Arriving at Wuling City, Dai Zhixin entered the city without much effort.
Just as Dai Zhixin had expected, although Wuling City looked solemn and majestic from the outside, it was actually empty inside. The blocks of land were only in their infancy, sparsely populated, and quiet and peaceful.
But to Dai Zhixin, this empty and desolate scene was like seeing stacks of banknotes!
Oh, no, it should be said silver note!
Now Dai Zhixin has begun to think about how to develop her own real estate business!
"According to the description in the book, there are four markets in Wuling City, located in Xinghuafang in the northeast corner, Anpingfang in the southeast corner, Xuanchengfang in the northwest corner, and Yandefang in the southwest corner. As long as we occupy these four areas in advance, we can own a large number of shops. When the time comes, I can rent out the shops and become my own landlady, making money without doing anything!" Dai Zhixin murmured excitedly.
"Well... Miss, do you think we should find a place to stay first?" Guard Lang couldn't help but remind Dai Zhixin when he saw that she looked like she had never seen the world.
Dai Zhixin finally reacted and nodded quickly: "Oh, yes, we should find a place to stay first. But is there an inn in Wuling City?"
"About this... let me go ask first."
After asking around, Guard Lang found out that there was no inn in Wuling City at the moment, and all guests were temporarily staying in the manor of the City Lord's Mansion, but that was limited to guests with invitations. If there were no invitations, they could only temporarily stay in the Xuanyangfang and Mingyangfang guesthouses north of the City Lord's Mansion.
Among them, Xuanyangfang Inn is for monks, while Mingyangfang Inn is for ordinary people. Wuling City has no strict restrictions, ordinary people can go to Xuanyangfang or monks can go to Mingyangfang, but birds of a feather flock together, and people are mostly used to living with people of the same kind, so this area division is formed.
This inn was not luxurious, and it was certainly not as comfortable as the city lord's manor. But since it was free, Dai Zhixin felt that it was acceptable.
So the two of them went straight to Mingyangfang Guest House.
After arriving at the inn, Dai Zhixin realized that her thoughts were too naive.
Living in the guesthouse is free, but eating does cost money. Since there is no formal stable trade route in the surrounding area, the prices of various materials in Wuling City are still relatively high. An ordinary meal actually costs five taels of silver!
This is a money grab!
Dai Zhixin couldn't help but complain in her heart, but since she had no other choice, she could only stay there uncomfortably.
While eating, Dai Zhixin also paid attention to the discussions of people around her.
Those who stayed at the inn were naturally those who did not have an invitation. Most of these people were from the caravan. They had traveled a lot and were knowledgeable. They talked about things Dai Zhixin had never heard of before, which made her eyes light up. When she heard half of it, she couldn't help but join in the conversation.
At the beginning, the merchants were very surprised. After all, Dai Zhixin's attire made her look like a lady from a wealthy family. Logically, she should live in the city lord's manor, so why did she come to the guest inn and mingle with peddlers like them?
However, with her experience in dealing with people in the real world, Dai Zhixin easily dispelled the businessmen's concerns and began to talk freely and unrestrainedly.
When Guard Lang saw this scene, he couldn't help but hold his forehead with his hand, feeling a little regretful that he had brought the young lady to Wuling City out of weakness.
If the master knew that the young lady disregarded her image so much, would he be furious?
Dai Zhixin couldn't care about these things, because all her energy was used to collect intelligence.
Yes, she chatted with businessmen not for entertainment, but to gather information.
Although Dai Zhixin still remembered a lot of the contents of the book, after she really traveled to the world in the book, she found that the description in the book was too broad and many details were not taken into account. In order to be able to gain a foothold here, Dai Zhixin did her best to get to know this city.
As for what her old father thought? It didn't matter at all! Because she had planned to never go back after coming here.
Anyway, a family that uses her as a tool for marriage is not worth her going back.
During the conversation, Dai Zhixin indeed gained a lot of information that was not written in the book but was very valuable to her.
For example, Wuling City has opened up land deeds for sale, many cultivation and martial arts sects are preparing to set up branches in the city, and several families are preparing to move their entire clans to Wuling City...
Obviously, the two major events of yesterday, Yunjian Pavilion's establishment of prestige and Feng Shao's gift, have made many people realize the value of Wuling City, and many people have begun to invest in Wuling City. However, since the potential of Wuling City has not yet been seen, the investment is still limited to a small range.
Some merchants also discussed whether to buy a land deed in Wuling City, build a house, or simply move their own business here. Although they were quite tempted by Wuling City, buying a land deed and building a house would cost a lot, so they were still hesitant at this time.
Dai Zhixin sneered inwardly after hearing this. Oh, you shortsighted people will regret your hesitation today sooner or later!
No matter how much the title deed costs, you must buy as much as possible! Because the more you buy, the more you earn!
But when Dai Zhixin confidently inquired about the price of the land deed, her face immediately fell.
The land deeds are big and small, and the locations are good and remote. The largest land deed covers ten acres, enough to build a five-story courtyard. The smallest land deed covers one hundred square meters, enough to build a residential house. The good locations are close to the city lord's mansion and the meeting hall, such as Xuanyangfang and Mingyangfang, while the remote locations are far away from the city wall, not to mention the transportation, even the lighting is a problem.
But even for the smallest land under the city wall, a land deed starts at 100 taels. As for the good land deeds, such as a ten-acre plot of land in Xuanyangfang, it costs 100,000 spirit stones.
Yes, the currency unit here has become spirit stones, which are simply not affordable for mortals like them.
Dai Zhixin had a bitter face and couldn't help cursing Feng Shaolai in her heart. Why did this guy set the price of the land deed so high? He is simply a profiteer who eats people without leaving any bones!
She completely forgot that her original goal was to become this kind of profiteer.
Although her family was rich, she didn't have much money. In order to gain a foothold in Wuling City, Dai Zhixin had sold everything she could sell before coming here, and collected more than two thousand taels of silver. This money could barely buy a small courtyard-sized piece of land in a good location, but where would the money for building a house come from? If the money for building a house was also counted, then where would the location of her land be?
Dai Zhixin looked sad.
Could it be that as a time traveler, I have to go back home after coming here?
No! I can't be so pessimistic and negative! No money, right? If you don't have money, then go and earn it! Although I don't know much about this world, with my knowledge in this world, can I not understand ancient economics?
Thinking of this, Dai Zhixin cheered up again and continued to gather intelligence. Soon, she heard another piece of information that was very useful to her.
The Council is recruiting city managers. As long as you have the ability, no matter where you come from, the Council will likely accept you!
Dai Zhixin's eyes lit up immediately. Isn't this prepared for me? I'm just a time traveler, and I can't manage a city?
That night, Dai Zhixin fell asleep in full of anticipation.
Early the next morning, Dai Zhixin went straight to the meeting room with great interest.
This meeting hall is a novelty for the people in this world. The city lords of ordinary cities are not that interested in managing a city. For them, managing a city only requires knowing how to collect taxes. As for urban planning, people's livelihood construction, food supply and the like, there is no need to worry about them, as ordinary people can handle it themselves.
Therefore, there is no need to set up a special department to manage the city.
But Feng Shao didn't think so.
For other city lords, the city is their foundation. But for Feng Shao, the city is their career. Since it is a career, they must do it well and make it bigger. Wuling City is not his goal, but just his starting point.
Therefore, Feng Shao paid special attention to urban management issues that other cities had never considered, and therefore specially recruited urban management talents from outside.
In order to recruit qualified talents, Feng Shao specially formulated a standard. Only those who meet the standard can be recruited.
Many people who thought they were very capable volunteered to take the job, but were rejected. The reason for the rejection was very simple, that is, they did not meet the requirements.
Many people are confused. How hard can it be to manage a city? Why don’t I meet the requirements?
Bai Shuanghua, who is in charge of recruitment, has almost had his hair turned white due to worry these days.
She originally thought that city management was simple, but after studying with Feng Shao for a while, she found that real city management was completely different from what she imagined. There were so many aspects to consider, it was like a housekeeper.
It is precisely because of this certain experience that Bai Shuanghua knows what kind of talents are needed for city management.
But who are the people applying for the jobs these days?
Everyone started talking about how to make money. There were all kinds of taxes, such as agricultural taxes, commercial taxes, corvée labor, etc. Some people even proposed to establish a business and bank in the name of Wuling City, and then build a trade network radiating to the surrounding areas to make a lot of money.
Bai Shuanghua was quite interested in the latter, so she temporarily recruited them into the meeting hall. As for the former, who only talked about how to collect taxes and corvée labor... they were simply sent back to where they came from.
After a few days, there were many applicants, but few met the requirements. Seeing that Wuling City was open, but even the officials were not gathered, Bai Shuanghua was so worried!
That morning, Bai Shuanghua was sitting in the conference room as usual, but she had already started thinking about what to eat for lunch.
I thought I would have to sit there all morning, but at this moment, a richly dressed woman came in excitedly and shouted to Bai Shuanghua, "I want to apply for the job!"
Bai Shuanghua: “…”
This was the first time she had encountered a female applicant.