Chapter 462 The Code
Lin Yuesha stayed in the Zhuang family's dowry courtyard for two nights. Old Master Zhuang and his wife took great care of the family, which made Lin Yuesha feel even more embarrassed.
The next morning, Lin Yuesha changed into a new dress she had bought at Jinxiulou the day before, and headed straight to the location of the room ticket with white tea, Longjing tea, and Granny Fang.
Qingxing and Qi'er stayed in the mansion. Lin Yuesha realized that although the capital was not small, there was a chance of running into acquaintances of the Lin family. She did not want to reveal that she had come to the capital for the time being.
"Miss, please be careful and don't say anything wrong again."
Qingxing wasn't by her side, but with Granny Fang watching over her, she felt somewhat at ease.
"Don't worry, your young lady will learn from this lesson."
Lin Yuesha assured that everything would be done with the greater good in mind, and that no minor conflict would affect her purchase of the courtyard.
Although I have a lot of money, opening a shop is secondary; buying the courtyard first and having a place to live is the real priority.
She needed a room that could accommodate everyone in her family, a separate room for herself, and a room for Jiang Baozhu. So, she couldn't buy a room that was too small.
The ordered carriage had not yet arrived, so Lin Yuesha had to ride in a carriage that her family had modified. She had Fang Dazhuang remove the iron frame in advance, which greatly reduced the weight of the carriage.
"Miss, I don't know the way."
Fang Dazhuang had never been to the capital before and was completely clueless. He had just driven the carriage out of the alley and didn't know which way to go.
"Dazhuang, turn left."
Granny Fang sat on the other side of the carriage, directing Fang Dazhuang to hurry up, as he needed to verify his room ticket to enter.
The housing fair, organized by officials from the Ministry of Revenue, was located in the outskirts of the capital. Lin Yuesha thought she had left very early, but the carriage took a full two hours to arrive.
“Miss, as I said, the capital is very large, and this location is considered close. The surrounding area is full of villas and estates of wealthy and powerful families.”
Granny Fang led Lin Yuesha to the location on the room ticket to Tianshui Village.
Who is it?
At the village entrance, two people were standing there, with a small table next to them.
“We have this.”
Lin Yuesha showed the room ticket to the two of them for a closer look, thinking to herself that the scalpers in Cangzhou seemed to have connections and probably wouldn't sell fakes.
"I see."
One of them was verifying the authenticity of the items by examining the seals on them, and he made careful notes. The other person took out two cloaks from a cabinet under the table.
People can enter, but vehicles and horses must remain outside the village. Also, the number of people cannot exceed two.
What does this mean?
Lin Yuesha took the cloak. Would she be forced to wear it? In this sweltering heat, not only was there a cloak, but also a mask; it made her seem all mysterious.
"Miss, is this your first time here?"
The man explained that since most of the people buying and selling courtyards and shops here were related to the Ministry of Revenue, it was impossible for only one person to be interested in a particular courtyard. Therefore, when bidding, people would put up a fig leaf to avoid embarrassing their colleagues or acquaintances.
"You don't have to wear it, but let me remind you, everyone wears this underneath."
The implication is that if Lin Yuesha enters without a cloak, she might be surrounded by onlookers.
Since everyone else was wearing it, and she had no other choice, Lin Yuesha reluctantly put on the cloak and mask, feeling more and more like a notorious bandit.
Inside the inn, the notorious bandit was dressed similarly.
"It's just buying a yard, not doing anything shameful, why be afraid of being recognized?"
Although the black cloak was made of silk, it was the lowest grade of silk, and wearing it added an extra layer to her body. The black color also absorbed heat, and Lin Yuesha was drenched in sweat after only a few steps.
The two men said the transaction would take place within the village, about a mile further ahead.
In the middle of the area, there was a tea stall. Lin Yuesha sat down and ordered two bowls of tea.
Bai Cha Longjing and Fang Dazhuang were left in the carriage, while only Lin Yuesha took Granny Fang to the housing fair.
"This old servant had heard of such a place before, but I never imagined that you, Miss, were so capable."
Granny Fang never expected that, by a twist of fate, her young mistress would obtain a room voucher.
After arriving in the capital, it was impossible to stay in someone else's house forever, and Granny Fang had not received any news and did not know what the master's arrangements were.
"Did you come to Tianshui Village to buy or sell a courtyard house?"
The old man who served tea stood aside and chatted with Lin Yuesha. Granny Fang glanced at him and suspected that he was one of her own.
"Buy a courtyard house."
Lin Yuesha drank a bowl of tea in one gulp. She belatedly realized that Granny Fang was beside her and reminded her of etiquette. However, Granny Fang's attention was not on her at all, but on the old man serving the tea.
Granny Fang was a very proper person, and staring at people like that was a bit presumptuous.
Moreover, from Lin Yuesha's perspective, Granny Fang was subtly flirting with the old man, and the old man actually responded!
Nothing is more beautiful than the sunset glow? Granny Fang isn't very old either; maybe the two of them will fall for each other.
On the other side, Granny Fang was unaware of Lin Yuesha's thoughts. She exchanged a secret signal with the old man serving tea and received a response. It seemed that he was someone arranged by the master. She just needed to cooperate later.
"Granny Fang, why don't you wait here for me? I'll go in by myself."
Lin Yuesha was afraid that Granny Fang would feel embarrassed, so she took the initiative to create opportunities for her to be alone with the old man.
“If you’re here to buy a courtyard, then there’s no need to go in; you won’t find much of a bargain.”
The old man seized the opportunity and quickly said, "There are many people buying courtyards inside, but few selling them. If a suitable courtyard is available, it will be snapped up immediately."
Moreover, most of the people who went there were officials, and the officials were fighting tooth and nail over who would get the best courtyard; otherwise, they wouldn't have been handing out cloaks at the entrance.
However, most of those who went were acquaintances, people they would recognize even if they were ashes. Wearing cloaks was just a way of trying to hide something, a way to comfort themselves.
"But I spent two hundred taels of silver to buy this house ticket, so it's impossible for me not to take a look."
Lin Yuesha knew the old man meant well, and she didn't expect to buy a suitable house on her first visit. Her first choice was the inner city, but if she couldn't find a suitable one after waiting for a while, the outer city would also be within her consideration.
"Miss, it depends on your needs. Ordinary two- or three-courtyard houses are the rarest."
Officials' families typically had servants, numbering at least a dozen people, who lived in a two- or three-courtyard residence. Therefore, if a residence became available, someone would immediately take it over.
Lin Yuesha frowned. Her family had more than a dozen members, and she wanted to buy a three-courtyard house. She was willing to pay up to 30,000 taels of silver.
"At this price, it would be hard to find one in the inner city."
The old man shook his head and sighed. If it were a small courtyard for a family to live in, or a house that wasn't in short supply, where the back house was separated out and sold as a courtyard, it would cost tens of thousands of taels of silver.
In this way, the original house is divided in two, the back house is given up, and only a back door is left for passage.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
