Early summer.
The forest flowers had bid farewell to spring’s red, willow catkins swayed everywhere, the sky drifted with snow-like willow fluff, arrogantly baring fangs and brandishing claws in the morning light and morning breeze, omnipresent.
Daming’s Shuntian Prefecture, Northern District, Rizhong Ward, West Diagonal Street from the Drum Tower, Sweet Water Lane—at the end of the lane stood a civilian residence.
The house faced east with its back to the west. Fronting Sweet Water Lane was a two-story brick and wood building, with a small courtyard behind.
Chen Jingji brought a female client to view this house.
The Chen family had been mixing in the broker trade for generations, serving as middlemen in housing and various goods transactions, living off commissions. Three generations had eaten from this broker’s bowl, so others called him Chen Jingji, with few knowing his real name.
This house had been weighing on his hands for nearly half a year. If he couldn’t rent it out soon, the landlord would surely switch brokers, and this meal ticket would be lost.
Success or failure hinged on this single effort.
Chen Jingji cleared his throat lightly, preparing to deploy all his skills to paint this civilian residence as magnificent as blooming flowers, determined to convince the client to rent it.
Just as he opened his mouth, a clump of willow fluff drilled into Chen Jingji’s left nostril. A sour sensation surged forth from his nose like an overwhelming tide. He quickly covered his face with his sleeve and sneezed.
The female client seemed somewhat germophobic. Upon hearing the sneeze, she immediately retreated three steps, covering her nose and mouth with a handkerchief while furrowing her delicate brows. The two had just entered the door, but with the client’s retreat, she was suddenly back at the threshold.
It’s over, it’s over!
Dying before achieving victory!
Chen Jingji’s heart cried out in dismay as he quickly bowed apologetically, “Chen has been unseemly, truly sorry.”
“No matter,” the female client said verbally, though her hands honestly continued using the handkerchief to cover her nose and mouth, making her voice sound muffled. “Show me the house.”
At this point, he could only treat a dead horse as if it were alive.
Chen Jingji gave a complete tour upstairs and downstairs. “…The bed, wardrobe, dining table, stools, and other furniture are all ready-made. Madam, please look—all made of good wood. Madam could move in with her luggage tonight…”
The female client appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, with childish features still on her face, but she wore a married woman’s hairstyle with her hair bun wrapped in white silk cloth to form a mourning knot—clearly a young widow still within her mourning period.
So Chen Jingji addressed her as Madam.
But no matter how Chen Jingji boasted about how wonderful this house was, the young widow’s expression remained consistently bland, without even an “oh” in response.
However, the young widow also showed no signs of impatience or desire to leave.
So Chen Jingji clung to a thread of hope, leading the young widow downstairs to the small courtyard behind. The courtyard was paved with green bricks. Having been unoccupied for half a year, weeds had sprouted from between the bricks in spring. To rent out this house quickly, Chen Jingji had personally pulled them clean, making it look quite refreshing.
“…Madam, as you can see, the kitchen, woodshed, and latrine are all complete. In summer, you could set up an awning in the courtyard, hang bamboo curtains and gauze screens, eat melons to cool off and enjoy the shade—it would be a heavenly life!”
The broker trade relied on smooth talking plus reading people’s expressions, but having seen the entire house, the young widow remained impassive throughout, appearing extremely deep and calculating.
Did she like it or not?
Chen Jingji was at a loss. He produced a set of keys. “When does Madam plan to move in?”
In the broker business, the greatest taboo was hanging yourself on one tree. Chen Jingji was indirectly pressuring the young widow to make a decision. If she wasn’t interested, so be it—they’d part ways without wasting his time, as he had other business to attend to.
The young widow paid no attention, casually walking to the back courtyard and opening the gate. Outside was a narrow alley barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side, and it was a dead end, facing a high wall.
The high wall stretched endlessly, clearly belonging to a wealthy family’s residence.
The young widow pointed at the high wall and asked, “What kind of family lives here?”
Terrible!
Chen Jingji’s heart sank, though his expression remained relaxed and cheerful. “This is Wang Qianhu’s residence. The Wang family ancestors were great heroes who followed Emperor Chengzu south in the Jingnan Campaign, granted hereditary thousand-household rank. It’s now passed to the fifth generation—a century-old noble family.”
The young widow stared silently at the high wall covered with maple vines, lost in thought.
Chen Jingji, thinking the young widow feared being bullied by such high-ranking, powerful neighbors, quickly said, “Though the Wang family is noble, they have good family traditions and kind dispositions. The neighbors in Sweet Water Lane all have simple, honest customs too. From major incidents like theft and fires to minor disputes and quarrels—none have occurred. It can truly be said that doors need not be locked at night, and lost items on roads remain untouched.”
A widow’s doorway breeds much gossip.
For a young, beautiful widow, safety naturally came first.
The young widow finally responded, “So Sweet Water Lane is a quiet place?”
Chen Jingji felt there was hope. “Exactly so. I wouldn’t bring just anyone to see this house—only someone with Madam’s good temperament deserves to live here.”
“Quiet is good, but…” The young widow pondered briefly before saying, “I make my living operating a medical clinic, practicing medicine to help the world.”
Up to this point, aside from peddlers with carrying poles, not a single passerby had crossed the lane entrance.
With doors that could catch sparrows and no customers, what kind of business could be conducted?
Now he’d fallen into a pit! Chen Jingji’s mind thundered as he relied on his ancestral skill of smooth talking: “Well… good wine needs no bush, right? With Madam’s miraculous healing hands, word will spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, and business will surely prosper in the future.”
By this time, Chen Jingji held no hope whatsoever.
But the young widow said, “Fine, I’ll take this house and rent it for a year first.”
Chen Jingji was overjoyed. “Before coming to view the house, I told Madam the price—fifty taels annual rent plus a ten-tael deposit. If the house and furniture are undamaged upon expiration, the ten taels will be fully returned to Madam, making it sixty taels total. Where is Madam currently staying? We can go to Madam’s lodgings to sign the contract and exchange money and keys in person.”
The young widow was straightforward, immediately producing a fifty-tael bank note and a ten-tael silver ingot. “Let’s sign it here.”
According to trade rules, Chen Jingji could extract one-tenth of the rent—five taels in broker’s fees.
Chen Jingji felt both excited and regretful: This young widow was obviously urgent to find lodging, otherwise she wouldn’t carry such a large sum on her person without haggling. Perhaps she would have agreed even if I’d asked for seventy taels rent!
But the die was cast. Chen Jingji’s regret came too late. He opened his writing box, took out a brush, moistened the tip with his tongue, and both signed the documents. When signing and stamping, the young widow wrote her name: “Wei Caiwei.”
This hot potato of a house was finally rented out.