Young hero, stay put and don't be reckless.

Chapter 85 Taking advantage of a crisis

We have arrived at Jiangning Prefecture.

Jiang Xun stood at the city gate, gazing at the familiar gate tower, his heart filled with indescribable feelings.

When he last came, he was a country bumpkin who thought he had struck it rich with just two hundred taels of silver. He bought a house, found a master, and thought he could finally live a peaceful life.

The results of it?

The house burned down, his master's fate was unknown, and he became a penniless pauper again.

It wasn't completely empty; the several dozen taels of silver and a few banknotes that had been taken from Huangshan were still there. They weren't too poor, but they weren't rich either.

He entered the city and walked along the old streets, recalling Li Che's parting words: "My uncle lives in Jiangning Prefecture, at the Mu residence. You can go find him."

Jiang Xun thought for a moment and then shook his head.

He's gotten himself into a lot of trouble. Li Che's uncle is an official, and he's just a petty thief being watched by the Golden Feather Guard. If he goes to them for help, they're in a dilemma—whether to help or not.

Forget it, I'm not going.

He first went around to take a look at his own house.

The house is in the east of the city, a good location, and I liked it at first sight.

Standing at the door, Jiang Xun almost didn't recognize him.

The gate was charred black, and the paint on the lintel had peeled off completely, revealing the dark wood underneath.

The situation in the courtyard was even worse. Half of the main building had collapsed, and only the frame of the attic remained. The white plaster on the walls had been blackened by smoke, and dust fell down in a gust of wind.

Jiang Xun stood at the door, his heart aching with pain.

One hundred and eighty taels.

The most money I've ever earned in my life.

They finally got their own house, but after living there for only a few days, it burned down to this state.

An older woman passing by noticed him standing there in a daze and kindly approached him: "Young man, are you here to look at houses?"

Jiang Xun nodded.

The woman lowered her voice, her face mysterious: "You absolutely mustn't buy this house. It's haunted, you know?"

The family that used to live here used to hear noises coming from upstairs in the middle of the night, which scared them so much that they all moved away.

Later, a foolish person bought it, and after living there for only a few days, it caught fire and burned to this state.

"That's bad luck, extremely bad luck."

Jiang Xun's lips twitched.

A sucker? That's exactly what he is.

Another old man chimed in, "Who says otherwise? Luckily, the fire was put out in time, otherwise these neighboring households would have been in serious trouble. You have no idea how big the fire was that day, with thick smoke billowing out—"

Jiang Xun's face darkened upon hearing this.

He set the fire himself.

He lit it himself to save his master, the Master Thief.

Thinking about it now, it still hurts.

He took a deep breath and forced a smile: "Thank you both for your kindness, I was just looking around."

After saying that, he turned and left, his feet moving three times faster than when he came.

Shunchangxing is located on the busiest street in the east of the city, with a black lacquered signboard with gold lettering hanging at the entrance, looking quite impressive.

The first time Jiang Xun came to Jiangning Prefecture to buy a house, this was the place he came from.

He pushed open the door and went inside. It was the same as always—a few tables and chairs, blueprints of various houses hanging on the walls, and a few half-dead orchids in the corner.

Behind the counter sat a young man, in his early twenties, with a round face and an honest-looking appearance, who was fiddling with an abacus.

The man looked up when he heard the noise, paused for a moment, and then recognized Jiang Xun.

"Sir, is that you?" The waiter quickly stood up, a hint of surprise on his face. "Your house..."

"Burn it." Jiang Xun said expressionlessly.

The waiter gave an awkward smile, rubbing his hands, unsure of what to say.

Jiang Xun sat down in a chair and sighed, "I came to ask if that house can still be sold?"

The shop assistant was taken aback: "Sell?"

"Yes." Jiang Xun nodded. "I plan to settle elsewhere, so there's no use for this house. Let's sell it if we can."

The waiter looked troubled: "Sir, it's not that I don't want to help you. But your house... ever since it burned down, the neighbors have been spreading all sorts of rumors, saying it's haunted and has bad feng shui. Now the whole town knows about it. Once that reputation gets out, I'm afraid it will be hard to sell."

Jiang Xun had already heard those gossips from the neighbor lady, and waved his hand: "I don't care about those things, as long as I break even, that's fine."

The shop assistant scratched his head and hesitated, saying, "I'll try to put it up for you, but the price is hard to say. And... it'll probably take a long time."

Jiang Xun thought for a moment. He couldn't stay in Jiangning Prefecture for too long. The Golden Feather Guards might come knocking on his door at any time, and the longer he stayed, the more trouble he would cause.

"Sell them as soon as possible," he said. "A lower price is fine too."

Just as the waiter was about to speak, the curtain behind the counter was lifted, and a middle-aged fat man walked out.

He was in his forties, fair-skinned, wearing a silk robe and a large emerald green thumb ring on his hand; he looked every bit the shrewd businessman.

It was the manager of Shunchang Trading Company, surnamed Song.

Shopkeeper Song walked over with a smile and cupped his hands in greeting: "Greetings, sir."

Jiang Xun didn't say anything, but nodded.

Manager Song sat down opposite him, took a leisurely sip of tea, and then said, "If you are in a hurry, sir, you might as well sell this house to me."

Jiang Xun raised an eyebrow: "What's the price?"

Shopkeeper Song held up two fingers, then pulled one back: "One hundred taels."

Jiang Xun stood up abruptly, his face turning pale: "One hundred taels? I paid one hundred and eighty taels for it! Aren't you taking advantage of my misfortune?!"

Shopkeeper Song waved his hand calmly, "Sir, please be patient and let me finish. You know the state of your house right now. It's burned down so badly that it's difficult to repair. Add to that the gossip outside, and who would want to buy it?"

He paused, then said, "I'm offering one hundred taels because we've done business before, and I'm kindly helping you take over the property. If we were to sell it at the original price, it might not sell for three to five years."

"Think about it, would you rather take one hundred taels of silver and leave, or wait three to five years, not even knowing if you can sell it?"

Jiang Xun gritted his teeth, feeling incredibly angry.

He knew that what Manager Song said wasn't without reason.

The house was burned down like that, and it also had a reputation for being haunted, so it was definitely hard to sell.

But this price is outrageous.

"One hundred and fifty taels." Jiang Xun sat down, staring into Manager Song's eyes. "That's the lowest I can offer."

Manager Song shook his head: "One hundred and ten taels."

"One hundred and forty taels."

"One hundred and twenty taels."

"One hundred and thirty taels." Jiang Xun slammed his hand on the table. "If it's okay, it's okay. If not, I'll find another shop."

Shopkeeper Song pretended to think for a moment, then sighed, "Alright, one hundred and thirty taels. You're a straightforward person, sir, so I can't let you suffer a loss."

Jiang Xun almost laughed out of anger.

Suffered a loss? He has already suffered a huge loss.

The procedures were completed very quickly.

Manager Song had his assistant bring the contract, and both parties signed and affixed their seals, exchanging money for the property deed.

Shunchangxing will handle the rest of the business with the government.

Jiang Xun counted the silver notes in his hand, his heart bleeding.

One hundred and thirty taels.

They arrived with 180 taels of silver and left with 130 taels.

After staying for only a few days, I lost fifty taels of silver.

The round-faced waiter saw him out, and seeing Jiang Xun's mournful face, he couldn't help but sigh.

Given its location, this house could easily fetch three hundred taels of silver in a year or two, once the controversy died down.

The boss made a fortune with this deal.