Chapter 100
Wen Shi had already thought about this question the moment he passed the imperial examination.
Originally, his plan was that once he became an official and had enough money, he would bring his family over, have them live separately, and help them find a business. That would be the best approach, similar to what he did when he was in the county.
But things have changed, and he has to reconsider.
“Of these five hundred taels, we’ll keep three hundred taels and use the remaining two hundred taels to find out if there are any vacant plots of land in some villages on the outskirts of the city. We’ll buy land and build houses for them to live in.”
"By the time they arrive, the house will definitely be finished."
Wen Shi thought this method was not bad, and Ying Xiang had no objections after hearing it. This amount of money was not enough to buy a house in the city, but it was possible in the suburbs.
You don't need to buy a ready-made yard, and you don't need to buy good farmland to build a house. There aren't that many requirements for where people live. As long as it's not too desolate, it's fine.
"Two acres of land will be enough. We can fence it off and build a spacious house without any problem."
"This is such a great deal!" Yingxiang nodded.
"Then listen to your husband, you can do it."
After saying that, she took two hundred taels and handed it to Wen Shi.
In the capital, a mu of good farmland costs several dozen taels of silver, but ordinary land is cheaper, though it takes more effort and may be a bit far. But for Yingxiang, it's not a bad thing.
Wen Shi didn't rush to write home immediately. Wen Xiaowu still had an exam to take this year. He would write home after he found a place and had people start building the house.
By the time they receive the letter, it will definitely be winter. Even if they pack up and set off immediately, arriving by the middle of next year would be considered fast, and they would still have plenty of time.
With enough manpower, the house can be built in three months, and there's enough money.
He wasn't too particular. Ordinary wood was fine for furniture, and any house he built would definitely have to be made of blue bricks and white tiles. As for the interior, as long as the house could shelter him from the wind and rain and looked decent, that was enough. He wasn't a wealthy family, and he didn't want everything to be the best.
"Twenty rooms will be enough. When the children get married, it won't be a problem. Except for the main house in the middle where the parents live, which needs to be decorated properly, the rest will be fine."
"Let's continue living here."
Wen Shi added that he still had to continue working. If he lived outside the city, it would take him an hour or two to commute each way every day, and his health would soon be ruined. He couldn't handle it. No officials lived outside the city.
"They have some money of their own. After they arrive, my father and I will discuss what we should do with them in the future."
Yingxiang was relieved. She had no objection to Wen Shi's arrangement. He had considered things quite thoroughly and meticulously. It was good, much better than the whole family crowding in there, which was impossible anyway.
The next day, Wen Shi went to the library early in the morning and began to inquire about the land purchase with some colleagues.
Those who are wealthy and have family fortunes buy houses and live in the city, while those who are less well-off rent houses. Many officials in Beijing do this for the convenience of going to work.
They currently hold low-ranking official positions, practically the lowest class, with an annual salary of only two hundred taels of silver. They can manage to rent a place, but they don't save much at the end of the year. However, opportunities are still very important.
If I get promoted someday and become successful, my life will suddenly become much better.
Many people believe that becoming an official means the beginning of a good life, but for lower-ranking officials without family connections, their lives are sometimes worse than those of wealthy businessmen, and only slightly better than those of ordinary people.
"Brother Wen, if you ask me, why don't you rent a bigger house first, and when you become successful in the future, you can buy a mansion?"
“The land outside the capital is not cheap, and there isn’t much vacant land in the suburbs. If you want to buy land to build a house, you need to be at least 20 or 30 miles away from the capital. There might be some there, and although the price is much cheaper, the distance is quite far.”
“My family is large. If we rent a place, five or six rooms wouldn't be enough. Including my nephews, there are more than ten people, the oldest of whom is almost ten years old. In a few years, when they get married and have children, there will be even less room.”
Practical issues cannot be ignored, and someone sighed after Wen Shi finished speaking.
“Brother Wen, why don’t you let your parents come first, and then let your brothers come later when you are better off? That would be reasonable.”
Wen Shi shook his head. If his parents came and his brothers stayed at home, no one would say anything bad about him, but the risk was too great.
Without Old Man Wen keeping an eye on things, apart from Xiao Wu, to be honest, he didn't trust anyone. If nothing went wrong, all would be well, but if something did, it would be too late.
Keeping them all under our watchful eyes is actually the safest option.
"Brother Wen, you are truly a man of great loyalty. Your brothers are doing just as well back home, so what are you worried about?"
Someone asked unhurriedly, "If you don't have the means, then don't bring your whole family."
“We are five brothers, and our parents raised us all by themselves. Now that I’m out here, it wouldn’t be good if it separated our parents from their other children. They are getting old and their health is declining day by day. Our hometown is far from the capital, and it takes half a year to travel back and forth.”
At noon, inside the library, when everyone heard Wen Shi say this, they didn't know what to say. He had his reasons, and he really couldn't leave the old man with any regrets.
Wen Shi is a really good person and doesn't like to trouble others. A colleague once wanted to borrow money to buy a house, but of course no one lent him any. There aren't that many rich people. Although we work together, we have different social skills. We seem friendly on weekdays, but when it comes to money, no one is willing to take the risk.
If I lend it to you and you don't pay it back, what are you going to do? Money doesn't grow on trees.
Many of them look respectable, and several of them have families to support. Right now, relying solely on their salaries and the year-end bonuses from the Hanlin Academy, they can only dream of building a family business.
Many people are also unwilling to live outside the city, feeling it is too far and not respectable.
Everyone says that getting promoted can bring wealth, but it's not an easy position to get promoted. If you don't have family help and have to rely entirely on yourself and not be greedy, even if you get promoted to the fourth or fifth rank, you'll still have to save for more than ten years to buy a decent house in the capital.
Reaching the fourth or fifth rank is the best path for an ordinary official. Unless you have a good opportunity, you don't know how many years you'll have to endure. There are many opportunities in the capital, but the competition is much fiercer than outside.
“Brother Wen, when you’re on leave, go out and inquire around outside the city. We all live in the city, even though we rent houses. Luckily, there aren’t that many people in my family. I only have one older brother and one nephew.”
Several of his colleagues were nice people. After hearing this, he nodded, realizing that was all he could do.
The third-ranking scholar glanced at Wen Shi, thought for a moment, and said to him, "Brother Wen, you must be careful when you buy land. Be sure to check with the government to ensure the identity of the landowner. Don't be fooled."
“There are a lot of swindlers in the capital. Some of them may look like ordinary, honest people, but they all have powerful backers. The government is fair, but if you go through a lawsuit, you will be upset and it will take a lot of time.”
"Thank you for reminding me, I will be careful."
This third-place scholar was in the same year as Wen Shi. Because his appearance wasn't particularly outstanding, he had been criticized before, mostly in private.
Especially on the day of the parade, many people said that the emperor only looked at literary talent and not appearance, and compared with the previous emperors, his appearance was not outstanding.
Now that those things are in the past, everyone in the Hanlin Academy keeps quiet about them.
Although he is not young, he is very down-to-earth and a good person. Wen Shi had not had much contact with him before, but now they are colleagues.
The person meant well by reminding him, so he sincerely thanked them.
The sun outside grew increasingly scorching, and the room grew hotter and hotter. Wen Shi took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. After his break, he got busy again, copying and organizing some ancient books.
In the evening, after finishing his shift, Wen Shi went to pick up his child as usual and took him to eat a bowl of ice cream cakes at a nearby restaurant.
"Father, this is delicious. Let's bring a bowl back for Mother too."
It was almost evening, but it was still hot. He figured the food would melt by the time he got home and wouldn't taste as good, so he shook his head.
"We can't take this back. Let's go to the market later and buy some meat."
"good."
"Have you been obedient today?"
“I was obedient, and the master even praised me.”
When Wen Shi took him to school early in the morning, he gave the tea to the teacher. Little Master Xu was very happy and felt that his efforts had paid off.
Wen Leqian is not old, but he is quite smart and well-behaved. He never misbehaves in class, which saves him a lot of trouble.
"good."
Wen Shi patted his son's head.
Yingxiang returned late, but she was in a good mood, especially since Wenshi had specially stewed meat for her. It was hot, so she couldn't buy too much meat; she usually only bought what she could eat.
After dinner, the two chatted for a while before going to rest. That's how life is: if you discuss things and respect each other, it's hard not to have a good life.
Yingxiang could understand Wenshi, and Wenshi was also thinking of her; otherwise, he would have brought his whole family along earlier.
Times have changed, and so have customs. The two of them are working together for a better life in the future.
When Wen Shi had a day off, the two of them took the child to school together, and then went out of the city to look for land.
With Granny Yang watching over the shop, Yingxiang wasn't worried at all. Granny Yang was a hard worker and good at accounting. She even thought that when the time came, she could talk to her and it would be even better if she could keep her here.
Nowadays, if someone wants to sell land, they will post notices at the entrance of the village. There are also many large villas in the suburbs of Beijing. The couple looked for several villages nearby, but did not find many suitable ones.
Some sell only half an acre of land, which is too small; others sell more than ten acres, and still others sell hundreds or thousands of acres, but Wen Shi cannot afford that much money.
Unbeknownst to them, the two had found themselves ten miles away. Of course, this place was still under the jurisdiction of the capital, and was considered a very remote area.
The couple were already sweating profusely from the heat, but they didn't give up and continued searching.
Half an hour later, an old man at the village entrance called out to the two of them.
"Are you looking to buy land? My family has two acres of dry land."
The couple looked at each other in bewilderment. Upon hearing this, they walked away from the notice board and immediately went down to the big tree, where the old man sat to cool off.
Dry land doesn't matter, as long as houses can be built and people can live there. It's quite a distance from the capital, but that's okay. We can just buy a mule or a donkey and get a cart later. It won't take much trouble and will be convenient for them to do business in the future.
"Sir, may we go and take a look first?"
"Can."
It was a small village. The two followed the old man inside. The fields were in a decent location, not too far from the village entrance.
The area looks very lively, with many people busy in the rice paddies.
In the capital, most people close their doors and live their own lives, but it's different in the countryside. At least there are people around, and people will generally greet each other when they meet.
"Just this area. If you don't believe me, we can measure it again. It's not expensive, thirty-five taels of silver per acre."
"As for water, you don't need to worry. It's been raining a lot here at night lately, and there's a stream not far away."
The old man spoke clearly and distinctly. He looked old, but was actually quite energetic. Wen Shi looked around and saw that there was nothing wrong with the place. The price was acceptable to him. Two acres of land would cost seventy taels, and the remaining hundred taels would be enough to build a house.
"If it's cultivated for a few years, it might become fertile land."
"Uncle, I'm not buying this land to farm. I want to bring my family here to live and build houses for them."
Most of the houses in the village are stone houses or houses with blue bricks and white tiles; the latter is what Wen Shi wanted to build.
“That’s fine, it’s definitely no problem for people to live here. The villagers in our village are all very hospitable. If you’re building a house, we can help you. I have several sons.”
Yingxiang and Wenshi were both dressed very well, and the old man could tell that too.
"That's perfect, but could you make the price a little cheaper?"
Looking at the overgrown land, Yingxiang thought that it would take a lot of cleaning up before construction could begin.
"This is already very cheap, a fair price."
"We want both mu of land, how about sixty-five taels?"
Yingxiang's lips moved slightly.
The old man sighed and then said, "Sixty-eight taels, I can't go lower. Although this land of mine is not fertile, the feng shui is good."
Whether the feng shui is good or bad is unknown at the time, but it's always good to be cheaper.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
