Chapter 4812: The Little Ghost Runs the Household (Ten)

Among New York's boroughs, Manhattan is universally recognized as the bustling center, while the Bronx is constantly disparaged. Queens is different — this area receives mixed reviews, and whether from mainstream media or popular opinion, there has never been a unified evaluation.

Every city has a district like this. The municipal appearance isn't particularly tidy, urban planning has accumulated intractable problems, old streets are bustling and crowded, new streets are a mixed bag. Housing rents aren't expensive, market goods are also cheap, transportation is fairly convenient, public security isn't great, and it's filled with a strong flavor of everyday life where you can see all walks of life. Queens is exactly such a place.

Queens covers a large area. The old city, new city, and some suburbs not under Queens' municipal jurisdiction all belong to Queens in the broad sense. However, most people live in the old district of Queens.

As for the relationship between Queens and Long Island, Queens and Long Island are actually connected. The southwest of Long Island is the old Queens, while the northeast is the Hamptons area which is actually not under Queens' jurisdiction, and the distance between the two is still considerable.

Unlike the noble and cold East Hampton, the old Queens is home to the most typical New York petty bourgeoisie, mostly native New Yorkers. The most typical example is Peter Parker's family. Blue-collar workers, housewives with kids, or car insurance salesmen, small business owners, kindergarten teachers. These ordinary New York petty bourgeoisie all prefer to settle down in Queens.

Because races are mixed here, the immigrant atmosphere is strong, and class barriers aren't as solid as elsewhere. Everyone is busy making a living, rarely having time for nonsense. Although public security isn't great, most neighborhoods aren't bad. If speaking strictly of the old Queens in the narrow sense, its safety can even rank first or second.

Moreover, there are many cheap big-box stores here, prices aren't as expensive as other parts of New York, and the education level is also decent. Many public schools here rank well, so even without expensive private schools, children can still get an education. That's why many moderately well-off families choose here when settling in New York.

Of course, because it's part of Long Island, even on the southwest side there are quite a few mansions. The one Natasha is showing Shiler is one Nick carefully selected for a long time.

It's only a 15-minute drive from here to Flushing. Natasha played the role of a professional real estate consultant, walking backward while saying to Shiler in front of her: "I know you really like going to Chinese supermarkets, buying those fresh ingredients regular supermarkets don't have. And Flushing is the largest Chinese enclave in New York."

Greed had to admit he was tempted. Being able to conveniently and quickly buy all kinds of ingredients was really important. If chickens, ducks, and fish died before they went into his pot, he would be very unhappy.

Greed had been to Flushing quite a few times. Actually the ingredients there are quite ordinary, far inferior to what those old Cantonese in Manhattan's Chinatown supply. But the Chinese supermarkets here are large in scale, seasonings are complete, and there are immigrants from all over China. From sesame paste to hot pot base, from scallion pancake rolls to coconut chicken, a small Flushing can let you taste all Eight Great Cuisines of China.

Moreover, the takeout business here is very developed. After a phone order, the restaurant owner delivers personally, and the food is still steaming hot when it arrives. If he moved here, he could eat something different every day, simply a huge enjoyment.

"But I also have to warn you," Natasha spoke frankly, "Flushing's economy and public security aren't too good. Although this house isn't in the Flushing area proper and has some distance from there, it will definitely be affected. This is also the main reason the original owner moved away."

Several people entered the house together. Greed looked it over. This place was an old overseas Chinese's villa, the style not completely Chinese but a Southeast Asian style blending Chinese and Western. The house was well-maintained, various wooden furniture showed their age but weren't very old, some even full of oily luster, clearly painstakingly maintained.

However, houses here all have a common flaw — they're a bit narrow. Just inside is a small foyer, past the screen wall the living room isn't large either. The front is a reception area, the back a mahjong table, and it's not an open kitchen, making the living room appear even more cramped.

The courtyard railings and stairs are all wooden materials. But because maintenance is good, stepping on them produces no creaking. Reaching the second floor, there are two rooms on each side, then a passage leading to the terrace. The third floor has five rooms.

Upon reaching the third floor, Greed's brows furrowed. He could feel the third floor shouldn't have this many rooms; the original owner must have forcibly partitioned them into this many.

"The original owner had four generations under one roof," Natasha said, "The owner's great-granddaughter returned to China to work, so the whole family moved back to China, leaving this house behind."

The fourth floor is an attic, with a storage room, but the space is also quite cramped. Greed walked in and couldn't even stand straight; trying to bend over to retrieve things would be quite troublesome.

"This garden is nice." Pride stood on the second-floor terrace looking down. Greed also came down from the ladder to the terrace and looked down, then discovered this villa's garden wasn't a typical Western garden but a clearly designed Chinese garden. It had rockeries, a lotus pond, willows, plantains, and a small cloister on the far side.

After walking out the back door, the two praised it endlessly. This garden was definitely designed by a master, not much inferior to those famous Suzhou gardens. Except for being a bit small, it was truly very beautiful and well-maintained.

"I'm a bit curious, how did this house end up in S. H. I. E. L. D.'s hands."

"His great-granddaughter works for S. W. O. R. D.," Natasha explained, "He entrusted the house to Nick, wanting us to find a reliable person to take it over. The price they asked was also very reasonable, absolutely not the kind of seller who asks an exorbitant price."

"They probably hope someone will take good care of this house more," Pride said, "You can tell, even right before leaving they meticulously tidied up. This proves they have feelings for this place."

"Of course. Three generations of grandparents and grandchildren were all born and raised here, they're all very reluctant to part with this house. But the city they settled in China has somewhat expensive housing prices too, so they could only sell the house to swap."

"I think this place is good." Pride looked at Greed and said, "If you're living alone most of the time, there's no need to buy too big. After all, your butler is still wandering the universe; if it were a huge estate, there'd be no one to manage it."

Greed also pondered; he was very tempted by this house. Every blade of grass and tree here showed the original owner's meticulous care; from foundation to environment to structure, he was quite satisfied. Those upstairs rooms could also be slightly knocked through to free up a study. Maintaining the backyard garden alone was enough to fill all his leisure time.

They sat down at the mahjah table in the living room. Natasha eagerly wanted to play a round, but unfortunately there were only three of them. Although it wasn't impossible to play, it just wouldn't be as enjoyable.

After pondering for a while, Greed still shook his head and said: "This house is indeed good, but it can't meet my entertaining needs. The place is really too small; not to mention other things, there's nowhere to park a jump ship, let alone open a portal."

With Earth's various laws becoming increasingly complete, portals cannot be opened casually on Earth now. Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme has some privileges, but there are also rules to follow. For example, no living beings within 50 meters of an open portal, especially must stay away from children. This house obviously has no suitable location.

Also, people like Stark have private jump ships; if they flew here there'd be nowhere to park. And Stark usually doesn't wear the nanotech armor; if he wears a regular model, for safety and maintenance it must be stored indoors. There's not even a basement here; can't just stuff it in the living room, right?

Furthermore, that garden, though exquisite and beautiful, is really too fragile and not suitable for children to play in. Greed's friends now basically all bring their families; if they want a backyard barbecue party, there's nowhere to put a grill, let alone inflatable toy castles and such.

After comprehensive consideration, Greed still decided to give up; when leaving he was very regretful, standing at the door hesitating for a long time.

"Wait," he suddenly spoke up, "I remembered something. Has Xu Shang-Chi been dating a girlfriend recently?"

He looked at Natasha, Natasha also looked at him, Natasha said somewhat helplessly: "Why look at me? He was dispatched to China long ago, how would I know if he has a girlfriend."

Greed took out his phone and started scrolling through Xu Shang-Chi's TikTok homepage; sure enough the first post was a video of him with a girl. He had also circled this girl's homepage in the comments. Greed then saw this girl's homepage; she was a Hong Konger named Su En-tao.

This name sounded a bit familiar, but Greed couldn't recall it at once. But soon he saw the English phonetic spelling of the name "Su-endo". Isn't that Computer Wizard?

There are quite a few Chinese superheroes in Marvel too; besides the well-known ones, many were written as counterparts to American superheroes. Computer Wizard corresponds to Iron Man. Both master precision mecha of super-era technology, and Computer Wizard once worked at Stark Industries' Asia division.

Xu Shang-Chi was dispatched to Hong Kong a few years ago, so knowing Computer Wizard isn't strange. The two appear to have been dating for a while, just unknown if they still plan to settle in the US.

So Greed gave him a call.

"Hello? It's me." Greed got straight to the point, "Are you coming back for Christmas this year?"

Xu Shang-Chi seemed stumped by the question; he said: "Probably not going back this year, work here is too busy. What's up, Doctor?"

"I just wanted to ask, are you planning to stay in Hong Kong with your girlfriend?"

"How could that be. Housing here is both expensive and small, I still don't speak Cantonese, we have no plans to settle here."

"Then you're planning to get married in the US?"

"Yes, my family is still over there. Both of us have discussed it; when the time comes we'll bring En-tao's parents over too..."

Greed understood. Although Xu Shang-Chi had participated in many Solar System Projects, these years he hadn't done any earth-shattering deeds, mostly just living his own little life. His parents also still ran that Chinese restaurant, treating him very well, and he had long since become family with them. Xu Shang-Chi was unlikely to abandon them, so he would ultimately still return to the US.

"Here's the thing," Greed said, "I've decided to give you a Christmas gift. If you're free on Christmas, come back for a trip."

"A gift? What gift?" Xu Shang-Chi asked. And Greed faintly heard a girl's voice speaking on that end, presumably Xu Shang-Chi's girlfriend.

"You'll know when you come back." Greed looked back at that overseas Chinese villa, "I guarantee you absolutely won't be disappointed."