Selling Herself to Bury Her Father

Riding in the Li Family's carriage to Tongfu Restaurant had undoubtedly revealed his foothold to Li Ruxue.

But Lin Fei was not worried in the slightest, because he was about to abandon this foothold.

He summoned the Space Gate and returned to Earth.

Lin Fei carried the chest full of gold coins out of Longhua Mall's cold storage, hailed a taxi, and returned home.

Only after locking the door behind him did he excitedly open the chest.

It was packed full of gold coins, gleaming with golden light—simply irresistible.

"These three thousand gold coins will stay at home for now. Another day, I'll find Wu Yuqing and have her exchange them all for cash."

Three thousand gold coins were worth sixty million in cash.

In Yunzhou, there might have been quite a few family companies with assets worth sixty million.

But there were not many that could take out sixty million in liquid funds and spend it at will.

The only person Lin Fei knew who could produce sixty million was Wu Yuqing.

"I'll keep the remaining gold notes for use in Nanli City. It's time I acquired some property there too, so I won't have to keep relying on Thousand Gold Pavilion in the future."

Lin Fei hid all the gold coins in the wardrobe, then returned to Nanli City.

After leaving Tongfu Restaurant, Lin Fei used the Wish-Fulfilling Mask to alter his appearance.

Along the way, he cautiously changed his appearance several more times.

Nanli City had shops specializing in property transactions, much like real estate agencies on Earth.

Lin Fei entered a shop called "Fuyuan Real Estate." There were no customers inside.

The accountant behind the counter was yawning, while several young attendants in the shop were loafing around.

"I want to buy a house!"

Lin Fei knocked on the counter. The accountant raised his head and sized up Lin Fei's clothes, a look of contempt appearing on his face.

"We only deal in estates for prominent households. We don't have houses for ordinary families."

Lin Fei wore nothing but plain coarse cloth, so it was only natural that people would look down on him.

But Lin Fei did not care, because he did not want to draw attention either.

"I'm buying an estate for a prominent household!"

Lin Fei pulled out his largest gold note and slapped it onto the counter. The accountant's eyes instantly widened as large as ox eyes.

"Oh my, so you're an esteemed guest! Forgive our neglect, forgive our neglect!"

"You dog slaves, what are you standing around for? Hurry and prepare a private room, tea, and pastries."

The accountant's attitude became warm and amiable. The way he looked at Lin Fei was like he was looking at his own father, his enthusiasm boundless.

A map of all Nanli City hung on the wall of the private room, with certain important locations and shops marked on it.

"Esteemed guest, may I ask how you are addressed?"

"My surname is Li. Don't ask about anything else."

Lin Fei deliberately gave a false surname. It was not as though they checked identification here anyway.

"I need an estate, preferably one backed by mountains and facing water. Do you have anything like that?"

Lin Fei intended to grow medicinal herbs in Nanli City, so naturally he had to choose a suitable location.

Planting them in farmland would be far too conspicuous.

Only by planting them in the mountains and forests could he keep them better hidden.

"Yes, yes. Esteemed guest, please look. The best area in Nanli City is North City. The people living here are all officials and nobles, and security is the best."

"There is an estate here that is about to be sold. It covers several thousand mu, with a small mountain directly behind its rear courtyard and a lake within the grounds. It is just rather expensive—the owner wants three hundred thousand gold coins."

Lin Fei nearly sprayed out a mouthful of hot tea.

He had originally thought that his ten thousand gold coins made him a wealthy man in Nanli City.

Who would have thought he could not even afford someone else's front courtyard?

"Ahem, ahem. I don't want an estate in such a bustling district. I want something more remote, and the area can be smaller too. A few dozen mu will do."

The accountant's enthusiasm immediately diminished considerably.

"If that is the case, then I recommend West City. West City is where the City Lord's Mansion is located, and troops are stationed there. There is an estate here that can be bought for only ten thousand gold."

Lin Fei could not help shooting the old fellow a glance. So the man wanted to swallow all ten thousand of his gold coins in one bite.

"Do you have anything cheaper, in an even more remote location?"

"If you want something cheap, then buy in South City. But South City's security has always been poor. Most of its residents are lowly commoners, and the environment is terrible."

"That's fine. Tell me about the estate."

The accountant held a wooden pointer and indicated an estate on the map.

"There is an empty estate here, built by a wealthy merchant. He once kept some rare and exotic beasts there. But later, a demon beast escaped and killed many people in the estate, as well as quite a few nearby commoners."

"A demon beast?"

Lin Fei instantly perked up. Nanli City had Cultivators and demon beasts—this world truly was quite fascinating.

"What kind of demon beast?"

"I heard it was a Black Tiger captured from the Southern Wilds. It was originally only a Savage Beast, but for some unknown reason it broke through and became a demon beast, its strength greatly increasing. In the end, Cultivators had to intervene before it was slain."

"So this is a haunted estate!"

Lin Fei intended to haggle down the price, but the accountant was a shrewd man. He immediately began extolling the estate's advantages.

"Only a few people died. That hardly makes it a haunted estate. This estate was built luxuriously, no worse than those in North City. More importantly, its deed includes several hundred mu of mountain forest."

"Most importantly of all, this estate is cheap! It only costs eight thousand gold coins. At such a low price, there is nothing else like it."

Lin Fei asked, "If it's so straightforward, why has no one bought it? Why is it still sitting empty?"

"Uh... I won't hide it from you. First, the estate is in South City, and the truly wealthy people are unwilling to go there. Second, people died in the estate, so it is somewhat inauspicious."

The accountant watched Lin Fei's expression. Having done business for many years, he was especially skilled at reading faces.

Seeing that Lin Fei was interested, he immediately added fuel to the fire.

"That wealthy merchant and his family all died, leaving only one son. The son went elsewhere to do business and rarely returns, which is why he wants to sell this estate cheaply."

Lin Fei did not care about the reason. He directly held out one hand.

"One price—five thousand gold coins, and I'll buy it!"

"No, eight thousand gold coins really is the lowest price."

"Six thousand. If you won't agree, forget it."

"Seven thousand five hundred gold coins. I truly can't go any lower."

After a round of bargaining, Lin Fei ultimately secured the haunted estate for seven thousand gold coins.

Afterward, Lin Fei bought two more estates, one in East City and one in South City.

The East City estate cost one thousand gold coins, while the South City estate cost only five hundred.

A cunning rabbit had three burrows. He planned to use one of the other two estates as his regular residence and the other as a backup landing point.

The largest haunted estate would be used to grow medicinal herbs.

Lin Fei took the carriage provided by Fuyuan Real Estate and personally inspected all three estates before signing the property transfer contracts.

He was especially satisfied with the haunted estate.

If not for the deaths there, and its location in South City, he probably would not have been able to buy it at all.

After viewing the estates, Lin Fei developed another headache.

Such a large estate covered dozens of mu and came with several hundred mu of mountain forest. It would require many people to manage.

Growing medicinal herbs was also work that took years upon years. After all, what he wanted were hundred-year-old herbs, and they needed regular tending.

As Lin Fei walked through the streets of South City, pondering how to solve this matter, he saw a crowd gathered ahead, apparently watching some excitement.

When he moved closer to look, he saw a girl kneeling on the ground with white cloth tied around her head and a blade of grass tucked into it.

Beside her lay a corpse wrapped in a tattered straw mat.

The girl held a wooden board in her hands, upon which were written the words: "Selling myself to bury my father."

"Ah, another pitiful soul!"

"Miss, how much do you intend to sell yourself for?"

"It's been several days already. The body is starting to stink. You should hurry and bury him!"