Chapter 11: Buying a House
“Before, repairing it needed eight points. Now it only takes two. That’s like getting 50% off and then another 50% off.” Su Xiaofan calculated silently. This was practically a huge promotional sale—an opportunity too good to miss.
【Back burn detected. Repairable. Repair value required: 2 points. Repair?】
“Repair!”
【2 repair points deducted. Remaining repair points: 8!】
Su Xiaofan confirmed it in his mind. The ten repair points in his consciousness immediately dropped to eight, and then an intense tingling sensation spread across his back.
“Damn, why is this different from repairing bodily functions?”
If it had been pain, Su Xiaofan could have endured it. But the sensation of countless ants crawling across his back made him groan involuntarily.
“Could it be that discounted repairs mean inferior quality?”
He grabbed a towel and stuffed it into his mouth, but the tingling from his back kept flooding into his brain. The unbearable sensation made him feel like dying.
“Xiaofan, what’s wrong?” Su Weixuan’s voice came from the living room.
“Dad, I’m fine. My back just itches a little.” Su Xiaofan took the towel out of his mouth, his voice trembling.
“That shouldn’t be happening.” Su Weixuan got up from the sofa and pushed open Su Xiaofan’s bedroom door.
“It’s itching me to death, Dad. Take a look. Did your ointment expire or something?”
Su Xiaofan immediately shifted the blame. Deep down, he regretted it immensely. If he had known discounted repairs came with side effects like this, he would rather have used the ointment and waited a week for the burn to heal naturally.
“That’s impossible. Xiaofan, bear with it. Don’t panic.” Su Weixuan turned on the light. The moment he saw his son’s back, he froze.
Right after applying the ointment earlier, Su Weixuan had clearly felt the muscles and skin on Su Xiaofan’s back contracting. But now, the bright red muscles on his back were writhing continuously. As they moved, the skin actually began to scab over.
“Dad, it’s not itchy anymore. Has it scabbed over?”
In just a few moments, nearly all the burned areas on Su Xiaofan’s back had formed scabs, and he finally stopped complaining about the itch.
Reaching behind to touch his back, Su Xiaofan looked at his father with a face full of shock. There was no way he could explain the repair points, so his acting had to be convincing. His dad absolutely had to take the blame for this.
“Y-Yes... it’s scabbed over.”
Seeing the changes on his son’s back, Su Weixuan even began to stutter.
“That shouldn’t be possible. How did the medicine suddenly become so much more effective?” he muttered to himself.
“This is a good thing. Don’t scratch it.” Suppressing the urge to peel off his son’s scabs for a closer look, Su Weixuan gave him a reminder before leaving the room. A little later, Su Xiaofan heard the front door open and close.
“I should be able to fool him, right?”
He didn’t think much more about it. The unbearable itching had exhausted him, and before long he fell into a deep sleep.
…
“I... am I shedding skin?”
Early the next morning, Su Xiaofan realized he had somehow rolled onto his back during the night. There was no trace of the burning pain anymore. After getting out of bed, he noticed many hard flakes with dried blood scattered across the sheets—they were probably the scabs from his burns.
He picked up his phone, reached it behind his back, and took a picture. The photo showed that his back was still somewhat red, as though it had been scalded with hot water, but he felt absolutely nothing unusual. It was completely healed.
“These repair points... are really amazing.”
Though delighted, Su Xiaofan also felt troubled. Repair points were incredibly powerful, but he only had eight left, and he had no idea how to gain more. It was like sitting on a mountain of treasure without being able to reach it.
“Maybe... I should touch a live electrical outlet later?”
The idea he’d had in the hospital resurfaced. But today he wouldn’t have the chance—his dad was taking him and his little sister to buy a house.
Naturally, he couldn’t hide the miraculous recovery of his burns from his father. As soon as he came out, he launched into lavish praise for the ointment Su Weixuan had brought, claiming it was hundreds of times better than the Black Jade Intermittent Ointment from *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*.
The facts were right there. His son really had recovered after using the ointment. Su Weixuan himself was baffled. The ointment was mainly for external injuries and had never been tested on burn patients, so he had no idea whether it could really have such miraculous effects.
It seemed Su Weixuan had returned this time specifically to buy a house. He had done plenty of research. After breakfast, he took Su Xiaofan and his sister by taxi straight to Imperial Capital City.
Imperial Capital City was basically the most upscale residential complex in Luochuan. Apartments there all cost over ten thousand yuan per square meter. Whenever Su Xiaofan had passed by before, he could only admire it from afar. He had never even dared step into the luxuriously decorated sales office.
Su Weixuan’s requirements for buying a house were simple: first, it had to be spacious; second, it had to come fully renovated, preferably ready to move into immediately.
High-end communities naturally offered high-end service. Before long, the sales representative recommended a unit.
It was a 270-square-meter flat on the eighth floor, fully renovated, complete with all major-brand appliances. The only thing missing was furniture, since many wealthy buyers preferred choosing their own instead of using what the developer provided.
This time, Su Weixuan truly showed his children what he was capable of. The apartment cost over 3.5 million yuan. Including deed tax, maintenance funds, and various fees, the total came to more than 3.6 million yuan. He paid the entire amount in one swipe. The property was registered under Su Xiaofan’s name and ID, and the title deed would be ready in fifteen days.
From signing the purchase contract to leaving the sales office, Su Xiaofan felt as though he were drunk. Just a month ago, he had been so poor he had nearly resorted to scams to survive. One month later, he had become a homeowner.
“You know Luochuan well, so you can handle buying the furniture.” After returning to Su Xiaofan’s rented place, Su Weixuan handed him another bank card. “Keep the one million I gave you before as emergency savings. There’s two hundred thousand in this card. Spend it as you see fit.”
“Dad, tell me the truth.”
Su Xiaofan grabbed his father’s arm.
“Do you secretly have billions overseas? Have you been hiding it from Xiaoxiao and me all this time? Am I actually one of those legendary rich second-generation kids? And... you didn’t find me a stepmother, did you?”
Over the years, Su Xiaofan had seen plenty of money. Antique shops often handled transactions worth hundreds of thousands. But having something like this happen to himself was still a tremendous shock.
“That’s right. They say men go bad once they have money. Dad, confess honestly. Did you find us a stepmother?” Su Xiaoxiao chimed in, baring her teeth playfully beside her brother.
“What nonsense are you two talking about? Do you really think your dad is that kind of person?” Su Weixuan glared at his children helplessly.
“Then where did all this money come from?” Su Xiaofan’s eyes suddenly widened. “Dad... don’t tell me you found yourself a rich older woman overseas?”
“Get lost.” Su Weixuan smacked his son lightly on the head. “Your old man earns fifteen to twenty thousand US dollars a month, and I’ve been making that for nearly ten years. Plus, on the ship I don’t spend a cent on food, lodging, or daily necessities. Do you think I have money or not?”
“Being a captain pays that well? Dad, maybe I should quit my street stall and go to sea with you. My English is great. I could definitely qualify as a second officer first.”
Hearing that, Su Xiaofan actually believed him. He had looked up the salaries of ocean liner captains before. The highest-paid ones really could earn nearly two hundred thousand US dollars a year. Converted into RMB, that was well over a million. By that calculation, his father having assets worth tens of millions was perfectly normal.
Of course, captains’ salaries varied by rank. Judging from how frugal his father had always seemed, Su Xiaofan had assumed he earned at most four or five hundred thousand yuan a year. He never imagined his father was actually receiving top-tier pay.
“You? Go to sea? Forget it. It’s too hard. You’re away from home all year long. You’d better stay in Luochuan.”
Su Weixuan shook his head and rejected the idea outright.
Su Xiaofan hadn’t really been interested in sailing anyway. He had only mentioned it casually. Seeing his father refuse, he changed the subject.
“Fine, then. Dad, while you’re back this time, are you going back to the village?”
Although he and his sister now lived in the city, their roots were still in that village. Su Xiaofan knew his father seemed to have some conflict with the villagers and had only returned a handful of times over the years.
“Your grandfather’s gone. What’s the point of me going back? The village chief probably wouldn’t even give me a pleasant look.”
Su Weixuan smiled bitterly, a lonely expression crossing his face. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Tomorrow I’ll go back by myself to visit your grandfather’s grave. You’ve just recovered, so don’t come.”
“Dad, what happened between you and Sixth Grandpa? Couldn’t you just talk it out? It doesn’t have to be like enemies.” Su Xiaofan looked puzzled. “After Grandpa passed away, Sixth Grandpa treated Xiaoxiao and me very well.”
Su Xiaofan came from Bronze Ware Village. The Su family was one of the largest clans there. The village chief was also a member of the Su family and, by seniority, was Su Weixuan’s sixth uncle. He was the one who had led the villagers onto the path of making imitation bronze artifacts and becoming prosperous.
However, when Su Weixuan was young, he seemed to have had some conflict with the village chief. As a child, Su Xiaofan had personally seen the old chief chasing his father with a leather belt.
Because of that, even though the village chief had taken good care of Su Xiaofan and his sister after their grandfather died, Su Xiaofan still insisted on moving out of the village with his sister.
When he had been trying to scrape together his sister’s tuition this time, he never even considered borrowing money from the village. His personality was actually very similar to Su Weixuan’s—they both preferred solving problems themselves and would never trouble others unless absolutely necessary, especially people they had conflicts with.
“You wouldn’t understand. Don’t get involved.” Su Weixuan waved his hand. “The day after tomorrow I have to return to the ship. Later, take Xiaoxiao to Yanjing. She’s never traveled far before. I really don’t feel at ease letting her go alone.”
“Dad, why are you leaving so soon?” Hearing that his father would leave in two days, Su Xiaofan suddenly felt reluctant. In the past, his father usually stayed ten days or half a month. This time he hadn’t even been home for a full week.
“When you take someone’s money, you have to do the job.”
Su Weixuan smiled and used a somewhat inappropriate analogy.
“You stay in Luochuan and keep running your stall. If you want to expand, rent a storefront. Your old man earns one or two million a year. As long as you don’t lose too much, it’s fine.
“Oh, and wear that jade pendant I gave you at all times. Don’t forget.”
“I know.”
Su Xiaofan nodded. In truth, his business at the antique market mostly relied on collecting what people jokingly called an “IQ tax.” It was actually hard to lose money.
As for the jade pendant, he was already wearing it around his neck. He had worn a gold chain for years before, and without something hanging there, it somehow felt strange.
While Su Weixuan went back to the village, Su Xiaofan stayed busy. He spent the entire day taking his sister to several furniture stores, buying beds, sofas, dining tables, and everything else they needed. There was no need to buy wardrobes or cabinets—the master bedroom already had a walk-in closet, and the other rooms all came with built-in wardrobes.
After furnishing the new home, Su Xiaofan didn’t move in immediately. Zheng Dagang had calculated an auspicious moving date over the phone and said three days later would be the best time.
After seeing Su Weixuan off, Su Xiaofan and his sister packed up the old belongings they had brought from their hometown. There wasn’t much—mostly photographs and albums. Everything fit into one large box.
Although they called it moving, they didn’t actually give up the old rental. They left behind the pots, pans, bedding, and other household items. Zheng Dagang drove them to the new apartment. They placed an iron pot inside with a fish in it, and just like that, the moving ceremony was complete.
(End of Chapter)
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