abnabooks Chapter 373 Buying a House
Chapter 373 Buying a House
Chapter 373 Buying a House
Hearing the painful roar coming from inside the house, Klein, sitting on the roof, also looked grief-stricken.
Mrs. Doris was the first client he met after arriving in Backlund. She often invited him to her home, and Jürgen became his private lawyer as a result.
Two days ago, Klein had already sensed that Mrs. Doris's condition was not good. After raiding a herbalist's warehouse and sending the herbs to the Harvest Church for packing, he rushed over with the medicine, but he didn't expect it to be too late.
After a while, with the help of a neighbor who brought over patrolling police officers, Klein changed his appearance and found an opportunity to blend into the crowd.
After secretly showing his identification to the police, Klein brazenly entered Jürgen's home as a journalist.
With just one glance at Mrs. Doris's condition, Klein understood everything, which made him even more sorrowful.
Approaching the dejected Jürgen, Klein merely offered a few words of comfort as a reporter, before proceeding with the interview using the small box on the table.
Although Jürgen was grieving, he was clear-headed and refused to answer any of the police and Klein's questions. He was completely uncooperative and even yelled at them when pressed, trying to get them to leave.
Faced with this situation, even though their superiors kept putting pressure on them, the two police officers dared not press the matter any further.
After all, these patrolling police officers are ordinary citizens who psychologically identify with "Robin Hood's" actions. They also worry about whether they will be able to get free medicine at their doorstep if they fall ill.
Klein was quite pleased with Jürgen's lack of cooperation. He then revealed his MI9 identity to Jürgen and, as an MI9 agent, instructed Jürgen and the two patrolmen who entered the house not to reveal Robin Hood's whereabouts.
During this process, Klein deliberately used the "Golden Gaze" borrowed from Evan to reinforce their goodwill towards "Robin Hood" and genuinely refused to reveal any information about him to the outside world.
Furthermore, Klein also gave them psychological suggestion, so that they would gradually forget everything about "Robin Hood" delivering the medicine.
Just as Klein finished, the crisp sound of horses' hooves came from outside; it was a procession of collectors wandering the streets.
After the police entered the house and found Mrs. Doris's property, they immediately sent someone to call the property collection team.
Every day, a large number of people die from pneumonia in Backlund, and according to regulations, their bodies must be buried in a centralized manner.
Therefore, through the cooperation of the police station and the church, at least several hundred horse-drawn carriages roamed the streets day and night, so that they could take away the bodies at any time.
Klein knew he shouldn't linger, so he gave a final instruction not to tell anyone he had been there. Then he stuffed the medicinal herbs and the note with "Robin Hood's" signature into his pocket, pretended to be a reporter who had just finished an interview, opened the door, squeezed through the crowd, and left.
As Klein was leaving, he saw a priest wearing the robes of the Church of the Goddess of Night. Instead of giving way, the priest took out his interview notebook and went up to interview him.
As Klein had expected, seeing him like this, the "Night Watchman" disguised as a priest was no longer surprised by his strange behavior of leaving the crowd. Instead, he impatiently stepped aside and walked towards Jürgen's house without looking back.
Klein didn't seem to mind, and with a slight smile, he walked towards the shadows of a nearby house. As he walked, his appearance changed, eventually returning to his original form.
Klein had noticed that Mrs. Doris's condition was not good before, so he rushed over tonight as soon as he got his hands on a small amount of medicine.
But just as he put down the medicine and was about to leave, the spirit told him that someone had just died in the house.
The reason he stayed, disguised himself, and entered the Jürgen family was partly to find out why Mrs. Doris had died, because although Mrs. Doris was very ill, she shouldn't have died today.
On the other hand, it was to retrieve the medicine and the notes left behind.
It wasn't because the medicine was particularly valuable, or because he was worried that the note might leave any clues, but rather because the timing of the medicine's delivery was unusual.
Before the operation, Klein knew that he would not be able to get medicine for every household. So, to be fair, every time he got medicine, he would deliver it to the Harvest Church and some charitable hospitals, or randomly to different areas according to the pre-determined plan.
Today, he delivered the medicine in the Hilton area, not the Joewood area.
If it is discovered that Jürgen's lawyer received the only dose of medication in the Georgewood district that night, and that it was a newly stolen medication...
Then the Ninth Military Supplies Department and the Royal Family can immediately pay attention to this area, and even to Attorney Ergen himself.
At that point, Klein might be immediately identified, thus exposing his identity.
Therefore, after confirming Mrs. Doris's death, Klein had no choice but to risk entering Jürgen's house to retrieve the medicinal herbs and plant a psychological seed in those who knew about it.
So far, the operation is going smoothly, but Klein is not happy at all.
Klein quickly returned to his apartment, only to be somewhat surprised to find his landlord, Luke Summer, waiting for him outside the door.
"Hello Mr. Luke, I'm late today. Did I keep you waiting long?"
Although Mr. Luke was shivering from the cold, he still smiled and shook hands with Klein, saying casually:
"No, I just got here myself. There's been so much going on in Backlund lately, I appreciate it for a reporter like you to travel back and forth. Where are you going for your interview?"
Klein didn't expose Mr. Luke's words. Although he was very puzzled, he still took out his key to open the door and said somewhat dejectedly:
"I've spent the whole day going back and forth between the hospital and Congress."
Hospitals are already overwhelmed and medicines are in short supply, yet the government is slow to respond and endlessly debating. These politicians are a bunch of parasites and incompetent fools.
At this point, Klein couldn't help but reveal some of his inner emotions.
Although he knew beforehand what kind of people the Rune government was, he still couldn't suppress his anger when it actually happened.
Mr. Luke followed Klein into the apartment, but didn't feel much warmer than outside. Still, continuing Klein's earlier words, he angrily said:
"Those guys are all tax thieves. They're only enthusiastic when it comes to collecting taxes. Once something else happens, they're completely unreliable."
Klein lit the gas lamp, asked Mr. Luke to sit down, poured him a glass of warm water, and then said:
"I'm not home all day, so I haven't lit a fire or boiled water to make you a cup of coffee. I'm really sorry for not being able to entertain you properly."
Mr. Luke took a sip of the warm water, feeling much warmer, and then said with a smile:
"It was so rude of me not to send you a visiting card in advance. It was my fault."
After a brief exchange of words, Klein excused himself to change clothes and returned to his bedroom, where he concealed the medicine he had been carrying.
After changing his clothes, Klein performed a divination and determined that Mr. Luke had something to ask of him, which piqued his curiosity.
He and Mr. Luke were just ordinary landlord and tenant. Mr. Luke didn't know that he was the legendary Robin Hood. Why would he need his help?
Back in the living room, Klein chatted with Mr. Luhan for a few more minutes and found it increasingly strange that Mr. Luhan kept asking about his living experience during this period.
"Does Mr. Luke want to take the house back early? Or does he want to raise the rent?"
When it came to the rent, Klein didn't dare to be careless and didn't want to beat around the bush with Mr. Luke, so he said directly:
"I wonder what brings Mr. Luke to me at this hour? I remember I prepaid six months' rent once; it shouldn't be due yet, right?"
"That's not the point. I actually came here to see if you have any plans to settle down in Backlund."
To be honest, I intend to put my current apartment up for sale.
Of course, I haven't done that yet. My first thing to do was to ask if you were interested in buying it!
Mr. Luke knew he had been too obvious and that Klein had seen through him, so he could only sheepishly explain the purpose of his trip.
"Mr. Luke is also having financial problems?" Thinking of the great plague currently raging in Backlund and the difficulties faced by lawyer Jürgen, Klein had some guesses about Mr. Luke's situation.
But what does this have to do with me? Do I look like a rich person?
Wait, could it be that he wants to—
Seeing that Klein remained silent, Mr. Luke continued:
"Starling has also been sick recently, but I happen to have used the money in my hands to buy shares in the company I work for internally."
So much has happened in Backlund during this period that many companies' shares have suffered significant devaluation.
If I sell my shares now, not only will the original loss become a real loss, but I will only receive one-fifth of the original amount.
Moreover, I am truly optimistic about the development of the anthracite coal company I work for, and I believe it will become a star enterprise in the Kingdom of Rune in the future. I don't want to give up this investment.
So, with no other option, I want to sell the apartment I own.
Although Klein had some guesses in his mind, he wasn't sure, so he pretended to be confused and asked:
"I understand Mr. Luke's thoughts, but I still don't understand what this has to do with me."
Mr. Luke became increasingly embarrassed, unable to speak for a long time, but he knew he couldn't avoid the situation, so he could only whisper:
"If I sell the house I live in now, I will need to move, but as you know, Starling and the children find it hard to accept such a significant change in their living conditions. So I hope to sell the apartment and move to this one, since it is very close to the children's school."
Of course, I know this request is unreasonable, so I'm willing to refund your prepaid rent in full. Is that alright with you?
This means that Klein stayed for two months for nothing.
The apartment that Klein is currently renting is not Mr. Luke's property.
Originally, Mrs. Starling's sister and her family lived here, but their business failed, and they left Backlund for the Southern Continent.
Because they had originally leased the apartment long-term, and there were still three years left on the lease, they left the three-year lease for the house to Mr. Luke to handle.
Mr. Luke hopes to use these three years to wait for Coym's shares to surge and complete the turnaround.
After explaining his difficulties and conditions, Mr. Luke cautiously observed Klein's reaction.
To his surprise, Klein didn't reprimand him for lacking a sense of contract, nor did he threaten to take him to court. Instead, he asked about his wife, Starling.
"Is Mrs. Starling ill? How serious is it? Has she seen a doctor?"
Mr. Luke was deeply moved and said in a somewhat heavy tone:
"Starling is currently bedridden and unable to move around freely. The doctor says her physical condition is good and she can manage for now, but without medication, her condition will worsen!"
This is also why Mr. Luke made up his mind to sell the house. He finally managed to find some special medicine through the connections of his boss, Mrs. Mary, but the price was outrageously high.
Considering that although he and his child had not yet shown symptoms, they still needed to prepare in advance, he made up his mind after much deliberation to sell the house. This would allow him to retain his shares in Coim Corporation and also buy the special medicine for emergencies. Of course, the property tax due next month was also an important reason that prompted him to make this decision.
He had already learned from Mrs. Mary that the government would not abolish the property tax.
He only has a few pounds in cash left and is unable to pay the property tax. Rather than be sold off cheaply by the court, he might as well sell it now.
"So, Mr. Luke, you're unwilling to sell your stocks at a low price, but you also want to buy the expensive drug. The pressure from these two sides is what makes you want to sell the house."
"Yes, you're a journalist, so you should know how heavy the property tax is. I was forced into this situation."
Mr. Luke's tone was so sorrowful that it almost brought tears to one's eyes.
"How much are you planning to sell your apartment for?"
Klein thought for a moment, then asked.
Mr. Luke was overjoyed upon hearing this, as it meant that Klein was indeed interested in his house, and then quickly said:
"My apartment was worth about 2500 gold pounds in previous years, but now that a lot of houses are flooding the market, prices have dropped. How about I sell it to you for 2000 gold pounds?"
Klein nodded inwardly, feeling that Mr. Luke's asking price was reasonable, and then said to him:
"Okay, I need to prepare some cash. We'll conduct the transaction tomorrow!"
Klein felt he had gotten a good deal, so he didn't try to lower the price and immediately gave a timeframe for the transaction.
Mr. Luke was naturally overjoyed and left the apartment with profuse thanks.
Klein frowned as he watched Mr. Luke walk away.
"Even the landlord's family's finances have deteriorated to this extent; the situation in Backlund is extremely dire!"