Chapter 463 Granny Fang Makes an Excuse
Lin Yuesha had already prepared herself mentally, but she was still shocked to hear that the courtyard partitioned off from the back residence would cost tens of thousands of taels of silver.
Courtyards in the inner city of the capital are unimaginably expensive. If she were to spend ten thousand taels to buy a small courtyard, it wouldn't be enough for her family.
“Miss, you are from out of town and don’t know much about the capital. The same goes for those officials. It takes generations of accumulation to get a courtyard. If there are many people, the servants are all crammed into the back room. There are also specially built embroidered towers where several young ladies live together.”
The old man told Lin Yuesha that the capital city was divided into different areas, and in the outer city, where people lived, the price was only a fraction of that in the inner city.
“Our Sweetwater Village is also within the territory of the capital, under the jurisdiction of the Jingzhao Yin’s office. A two-room house with a small courtyard in the village only costs a few hundred taels of silver.”
The old man advised Lin Yuesha against buying a house in the countryside. In the village, besides the village chief, there were also clan heads from various surnames who ostracized outsiders. But the inner city was different; the officials came from all over the country.
Lin Yuesha was a little frustrated by what she heard. If she didn't come to the housing fair, she would have no way of finding a way to buy a courtyard house, so she couldn't waste the two hundred taels of silver for the house ticket.
As the old man said, with a little extra money spent on the housing voucher, one could buy a small courtyard in Tianshui Village.
"Miss, I do have information about a courtyard house for sale."
Fearing that Lin Yuesha wouldn't believe him, the old man said, "Since you're already here, why don't you go inside and take a look first? If you can't find anything suitable, then come back and have a bowl of tea."
Lin Yuesha thought about it and agreed. Since they were already here, seeing was believing, and hearsay was no substitute for reality.
After sitting for a while, Lin Yuesha led Granny Fang straight to the meeting place inside. People who came to do business could hang up large signs and place them. If they saw something they liked, they could negotiate with the person who hung up the sign.
There were quite a few people here. Apart from a few villagers who came to help, the rest of them were all wearing black cloaks and were timid and hesitant. If you didn't know better, you would think this was a black market.
Lin Yuesha didn't put up a sign; instead, she walked around to get a feel for the situation.
She saw several courtyards listed for sale, all located in the inner city.
"Granny Fang, this is a courtyard house with one and a half courtyards, and it only costs 20,000 taels of silver."
Lin Yuesha carefully confirmed that the location was indeed in the inner city, but it was a little remote, on the outskirts of the inner city, and across from the Yan family's house.
The courtyard house, with one and a half courtyards, was just enough for the family to live in. Lin Yuesha calculated that she didn't have many servants, and the price was well within her acceptable range.
Unexpectedly, there really was a cheap courtyard in a good location. However, according to her mistress's wishes, she had to stop her young lady from buying it, so she had to find a reasonable reason and not let her young lady have the slightest suspicion.
"Granny Fang, it seems our two hundred taels of silver weren't wasted. We're quite lucky."
Just as Lin Yuesha was about to continue negotiating with that person, she was pulled aside by Granny Fang.
“Miss, please listen to this old servant, this courtyard is not for sale.”
Granny Fang gestured for silence, then looked around and said, "Where in the inner city is there a house with one and a half courtyards? This is a three-courtyard house that has been converted. The owner divided the courtyard in two and is selling the back part."
In that case, only the side gate on the back street could allow people to enter and exit. But this was not the key reason why Granny Fang stopped Lin Yuesha.
"Can't I buy it?"
I just saw several people lingering in front of the sign, lamenting that because it was only one and a half units, their families couldn't fit them all; otherwise, they would have bought it immediately.
Fang Mama was not stumped by making up a reason on the spot. She remained silent for a long time before saying, "Miss, then this old servant will tell you the truth."
Such houses are cheap because they only have one land deed, and a land deed cannot be divided in two. In other words, if you buy this half-courtyard house, you can only live in it. When you try to resell it, you can't because there is no land deed.
"Oh, I see."
That would be just like modern small-property-rights housing. There's no problem moving in, and it's not impossible to sell it either. You can sell the right to use it, or sign a long-term lease agreement.
Living in such a large mansion within the inner city of the capital, one cannot afford to be concerned with trivial matters. If it were truly a matter of spending money to buy a land deed, Lin Yuesha would not be able to afford it.
Moreover, if it is a sale, a written contract will be signed, and the land rights of Daqi will be permanent. This courtyard with one entrance and one exit can be lived in by the family forever.
Right now, my family needs a place to stay, which is better than going to a crowded and noisy inn in the capital.
“Granny Fang, as you can see, the three-courtyard house has been sold for 100,000 taels of silver. That’s too expensive.”
Even in the inner city, 100,000 taels of silver is still a bit outrageous. According to the current housing prices, the normal price is only around 30,000 taels. It is expensive because it is scarce.
In contrast, single-courtyard residences are much cheaper, but unfortunately there aren't any that are close together; otherwise, one could buy two courtyards and combine them.
"You're smart, but others aren't stupid either. Of all the people coming and going, who looks like they're short of money?"
"Without money and connections, you wouldn't be able to get here," Granny Fang first dampened her young mistress's enthusiasm, then said, "Miss, you should think about yourself. You're not married yet, buying a courtyard like this would damage your reputation!"
"What does this have to do with reputation?"
Lin Yuesha became increasingly confused by what Granny Fang was saying, and had no idea what Granny Fang meant.
“No family with a daughter would share a courtyard with someone else. Such a thing happened in Beijing years ago.”
Although the two courtyards were sealed off in the middle, there was a gate left, but that gate was usually locked.
One of the young masters was a womanizer who took a fancy to another young lady. Somehow, he bribed the young lady's maid and the old nanny guarding the gate to sneak into her boudoir at night.
"It's one thing for the young lady's maid not to know the rules, but the young lady herself is also clueless. She and the young master ended up having sex under the moon and flowers without even realizing it."
When the two families discovered that the young lady was pregnant, the two families were originally going to arrange a marriage. However, somehow the news of the young lady's pregnancy got out, and the young master's parents, fearing the shame, immediately called off the engagement.
Later, in a fit of anger, the young lady hanged herself from the beam of the door separating the two houses.
It wasn't just this one family that caused trouble; there were also two families where servants of these shared households had scandals.
"But after Father's illness is cured, won't I be going to the Lin residence?"
The matter of harming Lin Shusheng had already been put on the agenda, but Lin Yuesha was too busy to spare the time for the time being.
Granny Fang slapped her thigh and had a sudden inspiration. She said, "Miss, you may not care, but you promised Miss Jiang that she would come and stay at the mansion."
Jiang Baozhu was practically an orphan, with no relatives or friends in the capital. What if someone found out about her background and humiliated her...?
"Then I won't buy it."
Lin Yuesha was very optimistic about the courtyard with one and a half courtyards, thinking it was a good deal. However, when Granny Fang mentioned Jiang Baozhu, Lin Yuesha had second thoughts.
Lin Yuesha didn't particularly care about her own reputation, but there were potential risks, and she couldn't joke about her best friend's reputation, so she decided to let it go.
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