Broker Hu
"Aren't we going to stay away from home from now on?" Wen Liyun leaned against the car window and turned to look at Wen Xiangzhi.
"From now on, Xiushui City will be our home." Wen Xiangzhi looked out through the lifted carriage curtain. In the distance, the towering city walls stood majestic and solid, looking tall, sturdy, and reliable.
Upon hearing this, eight-year-old Wen Liyun looked out the car window again, her young eyes filled with confusion and uncertainty.
When the people at the very front of this seemingly endless queue reached the gate of Xiushui City, it was noon.
The winter sun is dazzling, but not very warm.
There has been no snow recently, so the ground is dry. The carriages traveling on the road have no muddy tracks, only dust kicked up by the road.
There are guards standing guard at the gate of Xiushui City. These guards are dispatched by the government to help maintain order at the gate of Xiushui City and to handle some trivial matters such as quarrels among the crowd.
At the city gate, there were also city officials dispatched by the city lord's mansion responsible for questioning those entering the city for the first time.
The Wen Household's carriage was at the front of the line, and it was soon their turn.
"What brings you into the city? Do you have any household registration documents?" The constable at the city gate only glanced at the Wen Household family and the row of carriages behind them before lowering his head to quickly jot something down in the large book in his hand.
"I am Wen Xiangzhi, from Lifang Town, Zhonghu County, Qunan Prefecture, Suiyan Province. I have brought my family here with me, intending to settle in Xiushui City. This is my and my family's household registration and the travel documents issued by Qunan Prefecture." Wen Xiangzhi answered the constable's questions respectfully and carefully, while taking out the household registration documents he had prepared from his bosom and handing them over.
The constable took the household registration document, carefully examined it, and then handed it back to Wen Xiangzhi. He then continued registering in his own register. After a few moments, he looked up at Wen Xiangzhi and his group, pointing behind him and saying:
"Alright, go through the leftmost door. Whether you're buying or renting a house, there are brokers there who can handle it. After you're settled, the homeowner should take the house deed and household registration to the neighborhood head to register. Remember to abide by the law in the city and do not commit any wrongdoing."
Wen Xiangzhi, and then he discovered that behind the huge city gate there were actually three smaller gates. But even though they were small in comparison to the enormous city gate, they were still very tall.
After saying this, the constable looked up and shouted to the people behind him, "Next—" while waving his hand to Wen Xiangzhi and the others to leave quickly so as not to block the people behind.
Wen Xiangzhi immediately raised his hand to signal his family and carriage to follow him toward the left-hand gate, leaving the spot he and his group had just occupied for the people entering the city.
As soon as they stepped through the leftmost gate, they saw two long rows of tables and chairs neatly arranged on both sides behind the gate. Each table and chair was numbered, and some of the higher-numbered tables and chairs were occupied, while many of the first-numbered tables and chairs were empty.
These are the brokers Lin Yun has recruited in the past few days. They are responsible for receiving people who want to settle in Xiushui City, helping them find suitable housing and procure various necessities for their stay.
Upon seeing so many Wen Household enter, a broker who was sitting at the table marked "Number Twenty-Two" stood up and went forward to greet them:
"You are all coming to settle down in Xiushui City, right? You must be tired from your journey. Please come over and have a bowl of hot tea to rest."
The Wen Household family followed the broker to a tea stall and sat down in an empty seat. Immediately, a waiter came over with a large teapot to pour them tea.
This teahouse is not fancy; it's quite ordinary. It's just a large thatched shed with many tables under it, and at the very back is a simple earthen stove with two large pots of hot water boiling on it.
The tea stall Qingqing, with not a single customer drinking tea. Only a waiter was setting out bowls and pouring tea for each table.
"My name is Hu Defu, and I live in Xiushui Residential Community in the city. May I ask your surname, sir? Are you looking to buy or rent a house? What kind of house are you looking for?" The broker sat down next to Wen Xiangzhi, who looked like the head of the household, and asked with a smile.
"My surname is Wen, and I am seventy-three years old this year. I will take the liberty of addressing you as Nephew Hu. We are newcomers here and are not familiar with the property prices in your area. If we can afford to buy, that would be best. If we cannot, we plan to rent a place temporarily and make further plans later. We have quite a few family members, so it would be best if the house were Dayi, with fifteen or sixteen rooms to accommodate us. I hope Nephew Hu can consider this for us." Wen Xiangzhi replied politely.
Having lived in the town as a wealthy landowner for many years, Wen Xiangzhi was already used to dealing with petty officials and brokers. He knew the saying that petty officials were difficult to deal with. Since they were unfamiliar with the place, they dared not neglect this Broker Hu in the slightest.
Having lived in the mortal realm for many years, he had long since lost the arrogance that almost all cultivators in sects possessed, and regarded himself as an ordinary person. For him, cultivation was merely a means to prolong his life.
Upon hearing this, Hu Defu pondered for a moment, then pulled out a booklet larger than his face from a simple, unassuming little pouch tied to his waistband.
The Wen Household members were all stunned for a moment, and then stared at the Storage Bag in disbelief.
Wen Xiangzhi nearly lost his voice, pointing at the booklet in Hu Defu's hand and saying in a trembling voice, "This... this is... Storage Bag?"
Hu Defu patted the Storage Bag at his waist with a hint of pride. "This is a treasure specially issued to us Xiushui City servants by the City Lord's Mansion. It's a gift from an immortal and can hold a lot of things!"
"Even cultivators don't all possess such treasures. Aren't you afraid you'll lose them?" Wen Xiangzhi asked.
What he really wanted to say was, "Isn't this ridiculous? Giving such a treasure as Storage Bag to these mortals is bound to lead to them being stolen by cultivators within the next day, and they might even be in mortal danger."
"Haha, these Storage Bag distributed by our City Lord's Mansion are specially made by immortals. Only we can use them. Moreover, even if others steal or rob them, they can't take them out of Xiushui City. Master Wen, you don't need to worry about us. I'll take a look at the houses for you now." Hu Defu laughed and began to carefully look through the booklet in his hand.
Hearing him say that, Wen Xiangzhi glanced at the Storage Bag a few more times, feeling both excited and melancholy.
He was excited because Xiushui City was too kind to ordinary people. Even the brokers who worked for the city lord's mansion could get treasures like Storage Bag. If he or his family could find a job in the city lord's mansion in the future, they might also have some fortuitous opportunity.
The melancholy stemmed from the realization that he had never heard of the Lingxian Sect before, and why he hadn't come here sooner. Otherwise, he might have wasted less time...