Buying a House

The bustling streets of Nuoding City were filled with people coming and going.

It was nearly six in the evening, but since it was summer, the sun had yet to set completely. Beneath the sunset, a few lovely figures added a splash of beauty to the street.

Two pretty, adorable girls walked happily ahead.

Behind them followed an ordinary-looking little boy, both hands laden with all sorts of things: flashy little accessories, beautiful clothes, and an assortment of snacks.

The little boy was so exhausted he could barely keep going, yet the two pretty girls were still brimming with energy. They kept ducking into every shop, then emerging a short while later with another armful of purchases.

"Listen, Zhu Zhuqing, you've spent almost a thousand Gold Soul Coins today. How about we stop shopping?" Tang San carried bags of every size, and with a Radish Cake still in his mouth, his words came out somewhat muffled.

It was Zhu Zhuqing's money, after all, so Tang San did not dare say too much. He already felt embarrassed enough today. His little sister Xiao Wu had been freeloading food and drinks, and had even gotten a pile of beautiful clothes out of it. His heart trembled at the thought.

Tang San did not like owing favors. Whatever his little sister Xiao Wu owed was his debt too, so he felt he would have to repay Zhu Zhuqing someday for buying Xiao Wu so many things today.

Xiao Wu ran back from up ahead without a care in the world and shoved the candied radish skewer in her hand into Tang San's mouth. She glared at him and said, "With all this food, you still can't keep your mouth shut?"

Tang San nearly choked. He hurriedly stopped where he was and began frantically chewing the candied radish in his mouth. Perhaps because it was too sweet, he started coughing, frightening Xiao Wu into hurriedly rubbing his back.

Zhu Zhuqing held a skewer of boneless chicken strips in her left hand and a cup of pearl milk tea in her right. One bite of chicken filled her nose with its savory aroma, and a sip of milk tea afterward brought a satisfied look to her face.

The boneless chicken strips were made from a ten-year soul beast, the Cauliflower Chicken. The meat was tender and silky, with faint traces of cauliflower fragrance. Its cartilage, in particular, actually melted in the mouth, with wisps of residual soul power circulating within it.

The chicken strips were not cheap, though, costing one Silver Soul Coin per skewer. The three of them had only bought a dozen or so. Mainly, Xiao Wu had thrown a little tantrum and said she would not eat meat, so Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing had shared almost all of them.

The pearl milk tea was unusual too. According to the shopkeeper, its pearls were harvested from ten-year-old Pearl Trees growing beside rivers in the Star Dou Great Forest, while the milk came from domesticated, hundred-year-old dairy cows. That made it wonderfully fragrant and delicious.

Zhu Zhuqing felt that even spending like this, she simply could not use up all the money. She had bought plenty of things for Xiao Wu, plenty for her Third Sister, and plenty for herself too.

She had offered to buy things for Tang San, but he had refused.

She had spent a little over seven hundred Gold Soul Coins in total, leaving her with just under nine thousand three hundred. It was already six in the evening, with fewer than six hours left until midnight. She could not spend all ten thousand Gold Soul Coins today.

Unless she bought antiques or Soul Tools or something of that sort, she really could not spend it all on ordinary goods alone.

Zhu Zhuqing decided to ask her two companions for ideas. She jogged back, caught Xiao Wu by the arm, and said, "Xiao Wu, say you were given ten thousand Gold Soul Coins and had to spend them all before midnight tonight. How would you spend them?"

Zhu Zhuqing's shaking made Xiao Wu a little dizzy, as though ten thousand Gold Soul Coins had really appeared before her eyes.

"Clink, clink, clink-" The Gold Soul Coins kept swaying before her eyes.

After thinking for a long time, Xiao Wu finally gave her answer. "Uh... I'd spend it all on Radish Cakes and vegetable dumplings!"

Tang San could no longer hold it in. He put everything he was carrying into the Twenty-Four Bridge Bright Moon Night, then clutched his stomach and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! Xiao Wu, you're hilarious! Do you know how many Radish Cakes and vegetable dumplings ten thousand Gold Soul Coins could buy?"

Xiao Wu's little face immediately frosted over. She planted both hands on her hips, looking rather angry. She hated it most when people said she was bad at arithmetic, and Tang San had clearly just implied that she could not do sums.

"Hmph! Who cares how many? As long as I can eat them all." Xiao Wu pushed Zhu Zhuqing forward. She did not want to deal with Little San anymore today.

"Hey, Xiao Wu, I was wrong! I said I was wrong, didn't I? Don't go!"

Tang San hurried to catch up with the two girls ahead. Night was slowly falling, and as the only boy, he did not feel comfortable letting the two girls stay outside alone after dark.

Zhu Zhuqing stopped in front of the Nuoding City Real Estate Exchange.

This was the only real estate exchange in Nuoding City, and it was managed directly by the City Lord's Mansion. Every purchase or sale of a house in Nuoding City required the City Lord's Mansion's approval, signature, and seal.

Standing beside Zhu Zhuqing, Tang San peered curiously inside, then rubbed his little head and suggested, "How about buying a house?"

Tang San's suggestion instantly lit a spark in Zhu Zhuqing's mind. A house was a good thing to have in any era.

"Sure! Let's buy a house!"

Zhu Zhuqing looked calmly at the two of them. She thought Tang San's idea was a good one. She would be living in Nuoding City for several years, after all. She could hardly have Grandma Ruth keep renting a place for her forever.

Tang San froze, caught completely off guard. He had only been joking! Houses in Nuoding City were extremely expensive, nothing like the houses in the little villages outside.

Xiao Wu's bright, dewy eyes darted around a few times before she happily hugged Zhu Zhuqing's arm. "Yes, yes! Then we won't have to live at school anymore!"

"Xiao Wu, stop fooling around. Houses are expensive. However wealthy Grandma Ruth might be, how could she let Zhu Zhuqing buy a house on a whim?"

At that moment, Tang San carried an air of authority that did not belong to someone his age. He had lived two lives, after all. Zhu Zhuqing had already spent so much money taking him and Xiao Wu out today. She might well end up being scolded by Grandma Ruth.

"Hmph." Xiao Wu ignored Little San completely. She still had not gotten over her earlier anger.

Looking at Tang San acting like a little adult, Zhu Zhuqing could not help feeling amused. With his stern face and wide, glaring eyes, he certainly had an imposing air-he was simply a little too short, and his face a little too young.

"Come on, Tang San. Aren't you afraid the person selling the house will fleece me?" Zhu Zhuqing took Xiao Wu by the hand and headed toward the real estate exchange's entrance.

Tang San did not dare let the two girls go inside alone. There were far too many greasy middle-aged men in there, and he was afraid the girls would be taken advantage of, so he hurried after them.

The lights had already come on at the entrance to the lavish real estate exchange.

The purple cicada wood doors looked beautiful beneath the neon lights. Two women in work uniforms at the entrance had already stepped forward to welcome Zhu Zhuqing and her companions.

They had distinctive features and wore light makeup, pink skirt suits, pink hats, and purple scarves patterned with hearts around their necks.

The two staff members seemed somewhat hesitant, and the looks they gave Tang San were rather strange.

One of them asked with a smile, "What can we do for you three? This is the Nuoding City Real Estate Exchange!"

"We're here to buy a house." Xiao Wu held her head high, as though afraid they might not realize she had money, all because of the strange looks they were giving Tang San.

Zhu Zhuqing looked at Tang San, then at herself and Xiao Wu, and immediately understood the two staff members' expressions.

They were looking down on Tang San for dressing too plainly, while she and Xiao Wu were wearing the new clothes they had bought today-and those clothes had not been cheap.