Chapter 171 Lying through one's teeth
The broker was very efficient; with his silver tongue, he managed to persuade the owner of the estate and finally reduced the price to 3,350 taels.
The price reduction for the two shops went smoothly, with one shop reducing the price by fifty taels and the other by eighty taels, saving Sheng'an one hundred and thirty taels of silver.
Sheng An arrived at the brokerage firm with a thick stack of silver notes. Led by the broker, he and the three sellers went to the government office to complete the transfer of ownership.
In a short period of time, she acquired a manor and two shops, spending a total of 4,700 taels of silver.
The two shops are of different sizes. The larger one is a two-story building facing the street, with a total area of about 300 square meters. It is divided into six shops by a partition in the middle.
It is currently rented to six different tenants, with an annual rent of fifty-five taels.
The small shop is located in a bustling area of Qingzhou, with an area of only 60 square meters. The seller runs an embroidery business and will clear out the shop and hand it over to Sheng'an within half a month.
Sheng An didn't have time to manage the shop, so he simply entrusted it to a brokerage firm to help him rent it out. The rent was forty-five taels per year, comparable to shops in the same area.
After seeing the three sellers off, Sheng An, in a good mood, invited the broker to a teahouse for tea and gave him the promised reward: "Eighty taels in total, count it."
The broker was overjoyed, accepting the silver notes with both hands and putting them directly into his sleeve: "No need to count them, I trust Madam Sheng's character."
He earned two years' worth of money in ten days, so he had to appease this wealthy man so that he would always be the first person the wealthy man thought of when he needed to buy something in the future.
After finishing their tea, the broker went to settle the bill first and then saw Sheng An out of the teahouse with great courtesy.
As luck would have it, the willow branches were nearby.
She inadvertently caught a glimpse of Sheng An chatting and laughing with a strange man, and immediately became excited like a fly smelling meat. Without thinking, she rushed to the entrance of the teahouse.
She seemed to have caught Sheng Antian red-handed, her voice trembling with excitement: "You jinx, you actually cheated on me with a man!"
These words were so persuasive that passersby stopped in their tracks, their eyes fixed on Sheng An and the broker, trying to discern the illicit affair from their faces.
Sheng An cursed under his breath and promptly slapped Liu Huazhi hard across the face: "How long has it been since you brushed your teeth? Your mouth stinks more than a stone that's been soaking in a latrine for half a year."
Liu Huazhi was stunned that Sheng An dared to attack her in public without offering a word of explanation. After a moment of bewilderment, she reacted and lunged at Sheng An with bared teeth and claws.
"You jinx, you hit me again! I'll fight you to the death!"
Sheng An snorted coldly and kicked him directly: "Who told you to be so talkative? You deserve a beating."
She stood on the steps, and as expected, the willow branches below were kicked over and lay sprawled at the feet of the onlookers, kicking up a cloud of dust.
She coughed a few times, choked by the fumes, looking disheveled, her eyes fixed on Sheng An.
Sheng An felt that Liu Huazhi had a shady personality; even though she could never get the better of her, she would still rush up to her and ask for a beating every time.
Staring at her with murderous intent, Sheng An looked away from the crowd and began to spout nonsense with a straight face:
"This woman is mentally unstable. She's having affairs outside the home and always fantasizes that other women are just as promiscuous as her. If you don't believe me, you can go and ask her in-laws."
Seeing her so confident, everyone turned their skeptical gazes toward Liu Huazhi.
As if stung, Liu Huazhi's pupils contracted and she cried out in protest, "No, I didn't! She's lying and deliberately trying to smear me!"
Sheng An scoffed: "Weren't you the one who started by throwing mud at me? Should I tell you where your in-laws are so that everyone can go and find out for themselves?"
Liu Huazhi screamed in protest: "No!"
Sheng Anxin had a sudden thought: this woman's reaction was strange.
Could it be that I was right? She really was having an affair behind Xu Huaining's back?
Recalling the scene last month when Xu Huaining came to Shengyuan to attend the Zhao family's birthday banquet and was very popular with the young girls who came with him, Sheng An's lips twitched.
Seeing that a large crowd was gathering, Sheng An, not wanting to be made a fool of in the sweltering heat, didn't even glance at Liu Huazhi, and turned to the broker, saying:
"If you find any good farms or shops in the future, just come to me."
The broker respectfully replied, "Yes."
Upon seeing this, the passersby immediately understood what was going on, and looked at Liu Huazhi with particular disdain.
They were just having a serious business discussion, and this woman accused them of having an affair. She must be really out of her mind!
Liu Huazhi was stunned. This jinx wanted to buy a farm and a shop?
No, she said she had nice estates and shops, which means she had already bought them.
With this realization, an overwhelming jealousy gnawed at Liu Huazhi's heart, making her unwilling to believe that the truth was as she thought.
Seeing that Sheng An was about to ride away, she scrambled to her feet and tried to stop him, saying, "Stop! Stop right there!"
Seeing this, the broker pushed Liu Huazhi aside and said, "You crazy woman, get away from here."
What if I get kicked by a horse? Wouldn't I have to extort money from a rich man?
Liu Huazhi was pushed and stumbled, and could only watch helplessly as Sheng An rode away.
Undeterred, she grabbed the broker who was also about to leave and asked through gritted teeth, "Did she buy a farm and shops?"
The broker glared at Liu Huazhi and forcefully pulled out his sleeve: "What's it to you, you crazy old woman!"
The wealthy man and the madwoman clearly didn't get along; he must be out of his mind to reveal the wealthy man's secrets to the madwoman.
With no excitement to be seen, the crowd slowly dispersed. Liu Huazhi stood there, dejected, muttering, "It's different now, so different again..."
In his past life, he was a jinx who sold wontons at a stall. He saved up money for a long time before he could finally buy a small shop. He never owned the large courtyard that only the rich could afford.
Not to mention buying estates and shops.
What exactly happened?
Sheng An was unaware that Liu Huazhi was having an existential crisis, and with a horse to take her, they quickly returned to Sheng Garden.
Instead of going straight back to the small building, she went to the snack shop to share the good news of her buying land and property with the Sheng family elders and Xu Chenglin.
It wasn't lunchtime yet, and there were no customers in the shop, so the group didn't bother to lower their voices.
Upon learning that Sheng had acquired 500 acres of farmland and two shops, the three elders were happy for her but worried that she might not have enough money.
"Our shop is doing well. It's been really hot this month, and even more people are coming to eat. They especially love our sour plum soup and mung bean soup made with milk. We can sell several buckets every day."
Grandma Sheng opened the drawer where the money was kept, and it was full of copper coins and silver scraps she had collected that morning: "Spend the money when you need to. Don't exhaust yourself trying to make money."
Sheng An was deeply moved and took out a handkerchief to wipe the old lady's sweat: "We have enough money to spend. After buying the estate and the shop, we still have a lot of money left over. We can even buy another estate."
The three elders were relieved, their faces beaming with pride.
Granddaughter (daughter-in-law) is really good at making money!
Sheng An ate a bowl of fresh meat wontons, two vegetarian buns, and a bowl of plum juice at the shop before returning to the main kitchen to work in the sweltering heat.
This busy period lasted until the end of July when Sheng An received an invitation from the neighboring courtyard, inviting her and Xu Jinnian to dinner.
Upon careful calculation, it turned out that Ning Sihan and her group were about to depart for Beijing.
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