"How could I possibly afford a Siheyuan property..."
Ansheng waved it off indifferently, not very concerned about the house gifted by the Fungal Parasitic Beast.
Although the house is priced high, Ansheng didn't plan to stay and develop in the Imperial Capital. He estimated that after finishing his studies with Ah Qing here next year, he'd live for a year and then return the house to the Parasitic Beast.
In a certain sense, Ansheng wasn't very satisfied with the location of the house.
From chatting with Zhang Lin, it was revealed that the Xinxing Agricultural Science College campus is actually in the Miyun District.
And that house is located on the Second Ring Road, a round trip would be hundreds of kilometers.
"So many zeros..."
Ah Qing looked astonished, losing her sense of the amount because it was so large.
"Actually, Siheyuan properties aren't expensive. Master Fuli, your big house can completely be exchanged for a Siheyuan."
Zhang Lin smiled and said, "However, if you want to trade for a Siheyuan, it would be a downgrade in lifestyle."
"Everything inside is an antique, even the trees in the courtyard have plaques from the Parks Department recording their identity. If a tree falls, the staff from the Parks Department might come with penalty notices, barely suppressing laughter."
Living in a Siheyuan definitely has its prestige, but the annual maintenance cost is not a small amount.
Moreover, the hassle is that since the building is a heritage site, you'd need a qualified company to renovate if you want to settle in, or it would be considered damaging heritage...
Additionally, as a Siheyuan owner, you have an obligation to protect every plant.
The Heritage Bureau and the Tourism Bureau hope all day for rich folks to take these "living ancestors" home.
This way, they could save a sum of expenses for other more meaningful things.
"Master Fuli, if you're interested, our Security Bureau can help you apply..."
"Ah Qing, she's trying to murder for money..." Ansheng grimaced at Ah Qing and joked.
Who says there's no perfect crime? Having a Siheyuan under one's name, even if Ah Qing streams money every day, it probably wouldn't cover the heritage repair costs.
"Uh... we'll just stay in the dorms, leave the Siheyuan for those who need it!" Ah Qing agreed deeply.
It was also the first time Ah Qing learned that houses didn't fall under the jurisdiction of the Housing Bureau but rather the Heritage Bureau and local tourism management, a name signifying its weight.
"Hahaha..."
Zhang Lin chuckled lightly, not continuing to joke about the topic. Non-commercial giants considering Siheyuan houses are probably just bored.
Or maybe they feel there's too much money and need to lighten their wallets; otherwise, sane people wouldn't consider it, not even if it were free.
"We are almost there, the white roof on the right is our third Security Bureau..."
"Looking towards the Yanshan direction, the continuous buildings are the Xinxing College campus."
Zhang Lin pointed out of the car window, introducing the Security Bureau and the Xinxing College area.
The third Security Bureau covers a vast area, roughly measuring several hundred acres on each floor, though the building height isn't tall; the only standout high building probably has only around ten levels.
In the Yanshan mountain direction, the Xinxing College campus is more of a heavyweight. The area measurement unit can't be in square meters but square kilometers.
Three college complexes, six departments combined, all squeezed into the Yanshan campus, and even an independent reservoir and generator supply power to the college.
"Caw caw caw—"
The business car approached the third Security Bureau, and some crows hovering above the city made a chorus of caws.
"Big brother! Today we eat again! The good brothers from the south brought back five hundred bucks and diamond necklaces..."
"Big brother, the brothers from the north got shit, all trash cans filled with kitty litter and dog poop..."
The clearly spiritualized crows landed on the car's sunroof, chattering to Jin Wu about today's events.
Some of the city crow brothers got to eat well, while others ended up eating crap.
The west side was the worst because of a "woo woo" dog bark that provoked an angry human attack; a diaper smeared with poop and kid's urine was slapped onto the crow brother's face.
"......"
Ansheng's expression turned odd, glancing at Jin Wu; he vaguely understood that the crows scattered throughout the Imperial Capital might just be Jin Wu's minions, or deliberately set up by the Security Bureau as a "biological intelligence network."
"Ah Qing, what are those crows talking about?" Momo poked Ah Qing and whispered.
Although aware that crows are harmless, having a dense flock surrounding the car was quite scary.
"Uh... they're talking about wreaking havoc and helping to clean up the city's trash."
Ah Qing thought for a moment, quoting the translator's hints to describe the crows' conversation.
They wreaked chaos in several parks today, but after that, the crow flock went on to help gather trash.
They tossed street food, trash bags, and lost bills, as well as valuable items, back into trash cans.
"Caw—"
Jin Wu heard Ah Qing's words and showed a look of surprise, turning sharply to stare at Ah Qing.
Ah Qing was actually correct. Part of the reason why the people in the Imperial Capital tolerated the crow flock, even allowing their random excreting habits...
It's partly because the crow flock also helps eliminate city pests, occasionally acting as sanitation workers to clean the streets.
But...
The crow flock didn't specify these things earlier, so how could Ah Qing succinctly state this?
Ah Qing's inexplicable translation ability almost stunned Jin Wu.
"Master Fuli has arrived..."
Zhang Lin didn't mind the crows, drove directly into the Safety Bureau, and arrived in front of a building with an arched glass roof, and even before entering, faint whining sounds could be heard.
Zhang Lin resolutely pushed open the Spirit Beast Breeding Room door, inviting Master Fuli and his team inside.
"Manager, please do something about them!"
Right upon entering, there was a male Forest Ranger lying on the pristine hallway floor, guarding his philtrum with arms, and looking utterly defeated.
And upon him, a bunch of exceptionally fluffy, winter-exclusive Red Foxes was sprawled.
The Red Foxes lay there, pinning the Forest Ranger down with their chins, making a hmm-hmm whimpering sound.
Foxes whimper when they're in a good mood.
But hmm-hmm whining signifies displeasure.
Pinning down on a person's body can actually be understood as foxes complaining and lodging grievances.
"Are you calling me? Sorry, the whimpering of the foxes is too loud, I can't hear anything..." Zhang Lin, with a strange expression, shuffled with his back against the wall, deftly sidestepping the mountain of foxes upfront, not eager to intervene.
The foxes from Mentougou are excessively chatty, especially after consuming enough, their explosive power is simply astonishing.
"Manager...my legs are numb!"
Another few steps onwards, yet another mountain of foxes appeared before the group, with a young woman lying flat, her face revealing a grey-hearted demeanor, extending her arms.
The foxes joyously bounded forth, directly planting fox carrots on the girl's behind.
"Tomorrow approved for three days of paid leave, feeling numb?" Zhang Lin asked the girl.
"Emperor Qin hit the electric gate, feeling unbeatable." The girl responded.
"These Red Foxes aren't particularly intimidated by humans and extremely enjoy lounging on people to act cute."
Zhang Lin turned around, pointed to the mountain of foxes, and sighed deeply, "At this moment, forget about work, as soon as the rangers entered, they were overwhelmed by the sea of red foxes."
"If there were slightly fewer staff, every ranger would have to carry a load of twenty red foxes when starting their shift..."