Chapter 21: The Mansion
A moment later, the booklet was indeed as he had expected, detailing the method of breeding Bisho Silkworms.
Many of the detailed descriptions were based on experience and very useful for breeding Bisho Silkworms.
After Song Changming finished reading it, he closed the booklet. Regarding this Bisho Silkworm breeding method, he had two choices before him.
Either find an investor directly and sell the booklet at a high price.
Or follow the method himself and try his hand at this silkworm breeding project.
As far as he knew, in the Donglai County City area, although there were people who could breed Bisho Silkworms, they were not many, and the production was quite limited.
This creature was quite delicate, and if handled poorly, it would be a loss of money and silkworms, so not many attempted it.
He estimated that the Qinghe gang’s method of breeding most likely came from outsiders.
Silkworm breeding was not prevalent in Donglai County City, so a local was unlikely to have developed such a detailed exclusive breeding method.
Song Changming thought for a moment and decided to try it out himself. If it didn’t work, he could always sell the exclusive breeding method later.
Having made up his mind, he set the booklet aside, leaving the light inner armor and the Heart Protection Mirror.
These two pieces of equipment were not of high quality, but he valued them purely because he could use them.
Wearing more inner armor and a Heart Protection Mirror on a daily basis could provide some extra safety during fights.
"After today, there will be no more Qinghe gang..."
Song Changming lay on the bed, reviewing the battle scenarios he had gone through in the latter half of the night before falling into a deep sleep.
At dawn the next day, the news of the Qinghe gang’s demise spread quickly around the Houli Street area.
Some people lamented the complete disappearance of yet another major gang, but many more rejoiced at the news.
The Qinghe gang’s growth was inseparable from its oppression of neighbors and pursuit of profit.
Many people couldn’t wait for this group of hooligans to die out, which was absolutely great news for them.
Later, rumors quickly split into two versions.
Some said it was the Nine Bends Association that overthrew the Qinghe gang, while others claimed it was the government that took action to annihilate them.
As for the actual truth, only a few people in the town knew for sure.
On Houli Street, at Three Alleys, Song Changming and Lv Gang walked inside.
"If you want to find a place to live on Houli Street, why didn’t you say earlier? In this area, while I wouldn’t say I know it like the back of my hand, I can easily recommend a few decent places to you," Lv Gang said with a smile, taking big strides.
"I didn’t want to trouble you," Song Changming had not expected Lv Gang to be so attentive to his affairs.
He mentioned it casually, and Lv Gang took him house-hunting during his patrol without a care for the consequences of leaving his post.
In fact, there were no real consequences.
After all, it was just a routine patrol, not a major distraction from an important task.
"Here it is." When they arrived, Lv Gang pointed to the residence before them.
Song Changming looked, and it was a large courtyard with a single entrance.
The gate of the courtyard was wide open, and he could see the stone-paved yard was piled with fallen leaves, seemingly neglected for quite a while.
"Let’s go in and have a look." Lv Gang led Song Changming over the threshold and into the yard.
"This used to belong to an outsider merchant who faced a sudden upheaval a few years ago and suffered a great calamity. The government took over this unclaimed residence, and it’s been vacant ever since.
I inquired about the price through connections some years ago; you could buy it for just eighty silver."
Song Changming looked around, surprised at Lv Gang’s words. "So cheap?"
This dwelling, with its vast courtyard covered in fallen leaves, must be nearly a hundred square meters.
Apart from the main house, there were four east and west wing rooms, not counting the utility rooms and the row of firewood and kitchen rooms.
Although the brickwork and facade were somewhat outdated, it was still a sizeable residence in the Houli District.
It’s not a place ordinary citizens could afford.
Normally speaking, such a large house, even with depreciation, would cost at least a hundred or more silver coins.
Lv Gang explained, "This courtyard isn’t in a great location, and the houses are quite old, not well-maintained, and very outdated.
People who would be interested usually can’t afford the eighty silver, and those who can often aren’t interested.
Moreover, after that merchant’s family was destroyed, this place was regarded as a cursed house and got a bad reputation, which only stopped being talked about in the last couple of years, leaving the place disinterested.
If you also mind such things, then forget it."
"I see," Song Changming nodded, understanding the reasons nobody bought it as explained by Lv Gang.
In fact, leaving aside rumors of haunted or bad feng shui, this was indeed a spacious, good dwelling, picked up at an extremely low price.
No wonder Lv Gang recommended it; the cost-performance ratio was indeed high.
"This place will do, Brother Lv." Song Changming decided on his new home without hesitation.
It’s almost impossible to find such a cheap large house again on Houli Street.
As for feng shui and haunted house rumors, it’s just exaggerated gossip among the townsfolk.
He’s seen such rumors spread often working in the city, and it doesn’t bother him.
Over time, rumors will fade, and people will only remember that the Song Family owns this place.
After buying the large house, Song Changming treated Lv Gang to a meal to express his gratitude.
Then, he began organizing the move.
Before this, he had already informed his parents.
Father Song and Song’s Mother were naturally overjoyed.
They could foresee that with Song Changming becoming a Patrol Guard, the family’s life would only get better.
But they didn’t expect their son to be so promising, allowing the Song Family to move out of Baiyi Street and shed the label of destitute household.
Not only that, they were moving into a large house on Houli Street, which was quite a significant step forward.
Even though the large house was cheap, eighty silver coins were an enormous amount they had never had and couldn’t even imagine.
Father Song got up early the next day, knowing the new house was old, and brought tools to start repairs.
Song Changming initially planned to hire some craftsmen to renovate the large house, but he couldn’t stop Father Song’s joy, who insisted on repairing their house himself as he always had.
A few days later, the new home was ready enough, and the three of them officially moved into Houli Street.
As for their previous house, Song Changming sold it for only two strings of copper coins.
While in Houli Street, the price might be higher, but in Baiyi Street, selling off a few dilapidated houses was already good enough.
Before leaving, Father Song and Song’s Mother said goodbye to their longtime neighbors and shared some unused furniture and items.
When people heard that the Song Family was moving to Houli Street, it naturally aroused a lot of envy.
Most of them could barely make ends meet in Baiyi Street and only hoped for better meals daily, not daring to wish for more.
Occasionally, a family would suddenly strike it rich and move from Baiyi Street to other areas.
In the past, they never imagined that the once-downtrodden Song Family, who had lost two sons, could rise.
But ever since the third son of the Song Family climbed up in status and Song Changming became a Night Patrol, things started looking up.
When Song Changming advanced further to become a Patrol Guard, the Song Family completely turned its fortunes around, reversing its decline and showing a significant upward trend within just two years.
The neighbors felt envy and jealousy, as well as regret, for not foreseeing the Song Family’s potential earlier.
They used to look down on the youngest son of the Song Family and never considered matching with him in marriage.
Even when Song’s Mother proactively brought up the topic, they politely declined.
Now, when they brought it up again, it was Song’s Mother who politely refused, leaving them helpless.
"Hmph, they just relied on that Zhao Family, what’s there to be proud of," someone in the crowd finally couldn’t help but mutter bitterly as they watched the Song Family leave.
The crowd exchanged glances but didn’t echo the sentiment.
They all knew that even if the Song Family relied on the Zhao Family to succeed, who wouldn’t want to seize such an opportunity if it presented itself?
Just like how they’ve been trying to cozy up to the Song Family these days, who wouldn’t want that?
Everyone wants a better life, they just lack the opportunity.