Zhang shopkeeper brought Wang Yuanguo to the mansion next to the one Li Yao had bought.
When they arrived, they found that the gate to Li Yao's home was closed tight, and there wasn't a person inside. Zhang relaxed at this sight. As long as that Mrs. Li didn't come out to cause trouble, this big business today would likely go through.
Zhang ingratiated himself all the way, leading Wang Yuanguo on a tour of the properties everywhere.
"Honored sir, what do you think?"
"The properties are not bad, I just don't know about the price."
"If you want all four places, the total is this number." Zhang held up eight fingers.
Today he didn't intentionally ask too high a price, afraid that he would scare away this fat sheep.
"Too expensive, too expensive," Wang Yuanguo naturally wanted to bargain the price down to the lowest point. "In the capital city, places like these don't even reach 10,000 taels each. You dare ask me for 20,000 taels each for this little Yizhou prefecture? You really take advantage of me for being an outsider!"
"Oh no, how could the honored guest say such a thing? These are all fair prices," Zhang said with a smile. "However, since you’re buying so many at one time, I can give you an appropriate discount. How about this: the total is 60,000 taels and I can’t go any lower."
"60,000? The total is 30,000 and I can't go any higher."
...
After haggling fiercely for a full two hours, Wang Yuanguo still stubbornly held to 30,000 and refused to budge.
Of course, this price was definitely not enough to buy four mansions. Even two would be difficult. But big sister had told him that as long as he held firm to one price, this shopkeeper would definitely sell.
Wang Yuanguo didn't know why this was so, but since big sister had said it, he would just do as she instructed.
Seeing that he absolutely refused to add one more penny, Zhang the shopkeeper felt a little hesitant inside.
If I sell to him, what if I can't collect the money back? Then I’d be losing big time.
Losing 2,500 taels per property, four properties would be 10,000 taels loss.
But if I don’t sell, then I’d miss this opportunity to earn a windfall profit.
If all four properties sold for 30,000 taels, even with a 30% profit I could still earn 8,000 taels!
Or with a 20% profit, it would be 16,000 taels!
A deal this big hasn’t come in many years.
"You don't want to sell then?" Wang Yuanguo said. "Then I'll go look somewhere else."
"Wait!" In the end, Zhang the shopkeeper couldn't resist the temptation of 16,000 taels profit. "Alright, deal!"
Before nightfall, Wang Yuanguo had gotten deeds to four mansions for 30,000 taels of silver.
The moment he received the title deeds, he himself couldn't believe this was real. According to his understanding, location and mansions like these would go for at least 10,000 taels each.
Yet here he had gotten four mansions for 30,000 taels total.
Could big sister really use some kind of magic?
With such doubts, Wang Yuanguo delivered the title deeds to the inn where Li Yao was staying.
The next day, following Li Yao's guidance, he also spent money to hire a number of people to clean up the mansions, and had people spend the night there that evening.
Li Yao naturally also brought Da Zhuang and the rest back from the inn to the mansion.
The clerk who had been assigned to keep watch nearby immediately went and told Zhang the shopkeeper when he saw this.
"Boss, are you going over tonight?"
"Of course I'm going!" Zhang said. "But two people won't be enough this time. We need to find a few more people, smarter ones too, got it?"
"Got it."
...
Everyone was puzzled why Li Yao had moved back.
After dinner, everyone was scared and didn't dare go back to their rooms to sleep.
"If you don't want to sleep then don't sleep. Everyone come to my room, but no lighting lamps and no talking."
Li Yao knew they were afraid in their hearts, so she didn't force them.
In fact, after securing deeds to the other four mansions, this matter could be considered finished. But thinking that even if there were no more "ghosts" in the future, everyone would still not dare to live here, she decided it would be best to let everyone see the truth for themselves.
Incidentally, she could also give that Zhang shopkeeper who specialized in swindling people a beating, to vent the anger of all those people he had conned in the past.
...
In the middle of the night, everyone forcibly kept their eyes open and silently sat together in one room, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Only little Chunran slept soundly without a care, completely unaware there was anything frightening around her.
Tonight there were clouds in the sky, no moon could be seen. Only a faint, hazy moonlight filtered through the clouds.
The two clerks from the tooth shop brought six or seven people dressed in black. They silently made their way nearby.
"Listen up everyone," one clerk said with final instructions. "Later when you scream, scream miserably. Once you've scared the people inside witless, hurry up and withdraw!"
"Brother Wu, don't you trust us to get things done?"
"Yes. If you do this well, later I'll treat you to three days and three nights of drinking." Let's go!"
At the order, everyone nimbly climbed over the wall. Some set up ladders and went straight onto the roof.
The one called Brother Wu still went to the front of the house.
These people really had something wrong in their brains. Clearly scared witless last time, they actually dared move back in after just one night!
Fine then. This time they would let this family know what real evil spirits were!
Brother Wu climbed onto the roof, carefully and quietly not making any sound. When he reached above the room from last time, he silently crouched down.
Then he cleared his throat and prepared to let out the most tragic ghost wail in history when he suddenly felt someone pat his shoulder.
Brother Wu knitted his brows. Wasn't it said he alone was enough for this house? How did someone else follow him up?
"Who told you to come up?" Brother Wu whispered. "Hurry to the other side."
But the person behind didn't leave. Instead they patted his shoulder again.
Irritated, he turned back to look, and his guts nearly fell apart.
He saw a disheveled woman with a bloody face, two sinister eyes opened wide staring right at him. "I died so awfully..."
"Ahhhhh!"
Brother Wu screamed loudly, scared out of his wits. Panicking, he wanted to run without thinking where he was going.
But here was the roof. Loose tiles caused him to slip. In a flash he tumbled down the roof drain and landed with a heavy thud in the courtyard.
The people inside had just heard another ghost wail and their hearts thumped wildly from fright when they suddenly heard something crash down. They were even more terrified and didn't even dare breathe.
"Big...big brother...there really is a ghost!"
"Don't talk nonsense," with mother not here, Da Zhuang was the head of household. At this time he absolutely could not show fear. "Mother said there are no ghosts in this world!"
Eeeek—
Just then the door was pushed open.
A disheveled figure appeared at the entrance.
"Ahhhhh!"
Little Si screamed loudly and buried himself into Da Zhuang's arms.
"Why are you screaming?"
Right when everyone was panicking, hearing Li Yao's voice, they were stunned for a moment.
"Mother?"
"Is it you, mother?"
"Who else could it be?" Li Yao walked into the room. "You can light the lamps now."
Da Zhuang quickly lit the oil lamp. Seeing Li Yao's appearance he couldn't help asking, "Mother, what were you doing?"
"Catching ghosts."
"Catching ghosts?"
"That's right. And I caught one. It's in the yard," Li Yao said. "Bring the lamps and I'll take you to see."
Da Zhuang took the oil lamp and led the uneasy crowd following Li Yao out to the yard.
But there was no ghost outside, only a person lying on the ground groaning.
"Isn't this a clerk from the tooth shop?" Wang Er quickly recognized him. "How did he get here? Could it be the so-called ghosts were what they were faking at the tooth shop to scare people?"
"Now do you understand?" Li Yao said. "There are absolutely no ghosts in this world. The real ghosts exist in people's hearts."
"Sister-in-law, open the door!"
Just then Wang Yuanguo's voice came from outside. Da Zhuang went to open the main gate. Wang Yuanguo had brought a group of people forcing in several others.
These people were luckier for not running into Li Yao's fake ghosts, so they only got beaten up at the scene instead of being scared out of their wits like Brother Wu, or breaking their legs falling off the roof.
With things now clear, everyone understood.
Turns out there were never any ghosts here to begin with. It was the shopkeeper of the tooth shop putting on an act to fake supernatural events!
"Sister-in-law, what should we do with these people?"
"Take them to the authorities tomorrow," Li Yao thought for a moment. "Wang Er, go tell Prefect Liu Yun about this first thing in the morning. It must be handled impartially."
A small tooth shop actually dared to swindle people like this. There must be someone backing them.
But this time, their wishful thinking would likely come to naught.
