The river is quite large and roughly round in shape. You can see many small fish in it, so it must be flowing water, but I don't know where it's introduced from. There's also a pavilion by the river for people to rest and enjoy the view.

The surrounding walls are over five meters high, providing excellent privacy.

Yan Xia loved this garden so much.

She was about to make the final decision to take the house.

But the best is yet to come; what if the houses on the city walls are also very nice?

She followed Kong Yaren and continued to visit the second courtyard, which was largely the same as the first courtyard, except for the addition of an outer courtyard. The outer courtyard was not large, with a row of side rooms, which were probably for the servants and maids to live in. To the left of the side rooms was the kitchen, and to the right was the storeroom.

Passing through the outer courtyard, the back gate is on the left and the stables are on the right.

It can hold at least twenty horses, and the backyard is neither too big nor too small, big enough to fit three carriages.

"Manager Yan, are you satisfied with this house?"

Kong Yaren looked at Yan Xia with a smile.

"Hmm, it's alright. Let's go visit the one on the city wall."

Even if you really like something, you can't show it; that's the first rule when buying things.

Yan Xia retracted her bared teeth and, feigning composure, boarded the carriage again.

The people in the brokerage firm are all incredibly shrewd.

As soon as I stepped out of the main gate, I saw the carriage that had stopped at the front gate was already waiting outside the back gate.

It didn't take up her time at all.

After getting off the carriage, Yan Xia followed Kong Ya Ren to visit the second house.

The difference is that the second house seems a bit too luxurious.

It's completely different from the first house; one looks like it belongs to a nouveau riche, while the other looks like it belongs to a literary family.

The gate alone is twice the size of the house we just saw.

There used to be a plaque on the door, but it has been removed.

"Manager Yan, this house used to belong to a famous wealthy family in Shuangqiao Town. He ran more than a dozen gambling dens, but he offended someone he shouldn't have, so he sold all his wealth and fled. I forgot to tell you, this house now belongs to our brokerage firm. If you want to buy it, you can just trade directly with us."

Did you mess with the wrong person?

To be able to operate so many gambling dens, one must have powerful connections. What kind of people must one have offended to be so frightened?

"Who did you offend?" she asked gossipy.

"I don't know about that, but don't worry, the house has been taken care of and has nothing to do with him anymore. You don't need to worry about being implicated, and no enemies will come knocking on your door."

"Alright, let's go in and take a look."

"Yes, Manager Yan, this way please."

After knocking on the door, Yan Xia stepped over the threshold and went inside.

What comes into view is an open-air square courtyard with connecting corridors on the east and west sides, which connect to the front yard wing rooms. In the middle of the courtyard is a circular blue brick ground, and the outer side is a mud ground, where two trees and some flowers and plants are planted. On the blue brick ground are ornamental jars.

It's probably used for raising fish or growing ornamental lotus flowers.

It's not very big, maybe 50 square meters at most.

The wing rooms in the front yard were built in a straight line, with a total of twenty rooms. Yan Xia went in and took a look. They were all small, about ten square meters each, probably servants' rooms. The rightmost room was the servants' private outhouse, which was not separated by gender.

The connecting corridor on the left leads directly to the first courtyard, which is about the same size as the house we just saw, and the buildings are also similar in construction.

The courtyards in each of the inner courtyards are twice the size of the front courtyard, and they have been landscaped in a more attractive way, so they should be more comfortable to live in. Besides, the previous house only had a garden and no courtyard.

After exploring the similar two- or three-courtyard layout, Yan Xia continued walking inwards, where there was still a back room.

While still intended for servants, the left and right sides were no longer connected by corridors, but instead consisted of kitchens, storerooms, and other storage rooms.

The real backyard is beyond the back room.

It has a courtyard similar to the front yard, as well as a huge gatehouse and stables.

After the two returned to the brokerage, Yan Xia drank a cup of warm tea.

She was so thirsty; she had just finished the whole pot of tea in the carriage. After walking for so long, it felt like she was just strolling in a park.

The two houses are actually about the same size, although the first one is slightly smaller. However, its garden is so large that if the garden were dug up and a house were built in its place, it would definitely have four courtyards.

"Manager Yan, which one have you taken a fancy to?"

Yan Xia was somewhat conflicted.

What are the prices?

She asked.

"The house at the end of the city costs 1200 taels, after all, it has a large garden. If it didn't have a garden, you could buy a two-courtyard house in a more remote area for a little over 600 taels. Moreover, this house is very new, it was just renovated a few years ago. The house at the top of the city is much more expensive, it's much better than the mansion where our county magistrate lives, so it's worth this price."

Kong Yaren lowered his voice and made a two-pointer.

Good heavens, two thousand?

Even in Jiangnan County, you could buy a large house there, in a prime location.

The houses inside were built very luxuriously. She could practically move in right away after buying them. There were so many rooms, she wouldn't have to worry about not having enough to live in. There were dozens of servants' rooms alone.

Two people can live in one room, and there is no problem accommodating a hundred or so servants.

Brother Deng's shabby little house still costs 800 taels.

"I'll think about it."

Yan Xia's teacup was refilled; it was lunchtime.

Kong Yaren hosted the lunch, and the two of them had lunch at a restaurant opposite the brokerage firm.

Three meat dishes and three vegetable dishes.

It cost only one or two taels of silver, which was much more affordable than going to a restaurant.

Kong Yaren felt heartbroken, but he knew that you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub.

As expected, Yan Xia decided to buy it.

"Can you give me a discount if I want both sets? I'll take them both for three thousand taels."

She really couldn't decide which one to buy. She had just used her mind to search her space and found that she already had 9,800 taels. She might as well buy them all and live in them in rotation.

Why make choices when you already have money!

"What--"

Kong Ya was terrified; he wanted both sets.

Good heavens, that means he can earn 30 taels of silver today.

We've made it big! We have the money to send our son to school.

The prices quoted by dental clinics are already somewhat high, precisely to give customers room to negotiate.

Kong Yaren didn't try to act tough; he consulted the shopkeeper, who immediately agreed.

With the same tax and fee waiver, Yan Xia paid three thousand taels of silver to buy two houses.

Five days later, everything was completed, and Yan Xia officially became the owner of the house.

“Kongya people, remember to let me know if you find any good land next time. I want to buy land, but I can’t find any large plots. It’s better not to buy scattered plots. I really don’t have time to manage them.”

"No problem, no problem. Manager Yan, you've taken good care of me several times. If I come across a good opportunity in the future, I'll come to your shop to find you right away."

"Yes, let me know if you find any good shops."

The two had hot pot at Yan Xia's restaurant and then went home separately.

In five whole days, Yan Xia not only bought two houses, but also three carriages, though she hadn't hired any drivers yet.

One carriage was used for personal purposes, and two were used for delivering goods.

So you only need to hire two drivers.

As for Zhao Dali, he had to deliver goods to other places and also transport milk from the village to the shop every day.

I simply don't have time.