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"Did she see you? They won't find out it was us who set this up, right? What if they come back to bite us?" Ye Xiaohan asked.
"Don't worry, sister-in-law," Liu Yang replied. "I didn't show my face. Brother Gu took them inside while I hid off to the side and watched. They didn't notice me. They just thought Liu Gui lost money gambling and got chased for debts."
"That's good. A perfect performance with a clear beginning and end," Ye Xiaohan said, satisfied. Now she had truly cut ties with that family, and she had gotten her money back. Just thinking about Liu Ergou and Zhou Fen being left in despair, huddled together crying, made her feel immensely pleased.
Without those troublesome pests around, she enjoyed a few peaceful days. Ye Xiaohan thought it was time to bring up the moving plans.
She called her family over and gathered them for a discussion.
"I've brought everyone together today to talk about the moving plans we discussed before," Ye Xiaohan said, pacing around the room like an executive at a company meeting, just short of wearing glasses.
"Our old house is too cramped; it's suffocating. We can barely turn around without bumping into each other. Now that we have some extra money, I want to find a bigger place to live."
She continued, "The people in this village don't welcome us anyway, so there's no need for us to stay here and take their nonsense. Your father's grave has already been taken care of; there's nothing worth holding on to here. Does anyone disagree? Raise your hand if you agree." Ye Xiaohan raised her hand first.
Liu Yang quickly raised his hand second. "I've wanted to leave for ages; this place is full of troublemakers!"
Liu Bei said, "We'll follow your lead."
Ye Xiaohan lifted Liu Bei's hand. "If you agree, raise your hand."
Liu Qi looked around and then raised both hands high.
"Great! Everyone seems to be on board," Ye Xiaohan nodded. "Next, let's discuss where we should move to. I'm not very familiar with this area, so if anyone has good suggestions, please speak up."
The room fell silent as everyone exchanged glances. Liu Yang said, "Sister-in-law, you decide the address; we'll follow you wherever you choose."
Liu Bei nodded in agreement.
Ye Xiaohan's enthusiasm waned. "Why does everything have to be decided by me? Don't you all have your own preferences and needs?" Without any challenges, it was hard for her to feel excited.
Liu Bei thought for a moment and then raised his hand.
Ye Xiaohan immediately perked up and waved at Liu Bei. "Now let's invite Mr. Liu Bei to speak."
6 Bei had grown accustomed to her recent strange behaviors and calmly said, "I want to move to town, find a place closer to your shop. That way, you won't have to travel back and forth every day."
"Yes, yes, yes, big brother makes a good point. I didn't think of that. It's still big brother who cares about sister-in-law, always thinking of her first," 6 Yang chimed in, eager to play matchmaker whenever he had the chance, unbothered by any annoyance.
Ye Xiaohan's expression was somewhat subtle; 6 Bei truly had no reservations about her and seemed to support her unconditionally. It was impossible not to feel touched—Ye Xiaohan wasn't a wooden person; she had feelings too. But for her to accept 6 Bei all at once like this was also out of the question.
It was truly a dilemma.
Regardless of how conflicted Ye Xiaohan felt inside, the decision on where to move was unanimously made: they would choose a place in town.
In the following days, Ye Xiaohan and 6 Bei inquired everywhere about suitable houses. They visited several places but were not very satisfied with any of them.
"Buying a house is a big deal; housing is fundamental to people's livelihoods. We can't rush it; we need to take our time and find one that we like," Ye Xiaohan said earnestly, clenching her fist.
6 Bei remained as calm as ever, appearing completely unfazed. It was unclear who Ye Xiaohan's encouragement was meant for.
When 6 Yang got out of school, he joined in the search as well. The family wandered around, not like they were on a mission but more like they were on an outing, stopping along the way to buy snacks.
"Hey, that house over there looks pretty good," Ye Xiaohan said, her sharp eyes spotting a residence ahead of them—white walls and black tiles, square and dignified; it looked quite appealing at first glance.
As they approached the house, they realized it wasn't as new up close as it appeared from afar. It seemed to have been built several years ago but was still well-maintained, probably around seventy or eighty percent new.
The more Ye Xiaohan looked at it, the more she liked it. She walked around the house once and felt that every part met her expectations.
"I like this one; let's buy this one," Ye Xiaohan declared, raising both hands high to express her firm intention.
6 Yang raised his hand too: "Where sister-in-law wants is where we go; I like it here as well."
6 Qi stared at them and also raised his hand high: "Here! Here!"
"Here? But how big is it?" 6 Bei estimated the land area of the house. "I’m afraid the price won’t be cheap."
They went to find the owner, and sure enough, as 6 Bei had predicted, it wasn't cheap.
"Boss Ye, I'm giving you this price because of your reputation. My wife is a regular at Peach Blossom Studio, and she's bought every single blush from your shop. Oh, the house is just piled up with them!" The Owner felt a pang in his heart at the thought of his wife; it was all money.
Ye Xiaohan seized the opportunity to negotiate, "Your wife has great taste. Our products at Peach Blossom Studio are genuine and nourishing, ensuring that she remains beautiful. Boss, since we are familiar with each other, can you give us a friendlier price? We genuinely want to buy."
The Owner hesitated for a moment, deep in thought, before finally gritting his teeth and saying, "Since Boss Ye has asked, I can't refuse. I'll make a concession—let's settle on one hundred and twenty taels. No one else could get this price."
After that, no matter how much Ye Xiaohan haggled, the Owner remained firm on that price. Ye Xiaohan agreed to think it over and promised to return the next day with an answer.
"I really like this house; I fell for it at first sight. Let's go ahead and buy it," Ye Xiaohan said as he counted his private savings. Thanks to his hard work during this time, he had enough to purchase a residence.
Li Bei expressed some opposition, "One hundred and twenty taels is too expensive. You've saved up this money with great difficulty; keep it for yourself. There’s only our family of three; a courtyard will suffice. We don’t need to waste this silver."
"How can this be considered waste?" Ye Xiaohan retorted. "Living in a comfortable environment will lift one's spirits and improve efficiency in work. Besides, one hundred and twenty taels is a lot, but that house is worth it. If we compare it to the market price we learned about earlier, it's truly a steal."
Li Bei felt pained by Ye Xiaohan's expenditure and believed they should just buy a place that would suffice for living.
Both of them stood their ground, creating a tense atmosphere. Li Yang held onto Li Qi as they followed behind, unsure how to mediate.
While they were at an impasse in front of the house, someone walked by from the street. Upon seeing them standing there, his expression changed slightly; he nervously glanced around before approaching.
"Excuse me, are you all interested in buying this house?" the Neighbor whispered as if afraid someone might overhear.
His strange behavior puzzled the Li family. Ye Xiaohan replied, "Yes, this house is quite nice—quiet and conveniently located near the street. The only issue is the price; the Owner wants one hundred and twenty taels."
"What a black-hearted scoundrel!" The Neighbor scoffed upon hearing the price. "This is a haunted house! How dare he ask for that much! He must think you don’t know any better."
The Neighbor sized them up before continuing, "But tell me, are you from out of town? How do you not know about this?" He leaned closer and whispered, "This house is haunted!"
"Haunted?" Li Yang exclaimed in surprise.
"Shh!" The Neighbor looked around anxiously as if fearing something sinister inside might come out to bite him. "Brother, don’t shout! You’ll disturb whatever is in this house!"
Ye Xiaohan was uninterested in tales of ghosts and had always dismissed such stories as nonsense. "Is what you're saying true?" he asked skeptically.
"Of course it's true," the Neighbor said. "If you don't believe me, you can ask around. This house has been rumored to be haunted for quite some time; everyone in the area knows about it."
Seeing their skeptical expressions, he hurried to clear his name. "The Owner you met isn't the original Owner anymore. This place has had several owners, and each one moved in only to experience strange occurrences before hastily moving out. If this house were so great, why would it be left empty?"
He glanced at the vacant house and shivered. "I'm just trying to help you out of kindness. You can decide for yourselves. I need to go; staying in this ghostly place makes me feel cold down my back."
"Thank you, big brother," Ye Xiaohan said gratefully. Although she didn't believe in such things, she appreciated his good intentions.
Liubei frowned as he looked back at the house. He said to Xiao Han, "We should find another place; this one feels unclean."
"Oh come on, all these ghosts and monsters are just stories to scare children. You can't really believe that, can you?" Ye Xiaohan was a bit surprised. "Liubei, you’re not afraid of ghosts, are you?"
Liubei's expression stiffened as he hesitated before replying, "No. I just think it's unnecessary to linger here. If we keep looking, I'm sure we can find something you'll like."
Ye Xiaohan pouted. "But I really like this one; I genuinely do."
She tugged at Liubei and pointed out features of the house. "Look at this eave; the carvings of the dragon are so lifelike! And see those wind chimes hanging at the corner? How could there be anything sinister inside? It's all just rumors."
Liubei urged her, "Even if there's nothing here, people are still spreading these stories. If they find out you bought this house, they'll make up even more baseless rumors."
He didn't want to hear any more gossip that could tarnish Ye Xiaohan's reputation.
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