Chapter 250 250. Black-hearted Merchants
The Spring Examination will be held in February of the following year.
It is now the end of October, and there are still more than three months to go before the Spring Examination. This is enough time for Lei Shengjiang to adapt to the climate and water in Beijing and will not miss the exam due to acclimatization.
At this time, there were few candidates coming to Kyoto to take part in the Spring Examination. Most of them arrived in January of the following year, and some even arrived in early February. Therefore, there were many houses that were quiet and suitable for studying and large enough.
The Lei family first stayed in the inn for two days.
After Lei Li and Zhou Yi followed the broker to find a suitable house and paid five months' rent, the family moved into this large house with two courtyards.
Land in the capital city of Beijing is extremely expensive.
"This two-story house is similar to our house in the county town, and the price is similar. If we double the rent for four months, we can buy the house in the county town."
Lei Li teased.
Liu Ye'er didn't react at first and was surprised. "Isn't it said that prices in Kyoto are expensive? This house is about the same price as the houses in our county town, so it's not expensive... Wow!"
She suddenly came to her senses, her eyes wide with shock, "The rent is so expensive?!"
"Forty-five taels of silver a month, that's one hundred and eighty taels for four months."
Lei Jingsheng calculated, "The agent said we came early and that the house belongs to a juren scholar, so he gave us a discount. If someone else were to rent it, they would have to pay fifty taels of silver a month. If we add another one or two hundred taels, it would be the price of our two-story house in the county town."
Residential land is much cheaper than commercial land, so houses are cheaper than restaurants and shops.
In places like Qingmi County, a shop of the same location and size would be two to three times more expensive than a house. In economically developed places like Zhongchuan, good shops in the capital city can be more than ten to twenty times more expensive per unit area than a house.
Lei Li could own a spacious two-story house in Qingmi County for just over four hundred taels, complete with large and small gardens, corridors, a large backyard, and a large stable.
In Kyoto, more than 400 taels could only rent a two-story house of the same size for a year, or buy a very small and poor-quality one-story house.
Lei Shengjiang was not there when he bought the house from the broker. When he heard that this ordinary house actually cost forty-five taels of silver per month, he gasped.
An average farmer's annual expenses were less than ten taels of silver. If they were very frugal, three or four taels of silver would last them a year. Often, they didn't have much saved, so a cold snap could wipe out their savings.
But in Kyoto, because he was a juren and had a chance of passing the spring examination, the broker could easily give him twenty taels of silver off his salary to save him face.
This is Kyoto City!
Every inch of land is worth a lot of money!
"It's early now, forty-five taels is not expensive. After the New Year, more candidates will come to the capital, and the rent will have to go up."
Zhou Yi sighed slightly and said, "Those candidates who arrived too late and couldn't rent a house can only stay in restaurants and inns. They are the ones wasting their money. The broker said that around February, an ordinary room in an inn in Kyoto City would cost ten taels a night."
This time, not only Liu Ye'er and the others were shocked and gasped, even Lei Jingsheng felt a sense of empathy after hearing what the broker said and when Zhou Yi mentioned it again.
"Look at your expressions..."
Lei Li said with a smile, "We arrived early so we didn't have to spend that much money. Since they can afford to stay in a room that costs ten taels a night, it means they don't need money. Besides, we don't need money either. The rent may be a little higher, but as long as we don't suffer, that's good enough."
"We have a branch in Kyoto City, too. I'll go check it out tomorrow and collect my share of the profits. It'll be a lot easier to have money coming in and out, right?"
"That being said..."
Liu Yeer sighed.
She had lived a simple life in the first half of her life. The most she had was never more than twenty taels of silver, and that was all small change. She naturally knew how painful the prices in Kyoto were for those children from poor families.
I traveled thousands of miles to Kyoto to take the exam, but found that I couldn't even afford a decent place to live.
In Kyoto, not only are land and housing prices expensive, but everything from food, clothing, housing and transportation is also expensive.
"When I stayed at the inn, a plate of stir-fried vegetables cost over a hundred coins. I thought the innkeeper was being unscrupulous, but when I asked around, I realized every innkeeper was unscrupulous."
Miao Yurui half sighed and half joked, "It's a good thing we're not from Kyoto. If we had grown up here, we'd be used to eating black cabbage and black rice, but once we left Kyoto, we'd find that every shop outside was run by a conscientious person."
The Lei family members all laughed when they heard this.
Lei Shengjiang smiled, held his hand and said, "Yu Rui has been with Daddy for a long time, and he can even tell jokes."
Miao Yurui glared at him and said deliberately, "Why? In Jiang's eyes, I'm so serious, someone who can't tell a joke and can't even take a joke?"
"Little Jiang, what you said is really good. You offended two people with just one sentence."
Lei Li also glanced at Sheng Jiang with a smile and said, "In Sheng Jiang's eyes, your father is just a jokester and not a serious person at all?"
"Um……"
Lei Shengjiang looked at his father, hid behind Miao Yurui and said with a smile, "Brother Yurui sometimes jokes, but it seems that father never takes it seriously..."
"You kid!"
Lei Li cursed with a laugh, pretending to hit Lei Shengjiang. Lei Shengjiang also exaggeratedly shouted, "Brother, save me!" and hid behind Miao Yurui and refused to come out, while the others laughed.
When you live in a house, you have to cook and make sure you have enough food and clothing. After all, prices outside are expensive, and if you eat out every day, your wallet won't be able to bear it, but your heart won't.
There is a street two alleys away from the back door of the second house. Zhou Yi, Lei Li and Liu Ye'er went there to buy vegetables and get familiar with the surroundings.
In front of the second courtyard is Wuyi Lane, where rich people who can afford maids and servants live. The two lanes behind it are for ordinary people, or well-off families.
These families would set up stalls to sell vegetables, open shops to make a living, there would be butchers chopping meat, husbands and wives buying vegetables, and children running in the alleys. It was a very down-to-earth atmosphere, and neighbors often visited each other.
The wealthy families in Wuyi Lane were more particular, and the people who came out to buy groceries were all maids and old women.
After Zhou Yi and his two companions bought some vegetables, they met several enthusiastic residents. One was Wang Po, the vegetable stall owner, and the other two were shop owners: Mr. and Mrs. Li, who owned a vinegar shop, and Mr. Xie, the owner of an oil shop that sold various vegetable oils.
Zhou Yi was a little surprised.
“There are oil shops in Qingmi County, but they’re not as comprehensive as here. They sell sesame oil, peanut oil, rapeseed oil, and even soybean oil and the rare olive oil.”
“Olive?”
Lei Li raised an eyebrow. "Those green olives that can be eaten raw? They're not only used to make pickles and preserves, but they can also be used to extract oil and cook."
“Not the green olives you eat raw, but the olives with oil.”
Zhou Yi said, "Olive oil can be used to make cooking oil. In winter, when the skin is dry and cracked, olive oil can also be used to rub the face, hands and feet to moisturize the skin."
Use the oil used for food to wipe your hands and feet?
Lei Li felt a little weird. Wouldn’t his hands and feet become greasy?
Liu Ye'er was also curious and asked directly.
"Won't."
Zhou Yi shook his head and said, "Olive oil dries quickly after you apply it on your hands, leaving your skin feeling moisturized but not greasy or uncomfortable. Some hand and lip balms contain olive oil."
As he spoke, he looked at the clay pot with "Olive Oil" written on it in the oil shop, "But I didn't expect they would sell it here."
Olive oil originates from the Mediterranean and is known as "liquid gold," which is enough to prove how expensive it is. And in this small alley in Kyoto, olive oil is actually sold, although the quantity is relatively small and the price is indeed high.
The oil vendor laughed when he heard this, "I wouldn't say I have the most complete selection of oil in Kyoto, but it's the most comprehensive in this area. The ladies living in Wuyi Lane in front all love to buy this olive oil for hand rubbing."
"Kyoto's climate is definitely different from the south. It starts getting cold in September, and now the snow is falling so hard that my hands and feet are chapped."
"Look at your old lady, she's so radiant and energetic. I'm sure you're very filial. Olive oil is expensive, but it's really effective. Buy some and use it to wipe the hands and feet of your old lady and her children."
Qingmi County is scorching hot in October, while Beijing is covered in heavy snow. Mornings and nights can be freezing cold, and a heavy snowfall can make the weather even colder.
Zhou Yi also wanted to buy some. When he asked the price, he found out that olive oil was more than ten times more expensive than other oils, and the best and most expensive sesame oil was only one tenth of that.
Liu Ye'er felt that the price was too high. She didn't need such expensive oil to wipe her hands. It would be such a waste.
Lei Li was surprised to hear that olive oil was so expensive. He decided to buy some to test it out. He was going to buy hand cream anyway, so if olive oil was good, he wouldn't have to buy it.
So Lei Li bought a small ceramic jar of olive oil, and also bought a lot of sesame oil and peanut oil.
Knowing that they didn't bring any jars, the oil seller said he would sell them clay jars at a low price and asked his son to send the oil and vinegar to their homes.
The vinegar shop is not far from the oil shop.
In addition to oil and vinegar, Lei Li's family had just arrived, so they sold a lot of seasonings, spices, vegetables and meat. In cold weather, the vegetables and meat could be kept for several days without spoiling, so they didn't have to go out to buy them every day.
There was a whole cart of stuff in total.
Lei Li and the other two hadn't expected there would be so many. When they went out to travel, the short-term rental houses they stayed in all had seasonings, so they didn't have to buy them themselves. Staying in a restaurant was even more convenient, as they could eat directly in the restaurant or go out to eat.
Who would have thought that this house in Kyoto City is expensive, but it is also fully furnished and ready for you to move in. However, it is not so luxurious that it has everything you need, and you even have to buy your own bowls.
Labor is also expensive in Kyoto. The money earned by hiring an ordinary cook for five months can buy a young and strong boy as a servant in Qingmi County.
Liu Ye'er was really worried about spending money. She thought this was not a village, so she didn't have to look after the chili garden or farm. Cooking and cleaning the yard were no big deal. She and Lei Dashan could do it alone, so she didn't hire anyone.
The rented carriage had not yet arrived.
In the end, Zhou Yi borrowed the carriage of Mr. Xie, the owner of the oil shop, to transport the things back home.
In the evening, the family had a hot meal and did not go out at night. They all went back to their rooms.
There are indeed some advantages to having an expensive house.
Because Kyoto's winters are long and cold, the walls of the houses are made very thick, which provides good warmth and sound insulation.
The bed was a kang, very large, so large that Lei Li could roll around without falling off the bed easily. It also made it convenient for Lei Li and her husband to do some unspeakable things.
Once the kang is heated, the bed is very warm and you don’t need to cover yourself with a quilt or wear clothes.
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