She couldn't imagine what she would look like when she got old. It seemed she needed to exercise more in the future. Although she was already exercising, she could increase the intensity. She also needed to eat bird's nest and ginseng to replenish her body.
"Huahua, after we go to the brokerage, let's go check again. They sell bird's nest there."
"Bird's nest? We don't have time to process that stuff even if we buy it. It's a waste of time, and the ones we buy aren't even good enough." Xia Hua smiled mysteriously. "Tonight, I'll take you to a great place where we can definitely find some really good bird's nest."
"Where?" An Shuyi asked curiously.
Xia Hua smiled mysteriously, "You'll find out tonight. Let's go have breakfast." With that, she led her out of the inn.
Despite being dressed in gorgeous clothes, the two of them ate breakfast by the roadside, completely ignoring the strange looks from those around them. After finishing their meal, they calmly left for the largest brokerage firm in the capital.
After the two entered the brokerage firm, a clerk came over to greet them, "Madams, are you here to buy a house, a estate, or servants?"
“Let’s buy a house! Let’s see if there’s anything suitable,” An Shuyi said.
"Madams, please come inside. I'll go and fetch your broker so he can introduce you to the ladies." The waiter finished speaking and ran to the next room. He quickly returned, followed by another person. After leading the broker in, the waiter excused himself and left.
"Liu Nian greets the two ladies. The shopkeeper said that the two ladies want to see the mansion, but he doesn't know how many courtyards they want to see, or if they have any requirements for the mansion," the broker said after bowing.
“If there’s no three-entrance option, then a two-entrance option will do,” An Shuyi said.
Liu Nian looked at the two women and nodded, "Yes, I have several three-courtyard houses, and some two-courtyard ones as well. I'll take you two ladies to see them now, is that alright?"
“Okay, let’s go now.” An Shuyi pulled Xia Hua to her feet.
Liu Nian led the way, saying, "As you two ladies should know, there are no more residences near the palace. Only those further away, just across the street, are available. Our brokerage firm also has some vacant residences over there. I'll show you these first."
An Shuyi nodded and headed towards the place the broker had indicated, checking the surrounding area along the way.
"Ladies, take a look. This is the residence I was talking about. The street is just over there, so it's convenient to buy whatever you want." Liu Nian opened the door with his key. "Ladies, you can go in and take a look. The previous family didn't move out for very long, but all the furniture inside is gone."
An Shuyi and Xia Hua went inside to check and found that the place was indeed a three-courtyard house, but the house was somewhat dilapidated. After coming out, they said, "Liu Yahui, let's go and take a look at the other house. This one won't do."
Liu Nian knew they wouldn't be satisfied, so he nodded and said, "Then I'll take the two ladies to the residence over there."
When they arrived at the house that Liu Ya Kuai had mentioned, An Shuyi and Xia Hua found it very quiet and there were hardly any people around. After going inside, they found that the house was relatively new, unlike the dilapidated one they had seen before.
"Are you two ladies satisfied? If not, the one next door is also suitable; you may go and take a look."
An Shuyi turned to look at the courtyard next to her. She was surprised to find that neither of the two houses was inhabited. It wasn't that she disliked the quietness; on the contrary, she found it particularly suitable.
“Liu the broker, none of these three houses are inhabited!” Xia Hua said from the side, seeing his embarrassment at being exposed, she knew she was right.
"Hehe," Liu the broker chuckled awkwardly, but being a broker after all, he quickly recovered. "What this lady says is right. The two houses next to this mansion are uninhabited, but the land deeds for these two houses are in my hands, while the deeds for the other mansion are not."
At this point, he continued, "I won't hide it from you ladies, this mansion used to be where an official kept his mistress. Later, when the official's wife found out, she beat the girl to death in the room. The mansion was later sold, but the buyer could often hear someone crying in the middle of the night."
"But while others may not know, I do. The girl didn't die at all; she was just injured. Later, the wife found out that she had also been deceived, and out of pity, she gave her some money and sent her away."
"As for the crying, that's just a rumor. There's a well behind this house, and it makes a sound whenever the wind blows. It would stop if it were covered up, but people don't believe it, so the house has remained empty."
"That's why only these three houses haven't sold yet, while the neighboring houses are still perfectly fine. You two ladies can decide whether you want to buy them or not. If you don't want to buy them, I'll take you to see the others."
Xia Hua asked, "How much is this house of yours for?"
Liu the broker said, "This mansion, if it weren't for that, could be sold for 30,000 taels of silver, but now, it can be bought for 23,000 taels. What do you two ladies think?"
"If I buy all three houses, how much silver would it cost?" Xia Hua asked again. Even if there were ghosts in this world, she would still want these houses. They are quiet here and not too noisy. They are perfect.
"You want them all?" Liu Yakuai asked in surprise. "If you want all three houses, madam, then each house will cost 21,000 taels, for a total of 63,000 taels. We can deliver the deeds to the two madams today."
This is the lowest price for each house; he can't afford not to make a profit. If he hadn't bought all three together, he wouldn't have sold them at all. After all, even the most dilapidated houses in the capital would find buyers, let alone those where someone had died.
Under the emperor's nose, in the houses of those officials and wealthy families, it's not surprising that someone has died in one of them. He can even help that kid Kong Qi sell his house.
Xia Hua nodded, "Okay, but we don't have that much silver right now. Shushu, go exchange it for silver notes. Liu the broker and I will go to the yamen to exchange it for the house deed... This is the deposit, and the rest will be given to you later." These were 20,000 taels of silver notes, which she kept in the warehouse.
An Shuyi nodded, "I'll come to the brokerage firm to find you later." Then she turned around to prepare the silver notes. She had 21,600 taels of silver notes in her warehouse, but for the convenience of buying things in the future, she planned to exchange more silver notes and exchange 50,000 taels directly.
Looking at the money exchange ahead, she went to the furniture store and bought a box. She found a corner and put 50,000 taels of silver inside. Unfortunately, she overestimated herself; she couldn't carry that much silver.
She took the silver out again, carried the empty box to the money exchange, and made sure it looked heavy to others. When she got to the money exchange, she put her hand inside the box and placed the prepared silver inside.
"Shopkeeper, I'd like to exchange this for silver notes."
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