The Theater House
"You want to buy the Theater House?"
The boy froze for a moment and carefully examined Chen Ling a few times, his expression somewhat strange. "This Theater House... hmm... Although it doesn't look like much on the outside, the location is still quite good. If everything is demolished and rebuilt into a record store or tavern, business won't be bad. So, the selling price definitely won't be low..."
Hearing this, Chen Ling smiled slightly and said, "Rest assured, I have plenty of money."
The disbelief in the boy's eyes intensified, and he spoke again seriously:
"I'm not joking, this Theater House won't be sold cheaply. At least... at least a hundred thousand! And paid in full all at once!
And let me tell you, someone is already looking at this Theater House. The other party seems to be quite wealthy and also plans to open a record store here, so I can't..."
"Here is two hundred thousand."
Chen Ling pulled out a stack of large-denomination banknotes from his pocket and placed them directly on the front desk beside him. He spoke calmly, "Two hundred thousand, paid in full all at once, are you selling?"
The boy's voice abruptly stopped.
When he left the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path, a few senior brothers and sisters had Chen Ling take a large sum of banknotes with him. He had originally earned this money, and now that Little Junior Brother was returning to the Red Dust, they naturally couldn't let him go back empty-handed... Although this money wouldn't be enough to stir up any major storms, it was more than enough to buy a dilapidated Theater House.
"You... you..." The boy opened his mouth, temporarily put down the prop spear in his hand, and walked quickly to the front desk. He took the two hundred thousand in his hands and carefully verified it once, looking at Chen Ling with eyes full of shock.
"Are you... really buying it??"
"The money is right here, what do you think?"
"B-But this Theater House isn't worth two hundred thousand, you gave too much."
Chen Ling suddenly laughed. He squinted at the boy in front of him, seemingly finding it interesting.
When he was auctioning at the Red Dust Hotel, any random placard-raising trick could multiply the bids of the five major consortia several times over. Now, in this Theater House, someone actually took the initiative to say he gave too much money... This boy was unexpectedly straightforward.
Perhaps because Chen Ling was staring at him with a smile, the boy instinctively took half a step back, but looking at the two hundred thousand in banknotes on the table, he still gritted his teeth and asked:
"What do you plan to do after buying this Theater House? A record store as well?"
"No, I won't demolish it." Chen Ling shook his head. "Since this place used to be a Theater House, then let it continue to be one..."
"You mean, let the Theater House stay open?? You spent two hundred thousand just for this?" The boy froze on the spot.
"Is there a problem?"
Chen Ling bought this place purely because its location was opposite the Casino, which was very advantageous for monitoring the nearby situation. He wasn't really trying to do business. For him, keeping this place in its original state and not attracting too much attention from others was the best plan.
The boy just looked at Chen Ling like this. After a long silence, he returned half of the banknotes in his hand to Chen Ling.
"From now on, this Theater House is yours." The boy lowered his head and said. "Grandmother said that if there is still someone in this world who wants to open a Theater House, this place can be sold at half price... Actually, I should have only charged you fifty thousand initially, but I really need money urgently right now, so..."
Chen Ling didn't wait for him to finish speaking before shoving the banknotes back.
"You..."
"This Theater House needs someone to manage it, and I can't be bothered to handle those things." Chen Ling spoke unhurriedly. "Consider this hundred thousand as an advance on your salary. From now on, work well for me."
The boy also didn't expect Chen Ling to use this money to hire him. One must know he was only a fifteen-year-old boy right now. Although there was no such thing as child labor in the Red Dust Domain, hiring a child with a hundred thousand was truly unheard of.
At the same time, Chen Ling put his hands behind his back and began strolling around the Theater House, as if it was already his property.
"Show me around and let's see what's in here."
The boy snapped back to reality. Looking at the two hundred thousand in banknotes in his hand, his palm subconsciously clenched tightly, his expression somewhat agitated... He put all this money away properly and then quickly caught up with Chen Ling's pace.
"Mister, how should I address you?" The boy asked respectfully.
"My surname is Lin, Lin Yan."
"Okay, Mr. Lin. My name is Kong Baosheng, you can just call me Baosheng."
As Kong Baosheng spoke, he proactively walked to Chen Ling's side, lit a Kerosene Lamp, and introduced things to him by the light of the fire.
"Mr. Lin, don't look at this Theater House being so dilapidated now. A few decades ago, it was quite famous. Many Famous Actors came from here. Although the place isn't big, it has everything it should."
The two walked to the center of the first floor and saw dozens of old-fashioned wooden chairs placed in the open space. Further ahead was a simple Stage. The area above the Stage and the audience seating was a high ceiling, connecting directly to the second floor, so it appeared exceptionally airy. The downside was that most of the windows on the second floor were already abandoned and completely failed to block the wind and rain. Therefore, there was just a small roof covering it. Looking up at this moment, one could even see the starlight, making it no different from a semi-open-air structure.
The items on the Stage, however, were all readily available. Apart from being a bit old, there were no other issues. Chen Ling walked straight onto the Stage, swept his gaze over the dim and lightless surroundings, and asked in confusion:
"What about electric lights? Are there none?"
"There are some... but the electricity bill is too expensive, I usually can't bear to turn them on." Kong Baosheng scratched his head in embarrassment. "Right now, the account is in arrears."
"...Find some time tomorrow to pay the electricity bill."
"Okay, Mr. Lin."
After touring the first floor, Chen Ling stepped onto the creaking stairs and walked up to the second floor. Because more than half the area was taken up by the high ceiling, the usable area on the second floor wasn't large, only about three or four rooms.
Just then, Chen Ling seemed to sense something. Frowning, he slowly walked to the front of one of the rooms.
He gently pulled the door open.
In the cramped room, a Kerosene Lamp burned silently. A bed was placed in the center of the room, upon which an elderly person curled into a ball seemed to be lying. Beside the bed was a simple floor mat, currently unoccupied.
Seeing this scene, Kong Baosheng explained:
"Mr. Lin, this is where my Grandmother and I live."
Chen Ling nodded slightly. "Your Grandmother's health isn't too good?"
"Yes..." A hint of complexity flashed in Kong Baosheng's eyes. "She got thyroid cancer. The hospital said it's already in the late stage and incurable... All the money at home has basically been used to buy medicine for treatment."
Kong Baosheng paused for a moment and turned to look at Chen Ling, the boy's eyes full of pleading:
"Mr. Lin, could you please still leave this room for me? Other than here, we have nowhere else to live. Besides, Grandmother's health is poor. If we move again, I'm afraid she won't be able to hold on."
"Of course, no problem." Chen Ling nodded and closed the door again.
He took a spin around the other rooms on the second floor. The room facing the street was the largest, and turning the corner right out the door was the handrail facing the street. Chen Ling didn't hesitate much and decided on this as his living quarters.
He walked to the handrail on the second floor of the Theater House. His eyes clearly reflected the entire Casino and the surrounding environment. Those monitoring personnel were also basically all within his field of vision. It could be called a perfect vantage point.
Chen Ling's clothes corner swayed gently with the wind. He stood on the Unregarded Theater House, looking down at the flow of people on the bustling street below, and smiled slightly,
"This place was a good find."