Big Black looked up at the 'man' who was much taller and stronger than itself, swallowed hard, and its imposing aura weakened by three points.

"A yard isn't cheap, are you really serious about buying it?"

Ruan Xianxian: "My grandfather just died, and he left me his coffin lid. Do you think that's enough?"

Big Black compared his size and suppressed the urge to rob him. He summoned his henchmen and whispered among themselves in the yard.

He returned with a smile on his face, "Brother, what a coincidence! An entire detached house in the North District is up for sale."

The homeowner's husband died, and he's moving south to stay with his daughter; however, the price isn't cheap.

Ruan Xianxian: "Take away the young master?"

Big Black: "Nine hundred and eighty, no bargaining."

Ruan Xianxian stood up. "Let's go take a look at the house first."

The three left the courtyard. Dahei looked at the 1.8-meter-tall man straddling a 26-inch bicycle with a strange expression. His younger brother pushed the bicycle over, and the three rode towards the north of the city.

The courtyard is located in a deep alley in the north of the city, a dead end, with houses on both sides having back windows, and the front gate of the small courtyard is the only one in the alley.

The door was knocked open, and the person who opened it was an auntie who looked about forty years old with eyes swollen like walnuts. The auntie was dressed simply and was startled when she saw the two tall men who looked like door gods.

"You, do you have something to say?"

"Hey! I heard from Dongzi that you're selling your house, so I brought some people over to take a look."

The aunt was wary; these two didn't seem like they were there to look at the house, but rather like bandits who had taken over the mountain.

Imagining a scene where "it's no use trying to stop them," she stepped aside to let the two in. The courtyard was small and square.

The house was very clean, with two rooms, one for living and one for storage. Most importantly, there was a hand-operated well in the yard, which Ruan Xianxian loved.

A small vegetable garden, not much, about seven or eight square meters, was set up at the base of the wall, and the owner planted it full of seedlings.

The house is divided into two rooms, an inner room and an outer room. In the outer room, a large iron pot sits on the stove, and a water vat stands to the side.

Inside the room was a large kang (heated brick bed), with a window facing the center of the kang, letting in light. The window frame wasn't made of paper but had glass.

Ruan Xianxian asked with satisfaction, "Is there any way to lower the price of 980?"

The auntie was clearly taken aback. Meeting Da Hei's warning gaze, she shrank back and said, "Yes, yes! I'll give you a ten-yuan discount."

Ruan Xianxian smiled and stood up. "Alright! I'll go look around some more, and if I'm interested, I'll come back with my brother."

The aunt didn't say anything and escorted the three of them to the outside of the courtyard.

She had no choice. Her two sons said they would go to the countryside together and escape to the other side of the river. Her husband was arrested, and those people even had their eyes on her house. If she didn't leave, she would only wait to die!

Once outside the yard, Big Black chuckled and asked, "Not satisfied?"

Ruan Xianxian pouted, "It's a bit small. I'm afraid it won't be enough room for my five kids and my wife."

"Wow! Brother, you're quite the fertile man!" Big Black looked at him with envy when he heard that he had five kids.

Ruan Xianxian proudly puffed out her chest, "Nothing else, it's just that the women in my family are capable."

After saying a few words, she asked, "Anything else? This one is really a bit small."

Housing is scarce right now, and factory workers are all waiting for their apartments to be allocated. Very few are willing to sell. Dahei thought for a moment:

"Not at the moment. I'll keep an eye on it for you. Are you sure you don't want this place, brother? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You might regret it and come back, but there might not be another chance."

"No, it's too small! It's not even as big as our rural outhouse." Ruan Xianxian got on her bike. "Keep an eye on it for me, I'll come back to find you in a couple of days."

"Boss!" Watching Ruan Xianxian ride further and further away until she disappeared around the corner, one of the underlings asked, "Aren't we going to pull off a job?"

Big Black, still shaken by the sight of the other man's large frame and the menacing glare he received from him, slapped his underling on the back of the head upon hearing this.

"Damn it! Why don't you just rush in and fight?"

After riding her bike around the neighborhood for a few hours and witnessing the two leave, Ruan Xianxian returned to the alley. Having already changed back into her own clothes, she knocked on the door and gave a sweet smile.

"Auntie, I heard you're selling your house, so I came here hoping to hear from you. I hope I'm not bothering you."

The auntie, having changed her previous timid attitude, pulled her into the yard and tightly closed the gate.

As usual, we toured the place first. Back inside, she looked worried. "Girl, judging from your accent, you're not from around here, are you? May I ask, are you buying this house for your wedding?"

When girls in their late teens or early twenties come to ask about houses, it's usually for their wedding.

Ruan Xianxian laughed: "No, Auntie, my family are educated youth from Beijing who came to Heilongjiang Province to work in the countryside. We want to buy a house and a job so we don't have to farm anymore."

She sensed the other woman's hesitation, so she revealed a bit of her identity. Upon hearing that she was from the capital, the woman's eyes lit up, and she took her hand.

"To be honest, my daughter, this house has caught the eye of the Red Armbands. If you're confident you can keep it, give your aunt 500 yuan, and we can transfer the ownership today."

A courtyard of about 50 square meters, a main house plus a self-built storage room—this price is very reasonable.

Zhao Yingzi didn't want to either; she planned to sell it for 700 yuan, but several people inquired and then left.

With the Red Armbands watching her from the front and the black market eyeing her from behind, she feared she might die one day without even knowing how.

However, she was conscientious enough to explain both the pros and cons.

Ruan Xianxian felt sorry for the other party's situation, but to be fair, "350, plus these furniture, okay, let's pay and transfer the ownership now."

"350 won't do! At least 490."

As expected, Aunt Zhao only liked to give people a discount of ten yuan. After the two went back and forth for a while, Ruan Xianxian finally got the deal for 430 yuan.

While it was still early, the two went to the housing management bureau to transfer the property. When they heard that it was being transferred to a relative, the staff knew perfectly well but didn't say anything.

The procedures were very simple and were completed in no time.

A small-eyed man, however, had been eyeing the two of them suspiciously for a while. Just before she was about to leave, he called out to Ruan Xianxian with a forced smile and asked:

"This woman isn't related to this old lady, is she? Don't get scammed into buying a house you shouldn't have, and then you'll get yourself into trouble."

“You…” She pulled back Zhao Yingzi, who was about to step forward to argue, and gave a cold smile: “Thank you for reminding me.”

As fellow thieves, Ruan Xianxian couldn't say she hated those people; none of them were cleaner than the others, but they dared to target her...

Haha! Sorry! I was just wondering who to rob next!

Back in her new home, Zhao Yingzi took one last nostalgic look at the house she had lived in for twenty years, and handed her the key. "Even before that, the front yard was all my home, it's just a pity..."

Unfortunately, her father-in-law squandered all the family fortune, leaving only this detached house. "I hope you can take good care of it. The furniture and everything else were made by the child's father himself, so they are still usable."

Out of kindness, and also out of concern that the other person might be intercepted and cause trouble, she gave them a word of advice as they were about to leave with their packed luggage:

"Go straight to the station, buy a ticket to get off at the station, hop on any train, and make other arrangements after you leave."

Zhao Yingzi nodded emphatically and left. Ruan Xianxian took out a porcelain basin and towel from her spatial storage, went to the well, and started pumping water to rinse the furniture.

After changing the sheets and blankets to those for her own space, she lay back on the kang (a heated brick bed) in a starfish shape and rolled around a bit. Then, she lifted her head from the warm blankets and smiled brightly!

After three lifetimes, she finally has a home!