It is normal to bargain when buying things, and He Zhengchu certainly hopes that the price is as cheap as possible.
But Guo Tong was short of money, and his asking price wasn't too high. He waved his hand, "No, no, Mount Paektu covers nearly 900 mu, and that's quite a mountain.
If there weren't so few people making porcelain in the north, it wouldn't be so cheap. If it were in the south, it would be at least ten thousand taels."
Most of Dayong's good porcelain comes from the south. There are also people making porcelain in the north, but the craftsmanship and quality are not as good as those in the south, and the selling price is not as high as that in the south, so there are fewer people making porcelain in the north.
"Master Guo, I know what you said is true. Five thousand five hundred taels for a nine hundred mu Porcelain Mountain is indeed not a high price. But the location of Baidu Mountain is not very good. It is right next to Qingping Mountain."
It is no problem to sell the 900-acre Porcelain Mountain for 7,000 or 8,000 taels in the north, but it is a pity that Baitou Mountain is close to Qingping Mountain, and with the bandits and wolves attacking it, no one is buying Baitou Mountain even though it has been priced so low.
Guo Tong was puzzled. These three people seemed to know about Qingping Mountain. Why did they dare to buy Baitou Mountain? "Where are you going to sell the porcelain you made?"
Porcelain is fragile, so if you want to sell it far away, you can only transport it by water, and if you want to transport it by water, you have to enter Anzhou City.
He Zhengchu couldn't tell Kang Yueran about his plan to seize the stronghold, so he said, "Let's sell it in Anzhou and several nearby prefectures first. The price of porcelain in the south is high, and our price is lower, so we can always sell it."
Guo Tong had worked in the Household Affairs Office for his entire life, and only a handful of people came to buy Baekdu Mountain. If he missed this opportunity, he didn't know when the next one would be.
He thought for a moment and said, "If you are willing, you can pay five thousand taels of silver. Although I am in charge of the Household Affairs Office, I have higher-ups above me, so the price cannot be too low."
Guo Tong spoke softly, and the price he asked was not outrageous. He Zhengchu also wanted to leave a good impression on Guo Tong. "Okay! Thank you, Mr. Guo!"
Once the price is agreed upon, everything else will be easy.
Guo Tong gave instructions, and the yamen runner took Kang Yuanfeng to go through the formalities. Kang Yuanfeng paid the silver and received the land deed with his name on it.
He Zhengchu didn't go. He thanked Guo Tong in the house and gave him a ginseng root. "My family used to make a living by hunting. We were lucky enough to dig up this ginseng root. Give it to you to nourish your body."
Kang Yueran bought the ginseng from the mall. The price of artificially cultivated ginseng is not high.
Guo Tong was a powerful man, and usually received many gifts, but he had not expected He Zhengchu to be so thoughtful at such a young age. He accepted the ginseng, put it in his sleeve, and praised He Zhengchu.
He Zhengchu consulted Guo Tong about the matter of establishing a female household.
The first point Guo Tong mentioned was that there were no male children in the family.
After listening carefully, He Zhengchu thanked him without saying anything else, then took his leave and left.
On the way back, he turned again and went to a stationery shop to buy a lot of paper, pens and ink.
Kang Yuanchen and Hu Dacheng looked at each other, both with helplessness in their eyes. Although they didn't have to go to school, they had to learn to read and practice calligraphy.
He Zhengchu saw it and pretended not to see it, and took the two of them home.
After returning home, he was not idle. He went to Kang Yueran's room, took out a white porcelain brush washer, put it in a brocade box, and asked Hu Dacheng to accompany him to Anzhou Academy.
He had a foundation, so he did not go to an enlightenment school. Instead, he chose a higher-level academy and had passed the entrance examination.
The pen washer was a gift to Yue Qingyao, the principal of the academy, as he wanted to become Yue Qingyao's disciple.
Anzhou Academy was the largest academy in Anzhou Prefecture and also the one with the best faculty. It was founded by Yue Qingyao's father, Yue Qunshan. Since there were no government-run academies in Anzhou Prefecture, Anzhou Academy was considered the equivalent of a government-run academy.
Hu Dacheng followed He Zhengchu and asked, "Zhengchu, didn't you say that the headmaster was a scholar? Aren't scholars very noble? Is it appropriate for you to give a gift?"
"Yesterday, when I was asking the dean for advice, I discovered that his brush washer had cracks. The brush washer I gave him is just ordinary white porcelain, not expensive. I think you will accept it."
"If I take your brush washer, can I accept you as my disciple?"
Yue Qingyao was a scholar and was very fond of He Zhengchu, who had a talent for reading. "All the students in Anzhou wanted to become Master Yue's disciples, but it wasn't easy for Master Yue to accept me as his disciple.
However, if I become Master Yue's disciple, it will be very beneficial to my future. So, if I have the opportunity, I will still strive for it."
It was not easy to pass the imperial examination and become an official. After becoming an official, one needed the support of noble people to climb up. Otherwise, if he only relied on himself to climb up step by step, by the time he could protect Kang Yueran, he would probably be old.
Hu Dacheng didn't say anything else and followed He Zhengan to the academy.
He Zhengchu was busy becoming an apprentice, Dacheng and Xiaocheng were busy, Kang Yuanchen was busy practicing martial arts, Kang Yuanwu and Kang Yuanfeng were busy going to school... Kang Yuanhao, who was only five years old, had the most comfortable life.
After resting in the space for two days, Kang Yueran changed back to her original appearance and came to the mountain village, claiming to be Zu Cong's junior sister, and came to visit the boss on behalf of Zu Cong.
Li Hu asked someone to invite her up the mountain and waited for her in the main hall of his house.
After greeting each other, Kang Yueran introduced herself first. "My name is Kang Yueran, and I'm Zucong's junior sister. He left first because of something else at the sect, and asked me to come and talk to the headmaster."
"Did Senior Brother Ling tell us how to arrange the stronghold?"
Kang Yueran looked confused and said, "The stronghold belongs to the big boss. What does my senior brother want to arrange? I just want to open a kiln in Baitou Mountain to make porcelain. After the porcelain is made, it needs to be shipped to Anzhou City. I would like to ask the big boss for help."
"Miss Kang, you're too polite. If it weren't for Senior Brother Ling, this stronghold would never have returned to me. Let alone a favor, I would even fully support Senior Brother Ling becoming the head of the family."
Kang Yueran didn't accept the temptation and continued, "In addition to firing porcelain in Baitou Mountain, I also want to build a wharf in the west."
"Miss Kang, are you talking about the west side of Qingping Mountain? To be honest, Qingping Mountain is one mountain, but it has two masters. One is our village, and the other is the wolf pack on the west side.
When we first arrived at the mountain to build the village, there were wolf packs. We often fought with the wolves. Later, I ordered people to build a row of fences in the middle of the mountain as a dividing line.
We never crossed the dividing line, and the wolves were quite docile, never coming to trouble us again. That's how we lived in peace for many years. Now, that wolf pack probably has hundreds of wolves, and it's not easy to deal with them."
Kang Yueran smiled and said, "It's okay. I'm friends with the wolf king of that wolf pack. They won't hurt me."
Li Hu was stunned. He was friends with a wolf? "Don't be ridiculous, Miss Kang. Wolves don't understand human language."
"I'm not kidding you. Building a dock requires a huge investment, and I'm going to make money from it after it's built. If I weren't sure the wolves wouldn't hurt anyone, I wouldn't dare do this."
Kang Yueran continued smiling, "If I build a wharf, more merchants will pass by Qingping Mountain. What are your plans, Boss?"
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