My Family Owns Three Buildings in Shrek City and Collects Rent

"Yo, you've already finished cleaning?" At the doorway, Lan Mei held a bundle of bedding and looked in surprise at the spotlessly tidied room.

This room had originally been used for storing miscellaneous items, so it had been a mess. She hadn't expected it to be cleaned up in just an hour.

Huo Yuhao scratched his head and smiled. "I had nothing else to do, so I organized it a little. I also cleaned up the second-floor hallway."

Lan Mei's eyes shifted slightly, and she said approvingly, "Not bad, not bad. Oh, right, this bedding is for you." As she spoke, Lan Mei handed the bedding in her arms to Huo Yuhao.

The quilt was very thick, perfect for autumn. However, Douluo Continent's weather was far too strange. Although it was autumn, Shrek City was still somewhat hot. It would probably take another month before the temperature truly dropped.

"Thank you." Huo Yuhao took the bedding and placed it on the neatly made bed.

Lan Mei said, "I was planning to help you clean up after closing the shop, but I didn't expect you'd already finished. All right, business is over for today, and since you haven't eaten dinner yet, come downstairs and eat."

"Is today's work already done?" Huo Yuhao asked in surprise. This should have been prime time for nightlife. He had seen the crowds coming and going along the avenue outside from his window. By all rights, they shouldn't have stopped business at this hour.

Lan Mei giggled. "Looks like Xiaotao and the others didn't tell you. My family's grilled fish house opens whenever we feel like it. We open when we want to, and we don't when we don't. To put it simply, we only run it because we're bored. My family doesn't lack money." As she spoke, Lan Mei immediately gave Huo Yuhao a Versailles-style brag, making an OK gesture with her hand.

"My family owns three buildings in Shrek City and collects rent. Not three apartments—three whole buildings!"

Huo Yuhao's body shook as he stared at Lan Mei in disbelief.

Good lord, she was a little landlady.

"Haha." Seeing Huo Yuhao's shocked expression, Lan Mei nodded in satisfaction. "Little Yuhao, come eat with your big sister."

"Sure." Huo Yuhao hurriedly agreed and trotted after Lan Mei.

After the two went downstairs and entered the main hall, Huo Yuhao indeed saw no diners. A Rest sign also hung on the front door, indicating that they were no longer open.

Yet plenty of people still walked along the street outside, showing just how lively this street was.

Outside the Grilled Fish House, a plump middle-aged woman was cleaning up the trash the customers had left behind. In no time, Aunt had cleared it all away and started handling the round tables, seemingly intending to move them indoors.

"That's my mom. You can call her Aunt Lan," Lan Mei quietly told Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao nodded, but his exceptional eyesight quickly noticed that something was wrong.

Aunt Lan's grip on the round table seemed to be slipping. The next moment, the table might fall and smash into her foot.

Without any hesitation, Huo Yuhao ran straight past Lan Mei. Aunt Lan, who was lifting the table, clearly sensed her hand slipping as well. Her left hand slipped off the table's edge, and a flash of alarm appeared on her face.

However, the table, which should have crashed straight down onto the ground, was caught by a hand.

Aunt Lan froze for a moment. Turning her head, she saw an unfamiliar young man holding up the side of the table that had slipped free.

"Mom!" Lan Mei came to her senses as well and hurried over to help move the table inside.

"Mom, are you okay?" Lan Mei looked her over from side to side.

Aunt Lan gave her a disdainful glance. "What could possibly happen to me? If you don't hurry up and find yourself a boyfriend, then I'll really have a problem. You're nearly thirty already."

Lan Mei: "..."

The corner of Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched. So nagging someone to get married wasn't just a thing on Earth—it existed on Douluo Continent too.

Aunt Lan turned her gaze to Huo Yuhao, her expression becoming gentler. "You're Huo Yuhao, right? I heard about you from this girl. You'll be living here from now on, right? We don't have much else, but we do have plenty of rooms."

"Sorry to trouble you, Aunt Lan." Huo Yuhao came back to himself and replied with a smile.

"What trouble?" Aunt Lan waved her hand casually. "All right, I'll go make dinner. You two chat."

"Okay." Huo Yuhao watched Aunt Lan head toward the kitchen.

"Sigh." As soon as Aunt Lan left, Lan Mei sighed. "She nags me every day. It's such a headache."

Huo Yuhao didn't dare say anything, lest he hit a sore spot and irritate Lan Mei.

"By the way, Little Yuhao, how did you notice my mom's hand slipping?" Lan Mei suddenly remembered and looked curiously at the silent Huo Yuhao.

"My martial soul is my eyes. It gave me very sharp powers of observation." Huo Yuhao raised a finger and pointed at his eyes.

Looking at those exceptionally beautiful eyes, Lan Mei finally understood. "No wonder your eyes are so pretty. But that means you have a Body Martial Soul. That's so rare—I've never encountered one before."

"What about you, Sister Lan Mei? What's your martial soul?" Huo Yuhao asked.

"Me?" Lan Mei said with a smile. "My martial soul is exactly the same as my name."

"A Food System martial soul—blueberry?" Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up.

"That's right." Lan Mei nodded. "But my Soul Power Level isn't very high. I'm only level thirty-eight now. Still, although my cultivation is low, my Second Soul Skill is quite powerful. When I obtained my soul ring, the soul skill mutated. When I met Xiaotao and the others, I happened to be obtaining my second soul ring. We met by sheer coincidence."

Huo Yuhao's gaze shifted. Only then did he understand why Lan Mei, whose level was so much lower, knew Ma Xiaotao and the others.

"What level are you now?" Lan Mei looked Huo Yuhao over. Her cultivation was too low for her to sense it.

At the mention of this, Huo Yuhao instantly felt awkward. "I'm only level eight right now."

"What?" Lan Mei's eyes widened. "Level eight? You were worse than I was at your age?"

"Sis, keep your voice down. Don't air dirty laundry in public." Perhaps Lan Mei's voice had been too loud, drawing the attention of passersby outside, so Huo Yuhao hurriedly reminded her.

"Oh, right, that's true." Lan Mei glanced outside and said carelessly before closing the door.

Once the passersby's gazes had shifted away, Huo Yuhao sat on a chair and explained with a bitter smile, "My martial soul came from a mutation, which caused my Innate Soul Power to be extremely low—only level one. I've worked desperately over the years to reach level eight."

Lan Mei looked at Huo Yuhao and fell silent for a moment. Then, two Yellow Soul Rings and one Purple Soul Ring rose beneath her feet. She began chanting, "I have a golden giant blueberry."

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao could not help jerking his head up. Lan Mei's Second Soul Skill had lit up, and an incomparably beautiful pale-blue glow rippled around her right hand. The next moment, a golden blueberry-like fruit the size of a plum appeared in her palm. A faint fruity fragrance spread through the air, making one's mouth water.

"Here." Lan Mei held the fragrant fruit out before Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao froze for a moment before instinctively taking the blueberry.

Lan Mei said solemnly, "My Second Soul Skill is called Sunlight Blueberry. As long as one is under the sun's rays, it grants the effect of being bathed in sunlight, increasing cultivation speed by varying degrees. Its effects are especially good for soul masters with the Fire Attribute and Light Attribute."

"You were brought here by Xiaotao, and her teacher was my lifesaver back then. I trust you, so I told you about this soul skill and even let you use it. It doesn't matter if you cultivate slowly. From now on, eat my Sunlight Blueberries when you cultivate. I guarantee that even if your Innate Soul Power is only level one, with this thing's help, if you can't become a Soul Grandmaster within five years, I'll write my name backward."

Hearing Lan Mei's solemn words, Huo Yuhao stood rooted in place. In the end, he could only say two simple words.

"Thank you."

"Hey, you two kids, dinner's ready."

Aunt Lan's voice suddenly came from the kitchen.

Huo Yuhao looked at Lan Mei, and she looked back at him.

The two smiled at each other. Lan Mei patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder. "All right, go wash your hands and get ready to eat. Starting tomorrow, let me try your cooking. I want to see whether you're really as good as Xiaotao said."

"Okay..."