Chapter 172 [VIP]

At the same time, Cao Kun also arrived in the prefectural city, preparing to pick up Lin Qiu and Chen Rong to go home together.

After not seeing each other for more than two months, Erbao didn't recognize him anymore. Cao Kun hugged him and kissed him, but Erbao cried because his beard prickled.

Lin Qiu chuckled from the side, "Chen'er, this is your father. Don't you recognize your father?"

The little guy kept snuggling into Lin Qiu's arms and wouldn't look for Cao Kun, which made Lin Qiu feel really bad. Luckily, Xiaomai remembered him and hugged her father's neck, saying that she missed him terribly.

Cao Kun hugged and kissed his eldest son before he could recover.

Besides bringing his family back, he also came to deliver goods to the prefectural city. Due to the border war, prices in the north had begun to rise rapidly, with grain and cloth experiencing the fastest price increases. The porters' business was booming, and they were making a fortune transporting goods between the north and south.

Wang Ying inquired about the situation at the border with him. People who travel all over the country on foot naturally know more about the border.

Cao Kun said, "The border is currently embroiled in fierce fighting. A while ago, they fought a battle with the Turkic army at Jiaohe. I heard that three or four thousand people died, and the river water a hundred miles downstream even smells of blood."

Everyone was stunned; this was truly terrifying!

"But there's so much business over there. If it weren't for the fact that my travel business can't be left unattended, I'd love to go there myself."

Lin Qiu asked, "What kind of business can be done over there?"

"Those fleeing from war, there are many merchants in Longxi. Many people are fleeing to the Central Plains because of the war. I heard that you can earn over a hundred taels of silver by taking in one household!"

Wang Ying's mind raced upon hearing this, "Were there many people who fled here?"

“Many! Tens of thousands of people came from Longxi. Some fled to Shanzhou, and some went to Bianzhou and Liangzhou. Although there is no movement in Jizhou yet, it feels like people will come soon.”

Wang Ying had a plan in mind. If the war continued, more and more people would flee to this area, and the housing prices in Jizhou would likely rise rapidly. If she could stock up on some properties now, she estimated she could make a lot of money.

However, he doesn't have much money, so this matter needs to be considered carefully.

I had dinner tonight, and since I have to leave early tomorrow, I didn't dare to delay and went to bed early.

Late February and early March is the season when grass grows and birds fly. The snow on the mountains has melted, and tender green shoots are sprouting in the ground. The weather is neither too hot nor too cold, with little rain and plenty of sunshine, making it perfect for traveling.

Parting from loved ones is always painful. On the day of her departure, Chen Rong held Li's hand and repeatedly told her, "Sister-in-law, please take good care of yourself. Qingyan is not at home, and the children are counting on you. Please don't get sick."

"Don't worry, be careful on your journey, and remember to write when you get to the county town."

"Okay." Chen Rong then pulled Wang Ying and said, "Third Aunt is gone, and this whole family will depend on you. You also need to take care of your health and not overwork yourself."

Wang Ying was deeply moved. "Okay, I understand."

Yuanbao and Qing'er held onto Xiaomai tightly, reluctant to let go. The time they spent together had fostered a deep friendship among the three children.

It was getting late. Lin Qiu picked up Xiaomai and placed her on the carriage. Looking at the two children with tears in their eyes, he said, "After your father finishes the imperial examination, he will have to go back to his hometown. He will bring Qing'er back with him then."

Yuanbao wiped away his tears, nodded, and waved goodbye to Xiaomai.

"Go on, drive carefully." Wang Ying bent down and wiped away the tears of the two children.

The group bid each other a reluctant farewell and did not enter the courtyard until the carriage was out of sight.

As soon as her aunt left, Li Shi's mood immediately plummeted. She didn't eat anything at noon. Wang Ying was afraid that she would worry too much, so she quickly asked Er Shun to bring Qing Yun back.

Qingyun is over three months pregnant and is currently experiencing severe morning sickness. She can't eat anything, feels nauseous even after drinking water, and vomits violently at the smell of fish. Her once plump face has become thin with a pointed chin.

Mrs. Li was heartbroken and quickly tried to prepare various dishes for her daughter. In her busyness, she forgot about her grief.

In March, business at the vegetable stall was slow again. Wang Ying planned to sell the last batch of vegetables from the experimental field and then replant millet and wheat.

After hearing Cao Kun mention that there were many refugees from the Northwest, Wang Ying had the idea of ​​hoarding houses. He visited the real estate brokerage in the past few days and found that many people had the same idea. The prices of houses in official brokerages had also risen a lot. Wang Ying sighed that there has never been a shortage of such shrewd businessmen since ancient times.

Upon arriving at Sun's Real Estate Agency, Wang Ying found Sun Peng attending to other guests, so she sat down and looked at the houses that were recently being sold.

The waiter brought over three booklets: one for Zhengtong Street, one for Zhengyang Street, and the other for Zhenghe Street. They basically covered all the houses in the city that were available for rent or sale.

Wang Ying didn't look at the property register on Zhengtong Street. The residential properties there are basically not open to the public, and even if they are sold, the price is sky-high, which she can't afford to hoard.

I looked through the houses on Zhengyang Street. The ones I had looked at before had increased in price by more than 400 taels, and the ones that had increased by at least 50 taels. I think I bought this house at a pretty good time.

After looking around for a while, Wang Ying found two nice courtyards, but they were a bit expensive and didn't have much potential for future appreciation, so she didn't want to bother with them.

Therefore, it seems that the houses on Zhenghe Street have the most potential for appreciation.

Wang Ying picked up the property register and was about to look at Zhenghe Street when the brokerage owner came over. "Manager Wang, what a rare guest!"

Wang Ying got up and greeted him, "I came to take a look at the houses and see if there are any suitable ones to buy."

Upon hearing this, Sun Peng immediately ordered his servants to make tea. "Manager Wang, would you like to buy a shop or a residence?"

"Let's take a look at the house."

"What size are you looking for? Are there any available spaces?"

Wang Ying said, "A small courtyard is fine, as for the location, there are no specific requirements."

Sun Peng picked up the booklet about Zhenghe Street, opened it, and flipped through a few pages. "There are seven households here, all single-courtyard houses, in one alley. The price isn't expensive, around 100 or 200 taels of silver per house. But the location isn't great. You know Zhenghe Street is a mixed bag."

Wang Ying calculated in her mind that eighty taels each, and seven courtyards would only amount to five or six hundred taels, which was really not expensive.

If this war continues unabated, the number of people fleeing here will definitely increase, and the value of these courtyards can be three or four times higher when they are resold.

"Are there any other buildings besides these?"

Sun Peng knew that he was trying to hoard houses. In the past few days, there had been quite a few people coming to the brokerage to buy and hoard houses, but most of them were buying houses on Zhengyang Street, while no one was interested in Zhenghe Street.

“Yes!” Sun Peng turned a few more pages. “There are two more alleys here with a total of sixteen courtyards. I wonder if Manager Wang can handle the food.”

"So many empty rooms? Where are all the people in this area?"

Sun Peng coughed lightly and said, "To be honest, a few years ago there was a plague here due to flooding, and everyone in this area died and their houses were confiscated. However, the government brokers thought the houses here were too small and in a bad location, so they transferred them to me. If you mind, then forget it..."

Wang Ying naturally didn't mind, since he wasn't going to live there anyway. "Is the house all cleaned up?"

"Of course, after the outbreak of the epidemic, this area was sealed off by the government troops. The dead were all taken out of the city and burned in a centralized manner, and the houses were also cleaned up."

Wang Ying said, "What's the minimum price if I take all these houses?"

Sun Peng picked up the abacus and frantically typed away for a while before writing down 1,118 taels of silver on a piece of paper.

"It's cheaper."

"Manager Wang is joking. This price is only given because of you. If it were anyone else, I would have given them two thousand taels without any negotiation. Our brokerage business has been in business for so many years and we believe in the importance of integrity."

Wang Ying naturally trusted him; acquaintances who heard about the price of the house she bought all said it was reasonable.

"Do you have time to take me to see the apartment?"

"Of course, if Manager Wang has some free time now, let's go take a look."

"good."

The two boarded the brokerage's carriage and headed straight for Zhenghe Street. This was Wang Ying's first time here since arriving in the prefectural city. The street was slightly narrower and the road was bumpier than Zhengyang Street.

This road was built at the same time as Zhengyang Street, but there are many trucks carrying goods here, and the long-term traffic has created many ruts, making the ground uneven.

After about 15 minutes, the carriage arrived at the house. After getting off the carriage, Wang Ying looked around and found that the environment was not bad, not as dilapidated as she had imagined. The alley was wide enough for a carriage to pass through.

There are ten households further in, but apart from the three households that are inhabited, the rest are vacant.

As Sun Peng walked, he explained, "Although this area is on Zhenghe Street, it's not far from the military camp, so it's relatively safe. Manager Wang, please watch your step."

Wang Ying looked down and saw a patch of fresh cow dung on the road. It must have been freshly defecated not long ago. She almost stepped on it.

"It's a bit dirty, but there's nothing we can do about it. The people living here are all ordinary folks, and many of them are farmers who keep livestock at home, so it can't compare to Zhengyang Street."

Wang Ying nodded and followed him forward.

Upon arriving at the first house, we opened the gate. It was a detached house with its own courtyard, three main rooms, and one side room. Because it had been neglected for a long time, many weeds had grown in the cracks between the stones in the courtyard.

However, as Sun Peng said, everything inside was quite clean, and there was some simple furniture in the room.

Sun Peng said, "Although these houses are listed with the brokerage firm, the transactions still require going to the official brokerage to complete the formalities. You can just hand them over to me then."

After visiting the seven households here, we took a horse-drawn carriage to two other alleys. There were a total of sixteen households there. The houses were of varying ages but all habitable, so it shouldn't be difficult to sublet or sell them.

After seeing the properties, Wang Ying decided to buy them all.

Mr. Sun was overjoyed. "Manager Wang might make a fortune buying these houses."

"Hey, I'm just dabbling in this. It's good enough if I don't lose money on a few old houses. I bet there are a lot of people hoarding houses in the city these days, right?"

"Fortunately, houses are not like other things, which cost hundreds or thousands of taels of silver and are only affordable for a few people. The owner of Yang's Trading Company bought ten courtyards on Zhenghe Street, and the owner of Hongyunlou bought three courtyards on Zhengtong Street. Others haven't made any moves."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ying's mind stirred. The owner of Hongyunlou was Madam Qin. She hadn't expected that Madam Qin had also bought a house. It seemed that the house prices in Jizhou really had a lot of room for appreciation.

The property transfer went smoothly; the money was paid and it was completed the next day. All twenty-three courtyards now belonged to Wang Ying.

After carefully storing the property deed, Wang Ying continued selling vegetables as usual, hoping to sell ice again after March and April.

I thought it would take at least a few months for these houses to increase in price, but unexpectedly, a large number of people fleeing from the Northwest flooded in half a month later, and the housing prices in Jizhou skyrocketed!

A note from the author: