Longevity from Liao Zhai

Chapter 23 Buying a Haunted House

Zhou Ping took Xiaobai to stroll around Qinghe County for a day.

He looked at more than twenty houses that day.

But he was not very satisfied with these houses.

The house is either not what I want or is too expensive if it is what I want.

However, Zhou Ping also understood the market situation in Qinghe County.

A worse yard costs five taels of silver, and a better one costs fifteen taels of silver.

Twenty taels could buy a two-story house with two entrances and two floors.

In fact, Zhou Ping wanted to buy a house in a remote location with good facilities.

Zhou Ping has too many secrets, and it’s not good to have a yard in a busy city.

However, most of the houses in remote locations are not in good condition and are mostly abandoned.

Even if you buy these houses, you have to renovate them before you can use them.

"Zhou Ping, there is another house. I wonder if you are interested in it."

The one who took Zhou Ping to visit houses today was Chen Li.

Chen Li knows many people and has a lot of information.

"Auntie Chen, which house?"

Zhou Ping asked.

"It's the haunted house of the He family!"

Chen Li said this while eating melon seeds.

A haunted house?

Zhou Ping had some impression of the haunted house. He had been there with Uncle Lame.

Although it was only at night, Zhou Ping was impressed by the house.

The courtyard is large and the houses are also large.

"After the incident of the female ghost in that house, the He family moved out. After all, the He family has many houses."

"Although the female ghost was killed, the He family did not move back. Instead, they spread the word that they were going to sell the house."

"This house was originally priced at 100 taels, then it became 80 taels a few days ago, and recently it dropped to 60 taels."

Chen Li spoke quickly and gave a brief introduction.

"Okay, let's go check out this house!"

Zhou Ping felt that sixty taels was a decent price to buy a house, and as for the female ghost, he had no problem with it.

It is not known whether the female ghost is dead or not. Even if she is not, the two of them just need to keep out of each other's way.

The female ghost is also a pitiful person.

"Okay, then I'll make an appointment with the He family for you, and we'll go take a look tomorrow."

Chen Li smiled.

When night fell, Zhou Ping separated from Chen Li. He had to go find Uncle Lame, who had specifically asked him to come over at night.

As for Xiaobai, he also disappeared at night.

Yan Family Escort Agency.

"Here is the Escort Agency's martial arts library. You can read it yourself or take a copy with you as a reward for helping me kill the man in black yesterday."

The man in black was on the wanted list. He and another killer were collectively known as the "Dark Night Twins". Each of their heads was worth one hundred taels!

Uncle Lame has handed over the body of the man in black to the government, and the government also gave the escort agency a banner with the words "Eliminating Harm for the People".

Zhou Ping didn't hesitate to check the library of the escort agency.

Most of the people in the escort agency are warriors, so there are many martial arts techniques in the library.

Zhou Ping flipped through hundreds of martial arts manuals, which contained swords, guns, sticks, axes, hooks, forks, and all kinds of strange weapons.

Zhou Ping’s favorite thing is to use a knife, but these knife techniques are not as good as the Xuanwu Sword Technique he practiced.

Zhou Ping took a fancy to a set of boxing and kicking techniques, which are used in close combat.

In addition to this set of algorithms and leg techniques, Zhou Ping also found a book of ten methods of raising ghosts and a book of one hundred demons.

The Ten Methods of Raising Ghosts talks about how to raise ghosts for your own use, while the Book of Hundred Demons introduces monsters.

"Uncle Cripple, isn't there a method to draw a fire talisman? Or a spell to perform earth escape?"

Zhou Ping asked. He was very interested in magic.

"What are you thinking? The Dharma should not be passed on lightly!"

"Especially for the Taoist and Buddhist techniques, they are all passed down orally from master to disciple, so there is no secret manual."

Uncle Lame said.

Zhou Ping nodded, no longer having any hope, and began to copy four secret books.

Uncle Bo looked at Zhou Ping's handwriting and smiled. Zhou Ping had never practiced calligraphy, so his handwriting was crooked.

"Well, judging from the character alone, he is a good talent for martial arts."

……

He family villa.

Ever since the He family was haunted, the entire He family moved here.

The He family was bustling at this time.

Although this courtyard belongs to the He family and there are usually several maids and servants looking after it, the things inside are not complete.

The He family is moving things here from the haunted house.

The He family lived in the haunted house for the longest time and they have more good things there.

There are countless rosewood, blue and white porcelain, and various cultural relics.

These are all extremely valuable.

The He family's backyard, where the women live.

This yard is very large. It was originally an open space, but now it is filled with various tables, chairs, books, and several large pits have been dug.

Several servants were planting trees in the deep pit.

These trees were also dug from the haunted He family yard.

He Yunqing looked at the third wife Liu Ruyan who was reading.

Liu Ruyan likes reading, but not the kind that writes poetry, but some storybooks about love.

"Why bring this book back? Buy some new ones tomorrow."

Liu Ruyan said with a hint of dissatisfaction.

"Mother, it's not that the books are old, but you have bought all the books that can be bought on the market. There are no new ones left."

He Yunqing pouted.

"Mother, these books are all lies."

"What about a private marriage in the back garden, and a poor young man winning the first place in the imperial examination?"

"These are all stories made up by poor scholars who failed to pass the imperial examinations."

He Yunqing said.

Liu Ruyan did not comment and changed the subject.

"Yunqing, now that all these things have been moved here, what should we do with the original yard?"

Liu Ruyan knew that what He Yunqing said was right, but she was bored all day long and relied on these stories to comfort herself.

"Of course I have to sell it!"

“But it’s not easy to sell.”

He Yunqing sighed.

Although the He family had spread the word that the female ghost in the house had been killed, no one came to inquire about the house.

This house is too big to be afforded by the poor, and the rich are wary of ghosts.

The He family haunted house is in a rather embarrassing situation.

"How much can this house be sold for?"

Liu Ruyan asked again.

"When our He family bought this house, we spent three hundred taels. Now we are lucky to be able to sell it for thirty taels."

He Yunqing said.

He Yunqing has a good business mind. She knows that things like houses, although they may have value on the surface, are just a pile of broken bricks and tiles if they cannot be sold.

If that house is left abandoned for a few years, it will be completely unusable.

"Xiaobai, you're here, come quickly, I left some delicious food for you."

When Liu Ruyan saw the little white cat, she hurriedly called it over.

He Yunqing looked unhappy when he saw the little white cat. This little white cat was only close to the third wife Liu Ruyan. Once, when he wanted to hug it, he was scratched by the little white cat.

"Mom, since you like this cat, let's find a rope and tie it up in the house so that it won't run around and get caught by others."

He Yunqing said.

The little white cat seemed to understand what He Yunqing said. It meowed at He Yunqing to show its dissatisfaction.

"Forget it, let it come and go freely."

Liu Ruyan stroked the cat and fed it fruits.

The little white cat lay in Liu Ruyan's arms, enjoying it very much.

He Yunqing no longer cared about Liu Ruyan, but instead gave orders to the servants.

"After moving these trees, move the jujube tree and the fire crystal persimmon tree from the yard here."

"Especially the Fire Crystal Persimmon Tree. The persimmons on it are numerous and large, and have been dried for many days to mature."

"Someone will come to see the yard tomorrow, and maybe it will be sold. We can't let others get away with these fire crystal persimmons."

He Yunqing heard that someone wanted to see the He family's haunted house, so he arranged for the servants to move out all the valuables as quickly as possible. What if some idiot bought the house?
Great Wei, Kyoto.

Fan Shiyi, dressed in a white cloak, was riding a white horse.

At the city gate, dozens of beauties were bidding her farewell.

These beauties include women from the Jiaofang Bureau, young girls and young women from good families, sisters, and mothers and daughters.

"Mr. Fan, go early and come back early."

"Fan Gongzi, don't forget Lanlan."

"Fan Gongzi, remember to write to me."

Fan Shiyi has many idols, but her creed is: be romantic but not vulgar, be affectionate but not leave any offspring.

"Beauty from outside Kyoto, here I come!"

Fan Shiyi spurred his horse. The mission of this trip was to find Zhou Ping and examine his Confucian foundation to determine whether he could enter the academy.

But for Fan Shiyi, Quiet Night Thoughts and Zhou Ping are secondary. The most important thing is the beauty.

It’s so much fun to travel at public expense!
"Hey, beautiful lady, where are you going?"

Fan Shiyi encountered a escort team while riding.

The escort team is composed of only men, with only one woman.

The woman was wearing black and silver armor, her legs were extremely long, beautiful, round and strong, and she looked very heroic.

"I just left the capital and I met a beautiful woman. I'm lucky."

Fan Shiyi thought secretly. The beauties in the escort team have a different kind of beauty that cannot be compared with the girls in the boudoir.

"Hello, sir. We are going to the vicinity of Qinghe County."

"What a coincidence! I'm going to Qinghe County as well. Shall we go together?"

"Okay."

The He family haunted house.

Led by He Yunqing, Zhou Ping visited the entire courtyard.

He Yunqing didn't expect that the person who bought the house was Zhou Ping.

The apparent price of this yard is sixty taels.

He Yunqing didn't believe that Zhou Ping had sixty taels of silver.

He Yunqing is of the same age as Yan Yi, the young master of the escort agency. They often played together when they were young and had a good relationship, so she knows the current situation of the escort agency.

A qualified escort might be able to earn dozens of taels of silver a year, but for an unqualified escort, earning ten or twenty taels is considered extremely high.

"Zhou Ping, the price of this yard is sixty taels. Even considering the favor of knowing each other as elders, it can't be much cheaper. Do you have the money?"

He Yunqing asked politely. She didn't think Zhou Ping was rich, so she didn't want to waste time.

"There are several dozen taels of silver."

Zhou Ping said honestly.

"Do escorts make money this way?"

He Yunqing was a little skeptical.

"I saved the Third Madam on the previous mission, and the escort agency gave me a reward of several dozen taels. It's not that I can't afford it."

Zhou Ping's words were low-key, but He Yunqing felt a little uncomfortable after hearing them.

The third wife, Liu Ruyan, went to Qinghe County to donate to Buddhism, and the He family paid eighty taels of silver for the escort fee.

If what Zhou Ping said was true, the escort agency gave Zhou Ping some of the eighty taels of silver so that he could buy the house.

what is this?
Use the He family’s money to buy the He family’s house.

He Yunqing suddenly didn't want to sell the house to Zhou Ping, but reason still told her to sell the house.

"Let's go then!"

He Yunqing took Zhou Ping on a tour around the yard.

It's just that the He family's servants were a bit rough in their work. They only knew how to dig up some rare flowers and plants, but they only knew how to dig holes but not how to fill them up, so the whole yard looked like it had been robbed.

As for the houses in the mansion, there was nothing inside.

The servants gave some of these things to the He family and moved some to their own homes.

All the pots, pans, and utensils in the kitchen were gone, and all the firewood in the woodshed had been taken away. It was completely clean.

"These servants are so ruthless in their actions!"

There was anger on He Yunqing's face. She didn't expect that these servants would take advantage of the chaos to empty the He family's haunted house.

She had originally planned to sell the house for fifty or sixty taels, but after seeing the current state of the yard, she felt unsure.

"This Zhou Ping doesn't look like a sly guy. I'll try to trick him and see if I can sell him for a few more taels of silver."

He Yunqing looked at Zhou Ping along the way, but Zhou Ping did not show much emotional change.

"Zhou Ping, what do you think of the house?"

He Yunqing asked carefully.

"good."

Zhou Ping was very satisfied.

Although this house has nothing left, it is spacious, both indoors and outdoors, just enough for Zhou Ping to practice martial arts.

Fortunately, the He family had moved all the things in the yard and the house, otherwise Zhou Ping would have had to work hard to sort them out.

For Zhou Ping, it’s just right that the house is empty!
"For the sake of our elders, it's not impossible to make it cheaper."

"Make a price."

He Yunqing smiled a little guilty. She thought to herself: Thirty taels, this is the bottom line!

"Thirty taels!"

Zhou Ping didn't waste any words.

He Yunqing raised her eyebrows. Zhou Ping actually lowered the price to her bottom line. This was too much of a coincidence.

In a trance, He Yunqing saw what seemed to be a white cat flash across the yard.

This white cat looks very much like the cat that often pesters my mother.

"Thirty taels? How about a little more? Look at the huge yard."

He Yunqing hesitated for a moment and said, She still wanted Zhou Ping to increase the price.

Zhou Ping smiled faintly. He knew this was a sure thing.

He heard Lori's voice again last night.

Only this time, Loli's voice was not "Brother, I'm scared", but "Thirty taels! Thirty taels."

Zhou Ping searched all night but couldn't find the owner of Loli Sound.

"Thirty taels, but I want the yard to be clean. When the time comes, I'll hand over the money and the house."

Zhou Ping put forward his demands and then left, leaving He Yunqing no reason to bargain.

He Yunqing stomped her feet. She was best at business negotiations, but today she was actually bargained down to the lowest price, which made her feel frustrated.

"Okay, thirty taels is thirty taels!"

"The house will be delivered in two days."

He family villa.

"What? He Yunqing sold the house to a bodyguard for thirty taels?"

He Yunlu was a little furious. In his opinion, even if the yard was a haunted house, it should be sold for more.

He Yunlu felt that He Yunqing was a spendthrift woman. She sold such a nice house at such a low price!
"Good boy, there are people who are not afraid of ghosts."

"Listen, everyone. Find a woman to dress up as a ghost and scare the man who bought the house. I want to see if he is really stubborn!"

(End of this chapter)