CHAPTER 71
The house in Qingshi Village couldn’t be sold for the time being, and Su Wan was not in a hurry to buy the house in Qingyun County. After all, Shen Lin would feel more at ease if she used the money from selling the house.
Shen Lin prepared the things he needed for school and visited several teachers. Everything finally calmed down.
The business of the Malatang stall has also stabilized. The job can be done well by relying on the hired people. Su Wan only needs to visit it from time to time.
Taking advantage of the time when Shen Lin was not studying, Su Wan and Shen Lin went to see the houses near Songshan Academy in Qingyun County.
The first place they went to was the east. The houses on the east side of Songshan Academy were all elegantly built, similar to the houses that Su Wan and Shen Lin had liked before.
But when they walked to the west, they found that the houses there were completely different from those on the east. The houses on the west were dilapidated, and few people lived in them.
Everyone in Qingyun County knew that this western part was a desolate place. However, people like Su Wan and Shen Lin had never been here before.
The houses here are all made of mud, and each one is shabby and dilapidated. It is obvious that this is where the poor live. However, there are fewer poor people here now because it is inconvenient to get in and out. It takes a full incense stick of time longer to get into the county than to walk to the east end.
Su Wan and Shen Lin walked further inside and saw an old man with a cane. Shen Lin walked up to him and asked, ” Grandpa, why are there so few people here?”
The old man waved his hands and said, “In the past, people who lived here were all poor. Later, when they wanted to work, they found that it took too long to go into the city. There was also an area in the south of the city where poor people lived. They were all doing hard labor. The place was very cheap, whether renting or selling. So everyone moved to the south of the city, and this area became deserted.”
Su Wan thought about it and understood. The brick and tile kiln in Qingyun County, which recruited the most workers, was in the south of the city. This area was in the north of the city, too far away from the brick and tile kiln, so the people here moved to the south of the city.
According to this logic, not only the people in this area moved, but people from several other places where poor people gathered also moved to the south of the city.
The brick kiln is still in the south of the city, so it is naturally more convenient for everyone to move to the south, so that they don’t have to work hard all day and then walk such a long way home.
Su Wan was thinking about this when she heard Shen Lin ask the old man, “Uncle, what is the approximate price of a house in this area?”
The old man smiled and said, “The houses in this area were not valuable in the first place. Now that everyone goes to the south of the city to work, the houses in this area are even less valuable. Everyone knows that this area is extremely poor. Anyone with a decent income would not move here.”
When Shen Lin heard the old man go off topic, he asked again, “Grandpa, what is the price of the houses in this area? Is there anyone who wants to sell them?”
The old man said, “No one wants to buy houses in this area. Why are you asking about the price? There is no price. If you really want to buy it, go ask the person who moved away. Nine times out of ten, you can buy it if you pay a hundred or so.”
These houses are made of mud, and only a few beams are used. As for the mud and other things, they are worthless.
The old man added, “If you are willing to pay a hundred and eighty cents to buy it, there are many people willing to sell it.”
Shen Lin opened his mouth and asked again, ” Grandpa, where can I find the owners of these houses?”
The old man thought for a moment and said, “Everyone has moved to the south of the city. If you were to go looking for someone, you really wouldn’t be able to find them.”
The old man shook his head and said, “Right now, those who still live here are old, weak, sick, and disabled like me. No one wants to move or sell their property. Those who have moved away can’t be found.”
Shen Lin bowed to the old man and said, “Thank you, Grandpa.”
Then Shen Lin took Su Wan for a walk around the residence. This area was not far from the academy. Almost all the academies in Qingyun County were in this area.
Su Wan suddenly thought that this slum-like area was the area where the school district housing was located.
The houses to the east of Songshan Academy are elegant in every way, but the ancients paid more attention to not dividing the family while their parents were still alive, so no one moved specifically to the vicinity of the academy. However, for studying, living near the academy would undoubtedly save a lot of effort.
Many students have to walk back and forth for a long time every day to get home, which takes up a lot of their study time.
At this time, Shen Lin said to Su Wan, “Why should we buy a house in the east instead of here? The houses here are so cheap, while the houses in the east cost more than ten taels. This place is not far from our Malatang stall and the academy. Living here is also very convenient.”
“Besides, I think the houses here should be worth more.”
Su Wan nodded. “It should be more valuable.”
Shen Lin suddenly looked at Su Wan with a serious face and said, “Wan Wan, I have something to discuss with you. The house in Qingshi Village will probably be sold for 12 or 13 taels after it is sold. Can I take 6 taels from you?”
Su Wan guessed what Shen Lin was thinking and said, “Of course you can. This house was originally yours. Although you gave it to me as a gift, no one in this world uses all their wealth to marry a wife. I am not short of money, so you can use it.”
Shen Lin said, “I originally decided not to use your money any more, but now I have thought of a way to earn money. Although I don’t know if it will work, I want to give it a try.”
Su Wan guessed that Shen Lin probably wanted to do real estate business. In this era, real estate is not like in the 21st century. House prices are very stable. However, this place near the academy is different. This place has special resources as a blessing. If the marketing is good, it can make a lot of money.
Su Wan said to Shen Lin: “The house in the village has not been sold yet, but it will be sold sooner or later. I will give you ten taels first, six taels for the house, and four taels as the loan from me to you.”
Shen Lin did not refuse.
After that, Shen Lin took Su Wan to three other places that were originally inhabited by poor people but are now almost empty. One of them is very close to the prosperous South Street. There are about a dozen houses, all made of mud.
After visiting these places, Shen Lin set up the carriage and took Su Wan to the brick kiln in the south of the city.
Shen Lin did not let Su Wan get off the carriage. After all, there were only men in this place, so Shen Lin got off by himself. It was dusk, and the workers in the brick kiln had finished their work, and a large group of people were leaving.
Shen Lin stopped and shouted, “Is there anyone who is selling a house in the north of the city?”
Shen Lin only asked about the north of the city and did not mention the place west of Songshan Academy. After all, there was no need to emphasize it specifically because almost all the people who came out from the north of the city to work with bricks and tiles were from that dilapidated place.
Many people looked at Shen Lin curiously, but no one spoke.
Shen Lin spoke again: “Is there anyone selling a house in the north of the city?”
A middle-aged man in ragged clothes said, “I do have a house, but it’s on the west side of the north city. Do you want the house on the west side?”
It turned out to be the dilapidated place at the west end.
Shen Lin said, “We also want the ones on the west side.”
The man came forward hesitantly and said, “There’s no one there anymore. It will just be a wasteland. Why are you buying that house?”
Shen Lin smiled and said, “Of course it’s useful. I want to know how big your house is and at what price you want to sell it.”
The man glanced at the carriage behind Shen Lin and smiled bitterly: “You definitely won’t buy it even if I tell you.”
Shen Lin said respectfully, “Brother, please feel free to speak.”
The man scratched his head and said, “I only have two houses. The price is only a few dozen cents. But even if it’s just a few dozen cents, no one will buy it.”
Shen Lin said seriously, “Brother, I will pay you 200 cents; can you sell me the house and the land?”
The man was pleasantly surprised. He had originally thought that the house was worthless, but he never thought that it could be sold at a high price. The man nodded hurriedly.
Shen Lin asked again, “Brother, do you know of any other houses for sale in the north of the city?”
The man hesitated for a moment and said, “You don’t want to buy mine, but someone else’s? I tell you, just buy mine. My house doesn’t have that much leak, but the others are about to collapse.”
Shen Lin smiled and said to the man, “Don’t worry, brother. I want to buy your house. I’ll still pay two hundred cents for it. Can you call all the brothers who used to live in the west end of the north city, and I’ll give you another twenty coins?” As Shen Lin spoke, he had already handed the twenty coins to the man.
The man took the money and hurriedly called all the other former neighbors over. Shen Lin told everyone that he wanted to buy a house, and the men all had happy expressions on their faces. Everyone originally thought that those broken tiles would have to be thrown away, but they didn’t expect that they could still get money for it.
Shen Lin told everyone that they would go to see the house tonight; he will pay money according to the size of the house, and the paperwork could be done tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
These men followed Shen Lin to the northwest end of the city.
Su Wan understood that Shen Lin was planning to do real estate.
After one evening, Shen Lin had already booked twelve houses of different sizes. Four of them had large courtyards with more gardens, while the other smaller ones had fewer.
There are several other places that have not been decided yet because it is too late. These people are anxiously asking Shen Lin if he can come and take a look tomorrow evening. They are afraid that they will not be able to sell them and will be stuck with these worthless, dilapidated houses. They had planned to abandon them before, but now there is money to be made, so naturally they have to seize the opportunity.
Shen Lin told them that he would come to see the house tomorrow evening, and then these people felt relieved.
On the way back, Shen Lin told Su Wan that he planned to use the help of several academies nearby to sell the land at a high price, or build a house himself and then sell it.
Su Wan thought to herself, he was indeed the man in the book who became a wealthy businessman. Shen Lin’s mind was indeed flexible, and he was indeed a good businessman.
However, how will Shen Lin perform in his studies? No matter how smart he is, he has not read any books for three years. The gap between him and other students is not small.
Translator’s Note:- Hey guys I think this novel will be completed by the end of this week. If I give a little mass release ‘wink’.
Do let me know in the comments if you want it. <3
