Chapter 67 Wanli Yahang
Old Lady Wen nodded and said, "Let's go to the pawnshop tomorrow to see if there's any land from our village, that would be the best."
"Grandma, if you don't have us, you can buy one from a nearby village. As long as it's not too far away, it should be fine."
The matter of buying the good farmland was settled, and after cleaning up the kitchen everyone went to bed early.
They get up before dawn to prepare what they will sell today.
Mutton offal soup and husband and wife lung slices must be prepared at home and taken out, otherwise it will waste too much time.
Wen Zhenyi kneaded a lot of dough last night to make steamed buns, which could be eaten with mutton offal soup.
By the time they finished their work, it was already bright, but fortunately they had the ox cart so they didn't have to push it with much effort.
Wen Chengwen drove an ox cart carrying the things they were going to sell today.
They didn't get on the ox cart, but walked beside it: "Grandma, I want to pick up Zhu Tao today."
"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten about it. I haven't told your grandfather and others yet." Old Mrs. Wen told her family about Zhu Tao.
Ma Yinghe was so angry that she wanted to hit someone: "Have you never seen parents like this before? Can't they just sell their land? But they have to sell their own daughter."
Wen Chengwen was also furious: "You are really blinded by greed."
Old Man Wen put his hands behind his back and said, "Yiyi, you did the right thing. Zhu Tao has a miserable life."
"Yeah, it's better to buy it back so that the Zhu family can be pissed off to death in the future." Ma Yinghe looked angry.
They arrived at the market a little late today, and many diners thought they were not setting up their stall today, so they had already had breakfast at other places. When they saw them, they were neither eating nor spitting out the food in their mouths.
"Boss Wen, you haven't been here for a few days."
"Something happened at home, so I was delayed for a few days."
"Hey! They've all switched to ox carts!"
"Haha! It's all thanks to you all."
Wen Chengwen smiled and chatted with diners and vendors on the street.
"Auntie Wen, what delicious food are you selling today?"
"Mutton offal soup, husband and wife lung slices, steamed buns. You can eat them in the morning, or you can buy some and heat them up for lunch."
"Wait for me, I'll be there soon." A diner quickly cleaned up the food in his bowl, put a few coins on the table and walked towards the Wen family's stall.
Today's ingredients are all prepared, no preparation is needed, they can be sold directly.
Old Mrs. Wen handed over the business of the stall to her son, his wife, and two grandsons, and took Old Man Wen and Wen Zhenyi with her and headed straight to the dental clinic.
Old Man Wen looked at the two of them and said, "Where are you going, old lady?"
"Go to the dental clinic."
"Zhu Tao works at the dental clinic?"
"No, Zhu Tao is at the gambling house. She'll be there soon. Let's go to the gambling house first to see if there's any suitable farmland to sell."
Old Man Wen walked beside them with his hands behind his back: "Want to buy land?"
Wen Zhen nodded slightly: "Grandpa, it's not cost-effective for us to always buy food. Now that we have some spare money at home, we might as well buy some land and keep it."
"That's good. People still need land to feel at ease." Old Man Wen smiled and nodded, then turned to look at Old Lady Wen: "Old lady, how much should we buy?"
"We'll wait and see. If the price is right, we'll buy a few more acres. If not, we'll wait a little longer."
"I have some knowledge of the land in the nearby villages."
Mrs. Wen looked at him and said, "Why else would I call you here?"
Old Man Wen touched his nose, looked at Wen Zhenyi and asked in a low voice: "Yiyi, did your grandma eat gunpowder today?"
Wen Zhenyi smiled and shook his head: "No!"
"Then how can you treat me, the one next to you, whose nose is not a nose and eyes are not eyes?"
"Maybe it's the hot weather."
Old Man Wen looked up at the weather. It was hot and rainy as summer began, which was really not comfortable at all.
They arrived at the entrance of Wanli Yahang, and there were few people inside. The clerk yawned loudly, supporting his chin with one hand, and his eyes were almost closed.
Wen Zhenyi couldn't understand the words on it, so he turned around and asked Old Man Wen: "Grandpa, where is this place?"
"This is Wanli Yahang. The words 'Wanli Yahang' are written on the plaque from right to left."
Wen Zhenyi looked up at the words on the plaque that looked like scribbles. It would take a lot of time to really recognize them.
When the waiter saw customers coming in, he immediately perked up and stood up to greet them: "Dear guests, are you buying or selling?"
Old Lady Wen smiled and said, "Young man, we want to see some good farmland, preferably in Xinglin Village. If there's none in Xinglin Village, nearby villages will also do."
"Okay, okay, please sit for a while. I'll ask our dentist to come out and talk to you." He then served tea to the three of them.
"Thank you."
Wen Zhenyi looked at Wanli Yahang curiously. The shop was not big and was not on the main street, so it was relatively secluded.
"Grandpa, is the main business of the pawnshop to buy and sell good farmland?"
"The yahang (fortune-telling agency) deals in a wide range of areas, and there's a saying that they keep prices low and facilitate trade. Furthermore, yahang (fortune-telling agency) are divided into official yahang (fortune-telling agency) and private yahang (fortune-telling agency), and both require authorization from the court, and they also need to pay taxes."
"Is there any difference between private teeth and official teeth?"
"Private yamen are like us ordinary people who buy and sell fertile land, land deeds, houses, people, etc. Official yamen deal with the fertile land and land deeds of officials, including those that have been confiscated."
"What kind of people did Liu Si and the others buy?"
"That's hard to say. If you buy and sell people on your own without going through a broker, the government will still approve it as long as you have all the necessary paperwork."
While the two were talking, a thin man in a long gown walked out from the backyard. He was not tall, with a handsome face, and the gown was a little loose on him.
The man walked up to the three of them and bowed slightly. "My three guests, I'm the dentist from Wanli Dental Clinic. My surname is Zhu, and I'm the second oldest child in my family. You can just call me dentist Zhu. I heard from the clerk that you're looking to buy the fertile farmland near Xinglin Village?"
"That's right. I wonder if there is anyone suitable?" said Old Man Wen.
"Xinglin Village does have a few acres of good farmland for sale recently, but the price is a bit high."
"How much is the price?"
"Ten taels per mu."
"Premium farmland?"
"medium."
"This medium-quality farmland can't even fetch eight taels at best. Ten taels an acre is a bit too much for him."
Zhu Er didn't get angry, but just smiled and said, "The owner is waiting for the money and wants to sell it at a good price. We have also tried to persuade him, but he is unwilling to change the price."
"Are there any good farmlands near Xinglin Village?"
"There's no good farmland for sale this season. We have to wait until after the autumn harvest."
Old Man Wen looked at Old Lady Wen: "Old lady, what do you think?"
Old Lady Wen thought for a moment and asked, "How many acres of fertile land are there in Xinglin Village?"
"Six acres."
"Mr. Zhu, if he lowers the price, come to the Wen family in Xinglin Village and find us. We can buy these six acres of land."
"Can I buy them all?"
"Well, if the price is right, we'll take them all."
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