At the thought of that previous incident, a strange sensation welled up in Jin Xin’s heart once more.
She still didn't understand why it happened, but she wanted to try it again...
She had tried rubbing herself, but she never got that peculiar feeling.
Jin Xin felt depressed. How on earth could she conquer Su Qing?
Su Qing was unaware of Jin Xin’s thoughts. Seeing that Jin Xin had finally quieted down, she let out a silent sigh of relief. This fellow... at least she was capable of being still.
After a while.
The snow finally lightened, and the wind no longer howled as fiercely as before.
Feeling that the timing was right, Su Qing stretched her limbs and called everyone to head to the brokerage.
The town's brokerage wasn't large.
There were only a few middlemen inside.
Fortunately, they were quite enthusiastic about their work. Upon seeing Su Qing and the others arrive, they all flocked toward them.
There was no helping it; in this line of work, everything was commission-based.
Su Qing chose a middleman who looked relatively agreeable and told him her requirements.
"The lady needs a courtyard?" The middleman immediately broke into a smile upon hearing this.
No matter the era, houses were the most profitable business. Even for middlemen like them, they could rake in a good sum from such a deal.
If nothing else, completing this one order would provide enough money to live on for several months even without other business.
"Why? Is it not possible?" Su Qing asked with a smile.
Upon hearing this, the middleman quickly shook his head and said, "It’s possible, of course it’s possible! No matter what kind of courtyard the lady wants, there will be no problem. However, does the lady require any maids? Our brokerage has connections; we can find many maids with clean backgrounds to be raised from childhood..."
Before the middleman could finish, Su Qing waved her hand and said, "I have my own maids; you needn't worry about that. Just help me find a quiet courtyard. Money is not an issue, but it must meet my requirements."
Su Qing didn't want to listen to the middleman ramble on. She wanted to get things settled quickly, so her manner was naturally swift and decisive.
Seeing Su Qing speak this way, the middleman naturally didn't dare to waste more words.
While selling a few more maids could earn him more money, it wouldn't be worth losing the watermelon just for a few sesame seeds.
The priority was to handle the current order well and avoid annoying this young lady.
"Yes, yes, yes. I’ll take you ladies to see a few right now!" the middleman said hurriedly.
Even though it was still snowing outside, it didn't matter. No amount of snow could block his desire to make money.
Su Qing nodded and said, "Then lead the way!"
The middleman chuckled and hurriedly led them out.
Soon.
The middleman showed Su Qing and the others several courtyards.
They all generally met Su Qing’s requirements.
However, Su Qing wasn't particularly satisfied with any of them.
Fortunately, she didn't plan to stay here for very long anyway, so she simply picked one that seemed decent and finalized the choice.
"This one will do! Leave the paperwork to me. I don't want any trouble. Do a good job, and if it’s handled well, you’ll be rewarded," Su Qing said. She didn't want to waste her mind on such trivialities, so she left it to the middleman.
As for whether the middleman could handle it well, Su Qing was quite confident. To earn this money, the middleman naturally wouldn't be lazy.
"Thank you, Miss! Thank you, Miss! I will certainly get everything settled perfectly!" The middleman didn't refuse at all and agreed with a beaming smile.
What more could he say after meeting such a good customer?
Su Qing nodded with a smile...
Then she left the matters for him to handle.
Before long.
Su Qing successfully obtained the land deed and settled down in the town.
The courtyard wasn't large.
However, it was quite peaceful, and the scenery inside was decent, with a small patch of bamboo planted there.
After Su Qing and the others moved in, they first gave the entire courtyard and the rooms a thorough cleaning...
This place hadn't been lived in for a long time, so no matter what, it had accumulated quite a bit of dust.
A cleaning was necessary...
However, during the cleaning process, Su Qing made a small, unexpected discovery.
In this moderately sized courtyard, there was a small underground cellar.
Inside the cellar were many fine brews.
They were likely the legacy left behind by the previous owner.
"I really didn't expect such a harvest." Su Qing looked at the jars of wine and chuckled to herself. "I wonder how many years old they are! No matter, I’ll send them to my original body later. When I go to see Sister Chang’e in the future, I’ll have good wine again."
Su Qing shook her head with a smile and left the cellar.
As soon as she stepped out, she bumped into Jin Xin.
"Sister Xiao Qing, I’ve spoken with the City God," Jin Xin said to Su Qing with a beaming smile.
The matter Jin Xin spoke of was, naturally, the construction of the temple.
Since she wanted to build a temple here, she naturally needed to give the local City God a heads-up.
Although the City God wouldn't dare say anything even if she built it without a word, this was his territory after all, and it was better to show some respect.
However, if she went personally, the City God would likely be scared out of his wits. So she simply had Jin Xin take her token to find him.
"What did the City God say?" Su Qing asked.
"The City God? When he saw your token, his legs went weak instantly. Then he said you could build as many temples as you want, Sister Xiao Qing. He even said he could help," Jin Xin said, spreading her hands.
Although Jin Xin was somewhat unreliable in front of Su Qing, she was quite capable when it came to the tasks Su Qing assigned...
Therefore, when she went to find the City God this time, she really hadn't intended to scare him.
She had simply told him a bit about Su Qing, and the City God had been frightened silly.
Jin Xin could only sigh at this; Su Qing’s status in the Heavenly Court was truly not low at all...
She was truly worthy of being her sister.
Su Qing’s lips twitched slightly, and she let out a sigh. "I didn't even go in person, and it still turned out like this? Oh well, as long as the goal is achieved. At least we showed him some face..."
Su Qing felt a bit helpless, but she couldn't be bothered to dwell on it.
She hadn't intentionally bullied the man...
She had even taken the initiative to greet him.
That was already quite good.
Upon hearing this, Jin Xin also nodded with a smile. "Mhm! Good~ I just wonder how things are going on Hu Lin’er’s side, and if she can find enough workers."
"That’s not difficult. As long as the pay is sufficient, there will definitely be people willing to help." Su Qing wasn't worried. Having stayed in the mortal world for so long, she naturally understood these things.
Even if it was winter, who would refuse such a job if the pay was high enough?
Seeing this, Jin Xin said, "Is that so? Then I really don't need to think so much. I’ll just wait for Hu Lin’er to return with good news."
Su Qing smiled, nodded, and went into the house.
Jin Xin followed her in with a giggle...
At the same time, she asked Su Qing what was in the cellar.
Jin Xin had only just learned about the cellar, as she had been busy with other things earlier.
Su Qing began to explain it to her.
Time passed.
Hu Lin’er hadn't returned yet.
However, Ao Yiyi, who had gone out shopping, returned with the small black cat.
"Is everything bought?" Su Qing asked with a smile.
Ao Yiyi nodded and said, "I didn't expect that moving would require buying so many things."
"Those things don't matter. I just want to know if you bought the groceries," Su Qing said, pursing her lips.
"Uh... naturally." Ao Yiyi thought Su Qing would care more about the more expensive and important items, but it turned out she only cared about whether the ingredients for dinner were bought.
Seeing her nod, Su Qing gave a satisfied smile. "Since they’re ready, then once Hu Lin’er returns, we’ll go cook! Everything else can be handled slowly."
Ao Yiyi’s lips twitched, but she nodded and said, "But Hu Lin’er is so slow! Could something have gone wrong? Surely there’s no danger?"
"With her strength, no one here can make things difficult for her." Su Qing shook her head and said, "Most likely, there was a bit of trouble with hiring workers! It’s fine; we’ll just wait a bit longer."
Ao Yiyi simply nodded...
After speaking, Su Qing also began to perform a divination, calculating why Hu Lin’er was delayed and had wasted so much time.
Soon, she calculated the result... there was no danger.
However, she had encountered a bit of trouble, though fortunately, it was only minor trouble.
Hu Lin’er had already resolved it herself.
"I just saw you perform a divination, Sister Xiao Qing. Well? Did you calculate the situation?" Ao Yiyi asked, seeing Su Qing’s actions and knowing she had likely found something.
So, she asked Su Qing directly...
Su Qing smiled and nodded. "I did indeed. But don't worry, Hu Lin’er is fine... she just ran into a bit of trouble that delayed her."
"What kind of trouble?" Ao Yiyi followed up.
"A few thugs were following her, so she took a detour and eliminated them as a public nuisance," Su Qing said, spreading her hands.
"I see..." Ao Yiyi nodded and said, "But I wonder if Lin’er can clean up properly."
"Don't worry, Lin’er has done plenty of this kind of work for me; she’s better at it than any of us. Besides, even if it isn't cleaned up perfectly, no one will care if those people are dead. If the commoners find out, they’ll only cheer that it was a good riddance," Su Qing said with a chuckle.
Su Qing knew these things all too well. No one would care if such thugs died; they would only feel the world was a bit quieter.
Even if someone found the bodies, no one would report it to the authorities, and even if they did, the officials wouldn't necessarily want to deal with it.
Of course, no one would be able to find the bodies anyway.
Hu Lin’er’s fox fire would burn them clean.
"That’s good then," Ao Yiyi said, nodding.
Seeing her like this, Su Qing couldn't help but ask curiously, "Aren't you a practitioner of Buddhism? Why are you so indifferent to Hu Lin’er killing people? I thought you would hope she would persuade them to turn over a new leaf rather than just killing them!"
Hearing this, Ao Yiyi looked puzzled and said, "Didn't Sister Xiao Qing tell me that if I didn't kill them myself, it doesn't count as my own karmic fruit? Since it’s not my problem, why should I care so much? Besides, those thugs were the ones seeking their own deaths!"
Su Qing blinked. Well, this child really did remember her words perfectly. She herself had forgotten when she had fooled her with that logic.
"It seems you remember my words quite clearly! I thought you had long forgotten!" Su Qing said with a smile.
Ao Yiyi tilted her head and said, "I remember most of Sister Xiao Qing’s words very well. I’ve even copied them down!"
Su Qing: "..."
She had forgotten about that part too.
She didn't usually see her copying things down during the day.
Presumably, she wrote them down at night before bed.
Su Qing gave a helpless smile and said, "You are... quite something."
Ao Yiyi smiled and asked, "How much longer until Hu Lin’er can return?"
"I reckon it should be soon!" Su Qing said.
After another while.
A knock sounded at the door.
Clearly, Hu Lin’er had returned.
After returning, Hu Lin’er naturally told Su Qing about what she had done.
Whether she was to be punished or lectured, such things naturally couldn't be hidden.
Su Qing didn't lecture or scold her; she simply nodded and said, "They were seeking their own deaths; consider it eliminating a public nuisance. You handled the bodies properly, right?"
"Yes, I’ve kept what you told me, Miss, firmly in mind," Hu Lin’er replied with a nod.
"That’s good. Since it’s handled, I have nothing to say to you!" Su Qing smiled and said, "So, what about the workers?"
"The workers are all found, and I’ve also found a seller for the materials, so we can start in a few days," Hu Lin’er said, nodding.
"That’s perfect!" Su Qing said. "Then let's go cook!"
Hu Lin’er had no objections and followed along.
Two days passed.
The deaths of those few thugs didn't cause a single ripple.
Only the leader of those thugs was a bit puzzled as to why his underlings had shown no trace for several days.
However, despite his confusion, he didn't go to report it to the authorities.
After all... they were the ones the authorities had the biggest headache over.
In the thug leader’s home, the leader waited and waited but still didn't receive any news of his underlings. For a moment, he grew a bit anxious.
"Strange, strange. Could they have really vanished into thin air? Or were they caught and eaten by Huang Sanniang?"
"But Sanniang promised that as long as we catch people for her to eat, she won't eat us and will even guarantee us wealth and prosperity. She shouldn't break her word."
"After all, Huang Sanniang still has to rely on us to catch people for her food!"
Doubts rose in the thug leader’s heart...
A few days ago, the reason those thugs had suddenly targeted Hu Lin’er was partly due to her beauty.
But a more important reason was...
She was an outsider!
An outsider had no roots here.
Even if she died, no one would know.
She was the perfect blood sacrifice to offer to Huang Sanniang.
That was why they had followed her.
They wanted to capture her to offer to Sanniang.
"No, I have to go ask Sanniang for an explanation... How can she break a deal we agreed upon?" The thug leader hardened his heart and decided to go find that demon to ask clearly.
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