Chapter 253 Empty Building
Since Yang Haoran had made his decision, Old Master Wu did not try to persuade him further.
The two returned to the convenience store, and the scene before them filled Yang Haoran with both relief and a pang of heartache.
Xiao Kang had finished eating and even washed the dishes, now he was carefully arranging them on a stool.
Yang Haoran went over and ruffled the little guy's hair, then chuckled, "Xiao Kang, well done."
Hearing praise from an outsider for the first time, the little guy actually blushed. He said nothing, only smiled faintly at Yang Haoran.
"Elder Wu, you go attend to your own matters for now. We'll see each other again this afternoon. Oh, and the evening's expenses will come from the public funds."
Old Master Wu chuckled awkwardly, then said, "It won't cost much. You know, I'm not short on a few coins."
"Heh heh, I know you're rich, but business is business. Just do as I say. " Yang Haoran laughed.
Seeing Yang Haoran's insistence, Old Master Wu found it difficult to argue further. He respectfully agreed, then left the convenience store.
Yang Haoran didn't inquire about this money, instead entrusting it all to Old Master Wu to manage. For him now, money held increasingly less appeal.
"With an extra person in the house, it seems I still need to buy a place. I don't mind, but I can't let this little guy keep sharing a bed with me."
As this thought occurred to him, Yang Haoran formed a plan, deciding to take care of the matter shortly.
"Xiao Kang, look at the new clothes your Grandpa Wu bought for you."
Yang Haoran picked up the little guy and went to the counter. He casually glanced at the shopping bag Old Master Wu had sent over; it was filled entirely with children's toys and clothing, all of it name-brand.
Any single piece of clothing inside was incomparable to Yang Haoran's usual cheap street stall finds.
The items were very expensive, something Yang Haoran could discern, but the little guy could not. However, Yang Haoran didn't mention it.
"These things were all bought for you by your Grandpa Wu. You must remember that. Come, Uncle Yang will help you change into a brand new outfit."
Yang Haoran swiftly changed the little guy into a brand new set of children's clothes. Xiao Kang was very happy and excited, but his inherent lack of self-confidence still left a slight deficiency in his demeanor.
However, Yang Haoran didn't see this as a problem. Given a little time, he was confident he could help the little guy become bright and self-assured.
"Emissary, thank you. Your immense kindness is something I cannot repay in this lifetime. I will be a cow or a horse in my next life to repay you."
The female ghost's voice of thanks came from within the Soul-Gathering Bead, though it was tinged with a choke.
The little guy didn't notice the choke in his mother's voice; he was utterly caught up in his excitement. Hearing his mother speak, he quickly clutched the pendant hanging around his neck, then bounced and skipped towards the Soul-Gathering Bead.
"Mommy look Mommy look new clothes new pants new shoes Xiao Kang is so happy!"
"Xiao Kang, have you forgotten what Mommy taught you? What should you be doing now?"
The female ghost's voice was still choked, but when she spoke these words to Xiao Kang, a hint of strictness emerged.
Xiao Kang paused for a moment, then quickly reacted. He pulled Yang Haoran's hand and bounced excitedly as he said, "Thank you, Uncle Yang! Thank you, Uncle Yang!"
Overwhelmed with happiness and excitement, the naturally timid and cowardly little boy completely forgot his fear.
"Why thank me? Uncle didn't buy these. Your Grandpa Wu bought them, so you should thank him."
As his words fell, Yang Haoran looked at the Soul-Gathering Bead and continued, "One thank you is enough. I need to go out for a bit, but I'll be back soon. I'm entrusting Xiao Kang to your care for now. If any blind fools come causing trouble, scare them away if you can."
"What if they can't be scared away? " the female ghost's voice echoed from within the Soul-Gathering Bead.
Yang Haoran smiled kindly, "Then don't let them leave."
Leaving the convenience store, Yang Haoran drove off. Two hours later, he returned to the store.
During those two hours, he drove around Lecheng, hoping to find a satisfactory place to buy an apartment. However, after looking at several developments in a row, none of them caught his eye.
At first, he thought his standards had simply risen, making him look down on this and that. But after a careful reflection, he realized where the problem lay.
It turned out that the main reason he couldn't fancy other apartments was his inability to let go of that dilapidated convenience store.
He was accustomed to that street, accustomed to everything about the convenience store. His memories were there, and so were his promises.
It was precisely this deep-seated attachment to the convenience store that caused him to find no other apartment to his liking.
Finally, he came up with a solution: the second floor above his storefront.
If he could buy the second floor and connect it to the first, then not only could the convenience store remain open as usual, but his living situation would also be resolved. It would be the best of both worlds.
In Yang Haoran's impression, the second floor of the storefront was inhabited, so he immediately rushed back, intending to talk to the residents there and see if he could buy the floor, even if it meant paying more.
If the second floor was truly out of the question, then he'd talk to the third floor, then the fourth. . .
"Uncle Yang, an uncle just came to buy cigarettes, here's the money!"
Seeing Yang Haoran return, Xiao Kang quickly spoke up, waving the banknotes in his hand, looking very pleased.
Yang Haoran smiled and said, "Keep it for now, Uncle Yang isn't done yet."
Every item on the shelf had a price tag, and with his mother there, Xiao Kang should have no problem minding the shop.
Of course, even if something went wrong, it wouldn't matter, because Yang Haoran was currently running this convenience store purely for pleasure; making money was irrelevant.
Going up to the second floor, Yang Haoran's eyebrows twitched. Through his sensing, he found that there was no one on the second floor. He then went up to the third, and that floor was empty too. Finally, to his shock, he discovered that there was no one living in the entire building where his storefront was located.
The building where Yang Haoran's storefront was located wasn't an elevator apartment building; it was an old, five-story structure. Yang Haoran wasn't sure if it had ever been fully occupied, but one thing was certain: people had definitely lived there, especially on the second floor, whose daily sounds he had heard distinctly.
As for when it became empty, he hadn't noticed since returning after the New Year, only discovering today that the entire building was deserted.
With the doubt in his heart, Yang Haoran dialed his storefront landlord's phone number, wanting to ask if he knew what was going on.
The call connected after a few rings, and an old man's voice came from the other end.
"Little Yang, what's up?"
"Grandpa Zhang, I wanted to ask you something. Is our building completely empty of residents now?"
Yang Haoran didn't beat around the bush, getting straight to the point.
"Oh! If you hadn't mentioned it, I would've forgotten! I should have told you about this ages ago, but you know how it is when you get old, your memory just isn't what it used to be. The other day, I even lost my dentures, and now I can't remember where I put them. I've looked and looked, but I just can't find them! In a bit, I'm planning to check the bathroom again. . ."
Yang Haoran's mouth twitched slightly. He just wanted to inquire about something, but Grandpa Zhang was incredibly skilled at going off-topic, immediately veering from the empty building issue to his dentures. And Yang Haoran felt too awkward to interrupt the old man, so he could only steel himself and listen to over ten minutes about dentures.
Perhaps the denture matter had been thoroughly explained, or perhaps the old man truly was tired of talking, for he finally returned to the main subject.
"Oh! Right! I almost forgot again, look at my memory! " The old man spoke as if suddenly realizing something, hastily continuing: "There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while. My storefront, the one you're renting now, was sold over a month ago—no, no, it was more like over a month ago. Not just my storefront, but our entire building was bought by someone at a high price. I meant to tell you this ages ago, but it just slipped my mind."
"The whole building was bought? Who has such a grand budget? Are they going to tear our place down? " Yang Haoran asked with a smile.
"Demolish it? No, they can't. My son has good connections; he already inquired about it, otherwise, why would I have sold it? As for what the buyer intends to do with the building, I don't know. Anyway, the Wu family has plenty of money; buying a whole building is just pocket change for them."
At this point, Grandpa Zhang's voice suddenly paused, followed by his surprised exclamation:
"Oh! I actually found my dentures! They were in my mouth all along! If I hadn't been speaking too fast just now and bitten my tongue, I wouldn't have even noticed! Look at my memory, it really is. . ."
Seeing Grandpa Zhang veer back to his dentures, Yang Haoran quickly interjected, "Grandpa Zhang, thank you, old man. I have something else to do, so I won't keep you. If you're free, you can come sit in my shop sometime, and we can chat slowly then."
After hanging up, Yang Haoran let out a sigh of relief. Then, a knowing smile appeared on his face.
"A little over a month ago, that was shortly after I became an Emissary of Death."
"The Wu family bought the entire building. There's only one Wu family in all of Lecheng that's so rich and powerful."
Thinking of this, the smile on Yang Haoran's face deepened involuntarily, and he finally couldn't help but exclaim, "Heh heh, the old man truly does things impeccably. But isn't this a bit too wasteful?"
As his words fell, Yang Haoran dialed Old Master Wu's number again. The call connected after just one ring, and Old Master Wu's respectful voice came through.
"Boss, what can I do for you?"
"We've got an extra person in the house, and I want to buy an apartment. I think the second floor of my convenience store would be great, and I want to buy it. But the whole building is empty now, and I'm not sure if it'll be haunted at night."
Yang Haoran said with a chuckle. He had no intention of being sarcastic or mocking Old Master Wu; he was merely making a joke.
From the other end of the line came Old Master Wu's embarrassed laughter.
"Heh heh, I wanted to give you a surprise, but I didn't expect you already knew, Boss."
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