Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaozhou said, "Let's go."

"Hey, hey, don't go!" Qian Yazi pulled Qin Xiaozhou. "We can talk it over, we can talk it over."

He didn't expect Qin Xiaozhou to be so decisive, not even bothering to bargain, and just wanting to leave.

Lu Yunfeng's gaze fell on his hand. "Let go."

Qian Yazi quickly released Qin Xiaozhou, begging for mercy repeatedly. He then hurriedly said, "How about 336 taels to buy her outright? Madam, this is already a low price. Any lower and I won't even break even."

This courtyard is nice, but it's not worth more than three hundred taels. Three hundred taels is enough to buy Wangjia Village and all the fields. A pig only costs a little over two taels of silver, and a person can buy and sell it for ten taels of silver. The income of a family in the countryside is only four or five taels. This house is worth at most a little over two hundred taels.

That money broker is truly heartless.

Qin Xiaozhou didn't mince words. "One hundred and eighty taels. If you don't agree, we'll leave. It's getting late, and the road back is long."

When Qian Yazi heard that the journey was long and he had to leave, he was extremely anxious. However, he still wanted to earn more money. "Grandma, one hundred and eighty taels is really too little. Please add another thirty taels for the sake of me taking good care of the house. Two hundred and ten taels."

The wealthy merchant was in a hurry to leave, and there was a drought for those two years. Qian Yazi bought the house for 195 taels of silver. He originally thought that the drought would be better last year, but the drought was even more severe last year, so the house has not been sold.

These past two years have been turbulent in many places. People in the countryside are struggling to even feed themselves after the harvest, so why would they come to the city to buy houses? The drought has reduced the river's flow, preventing large boats from entering. Many people in the county have also been struggling financially these past two years, so they certainly won't buy houses at this critical juncture. If they can't sell their houses this time, who knows when they'll be able to? Besides, who knows what the weather will be like this year? It's been two months since the Lunar New Year, and it's only rained once. For the past two weeks, it's been sunny every day, and the river hasn't risen at all. Wild grass has grown along the riverbanks. These wooden houses can't withstand being left like this.

Qin Xiaozhou stood by the well. "One hundred and ninety taels. This house is nice, but it's deserted. Besides, it's in a remote area. Although the street next door is a wealthy area, there are still few rich people. I can't afford to lose money in business."

Qian Yazi's face twitched. "One hundred and ninety-five taels. To be honest, Madam, that's the original price I paid for this house. I didn't make a single penny."

Qin Xiaozhou nodded, "Okay. We don't have enough money today..."

"That's easy." Qian Yazi has been in this business for twenty years. He's encountered all kinds of customers and all kinds of strange things. Not to mention not having enough money on him, even if a deal is made and the contract is signed, there can still be unexpected changes. "How much did you bring? Pay a deposit, and we'll go to the yamen to ask someone to witness it, sign a contract, and set a deadline. You can pay the rest of the money then."

Qian Yazi knew the people in the yamen who handled house deeds, so he went there immediately, wrote a document, and Qin Xiaozhou took it over to check and confirm that it was correct. He paid a deposit of twenty taels first, and promised to pay the remaining one hundred and seventy-five taels within seven days. He paid the deposit on the spot.

The contract was stamped with the official seal of the yamen (government office). There were three copies in total: one for Qian Yazi, one for Qin Xiaozhou, and one kept in the yamen.

After finishing his business, Qian Yazi treated the man from the yamen to drinks after his shift ended. Only after leaving the yamen did Qian Yazi look at Qin Xiaozhou with a different gaze. "This woman is indeed a formidable person."

These days, there aren't many literate people, let alone a woman; you might find one in ten thousand.