Chapter 19: The Black Market in the Capital

The two of them probed each other’s backgrounds, and by the time they reached their destination, both had a fair understanding of the other. Sister Lian pointed ahead to a secluded courtyard. “Look, little sister, that’s the home of my relative’s relative’s friend. The family is known for their cleanliness—inside and out, everything is meticulously kept. If you decide to buy, you could move in right away.”

“Sounds good.” The walls were spotless, showing no signs of careless scribbling, and from the outside, the house appeared almost new.

“Exactly, it really is a good place.” Sister Lian led her to the courtyard gate and knocked, “Knock, knock... Uncle Wang, are you home?”

“I’m here, I’m here. Just come in,” came the voice, aged and weathered. Sister Lian pushed open the gate. The homeowner, an elderly man with silver hair, was working on some carpentry in the yard. “Uncle Wang, you’re at your woodworking again.”

“Oh, it’s you, Xiao Lian. I’m just keeping my hands busy. What brings you here today?” Uncle Wang smiled, his eyes calm and deep.

“I was at work, and heard you were selling your house. I happen to know this young lady is looking for a place, so I brought her to have a look.” Sister Lian spoke with an easy confidence and clarity. “This is Miss Zhong.”

Uncle Wang laughed and looked at the woman behind Sister Lian. “What do you think of my house?”

“It’s very nice—clean and tidy.” Most importantly, it had three large rooms, plus a kitchen, toilet, and storage room. Best of all, there was a well in the corner of the yard.

“You came with Xiao Lian. If you’re serious about buying, I’ll give you a good price.”

Zhong Yuxiu was tempted. “How much less?”

“This house is in a great location, close to the university, and it’s quite spacious. The price is higher than other courtyard houses, around fifteen hundred. For you, I’ll knock off fifty, and all the furniture is included.”

Fourteen hundred and fifty—that was not expensive for the capital, especially being so close to Huada University.

“May I take a look inside?”

“Of course.” Uncle Wang nodded, set down his tools, and stood up. “Follow me.”

“Thank you.”

Zhong Yuxiu and Sister Lian followed him into the main house. Doors opened on both sides of the central room, leading to two bedrooms. She glanced inside—both rooms were similar in size, and one could easily be divided into a study and a resting area.

“Uncle Wang, I really like your house. How soon could I move in? Are all the deeds in order?”

“They’re all ready. Wait here a moment, I’ll fetch them.” Uncle Wang smiled and disappeared into the large room to the left. He returned shortly, holding two thin sheets of paper. “Here, take a look.”

Zhong Yuxiu smiled and glanced at them—they were indeed the deeds. At this time, there were no property certificates as such; contracts were handled by the local office.

“Thank you, Uncle Wang. Please keep these safe.”

He took them back. “Are you satisfied?”

“Very much so, but I didn’t bring enough money with me today. I’ll leave a two hundred deposit and you can write a contract. I’ll come back with the full amount the day after tomorrow.”

“That’s fine.” Uncle Wang wrote up the agreement himself. Both parties signed and pressed their fingerprints, with Sister Lian as witness. The contract was now in effect. Leaving the Wang home, Zhong Yuxiu tucked the contract into her pocket and stored it in her spatial ring.

“Sister Lian, I’m sorry to have taken up your time today, but thank you for bringing me here.”

Sister Lian grinned. “It’s nothing! If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. Several families around here have been after Uncle Wang’s house, but even when he was eager to sell, he wouldn’t agree to them. Who would have thought he’d sell to you right away?”

“If there were interested buyers, why didn’t he sell?” Could there be issues with those neighbors?

“I don’t know the details, just heard from relatives that those neighbors wanted to take advantage of Uncle Wang—pushing the price down too much, using their relationship to bargain.” She didn’t elaborate, and Zhong Yuxiu didn’t press. “What are those neighbors like?”

Sister Lian pursed her lips in a slight smile. “Two of the families are fine. As for the others, it’s best you keep your distance. Trust me, I wouldn’t steer you wrong on something like this.”

“I trust you, Sister Lian.” Zhong Yuxiu grew thoughtful; there was more to Sister Lian’s words than met the eye.

In these times, there were many honest folk, but plenty with questionable morals as well, not to mention those who ran afoul of the law.

Back at the inn, Zhong Yuxiu bid Sister Lian farewell, went upstairs to her room, closed the door, and drew the curtains. She emptied her spatial ring of gold and silver jewelry, covering the single bed with a glittering heap. She put aside the gold and silver hairpins, rings, and thumb rings—those she didn’t need—and returned them to the ring. The jade brush washers and jade brushes were also unnecessary. In the end, she kept some gold and silver beans, melon seeds, and five gold bars, each wrapped in cloth.

The rest went back into the ring. In her third life, she had been born into a prominent family and had collected over a hundred gold bars. She’d have had more, but in her third, modern life, she’d used over fifty; she hadn’t had a chance to replenish the stash, so this was all that remained.

Each bar weighed five catties—a solid chunk of wealth.

She wrapped them in cloth, placed them in the ring, then took out a bundle for cover and left her room. Using her spiritual sense to search for the black market, she wandered for more than half an hour without success.

At last, by accident, she entered an alley behind Huada University. Only then did her spiritual sense detect a gathering of people.

Following the trail, she saw many people trading. About half had set up stalls—unmistakably the black market. None of the vendors were masked, nor were the buyers disguised, so she abandoned any thought of a disguise herself. Entering the market, she kept her spiritual sense extended, searching for the black market bosses.

The stallholders outside were all small-time traders; the real powers rarely showed themselves.

The further in she went, the fewer people there were. Her spirit detected a transaction taking place in a small courtyard not far off: gold, silver, jewels, paintings, books, food, and game changing hands.

She waited until the deal was done and the traders had left before stepping forward to knock on the door.

“Knock, knock.”

“Who is it?” The voice from inside was rough but calm—yet beneath that, she sensed caution.

“Brother, it’s me. My folks slaughtered a pig in the countryside, sent me with some meat for you.”

“Oh, it’s you, little sister! Just a moment, I’ll be right there.”

A moment later, the door opened to reveal a tall, lean, middle-aged man with sharp eyes that sized her up. “Come in, don’t stand out there.”

She nodded and stepped into the yard, the door closing behind her. She didn’t look back, but walked to the center of the courtyard before turning to face the tall man.

“Hello, I heard you buy anything here, so I came.”

Whether he believed her or not, he simply pointed toward the house. “Let’s talk inside.”

“Alright.”

He led the way, and Zhong Yuxiu followed. While his attention was elsewhere, she slipped her hand into the bundle, retrieving the gold bars from her spatial ring.

Inside, she opened the bundle and got straight to the point. “I’m selling all of these. You name a price; if it’s fair, we’ll do business. If not, perhaps another time.”