Chapter 63: Property Voucher For Real Estate, Bloodstained Clothes In The Rainy Night
Fang Shu returned to Du Gu Guan, and the night passed without incident as he rested well.
Before dawn broke, he had already gotten up and begun his daily tempering.
When it was time for breakfast, those delivering the meal were not only his Second Uncle Yu Le, but also Li Hou Er.
Li Hou Er was holding several steamed buns in his hands, each with thin skin and large filling, steaming hot, and he kept stuffing them into his mouth. This guy would occasionally weigh a steamed bun in his hand, spin it in the air, and then take a bite when he had a chance.
Fang Shu curiously watched him while taking the food box from his Second Uncle’s hands, and asked:
“Brother Li, why do you have time to visit me today?”
Li Hou Er didn’t respond immediately, but mumbled with his mouth full: “Eat first, you eat first! I’ll tell you after we’re done eating.”
Fang Shu looked at his Second Uncle Yu Le, who also shook his head, seemingly unaware, and lightly laughed as he opened the food box, gesturing for Fang Shu to have breakfast first.
So Fang Shu sat at the stone table outside the house and devoured the breakfast from the six-layer food box in a whirlwind manner, finishing it cleanly.
Before he could even ask about Li Hou Er’s purpose, the other had swallowed his last bite of steamed bun, let out a satisfied belch, put his arm around Fang Shu, and pushed his Second Uncle Yu Le:
“Let’s go, that guy Li Yuan has been waiting at the courtyard doorway for a while.”
By the time they were almost at the courtyard doorway, Fang Shu finally learned the reason from this guy’s mouth.
It turned out that this guy had been instructed by Li Yuan to drag Fang Shu and his uncle to the paper workshop to snap up shares of the tiled house.
Fang Shu clicked his tongue:
“The paper workshop burned down less than three days ago, and Black Tiger Hall is already this impatient?”
Li Hou Er muttered: “Who says it’s not. I heard quite a few merchant associations are coming to join the fun, and even more are the ones lending money at interest.”
Having understood the reason, Fang Shu looked at his Second Uncle beside him, pondering how to persuade him to join in the fun.
Although he temporarily “had no money,” he could still get a mortgage loan!
But before he could speak, his Second Uncle volunteered: “That’s fine, let’s go take a look.”
Second Uncle Yu Le also explained to Fang Shu: “Let’s go together. Even if we two have no money, with you and Li Hou Er as immortal cultivators, it’ll be more secure for Old Li to secure the tiled house shares. Worst case, we can sell the shares later.”
Seeing his Second Uncle Yu Le agree, Fang Shu naturally accepted immediately.
The three met Talisman Master Li Yuan, who was as anxious as a monkey, at the courtyard doorway, and under his urging, they hurried toward the paper workshop.
Although on the way there, the Li father and son had kept saying there would be a lot of people.
Fang Shu figured it was still breakfast time, so even if there were many people, it shouldn’t be too bad. But when they arrived at the paper workshop, he was still dazzled by the spectacular scene before him.
The burned paper workshop was four or five times livelier than before the fire. Nearby, there were tea stalls, breakfast stalls, small wine shops, and all sorts of others doing business to join the fun, with constant hawking calls.
“Noodles for sale!” “Freshly steamed steamed buns!”
“Make way, make way, this gentleman is heading home!”
Fortunately, with the excited Li father and son clearing the way ahead, Fang Shu and his Second Uncle followed closely behind their backsides and managed to squeeze into the paper workshop easily enough.
Immediately, he saw that tables and chairs had been set up inside the paper workshop, with people in black uniforms and hats maintaining order, and long lines already formed in front of the tables and chairs.
At this point, the Li father and son tried to leverage their status as paper workshop locals, even pulling out their dojo disciple and immortal cultivator identities, but they hit a wall and had to obediently go to the back of the crowd to line up.
This scene made Fang Shu highly suspicious that they were all shills, but when his gaze fell on those queuing up, he found they were either wealthy folks or immortal cultivators with cultivation.
In his idle moments, he chatted with a few of them and immediately dismissed the idea that they were shills.
“I’ve waited so many years and saved so much money, isn’t it all for buying property today!”
“Damn it, I’ve rented houses for most of my life, cultivation is out of reach, but at least I gotta leave a solid house for the kid.”
“If you ask me, this dump should’ve burned down sooner to free up space, the town should’ve expanded long ago—why did the fire have to wait until today?”
These people competing for tiled house shares each had their own reasons, and all were full of eager anticipation.
In stark contrast to the excitement of those on site, there were the nearby paper workshop locals who had been kept on the periphery, all gnashing their teeth in fury.
The paper workshop neighbors shouted loudly from outside the crowd:
“Pah! A bunch of bandits.”
“Is there no more order, no more law!”
Hearing this, some busybodies among those clamoring to buy tiled houses turned their heads and sneered:
“Country bumpkins, this is the immortal market—law means shit. You should be asking if there’s immortal law.”
“Pah! A bunch of paupers. Jealous much?”
And sure enough, though the paper workshop neighbors were all burning with anger, when they looked at those queuing to snatch up tiled houses, their faces clearly showed envy.
Especially since there were quite a few paper workshop neighbors like Fang Shu and the others in the line.
Seeing these “acquaintances,” the paper workshop neighbors’ expressions turned even more envious and jealous, and they would occasionally mutter curses or laugh loudly.
“Old Fourth Zhang, poverty doesn’t last three generations—you’ve been poor for two already, what are you doing joining the fun!”
The one called Old Fourth Zhang turned his head without annoyance, just grinning: “Can’t I come watch you lot make fools of yourselves?”
Fang Shu and the others queued low-key, and though occasionally recognized by paper workshop neighbors, they just smiled and let it pass.
Although the queue was quite long, the pace wasn’t slow.
When Fang Shu and his group reached the front, they realized it wasn’t that the guys in black uniforms and hats were efficient, but that they were efficient at brushing people off.
No money? Get lost. No status or background? Get lost. No magic power or cultivation? Get lost. Demands too high? Get lost.
Those guys were completely fearless, not worried at all that the tiled houses, which hadn’t even appeared yet, wouldn’t sell!
Fortunately, Fang Shu and his group had Talisman Master Li Yuan tipping with tea money, Fang Shu and Li Hou Er wearing Du Gu Guan daoist robes, Second Uncle Yu Le saying good words on the side, plus their paper workshop local status, so they smoothly registered.
But registration wasn’t the end; to get the note for building a one-courtyard courtyard house, they still had to queue at a few more lines.
And the further back they went, the fewer people could continue queuing, now all town immortal cultivators with ample funds.
And as luck would have it, Fang Shu spotted an acquaintance among them.
The other had also seen him and quickly tried to look away, pretending not to know. But Fang Shu and his group were already walking toward him and stood right beside him.
That person couldn’t pretend not to see anymore and after a moment’s thought,
awkwardly smiled and greeted proactively: “Brother Yu, Friend Fang.”
Second Uncle Yu Le was stunned to see the other greet him first, so he cupped his hands in return: “Manager Xiao Hu.”
The one they had run into was Manager Xiao Hu from Shao Wei Guan.
Manager Xiao Hu quickly waved his hands: “Too formal, too formal. Brother Yu, if you don’t mind, call me Senior Brother Xiao or Old Xiao.”
Fang Shu stood by, smiling as he watched his Second Uncle and the other exchange pleasantries.
Being watched by Xiao Hu, although his right leg bone had already mended, it still wasn’t fully healed.
Especially Fang Shu’s gaze, which kept landing on his lame leg from time to time, making him suddenly feel a twinge of soreness in the bone.
He subtly shifted his body, truly afraid that Fang Shu would give him another kick—otherwise, he might really be lame for life.
Fortunately, one doesn’t hit a smiling face, and Fang Shu also cupped his hands toward him: “Greetings, Manager Xiao.”
Seeing Fang Shu’s normal expression, neither hostile nor friendly toward him, Xiao Hu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his hands toward Fang Shu as well.
At this point, Second Uncle Yu Le clearly noticed the oddity between his own nephew and Manager Xiao Hu, but he didn’t say or ask more, just appropriately ended the pleasantries with Xiao Hu.
But after a while.
Xiao Hu seemed to have come alone, with no one to chat idly with him or listen to his boasting.
This guy couldn’t help but proactively strike up a conversation with Second Uncle Yu Le and Talisman Master Li Yuan: “You two are also here to set up family business for the younger generation?”
Xiao Hu said with a hint of boasting and pride:
“I’m here to set up property for my daughter!
Speaking of which, damn it, I really want to just get a whole house outright. Whether as dowry or bridal gift, or as a fallback, it’s all top-notch! Even if we can’t, and have to share, I’ll definitely secure a main room.”
“Brother, you’re generous.” Talisman Master Li Yuan clicked his tongue.
Second Uncle Yu Le just smiled without speaking.
With someone to talk to, Manager Xiao Hu kept muttering:
“Ah! There wasn’t this chance before, but now there is. The kid’s grown up too—if she joins an immortal sect and goes up the mountain, she won’t live in this house anyway.”
These happy grumblings didn’t really annoy Fang Shu.
Instead, he gave the guy a few extra glances, feeling that he had grounded himself a bit with earth qi and wasn’t as much in need of a beating as he had been in Shao Wei Guan.
Still, not likable.
Just like that, under the arrangement of the black uniforms and hats folks, both parties got their desired property vouchers, known in the marketplace as “property vouchers.”
But getting the property voucher didn’t mean having a house, nor that construction could start immediately.
To truly pay and get a house, they still had to wait one or two days for Black Tiger Hall to compile the booklet and fully divide up the paper workshop land, then everyone would come back to draw lots, at which point the specifics of each house’s size, orientation, number of households, and so on would be determined.
Still, having a property voucher was a good thing—even if they didn’t use it themselves, they could sell or transfer it at the lot-drawing site later.
Among them, Fang Shu and his uncle got the right side room of the same courtyard house, and the Li father and son got the left side room. After settling two households, they wanted to round up the remaining few to easily select future neighbors.
But no matter how they pleaded, the black uniforms and hats folks flat-out refused, citing “number not over half,” making them rely on fate to fill the rest later.
This got Talisman Master Li Yuan anxious; after getting angry, he wheedled and pressed them, leaving the black uniforms and hats folks with no choice.
The other glanced at Fang Shu and Li Hou Er’s young appearances, and helplessly pointed at Manager Xiao Hu:
“I saw you three were chummy earlier, so you three group up—number over half, secure one standalone courtyard, and find one or two more households yourselves for the rest.”
This made Fang Shu’s group and Xiao Hu all stunned, but before they could discuss, the black uniforms and hats guy stamped the note, handed it over, and said impatiently: “If anyone’s unhappy, just tear it up.”
Talisman Master Li Yuan hesitated but took it.
Manager Xiao Hu looked at Fang Shu and the others, hesitating, but surprisingly didn’t object.
After the group walked away, both sides exchanged a few more pleasantries.
Fang Shu and the others then learned that Xiao Hu had indeed secured a main room for his daughter. With their three households together, there was just enough left for one inverted room share.
As for who to give the inverted room share to, Fang Shu and the others had already discussed it briefly with a candidate in mind. So Talisman Master Li Yuan took the lead and asked Manager Xiao Hu if he had any requirements for the inverted room occupant.
Xiao Hu politely smiled: “You two decide.”
So the three families didn’t tear up the note on the spot, planning to settle it this way for now and discuss details at the actual lot-drawing later—there was still room to back out anyway.
After handling these matters, the three families parted happily.
On the way, Li Hou Er split off midway to go to Blood Street to find Dou Su Fu and tell her the good news.
Dou Su Fu, a milk tofu seller, seemed to have saved some money, but with her status, she clearly couldn’t compete for a property voucher.
Precisely for this reason, Talisman Master Li Yuan and Second Uncle Yu Le temporarily acquiesced to Manager Xiao Hu, to give Dou Su Fu a chance to pull her in.
Fang Shu didn’t care much about this; after returning to Du Gu Guan, he began even more diligent cultivation to make up for the half-day wasted.
On the other side.
Manager Xiao Hu happily returned to Shao Wei Guan.
After entering the hall, he no longer strutted about as usual; instead, he restrained his joy, like a dog tucking its tail, merely quickening his steps lightly toward his room.
Only after entering the room and closing the door did he pace around inside, his joy surfacing again.
This guy sighed as he looked around:
“This room is nice, but it’s not truly mine.”
Sighing softly, Xiao Hu suddenly recalled the various events of the past period, his expression moved.
But thinking that he had gotten a property voucher and could set up a family business for his daughter, thoroughly rooting himself in Gu Ling Town—not renting, and not depending on others—
Xiao Hu’s face broke into a joyful smile, feeling all his pent-up frustration dissipate.
Recalling his chat with that Li talisman master, Xiao Hu personally fetched a small stove and pot from the room.
He slowly prepared tofu and pickled vegetables, busying until nightfall, planning to eat and chat with his daughter when she returned and tell her the good news.
But after dinner, Xiao Hu still hadn’t waited for his daughter Xiao Li Li to return.
Until late at night, when autumn rain began falling in Gu Ling Town.
He pretended to doze in the room when a soft knocking sounded outside.
“Coming back so late!”
Xiao Hu opened his eyes, joy blooming on his face, and quickly responded.
He straightened his robe, opened the small stove that had been warming nearby, and shook tofu chunks into it.
A burst of steam rose, warming his heart.
Xiao Hu kept a straight face, limped slightly to the door, and lightly scolded: “You, you’ve grown up, huh…”
He opened the door.
Outside the door was indeed his daughter Xiao Li Li, but the joy in Xiao Hu’s eyes vanished instantly, his face stiffening, even his pupils contracting.
He saw his daughter Xiao Li Li with lifeless eyes, pale face, disheveled hair, her whole body drenched and standing rigidly at the door.
What struck Xiao Hu’s heart like lightning was that Xiao Li Li was clad in bloodstained clothes, gravely injured, trembling all over, and looking at him in dazed helplessness.
