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Beijing was rarely one to compromise, but Ye Xiaohan had an inkling of his intentions. After the incident with Second Uncle's family, Bei felt a sense of guilt towards her. He had failed to manage the relatives from the Liu family properly, which only added to the troubles for Ye Xiaohan.
Moreover, during their previous trip to buy supplies, Bei accompanied her and truly realized how challenging it was to run a successful shop. This made him even more reluctant to waste a single cent.
Additionally, the Demon God still held significant influence over ancient people. In an era where technology was relatively primitive, many phenomena that humans could not explain were often attributed to demons and monsters.
Bei's considerations were based on sound reasoning; those who bought the Haunted House would inevitably attract controversy. If someone with ulterior motives exploited this situation, it could easily turn into a bizarre tale.
For someone in business, such influences were indeed unfavorable.
Ye Xiaohan had thought about these matters as well; however, she was completely indifferent. She never believed in the Demon God and had long grown accustomed to being criticized.
The bizarre actions of the original owner were facts that could not be concealed. As long as she did not cause too much of a stir and could keep herself safe, she did not want to force herself; she would handle things as they came.
"Moving is a joyous occasion; I don't want it to become unpleasant because of the move," Ye Xiaohan said. "How about we hold another family meeting? The minority should yield to the majority."
Liu Yang immediately raised his hand. "I agree!" He certainly did not want to see a simple move turn into a conflict between his older brother and sister-in-law. To him, it didn't matter where they lived as long as the family was happy together.
His brother was truly something else; he usually listened to his wife but became conflicted at this moment. Since his sister-in-law liked this place, then it should be decided that they would stay here.
As for the Demon God, Liu Yang remained skeptical. Although he had been raised with superstitions, he wasn't particularly devout. If there really were gods and spirits, why hadn't any come down to save his father when he prayed for help?
If deities did not protect the impoverished common folk, then believing in them seemed pointless.
The outcome of the family meeting was predictable; aside from Bei's dissent, Liu Yang and Liu Qi unhesitatingly sided with Ye Xiaohan.
Three votes against one—an overwhelming victory.
Ye Xiaohan spread her hands towards Bei. "This isn't me bullying you; it's the will of democracy—everyone agrees."
Unable to resist her, Six Bei had no choice but to go along with her wishes, despite feeling uncomfortable inside.
Having successfully convinced Six Bei, Ye Xiaohan hurried to find the Owner and retrieve the property deed.
The Owner was anxiously pacing in his home, fearing that Ye Xiaohan would discover the truth and back out of the deal, not wanting the house anymore. He had held onto this property for quite some time, initially hoping to buy it cheaply for living purposes. However, shortly after moving in, strange occurrences began to unfold, leaving his family in a state of constant fear.
He had thought that he would be stuck with this house forever, unable to sell it. So when Ye Xiaohan came asking about the price, he was overjoyed.
Indeed, selling the house for one hundred twenty taels was a loss; he had originally purchased it for one hundred fifty taels. At this point, he wasn't even hoping to break even; he just wanted to sell it and recover at least a little of his investment.
Finally able to make a sale, he hoped nothing would go wrong at the last minute. Peeking out cautiously, he saw Ye Xiaohan arriving and couldn't contain his excitement as he rushed forward. "Boss Ye! You finally made it!"
Ye Xiaohan instructed Liu Yang to place the silver on the table. "One hundred twenty taels in cash; please count it carefully."
"Ah, yes! Good! Good!" The Owner quickly counted through the coins and verified again. "I trust Boss Ye's dealings; everything seems just right!"
Liu Yang was taken aback by the Owner's shamelessness; he had already counted twice—what was there to be worried about? If he were truly concerned, how many times would he need to count?
Ye Xiaohan stood up, confirmed the property deed handed over by the Owner, and put it away. "With silver and goods exchanged, this transaction is complete. I hope you will continue to support Peach Blossom Studio in the future. When your esteemed wife visits, I will surely prepare a grand surprise for her."
"Thank you very much, Boss Ye! Please take care!" The Owner wiped the sweat from his forehead—half of it from anxiety over Ye Xiaohan possibly backing out of the purchase and half from guilt over concealing the truth while selling a haunted house.
After wrestling with his conscience for a moment, the Owner called out as Ye Xiaohan turned to leave. "Boss Ye, as they say, courtesy is never misplaced. When you move in, don't skimp on incense and candles; it's best to pay your respects—it can't hurt."
Ye Xiaohan saw right through the Owner's intentions and found it somewhat amusing. This person wasn't entirely bad-hearted; even after deceiving someone else, he still offered a warning. Since that was the case, Ye Xiaohan decided against executing his original plan to trick him.
"Thank you for your reminder; I will keep that in mind. Please take care." With that, Ye Xiaohan left with Liu Yang.
Having bought the house, the next step was renovation and decoration. Ye Xiaohan went to inspect the place, and overall, she found it to her liking. Most of it could be preserved; she just needed to make a few adjustments according to her preferences.
However, there was one issue: due to the rumors of it being haunted, the house had been bought and sold multiple times, but very few people actually lived in it for long. This was how houses worked; once they lost their appeal, they deteriorated even faster.
Thus, in desolate areas, any buildings that appeared often became the setting for ghost stories.
When Ye Xiaohan sought workers for the renovations, she faced obstacles. As soon as the craftsmen heard "Haunted House," they waved their hands dismissively without even mentioning a price.
"Boss Ye, aren't you making things difficult for us? It's not that we don't want to earn this money; we just don't want to risk our lives for it," one craftsman outright refused.
Another craftsman added, "I'm not trying to meddle here, Boss Ye, but I advise you to find another place to live. That place is not fit for anyone; once you move in, strange things start happening. There was a rice shop owner who went mad for half a month after living there! Why not take your money and buy something better?"
Ye Xiaohan persisted, "Master, please help me out. I've done my research; you're the best craftsman in town, and everyone wants to hire you for their renovations!"
With a troubled expression, she continued, "Look at my house; I've already bought it. It's not easy to return it now. It wasn't cheap either; all my savings have gone into this place. I can't afford to buy a new one!"
The craftsman still refused. "You should look for someone else; maybe someone brave enough will take on this job. If not, I can recommend a few others who are decent at what they do."
Ye Xiaohan had already run through all the craftsmen in town and found no one willing. This particular craftsman was a senior in the field; only by persuading him could she rally enough workers for the renovation.
With no other options left, Ye Xiaohan decided to play her trump card: "I know it's difficult for you to take this job on, so I won't let you go empty-handed. If you come work at my house, I'll pay you fifty percent more than what others offer. What do you think?"
The craftsman hesitated; work that paid fifty percent more wasn't something they encountered every day. For craftsmen like them, every extra bit of income counted.
In the end, the craftsmen succumbed to the lure of money and agreed to take on the job.
The busy project commenced. Ye Xiaohan ran back and forth between her shop and the house—starting her mornings at the shop, supervising renovations at noon before returning to work at her shop again in the evening, then checking on the renovation progress before heading back home.
After running around for a while, she didn't even feel like having dinner and just lay down on the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
With the carefully prepared weight loss meal plan and the recent high-intensity physical exertion, Ye Xiaohan's body had undergone quite a noticeable change. She felt as if she had transformed completely, and she couldn't help but feel delighted about the results. Although she was tired, she felt wonderful every day, and she could clearly sense that her physical fitness had improved significantly.
Compared to her initial weakness, she had made a complete turnaround. She believed that as long as she persevered, the results would surely satisfy her.
As for her six siblings, who were completely unaware of her efforts, they only saw Ye Xiaohan tirelessly working for a better life for them, running around so much that she had lost weight. They felt it was too hard on her.
Li Beixin was particularly distressed. When Ye Xiaohan returned, he immediately approached her to discuss ways to ease her burden.
"I don't understand the shop's matters and can't be of much help. Just leave the construction of the house to me. You can focus on managing the business without overexerting yourself," Li Beixin said, noticing that Ye Xiaohan looked slimmer than before, with defined lines starting to show on her jaw.
Li Yang chimed in while holding Qi: "Yeah, sister-in-law, just let big brother handle the house. If there's anything I can do in the shop, just let me know; I can take care of it."
Ye Xiaohan felt warm inside from their concern. Suddenly, she didn't want to tell them about her weight loss journey: "So what should I do? Just sit here and give orders?"
"Exactly," Li Yang said with a smile that squinted his eyes. "Sister-in-law, you're like a general strategizing in the tent! How can a general go out to battle personally? Just leave these matters to us soldiers."
He nudged Li Beixin: "Big brother, right?" He winked at him enthusiastically.
Li Beixin found his antics amusing and broke into an unexpected smile, reaching out to ruffle Li Yang's hair: "That's right; Li Yang is correct. Xiao Han, you should take a good rest and not shoulder everything alone."
"Alright then, let's all work hard together for a while. Once the house is built, we can move into the mansion and live comfortably," Ye Xiaohan said, not insisting on doing everything by herself. She was more than happy to accept their help.
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