0145 The Golden Winged Envoy (Ten)
Shu Fu has been preparing to register her household these days. It is not difficult to prove that she has reached the age of marriage. Her household registration is on file in the Ministry of Revenue. She just needs to find it and make a separate document.
However, there's another matter that's a bit more troublesome—
She also needs to have enough private property to establish a household.
Upon hearing this, Li Miao immediately offered to give her the Fanchuan Villa.
But Shufu refused to accept it, and instead began to take stock of her savings accumulated over the years.
Living in Chang'an is no easy feat, and housing is a major part of that.
An ordinary house would cost four or five hundred strings of cash, but over the years she had saved up nearly three hundred strings of cash from her allowance and writing legends for bookstores. That would barely be enough for a haunted house, but since it was a haunted house, she wouldn't dare to live there.
A-Jian was grinding ink beside her. Seeing her distress, he couldn't help but say, "Miss, didn't the princess say she was willing to pay this money for you first? If you feel bad about it, just write a loan agreement first, and you can pay the princess back when you make money in the future."
Shu Fu touched the bell-shaped glass filled with water on the table, lowered her head and took a sip, then sighed: "No, if I want to be the first to start my own business, then my every word and action will be repeatedly studied by those who follow suit."
“If I were to borrow money from Miaomiao based on my relationship with her, future opponents would use this as leverage to say something like, ‘Back then, Lady Shu had Princess Huayang to rely on, so what makes you dare to break away from your parents’ protection?’ Wouldn’t that just be handing them a knife?”
"So this money can come from anywhere, but it absolutely cannot come from Miaomiao. I need to think about it carefully, and it would be best to find a way that works for many people."
Upon hearing this, A-Jian pondered for a moment before asking, "Does the young lady know of any places in Chang'an where one can borrow money?"
"You mean the money shops?" Shu Fu chuckled. "But those money shops in the East and West markets usually only lend money to traveling merchants and settled traders, and they are a mixed bag. If you run into those who privately charge 'interest rates,' you'll end up losing more than you gain."
"Since the money exchange can't lend money and the money lender is untrustworthy, what other option is there—"
Shu Fu's eyes lit up, and the two exclaimed in unison, "Temple!"
Indeed, nowadays, in addition to traditional money shops and private lenders, temples also engage in lending.
Many famous temples and monasteries in and around Chang'an owned countless fields and estates, making them even wealthier than ordinary landlords. It was not surprising that they were involved in lending and borrowing; it was just that it sounded better.
These are all offerings to Buddha and Bodhisattvas; we dare not taint our reputation with the stench of money.
After making up her mind, Shu Fu chose a day to go out and personally visit Bao En Temple, find the loan officer, and present him with a manuscript that proved her ability to repay.
The clerk lifted his eyelids slightly, his gaze sliding over the manuscript cover, pausing briefly on the title page. He seemed surprised that two popular but stylistically different legends in Chang'an, "Young Master Shen Meets His Beloved on a Spring Night" and "Miao San Niang's Night Raid on the Eight Villages," were actually written by the same person.
"Since you have the ability to repay, I will lend you two hundred strings of cash, and you can repay the principal and interest of three hundred and twelve strings of cash within two years."
Shu Fu secretly pondered her earnings over the past two years—
She used to be frugal with her money, but she changed her old habits and worked harder for the bookstore. She should be able to pay off her debts. So she smiled and nodded.
From then on, her name was recorded in the "Personal Information Record," and the matter of borrowing money was considered settled.
With five hundred strings of cash as her bottom line, she went to find a real estate agent. She was prepared to wait more than half a month for a response, but to her surprise, the agent clapped his hands and chuckled as soon as he heard her request, "Young lady, you've come at just the right time. I happen to have a small house for sale in Xuanyang Ward. Would you like to come and take a look?"
Having nothing else to do, Shu Fu went with him to Xuanyangfang.
Upon arrival, one is greeted by walls covered in lush green vines, with snow-covered crabapple trees inside, creating a wild and enchanting scene.
"Such a nice house, apart from being a bit small, it's perfect. Why do you seem so eager to sell it?" Shu Fu looked around and liked it very much, but when she glanced at the broker who was staring at her nervously, she couldn't help but feel suspicious. She looked at the broker with a half-smile and said, "It's not a haunted house, is it?"
The broker was startled and wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve: "No, absolutely not! Even if I were heartless, I would never sell a haunted house to a young lady. The house used to belong to a flower seller who went south. Everyone in the neighborhood knows her. If you don't believe me, just ask around!"
"If that's the case, why are you so nervous!"
The broker looked around, sighed, and told the truth: "The story goes like this: the original owner of this house was named Fang Guiniang, and she used to be in love with a young man."
"Although that young man claims to be a scholar who writes legends in a bookstore, we can all see that his demeanor is definitely not that of an ordinary person. Gui Niang has probably been deceived into becoming a mistress!"
“A few days ago, she came to my door with red eyes and said she wanted to sell the house. I guessed that she probably knew about that man and wanted to break up with him!”
Shu Fu frowned slightly: "So why are you acting so tense?"
The broker blushed and said, "I was just worried that Gui Niang was just having a disagreement with that person, and that once they made up, she would take the house back and not sell it anymore..."
Shu Fu said seriously, "What's the basis for your speculation? Did Gui Niang specifically tell you her destination before she left, so that you could inform this young man?"
"N-nothing..."
"Then why are you so sure she's Nacho?" Shuf's smile faded, revealing her displeasure.
The broker was speechless, unsure how to explain. Should he say that this was how it was written in the legends, and that everyone he had met before was like this, so Gui Niang was no exception?
But the girl's red, determined eyes stared at him stubbornly, making it impossible for him to make such a judgment.
The broker hesitated for a moment, then stammered, "I... I'm worried that the young master is too powerful and might send someone to find Gui Niang and force her to come back..."
Shu Fu smiled slightly: "Once Lady Gui leaves, she's determined. The world is vast, and it won't be easy for her to find a place to settle down."
"Moreover, reality is not a legend, and no one has the power to cover up the truth. Even if this young man has the ability to mobilize troops, if he dares to openly mobilize his men to search for a young lady without the emperor's permission, that would be illegally mobilizing the imperial army, which is tantamount to treason! Do you think he would dare to take such a risk?"
The broker breathed a sigh of relief, though he couldn't explain why he felt relaxed. He then looked at Shu Fu and said, "In that case, how about we sell this house to you for 450 strings of cash?"
Shu Fu raised an eyebrow: "You're quite the businessman, asking for 450 strings of cash right off the bat! Although I believe in my heart that Lady Gui is determined to leave and is not just being pretentious, I can't help but feel that this young man doesn't believe me. If he keeps bothering me, I'll have to deal with him, and that will cost me a lot."
The broker bit his cheek, speaking as if in pain: "Then lower it by another fifty strings of cash, four hundred strings of cash, absolutely no less."
Shu Fu secretly did some calculations in her mind. This Miss Gui was in a hurry to go south, so the broker probably hadn't been cheap when he bought the house. Four hundred strings of cash would still be a profit. So she said, "You've been doing business for so many years, so you must be looking for good fortune. Four hundred strings of cash probably doesn't sound very good."
"...Three hundred and eighty strings of cash. If that doesn't work, you'll have to find someone else!"
So, as the sun began to set, Shu Fu paid the money and officially registered the house in her name. But by then, the sun was setting, and it was too late to make a trip to the Ministry of Revenue.
She was filled with excitement, but she forced herself to calm down and went to buy some steamed buns and roasted persimmons to share with A-Jian. She slept soundly that night.
The next day, she sent all the complete documents to the Ministry of Revenue, waiting for the Ministry of Revenue and the Empress to review them before informing her parents that her household registration would be issued exclusively to her. From then on, no one could use blood ties or family affection to manipulate or exploit her.
While waiting for a reply, she drafted a new set of regulations to submit to the Empress.
During her days of running around to register her household, she had some new insights: for example, the private lending industry was rife with all sorts of people, and the imperial court should regulate it; also, the difficulty of acquiring property and starting a business was too high, and just because she could do it did not mean that everyone could, so establishing a household based on "having property" was too cunning, and it would be better to change it to "having a means of making a living," and so on.
After writing this, she sighed: "Only through practice can one gain true knowledge. There is still so much for her to do."
After these busy days, the Ministry of Revenue finally had news—
On the morning of the sixth day, before the gatekeepers had even rubbed their eyes, they saw a group of officials approaching.
He stared at it intently, smacked his lips, and then sent someone to announce to the inner courtyard: "Someone from the Ministry of Revenue has arrived!"
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