Chapter 36

On the train, Qian Jianing was diligently studying her books, using the time to familiarize herself with the medicinal herbs introduced in them. Meanwhile, Treasure Bowl and the Daoist Master of Medicine had upgraded from playing Dou Dizhu (Fight the Landlord) to Mahjong. Since they were one player short, they invited a very aloof new player to join them. When Qian Jianing saw him for the first time, she was startled. This immortal looked so cold and aloof that it was hard to imagine he actually played Mahjong.

{T/N: Dou Dizhu is a 3-player Chinese card game where one player is the landlord and the other two team up as peasants. Using a 54-card deck, players take turns playing combinations to beat the last play. The first to run out of cards wins. It’s fast, strategic, and highly popular in China.}

Treasure Bowl, on the other hand, was thrilled, his eyes sparkling. “Daoist Wen, did you bring enough money? If not, you can owe us.” Daoist Wen snorted coldly, rolled his eyes in a haughty manner, and then sat down, starting to vigorously shuffle the Mahjong tiles.

After finishing her book, Qian Jianing went to the newly added kitchenette and placed the marinated goose feet and duck gizzards, steamed crab roe siu mai, shrimp dumplings, and braised soy-sauce beef onto a tray, bringing the snacks to the hardworking immortals engrossed in their game.

Daoist Wen, who had just won a round, seemed to be in a good mood. When he saw the delicious spread that Qian Jianing brought, he gave a reserved nod, then pulled out a pen and lightly tapped her between the brows. “You’re a good kid, got an eye for things. Next time, remember to roast me some rabbits—make them spicy.”

Qian Jianing blinked, wondering what that tap on the forehead was supposed to do. Had he given her spiritual sight or something? But even after staring for a while, she didn’t notice any major changes.

Treasure Bowl waved his hand, and a shrimp dumpling floated to him. He opened his mouth wide and bit half of it with a satisfied smile. “Xiaomi, this Daoist is in charge of the empire’s cultural fortune. With his blessing, you might become a top scholar someday.”

Qian Jianing wasn’t overly excited—she had already taken a Clarity Elixir and Brain-Tonic Soup. If she still couldn’t rank number one, she’d truly be letting these immortals down. That said, she still felt honored to be blessed and respectfully bowed to Daoist Wen to express her gratitude.

“Daoist Master of Medicine, I’ve finished reading the book,” she said, seeing the Daoist pull at his beard in frustration after multiple losses. She had no choice but to interrupt his self-torture. “Can we begin the lesson now?”

“Ah! You’ve finished already?” The Daoist snapped out of it. “That was quick.” He stood up and glanced longingly back at the table, then sighed in annoyance, “Can’t believe I lost that much this time.”

Treasure Bowl pretended not to hear a thing, pulled a paper crane out of his pocket, and sent it flying. “You guys go ahead. I’m calling another player over.”

Back in the herbal pharmacy, Daoist Master of Medicine seemed like a different person. Gone was the reddened fury of his Mahjong losses. In here, his expression turned solemn and focused. He picked up the medical text and began to teach Qian Jianing the principles of medicine from start to finish. The lesson lasted two full days and nights.

“Little girl, are you alright?” Qian Jianing was completely immersed in his lecture when she suddenly felt someone nudging her. Daoist Master of Medicine stopped and stroked his beard. “Alright, go back and digest what I taught. Next time, I’ll teach you to take pulses.”

Qian Jianing opened her eyes to see a train attendant who sighed in relief. “You sure can sleep, young lady. I’ve called you several times over the past couple days and you didn’t wake up. If it weren’t for your steady breathing and normal temperature, we’d have taken you off to the hospital.”

She then remembered that while studying with the Daoist, she had vaguely heard someone calling her, but she was too afraid to miss any of the Daoist’s teachings, so she ignored it.

She smiled sheepishly. “I was cramming for final exams and hadn’t slept properly in over a month. Guess I overdid it.”

“Well, go eat something quickly. The train’s about to arrive.” The attendant returned her ticket in exchange for her sleeper card. Qian Jianing pulled her luggage from the rack and finally tucked the pouch she had been hugging into her suitcase.

After freshening up with her luggage in tow, she pulled a bag of home-roasted beef jerky from her bag, eating as she stared out the window. Only twenty minutes remained until the train reached its destination. Logically, this should be within the Imperial Capital’s territory now. But the view outside the window was desolate—apart from a few scattered factories, there wasn’t much scenery.

Qian Jianing came to the Imperial Capital under the pretense of researching medicinal meals for Chinese medicine studies. In reality, she was here to buy property. With only a year and a half left before her college entrance exams, and with her academic performance, getting into a university in the Imperial Capital would not be a problem. Owning a home would make things much easier—whether to open a business or live there.

The train arrived, and Qian Jianing exited with the stream of passengers, observing everything with curiosity. The Imperial Capital’s train station was located in the city center, not far from the Forbidden City and Wangfujing. It all looked highly developed and bustling.

She found a clean guesthouse nearby and checked in. After settling her things, she grabbed her money and headed out to explore.

The Imperial Capital was already showing glimpses of the future to come. Men and women on bicycles dressed fashionably. After roaming the area, Qian Jianing found an established old eatery and ordered a bowl of braised lamb. It was lunchtime and the place was packed, most looking like local residents who greeted each other warmly. As she ate, she listened with fascination to their conversations about recent happenings in the city.

Since Qian Jianing was there to buy a house, she realized the locals were well-informed about who was selling and who had moved recently. She took the opportunity to ask a middle-aged man nearby, “Uncle, do you know if there are any clean little courtyards for sale around here?”

“A courtyard?” The man gave her a once-over and kindly advised, “Courtyards aren’t cheap, you know. They can go for tens of thousands. You think you can afford that?”

“True that. Properties are getting ridiculously expensive these days,” someone else chimed in. “Especially the new apartment buildings—prices are sky high. One unit costs over 50,000. I calculated it. After rent, food, and daily expenses, saving 50 bucks a month is already impressive. If you wanted a two-bedroom, it’d take you a hundred years to save up.”

Everyone around nodded in agreement.

Qian Jianing knew about the newly launched apartment buildings in the Imperial Capital—those who could afford it were selling their old crumbling houses to purchase them. But her situation was different. She was buying a property specifically to open a private restaurant. A small courtyard house was her top pick.

“I know apartments are expensive, which is why I prefer a courtyard—independent and clean, and the bigger the better.” Qian Jianing smiled. “Have any of you heard of such a place being up for sale?”

“I know one,” an old man spoke up. “My neighbor mentioned he wanted to sell his courtyard—it’s a single-family setup and kept very clean. But it’s pricey, even more than the apartments I’ve heard. If you’re serious, I can take you to see it after lunch.”

Qian Jianing immediately nodded. “Great, thank you, sir!”

“No trouble at all.” The old man smiled and waved. “If your family buys it, we’ll be neighbors, won’t we?”

Having gotten leads, Qian Jianing was thrilled. With the steaming lamb in front of her, she polished off her bowl of rice in less than ten minutes.

At the same time, the old man swallowed his last piece of lamb and drained his cup of wine. They paid the bill and left together.

On the way, the old man asked about Qian Jianing’s background. Learning she was from out of town and visiting the Imperial Capital for the first time, he enthusiastically explained the local area to her.

They didn’t walk far before arriving at a rather wide alley. The old man pointed to the first big gate. “That’s the place that’s for sale.”

He went to knock on the door while Qian Jianing took the chance to observe the surroundings. Based on her walk, this spot had a great location—just a short ten-minute walk from both the Forbidden City and Wangfujing. The nearby streets were as wide as modern two-lane roads, clearly well-connected and lively.

With a creak, the door opened. An old lady, probably in her sixties with a kind face, stuck her head out. “Oh, Old Zhang! What brings you by today? Off drinking somewhere again?”

“Just had a bowl of lamb.” He waved Qian Jianing over. “Didn’t you say you were selling the house and moving to live with your son? Met this young girl at lunch who’s looking to buy. Thought I’d bring her to take a look.”

The old lady smiled at once. “That’s wonderful! I’ve been worried no one would come see it. My eldest’s been nagging me, saying houses are tough to sell nowadays. People with jobs already get housing assigned, and those without jobs can’t afford homes anyway. Maybe we should give up the idea of moving.”

Old Zhang chuckled. “Nonsense. Your eldest is just showing you some filial respect. And besides, both of you are getting up there in age—it’s about time the kids looked after you.”

“If I can sell the house, I’d be more than happy to go.” The old lady moved aside. “Come in and we’ll chat. It’s cold out here.” She gently took Qian Jianing’s arm. “Little girl, what’s your name? And where are your parents? Why didn’t they come with you to see the property?”

“Auntie, my name is Qian Jianing. My parents are back home. They sent me ahead to take a look first,” Qian Jianing replied, following the old lady inside. They walked around a screen wall decorated with paintings of cranes, and she paused to take in the layout of the courtyard.

This house has a typical siheyuan layout, with a rather spacious courtyard paved with bluestone, making it look exceptionally clean. Because it was winter, there was no greenery in the yard, and nothing particularly eye-catching about it.

{T/N: A siheyuan (四合院) is a traditional Chinese courtyard house with buildings on four sides enclosing a central yard. Common in Beijing, it reflects Chinese values of family, privacy, and harmony. The main house faces south, with side and rear buildings for family members. Siheyuan symbolize traditional living and Confucian hierarchy.}

Unlike many siheyuans that have turned into messy shared compounds, this small courtyard still retained its original appearance. The elderly woman led Qian Jianing inside the house, where a wave of warm air greeted them. Qian Jianing took off her hat and gloves and followed the old lady for a tour around the rooms.

The main house had three large rooms, with big, well-sealed windows. Though the northern wind howled outside, not a hint of cold air crept in. Qian Jianing touched the warm radiator pipe and smiled, asking, “Ma’am, is your heating self-operated or centrally supplied?”

“It’s centrally supplied,” the old lady replied as she handed Qian Jianing a cup of tea. “The government renovated this area last year—installed heating, connected the sewage system, and added in-house toilets. It’s very convenient now, no worse than living in an apartment building.”

After a few sips of tea and warming up, Qian Jianing, led by the old lady, also toured the side rooms and the rear building. Since only the elderly couple lived here, all rooms besides the main house were unused and used for storing miscellaneous items. However, older houses were designed to be airy, and the space felt quite open.

After completing the circuit around the courtyard, Qian Jianing felt very satisfied with the house. “Ma’am, how much are you selling this house for?”

The old lady hesitated slightly before saying, “I was originally asking seventy thousand yuan, but if you can complete the paperwork with me within a couple of days, I’ll knock off another five thousand.”

Just as Qian Jianing was about to speak, the old woman added, “I know this is an old house, not worth as much as newly built ones. But our place is spacious. Look at the front yard—it’s perfect for growing flowers or grass in the summer.”

Old Zhang chimed in, offering his support: “This courtyard used to be a two-section house. During the war years ago, the back part collapsed, leaving just two side walls and two rooms. Later during renovations, instead of tearing down these walls, another wall was added behind the rooms, creating a small additional courtyard. This is one of a kind around here. You won’t find something this good elsewhere.”

Intrigued, Qian Jianing asked, “How do you access the alleyway behind? Are the neighbors okay with it? If I buy the house, might they force me to tear down this small back courtyard?”

“Definitely not,” the old lady said firmly. “It’s all recorded in the property deed. You can’t just tear anything down. Also, the alley in the back is a dead end. They use the other exit, so it’s unrelated to us.”

Qian Jianing said she wanted to take a look at the back courtyard, so the old lady pulled out a bunch of keys and opened a small iron gate beside the main house, letting Qian Jianing explore on her own.

The back courtyard looked quite run-down. The old woman had cleared a patch of land, and now there were a few frozen cabbages scattered on it. After crossing the slightly muddy vegetable plot, Qian Jianing peeked into the rear rooms, which were in very poor condition since they had long been uninhabited. One window frame had fallen halfway off, and inside were some muddy farm tools.

The old lady didn’t seem to care about this area, but to Qian Jianing, it was an unexpected delight. Back in the front yard, she’d been pondering how to arrange her living quarters if she turned the place into a private home-restaurant. Living in the side rooms wouldn’t be as comfortable in terms of lighting and other aspects, but living in the main house would make the dining setup feel awkward and mismatched. She’d been caught in a dilemma.

But this little courtyard with its two shabby rooms solved her problem perfectly. Though they were currently uninhabitable, it wouldn’t be a big issue to demolish and rebuild or renovate them on the existing foundation. Once she bought the place, it would be hers to build as she pleased.

Her face showing a touch of delight, Qian Jianing thought to herself: Could it be that after interacting with so many immortals lately, I’ve absorbed a bit of their good fortune? Otherwise, how else could I be this lucky—just arriving in Imperial Capital and immediately being shown such a perfect house by a kind person? Everything’s going ridiculously smoothly, right?

Qian Jianing was quite satisfied with the house, but since she had just arrived in Imperial Capital, she wasn’t yet familiar with the market or local housing prices. She didn’t dare make an impulsive decision.

When the old lady asked if she intended to buy the house, Qian Jianing replied after a bit of thought, “This is a big decision. I need to think about it. I’ll look around a bit more these next couple of days before deciding.”

Though this response was expected, the old lady still looked somewhat disappointed. “So how do I contact you later? I’m in a rush to sell and get to my son’s place for the New Year. I can’t just wait around for you.”

Qian Jianing took out a notebook and wrote down an address: “I’m staying at this guesthouse now. You can come find me there directly. I won’t delay you too long—within three days, I’ll give you an answer.”

Only then did the old lady look relieved. Smiling brightly, she saw Qian Jianing out.

After leaving, Qian Jianing wandered around the neighborhood, asking anyone she met if they knew of other houses for sale. She managed to view three more places that afternoon. Some were just one room within a messy compound; others were run-down almost to the point of being uninhabitable. None of them matched the charm of the old lady’s house.

The next day, Qian Jianing took the bus to another part of the city, an area that was more developed in the future. There, she found a proper two-section siheyuan for sale, clearly much better than the old lady’s, but the asking price was double. With her current financial situation, Qian Jianing couldn’t afford something that expensive.

Having figured out the market rate, she now felt buying the old lady’s house was quite cost-effective. The old lady was honest, and despite the larger back courtyard not being livable, she priced it as a single-section courtyard. But in reality, the area was equivalent to a two-section house. After searching for another day and still finding nothing better, Qian Jianing took her money straight to the old lady’s home.

When she arrived, the elderly man of the house was also there, and both of them were overjoyed to see her with the money. A heavy burden in their hearts was finally lifted. The couple had already researched the process for selling property. They took the legal documents out of a bag and spent the entire day with Qian Jianing completing all the paperwork. The man deposited the thick wad of cash into his bankbook, and Qian Jianing held her freshly issued property certificate in her hands — both sides were delighted.

Though the house now belonged to her, considering the elderly couple needed a few days to buy train tickets and pack, Qian Jianing told them to take their time and just hand over the house before they left.

With this major task completed, Qian Jianing felt relaxed. That night, she treated herself to a bowl of noodles at a nearby food stall and hurried back to the guesthouse to sleep—she had evening lessons with the Daoist Master of Medicine these days, who was teaching her pulse diagnosis.

Upon entering the medicine room again, Qian Jianing was surprised to see a child of twelve or thirteen inside. The Daoist Master of Medicine said, “I’ve been teaching you pulse diagnosis hands-on for two days. Today, you’re on your own.” He pointed to the boy beside him. “This is my medicine boy, Xingchen. He will simulate various pulse conditions for your practice. After diagnosing, you will write a pulse report and prescribe a formula. If you’re wrong, Xingchen will let you know.”

Qian Jianing nodded and sat down at the table with Xingchen. He placed his wrist on the diagnostic cushion and said, “Okay, you can start now.”

Qian Jianing rolled up her sleeve and placed her fingers on Xingchen’s wrist. After a moment, she said, “This is wind-cold syndrome. Based on the pulse, it seems like you caught a chill last night…”

Seeing that Qian Jianing was speaking quite professionally, the Daoist Master nodded in satisfaction. “I’ll review your pulse reports and prescriptions daily—you both should give it your full attention.” Just as Qian Jianing was about to reply, the sound of a mahjong game echoed from the inner room. The Daoist Master’s expression changed and he dashed off joyfully, shouting, “It’s my turn! Let me play a round!”

Qian Jianing closed her mouth and sat quietly again. Looking at the cold-faced celestial child before her, she couldn’t help but ask, “Is this the typical behavior of immortals from the Immortal Realm?”

The child solemnly replied, “I never touch such harmful distractions.”

Qian Jianing let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, the younger generation still seemed reliable. There’s hope yet for the future of the Immortal Realm.

The next night, Qian Jianing pushed open the vermilion door and saw that Xingchen had somehow gotten his hands on a computer. His fingers pounded rapidly on the keyboard while he shouted furiously, “Left side! Left side! Jade Rabbit, are you dumb? Shoot!”

Qian Jianing: “…” So the future of the Immortal Realm is made up of internet-addicted teens?