USWHC -Chapter 208 Sold by Someone Yet Still Counting the Money (Part 8)

“What are you doing?” Zhu Jie looked at Ji Yi in surprise. Without even needing her help, Ji Yi had packed up everything in the room within a single day. It looked like they were preparing for a major move.

Ji Yi didn’t even raise his head. He was tidying up the last few books—the ones Zhu Jie had bought. The two of them had only spent one night memorizing the Analects, and since then they had never opened them again. Ji Yi seemed to hesitate over whether to take them along.

“The new house has been renovated. We can move in now!” In the end, Ji Yi stuffed the books into the bundle. As he packed them, he muttered to himself, “They can be used to patch the window if nothing else.”

“What? The house is finished already? That fast?” Zhu Jie exclaimed in astonishment. The ruins she had seen before—repaired in just one month?

Ji Yi casually hoisted the bundle onto his shoulder and said simply, “Let’s go.”

“Go? So suddenly?” Zhu Jie was even more surprised. This… this felt like they were running away. “Did you tell your parents?”

“I told my father yesterday,” Ji Yi replied softly.

“You told him yesterday? Why didn’t you tell me?” Zhu Jie immediately shouted, displeased.

“I did tell you,” Ji Yi said with a look of disdain. “But when we came back from the Sun family earlier, you were completely absent-minded. Whatever I said, you probably didn’t hear a word of it.”

Did he really say it? Zhu Jie scratched her head, looking utterly confused. She had no memory of it at all.

“But are you sure that place is actually livable?” Zhu Jie still asked worriedly.

By then Ji Yi had already walked out the door. As he walked, he said, “You can go see for yourself. If you’re not satisfied, you don’t have to live there.”

While they were talking, the Ji family had all come out to see them off. They seemed to have known long ago that Ji Yi was moving out. Old Master Ji and Ji Laoda immediately stepped forward to help.

“Yi, we’ll help you move!”

Ji Laoda suddenly seemed full of strength. In a flurry of activity, he and the others loaded Ji Yi’s belongings onto the ox cart. Meanwhile, Old Madam Ji was “kindly” helping organize Ji Yi’s things—though it would be more accurate to say she was checking his bundle to make sure he hadn’t secretly taken any of her belongings.

But as the soon-to-be wealthy mother-in-law of a future prefect, she wasn’t as stingy as before. Seeing that the bundle only contained Ji Yi’s old clothes, she merely curled her lips and let it pass.

Watching the Ji family work together so enthusiastically to help them move, one would hardly believe they had quarreled before. At this moment, Ji Laoda even had a smile on his face—after all, their household would soon have one more empty room!

“Oh dear, Yi has really suffered!” Ji Laoda said hypocritically. “Moving in such a hurry—I wonder if that house is even fit to live in.”

Ji Yi only smiled faintly. “As long as it keeps out the wind and rain, that’s enough.”

“Well, we’re brothers after all! If there’s anything you still need help with over there, just tell me,” Ji Laoda said politely. “Fixing a roof or repairing a window—your brother can handle that!”

Clearly, he had absolutely no expectations for Ji Yi’s new house. Of course, his offer of help came with clear limits—he’d provide labor only. If money was involved, don’t even bring it up. Talking about money hurts brotherly feelings!

“It’s all done already. Don’t worry, brother,” Ji Yi replied with the same calm smile.

But Zhu Jie couldn’t relax at all. Sitting reluctantly on the ox cart, she kept asking anxiously:

“You’re sure the roof doesn’t leak?”

“It doesn’t.”

“You’re sure we’ll have a bed to sleep on?”

“Yes. And it’s very big.”

“You’re sure we’ll have a place to eat?”

“Yes. I even installed a kitchen.” Ji Yi said this while glancing back at Zhu Jie. “But are you sure you know how to cook?”

Well… this time Zhu Jie wasn’t so sure.

Ji Yi’s new house wasn’t very far from the Ji family home. The ox cart creaked along the road until it had passed the place completely.

“Wait! We’re here!” Ji Yi suddenly shouted, rushing forward to grab the ox’s head.

Old Master Ji and Ji Laoda had been walking in front. Hearing him, they turned back in confusion.

“We’re here? I don’t see anything.”

“Isn’t it right there?” Ji Yi said with a smile, pointing toward the courtyard on the right.

But the moment he pointed, Old Master Ji and Ji Laoda were stunned. Almost at the same time, they shouted:

“This is your house?! Impossible!”