the broker would forget that the gentleman was blind, only to be reminded of it by certain details.

Outside the back door was a completely overgrown patch of wasteland, with some abandoned vegetable plots and gourd trellises. Clearly, it must have been where the original owners grew their own vegetables and fruits.

However, the area was indeed not small. There was a low fence on the outermost edge, easily stepped over, serving as a boundary. As the broker explained this, Ji Yuan even amusingly wondered if expanding the fence outwards would make his property larger.

Afterwards, the three went to see the main house, wing rooms, and kitchen inside the courtyard. The residence and courtyard weren't large, and although the rooms were covered in a layer of dust, the overall layout was sound and the residence refined.

The furniture had mostly been moved out, with only the largest main room containing a bed, a table, and two stools.

To be honest, even in his previous life in the 21st century, Ji Yuan would have been quite willing to live in such a place, provided there was internet and he could furnish it a bit.

When they finished their tour and returned to the courtyard, Ji Yuan's smile never faded.

"Heh heh heh, are you satisfied, sir? I knew you'd like this place! And this house is cheap. It only costs 36 taels of silver. A residence like this, with such a spacious area, would normally sell for at least a hundred taels of silver!"

"Hmm? That cheap?"

Ji Yuan was slightly surprised. Of course, he wasn't precisely aware of the local housing prices, but he could compare. The small, earthen-walled houses and courtyards they had seen earlier also cost twenty to thirty taels.

This place was clearly of a much higher caliber than the previous houses; it wouldn't be an exaggeration for it to be worth one or two times more. Selling for less than forty taels was indeed cheap.

"Heh heh, ahem, sir, you may not know..."

The broker awkwardly attempted a refined speech, but couldn't find the right formal words to continue.

"Ahem, the original owners here passed away a long time ago. The property deeds now belong to the government. Plus, the location is quite remote... so it hasn't sold. Wealthy people might not be interested, and ordinary families can't afford thirty or forty taels. If they really want a house, building one themselves is much more cost-effective. That's why this place hasn't sold, and the government has been continuously lowering the price!"

"Oh! So if I want to buy it, I have to go to the county yamen myself?"

"Sir, have you decided to buy it?"

The broker asked Ji Yuan, looking hopeful.

"Why wouldn't I buy such an inexpensive and elegant residence? It's just a bit dusty; a good clean-up will do!"

Ji Yuan chuckled, in a very good mood.

"Excellent, excellent! Sir, you truly have discerning taste! How about we go to the county yamen together while it's still early and transfer the property deeds?"

The broker was clearly eager to get his hard-earned money. For a deal of over thirty taels, he could earn close to two taels in commission, which was no small sum!

In fact, Ji Yuan felt much the same way; he always wanted to acquire things he liked quickly. In his previous life, he couldn't afford a house and could only envy others. This life, however, was a step up.

Lu Chengfeng, standing nearby, smiled.

"Sir, you can return to the inn to rest. Chengfeng will accompany him to the county yamen to handle the property deeds!"

What a capable young man, promising indeed! Ji Yuan was overjoyed; not having to run errands himself was perfect.

"Alright, thank you, Young Master Lu, for making the trip."

"Mr. Ji, you're too kind. Let us first escort you back to the inn!"

How understanding, how promising! Ji Yuan felt that Lu Chengfeng's personality would also allow him to thrive in the 21st century; this was what it meant to be good at considering things from others' perspectives.

***

Half an hour later, in a room in a side courtyard of the Ning'an County Yamen, the chief clerk, subordinate to the county magistrate, looked at Lu Chengfeng with surprise.

"Young Master Lu, do you really want to buy this residence? To live in yourself? You don't seem to be from Ning'an, do you?"

After asking, the chief clerk glanced at the broker named Zhou, stroking his beard and narrowing his eyes. The broker, caught in his gaze, felt a little guilty.

"What? Your Excellency, the chief clerk, is there something wrong with this house? Will it collapse, or is there a dispute?"

The chief clerk had an "I knew it" expression and looked at Lu Chengfeng again.

"Young Master Lu, you are benefactors to Ning'an County, and I cannot deceive you. To tell you the truth, this house is sturdy and elegant, but it has a bad reputation among the common folk. In the past seven years, three owners either died of illness or met with accidents. Most notably, two years ago, a scholar was found frightened to death in the courtyard. Since then, Ju'an Small Pavilion has gone entirely unheeded!"

As he spoke, the chief clerk turned the ledger in his hand, which was usually not shown to outsiders, towards Lu Chengfeng, allowing him to clearly see the internal government annotation: "Rumored to be a haunted house."