The next morning, Shen Xian moved into the small separate manor on Willow Lane in the western city.
The manor was modest, two courtyards plus half‑an‑acre vegetable plot.
It had belonged to a distant uncle of the Shen family who passed away the previous year, leaving the place vacant.
Though furniture was old, everything was functional.
Shen Xian directed Wangcai and Laifu to clean the grounds, laid out the new bedding he had extracted from the manor, and flopped down onto a lounge chair in the central yard, exhaling a long deep breath.
“Third Young Master.” Wangcai hurried over.
“Messenger from the manor.
The master says you will receive two taels monthly stipend from now on.”
“Two taels?” Shen Xian barely lifted his eyelids.
“That is charity for beggars.
Go reply: I require five taels.
If they refuse, I shall return to the manor every single day to pay respects to the master, three visits daily, rain or shine.”
Wangcai swallowed hard.
“Is… is that appropriate?”
“Go.
He will agree.”
Wangcai rushed off.
Less than the time it takes to burn one incense stick, he returned, face flushed.
“He agreed!
He also told you never to come back!”
“The core of negotiation: set a price so high the cost for them to reject it becomes unbearable.”
Laifu carried in a plate of washed peaches.
“Third Young Master, are we living here permanently?
Never going back to the main manor?”
“Never going back.” Shen Xian bit into a juicy peach.
“Endless dramas unfold in that manor.
Too many acting roles; I would die from overwork.”
“But how shall the three of us make a living?” Laifu asked.
“Good question, Laifu.” Shen Xian swallowed peach flesh and slapped the pawn‑ticket down onto the stone table.
“Inside Ruifeng Pawnshop’s ice‑cellar sits a Red Spirit Ginseng worth three hundred taels.
Early this morning I sent Liu San to deliver a note to Magistrate Wang’s residence.
Message: the Shen family has recovered the birthday‑gift ginseng.
Tomorrow for his birthday we will present the original item plus additional gifts to apologize.”
Wangcai and Laifu leaned over the paper, seeing nothing remarkable.
“Third Young Master, but that ginseng belongs to the Shen Manor, right?”
“The ginseng belongs to the household.
But the merit of finding it belongs to me.
I am the one who smoothed over the trouble with Magistrate Wang.
Think of the accounts: Magistrate Wang owes me a favor.
Two favors traded for five taels monthly stipend, a private manor, and personal freedom.
I still come out ahead.”
Laifu counted on his fingers for a long time, eyes growing huge.
“Third Young Master… how is your brain built?”
“Built from all‑nights at work.” Shen Xian lay back down and closed his eyes.
“Alright, all of you go.
I rest today.
No matter what happens, deal with it tomorrow.”
Warm afternoon sunshine wrapped everything, relaxing every bone in one’s body.
Half‑asleep in his lounge‑chair, Shen Xian suddenly heard a strange faint voice in his head, quiet yet crystal‑clear.
Achievement unlocked: Escape the Caged Manor.
Survival index +10.
Shen Xian’s eyes flew open.
The courtyard lay quiet.
Wangcai snored nearby.
Laifu knelt counting ants.
Wind rustled eggplant leaves in the vegetable patch.
“Hallucination?” he muttered, rolled over, and went back to sleep.
He slept until late afternoon.