Upon arriving at the military compound, Luo Qianqian looked awkward; wasn’t this the Wei Family’s courtyard?

However, Elder Deng’s house was a bit further inside.

"Go get the tea and some snacks that young girls like," Elder Deng instructed as he got out of the car.

Luo Qianqian followed Elder Deng into the standalone building before them, blinking: "It seems there’s no one living here, could it be that Elder Deng lives alone?" Though suspicious in her heart, Luo Qianqian maintained a composed exterior.

She neither inspected the house nor looked at the decor, quietly following behind Elder Deng.

"How does the girl find this place?" Elder Deng motioned for Luo Qianqian to sit down before speaking.

Only then did Luo Qianqian glance around and nod: "Antique and elegant, grand and atmospheric." Elder Deng’s place was designed in a traditional Chinese style, with all visible furniture made of solid wood and several calligraphy paintings hanging on the walls. If she hadn’t gained prior experience, Luo Qianqian might have made the ’Du Fu moving’ joke again.

Thinking of this, she remembered Elder Zhang, who was once so happy with her brother and Xiao Yu, and how much things had changed in just a few years.

Xiao Sui brought over the tea set, and after a while, came back with some bags of chips, embarrassedly scratching his head: "I don’t really know what young girls like to eat these days."

Luo Qianqian chuckled: "It’s all right, I’m not picky. Thank you, Brother Sui."

"Really?" To which Elder Deng merely raised an eyebrow, though he said nothing more, his tone was full of doubt.

Luo Qianqian pouted: "I’m not picky when it comes to snacks."

"Go to the door and meet up with Old Xiu." Elder Deng waved Xiao Sui away, and Xiao Sui went out.

Elder Deng looked at Luo Qianqian examining the chips carefully, shook his head, and looked disdainful: "You kids do love eating this junk food."

But his hands were already pouring water and starting to boil it for tea.

"Grandpa Deng, are you saying this to make me eat or not eat?" Luo Qianqian blinked her eyes, she wasn’t much of a snack lover, but hearing such a tease, she couldn’t help but retort. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Eat, eat, eat, how dare I not let you eat?" Elder Deng laughed heartily, looking at the colorful packaging: "Kids are so lucky, things like that are untouchable for old folks like us."

"High cholesterol?" Luo Qianqian put down the snacks, not opening them.

With hands stained from snacks, she dared not touch the Spirit of Jade.

"Can’t you think more positively?" Elder Deng looked at Luo Qianqian with feigned annoyance: "Those things have nitrites, don’t you know?"

"... Noted." Luo Qianqian shrugged, appearing nonchalant, whether she knew or not wasn’t important; what’s important is whether she would choose to act on it.

"Whew, Old Man Deng, put down the jade, let me come!!!" A loud, breathless voice was heard from outside, along with the sound of scurrying footsteps.

Luo Qianqian and Elder Deng turned their heads to see Old Xiu panting as he ran across the yard, with a helpless Xiao Sui trailing behind him.

"Weren’t we just waiting for you?" Elder Deng merely raised an eyebrow: "Why the hurry?"

Old Xiu completely ignored him, grabbed Luo Qianqian, and plopped himself beside her: "Little girl, if not for the Nine Heavens Pavilion still standing, I would’ve thought you ran away."

Luo Qianqian was speechless; although she was a behind-the-scenes boss, she hadn’t swindled anyone’s money, so why would she run away?

Blinking, she hadn’t spoken yet when Old Xiu continued: "Why have you been out of touch for so long?"

Pouting, Luo Qianqian shrugged: "Carving takes time, plus I have exams to attend."

Old Xiu was taken aback, having almost forgotten about her age upon seeing she opened a shop.

He was left speechless: "Not attending is just like failing the course, you’ll have to retake it."

Luo Qianqian blinked: "Oh." Her voice was calm, and she looked at Elder Deng seriously: "Grandpa Deng is always the best."

Elder Deng laughed heartily: "Of course, this old fellow is just here to make me look good."

Hearing this, Old Xiu felt uneasy and looked worried: "Xiao Qianqian, don’t tell me you only brought one piece?"

Luo Qianqian touched her nose, her eyes glancing at the snacks: "Hard to say."

Reaching for the snacks, Old Xiu looked resolute: "Of this kind, I’ll buy you a truckload."

Luo Qianqian turned her head, amused, looking at Old Xiu.

"Little girl, he was just cursing you for failing just now." Elder Deng spoke nonchalantly, knowing full well Luo Qianqian wouldn’t have brought only one piece but enjoying teasing his old friend.

"Yeah, if I did fail... hmph." Luo Qianqian turned her head to the side.

"Xiao Qianqian, which school are you in? I’ll talk to your teacher..."

"Grandpa Xiu, are you suggesting cheating?" Luo Qianqian jokingly turned her head back to look at him.

She reached into a phone pouch on her chest, taking out two small boxes, looking plump and full: "I don’t need it; my grades are excellent."

Seeing the two small boxes, both men were excited, but Luo Qianqian held the boxes in her hands without giving them: "The contents inside are the same, the patterns too, but they’re slightly different in size. You can choose yourselves."

She showed them, holding one in each hand, letting them decide by looking at the boxes, hoping for luck.

"I’ll take this one." Elder Deng hesitated for a moment and took the one on the left.

"Then I’ll take this one." Old Xiu straightforwardly took the one on the right.

Elder Deng opened his first, and Luo Qianqian glanced: "Grandpa Deng’s is the smaller one."

Once Old Xiu also opened his, both looked baffled, seemingly the same size, right?

"Because there were no strings left, I randomly picked them; one had a longer string, one shorter, one bigger, one smaller." Luo Qianqian’s face was full of mischief.

The two elders were left speechless, so it was about the strings, was it?

They each picked up the jade pendants from the boxes.

Cool in hand, it seemed to refresh their spirits, as if they’d been purified.

Both sat holding the jade pendants, faces filled with happiness.

Luo Qianqian repeatedly rolled her eyes; if there were others present, wouldn’t they think she was the villain, using something to control the two?

"No wonder you dare to ask such a high price, it’s worth it." Elder Deng was the first to react, rejuvenated, hanging it around his neck: "Let me cherish it for a couple of days first."

Old Xiu was just as quick, hanging it around his neck too: "Yes, yes, cherish it for a couple of days first."

A moment later, Old Xiu hesitated: "Xiao Qianqian, I don’t have enough money, can I..."

Luo Qianqian remained serious: "I accept property of equivalent value; I never think having too many houses is an issue."

A joke in the land-scarce Capital City, having houses equaled immense wealth, didn’t it?

"Great." Old Xiu sighed with relief, pulling a document list from his pocket with an awkward expression: "See which one you like? I’ll transfer it to you later, and I’ll cover the rest in cash."

Elder Deng stared wide-eyed: "I almost forgot, yes, yes, I too, don’t have enough money, see which one you like?" As he spoke, he pulled out a stack of property deeds from under the coffee table.

Luo Qianqian blinked; had these become so worthless now?

"This one." Spotting the newly completed villa number one property certificate, Luo Qianqian was immediately smitten: "My brother is not here, can it be under his name?"

"Your brother? Luo Yanran?" Old Xiu looked at his property certificate and puzzled looked at Luo Qianqian.

"Luo Shufan, my blood brother."