Looking at the 2,000 words of novel he had just written, Ling Yi checked the time and nodded in satisfaction.
"Great, it seems I've improved. Last time it took me three hours, this time it took me two and a half hours."
It wasn't that Ling Yi typed slowly; it was that he had absolutely no idea what to write.
He wrote down the entire dream experience in less than a hundred words.
The rest was all water, and the contents of the water had absolutely nothing to do with the dream.
The reason this 2000-word passage took half an hour less than last time is because the latter half of Ling Yi's writing was almost entirely Copy and pasted. "Thump, thump, clang, roar, roar!"
That's really a rip-off!
"If anyone still wants to tip..."
Ling Yi stroked his chin, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, then stretched, went downstairs, and ate breakfast.
Ling Yi lives in an old residential area in Dafeng City.
It's the kind of neighborhood that's old in every way.
The neighborhood is old, at least thirty years old.
The residents in this community are mostly elderly; you only see a few young people occasionally.
The ground is old; in many places, the cement surface has worn away, exposing the soil underneath, but almost no one repairs it.
When it rains, good heavens, it's like a disaster; there are mud puddles everywhere.
The last one is that there are many old shops around.
Wonton shops that have been around for over ten years, lamb offal shops that have been around for over ten years, vegetarian meat noodle shops that have been around for over ten years...
It is precisely because of the existence of these old restaurants that you can often see many luxury cars driving here specifically to eat at mealtimes.
Ling Yi took a sip of the fragrant and rich mutton offal soup with a hearty laugh, then nibbled on a sesame-covered flatbread, his face full of satisfaction.
"Burp, that felt good!"
Ling Yi dipped the last bite of the sesame seed cake in the soup, put it in his mouth, and let out a satisfied burp.
A girl at the table opposite Ling Yi couldn't help but chuckle and asked, "Is it really that delicious?"
Ling Yi's eyes lit up. Good heavens, when did such a beautiful woman sit across from him?
I was so focused on eating that I didn't even notice?
The girl looked to be around twenty-one or twenty-two years old. She wasn't tall, but she was extremely slender and well-proportioned with a great figure.
With fair skin and an extremely delicate, flawless face, the brush head hairstyle made her look energetic and radiant, almost as if she were Light Emission.
Her big, watery eyes make you feel like your soul is about to fly into them if you look at them too long.
The most obvious problem is the headlights; they're blinding.
Ling Yi thought to himself, "My goodness, this woman, whether it's her figure, looks, or temperament, is definitely over 99 points!"
With that, they could debut right here.
"Well, cough, let me put it this way, in the entire Dafeng City, if you dare say the lamb offal here is second to none, no one dares to say they're first, absolutely."
Ling Yi gave a thumbs up.
"The soup is made with Old Tang that's been running for over a decade, using only the finest ingredients. The chili oil and other seasonings are all handmade by the owner, a family recipe passed down through generations."
"Especially their sesame seed cakes, they're absolutely amazing. They're fragrant even without any vegetables added, and you can't find this kind of traditional flavor anywhere else these days."
Ling Yi has lived here for almost four years, and as a serious foodie, he knows every restaurant here like the back of his hand.
Despite everything being old in this neighborhood, the garbage in the stairwells goes uncollected for Half Moon at a time, and the rent is ridiculously expensive.
But because of these old restaurants, Ling Yi said he could tolerate them.
"However, it's rare to see girls who like to eat this," Ling Yi said.
And she's such a beautiful girl.
I always felt that this girl should live in a painting or on a screen.
Holding a book in his hand, with a lotus pond in front of him and an ancient pavilion behind him.
Instead of appearing in a mutton soup restaurant.
"Who says girls don't like mutton soup? Does food have different grades, high and low, noble and base?"
Ling Yi gave him a thumbs up again and said, "I give you a thumbs up for that. I hate those pretentious people the most."
"What do you mean this can't be eaten because it's dirty, that can't be eaten because it's cheap? Wait till we pack it in a box later, they'll all be the same size box, not even half an inch bigger than each other."
The girl looked at Ling Yi, her eyes crinkling into crescents, and covered her mouth with a laugh, "Why is it a one-foot box? Couldn't you have chosen a bigger one?"
"Even if you choose a large one, it's just a few ounces of dust; it's a waste."
At this moment, an old man next to him tapped his bowl with his chopsticks and angrily said to Ling Yi, " Ling Yi, you're eating! What are you talking about, this box, this gray stuff? Isn't that annoying?"
"Don't you know that older people shouldn't hear this? Either shut up, or get the hell out of here."
"Ahem, Elder Bai, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was just using an analogy!"
Using an urn as a metaphor? You're really something else!
This Elder Bai and Ling Yi live in the same building and are very familiar with each other.
At this moment, the mutton soup and sesame flatbread that the girl had ordered also arrived.
The girl smiled at Ling Yi, then took a sip of soup with a spoon.
His eyes immediately lit up.
The girl ate very quickly, but steadily, and most importantly, she ate very elegantly.
That's amazing.
From beginning to end, Ling Yi did not see the girl spill a single drop of soup, nor did he see a single sesame seed fall from the sesame seed cake.
Ling Yi glanced at the table covered in sesame seeds, wondering how this woman had managed to do it.
Does it have magic? That's incredible!
Beautiful women are nice, but Ling Yi knew very well that a woman of that caliber couldn't possibly be his type.
I'd be very happy just to be able to strike up a conversation with a beautiful woman.
Furthermore, it's impolite to keep staring at girls.
So, with a heavy heart and a sense of reluctance, Ling Yi paid the bill and left.
"I can't hold onto love; I always just watch it slip away..."
Ling Yi hummed a love song about being single as he returned to his building. Just then, he saw a group of elderly men and women blocking the entrance to the building, arguing and shouting.
Ling Yi curiously leaned over and asked, "Handsome guys and beautiful ladies, what's going on now?"
"What else could it be? The Water Dao's clogged again. We're just discussing getting someone to unclog it!" A middle-aged woman turned around and glanced at Ling Yi, saying helplessly.
Ling Yi suddenly realized.
This old residential area does not have property management.
There used to be one, but because of inaction—collecting property fees without doing anything—the elderly folks worked together to fire him.
These days, in our community, we basically have to find someone to do things like cleaning up garbage, unclogging Water Dao, and replacing fire-fighting equipment ourselves.
Fortunately, the people in the community are all nice; they discuss things together.
The Water Dao in their building have been clogged more than once or twice, and each time they are cleared, they only last for a week or two.
"There's definitely something blocking it down there. We need to find a professional to clear the whole thing; just poking around in this one spot won't do."
One of the elderly men, who looked like a retired cadre, shook his head and said, with his hands behind his back.
"Let's fix it then. This constant traffic jam isn't a good thing. How much it costs, we can all split the cost," someone said.
"Maybe we should just hire a property management company. It's not just about the Water Dao; there's also the garbage in the hallways, the general cleaning of the complex, and repairs to any damage to the floors. It's a whole lot of work."
"Sigh, it would be so nice to have an elevator installed. We're getting old, and going up and down stairs is too much of a struggle for us."
"What kind of pipe dream are you having? Installing elevators is free, you think?"
By this time, the smell had already wafted out of the hallway, and everyone quickly moved away.
To be honest, Ling Yi isn't short of money now. He has over 200 million yuan in his account, enough to stay in a presidential suite every day.
Or buying a villa in Dafeng City wouldn't be a problem.
This neighborhood has too many historical problems left over from the public-private conversion decades ago, which is why the environment is in such a bad state.
But Ling Yi has already gotten used to living here!
Ling Yi is a very nostalgic person; well, to put it another way, he's lazy!
The key point is that Ling Yi feels very comfortable living here.
After discussing it for a long time, it was Uncle Liu, the old man who looked like a retired cadre, who finally made the decision to end the discussion and find someone to unclog the Water Dao first.
After everyone dispersed, Ling Yi found Uncle Liu squatting by the flower bed, silently smoking.
" Uncle Liu, I'd like to contribute some money to completely renovate our neighborhood."
"What's up, struck it rich? Or are you just bored and looking for something to mess with your uncle?"
After a pause, Uncle Liu glanced at Ling Yi and said, "You haven't left the house for half a month, have you? Still haven't found a job? Want me to introduce you to one?"
"Uncle, I'm not joking!" Ling Yi said seriously.
Uncle Liu shook his head. "Even if you really become rich, there's no need to waste your money here. With that money, you could live in a luxury neighborhood, in a villa!"
"Don't get cocky just because you've made a little money. You'll need money for getting married, buying a house, and everything else... I..."
Ling Yi opened the mobile banking app and showed the balance to Uncle Liu.
After verifying for a while, Uncle Liu slapped his thigh and said, "Kid, have you thought this through? If our neighborhood really needs major repairs, it won't be a small amount of Little Qian."
Seeing Ling Yi nod, Uncle Liu added, "Since you've made up your mind, I have a suggestion for you: you'd better buy Auntie Lan's house first, and then we can discuss these things."
"Otherwise, given your Auntie Lan's greedy nature, once this gets out, she'll probably try to extort you for an exorbitant amount."
"Also, let me tell you something else, kid. The Red Maple Mountain across from our neighborhood has been included in Dafeng City's development plan. The bidding process should be completed by the end of the year, and construction will definitely begin next year."
"By then, the property values in our neighborhood will at least double."
"Since you don't want to leave and you have the money, then make your move now and buy a few more houses. I guarantee you won't lose out."
Ling Yi never expected that Uncle Liu would tell him such a thing.
It seems this Uncle Liu is quite something!
This is inside information; this information alone is invaluable.
What am I compared to this? Good deeds are always rewarded?
That noon, Ling Yi called his landlady Auntie Lan, and directly told her that he wanted to buy the house.
As expected, Auntie Lan made an outrageous demand, doubling the price of the house Auntie Lan, which was originally set at three million.
Ling Yi is rich, but he's not Big Head.
After haggling for a full hour, they finally bought the house for 3.2 million, a premium.
In the afternoon, I went with Auntie Lan to handle the property transfer procedures. We were busy until after 6 p. m. before we finally got back to the community. There was no way around it; Auntie Lan was just too fussy.
Fortunately, Auntie Lan doesn't live in this neighborhood; otherwise, Ling Yi might have made a different choice.
However, at the entrance of the residential area, Ling Yi saw a familiar and beautiful figure.
Hey? Isn't that the beautiful girl who made mutton soup this morning? What's she doing here?