Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 162 River View Room

He worked until the afternoon and finally cleaned up the house inside and out. Except for the main building, it looked almost brand new. Gao Jingming's name was hung on the door again. Before his college career ended and the house was taken back by the college, it was his private space, which was equivalent to renting a house.

Xiao Cai and her friends even made a large pot of charcoal fire in a very ceremonial manner to drive away the bad luck.

It was a new home, and since they hadn't cooked yet, Chen Xuan bought a sumptuous meal from the market to celebrate. Although he was not old enough to drink, he was very happy to eat the food.

During the meal, Chen Xuan thought for a moment and said to Gao Jingming, "Master, school officially starts tomorrow. However, I don't think there will be any serious classes in the first few days. It will be just getting acquainted with the environment and getting to know classmates. So I plan to go back to Mo City soon. I have to find accommodation there as well as soon as possible. It will probably take a few days. What do you think, Master?"

After all, the houses in the academy belong to the academy. You only have the right to use them. Only what you own is your true private territory. There is a big difference.

Gao Jingming nodded and said, "Okay, I'll trouble Ah Xuan. I can handle the academy by myself for the time being. Master Geng and Xiao Cai are here. There's no rush for the house. We can take our time."

Chen Xuan is not a formal student of the academy, so it doesn’t matter whether some unnecessary procedures are included or not.

"Well, if you have anything to say, let's talk about it when I get back. I will get things done in Mo City as soon as possible," Chen Xuan nodded.

This was decided, and they acted separately. No one thought it was wrong. Over the years, people around seemed to have subconsciously ignored Chen Xuan's age. He was only eleven years old, but he was already Gao Jingming's right-hand man.

After saying goodbye for a while after dinner, Chen Xuan rushed to Mo City without stopping. They still had a lot of things left in Nanzhi Inn.

He went there by car, but he didn't happen to take the same car that brought him here, so he shared the ride with some strangers.

Originally, Chen Xuan used his Qinggong skills to go to Mo City, and it would only take him a cup of tea to reach the city, a distance of dozens of miles. But there was no need to do that. Sometimes it is good to slow down a little, since you are not in a hurry anyway.

If they stayed in Mo City for a few days, this would be the longest and farthest apart Chen Xuan and Gao Jingming had ever been in all these years...

We returned to Mocheng safely, and the sun had already set when we arrived.

When they returned to the Nanzhi Inn, Zhao Erhe and the others were there. After a brief greeting, Chen Xuan asked, "How are things going?"

"Xuan'er, several carriages have been sold, but we lost a lot of money. We only sold 53 in total. Here is the money," Zhao Erhe said helplessly.

Chen Xuan smiled and said, "It's pretty good. I'm in a hurry to sell it. As long as I can get most of my money back, I won't worry too much."

New cars have to be sold at a discount, let alone a carriage that has been used for who knows how many years. However, Zhao Erhe still felt a little distressed. The difference of more than twenty taels was equivalent to three to five months' salary even though he was paid well in the Gao family. He had to go without food and drink to save that much.

As the saying goes, a poor home can bring rich roads. When you go out, money paves the way for you.

Jiang Kai then said, "Xuan'er, today I went to the real estate agent to ask, and I also looked around myself. According to your requirements, I have memorized more than 20 houses in total. Most of them can be rented long-term, and there are about ten for sale. I haven't considered short-term rentals. The specific decision is up to you."

"Okay, whether it's renting or buying, take me to have a look tomorrow and we'll decide on one that we like," Chen Xuan nodded. It was already dark, so there was no need to rush.

Finally, Luo Danian said, "I took a general walk around Mo City today and learned about various aspects of the situation. The entire Mo City, not counting the areas outside the city, has a permanent population of about 1.2 million. Aside from the decent people, there are three gray areas with gangs..."

After giving a brief introduction to the layout of Mo City, Luo Danian handed Chen Xuan a relatively detailed map of the entire Mo City. It had only been a day, and the information he knew was limited, but he could get a general understanding of the overall layout of Mo City through the map.

Then Chen Xuan asked Zhao Erhe to roughly point out the distribution of the houses he had noticed today on the map, and plan a route in his mind so that he could go and check them out tomorrow without having to take a detour.

It was late at night, and Chen Xuan was not in a hurry to experience the nightlife of Mo City. They all washed up and rested.

However, Luo Danian told an interesting story during the process. When he was understanding the situation in the city today, he heard that a masked woman came to the arena in the south of the city and won five consecutive games. Many people who bet on the masked woman to lose lost all their money, while those who bet on her to win made a lot of money.

Anyway, no matter whether you win or lose, you will get money for going on the competition stage, but the masked woman did not seem to be fighting for life and death.

Chen Xuan just listened to this matter and didn't take it to heart. Martial arts competitions were very normal things. Many places had arenas for people to compete, which was very entertaining, but they were all gambling in nature. They were legal and the court didn't care, as long as you paid taxes.

When Chen Xuan heard Luo Danian say that a masked woman was coming up on stage to challenge, memories from many years ago emerged in his mind. It seemed that the legendary life of a certain little spider also began in this way.

I don't know what happened to Zhao Qingluan. With her innocent personality, she might be tricked into working in an illegal coal mine...

Forget it, he's just a random person, we just met by chance, each with his own path in life, why worry about him so much. The next morning after breakfast, Chen Xuan asked Jiang Kai to take him to see Fang's house. Zhao Erhe and the others didn't go with him, but asked them to look at the furniture store and the craftsmen. After confirming the house, they would definitely need to buy some things, and it might even involve renovations, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to prepare in advance.

There's no need for everyone to go together. Looking at a house isn't like fighting.

After looking at four or five places in a row, Chen Xuan was not satisfied with any of them. Either they were too shabby, the prices were not suitable, or the surrounding environment was bad and the transportation was inconvenient.

Until they came to a place called Liushui Street.

"Xuan'er, this is the sixth one. Take a look at it," Zhao Erhe said, pointing to a small courtyard on the street.

Nodding, Chen Xuan first looked at the surrounding environment. The courtyard was facing the street and had good transportation. The overall sanitary environment of this commercial street was also remarkable. The courtyard itself was one-third the size of a basketball court. There was an osmanthus tree in the yard, and most of the area was a vegetable garden.

The main building is a two-story attic that looks quite new and has utility rooms and tool rooms on both sides.

There was no one in the yard and the gate was closed. Although there was only a circle of bamboo fence half a person's height, it was not easy to climb over, so Chen Xuan went around the side to the back of the yard to take a look.

This sight immediately brightened his eyes. Behind him was a clear stream about 20 to 30 meters wide, with willows swaying on both sides. Many women could be seen washing clothes up and down. There were also steps at the back of the courtyard leading down to the river.

So Chen Xuan thought about it. The traffic was good, and the house itself was also very good. The utility room could be converted into a bathroom, and a well could be dug in the yard. He could buy a small boat out back and go boating on the river when he had nothing to do...

The more he thought about it, the more satisfied he became. He then asked Zhao Erhe, "What's the condition of this house?"

"Brother Xuan, I heard from the people in the brokerage yesterday that this family used to be in the silk reselling business, but something happened recently and the business can't go on, so they plan to sell the house and go back to the countryside. Because it faces the street and the river and the house was only built two or three years ago, it is a bit expensive. Although it is not the most prosperous area in Mo City and it is not a shop, the price is 650 taels and they won't give up. They want to pay the full amount in one lump sum to transfer the ownership. By the way, I specifically inquired about it, and it is not a haunted house," Zhao Erhe answered seriously. He saw that Chen Xuan was a little tempted.

Hearing this, Chen Xuan pondered for a moment. Six hundred and fifty taels was a bit overspending. If it was during the departure period, he would have given up on this price. However, he made a fortune by killing the giant python, so he decided to leave it here.

The more than one thousand taels of silver that were sold for killing the giant python were divided among the eight people including Chen Xuan. This was used to buy a house for Gao Jingming. It was impossible to use personal money, but it was enough. The public and private sectors were clearly distinguished.

Otherwise, what would it mean to work for the Gao family and have to pay for it?

So he said, "Well, go call the pawnbrokers and get this done today. Also, notify Jiang Kai and the others to check out of the inn and bring your luggage here. I don't need to say anything else, right?"

"Okay, I'll do it right away," Zhao Erhe nodded and left quickly.

This is the advantage of being a chief secretary. If you need something, just give him an order and you don’t have to do it yourself.

The house purchased for Gao Jingming must be registered under his name, but it doesn’t matter. Chen Xuan can act as the full agent. As long as Gao Jingming recognizes it, it will have legal effect. When Gao Jingming has his own seal in the future, he can just stamp the seal to do anything.

While waiting, Chen Xuan walked around the yard a few times. The more he looked, the more satisfied he was. Almost all the needs of life can be met on the streets on both sides. There is also a high-end brothel a few hundred meters away, called Cuiyunlou. There are also several flower boats parked on the river. From now on, he can see the laughter of the young ladies on the flower boats from the house. It’s so wonderful. It’s not a free ride if he passes by behind his house to take a look, right?

Not long after, Zhao Erhe and others came over one after another. Chen Xuan's peach tree was brought by Zhao Erhe himself, very carefully.

Over the years, everyone in the Gao family knows that Xuan Ge'er treasures this peach tree very much, and he will get angry if you, who are not close to him, dare to touch it.

Next came the brokerage firm and the owner of the house. After a brief discussion and confirmation, the group went to the government office to transfer the ownership, signed and sealed the property, paid the money and got the title deed and key. The whole process took less than an hour, and the courtyard facing the street belonged to Gao Jingming.

Afterwards, the people in the brokerage business were amazed that an eleven-year-old child could close a deal worth hundreds of taels of silver so quickly. They didn't know which wealthy family he came from.

There are taxes to be paid when buying and selling houses. Jingguo law stipulates that it is calculated as 10% of the total price, which is dozens of taels of silver. However, once you get the house deed, you have permanent ownership and you can pass it down to seventeen or eighteen generations without any problem.

It's a pity that the title of Tongsheng is at the bottom of the list. If you have the title of Juren, you don't have to pay taxes on house purchases and sales, otherwise you can save a lot of money.

After the sale was finalized, the original owner came to the yard to look at it for a while, but finally left with reluctance. If the house was sold to a scholar, would it be treated well, right?

Opening the courtyard gate with the key, Chen Xuan looked around and said, "Master Jiang, please go back to the Nanzhi Inn and leave the address here, as I promised Lady Zhao the other day. Then please invite the craftsman you've been keeping an eye on. I think there are many places in this courtyard that need to be modified and renovated. For example, the windows at the back are too small. We need to open up a row of large windows so that we can enjoy the river view at the back..."

The original owner hadn't left yet, but when he heard these words, his heart twisted. Finally, he sighed and left, his back a little desolate. The house belonged to someone else now, and he couldn't control how they messed with it...

(End of this chapter)