Chapter 542: Opera House

"You want to buy the opera house?"

The boy was stunned for a moment. He looked Chen Ling over carefully, his expression somewhat strange. "This opera house... um... don't look at how it is on the outside, but the location is actually quite good. If you tear all this down and rebuild it into a record store or a tavern, business wouldn't be bad. So the asking price is definitely not low..."

Hearing this, Chen Ling smiled slightly: "Don't worry, I have plenty of money."

The disbelief in the boy’s eyes grew even stronger. He spoke again, earnestly:

"I'm not joking. This opera house won't be sold cheaply. At least... at least one hundred thousand! And it has to be paid in full at once!

And let me tell you, someone is already looking at this opera house. The other party seems quite wealthy and also intends to open a record store here, so I can't..."

"Here is two hundred thousand."

Chen Ling pulled a stack of high-denomination banknotes from his pocket and placed them directly on the counter beside him, speaking calmly: "Two hundred thousand, paid in full. Are you selling or not?"

Boy: ?!!

The boy’s voice came to an abrupt halt.

When he left the Ancient Tibetan of the Opera Path, several of his seniors had let Chen Ling take a large sum of banknotes. This money was originally earned by him, and now that the little junior brother was returning to Red Dust, they naturally couldn't let him go back empty-handed... While this money wouldn't be enough to stir up any major storms, it was more than enough to buy a dilapidated opera house.

"You... you..." The boy opened his mouth, temporarily putting down the spear, and hurried to the counter. He took the two hundred thousand in his hands and verified it carefully, his gaze toward Chen Ling filled with shock.

"You... you really want to buy it??"

"The money is right here, what do you think?"

"But, but this opera house isn't worth two hundred thousand. You gave too much."

Chen Ling suddenly laughed. He squinted at the boy in front of him, finding it somewhat interesting.

When he was at the Red Dust Hotel auction, a casual bidding trick of his could make the offers of the five major consortiums multiply several times over. Now, here in this opera house, someone was actually saying he gave too much money... This boy was unexpectedly straightforward.

Perhaps because he was being stared at by Chen Ling’s smiling gaze, the boy instinctively took half a step back, but seeing the two hundred thousand in banknotes on the table, he gritted his teeth and asked:

"What do you plan to do after buying this opera house? Is it also going to be a record store?"

"No, I won't tear it down." Chen Ling shook his head. "Since this was an opera house before, let it continue to be one..."

"You mean, let the opera house keep running?? You spent two hundred thousand just for this?" The boy stood frozen in place.

"Is there a problem with that?"

Chen Ling bought this place simply because its location across from the casino was very favorable for monitoring the nearby situation. He wasn't actually planning to do business. For him, keeping the place as it was and not attracting too much attention was the best strategy.

The boy just looked at Chen Ling, and after a long silence, he pushed half of the banknotes back toward Chen Ling.

"From now on, this opera house is yours." The boy said, looking down. "Grandma said that if there is still someone in this world who wants to open an opera house, this place can be sold at half price... Actually, I should have only charged you fifty thousand, but I really need the money right now, so..."

Chen Ling didn't wait for him to finish before stuffing the banknotes back.

"You..."

"This opera house needs someone to manage it; I can't be bothered with those things." Chen Ling said unhurriedly. "The hundred thousand here will be considered an advance on your salary. From now on, you work well for me."

The boy hadn't expected Chen Ling to use the money to hire him. One had to know that he was only a fifteen-year-old boy. Although there was no such thing as child labor in the Red Dust Realm, hiring a child for one hundred thousand was truly unheard of.

Meanwhile, Chen Ling walked with his hands behind his back, beginning to stroll around the opera house as if it were already his own.

"Take me around. Let's see what's here."

The boy came to his senses, looking at the two hundred thousand in his hands, his palms clenching involuntarily, his expression excited... He put all the money away and then hurried to keep up with Chen Ling’s pace.

"Sir, how should I address you?" the boy asked respectfully.

"My surname is Lin. Lin Yan."

"Okay, Mr. Lin. My name is Kong Baosheng. You can just call me Baosheng."

As Kong Baosheng spoke, he took the initiative to walk to Chen Ling’s side, lit a kerosene lamp, and used the firelight to introduce the place to him.

"Mr. Lin, don't look at how dilapidated this opera house is now. A few decades ago, it was quite famous. Many famous actors came from here. Although the place isn't big, it has everything it should have."

The two walked to the center of the first floor, where dozens of old-fashioned wooden chairs were arranged in the open space. In front of them was a simple opera stage. The area above the stage and the audience seating was vaulted, connecting directly to the second floor, which made it look exceptionally spacious. The downside was that most of the windows on the second floor were abandoned and didn't block the wind or rain at all, leaving only a small roof covering it. At this moment, one could even look up and see the starlight; it was no different from being semi-outdoors.

The items on the stage were all complete, and other than being old, there were no other problems. Chen Ling walked straight onto the stage, his gaze sweeping across the dim, lightless surroundings, and asked with confusion:

"What about the electric lights? Don't you have any?"

"We do have them... but the electricity bill is too expensive, so I usually can't bear to turn them on." Kong Baosheng scratched his head embarrassedly. "Right now, the bill is already overdue."

"...Find time tomorrow to go pay the electricity bill."

"Okay, Mr. Lin."

After touring the first floor, Chen Ling walked up the creaking stairs to the second floor. Since most of the area was occupied by the vaulted ceiling, the usable area on the second floor wasn't large—just three or four rooms.

Just then, Chen Ling seemed to sense something. He frowned and walked slowly toward one of the rooms.

He pulled the door open gently.

Inside the cramped room, a kerosene lamp burned silently. A bed was placed in the center of the room, on which an elderly person seemed to be curled up in a ball. Beside the bed was a simple floor mat, which was currently unoccupied.

Seeing this scene, Kong Baosheng explained:

"Mr. Lin, this is where my grandmother and I live."

Chen Ling nodded slightly. "Is your grandmother not in good health?"

"Yes..." A complex look flashed in Kong Baosheng’s eyes. "She has thyroid cancer. The hospital said it's already in the late stages and can't be cured... Basically all the money in the family has been used to buy medicine for treatment."

Kong Baosheng paused for a moment and turned to look at Chen Ling, the boy’s gaze filled with pleading:

"Mr. Lin, could you please leave this room for us? We have nowhere else to live besides here, and Grandma’s health is poor. If we move again, I’m afraid she won't be able to hold on."

"Of course, no problem." Chen Ling nodded and closed the door again.

He toured the other rooms on the second floor. The room facing the street had the largest area, and just around the corner was a railing overlooking the street. Chen Ling didn't hesitate much before deciding to make this his living quarters.

He walked to the railing on the second floor of the opera house. His eyes clearly reflected the entire casino and the surrounding environment. The lookouts were basically all within his field of vision—it was an excellent vantage point.

Chen Ling’s clothes fluttered in the wind. He stood on the neglected opera house, looking down at the flow of people on the bustling street, and smiled slightly.

"This place was the right choice."