0p0 Chapter 108 Buying a Courtyard
Chapter 108 Buying a Courtyard
"Hey, it won't be that fast. You know this location is hard to sell." Li Yuan said helplessly. Speaking of the house, the location was indeed awkward. If he sold it too low, it wouldn't be profitable for him. If he sold it too high, not many people would be interested. This place doesn't have high foot traffic. The main customers are martial arts school apprentices and students.
"That's good. This is Madam Song. She's here to look at the house today," Doctor Qin said to Li Yuan with a smile, pointing to Song Jiaojiao as he introduced her. Then he said to Song Jiaojiao, "This is my good friend Li Yuan. Let him show you the house later."
Song Jiaojiao nodded to Li Yuan and said, "Uncle Li, would you be so kind as to show me around?"
"Of course, this way please." Li Yuan first led everyone to the backyard.
“There are three rooms here, a kitchen, and an outhouse next to the kitchen. The house was built with the best materials, red bricks and blue tiles. Even the interior is paved with blue flagstones, so there will never be mud everywhere when it rains. You can see that the yard is paved with blue flagstones.” Li Yuan said, pointing to the blue flagstones on the ground.
Song Jiaojiao looked at the bluestone path in the yard, which was indeed nice. There was also a fenced-off vegetable garden in the corner, and the yard was kept clean and tidy, indicating that it belonged to a diligent family.
After crossing the courtyard, Li Yuan led everyone to the rooms. The first room they saw had a window facing the courtyard and contained many bookshelves. There was also a large desk in the bright spot by the window.
“This is my son’s old room. It’s a bright room, which he used to read in. The shelves in the room are full of his books. We’re not moving them. My wife has packed them all up so she can take them to the capital when we leave,” Li Yuan explained as he introduced the room.
"This is my and my wife's room, and this is my wife." Li Yuan led everyone to the room opposite, where a lady was packing her luggage. She simply nodded to the group.
Song Jiaojiao looked at the room. This room also opened into the courtyard, but because it was close to the kitchen, it was not as bright as the previous room.
Li Yuan led everyone to the backyard. There was a small gate in the backyard wall, and a small room was opposite the gate.
"This room is quite small; we use it as a storage room. Opposite the storage room is the back door, which is sometimes a way to go out."
As he spoke, Li Yuan opened the back door. The back door led to a narrow street, just wide enough for a carriage to pass through, which was convenient for transporting goods. The back gate wasn't very big, making it difficult for a carriage to pass through. It seemed that it would need to be expanded later. The backyard wasn't very big, but it wasn't small either; there was still some space left after building a stable.
Next to the storage room was a wooden floorboard on the floor. Li Yuan explained that this was the family's cellar.
Pulling back the wooden floorboards, the cellar instantly brightened up considerably. The cellar wasn't large, with a straight ladder leading down, probably only about ten square meters. However, the temperature in the cellar was much lower than outside, so it would be fine to store some perishable fruits there.
Song Jiaojiao was quite satisfied with the overall look, and the group went into the shop to start negotiating prices.
"How much does Uncle Li plan to sell it for?"
"Madam Song, as you can see, this location is quite good. There are students and martial arts schools nearby. Although the foot traffic can't compare to the main street, it's still considerable. Many students come out to eat regularly. It would be a good choice to open a bookstore or a restaurant." Li Yuan first explained his own advantages, glanced at Doctor Qin, and continued.
"The price of a room in this location is generally around 1500 taels, and a room with a shop is 100 taels more expensive. For Brother Qin's sake, Madam Song can just pay 1500 taels. Apart from her own belongings, she won't move any large items like beds or cabinets. I hired a good carpenter to make them, and each bed and cabinet is varnished. They can last for decades without any problem."
Song Jiaojiao had anticipated that the prices here wouldn't be cheap, but she hadn't expected them to be this expensive. Although the location wasn't the best, it was close to Wang Hefan's Four Directions Escort Agency, so Mu Qing wouldn't have to worry about having no one to help her if she had any problems. There weren't many rooms, and there wasn't a warehouse, but making drinks didn't require a large warehouse, and the cellar would be sufficient.
Song Jiaojiao glanced at Doctor Qin, who nodded slightly at her, presumably indicating that the property prices in this area were in line with the market value.
“Uncle Li is a straightforward man, so I won’t say anything more. How about this, it’s getting late tonight, the government must have finished their work, so how about we go to transfer the property tomorrow?”
Hearing Song Jiaojiao's words, Li Yuan knew she had bought the house and happily said, "That's great, that's great. It'll be ready around the day after tomorrow, whichever is convenient for Madam Song."
"Okay, it's settled then. I'll come back tomorrow." Song Jiaojiao said goodbye after finishing her sentence. She had originally wanted to invite Doctor Qin to have a casual meal with her, but Doctor Qin was kept behind by Li Yuan. Thinking that the two of them would rarely see each other again, Song Jiaojiao did not insist and said that they would get together next time.
When Song Jiaojiao came out of the shop, she did see a lot of students coming out to eat. This street was strictly prohibited from having stalls, and the vendors were basically in another alley. If the students wanted to go to eat, they basically had to pass through the place that Song Jiaojiao had bought. It didn't seem too bad.
Instead of taking Mu Qing and the others to a restaurant, Song Jiaojiao went to the street vendors' stall to see what kind of food they were selling.
Entering the alley, you can clearly feel the lively atmosphere. Students dressed in different academy uniforms stand in front of various stalls. They sell all kinds of things here, with steamed buns, mantou, wontons and pies being the most common. There are also a few noodle shops. They are basically everyday foods, and the prices are not expensive, ranging from 4 to 20 coins.
Song Jiaojiao told Mu Qing and the others to separate and buy some food to try. In the end, they sat down at a wonton stall and ordered a few bowls of wontons. The steamed buns and mantou were all the usual flavors, but the pies tasted different. Mu Qing bought all the different flavors from the stall.
The radish filling was actually the best, even more delicious than the meat filling. Perhaps the meat filling wasn't prepared properly and still had a slightly gamey smell, which wasn't as appealing as the fresh aroma of the radish.
The wontons tasted pretty much the same as those from the street vendors, nothing special. But with these students setting up stalls here, they could at least earn some money for their families.
After finishing their meal, the group strolled around and came to the end of the alley where they saw students selling calligraphy and paintings and writing letters for their families. The alley was mainly frequented by students, but many outsiders also came here to find food.
After passing through the alley, they were surprised to find themselves on the main street of Sifanglou. This saved them a lot of time compared to walking along the main road. Sifang Inn was close to the city gate, and Song Jiaojiao and her group strolled slowly toward the inn. Along the way, they saw many strange things. Song Jiaojiao did not restrain Mu Qing and Mu Xue, letting them buy whatever they liked.
Never underestimate a woman's shopping power, even a child's. In no time, Meng An was carrying a lot of things, mostly items that are hard to find in town.