"How about it?" Old Huang asked impatiently. "How much silver?"
The butler stole a glance at Jiang Nuan, who remained unmoved, narrowed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said, "Two thousand five hundred taels!"
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, suppressing their disbelief.
The price was surprisingly cheap!
"The estate is settled then," Jiang Nuan agreed. "What about the shops? Are there any you want to sell?"
"The Jin family owns eight shops, plus one shop that was part of the lady's dowry, making a total of nine," the steward raised an eyebrow. "How many shops would the lady like to buy?"
Jiang Nuan counted the children in her family and held up one hand, "Five rooms, I guess."
Upon hearing this, the steward gasped, his face contorting slightly. "Madam, this is no small sum."
Even if the Jin family urgently needed money to sell their shops at a low price, it was still beyond the reach of ordinary families.
"Could you please give me an estimate, butler?" he said, handing over a purse.
Seeing this, the steward immediately smiled, “Madam and I get along well, so I won’t lie to you. The Jin family’s shops are in excellent locations. The three large shops are in a three-courtyard complex, and the remaining small shops are in a two-courtyard complex. The large shops are 3,000 taels each, and the small shops are 1,500 taels each. Madam, which one would you like to choose?”
"Three thousand taels for a shop?" Huang Xiaosan frowned. "How does it compare to Wuweilou?"
“The shop in Wuweilou is only of average size, but the location is excellent, and business is relatively smooth. However,” the butler coughed lightly, somewhat embarrassed, “that shop has been pawned by the young master and is no longer in the hands of the Jin family.”
“That’s a bit expensive,” Huang Xiaosan shook his head. “Mom, maybe we should reconsider.”
Upon hearing this, the manager felt as if he had swallowed a mouthful of blood. “In all honesty, I did not ask for more. Those three large shops are all three-courtyard houses, with the front courtyard for business and the back courtyard for living. The location is also excellent, all located in the West Market. Normally, you would not be able to get them for less than four thousand taels. I only gave this price because I feel that you all get along well with me.”
The person in charge felt he had a grievance he couldn't express.
While this statement may be somewhat exaggerated, it's not far off. There are only a handful of shops in the county town, so there's no shortage of customers.
If it weren't for the reward after the job was done, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths, lowering the price by 30% for no reason. Lowering it by that much would have meant taking on a lot of risk.
“No need to think about it anymore, let’s settle on this,” Jiang Nuan smiled slightly. “Butler, in addition to the estate, please help me choose five more shops.”
"Are you really going to buy it?" the steward asked uncertainly. "It will cost more than ten thousand taels of silver."
Are these people really capable of producing it?
They weren't dressed very well, were they?
The steward was extremely puzzled. He thought these people, at most, had four or five thousand in assets through sheer luck.
"Don't worry, steward. We wouldn't joke about something like this. Please inform Madam Jin. If she has no objections, we can go to the yamen to get the deed done now."
The butler looked up at the dark sky. "It's already late. How about tomorrow morning?"
“It’s alright,” Jiang Nuan refused. “It’s better to get this done sooner rather than later. Everyone will feel more at ease if it’s settled sooner.”
“Indeed,” the butler nodded. “Please come inside and rest for a while. I’ll be right back.”
After saying this, he led the group to a side hall, ordered tea and snacks to be served, and then left with a smile.
“As expected,” Jiang Chao said with a sip of tea, “money is confidence.”
Just a moment ago they were looking at the country folk with a smug expression, but when they heard that the villagers could produce silver, their attitude changed completely. They couldn't be more pragmatic.
"The world is bustling with people coming and going for profit," Huang Lao Er sighed, shaking his head. "How cold and indifferent the world is!"
"Huh?" Jiang Chao asked with a curious look, "Who told you that?"
“My wife once said that,” Huang Lao Er chuckled, “and I thought it made a lot of sense, so I wrote it down.”
"Mother," Huang Xiaosan ignored the two of them, "did we make a profit or a loss on today's deal?"
“We made a small profit, and the Jin family didn’t lose money either,” Jiang Nuan explained. “The whole county knows about the Jin family. They are in a hurry to get money, so it’s difficult for them to sell at a good price. Therefore, most people are waiting to stall for time and force the Jin family to lower the price. The price that the Jin family’s steward gave us was 30% lower than the market price, which is slightly higher. However, if it is lowered any further, it will be impossible for our family to get a chance to buy it.”
Countless people in the county town were waiting for the Jin family's piece of the pie; they were just lucky to snag it at the right time. If they waited until tomorrow, it was uncertain whether they would even be able to get it.
"So," said Boss Huang, quite annoyed, "the money we gave the steward was wasted?"
“Of course not,” Jiang Nuan smiled mysteriously, “You’ll find out in a bit.”
The money Jiang Nuan gave the housekeeper was indeed well spent.
When she learned that someone had bought the estate and the shop, Madam Jin was very happy. But when she heard the price, her face immediately turned cold. "Steward, do you think I'm a clueless woman? Both the estate and the shop are half the usual price."
"Madam, this old servant admits that the price is indeed 10% lower than the market price, but there is nothing we can do about it. With the date for paying the ransom getting closer and closer, those people are convinced that we are raising money and are dragging our feet on buying. Today, the two groups of people have not yet made you understand the situation."
The old servant painstakingly persuaded these people to pay, even promising to go through the deed immediately, fearing that the longer it dragged on, the lower the price would be, delaying the rescue of the young master. The madam only has one son, the young master!
"Really?" Mrs. Jin asked skeptically. "Are you sure it's only 10% lower than the market price?"
She wasn't stupid; she knew the situation. The Jin family had offended too many people in the past, and now that they had lost power, there were plenty of people who wanted to kick them while they were down.
A 10% reduction wouldn't be unacceptable, but she always felt it was more than a 10% reduction.
"Is this the key point?" the butler thought to himself. "The lady of the house has completely missed the point."
His son had been detained, and the day for his ransom was drawing near, but he still hadn't raised 20,000 taels of silver. Instead of thinking about hurrying up to save the money, he was getting entangled in this petty matter.
He was truly impressed!
“I’m sure,” the butler forced a smile. “If Madam doesn’t believe me, this old servant will simply cancel the appointment.”
“No,” Madam Jin quickly refused. “Since we haven’t suffered any loss, let’s settle on it quickly. The longer we delay, the more unlucky it will be.”
Thinking of the two groups of people who came during the day, each one of them wanting to drive the shop down to rock-bottom prices, she immediately suppressed all her complaints.
Upon hearing this, the steward's smile became more sincere. "Alright, this old servant will take care of it right away."
He paused for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead. "That's right, these people seem easy to talk to. Should I sell them some of the antiques and paintings in my house? I always feel that others aren't so honest."
“You can handle these things as you see fit,” Madam Jin said, lowering her head. “In short, raise 50,000 taels of silver in three days to redeem my son. Oh, and after this is done, go to the brokerage firm and sell another batch of people.”
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