I'm So Unlucky!

The stone table and stools arrived on two oxcarts, carried through the main gate by four stonemason masters in total, and placed under the jujube tree at the spot Ji Yuan indicated.

Including the table and stools along with the labor, it cost Ji Yuan one tael of silver—by far the most expensive item in this round of spending. The four stonemason masters collected the remaining payment after setting everything down and left Ju'an Pavilion without a word. Ji Yuan wanted to be polite and offer them a drink of water, but he never got the chance.

Now Ji Yuan had a place to rest. He sat on the stone stool in the courtyard, watching the people bustling in the main and side rooms, occasionally walking over to point out where something should go.

'These ancient marketplace merchants actually have a pretty strong sense of professional ethics, huh? They're all so quick and efficient!'

And just looking at and listening to those cleaning women and men—they were working incredibly hard. Originally, they said it would take half a day to clean everything once, but Ji Yuan estimated that, at their sweat-drenched pace, they'd finish in at most an hour or two!

Interestingly, some shops delivering goods didn't enter the gate—like the bedding shop, for instance—while other shop assistants carried things in, collected the remaining payment, and left without saying much or even glancing around, as if they were in a hurry.

Only the hired cleaning crew seemed normal enough. They chatted lively while working, never slacking off on their tasks. Even if someone wanted to gossip, the foreman among them would stop it. Ji Yuan wasn't sure if they were always this strict on the job.

'The ancients really are hardworking!'

Ji Yuan sighed inwardly and continued staring blankly, chin propped on his hand.

The cleaning work was basically a dust-removal process—wiping down the dust in every room, then scrubbing with wet cloths and mops. There were even people specifically tasked with repasting the paper on the windows.

Out of curiosity, Ji Yuan went over and pinched the paper. He found it was very tough, similar to the oil paper used for making umbrellas. It wasn't at all like in TV shows, where a little spit on a finger could poke right through. Even wind and rain would be no problem.

He didn't know how long had passed. Listening to the people bustling in and out of the rooms, Ji Yuan was just yawning when suddenly his heart tightened. He instinctively turned his head toward the well and stared at it for a long time, frowning.

Since water was needed for cleaning, the cover over the well had already been removed. Just now, he'd felt a chill coming from that direction. Now, looking at it, the entire well surface was pitch black. He wasn't sure if it was because of the shade from the tree.

As Ji Yuan's eyes widened slightly, the shadows beneath the well's surface seemed strangely off—there was something eerie about the sight that sent a chill through him.

For some reason, his mind couldn't help recalling horror movies from his past life, giving him goosebumps.

'I'm just scaring myself!'

Rubbing his arms, Ji Yuan forced himself to stop making those associations.

"Mr. Ji? Mr. Ji?"

At that moment, a thunderous voice seemed to come from the horizon, startling Ji Yuan so badly he jumped.

His body trembled as he snapped awake, only to realize he'd actually fallen asleep on the stone table.

Turning his head, he saw that the hired laborers cleaning the house had all gathered in the courtyard, carrying buckets and tools. All eight of them stood right beside him.

"Mr. Ji, we're done cleaning. Would you like to take a look?"

"You're done? That fast?"

"Uh heh heh, yes. Please take a look. If you're not satisfied, we can clean again."

Since they said so, Ji Yuan stood up from the stone stool.

"Alright, I'll take a look!"

He walked through a few rooms, occasionally reaching out to wipe a windowsill crevice, then poking his head under the beds and into corners. Everything was basically clean.

Earlier today, when he went to hire people, many refused to come as soon as they heard it was at the corner of Tianniu Quarter, saying it was too far. This crew only came after Ji Yuan doubled the pay. But now, it seemed worth it.

He went out to the courtyard, where the group stood waiting.

"Not bad. You've all worked hard."

Ji Yuan took out his money pouch, laid out a stack of Dangwu Tongbao, counted out forty in front of them, then added two more on top.

"This is your wages. The extra ten coins are for tea on me!"

"Thank you, Mr. Ji!"

"Thank you, Mr. Ji!"

"Then we'll be off now?"

Amid the chorus of thanks, the leading man quickly scooped up the money and took his leave.

"Alright, take care. No need to see you out!"

Ji Yuan put on a gentle and refined expression, smiling and nodding. After all, he hadn't had a chance to show off his new look today, so he had to practice a bit.

But the reactions of these laborers were all similar—very enthusiastic. It was hard to tell if it was because of the money or Ji Yuan's demeanor.

It wasn't until the sound of their footsteps had faded a bit that Ji Yuan faintly caught some fragmented, muffled discussion.

"This house really is nice, ah!!"

"Hey, that Mr. Ji is pretty decent. Seems like a learned man!"

"The name of this residence feels kind of familiar..."

The leading man just urged them on upon hearing this.

"Stop talking. Walk faster, faster!"

"That gentleman—hard to tell how old he is, but he's really good-looking!"

"Enough, hurry up. What's the use of being good-looking?"

Alright. Hearing those last few lines, Ji Yuan was satisfied. Though "hard to tell how old he is"—what did that mean? Did they think he looked old? "What's the use of being good-looking"? Better than being ugly!

The sun was already slanting westward, nearing dusk.

The furnishings in the few rooms were still relatively crude, but at least they had all the essentials. Ji Yuan sat in the courtyard, lost in thought once again.

What a pity there was no internet or phone, nor those naive Young Heroes who would occasionally come calling "Mister Ji this, Mister Ji that."

"Ah... a bit lonely... tsk..."

Sighing, Ji Yuan suddenly turned his head like a nervous wreck to look at the water well. He stood up, walked over, grabbed the wooden cover, and slammed it back down over the well mouth with a "bang."

"Whew... much better. In my past life, I should've watched fewer damn horror movies—scaring myself for nothing!"

At midnight, the Night Watchman's voice carried far through the silent night, reaching Ji Yuan's ears as well.

"Dong... dong dong..."

"All is well~~~~"

"Dong... dong dong..."

"All is well~~~~"

For some reason, Ji Yuan tossed and turned tonight, unable to fall asleep. He tried every trick—counting sheep, doing exercises—but nothing worked.

When the Night Watchman struck his Clapper, Ji Yuan, eyes still closed, realized he'd already made it to the Third Watch. He knew enough to recognize three strikes of the Clapper.

Though it was only equivalent to around eleven at night, the sun set early here and there were no forms of entertainment. Sleeping early and rising early was the proper way of things.

'Could it be that this person Ji actually has trouble sleeping in a new place? Or am I just too excited about having a house?'

Just as he was thinking this, Ji Yuan suddenly felt the temperature drop noticeably without him noticing.

"Creak... creak... creak..."

A sound of old wood creaking came from the courtyard outside the door. It was faint, but it absolutely couldn't escape Ji Yuan's ears.

Ji Yuan's body froze. He stayed perfectly still, listening intently, hoping it was just an auditory hallucination.

"Creak... creak..."

The wooden cover over the well, weighed down by stones, was being pried up bit by bit, letting out the strained groan of wood under pressure.

Lying on the bed, Ji Yuan's eyes snapped open. All the associations from the day flashed through his mind. A chill ran straight up his spine to the top of his head, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead like magic.

"Creak... creak..."

"Thump!"

That was the stone on the wooden cover falling to the ground, and Ji Yuan's heart gave a violent lurch along with the stone's landing.

The wooden lid was shoved aside, and a dense mass of hair spilled out from the well mouth...

"Gulp..."

As the chill grew heavier, Ji Yuan swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He pulled the blanket over himself, moving with excruciating slowness, and quietly covered his head.

'F... u... c... k... there's no way this person Ji is this unlucky! Damn Broker!'

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