Chapter 261 Moving
"Manager Qian." Gu Lianshan came out of the house, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and asked with a smile, "How much is the rent for this yard?"
Shopkeeper Qian turned around quickly and replied with a smile, "This one is a bit more expensive than the previous ones, two hundred copper coins per month."
Gu Tang, who came out right after him, paused. Two hundred copper coins per month?
That rent is not cheap.
This is West Street. Although the courtyard is pleasing to the eye, it is not particularly good. The rent is too high.
Gu Lianshan also felt that the price was too high and started to raise the price: "Shopkeeper Qian, you are not honest. You dare to ask for 200 copper coins for such a shabby yard in this place on West Street?
If I'm willing to pay that price, I can't say for sure about renting a place on East Street, but I can rent one similar to this one on South Street!"
"This isn't your first time coming to see me, so how could I not be honest?" Shopkeeper Qian said with an apologetic smile. "The monthly rent for this courtyard is set by the owner. I'm just helping out by running errands to earn a few hard-earned bucks. Whether the rent is a lot or a little, I don't earn a cent, don't you agree?"
"You also said that this is not the first time I visit you. You know whether this yard is worth the rent. Don't be so empty-headed. Just tell me the truth. Can the rent be lower?
If you can offer less, I'll sign the contract right away! Business is tough right now because of the snowstorm, and you probably know that better than I do. Just be thankful someone wants to rent this yard right now!"
This is the truth. Recently, there is only one person who has terminated the lease and given up the lease for the yard.
The shopkeeper Qian, who had not opened his shop for a long time, also wanted to open his shop to get rid of his bad luck, so he agreed to reduce the price a little with a painful look on his face.
"That's you, Master Gu. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't give you a penny! I'll reduce the rent by ten copper coins! How's that?"
"Forget it!" Gu Lianshan glared. "Ten copper coins is nothing compared to a price reduction. One hundred and fifty! One hundred and fifty per month for rent!"
"Oh my! Your bargaining is killing me!"
Shopkeeper Qian is really hurting this time!
"One hundred and eighty! I'll give you another ten copper coins! Can you at least let me give an explanation to the master?"
"No! Just one hundred and fifty!"
"One hundred and seven!"
"One hundred and fifty!"
Shopkeeper Qian: "...You're holding on to 150? How about 1600, just to be polite?"
Gu Lianshan didn't reply, but looked at Gu Tianbao, "How about it? Are you willing to pay one hundred and sixty?"
Shopkeeper Qian also looked at Gu Tianbao, his face full of flattery: "Mr. Gu, this price really can't be lowered any further. If it is lowered any further, I really won't be able to explain to the master..."
Gu Tianbao was somewhat at a loss. He subconsciously moved closer to Gu Tang and asked in a low voice, "Cousin, what should I say?"
Gu Tang glanced at him and said, "Didn't you discuss the rent with your mother before? Can you afford these 160 copper coins every month?"
If you can afford it, then book it. This yard is much more spacious than the previous ones. When you move in later, you'll have room to stroll around."
"I can afford it. My mother said before that the monthly rent should be no more than 200 copper coins."
"Then these 160 coppers are within your budget. Take another look at this yard. If you like it, then sign the deed. Live here first. Once you're familiar with the area, you can look for another yard if you want."
"well!"
Gu Tianbao responded, smiled shyly at Shopkeeper Qian, and then looked at Gu Lianshan: "Uncle, one hundred and sixty will do. It's snowing, and it won't be easy to find another place. Let's move in first and talk about it later."
Indeed, it is snowing and it is freezing cold, so it is not easy to find a house.
"Manager Qian, my nephew has agreed to your request. The rent is one hundred and sixty copper coins per month!"
"Okay, okay! Mr. Gu and Mr. Gu are both straightforward people!" Shopkeeper Qian smiled so hard that his teeth were showing, and hurriedly took out a small pen, ink, paper and inkstone from his bag.
"Come on, let's go inside. There's a table inside. Let's write the deed and sign and put our fingerprints on it."
Speaking of tables, Gu Lianshan remembered something he hadn't asked yet: "I saw some furniture in the room that was about to fall apart. Are these for us, or are you going to move them out later?"
Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Qian's mouth twitched. Although the furniture in this house was all made of inferior wood, each piece was very sturdy!
Where did it fall apart?!
Although he was dissatisfied with Gu Lianshan's words, Manager Qian didn't say a word of rebuttal. He just smiled and said, "These things were originally going to be moved out, but you are different from others! For your sake, all the things in this room will be left for Master Gu to use."
Bullshit!
Gu Lianshan secretly complained, did you really think he didn't know? What he said was better than what he sang!
Putting the pen, ink, paper and inkstone on the table, Manager Qian ground the ink skillfully and wrote a lease agreement.
He put down his pen, read it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, he handed it to Gu Lianshan for review.
Gu Lianshan read it over and over three times, then waved to Gu Tianbao to come over and take a look. If there was no problem, he would ask the shopkeeper to write another copy.
Gu Tianbao didn't understand all this, but he still read it word by word, then nodded and said that he would listen to Gu Lianshan in everything.
After taking the deed, Gu Lianshan decided to ask Manager Qian to write another copy, and that was it.
Manager Qian had a constant smile on his face and quickly wrote out another one.
The lease agreement is made in duplicate, with both parties signing and fingerprinting the agreement.
It was the first time for Gu Tianbao to sign and put his fingerprints, and his hands were sweating from nervousness.
When I wrote my own name, for some reason, my heart felt heavy, as if something was different.
After the contract was signed and he was holding his copy of the contract, Gu Tianbao suddenly came to his senses.
Logically, the deed should be signed by the owner of the courtyard, but this deed was signed by Manager Qian.
why is that?
Gu Tianbao was confused and handed the deed to his second uncle, wanting to see his uncle's reaction.
Strangely, after reading the deed, Gu Lianshan actually nodded and said, "You signed it correctly. It's written exactly like this. Pay the money. The deed is written, and it's time to pay."
"Mr. Gu is really thoughtful!" Shopkeeper Qian praised again with a smile.
Seeing that his second uncle didn't react, Gu Tianbao didn't say anything. He took out a small silver coin from his pocket and handed it over.
Shopkeeper Qian took it with both hands, then put it into his mouth and took a couple of bites in a very unceremonious manner. Then he took out a scale from his bag with a happy look on his face to weigh it.
"It weighs one and a half ounces! Just look at it."
Looking at the scales in front of him, Gu Tianbao suddenly panicked. He didn't know what a scale was and didn't know how to tell the weight.
He turned to Gu Lianshan for help: "Second Uncle! Please come and take a look. I'm afraid I can't see it clearly..."
Gu Lianshan understood immediately after hearing this and hurried forward to take a look: "Yes, it's one and a half taels."
"Master Gu, shall we go back to my teahouse together? I can exchange copper coins for Master Gu."
"Okay! Listen to Shopkeeper Qian."
He returned the deed to Gu Tianbao, watched him put it away, and then took him and Gu Tang out of the yard.
Shopkeeper Qian hurriedly put away his writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone and hurriedly followed.
According to the deed, the rent is collected monthly for a period of one year. If you want to renew the lease after one year, you need to write a new deed.
This tael and a half of silver can be exchanged for 1,500 copper coins. After deducting more than 300 copper coins for one month's rent and the shopkeeper's errand fee, there will probably be more than 1,100 copper coins left.
On the way back, it was still Shopkeeper Qian's ox cart leading the way, while the Gu family's ox cart followed not far behind.
Gu Tianbao, who was sitting at the front of the car with Gu Lianshan and helping Gu Tang block the wind, couldn't help but ask the doubts in his heart.
"Uncle, why is it Shopkeeper Qian's name written on the deed? Shouldn't it be the master's name?"
"When you rent a yard through a broker, the broker always signs the contract. They sign a separate deed with the owner. As for the rent, the price they negotiated with the owner is definitely lower than this."
The rent you pay every month is collected by Qian Zhang, who pays the landlord the amount of copper coins he agreed with. The extra money belongs to Qian Zhang himself."
So that’s how it is!
Gu Tianbao suddenly understood: "It's just a rental house, but there are so many twists and turns here. No wonder you bargained with Shopkeeper Qian in the yard earlier!"
"He makes a lot of money from this!"
In order to make money a few years ago, Gu Lianshan helped brokers find people to rent houses, so he knew something about the situation.
At this point, Gu Lianshan suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Gu Tang, "Daughter, how is the small courtyard you rented last time?"
The yard was originally rented to the Ma brothers, but later he sent the Ma brothers away and the yard became empty.
Gu Tang was originally leaning against the car with her eyes closed to rest, but when she heard her father asking about the yard, her scalp instantly tensed up.
"I only paid one month's rent. I went there before and got back half a month's rent."
This is pure nonsense.
Agou lives in that yard!
"Refund half a month's rent? Not bad! The owner is kind-hearted. If we were to meet a powerful enemy, he wouldn't refund a single cent!"
Gu Tang rolled her eyes. If she said she didn't return it, her father would definitely come to her house and ask for the copper coins back.
It was because she understood her father's temper that she agreed to back off halfway.
In fact, she paid rent for the yard for several months.
Since the rent had been refunded, Gu Lianshan put the matter behind him and continued to talk to Gu Tianbao about the broker.
Gu Tang listened behind them all the way and became drowsy and sleepy.
Before she fell asleep, the ox cart finally stopped.
I forced my eyes open and took a look, and saw that we had arrived at Manager Qian's teahouse.
After getting off the ox cart, Gu Tang trotted into the teahouse and asked the waiter to serve her some tea, as she wanted a cup to wake herself up.
Gu Lianshan told her not to wander around, and he took Gu Tianbao and followed Manager Qian to the back to exchange copper coins.
Gu Tang waved his hand to let them go. He touched his stomach and felt a little hungry, so he called the waiter and asked them if there was anything to eat.
Shopkeeper Qian opened this teahouse just for fun. There are only snacks like melon seeds in the shop, nothing else.
The waiter told Gu Tang that he could go out and buy it himself and then bring it here to eat.
Gu Tang didn't want to move. He took out a small string of copper coins, about twenty copper coins, from the purse on his waist and asked the waiter to help buy some food.
There were food stalls around the teahouse. After the waiter took the copper coins, he found a shop selling fried cakes and bought two fried cakes for six copper coins.
After leaving the bakery, he went to a shop selling roasted meat and bought two skewers of roasted meat for ten copper coins.
Holding the fried cakes and roasted meat, the waiter ran back to the teahouse and put the food on the table in front of Gu Tang, panting.
"Two fried cakes for six coppers, two skewers of roast meat for ten coppers, and there are four coppers left."
"The four coppers are yours. It's your errand fee."
"Thank you, young lady!" The young man grinned, having expected this.
Looking at the roasted meat in front of him, Gu Tang was a little scared. "What kind of meat is this made of? Is it pork?"
"It's not pork. Ten coppers won't buy roast pork. This is fish."
"Fish?" Gu Tang paused. Fish was okay. After roasting, the fishy smell would be much less.
A customer came to the teahouse, and the waiter left Gu Tang and went outside to greet the guest.
Picking up a skewer of roasted meat, Gu Tang took a small bite, fearing that his mouth would taste fishy.
I savored the roasted meat in my mouth carefully. I didn’t know what kind of fish it was made of, but it was firm and elastic in my mouth, and the fishy smell was not strong, only a light layer of fishy smell.
Gu Tang took another bite and nodded while chewing. It tasted okay, much better than pork!
When Gu Lianshan brought Gu Tianbao out, they saw Gu Tang eating a skewer of roasted meat with great relish.
Gu Lianshan looked surprised and said, "Daughter, don't you not eat pork?"
"This isn't pork, it's made of fish. I don't know what kind of fish it is, but it tastes okay."
Fish is cheap, and the skewers are substantial, a big and full one. Gu Tang felt that one skewer was enough, so she handed the rest to her father.
"Try it and see if you can tell what kind of fish it is made of."
Gu Lianshan took it, took a big bite, chewed it for a while and swallowed it. Hmm, it tasted really good!
But I just couldn't tell what kind of fish it was made of.
He took another bite, then gave the remaining roasted meat to Gu Tianbao: "Try it too. Second Uncle can't tell what kind of fish it's made of."
Smelling the aroma of meat, Gu Tianbao's mouth watered. He took it without hesitation and started eating it, his eyes shining with the aroma.
"How's it? Did you taste it?"
"……without."
Shopkeeper Qian, standing nearby, laughed. "I do know a little about this. I heard it's made with mullet. However, the shop that makes this roasted meat has a secret recipe that can remove the fishy smell of mullet. Only theirs tastes good."
Gu Tang knew about mullet, no wonder the fish meat was firm and chewy.
After eating the roasted meat, Gu Tang couldn't finish the remaining fried cakes, so she shared them with her father and Gu Tianbao.
After the two of them finished eating the fried cakes with tea, Gu Tang put on his hat and urged them to go back.
Manager Qian has already given the key to Gu Tianbao, and they can move in today.
Gu Lianshan would definitely stay to help transport the things, but Gu Tang wanted to go back. The weather was too cold and she had already received the money, so she didn't want to follow him.
First send Gu Tianbao back to the inn and ask him to inform Wei to pack up quickly. Gu Lianshan will come over later to help move the things.
Afterwards, Gu Lianshan drove Gu Tang back.
When we arrived at the gate of the courtyard and rang the bell, Gu Ping'an came to open the door.
After handing his daughter over to his son, Gu Lianshan didn't say a word to his son and hurriedly drove the ox cart back the same way.
"Where are you going again? I still have something to say!" Gu Ping'an glared and opened his mouth to call for help.
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