Lu Chen had three things to do when he came to Quanzhou this time.
There are two obvious things to do: one is to re-establish commercial taxes on maritime trade, and the second is to expand and renovate Quanzhou City.
What happened behind the scenes was naturally to investigate the cause of Ma Tong's disappearance and to search for the sea chart.
What Lu Chen values most is actually the renovation and expansion of Quanzhou City, because this is where the direct benefits can be seen.
The real beneficiaries of the re-establishment of maritime trade taxes are the Great Qi court and the world, and Lu Chen can only get a small share of the benefits.
As for finding the sea chart and Ma Tong, he was actually not in a hurry.
Ma Tong has been missing for such a long time. If he was dead, his body would probably have been disposed of long ago.
If he is lucky enough to be alive, it is impossible for him to die in a short time, because if he wanted to be killed, he would have been killed long ago.
With the previous experience of building Bazhou City, Lu Chen suddenly became very interested in Da Qi's real estate industry.
When the businessmen heard what Lu Chen said, they all looked at each other in confusion. No one could figure out what Lu Chen was up to.
Ask them to name a number? What do they say? Is it better to have a higher or lower number?
This Imperial Master before them, wouldn't he want to rely on his special status to force a sale on them?
If this is true, then the businessmen present can only say that Lu Chen is blinding his mind.
This is Quanzhou, not the capital. Even if you, Lu Chen, are a powerful dragon, you cannot defeat us local snakes.
Besides, the entire Quanzhou city is so big. If you really want to buy all the shops at a low price, you will offend so many people.
Even if you are the imperial teacher of Da Qi, you can't handle this kind of thing, right?
Seeing that everyone was silent, Lu Chen chuckled and said, "Don't feel burdened, everyone. I'm not forcing you to buy or sell, or trying to lower the price. Let me be clear. The reconstruction of Quanzhou City is a good thing, a good thing that benefits the country and the people. Don't you all deny this?"
Seeing everyone nod, Lu Chen continued, "Since this is a good thing, we should do it well and make everyone happy. So when you quote, the price can be a little higher. Let me give you a number. It's 20% higher than the market price. What do you think?"
"If there are no other problems, you can spread the word and come to the government office tomorrow to sign the contract and get the money. Look, I've even summoned the Central Bank's president, Lord Zhao Gongming. Lord Zhao, please tell everyone: are there no other problems with the funding?"
"Don't worry, everyone. I have brought a large amount of banknotes this time. There is definitely enough money. You can come and sign the contract at any time." Zhao Gongming had a faint smile on his face, and he looked like he was not short of money.
Upon hearing this, the crowd below became noisy.
Lu Chen did not rely on his status as the imperial teacher to forcibly lower the housing prices or force sales, so there would be no problem of incurring public outrage.
And the premium is 20%, which is indeed not low. At this moment, some people were indeed tempted and said that the national master is very generous and they will definitely go there tomorrow.
With this incident as the foundation, the whole banquet was a great success for both the guests and the hosts.
After the banquet, Zhao Gongming accompanied Lu Chen to live in a residence that had been prepared long ago. It was said that it was a large house that a wealthy family had voluntarily given up.
After entering the house, making tea and sitting down, Zhao Gongming sipped his tea while curiously asking, "Master Imperial Master, how many people would come to sign the contract tomorrow? How many banknotes would I need to take off the ship?"
"No need to take it. There's no need to bother. No one will come tomorrow." Lu Chen also gave the same affirmative answer while drinking tea.
Zhao Gongming was slightly stunned after hearing this, and then asked in confusion: "Why? Didn't they talk about it very well at the banquet?"
"Old Zhao, you haven't dealt with these businessmen enough. When you do business with them, everything has to be on paper. Don't worry about their fancy words. As long as there's no outstanding contract, everything else is bullshit."
"Besides, you really underestimated the greed of human nature. Do you really think they will be satisfied with a 20% premium?" Lu Chen laughed and couldn't help but think of the grand demolition scene in later generations.
Zhao Gongming was slightly taken aback and said, "Twenty percent is actually quite high. If they were to trade on their own, they wouldn't be able to get that 20 percent premium. Okay, maybe some people are just too greedy. So, what premium does the Imperial Master think is appropriate?"
Lu Chen chuckled and said, "My words don't count. The house is in their hands, so what they say is the right price is the real price."
Zhao Gongming felt that Lu Chen thought too badly of people. He felt that the people of Da Qi were still simple and honest. Even if the businessmen wanted more money, ordinary people would not be so bad.
With a 20% premium, some families who are in urgent need of money will definitely sell it.
However, by the next day, Zhao Gongming, who had been sitting in the government office all day, was exhausted.
Just as Lu Chen said, a day passed and there really was no one there!
Zhao Gongming didn't understand. Could it be that the people in Quanzhou City were already so rich?
After finishing his shift, Zhao Gongming simply changed into ordinary clothes and walked out of the government office. He came to the street and found a wine shop or teahouse, wanting to hear what the people thought.
However, what he didn't expect was that he went to several bars and teahouses, but he didn't hear anyone discussing selling the house.
What was going on? Was it just an illusion last night? Didn't that actually happen?
After returning to the government office and sharing his doubts with Lu Chen, Lu Chen put down the official report and said with a smile, "It seems that the merchants in Quanzhou City are indeed very unusual. Someone has already integrated them. Their level of confidentiality is much better than that of our Great Qi court."
Zhao Gongming was slightly taken aback, then asked in surprise, "Master, are you saying that those merchants didn't spread the news? Why?"
"Is there even a need to ask? Of course, it's to get as much benefit as possible for myself."
"What do you think merchants sell? Are they really goods? No, what merchants sell is actually information asymmetry. Goods are just a carrier, and the information asymmetry is the profit they make."
"I think the current businessmen will definitely keep this news secret and have already started contacting ordinary people privately, hoping to buy houses from them."
"Once they have taken possession of most of the people's houses, they will have the confidence to continue negotiating with the court. By then, a mere 20% premium will be nothing. They will definitely ask for a huge price!"
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