When he saw Ji Yuan feeling his way around, then clearly saw Ji Yuan's eyes, the broker beside him finally realized that Ji Yuan was actually blind. He had not noticed it on the road just now, and the shop assistant beside them had only now realized that the one examining the brush pot seemed to be blind as well.
"Uh, sir, do you like this brush pot?"
The shop assistant felt somewhat awkward. After all, how could a blind man possibly buy the Four Treasures of the Study? Asking was merely a polite reminder for Ji Yuan to put the brush pot down. It was not cheap, and it would be troublesome if he dropped it.
That voice also pulled Ji Yuan back to reality. Though he could hear the waiter's warmth cooling, he was not upset.
"This little brother, how much is this brush pot?"
Because of what he had said earlier, the shop assistant had received a cold glance from Lu Chengfeng and realized his lapse. He answered more respectfully now.
"In reply to you, sir, though this Huanghua Brush Pot is displayed outside, both its materials and craftsmanship are exceedingly refined. Honest dealing—two hundred coins. Outside Ning'an County, in other prefectures and states, it would start at one tael of silver!"
Was two hundred coins expensive or not? Ji Yuan had no precise concept of it. But a bowl of Yangchun Noodles had cost him three coppers earlier. This brush pot was worth sixty or seventy meals. If ordinary folk cooked for themselves, it should cover a hundred meals. It was not cheap.
Ji Yuan could now be considered a man carrying enormous wealth. One hundred and fifty taels of silver meant one hundred and fifty strings of cash, with a thousand copper coins to each string. Buying a brush pot was naturally more than affordable, but without any reliable source of income, Ji Yuan still pinched pennies and did not want to buy it.
Besides, it was not as though it had much use. If he fell on hard times someday, those two hundred coins could save his life!
Ji Yuan's spending habits had always been conservative. Back then, aside from buying games or computer parts over the course of a year, he hardly spent much money on anything else. Now that he felt some pressure, he was even more so.
As for feeling embarrassed about asking the price and then not buying? Ji Yuan had never experienced that. Perhaps the thickness of his skin had been innate.
Ji Yuan put down the brush pot, stood up, and nodded in the direction of the house broker.
"We've looked around enough. Let's go see the houses."
"Ah, yes, this way, this way. We'll head to the east of the city first."
The broker walked in front, and Ji Yuan followed after him.
Lu Chengfeng deliberately lagged a step behind. He looked at the brush pot spread out on the table, then took out a piece of broken silver amid the shop assistant's puzzled gaze.
"I'll take the brush pot."
The shop assistant had not expected to actually close the sale. He immediately received the broken silver with a beaming smile.
"Please wait a moment, sir. I'll weigh it first, then wrap it for you!"
With the brush pot and broken silver, the shop assistant hurried into the shop. He handed the silver to the shopkeeper, who took out a miniature Small Scale to weigh it, then rattled away on an abacus for a few moments.
Seeing that Lu Chengfeng had no intention of coming inside, the shop assistant soon returned outside with the roughly wrapped brush pot and the change.
"Here you are, sir. The silver weighs six zhu, equivalent to two hundred and fifty coins. Here is your change—ten Dangwu Tongbao!"
Dangwu Tongbao was the common people's name for it, because both the weight and face value of the coin were equal to five ordinary copper coins. Its proper name was Hongyuan Tongbao.
Lu Chengfeng did not even look. Taking the items, he quickly chased after Ji Yuan and the broker, who had already gone some distance away.
They had been looking since morning until noon, visiting several places. Either the location was too remote, the place was too small, or it was situated somewhere overly bustling.
Under the broker's lead, Ji Yuan had already arrived at the fifth place they were viewing today, located in South City.
At a glance, there was a plaque above the main gate. Before Ji Yuan could ask, the broker had already begun his introduction.
"Mister Ji, this is the place—Ju'an Pavilion. I guarantee you'll be satisfied. The surroundings are quiet, it has a single-entry courtyard, its own water well inside, and the rear gate connects to that empty plot, which also belongs to this residence. If expanded, it would be enough to build a Large House fit for a wealthy family!"
As he spoke, the broker raised his head to look at the fiercest noonday sun before taking out a copper key and opening the copper lock on the gate.
Click... creak—
As the gate was pushed open, waves of dust came falling down.
"Cough, cough, cough... cough... No one's lived here for quite some time..."
The broker waved his hand and patted himself down, then invited Ji Yuan and Lu Chengfeng inside.
Having reached this place, Ji Yuan finally felt a little excited. Though his eyesight was poor, he could vaguely make out that this was the best house they had seen today.
The courtyard walls were not high, and the main gate was not particularly exquisite. Inside, it somewhat resembled the delicate little siheyuan courtyard homes from Ji Yuan's memories, with a rear door between the main and side rooms.
There was a water well in the fairly spacious courtyard, though it was covered with a large wooden lid, likely to keep dust and fallen leaves out after long disuse. Several round stones had been placed atop it to keep the lid from falling away.
There was also a big tree in the courtyard. Its branches and leaves swayed with the wind, making soft rustling sounds. Perhaps because of the tree shade, it was noticeably cooler inside the courtyard.
"There's a tree in the courtyard? What kind of tree is it?"
Ji Yuan suddenly asked the broker.
"Uh, you knew there was a tree?"
Ji Yuan smiled and pointed to his ears, then stretched out his hand toward the big tree.
"My hearing is rather keen. The tree wishes to be still, but the wind will not cease."
"Sir, it is a jujube tree. It looks to be quite old."
Lu Chengfeng stepped in ahead of him and answered respectfully.
"Yes, yes, it's a jujube tree. Once autumn comes, you can eat plenty of fresh, sweet jujubes!"
The broker said with a smile.
"Come, let's look outside the rear gate."
Sometimes, the broker would forget that this gentleman was blind, only to recall it again in certain details.
Outside the rear gate was an overgrown patch of wasteland, along with some abandoned vegetable plots and gourd trellises. Clearly, this had been where the former owners grew some vegetables and fruit for themselves.
But the place was indeed not small. At the outermost edge stood a ring of fencing that one could cross with a single step, serving as the boundary. As the broker explained this, Ji Yuan even amusedly thought that if he extended the fence outward a little, would his land grow another circle larger as well?
Afterward, the three of them looked through the main and side rooms, the kitchen, and the like. The house and courtyard were not large, and though every room had gathered a layer of dust, the overall layout was complete and the residence elegant.
Most of the furniture had been moved out. Only the largest main room still held a bed, a table, and two stools.
To tell the truth, even back in the 21st Century of his past life, Ji Yuan would have gladly lived in a place like this, so long as it had internet and could be arranged a little.
By the time they finished looking around and returned to the courtyard, Ji Yuan's smile had not faded once.
"Ha ha ha, sir, you're satisfied, right? I knew you would like this place. And this residence is cheap too. You only need thirty-six taels of patterned silver to buy it. A residence like this, with such a spacious plot included—wouldn't any other one sell for a hundred taels of silver?"
"Hm? So cheap?"
Ji Yuan was slightly surprised. He did not truly understand housing prices here, but he could compare. Those little flat houses with earthen courtyards from before had all cost twenty or thirty taels.
This place was clearly in an entirely different class from those previous houses. Even doubling the price once or twice would not be excessive. Selling for less than forty taels really could be considered cheap.
"Heh heh, cough, sir, you do not know..."
The broker awkwardly put on a scholarly tone for a few words, but could not find a way to continue in that manner.
"Cough, the original owners of this place all passed away long ago. Now the House and Land Deeds belong to the Government Office. On top of that, the location is rather remote... so it has never sold. Those with money may not think much of it, while ordinary families cannot produce thirty or forty taels. If they truly wanted a house, building one themselves would be far more worthwhile. That is why it has remained unsold, and the Government Office has had to lower the price again and again!"
"Oh! Then if I want to buy it, I have to go to the county magistrate's office myself?"
"Sir, have you decided to buy it?"
The broker looked at Ji Yuan expectantly as he asked.
"Such a cheap and elegant residence—why would I not buy it? It only has a bit of dust. A little cleaning will set it right!"
Ji Yuan chuckled, in an excellent mood.
"Good, good, sir, you truly have a discerning eye! Since it is still early, how about we make a trip to the county magistrate's office together and transfer the House and Land Deeds?"
The broker was clearly impatient to receive his hard-earned money. On a deal worth more than thirty taels, he could earn nearly two taels in commission. That was no small sum!
Ji Yuan actually felt much the same. One always wanted to obtain something one fancied as soon as possible. In his past life, he could not afford a home and could only admire them from afar; in this life, he had finally risen in status.
Lu Chengfeng smiled from the side.
"Sir may return to the inn and rest. Let Chengfeng accompany him to the county magistrate's office to handle the purchase of the deeds!"
Not bad, lad. You have a future ahead of you. Ji Yuan was overjoyed inside. Having someone else run the errands for him could not be better.
"Then I shall trouble Young Master Lu to make the trip."
"You are too polite, Mister Ji. Let us first escort you back to the inn!"
He gets it, he gets it. Boundless prospects ahead! Ji Yuan felt that Lu Chengfeng's personality would do quite well even in the 21st Century. This was called being good at considering matters from another person's perspective.
Half an hour later, inside a room in a side courtyard of the Ning'an County Magistrate's Office, the registrar under the County Vice Magistrate looked at Lu Chengfeng in surprise.
"Young Master Lu, you truly wish to buy this residence? To live in yourself? You do not seem to be from Ning'an, do you?"
After asking this, the registrar also glanced toward the broker surnamed Zhou. Narrowing his eyes and stroking his beard, he made the latter feel somewhat guilty beneath his gaze.
"What is it, registrar? Is there something wrong with the house? Will it collapse, or is there some dispute over it?"
The registrar wore an expression that said just as I thought and looked at Lu Chengfeng again.
"Young Master Lu, you are benefactors of our Ning'an County. I cannot deceive you. To tell you the truth, this house is sturdy and elegant, but it has a poor reputation among the people. The three owners within the past seven years either died of illness or met with accidents. In particular, a scholar was found frightened to death in the courtyard two years ago. Since then, no one has shown any interest in Ju'an Pavilion!"
As he spoke, the registrar turned the record book, which was ordinarily not shown to outsiders, toward Lu Chengfeng and let him clearly see the Government Office's internal annotation written upon it: It is rumored among the people that this is a haunted house.