Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 25: Im So Weak!

The stone table and bench were pulled by two bullock carts¹ and a total of four master masons carried them through the gate, placing them in a suitable position under the jujube tree according to Ji Yuan’s instructions.

The table, stools, and labor together cost 1 tael of silver, which could be said to be the most expensive item he had purchased in this trip. After placing the items in their designated locations, the four stone masons collected their pay and left Ju’an Pavilion without saying a word. Ji Yuan wanted to be polite and offer them a drink of water, but didn’t even get the chance.

Now that Ji Yuan has a place to rest, he sat on the stone bench in the courtyard and watched the people in the main and side rooms of the house. From time to time, he went over to give them instructions on where things went.

‘These market vendors in ancient times are actually quite professional, and their hands and feet are so nimble!’

Plus, the men and women who were cleaning didn’t even seem like they were working excessively hard. They had originally estimated that the cleaning would take half a day, but at the rate they were going Ji Yuan estimated that, with their efficient work method, it would take at most a little over an hour!

Interestingly, some shops came to deliver their wares but didn’t even come in, such as the people who sold his quilts. Some shopkeepers moved their wares inside, then took the money and left immediately after without stopping to chat or look around, as if there was some urgent matter to attend to.

The group of people who were invited to clean acted normally. The cleaning proceeded at a rapid pace and they worked without any complaints. Even if someone wanted to chat, a manager would stop them. He hadn’t realized that the working conditions here were so strict.

‘The people in ancient times were very hardworking! ’²

Ji Yuan sighed in his heart and held his chin in a daze.

The cleaning work was basically just removing dust. The each room was dusted, and then wiped down with a wet towel and mop. Another person fixed up the paper windows.

Ji Yuan was curious, so he went crush some of the scrapped paper in his hands and found that the window paper was actually quite tough. It was similar to the oil paper used in making umbrellas. It certainly couldn’t be punctured by just a little moisture like what was shown on TV, and would be fine regardless of wind or rain.

. . .

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but Ji Yuan, who was yawning as he listened to the busy people the various rooms, suddenly felt a chill in his heart. He subconsciously turned his head to the well, and frowned at it for a long time.

Since water was needed for cleaning, the plank covering the top of the well had been removed. Just now, he felt that it was a little colder in that direction. Now that he was looking at it, the whole surface of the well appeared dark. He wasn’t sure whether it was due to the shade being cast on the well by the tree.

As Ji Yuan opened his eyes a bit more and continued looking, the shadows under the well gave him an uncomfortably gloomy feeling.

For some reason, Ji Yuan couldn’t help but recall the horror movies he had watched in his previous life, giving him goosebumps.

‘You’re really scaring yourself!’

Ji Yuan rubbed his arms and forced himself to stop thinking about it.

“Mr. Ji, Mr. Ji?”

At this moment, a deafening voice seemed to come from far away, which startled Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan shuddered and woke up, only to realize that he had just fallen asleep on the stone table.

Turning around, he saw that the helpers hired to clean the mansion had all carried their buckets and tools to the yard. A total of 8 people were standing beside him.

“Mr. Ji, we’re done cleaning, can you take a look?”

“You’ve finished? So quickly?”

“Um, hey, yes.³ Please take a look. If you’re not satisfied, we can clean it again.”

After they finished their words, Ji Yuan stood up from the stone bench.

“Okay, let me take a look!”

He walked around a few rooms, from time to time reaching out to wipe a finger along the base of the windowsill, and looked under the bed and in every corner. It was basically all clean.

When he had gone to hire someone today, a lot of people had refused to come when they heard it was at the end of Tian Niu Lane. Because of that, this team was able to double their price, but now it looked like they were worth the money.

He went back out to the yard where the group of people stood waiting.

“Yes, that you for your hard work.”

Ji Yuan took out his purse, took out a pile of five-wen coins, counted forty in front of them, and added two more on top.

“Here is your pay, and the extra 10 cents are for treating everyone to tea!”

“Thank you, Mr. Ji!”

“Thank you, Mr. Ji!”

“Then, shall we take our leave?”

As everyone expressed their thanks, the leader hurriedly took the money and bid him farewell.

“Okay, feel free to head out slowly, there’s no need for me see you out!”

Ji Yuan smiled and nodded to them with a gentle and elegant demeanor. After all, he hadn’t yet tried to match his new outfit, so he had to practice anyway.

However, these workers had similar reactions before and after: they were all very enthusiastic. It was unclear whether it was because of the money or because of his demeanor.

It wasn’t until the sound of the group’s footsteps came from farther away that Ji Yuan could vaguely hear some discussions.

“This house is really nice!”

“Hey, Mr. Ji is a very nice man, and he seems to be a knowledgeable person!”

“The name of this house sounded familiar…”

When their leader heard this last comment, he just urged them onward.

“Stop talking, walk faster, hurry up!”

“I couldn’t tell how old that gentleman was, but he was so handsome!”

“Again, as I said, hurry up, what’s the use in looking good?”

…

Okay, Ji Yuan was satisfied after hearing the last few comments, but he couldn’t understand what they meant by his age. Could it be possible that they saw him as old? And what was the use of looking good? It was certainly better than not looking good!

At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and it was already close to dusk.

Although the facilities in the rooms were still relatively simple, it had everything he needed. Ji Yuan sat in the yard, lost in thought.

It was a pity that there was no Internet or mobile phones, and no naive young heroes coming to see Mr. Ji from time to time.

“Hey, I’m a little lonely…haah…”

Ji Yuan sighed and suddenly turned his head to look at the well, nervous. He stood up and walked over to the side, grabbed the wooden cover, and slammed it back on top of the well.

“Huh… I feel much more comfortable. I should have watched fewer horror movies in my last life and scared myself less!”

. . .

In the middle of the silent night, the watchman’s voice spread far and wide, reaching Ji Yuan’s ears.

“Dong… dong, dong…”

“All is safe…”

“Dong… dong, dong…”

“All is safe…”

…

He didn’t know why, but Ji Yuan tossed and turned all night without being able to sleep. He tried all kinds of tricks, like counting sheep and doing math problems in his head, but they just didn’t work.

As soon as the watchman struck the clapper, Ji Yuan, who had his eyes closed, realized that it was already time for the third watch when the sound of the clapper struck three times.

Although it was just after 11 o’clock in the evening, it got dark early, and there was nothing in terms of entertainment, so the only thing people could do here was go to bed and rise early.

‘Could it be that I’m just having trouble sleeping in a new bed?⁴ Or am I just excited about owning a house? ’

At his thoughts, Ji Yuan realized that the temperature had dropped a lot without him noticing.

“Squeak… squeak… squeak… squeak…”

An old wooden creak sounded from the courtyard outside the door. It was very faint, but it definitely couldn’t escape Ji Yuan’s hearing.

Ji Yuan paused. He kept absolutely quiet and listened carefully, hoping that it was just an auditory hallucination .

“Squeak…”

The wooden plank on the well, which was pressing against the stones, was lifted up little by little, making a creaking sound as if the wood were struggling under the pressure.

Ji Yuan suddenly opened his eyes, lying on the bed, and all kinds of associations of things that happened during the day flashed through his mind. A chill shot up his spine and straight to the top of his head. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as if by magic.

“Squeak…”

“Bang!”

The stone that had been pressed on top of the board had fallen to the ground. Ji Yuan’s heart jumped violently alongside the stone’s thud.

The wooden cover was pushed to one side, and a dense mass of hair overflowed from the well…

“Guru…”

As the chill grew heavier, Ji Yuan gulped, pulled up the quilt on the bed, and quietly covered his head with extremely slow movements.

“Dammit… How could I be so unlucky! Damn broker, curse you! ’

1. A kind of ox-drawn cart ↩︎
2. T/n: Ji Yuan… Buddy… ↩︎
3. Hesitation/stutter ↩︎
4. 难不成我计某人居然还认床? Difficult translation ↩︎