Chapter 112 Make a good relationship
Chapter 112 Make a good relationship
The so-called low-key is actually an euphemism for remoteness. The house is located in the northeast corner of Qinrenfang, with the wall of the district to the north and the high wall of the city to the east.
It is about two miles away from the gate, which is indeed quite remote.
Shopkeeper Ma said with a smile, "I'll tell you a secret. Do you see that?"
Shopkeeper Ma pointed to a building about three hundred steps away and said, "That is the Wannian County Office. Its entrance is outside the town square. Since you have the title of county lord, you can use this passage to enter and exit the county office. Of course, you can do this when there is an emergency."
Xiao Xia smiled and looked back at the high wall of Metropolis City. This seemed to be the southwest corner of Metropolis City. He asked, "Where is this place in Metropolis City?"
"It's a cloth warehouse. Over there happens to be a cloth shop in the metropolitan city. I even went there to have a look. Behind the wall is the roof of the warehouse."
“It seems the wall is very thick?”
Shopkeeper Ma nodded, "They are all two feet high walls, otherwise a two-foot high wall would easily collapse."
Xiao Xia thought of something and asked with a smile, "There is a restaurant in Chongrenfang that always smells bad. Does Shopkeeper Ma know about it?"
Shopkeeper Ma laughed and said, "How could I not know that restaurant? And I also know the cause of the bad smell."
"what reason?"
"There is a family in the east who has been piling up fertilizer in their backyard. The government has visited them many times to persuade them to do so, but they ignored it and the government can do nothing about it."
Xiao Xia asked with a smile: "Does this family have a powerful background?"
"Of course. The grandfather of the Crown Prince's favorite concubine, Yun Zhaoxun, was an old man who was more stubborn than a donkey. It was said that he used manure water to water the vegetables every evening, which happened to be dinner time at the restaurant. Do you think it would not stink?"
"The owner of the restaurant should know!"
"I know everything, how could they not know?"
Xiao Xia was a little annoyed that Wei Chengfeng didn't tell her the truth.
Shopkeeper Ma sneered and said, “It is said that the Dou family wanted to buy the stubborn old man’s house with 20,000 strings of cash, but they ignored it and went to the Yun family. The Yun family said that they would deal with him according to the law. The law means that you cannot touch a hair of the old man, and you cannot interfere with what he does in his own home. The Dou family had no choice but to sell the restaurant at a low price.
It was one thing for the Wei family to take over. They asked someone to go to the prince to plead for mercy. The prince got annoyed and replied, "Can't you open a restaurant in another place?"
"Is that really the case?" Xiao Xia asked with a smile.
Shopkeeper Ma shook his head and said, "These are all rumors. I don't know whether they are true or not, but I think if the Wei family sells them at a low price, it is indeed worth buying."
"why?"
Shopkeeper Ma lowered his voice and said, "That restaurant is in a good location and can run a century-old business. How many years can a man in his sixties live? At worst, it will be vacant for a few years. If you want to buy it, I will help you make the contact!"
Xiao Xia nodded, "Don't worry, take a look at this house!"
Shopkeeper Ma knocked on the door and there was an old couple who were in charge of guarding the house. They knew Shopkeeper Ma and opened the door to let him in.
The house faces south and has three entrances: the outer room, the central courtyard, the back house and the west courtyard. The west courtyard is not big, about half an acre, with a separate small door for entry and exit, connected to the central courtyard, but one of the doors is locked.
The entire atrium was covered with snow, and the ground was paved with stone slabs and blue bricks. There was a flower bed in the atrium, built with bluestone, and a large jujube tree was planted in it, towering like a canopy.
Entering through a small door at the easternmost end of the courtyard, there is a high wall of the city on one side and the wall of the inner courtyard on the other. In fact, it is a small alley about seventy or eighty steps long and one meter wide, with the wall of the block at the end.
There is a door at the end, and after entering, there is a large garden, but there are no flowers in the garden. It is just a large open space, about four or five acres.
Xiao Xia immediately understood why this house was so cheap, because the house was still a semi-finished product and the most expensive back garden had not yet been built. Building this garden would cost at least a fortune.
"Has no one ever lived in this house?"
Shopkeeper Ma shook his head. "This is a property of the Yuan family. They bought the land in the eighth year of Kaihuang, and did not start to build this house until the eighteenth year of Kaihuang. As you can see, only half of the house has been built. I heard that the Yuan family needed to raise a large sum of money recently, so this house was only put up for sale half a month ago."
Xiao Xia knew how the Yuan family spent their money. First, they spent a large sum of money to buy the Jiangdu Qiyun Inn, then spent another 30,000 strings of cash to buy a dock and warehouse, and also spent a large sum of money to buy a ship. No matter how rich the Yuan family was, their assets were mainly in land and real estate, so they did not have much cash in circulation, and had to sell some non-major real estate to raise money.
The main reason why this house cannot be sold at a high price is that the wall has not been broken and a gate has not been built. If the wall was directly broken and a gate was built like the county government, this house cannot be bought without 30,000 strings of cash. Even if it is a half-finished house, everyone knows that breaking the wall and opening the gate is a symbol of power and status.
Xiao Xia nodded, "I have bought this house. What procedures do I need to go through?"
Shopkeeper Ma was overjoyed and said, "Young Master is a county lord, so he should have a county lord's seal!" Xiao Xia nodded, and he received a gilded bronze seal, the 'Seal of the Hailing County Lord'.
In fact, his title and other things had already been decided, and the emperor just announced it in Jiangdu.
"The seal is on me, I brought it with me."
"That's easy. Let's go back to the counter first. You don't need to look here. I'll give you the key later."
The two men took the ox cart back to the shop, and Shopkeeper Ma took out an agreement with the seller's signature on it, which meant that the seller would not give up a penny of the ten thousand strings of cash. Of course, if the price went up, the seller would naturally not sell it.
Xiao Xia took out a gilded copper qilin seal and stamped his own seal, "Hailing County Official Seal", on the home purchase qualification column, and then signed and sealed it.
"Shall I give you the money now?"
Shopkeeper Ma smiled and said, "No need. We will advance the money first, and you will give us the money after the final transfer. You have 20,000 strings of cash here, so we don't have to worry."
"When can it be done?"
"Usually you can get the new house deed on the same day you pay the tax, but it is the Lantern Festival now, so it may be a little slower. I promise to give you the house deed before the Lantern Festival. Come to me on the afternoon of the thirteenth day of the first lunar month."
"That is the afternoon of the day after tomorrow."
"Yes! I will go to the Yuan family right away and tell them about the situation. I hope you have never offended the Yuan family!"
Xiao Xia thought of Yuan Shirong. He had tricked him, so it didn't count as an offense, right?
He smiled and shook his head.
"Well, take care, sir. I'll go to the Yuan family now."
…………
In the Yuan Mansion, Yuan Shizhi found his brother Yuan Xiaoju with a contract.
"Brother, this is the house in Qinrenfang. Someone has bought it."
Yuan Xiaoju loves playing chess. He is sitting in the warm study room studying chess records.
Without even looking up, he said, "You can just decide on such a small matter. Why bother asking me?"
“It’s just that the buyer is a little special.”
Yuan Xiaoju raised an eyebrow, "Who?"
"Xiao Xia, do you still remember this person?"
Yuan Xiaoju narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment before saying, "Could it be the illegitimate son of the King of Jin?"
"It's him. His seal is on the contract. Duke of Hailing County."
"Isn't he in Jiangdu? Has he already arrived in Chang'an?"
"It seems he has just arrived two days ago. I heard from the storekeeper Ma that he arrived in Chang'an the day before yesterday and is now living in the Imperial College."
Yuan Xiaoju laughed, "He's been in Chang'an for only two days and he's already in a hurry to buy a house. It seems like he was turned away by the Prince of Jin's mansion and was irritated."
"That's for sure. The King of Jin fell because of him. How could the Princess of Jin not hate him?"
Yuan Xiaoju nodded, "Old Five wrote to say that the King of Han suffered a great loss from this young man and was punished to stay at home for a year. Wei Lihu was also tricked by this young man and was demoted to a county magistrate. He is quite capable at a young age. I can sell him to him and reduce the price by one thousand strings of cash. I will treat him to a cup of tea later."
"Brother, is he the son of King Jin?"
"I know. If it was Yang Zhao or Yang Ling, I wouldn't make a mistake. But since his last name is Xiao, it doesn't matter. I can leave a way out for the Yuan family through him."
(End of this chapter)