Chapter 153 The Passerby Who Died Before the Famine Even Began (9)
If Jiang Yue and her family had left the city any later, the city gates would have been closed. After leaving the county, they continued on their way according to the map, traveling for more than two months until February when they finally reached the capital. They spent the New Year on the road. The last stretch of the road was different from the previous ones, with snow and ice all the way. If they hadn't made good preparations, it would have been difficult to even start a fire halfway through.
They are currently staying in a village near the capital. The two families are discussing where to settle down. Actually, it's Jiang's father who is thinking, and Bai Ze will listen to Jiang Yue anyway. Jiang's father is thinking by the fire, while Bai Ze is also communicating with Jiang Yue about where to go, whether to live in the capital or buy a manor outside. Of course, they can't buy a good manor, but there is wasteland near the capital, and buying wasteland and reclaiming it should not be a problem.
Jiang Yue asked Bai Ze to analyze the situation. Bai Ze still preferred to buy a manor outside the capital. Jiang's father also preferred to buy the land himself. They couldn't reach a conclusion after discussing it all day, so they decided to go to the capital to stay first and then make further plans.
The next morning, they packed their things and headed to the capital. Around noon, they saw the city walls. As they approached, they saw yamen runners and soldiers guarding the city gate. People like the Jiang family, who were driving carriages, lined up on the left. When it was their turn, the soldiers on both sides stopped them and said, "Show us your travel permit."
Jiang's father and Bai Ze took out their travel permits and handed them to the other party. After checking the permits and confirming that there was no problem, the other party returned them. Then, they let the woman and child get out of the carriage, checked the items loaded in the carriage, and waved them in after finding that there were no contraband items. Jiang Yue was thinking that they didn't have to pay, and that the dynasty was almost over and they were still so particular about the rules. But after entering the city gate, she found that they had to pay here, and there was another checkpoint.
While queuing, Jiang Yue learned how to charge: one tael of silver per adult, half a tael for children, and five taels of silver per carriage. This wasn't even the price of a freight car. If you didn't have the money, you'd be taken straight to jail. Jiang Yue's group, including Jiang Yue herself (an adult), consisted of five adults, three children, and four carriages, totaling thirty taels of silver. Jiang's father and Bai Ze didn't argue and just hurriedly paid up. Now, if you didn't pay, you wouldn't get out, and there was no room for resistance.
After passing the checkpoint, Jiang's father cursed under his breath. He thought that if he stayed in the capital, he would probably be reduced to ashes. After entering the city, he found an inn to stay in. Jiang Yue took out some low-level puppets from her space and gave them to Bai Ze, asking him to control them to gather information. She also took out some small puppets to look for a suitable place to settle down outside the city. Bai Ze turned on 10% power, which was enough to cover the area around Beijing.
The next morning, after breakfast, the two families met and discussed the matter. They decided to buy some land outside the city to build a small estate. They couldn't afford the city entrance fee alone. They agreed that Jiang's father would find someone to rent a house, Bai Ze would go out to inquire about the land purchase process and prices, while Jiang Yue and the others would wait for news at the inn.
Around noon, Mr. Jiang returned. He had already looked at several houses, all in good locations and reasonably priced. The main advantage was that they could be rented short-term with monthly payments. Around 2 PM, Bai Ze also returned. When Mr. Jiang brought up the matter of renting a house, Bai Ze smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Brother Jiang, don't worry. I've found a place ready-made. Maybe we won't need to rent a house."
Everyone was incredibly curious after hearing this. Father Jiang poured Bai Ze a cup of tea and asked curiously, "Brother Bai, what do you mean by that?"
"Today I went to the yamen to inquire about buying land. At noon, I had lunch with the clerk. During the meal, he said there were two abandoned courtyards in the west of the capital, both with two courtyards, and they also had more than 100 mu of farmland and several mu of peach orchards. The main thing is that the price is only 1,000 taels of silver."
Mr. Jiang and Mrs. Chen exchanged a glance, sensing something was amiss. Where in the capital could one find such a good deal? Mr. Jiang looked at Bai Ze and asked with disbelief, "Brother Bai, has someone died here or is this haunted? You couldn't even buy this for this price in our area."
Bai Ze nodded: "Of course, I asked at the time, and it's not that anyone has died there or that it's haunted. He said the main reason is that there is no water source."
"There used to be a small lake there, and you could get water by digging a well. But a few years ago, there was a landslide in Beijing. This landslide caused a huge crack under the lake, and the entire lake disappeared."
"Not long after, the well ran out of water. The owner, seeing that it was no longer viable, sold it. It changed hands several times after that, but no one could draw water from it. The price also dropped from several thousand taels of silver to one thousand taels of silver."
"The only problem now is that we can go and look at the house, but if we want to dig a well and find water, we have to buy it."
After hearing Bai Ze's explanation, Jiang's father felt quite troubled. Several previous owners had failed to find water, yet they had managed to find it. However, seeing the smug look on Bai Ze's face, he didn't seem unsure of himself. Bai Ze, seeing Jiang's father's doubtful expression, laughed heartily: "Brother Jiang, don't worry. I can't guarantee anything else, but I'm very confident in finding water and digging a well. Let's go take a look tomorrow. As long as there's water, I'm sure I can dig it out!"
In fact, Bai Ze had already used his puppet to go and check. The underground water veins were still there, but the terrain had changed and the water had been diverted after the earthquake. They were much deeper than before. The original lake could be restored if they dug deeper. However, he couldn't say this outright and could only make up a reason. Seeing that Bai Ze seemed very confident, Jiang's father felt a little relieved. After all, they knew a bit about Bai Ze's abilities and character along the way. Besides, this was a joint purchase by two companies, and he couldn't possibly cheat himself.
The whole family set off early the next morning. The seller arrived early, seemingly eager to sell. He kept praising the place and how reluctant he was to part with it. Even Jiang's father could tell he was lying. It took them two hours to reach the place. What came into view was a large pit. The plump seller pointed to the pit and said to everyone, "This is where the lake used to be, and the farmland was all nearby."
After saying that, he pointed to the surrounding fields, where grains had been grown before, but they hadn't grown very well. Now, they were all relying on rain. Bai Ze pointed to the location of the large pit and asked the seller, "Does this lake belong to you?"
"Yes, I bought it because it has a lake in it. Otherwise, why would I buy it?"
"Can I go down and take a look? After all, I'll need to find a way to dig a well to find water later. Although we're not allowed to dig wells to find water now, it's still okay to take a look, right?"
"Hehe, of course." The chubby seller smiled at Bai Ze. Back when he bought it, he was very confident in himself and even hired professionals to secretly investigate at night. Damn it, he was so sure that there was water in it. And what happened? Now he just wants to swindle whoever he can. As for what happens to the next person, hehe, what does that have to do with him?
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