Lin Ning knocked on the door next door. “Is anyone home?”

Half an hour later, she walked out, smiling as Zhang Tao saw her off with a big grin. They had just reached an agreement—Lin Ning would buy Zhang Tao’s courtyard for 3,000 yuan, and they planned to complete the transaction the day after tomorrow.

Zhang Tao couldn’t stop smiling. He hadn’t expected his dilapidated house, which was practically falling apart, to actually sell. With the money, he planned to buy an apartment and experience living in a building for the first time.

Unexpectedly, a couple came knocking, wanting to buy the same courtyard.

“You’re too late—I’ve already sold it!”

“Sold it? To whom?”

Feng Tianqi and Chen Caohua’s expressions darkened. After carefully considering their options, they had decided this courtyard was the best choice. Located in the center of Dong’an County, the property was spacious—600 to 700 square meters, enough to build a large, comfortable house.

Chen Caohua remembered that in ten years, this area would become the site of the county department store. This land would be worth a lot!

“It was sold to me!”

A voice interrupted them. Turning around, they saw Lin Ning. She had rushed back after grabbing the money, worried about unforeseen complications, hoping to finalize the transaction early.

Seeing it was Lin Ning, Feng Tianqi and Chen Caohua’s expressions grew even darker. It was her again! This persistent shadow was everywhere. Learning that she had also set her sights on this property only strengthened their determination to buy it.

“How much did she offer?” Feng Tianqi asked Zhang Tao.

“Three thousand.”

“I’ll offer three thousand two hundred. Sell it to me!”

Zhang Tao’s eyes lit up. Sellers loved competition—it drove up prices.

He turned to Lin Ning. “What about you?”

Lin Ning sneered, “I’ll add another two hundred—three thousand four hundred!”

Unwilling to back down, Feng Tianqi retorted, “Three thousand six hundred!”

“Three thousand eight hundred!”

“Four thousand!”

Lin Ning chuckled coldly. She had plenty of money. “Adding two hundred at a time is boring. I’ll add five hundred—four thousand five hundred!”

“Whoa—!”

Zhang Tao gasped. Four thousand five hundred was 1,500 more than the initial price! This was starting to feel like an auction. He turned to Feng Tianqi. “And you?”

Feng Tianqi hesitated. He had just over ten thousand yuan in total. If he spent five or six thousand on the property, there wouldn’t be enough left to build a house. Besides, this run-down courtyard wasn’t worth that much—they could find a bigger place elsewhere.

Seeing his hesitation, Chen Caohua grew anxious. She had competed with Lin Ning across two lifetimes and couldn’t bear to lose to her now!

She tugged at Feng Tianqi’s sleeve. “Tianqi, say something! We can’t let her beat us!”

Annoyed, Feng Tianqi cursed her inwardly for being so shortsighted. She was fanning the flames instead of extinguishing them.

Reluctantly, he said, “I’ll also add five hundred—five thousand!”

Zhang Tao turned to Lin Ning. “And you?”

Lin Ning smiled faintly. “I’m out. Sell it to him.”

Zhang Tao felt a twinge of disappointment. If the bidding had gone on a little longer, he could have made even more. Still, five thousand wasn’t bad. He turned to Feng Tianqi. “Five thousand—it’s yours!”

Feng Tianqi glanced at Lin Ning and felt a wave of anger. He suspected she had tricked him into overpaying for this run-down courtyard.

However, he kept his emotions in check and said, “I’ll need a couple of days to gather the money.”

Chen Caohua, pleased with the outcome, smiled smugly at Lin Ning and told Zhang Tao, “This house is ours. Make sure you hold it for us and don’t sell it to anyone else!”

As they turned to leave, Lin Ning remarked, “If you’ve decided to buy it, you should put down a deposit. Why should he hold it for you otherwise?”

Zhang Tao’s eyes lit up. “That’s right! You need to pay a deposit!”

Feng Tianqi’s eyes flashed with anger. Lin Ning was clearly doing this on purpose!

Chen Caohua said, “Of course! Tianqi, pay the deposit. This house is ours!”

Grudgingly, Feng Tianqi handed over 50 yuan as a deposit, collected the receipt from Zhang Tao, and left.

After they left, Zhang Tao apologized to Lin Ning with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, but in business, the highest offer wins.”

Lin Ning smiled back. “Sure. Good luck getting five thousand yuan for this house.”

When Feng Tianqi and Chen Caohua returned home, Feng Tianqi’s face was dark, and he remained silent. Meanwhile, Chen Chuncao chattered excitedly.

“Tianqi, let’s withdraw the money tomorrow and buy the house. Trust me, that place will become very prosperous in the future. We’ll strike it rich…”

“Smack—!”

Before she could finish, Feng Tianqi slapped her. Stunned, she held her cheek. “Tianqi, why did you hit me?”

“Smack—!”

He slapped her again. “You’re such a wasteful woman! If it weren’t for you egging me on, I wouldn’t have spent 2,000 extra yuan on that broken-down courtyard!”

“That’s not a broken courtyard, Tianqi! Trust me, it will become a prime location in the future. Buying it will make us rich—you have to believe me!”

“Believe you? You don’t know anything! Stupid woman with long hair and no brains! I only got into this mess because you kept fanning the flames. You let Lin Ning play us for fools!”

Feng Tianqi unleashed a torrent of scolding. At first, Chen Caohua tried to defend herself, but eventually, she fell silent.

When Feng’s parents learned about the incident, they joined in, calling her a liability who brought harm to their family.

In the end, the Feng family decided not to buy the courtyard, forfeiting the 50-yuan deposit.

Back at Zhang Tao’s house, several days passed, but the couple never returned. Realizing he’d been stood up, Zhang Tao cursed them for being unreliable and shameless. Still, he needed to sell the property, so he went back to Lin Ning.

“Lin Ning, do you still want the house?”

Lin Ning smiled. “Didn’t you already sell it to someone else?”

“Don’t even bring that up! Those two are scoundrels. They never came back. I’ll sell it to you instead.”

“How much?”

“The same price as before—4,500 yuan!”

Lin Ning sneered. “We originally agreed on 3,000.”

“But you raised it to 4,500 that day!”

“Only because someone else was bidding against me. You know exactly how much this place is worth. To be honest, I’ve already allocated my money elsewhere. If you want to sell it to me, I’ll give you 2,800 yuan. Take it or leave it.”

“2,800? That’s way too little!” Zhang Tao exclaimed.

“That’s my offer. If you’re not satisfied, feel free to find another buyer.”

Frustrated, Zhang Tao searched for another buyer, asking 5,000 yuan. People laughed at him for being greedy, saying he’d lost touch with reality.

Finally, realizing Lin Ning was his only option, Zhang Tao sold her the house for 2,800 yuan. To avoid further complications, they completed the paperwork that same day.

After tallying everything, Zhang Tao found that he had earned 2,800 plus the 50-yuan deposit—a total of 2,850 yuan. This was 150 yuan less than the original 3,000. Furious, he cursed Feng Tianqi and Chen Caohua, vowing to settle the score if he ever saw them again.

Lin Ning’s newly acquired courtyard was connected to the one she already lived in, giving her over 1,000 square meters in total.

Looking at the expansive property, Lin Ning changed her plans. She decided to turn it into a shopping mall!