"What's going on?"
"Heh heh!" Long Feicheng proudly lit six cigarettes and put them all in his mouth. He almost choked himself on the first puff.
Yan Shouyi quickly helped him calm down, saying, "You've got to be kidding. Even if you strike it rich, you don't have to do it like this."
Long Feicheng finally caught his breath and stopped being coy. He said excitedly, "Didn't we help Boss Meng deal with that fox spirit incident before? Boss Meng promised us a million-dollar reward back then. But he was injured and had been in the hospital for treatment. Now that he's almost recovered, he remembered this matter and came to me to fulfill his promise!"
"He gave us a million dollars?" Yan Shouyi asked.
A million dollars wasn't a lot, nor was it a little. Yan Shouyi didn't feel much about it.
It wasn't that he was so rich that he could ignore a million dollars. It was mainly because there were too many wealthy people around Yan Shouyi.
Lin Zhitong, Liu Yiren, and even Zhang Guodong were all rich.
However, Yan Shouyi had never owned so much money himself.
Long Feicheng smiled mysteriously and shook his head, saying, "Boss Meng thinks we are extraordinary individuals, and a mere million dollars is not enough to express his gratitude. So, he chose a different way – giving us a house!"
Yan Shouyi was puzzled. "What's so great about a house? It's not as good as cash."
"Brother Yan, you have no idea how terrifying housing prices are in the city now. A square meter in a school district near West Lake costs 120,000 yuan!"
"Ah?" Yan Shouyi was stunned. "Then a million dollars… can only buy less than ten square meters? A place the size of a toilet?"
"Uh-huh!"
Now Yan Shouyi understood the benefit of Boss Meng giving them a house.
He had been accustomed to living in the countryside before, where houses were the least valuable things.
After moving to the city, he hadn't researched this matter, so he didn't realize how valuable houses were.
Yan Shouyi asked, "So how big is the house he gave us? And where is it?"
"This house is incredible!"
Long Feicheng said excitedly, "The house is in Yijin Fang, one of the Three Fangs and Seven Alleys. It's an old house covering over two hundred square meters!"
Yan Shouyi was confused again. "How much is it worth?"
"This house is beyond the question of money," Long Feicheng said. "Three Fangs and Seven Alleys is a scenic area, and houses in scenic areas are not easily sold. Many rich people want to buy them but can't, let alone an old house of over two hundred square meters! Owning this house is not only an increase in wealth but also a symbol of status!"
"Is it really that exaggerated..." Yan Shouyi said speechlessly. "Boss Meng just gave us such a good house like this? Did he not ask us for anything else?"
Even if Meng Guohui was rich, he was still a businessman and shouldn't do such a losing business.
Unless he had other requests.
"You guessed right, Brother Yan," Long Feicheng said with a smile. "But it's not that Boss Meng needs our help, it's that the house itself has a slight issue."
Yan Shouyi raised an eyebrow. "What issue?"
"According to Boss Meng, this old house is worth over twenty million yuan, but the problem is – the house is haunted!"
Now, Yan Shouyi understood.
A haunted house, no matter how good, people wouldn't dare to take it easily.
Let alone a truly haunted house, even a house where someone had died might not be readily accepted.
A house that couldn't be sold was useless, even if it was worth a hundred million, because no one would buy it.
A million dollars in cash, or a house that no one dared to take, Meng Guohui chose to give the house.
From his perspective, he had actually gained.
And if he gave this house to someone else, they might not even want it, but it was perfect for Yan Shouyi.
Because Yan Shouyi and his companions were not afraid of ghosts, and could even catch them.
If they didn't give this house to them, wouldn't it just rot in his hands?
"He's a businessman after all. Boss Meng is a good person, but he's also very shrewd..." Yan Shouyi muttered to himself helplessly.
Long Feicheng laughed. "As the saying goes, there are no honest merchants. We don't have anything else to do right now, why don't we go take a look at the old house? If there are ghosts, we'll catch them. If not, we'll just treat it as a visit, how about it?"
"Okay, let's go then?"
"Let's go!"
...
Half an hour later, the two took a bus to the Three Fangs and Seven Alleys scenic area.
As the name suggests, Three Fangs and Seven Alleys is composed of three "fangs" and seven "alleys," namely Yijin Fang, Wenru Fang, Guanglu Fang, and Yangqiao Alley, Langguan Alley, Ta Alley, Huang Alley, Anmin Alley, Gong Alley, and Jibi Alley.
The overall architecture here followed ancient styles, and young people wearing ancient costumes and Hanfu could be seen everywhere on the streets.
At night, there were even singers performing.
It could be said that this street was the most popular place for young people or tourists visiting Rongcheng.
Speaking of which, Yan Shouyi had been in Rongcheng for two months, and this was his first time visiting this place.
Walking into "Nanhou Street," the central axis of the scenic area, it was bustling with people, lively and extraordinary.
The two walked along Nanhou Street and found Yijin Fang.
On both sides of the alley were small shops selling Shoushan stones and oil-paper umbrellas, as well as the traditional Rongcheng snack, Rouyan.
The ground was paved with bluestone slabs, which gave a unique flavor to the walk.
"Brother Yan, look, what do you think!"
Long Feicheng said with a smile as they walked. "This place is not something money can buy. From now on, when we go out, we don't have to say how much money our brothers have. Just say we have a house in Three Fangs and Seven Alleys, and people will respect us more!"
"The environment here is quite good," Yan Shouyi commented simply.
The environment he was referring to was actually feng shui.
The feng shui of Three Fangs and Seven Alleys was considered an excellent location in the entire Rongcheng. The only comparable places were probably West Lake and the Min River.
It was also because of this feng shui that many famous people emerged from Three Fangs and Seven Alleys.
For example, the famous writer Bing Xin once lived in Three Fangs and Seven Alleys.
Yan Shouyi couldn't help but start planning. If he could really have a foothold in Three Fangs and Seven Alleys, he could occasionally come here to cultivate himself.
As the two were walking, two familiar figures suddenly approached them.
Yan Shouyi didn't notice them, but they recognized Yan Shouyi first.
"Mr. Yan?!" the other party's tone was quite surprised.
Yan Shouyi looked up, observed the two, and recognized them as well. "So it's you!"
These two were Huang Hai and Zhou Yuquan from the Lushan Sect.
Yan Shouyi found it very unexpected to meet them here.
The two walked warmly towards Yan Shouyi, saying sheepishly, "After we parted ways at West Lake Elegant Residence last time, we felt too embarrassed to contact you again."
The two were referring to the incident at West Lake Elegant Residence last time when Yan Shouyi angered Lu Jing and directly cut off the West Lake water.
However, they did not know that Yan Shouyi had already reached a reconciliation with Lu Jing.
Yan Shouyi smiled and said, "You don't need to dwell on those things. I no longer mind."
Huang Hai cupped his fists. "Your magnanimity, Mr. Yan, truly impresses us!"
"Stop flattering me," Yan Shouyi said. "Why are you two here?"