When Xie Yushu made up her mind about something, she acted on it immediately—without any delay.
Since she wanted to marry Su Chi, she needed to buy a house in town first. She wouldn’t dream of making him live with her in that rundown Zhai house.
That day, she sought out the town’s only property agent to take her house hunting.
Though Songwan Town wasn’t large, its proximity to the ferry meant a steady stream of people coming to work and make a living—so more and more houses were being built. Some families came, did business for a few years, then moved to the county, leaving behind a significant number of vacant properties. A specialized agency had emerged to handle rentals and sales.
Though the agency only had one agent.
Aunt Liu, the agent, was a local of Songwan Town and knew exactly where all the suitable houses were.
The original owner had also used her as the intermediary when buying her previous property, so Aunt Liu had some memory of Xie Yushu.
She looked at her skeptically. “Miss, didn’t you buy a house from me before?”
“You’re mistaken. This is my first time here.” Xie Yushu flatly denied it.
Aunt Liu was still muttering to herself—she couldn’t be wrong about someone so good-looking.
She studied Xie Yushu from behind.
After a long look, she did seem different.
That other woman hadn’t been as tall or as poised. Her eyes hadn’t been as bright and confident—she’d been timid, unwilling to meet anyone’s gaze.
Maybe I did get it wrong. I must be getting old.
The two crossed the only bridge in Songwan Town, turned a corner, and walked a short distance to Qingshui Lane.
Aunt Liu led her to a house with a large willow tree at the gate. She took out her key, opened the tightly shut wooden door, and gestured inside.
“Miss Xie, here it is—take a look.”
They stepped through the gate. Xie Yushu examined the house while Aunt Liu explained its history.
Aunt Liu said the house had belonged to a merchant who moved his whole family to the county so his daughter could study. He hadn’t wanted to sell it cheap, so he’d left the key with her to find a good buyer.
Having heard Xie Yushu’s requirements and observed her demeanor, Aunt Liu’s first thought was that this house had finally found its new owner.
It was perfect for her.
The young woman said she was getting married soon and would be moving in with her husband. It couldn’t be too small, couldn’t be too old. The yard should be large enough to grow some vegetables. The neighbors should be few, the area quiet, and it should be close to the ferry.
Aunt Liu racked her brain and decided this house best met her criteria.
Qingshui Lane was the closest residential lane to Mapu Ferry. It wasn’t near the main street, so it was peaceful and quiet.
Xie Yushu inspected it carefully. The house was indeed good.
Behind the sturdy wooden gate was a neat, square yard—fairly spacious. Though covered with fallen leaves, the ground was paved with smooth bluestone. Facing the gate stood four tidy main rooms with gray tiles and blue walls, the main hall in the center and two inner rooms on each side.
There was also an extra small room—perfect for use as a bathhouse.
The gate, doors, and windows were all about seventy to eighty percent new, needing no renovation—saving her money. Only the window paper had yellowed, peeled, or been eaten away by insects, needing to be re-pasted.
To the left of the yard was a separate kitchen, with a small shed beside it—likely where the previous owners stored miscellaneous items.
To the right was an open space—perfect for Su Chi to plant scallions, ginger, garlic, chili peppers, and leafy greens. She could also set up bamboo trellises and wooden posts along the wall for cucumbers, grapes, or loofahs.
In time, it would be lush and green, brightening up the gray, dull yard.
It was a comfortable size for two people. Xie Yushu was genuinely drawn to it, liking it more with each look—but she kept her face neutral, betraying nothing.
“Do you like it, miss?” Aunt Liu had shown her every room and couldn’t read her reaction.
Xie Yushu asked flatly, “What’s the price?”
Aunt Liu held up six fingers. “Sixty-six guan.”
Xie Yushu turned and walked away.
This agent was clearly asking for a sky-high price. She wasn’t going to play that game—the next house would be better.
Aunt Liu quickly grabbed her sleeve. “We can negotiate, miss—”
Aunt Liu was surprisingly strong, and even Xie Yushu had to concede. But in truth, Xie Yushu wasn’t really trying to break free—she’d been persuaded by Aunt Liu’s words and stopped to haggle.
This house was indeed pricier than others in the thirty-to-forty-guan range, and after seeing it, there were reasons for that—but sixty-six guan was still too high.
In town, unlike the county or prefectural capital where houses could cost hundreds of guan, a few dozen guan could buy a home for a family of three, four, or even five or six. Sixty-plus guan was expensive.
Xie Yushu’s mental budget was around fifty guan. Sixty-six was clearly beyond her range.
So she started picking faults on purpose:
“Did the previous owners take all their furniture? I’ll have to buy new ones, then?”
“Miss, come on—people usually bring their own furniture.”
“The yard is okay, but there’s no well. Wouldn’t I have to spend more money to dig one?”
Aunt Liu smiled. “There’s the Songwan River just outside the lane—you can draw water from there.”
“My husband and I don’t drink outside water.”
Aunt Liu: …
“The yard is full of weeds and leaves, and the house has been empty for a long time. I’ll have to hire a tiler to check the roof—repairs cost money.”
“No problem, no problem—I’ll find someone to clean the yard and check the roof for you. No extra charge.”
“It’s also far from the main street—my husband runs a business, and he’ll have to walk all that way every day?”
Aunt Liu nearly choked with frustration.
Qingshui Lane was less than fifteen minutes from the main street. Was her husband really that delicate—couldn’t walk a few steps?
Besides, wasn’t “quiet” what she’d asked for?!
This was clearly deliberate price-haggling!
After all her nitpicking, Aunt Liu wasn’t fooled—she knew Xie Yushu wanted the house; she just thought it was too expensive.
“So what price do you have in mind, miss?”
Xie Yushu held up five fingers. “Fifty guan, and I’ll sign the deed right now.”
“Impossible—too low. I can’t justify that to the owner.” Aunt Liu immediately shook her head.
In truth, the original owner’s asking price was around fifty-two guan. Aunt Liu had quoted over sixty to leave room for negotiation, hoping Xie Yushu would settle at fifty-five—so she could take a bigger cut.
Her commission came from the sale price—the higher the price, the more she earned.
Fifty guan was Xie Yushu’s bottom line. She couldn’t afford more, so she offered a compromise. “Auntie, if you sell this house, you’ll get a two-guan commission. If you help me get it for fifty guan, I’ll give you an extra five qian on top. What do you say?”
Aunt Liu stayed silent, running the numbers in her head. At fifty-five guan, she’d get two guan. At fifty guan, the owner would still pay her two guan, and Xie Yushu would give her another five qian on top.
There was profit in it.
She gritted her teeth. “Fine. Fifty guan it is. I’ll handle the owner.”
She told Xie Yushu to wait for news—she’d send word to the owner in the county and let her know when it was settled.
After viewing the house, Xie Yushu calculated how much she had left.
She’d saved fourteen guan, plus the ten from her aunt and the twenty recovered from the gambling house. Her recent expenses and the two batches of kelp sales had roughly canceled each other out—so she had a total of forty-four guan.
Tch. All the money I have, and I still can’t afford a townhouse.
But she didn’t lose heart. She roughly estimated the cost of renting a processing base, factored it in, and went to see Sun Wuyou.
At Sun Wuyou’s inn, Xie Yushu grandly handed over the promissory note she’d already written out.
It stated that Xie Yushu was borrowing one hundred and twenty guan from Sun Wuyou at two percent interest, with her thumbprint affixed.
Sun Wuyou had already prepared the money. At her mistress’s signal, Guizhi exchanged the hundred-guan notes for convenient silver, then handed the remaining twenty guan to Xie Yushu.
Money in hand, Xie Yushu bid farewell to the mistress and servant and walked out of the inn, thinking:
From now on, I’m a person with a home and a house.
Su Chi’s father had been taking the medicine for over half a month, and his spirits had greatly improved. His body grew stronger by the day, his complexion shedding its sickly pallor for a rosy, healthy glow—as if he’d never been ill at all. These past few days, he’d even been able to go outside and walk around.
Visitors had been coming to see him in waves. Earlier, the village chief’s family and a few close neighbors had come. These past few days, more families had trickled in, one after another, all offering congratulations.
They said Su Chi was filial and hardworking, and now that he was better, the Su family’s fortunes would only improve—he could finally enjoy some ease.
Wang Wen only smiled politely at their words. He knew exactly what these people were really thinking.
When he was sick, aside from the village chief who occasionally came to check on them, everyone else had avoided their house like it carried bad luck. Not a single one had come.
Now that he’d recovered, they’d suddenly changed their tune—calling him affectionately, saying how hard he’d had it, how miserable it must have been.
It was simply that he was no longer a burden, no longer draining money on medicine. And Chi-ge’er had his skills, his good looks, his thriving business—they were just trying to sweet-talk their way into marrying him.
Wang Wen was soft by nature. He could endure hardship himself, but his Chi-ge’er could not. He would do whatever it took to protect his child.
All the visitors in his room were married men, some with their children in tow, laughing and chatting.
They cracked melon seeds, and the large plate emptied quickly—black, grubby hands, both big and small, grabbed handful after handful. Before long, the plate of seeds and citrus fruits was completely gone.
Su Chi had prepared the snacks before leaving for his stall that morning, knowing visitors would only increase. Better to have plenty on hand—you couldn’t let guests sit around with nothing to eat.
His child was so thoughtful. But some people had their eyes on him from the moment they opened their mouths.
One of the men, who’d been grabbing seeds the most eagerly, spoke up: “Chi-ge’er’s getting on in years—it’s time to talk about marriage. Wang Wen, you’re not reluctant to let him go, are you?”
The others in the room laughed.
Wang Wen’s expression darkened, but he kept his patience. “Chi-ge’er is still young. He can stay with me a while longer.”
The man laughed as if he’d heard the funniest thing. “Oh, Chi-ge’er is still young? There are young men younger than him in our village who already have children. It’s high time.”
“Exactly, exactly.”
Several others chimed in.
Wang Wen only smiled, brushing them off. He couldn’t exactly throw them out—he still had to maintain some goodwill for Chi-ge’er’s sake—but inwardly he’d cursed the man seven or eight times already. He resolved not to let him in again next time.
Just as they were about to leave, they spotted Tian Fūlang walking into the Su yard with a relaxed air.
“Tian Kang, here to propose for Chi-ge’er?”
Tian Kang smiled. “That’s right.”
“Which family are you here for?”
He kept it secret: “You’ll find out in due time.”
Someone shook their head and pointed toward Wang Wen inside. “I don’t think you’ll have any luck—Wang Wen’s stubborn. He won’t let his son go.”
They’d all seen it—this father and son couldn’t be swayed. This match was bound to fail too.
Tian Kang ignored them and went straight to Wang Wen.
Wang Wen wasn’t particularly surprised to see him.
Su Chi was cold-faced with everyone—only with his father did he show his childlike side: laughing, crying, even pouting.
But these past few days, Su Chi had been smiling every day. Wang Wen knew—he and the Zhai daughter had made it official.
Once he knew his son liked her, Wang Wen was already satisfied.
He hadn’t expected Xie Yushu to act so quickly—arranging for Tian Kang to come so soon.
Tian Kang told him that Xie Yushu had liked Su Chi for a long time, but had held back out of respect for his father’s health, not wanting to burden Su Chi with marriage while he was still recovering. Now that everything had fallen into place, she’d sent him to propose.
Wang Wen was pleased. This girl had his Chi-ge’er in her heart—she was a good child. He’d heard she could write beautifully and had studied some—worlds apart from the village women. Entrusting his son to her, he could rest easy.
They settled things quickly. Tian Kang knew the process inside and out, and Wang Wen found the arrangements thoroughly considerate—she’d clearly put thought into it.
Afterward, Wang Wen went to the village chief’s house to set a wedding date.
When Su Quan learned that Xie Yushu and Su Chi were getting married, she was stunned. She asked Wang Wen repeatedly if it was true—was he joking?
After confirming it was real, she couldn’t have been happier.
That girl—she’d kept her feelings for Chi-ge’er so well hidden! Su Quan had been worried she’d spend her whole life alone. She’d been fretting over it, and now this wonderful news.
Su Chi was one of her Su family juniors, and Xie Yushu was the granddaughter of a family she was close to. She was fond of both of them.
Su Quan was practically beaming, saying Heaven had finally shown its blessing.
After poring over the almanac for a while, they settled on the eighteenth day of the eighth month—an auspicious day for marriage.
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