Yesterday afternoon, Xie Yushu had been called away by Ye Youchun, who said He Chao had something to tell her. She then went to the ferry.
He Chao had brought news from Qianwan Village—the large abandoned compound she’d had her eye on had stirred up some activity.
Word was that it was haunted, and many families didn’t dare go near it, let alone pool their money together to buy it. As a result, the price of the compound had dropped.
Now the title deeds for the compound were in the village chief’s hands. The village chief had even sent someone to ask him if the Young Lady Xie who’d come last time still wanted the compound.
So he’d immediately contacted Ye Youchun to have her fetch Xie Yushu.
When they arrived at Qianwan Village, He Chao took her directly to see the village chief, who looked like he’d been waiting for them.
The village chief stood up when he saw Xie Yushu: “Young Lady Xie, do you still want that compound you looked at last time? If you do, you’d better act quickly.”
Xie Yushu raised an eyebrow. What had happened? Why the sudden urgency? Hadn’t it been sitting empty all these years?
The village chief explained: “A few days ago, the steward of that compound came back. Their master’s entire family had moved to another prefecture, so they had no use for the compound anymore. They were thinking of leveling it or repurposing it for other merchants.”
“Originally, they said I could do whatever I wanted with the title deeds. But somehow they changed their minds and suddenly pulled this move. Fortunately, the compound isn’t of much use to our village, so we wouldn’t lose anything if it’s repurposed. But you—when the steward said that, I immediately thought of you. If you still want it, you’ll have to negotiate with the steward, or else they’ll sell it to someone else.”
Xie Yushu nodded, deeply grateful to the village chief for telling her this news. She asked: “Where is the steward now?”
“She said she was coming today. She should be here soon—you might as well wait.”
“Alright.”
He Chao had other things to do, so Xie Yushu let him leave first. She would stay at the village chief’s place and wait for the person.
The steward was also an impatient sort—Xie Yushu hadn’t waited long before she arrived at the village chief’s, looking like she was in a hurry.
As soon as she arrived, the village chief of Qianwan Village introduced Xie Yushu to her, saying she wanted the master’s large compound, then vacated the main room so they could negotiate privately.
After the village chief left, Steward Xu glanced at Xie Yushu, who gave her a slight smile in greeting.
She thought to herself—this young lady was so young, and she was also looking to do business?
“Young lady, are you interested in our master’s compound?”
“Yes.”
The steward breathed a sigh of relief—finally, she could offload it.
She’d been running around for the past few days looking for buyers, but those people had somehow heard the rumors that the compound was haunted. They’d all lost interest and steered clear.
“Has the young lady heard the rumors about the compound being haunted?”
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Xie Yushu’s mouth: “I’ve heard them. What, do you believe them?”
Steward Xu immediately waved her hands and said earnestly: “Of course not!”
“As long as you don’t believe them, that’s fine. Come on, take me to see the compound.” Xie Yushu immediately took charge and even started directing the woman.
“Alright, alright, let’s go right now!” Steward Xu was overjoyed. Seeing that this young lady had an extraordinary bearing, she clearly had means—there was hope of offloading this property.
Steward Xu led the way, chattering as they walked about the compound’s conveniences and what each area was used for. Xie Yushu listened carefully from behind while quietly sizing her up.
She could almost certainly confirm that the steward’s master was in a hurry to get rid of this compound.
This was very advantageous for Xie Yushu. She was no longer the passive party—she could take the opportunity to bargain and make demands.
“We’re here.” Steward Xu pulled a large key from her sleeve and pushed open the heavy, sturdy wooden gate painted with black lacquer.
Xie Yushu’s purpose in wanting to buy this compound was the open space inside. She’d only heard about it in passing before, but today, with the gate open, she finally got to see the compound’s interior layout.
The compound as a whole was built of blue brick. Since it had previously been a fish manor, the layout was designed for processing fish products.
The courtyard walls were built of ordinary stone, with thick moss growing in the crevices, and rough bluestone floors.
As soon as the gate opened, there was a huge open space on the left—much larger than she’d imagined. The wooden racks and bamboo trays placed there had all rotted away.
On the west side of the open space was a row of adjoining tile-roofed houses. Several rooms had large holes gaping in the roof tiles, but with some repairs and renovation, they’d be more than adequate as a warehouse or for other uses.
There were also a few empty rooms—Xie Yushu guessed they’d been for the steward and several servants.
Steward Xu took her on a thorough tour, and Xie Yushu had gotten a good look at everything. The materials here weren’t as good as those in her house in Songwan Town—clearly it had been built as a temporary, transitional facility.
Plenty of room to bargain.
After looking around, the young lady remained silent—touching the wooden pillars here, frowning at the courtyard walls and that row of tile-roofed houses over there.
Steward Xu was getting anxious. Did she not like it?
Though the compound was large, it was out in the countryside and wasn’t worth much to begin with. Moreover, the materials used were sourced locally—plain and ordinary, nowhere near the grandeur of a prefectural or county estate. The only people interested in it were those in the fish business.
Her master had told her to get rid of it quickly this time—the price was negotiable.
Just as Steward Xu was about to enthusiastically extol the compound’s conveniences, Xie Yushu suddenly spoke: “What’s your master’s asking price?”
“One hundred and twenty guan.”
Hearing this price, Xie Yushu let out a soft laugh. Were they trying to make a fool of her?
Xie Yushu shook her head: “Too expensive.”
“Then what’s your offer…” Steward Xu turned to look at her.
“Fifty guan.”
Steward Xu was choked speechless by this bold, sweeping cut.
Who bargains like that? Cutting it by more than half right off the bat.
“Young lady, that’s excessive. No one negotiates like that!”
“One hundred and ten guan.”
“Fifty-five guan.”
Steward Xu clutched her chest: “One hundred guan! Young lady, that’s already the best price.”
“I genuinely want to buy it, but your master doesn’t genuinely want to sell. Look at this place—does it look like it’s worth one hundred and ten guan? If I do buy it, I’ll have to renovate the whole place, which will cost a fair bit of silver too.”
She paused, then met Steward Xu’s gaze directly, with a hint of condescending pressure: “And most importantly—besides me, can you find another buyer?”
“Uh…” Steward Xu was struck at her sore point and couldn’t speak for a moment.
While she was stunned, Xie Yushu continued: “Sixty guan. Because I only have eighty guan—I need to keep some money to buy other things.”
“Well…”
Steward Xu was shocked. This person was being so brazen about it—both honest and utterly shameless at the same time.
Just as the two were bargaining, the main house directly opposite the gate, not far from them, let out a strange sound.
Crack—a sound like something breaking, unusually clear in the empty courtyard.
Both of them turned to look toward the source of the sound.
Suddenly, Steward Xu remembered the rumors about the haunted house. It couldn’t really be haunted, could it?
Just as they turned, the light around them abruptly dimmed. Moments ago, they’d been standing bathed in warm sunlight. Now, without the light, the place seemed gloomy and eerie. Even the air around them turned chilly, carrying a faint, intangible coldness.
Steward Xu rubbed her arms in terror: “There’s… there’s something making noise?”
Xie Yushu said calmly: “Mm, I heard it too.”
The place where they stood was growing darker by the moment. Steward Xu felt a surge of panic—what if it really was haunted? Better to sell it cheap while she could.
She made up her mind and nearly gritted her teeth: “Sixty guan, deal. Young lady, let’s go outside and write up the contract.”
“Good. Straightforward.” Xie Yushu hadn’t expected sixty guan to actually work—she’d been prepared to haggle a while longer.
What an unexpected delight.
She glanced out of the corner of her eye toward where the sound had come from.
Ghost, my foot. It was just—
Steward Xu dashed out immediately, standing back in the well-lit area. She pulled out a ready-made contract from her bosom with slightly trembling hands, wrote in the agreed price of sixty guan, signed her name, and handed the contract and brush to Xie Yushu.
Xie Yushu read it over twice. After confirming there was nothing amiss, she signed her name without hesitation.
She then took out the silver she carried, counted out sixty guan, and handed it to Steward Xu.
With this matter settled, Steward Xu felt at ease.
If the place really was haunted, at least she could report back to her master with these sixty guan.
She handed over the keys to Xie Yushu and then ran off without looking back.
Xie Yushu tucked away the deed and keys, then turned back to the spot where the noise had come from. Her gaze landed on a torn piece of clothing behind a pillar.
In a voice neither too loud nor too soft—just enough for the person inside to hear—she said: “Come out. I’m the only one here.”
As soon as she spoke, there was a rustling sound from inside, and then two men emerged—one older, one younger.
They must have been brothers. The older one looked only a year or two younger than Xie Yushu, his eyes full of wariness and panic as he tightly shielded the younger brother in his arms.
The younger brother was still young—only nine or ten years old—timid and clinging to his brother.
Both were thin and gaunt, with messy hair, looking utterly pitiful.
She’d noticed someone inside while bargaining with that cowardly Steward Xu—she just hadn’t expected there to be two of them.
Xie Yushu asked them: “So you two are the ‘ghosts’ here?”
They were silent for a moment, then the older brother spoke: “We… we had nowhere else to go. We could only stay here quietly.”
“Could you… could you please not chase us away?”
Xiu He had heard from inside just now—this house now belonged to the young lady before him. She was the owner now. He could only beg her.
Xie Yushu frowned: “What about your family?”
Xiu He lowered his head: “We have no family left.”
Then he explained their situation to Xie Yushu.
Xiu He and Xiu Wei were two brothers, originally from Hongxi Town. Their parents had passed away years ago, and only their grandmother had been left as family. After their grandmother died of illness, their aunt and uncle took over their home, claiming that since they were boys who would marry out sooner or later anyway, they had no right to the property. They also tried to force Xiu He to marry into a family with a crippled man who beat his husband.
Xiu He would rather die than agree. He’d thought about running away on his own and enduring hardship alone, but then he thought of his younger brother—still so young, and sure to suffer mistreatment from their relatives in the future. So he steeled himself and took his brother along, running away together.
They’d run and run until somehow they’d ended up this far away. Seeing that this place was abandoned, they’d quietly moved in. Every day they picked wild fruit and caught fish to fill their stomachs. That was how they’d survived for the past few months.
After speaking, Xiu He waited nervously for the owner’s judgment.
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