Chapter 131 Chapter 131 Update.
As he was talking, Ji Xu brought Zhang Erlang home and made some loose tea for him to drink.
Tian was also concerned about the future of the house, and was relieved to hear that the couple did not want to buy it.
"It's going to take a while. I haven't found another house yet. It's not that easy to just move anywhere."
Aunt Qiu and Aunt Chen were two families who rented the front yard. Because the house was going to be sold, they also came here to discuss it. Seeing the young man drinking tea here, they pulled him aside to ask him about it.
"My family has rented this yard for five or six years. We have kept it in perfect order. But the landlord just sold it without any hesitation, making us so busy. He didn't even let us know in advance. This landlord is too unkind." said Aunt Qiu.
Aunt Chen and her husband were selling fruits and vegetables in a trading store. Although they had only been there a short time, this place was close to the downtown area and they didn't want to go through the trouble of moving, so they just listened from the side.
Zhang Er said, "The owner of Maoling lost money elsewhere and wants to use this place to make up for it. You can continue to live here while looking for a buyer. This house is worth 1,500 taels, and it will take some time to look at it. It won't sell right away."
"One thousand five hundred taels?"
Qiu Gu covered her chest with her hands, shocked.
Ji Xu had just asked about the price. She was also concerned about whether she could buy only the small corner of her own house at the back. Zhang Er said no, because there was only one deed for the houses in this area and it couldn't be sold in such a way.
Besides, the area behind her house was originally the warehouse of this courtyard. Without this corner, the courtyard would be in a bad shape if it were sold.
After that day, people came to visit the house one after another, and the family became uneasy, with strangers coming in and out of the house.
Fortunately, the braised food is not prepared until the rooster crows, so as long as the steward watches it during the day, those people will not be able to see anything when they come.
However, some people come to look at houses under the pretext of looking at houses, but end up hanging around in the kitchen.
Ji's braised food has been selling like hot cakes in Jiaomen Market recently. The vendors nearby have their own ideas and have also braised food based on the thirteen flavors that Cheng Gong mentioned in public to sell.
However, none of their food tastes like Ji's braised food, and they have not taken away Ji Xu's business, so he can only be jealous of him.
I heard that this house was for sale, so I came here to take a look and ask around:
"Your family makes braised food in the southwest corner of Jiaomen City?"
“Do you make and sell it here every day?”
“How much can be done in this small space?”
He wanted to see the stew on the stove, but Tian picked up the broom and beat him out, saying to the boy:
"Zhang Er, Zhang Er, you're so young, but your eyesight is blurry? How could he have the slightest intention of buying land or a house? His evil intentions are all on my stove!"
How could this scoundrel named Zhang Er not be discouraged? This month, all the people who came to see him had other intentions. It was a waste of his time and energy, and he got nothing good out of it, so he just took them and left in a hurry.
Jin deliberately came to the alley to splash water, and stopped at the door to watch the excitement next door. Other families in the alley also came out after hearing the noise. Jin said:
"It's better to have your own house and land. Even if there are attacks from outside, you can't do anything about it behind closed doors.
This rented house is for sale now, and it has to be sold now. It's not nice to have a house full of girls and strangers coming in and out, Aunt Liu, don't you think?
Aunt Liu didn't like to pay attention to her. Jin looked like a respectable person and loved to take advantage of others. If someone had fried fish or meatballs for dinner, she would come over like an old cat, smelling the aroma, and chat with you without any hesitation. She could eat half a plate by herself.
When she had delicious food at home, she would close the door and no one could enter. When she went outside, she would often brag about how delicious the food was at home. She would buy meat and fish for her daughter every now and then to nourish her body, but the nuns in the alley didn't like to hear it.
"If you don't have a good son-in-law, how can you afford to live in a house like this?"
Qiu Gu retorted, "Who knows where he's down and out somewhere outside the Great Wall."
"Bah! An actor who entertains people still has the nerve to do this!"
Jin looked down on actors like Qiu Gu, shook the water in the basin, and slammed the door and went in.
Speaking of the Tian family, they did suffer a lot of inconvenience because of these people looking for houses.
Tian also looked for houses everywhere, but couldn't find a satisfactory one. Either they were too far away from Jiaomen City and Huai City, or they were not cost-effective, or the people living there were all big and strong men. In short, she didn't find a suitable one, so she is still living here for the time being.
The same goes for Qiu Gu in the front yard. The couple selling melons and vegetables have already moved away, saying that they have moved in with relatives.
Tian looked at the neatly tidied house and felt unhappy. After all, she was inevitably outshined by Mrs. Jin in matters concerning the house. She said:
"A few years ago, your aunt and uncle split up the family business. Your short-lived grandfather had no talent for fighting for it, so he only got a shabby woodshed. Now he lives in a small house converted from a warehouse, and he can't even live in peace. His wife, Jin, has seen him and laughed at him."
"Mother, what do you think of the courtyard we live in now?"
Ji Xu asked, it was getting late, and probably no one would come to visit, so they were washing odds and ends in the yard.
In the past month of selling braised food, she has added duck gizzards, duck necks, and duck hearts to her dishes. People in Guanzhong like to eat offal, so these are also very popular. They are sold out every day, and the income is even higher than before.
Tian brought some wooden heel supports and put them under her legs so that she could kneel down and sit with them, which would relieve her knee pain. Otherwise, she would have been unable to bear kneeling down and washing these things every day.
The younger sisters also came and sat down. Tian was busy with her hands, saying:
"They say a home is worse than any other. This courtyard may be small, but it's our first stop in Chang'an. Aunt Liu and the others are also very friendly. Aside from Mrs. Jin being an eyesore, there's nothing else wrong with it."
Ji Xu took the scissors and scratched:
"It's not our place, it's the whole area of houses. What do you think, mother?"
"Of course it's fantastic. It has a hall, three rooms, a kitchen, and a well in the front yard. The yard is at least thirteen steps long, and across the street is the bustling city. This large yard is so nice, much more grand than where Mrs. Jin lives! I wonder what kind of business this owner is in to be able to afford such a yard."
Nowadays, one step is six feet, and the courtyard is square in shape. Converted into the area of later generations, the entire area is about three hundred square meters.
Although it is not as good as the mansions of the noble families in the city, it is still a superior residence for ordinary people, especially in the area near the downtown where every inch of land is valuable. Otherwise, three families would not be able to live here.
"Let's buy this yard. What do you think, mother?"
"This is ridiculous. Where did our family get 1,500 taels? It's not even enough for a fraction of that."
Tian had a calculation in mind. They had been in Anling for two months. They had sold goods in Huai City for one and a half months and sold goods in the store for one month. She had earned some money at the dock in advance, and with the silver cakes she had originally earned for travel expenses, the total amount was no more than 160 taels.
"My daughter thought about borrowing money from Ziqian's family. It's the place where I often exchange money. I asked around nearby about the interest rate. They offer the lowest interest rate. If you borrow more than 1,000 taels, the interest rate is one-third."
This interest rate would definitely be high in later generations, but there was no central bank benchmark interest rate at that time. The Zi Qian family was in the business of making money by lending, and the interest rate they earned was also high.
Ji Xu calculated that the interest for a one-year loan would be around one hundred taels. They currently earn seventy or eighty taels a month, so they can pay off the principal and interest in two years at most. These interests can be considered as rent for a better house. The sooner they buy, the sooner they can enjoy it.
Tian was shocked and said, "No, no, borrowing more than a thousand taels is too scary. What if the business fails and I can't pay it back? Those Ziqian family will hire thugs to collect the debt. It's no joke."
"Not yet. My daughter wants to spread her braised food to various places and open a large restaurant in the future. The population of the Five Tombs will only increase in the future, and even more mausoleums will be built. Houses near the downtown area are in good locations and will definitely appreciate in value. Buying later will also bring higher prices.
Furthermore, we now live in a house that was converted from a warehouse, and the yard is small. We wash here, and it's crowded with just a few basins. The cowshed is also close by, which is somewhat unsanitary. Now that we have a large yard with a well, we can work more freely. Our cattle can be tied to a special stable at the back, which is far from the kitchen, so the food we cook is clean and hygienic, and our business is naturally booming.
Another reason is that if we buy a house, we can move our household registration here, and my sisters can go to school. If we really wait for a year or two to save up money before buying it, we will waste their time."
"The most important thing is,"
Ji Xu came over and said with a smile,
"My daughter wants her mother to live in a big house and be proud of herself in front of her aunt."
"You have one, two, three,
Tian deliberately put on a stern face and poked her with her wet hand.
"Mother is clumsy with words and can't win over you. If I can't pay you back in the future, please don't stop me from working at the docks."
"Mother, did you agree?"
Ji Xu pretended not to hear the latter part, hugged her happily, and said to his sisters,
"We're going to live in a big house. I'm going to go find Zhang Er right now. You guys just stay home and listen."
He quickly wiped his hands and went to Zhang Er's house.
"You want to buy it? Seriously?"
Zhang Er has many brothers and sisters. There are naked children crawling around on the old kang, and one of them is riding on Zhang Er's head, but it doesn't affect his eating.
His mother washed a melon for Ji Xu to eat.
"Eat it! It's grown by his grandfather in the countryside. It's sweet."
Take these naughty kids outside to play.
Ji Xu thanked him, ate the melon, and said truthfully:
"Really? I just don't have enough money. I need to borrow some from Ziqian's family. It might take three to five days. So don't bring anyone to look at it. Just keep this house for me."
When she first settled in Sangshu Lane, she thought that she would need money in the future to do business or buy a house, so she wrote a letter to the Chen family, who were looking after the tofu shop in her hometown, and asked them to ask a reliable fellow villager to send the harvest of the year to Chang'an.
The letter also mentioned the 25-liang silver cake buried under the west room of the house, and asked the Chen family to dig it out and send it here.
The letter was sent two months ago. At this time of year, there are men from the village who are going to Beijing to serve in the army. I guess he asked someone reliable to bring it along. It should arrive in the next two days.
If you can get this money, you can borrow less money and pay less interest.
Zhang Er knew that her braised food business was doing well, and that even if she had to borrow money, she would be able to pay it back, unlike those tenants he had been accompanying recently who were broke and only boasted. So he believed her and said:
"If you want me to, I will definitely keep it for you. And let me be honest with you, the landlord's base price for this house is 1,480 taels, and I can give you 20 taels less."
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