God-Tier Get Rich System – CH92

Chapter 92: A Different Path

“This…” Aunt Wu hesitated for a moment but still accepted it. “Since you trust me, I’ll definitely pass it on for you! Like you said, Dragon Country folks don’t deceive fellow Dragon Country folks! Young man, you’re a good person. Tell me your name—I’ll have those two siblings kowtow to you!”

No need for that.

“Don’t worry about it. Just think of it as my good deed for the day.”

Mu Lantu hoped he wouldn’t have any involvement with that pair of siblings, as it would only mean trouble. And trouble was the thing he hated most.

After watching him walk away, Aunt Wu jogged off to find Aunt Chen.

“Qiuju, do you remember that young man yesterday who asked us to help find a house?”

Aunt Chen was in the courtyard doing laundry—clothes for a family of nearly ten, all by herself, panting with the effort.

“It was only yesterday. Of course I remember. You think my memory’s that bad?”

Aunt Wu stepped around the wet ground and told her what had happened.

Aunt Chen was both surprised and delighted, immediately abandoning the laundry. “Five yuan? There’s actually such a good thing?”

“Right? Look!” Aunt Wu showed her the money, clutched tightly in her hand as she was afraid of losing it. “I’m about to take it to the two kids. Want to come with me?”

“Sure!”

Aunt Chen closed the courtyard gate, and the two of them walked deeper into the alley, stopping in front of a low mud wall. They pushed open a pair of red double doors.

“Little Douzi, are you home?”

A skinny, bone-thin boy came out of the house, followed closely by a small girl who timidly peeked out from behind him. Her hair was yellow and dry, looking like an unkempt nest of straw.

“Granny Chen, Granny Wu.” The boy greeted them sweetly, then coached his sister, “Sister, be polite. Say hello to Granny Chen and Granny Wu.”

The little girl shrank back, too shy to speak.

Aunt Chen and Aunt Wu waved it off, not minding.

“We’re here to give you money!”

Aunt Wu placed the five yuan in the boy’s palm. “Here, five yuan!”

Aunt Chen, full of cheer, repeated the story of how they’d encountered a good-hearted man.

The boy listened carefully, his eyes lighting up at first but then dimming.

Aunt Chen mentioned what she had thought earlier and sighed with regret. “I figured someone who can afford to buy a house must be well-off. And he didn’t seem like a bad person. He gave you five yuan, which proved I was right. If he had rented your house, you two siblings wouldn’t have to worry anymore. What a pity!”

There was no forcing such things. After Aunt Chen finished rambling, she dismissed it from her mind.

The boy’s eyes lit up again. “Granny Wu, can we still find that man? I’m willing to rent our house to him!”

He was still a child, and Aunt Chen figured he hadn’t understood what she said earlier. She added, “That young man wasn’t interested in your house.”

The boy’s eyes turned red, jaw clenched, and his small fists balled tightly. He was clearly suppressing humiliation.

“Granny Chen, Granny Wu, he can stay in our house for free, as long as he agrees to take care of our meals—and also, to send my sister and me to school! We’re even willing to acknowledge him as our godfather!”

Aunt Wu was stunned, her earlier excitement completely snuffed out. “Qiuju, I just remembered I’ve got something to do at home. I’ll head back first!”

Aunt Chen also felt something was off about what the boy said and stood there dazed for a moment.

Seeing Aunt Wu leave, the boy panicked and rushed forward to block her.

“Granny Wu! Do you know how to find that man?”

“No idea. We didn’t really know him in the first place.” Aunt Chen said with a smile, already turning to go. “I should be getting back…”

The boy didn’t notice the impatience in her eyes and kept pressing. “Do you know his name? What he looks like? Where he lives?”

“He was all bundled up—clearly wary of strangers, didn’t want to attract trouble. We couldn’t see anything!” Aunt Wu gently pushed him aside and quickly walked away.

The boy desperately grabbed Aunt Chen’s hand. “Granny Chen, you must know, right? You’re a good person—you’ll help my sister and me, won’t you?”

For some reason, Aunt Chen felt a chill run down her back.

Was it really the right decision to take on responsibility for these two kids?

Mu Lantu, completely unaware that he had narrowly avoided trouble, had searched all over the county town for a house—with no luck.

Why was it that protagonists in transmigration novels could always rent or buy a house so easily?

Maybe because he wasn’t the male lead?

As he walked, Mu Lantu amused himself with the thought and cheered up.

No big deal if he couldn’t find one—he still had one last trick up his sleeve.

Mu Lantu returned to the village calmly, bringing six meat buns to the brigade leader’s house. He asked him to write two referral letters: one for Taiping Village, and another for Zhenxing Village.

These were the two closest villages to the county town along the road to the Dongfanghong Brigade.

Xu Huazhang came home from work and took a lunch box out of his bag, handing it to Mu Lantu.

Mu Lantu opened it to find two soy-braised eggs.

His coworkers had said the eggs at the canteen were especially tasty, so Xu Huazhang bought some for him to try.

“Baby, you’re in a good mood—did you find a house?”

Mu Lantu was confident. “Not yet, but I’m close!”

When Xu Huazhang asked further, he didn’t say more.

“You’ll know in a few days.”

Mu Lantu went to Taiping Village first.

With the referral letter in hand, the villagers didn’t make things difficult when he asked for directions to the village head’s home.

“You came to our village to rent a house?”

Village Head Qian was surprised to learn his intention.

These days, hardly anyone came to rent a house in a rural village.

Mu Lantu gave a handful of fruit candies to the curious kids at the village head’s home and said with a smile:

“To be precise, I’d like to ask if there’s anyone in your village who owns both a house here and one in the county town. If so, I’d like to know if they’re willing to vacate the county house—I’d like to buy it. Price is not an issue.”

He added that he was helping a friend—a fellow educated youth working at the machinery factory—find housing to make commuting easier.

“You mean the one who made the diesel harvester? Oh wow, that’s incredible!” Village Head Qian slapped his thigh repeatedly, unable to contain his excitement.

“His fame has spread that far already?” Mu Lantu was quietly proud, his smile widening.

“Oh yes! Everyone in the area knows about him!” The village head stood to pour him tea—this time real tea, not just hot water. The tea leaves were taken from an iron tin in the drawer. Clearly, it was a treasured item.

The tea leaves were large, and though their type was unclear, the aroma was rich.

The village head said, “I’ve heard the county is working on mass-producing those harvesters. Maybe next year our village will be able to use one too!”

Mu Lantu replied, “If that happens, it’ll be a great blessing.”

The village head nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, yes! Oh right, about the house—you’re in luck. There are actually two households in our village who own homes both here and in the county.”

He went on to explain both cases in detail.

The first was the Wang family, who were fairly wealthy. Their eldest son used to be a soldier, and after leaving the army, he was assigned to work in the county town. He bought a small courtyard house with three main rooms. Though not big, it was enough for the whole family. Currently, he and his wife live there.

The second was the Zhou family. They inherited their county house from a grandaunt. It was an independent courtyard with three main rooms, two side rooms, and a small front yard. The house was older than the Wang’s but built with blue bricks and tiles—solid enough to last another hundred years. It even had a flush toilet.

However, the Zhou family had no connections in the county and couldn’t find jobs there, so even though they lived in town, they returned to the village to work daily. When they first moved, villagers made fun of them. Their village home was still intact, and they stayed there during the busy farming season.

It sounded like buying from the Wang family was unlikely.

Mu Lantu asked, “Could I trouble you, Uncle Village Head, to ask both families what they think? As an outsider, they probably won’t trust me.”

“No problem, it’s a small matter!”

Youth Mu had come bearing generous gifts—some brown sugar, a good bottle of liquor, and candy for the village head’s grandkids.

The village head had his own considerations: if his village couldn’t get a harvester next year, having a connection with Mu Lantu might allow them to borrow one from the Dongfanghong Brigade. That would not only help harvest the village’s crops quickly but also boost his prestige as village head.

He immediately asked his two sons to entertain Mu Lantu and hurried out.

The two sons, Qian Dazhuang and Qian Xiaozhuang, were around thirty and felt a bit awkward hosting Mu Lantu.

Mu Lantu chatted with them about farming, which helped ease the mood.

Half an hour passed and the village head still hadn’t returned.

The brothers grew embarrassed—how could they leave a guest hanging?

Mu Lantu reassured them, “No rush. Maybe the families weren’t home, or he’s still talking with them.”

The three chatted idly.

After nearly another half hour, the village head returned with a group of people, including an elderly couple—presumably the parents—and four young men who appeared to be their sons.

The village head introduced them as such.

The sons all wore expressions of excitement and anticipation.

Mu Lantu felt steady—he was seventy percent confident now.

The youngest son looked about eighteen or nineteen—perhaps unmarried—but the three older ones were surely married and had children.

A big family all crammed into one courtyard likely led to conflicts. Selling the house and building separate homes in the village might be more appealing.

“Comrade Mu, our house won’t come cheap,” said the Zhou patriarch coldly, his tone flat and unenthusiastic.

Zhou’s eldest son quickly added, “Dad, let’s show Comrade Mu the house first, shall we?”

“Yes, let’s leave price talk until after he’s seen it,” said the second son with a friendly smile. “Our house is large and sturdy—if you buy it, you’ll get great value. You could even pass it down as a family home.”

The fourth son chimed in, “The bricks and timber are all high-quality. You’re from the city—you’ll know good materials when you see them. We wouldn’t trick you.”

The third son didn’t manage to speak—maybe he was shy—but he nodded constantly in agreement.