The real estate broker led Jiang Hongyan to the entrance of a small, standalone courtyard.
“This is the place. Come in and have a look.”
“All right.”
Jiang Hongyan followed him inside. The courtyard was not particularly large, with two or three rooms, including a bedroom and a kitchen. It was more than enough for one person to live comfortably.
As they walked, the broker introduced the property.
“The owner has already moved elsewhere, so this courtyard can be rented long term. If you want to stay here permanently, that’s no problem. You won’t have to worry about moving again after just a few days. You also mentioned that you preferred somewhere quiet, and this place fits your requirements perfectly. The courtyard walls are quite high, so you won’t even have to interact with the neighboring households.”
Jiang Hongyan inspected the place inside and out and was quite satisfied.
“How much is the rent per month?”
“One and a half taels.”
Jiang Hongyan quickly calculated the cost in his mind. He currently had twenty taels of silver, enough to rent the place for an entire year.
“I’ll sign a one year lease.”
“Certainly. We normally rent by the year anyway. If you want to continue living here after that, you can simply renew the lease.”
“Good.”
After completing all the necessary paperwork, Jiang Hongyan cleaned the entire courtyard.
There were many inconveniences in ancient times. Water, for example, had to be drawn from a well with buckets, unlike in the modern world where turning on a faucet was all it took.
Still, none of those inconveniences were unbearable. Simply surviving had already been a blessing, and minor difficulties in daily life could easily be overcome.
With some money still left, Jiang Hongyan went back out to the marketplace and bought a few daily necessities.
Although it was not cold yet, he still needed a quilt.
The house was close to the market, only a short walk away.
After buying a large pile of supplies, he returned to his newly rented home and neatly arranged everything where it belonged.
Then he took several photos and sent them to Sheng Yan.
Through their experiments over the past several days, the couple had already discovered the limitations of sending objects.
Living things could not be transmitted, nor could immovable objects.
So even if he photographed the entire house and sent the picture, the house itself would not disappear.
At that moment, Sheng Yan was at home uploading the edited photos and videos to several social media platforms.
After several days of consistently producing high quality content, one short video platform had already gained her more than a hundred followers. The other platforms only had a few dozen each, but she believed there was still plenty of room for growth.
After receiving his photos, she immediately opened them.
【Sheng Yan: The house looks pretty good. Now that you’re living alone, it’ll be much more convenient for me to send things to you in the future.】
【Jiang Hongyan: Yes! But I’ll still visit Xiaohe Village regularly. Brother Chen and Sister in Law Chen saved my life. Although I left them a fifty tael banknote before I departed, I don’t think that amount is enough to repay what they’ve done for me, so I’ll visit them often in the future.】
【Sheng Yan: Mm, you should. Are you almost out of money now?】
【Jiang Hongyan: Yes, I rented this house for a year at one and a half taels a month, and I also bought some daily necessities at the market just now. I only have a few dozen copper coins left.】
【Sheng Yan: Wait there. I’ll send you the glass cups from our house right away. You can take them to a pawnshop, but it’s best to use a different one. If glass items appear there too often, they probably won’t be worth as much. Their value comes from how rare they are.】
【Jiang Hongyan: You’re right. You’re the clever one.】
【Sheng Yan: This afternoon I’ll make another trip to the supermarket and buy you more things to send over. Ancient times definitely don’t have many of the conveniences we have today.】
【Jiang Hongyan: Yanyan, I’m managing just fine for now, so you don’t need to rush out and buy me so many things. Right now, all of our household expenses depend on you alone. Don’t spend money on me. Save it for yourself and our daughter.】
【Sheng Yan: The supermarket stuff only costs a little, so don’t say things like that. I already gave the bowl you sent me to Xiaofei to examine, and she’ll let me know as soon as she has any news. Also, I’ve recently started trying to become a content creator. I don’t plan on going back to work anymore. A regular job doesn’t give me any freedom, and the salary is fixed every month. If I can make content creation successful, I could earn quite a bit in the future.】
【Jiang Hongyan: As long as you’ve made up your mind. Things have stabilized on my end, and over the next few days I’ll do everything I can to earn money. Once I do, I’ll send it all to you.】
He himself had very few expenses. As long as he had food and a place to stay, he was satisfied.
But she was different.
Jiang Hongyan already knew about Sheng Yan’s difficulty finding work. With a child to care for, many companies were unwilling to hire her. Her situation was far more difficult than his.
Every time he thought about it, a deep sense of helplessness filled him.
If only he could return.
Sheng Yan went into the kitchen and photographed all the glass items in the house, including several drinking glasses, a glass teapot, a glass vase, and a glass bowl, then sent the pictures to Jiang Hongyan.
These items were worthless in the modern world, but they could be exchanged for a considerable amount of silver in his time.
Jiang Hongyan was a modern man who had previously worked in the internet industry. In ancient times, he might not be able to find suitable work at all.
He might spend an entire day laboring only to earn a few copper coins.
That was why Sheng Yan did not want him to look for work.
The glass items she sent him alone would be enough for him to exchange for a substantial amount of silver.