Chapter 6

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"Miss Zhu, please come in. Please sit down wherever you like, no need to be formal."

Following Xu Yan's invitation, Zhu Youxiang entered the room and walked over to the leather sofa. She pressed it with her hand and sat down. The soft and comfortable feeling beneath her made her tired body feel instantly relieved—had it not been for Xu Yan's presence, she really would have wanted to stretch out comfortably on the sofa and fall asleep.

Then, she touched the item on the table that resembled an oil lamp, but accidentally pressed the button of the lamp. Soft light instantly spread throughout the living room, making the entire room bright. Zhu Youxiang couldn't help but exclaim, "This is actually another magical artifact!"

Xu Yan was getting her a glass of water from the water dispenser. Hearing Zhu Youxiang's exclamation, he turned around, puzzled, "Magical artifact? What magical artifact?"

Zhu Youxiang, sitting on the sofa, pointed to the lamp that was on. "This, you mean this... This is just an ordinary lamp, not a magical artifact at all."

"Really? It's not a magical artifact?"

Such an exquisite and unique magical artifact turned out to be just an ordinary item here? Zhu Youxiang was surprised. She examined the lamp again and again, then turned to ask Xu Yan, "Young Master Xu, where did you get this item?"

"Lamp? I bought it from a store. It's not expensive, just a few dozen yuan—oh, I mean RMB."

Zhu Youxiang was silent. After a night, she had a rough idea of the prices here. Buying some dry food and drinks cost a dozen or so yuan. In her view, one yuan of RMB here had about the same purchasing power as one coin of Daming Tongbao—meaning that a few dozen coins could get such a lighting magical artifact?

"This night-light magical artifact is very convenient, its brightness far surpasses a night pearl! If it could be transported to the capital, it would surely increase in value a hundredfold!" Zhu Youxiang said with confidence.

"Transporting this lamp to the capital would make it worth a hundred times its price?" Xu Ping laughed, "Miss Zhu, you're joking again. The people in the capital aren't fools. Here, this is the switch for the lamp, you can adjust the brightness. When it gets dark, you just press here to turn it on—by the way, are you hungry? Shall I get you something to eat?"

Zhu Youxiang had eaten a chicken leg burger at KFC, but after a few hours of折腾 (tengzhe, meaning 'tossing and turning' or 'trouble'), she did feel a bit hungry. So she nodded slightly, a bit shyly, "Thank you, Young Master."

"No need to be formal. Let me see what's in the fridge... eggs, noodles, vegetables..."

After rummaging through the fridge, Xu Yan only found two eggs and a bunch of vegetables. He was about to continue searching when he noticed something odd behind him. Turning around, he saw Zhu Youxiang bent over, standing behind him, seriously observing the refrigerator, occasionally reaching in to feel the cold air inside.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the fridge?"

"I didn't expect that you, Young Master, would have such a magical artifact as the Xuantian Cold Box." Zhu Youxiang looked at Xu Yan for a long time, her eyes full of admiration, "Your residence, though it looks plain on the surface, is actually full of mysteries, truly unfathomable!"

Now, Xu Yan finally confirmed a problem: this beautiful girl in ancient attire was either a mentally deranged patient or really a person from the past who had traveled through time. Otherwise, a normal person couldn't possibly act so convincingly, even getting excited over a lamp and a fridge.

Xu Yan was somewhat immune to Zhu Youxiang's odd behavior. He smiled, "Miss Zhu, no need to be formal. The fridge is nothing special, almost every household has one. You can rest in the living room for a while, I'll go to the kitchen and get you something to eat."

"Thank you, Young Master."

Soon, the noodles were cooked, and Xu Yan placed them on the coffee table in front of Zhu Youxiang. After thanking him, she picked up the chopsticks. She ate very gracefully and formally, her back straight, carefully picking up the noodles and slowly putting them in her mouth. Her movements and demeanor were so elegant and perfect.

Watching Zhu Youxiang eat, Xu Yan finally understood why the ancients invented the phrase "秀色可餐" (xiuse ke can, meaning 'beautiful to the point of being edible'). Watching a pretty girl eat in front of you was truly a delightful experience.

Feeling his gaze, Zhu Youxiang looked up at him, "Young Master, is there something wrong with me?"

"Ah, nothing." Xu Yan turned his head hurriedly, "Uh, let's watch some TV, see if there's any news."

He casually turned on the TV, and the evening news from Shudu TV appeared on the screen, talking about people celebrating Christmas in various places. He glanced at Zhu Youxiang, and saw that she was frozen on the sofa, staring at the TV screen in shock, not even noticing that her chopsticks had fallen.

"Young Master Xu, this... this is what? Why are there people in this box, and they can speak and walk?" Zhu Youxiang pointed at the TV screen with a trembling finger, her voice filled with panic, "Could this be a demonic artifact that captures people's souls?"

Xu Yan sighed, "I knew you'd react like this—but to think of a TV as an artifact that captures souls, that's quite an imagination. It's as bizarre as when people in the late Qing dynasty thought their souls were captured by photography."

Xu Yan briefly explained the principles of TV and TV stations to the girl. She nodded repeatedly, as if she understood, but when she spoke, she nearly made Xu Yan explode with frustration, "How much does this artifact cost? It must be very expensive, right?"

"It's not that expensive. A Konka plasma TV would probably cost a few thousand yuan now—but the key point is, this isn't a magical artifact, it's just a common household appliance."

"Young Master, if I were to buy the TV artifact, the fridge artifact, the lamp artifact, the sofa artifact—uh, and the cell phone artifact that can transmit sound over long distances, how much would it cost in total?"

"Well, if you buy all new, it would probably cost around ten to twenty thousand, but why would you want to buy all these things?"

"My father's birthday is next month, and I want to prepare some novel birthday gifts for him—uh, Father. Also, when I go back, I want to bring some gifts for my brothers and sisters in the clan. Young Master, if I can buy so many magical artifacts for just two thousand coins, that would be a great deal!"

"Traveling so far to buy these household appliances as gifts? Even the sofa? Girl, your idea is too bizarre—hey, girl, I told you these aren't magical artifacts, did you even hear me?"

"I heard you, Young Master." Zhu Youxiang looked up and answered, then lowered her head to count—on the coffee table, a pile of gold ingots had appeared. She asked again, "Young Master, you said these gold ingots are very valuable here. How much RMB can these ingots be exchanged for?"

Looking at the pile of gold ingots on the table, Xu Yan felt dizzy and his breathing became tense. In his life, he had never seen so much gold and silver in one place, so close that he could touch it.

"So much gold... it should be worth a few million, maybe even tens of millions."

"Oh, then it should be enough to buy these magical artifacts, right?"

"Rich girl, you could even buy me with that—Girl, did you even listen to me? I told you these aren't magical artifacts! Don't you have TVs and lamps for sale in Shaanxi?"

"There aren't any for sale—ah, Young Master, this coffee table, its material is neither gold, wood, nor jade, yet it is as strong as iron and as smooth as jade. What is this magical artifact called, and how much does it cost?"

"I—I don't have the energy to argue with you!"

...

Zhu Youxiang finished her noodles, put down her bowl and chopsticks, and bowed in gratitude, "Thank you for your generous hospitality, Young Master. I hope you will have the opportunity to visit Shaanxi in the future, so I can repay your kindness by hosting you properly!"

"Miss Zhu, you're too formal. It's just a bowl of noodles, it's nothing."

Xu Yan quickly cleaned up the dishes and tidied up the empty guest room, leading Zhu Youxiang in. He apologized, "The conditions are simple, but the bed and bedding are clean, and the air conditioner works. Miss Zhu, please bear with it for one night."

Looking at the simple bed and bedding, Zhu Youxiang pouted but smiled faintly, "When traveling, this is already very good. Thank you for your care, Young Master."

"No need to be formal—uh, there's an air conditioner in your room, and the remote control is here. You use it like this."

"Young Master, do you have a place for bathing and changing clothes?"

"You mean a place to take a shower?" Xu Yan was already used to Zhu Youxiang's way of speaking. He led her to the bathroom, "You can shower here. This is the water heater, and this is the hot water outlet..."

Zhu Youxiang looked around. The bathroom was fully tiled, clean and tidy. She smiled sincerely, "Young Master, your bathroom is very elegant and clean, it's beautiful."

Zhu Youxiang covered her mouth and smiled, her smile like a gentle breeze.

Seeing her smile, Xu Yan's heart beat faster. Thinking that this beautiful woman would be staying in the same house as him tonight, his heart pounded. He explained how to use the water heater and then left the bathroom. He heard Zhu Youxiang exclaim from inside, "Young Master, another magical artifact! Young Master, you have so many magical artifacts here!"

Xu Yan shouted at the bathroom door, "Girl, are you from Somalia?"

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