Chapter 71 Buying a House in the Capital
Early in the morning, Li Wei was packing up his things and preparing to go out. He was going to solve an imminent private matter today. He planned to buy a house in the capital. This was something he had been thinking about for a long time. Although he was treated like a guest of honor in Changfu, he was a family who was far from being at home. Besides, he would live in the capital for a long time and also needed a house of his own. When he went out, the mute girl could have a place to stay.
When he walked to the door, he first found the butler of Changfu. He was not familiar with the capital and needed guidance from locals. The butler was a enthusiastic person. When he heard that Li Wei was about to buy a house, he immediately found the second butler in charge of purchasing items in Changfu.
The second housekeeper is named Huang, about thirty years old, has a short figure, has a long and thin face, and is extremely flexible in his eyes, and looks very smart and capable. Along the way, he smiled and introduced the market to Li Weizheng.
"Mr. Li, buying a house is very particular. First of all, you have to determine what kind of house you want to buy, whether it is a deep courtyard or a tile house. First, you have to decide the type of house; secondly, you need to consider the location Feng Shui, whether you want to buy a Shikou house in Lufei Lane and Fudong Street, or a Mixing Street, and a house near a tomb in Nanchenggang. The locations are different and the price difference is also very large. Finally, you have to find the right middleman. Each industry has its own rules and each person has its own ways. If the middleman is good, the same location and the same quality can be at least 20% cheaper. If you are lucky, you can buy the houses of those officials who are in trouble at a very cheap price."
Li Wei was just listening to his words and laughed and said, "How about Butler Huang be an intermediary and introduce me to a good house?"
"No! No! No!" Butler Huang waved his hands repeatedly, "This is like a mountain, I just know a little bit of fur. Besides, I don't have a house in my hand. I can introduce a good middleman to the young master. In addition, if I come forward, the middleman dares not cheat Mr. Li."
Butler Huang took Li Wei to a teahouse and found a table by the window to sit down. He said to the waiter: "Please ask the waiter to find Lu Guan'er, saying that there are customers who want to buy a house."
The waiter agreed and went to find someone. Butler Huang whispered to Li Weizheng and said, "Young Master doesn't know that this Lu Guan'er is a famous house in the capital. He has a good reputation and is always rude. People who buy and sell houses like to find him. If you buy a house in his hands, you won't be cheated."
Soon, a man in his forties rushed over, and from a distance he bowed and smiled, "I heard that Butler Huang is looking for me, so I specially applied two taels of lard on the soles of my shoes."
"Lu Guan'er is really good at joking. I'm afraid you don't have time!"
Butler Huang stood up and bowed his hand to give him a gift, pointed at Li Weizheng and smiled: "This is my master's friend and I want to buy a house."
Chang Sheng was hospitality and generous, and had a wide range of social interactions. Among his friends, there were all kinds of people in the three ranks of religions, so Lu Guan'er did not take Li Weizheng's identity to heart. He immediately bowed to Li Weizheng and hanged out his signature smile that "guests are parents of food and clothing", which was extremely sincere.
"My brother, what should I call you?"
Li Weizheng also stood up and bowed slightly, "I have no official position and just a civilian."
"Oh! It turns out it's Mr. Li." Lu Guan'er clarified Li Weizheng's identity and made up his mind.
He pulled up his chair and sat down, and asked Li Weizheng, "Mr. Li wants to buy a house, but I don't know which type you want to buy? What location?"
Li Weizheng glanced at Butler Huang and smiled and said, "I want to ask about the housing prices first."
"This is a bit difficult to say. The location and the land cover are different, and the housing prices are far different. Five or sixty taels of silver is enough for ordinary houses with four tile houses, but the deep courtyard costs thousands of taels of silver. So the young master must at least give me a range, such as location, grade, size, and whether the storefront house is there, etc., so that I can estimate the price."
Li Wei was just thinking about it and said, "I like quietness. Don't rely on the house on the roadside, but it cannot be too remote. The area is moderate and covers about one acre of land. It is best to plant trees."
"It turns out that the young master wants to buy a medium-sized house." Lu Guan'er pondered for a moment and smiled: "There are houses like this, and the prices vary, such as the old houses, the number of trees, the number of trees, the number of trees, etc. The land generally covers six or seven cents of the land, but the difference is not big, about two hundred to two hundred and fifty taels of silver. However, this is just an ordinary house, with more than ten tiled houses, and some rockery pond fish, if the young master wants to buy a high-quality house with a beam and a broad pillar, if the land covers one acre, it will be two or three acres, and at least thousands of taels of silver."
At this time, butler Huang next to him said, "Mr. Li, I forgot to tell you just now that this house transaction is a private transaction. Generally, no treasure money is collected. All are delivered in cash. The middleman collects half a percent of the commission."
Li Wei nodded secretly. He knew that the house price in Beijing was indeed much more expensive than Linhuai County. The ordinary houses in Linhuai County were only about thirty taels of silver, but these prices were nothing to him. Last time, he tortured the magistrate of Sun County, Dingyuan County, and robbed him of 1,500 taels of gold, the official price was 6,000 taels of silver, and the prince rewarded him with a bag of twenty diamonds yesterday, which was even more unreasonable. Not to mention the house with two acres of land, he could afford to buy a deep house with ten acres of land, but he didn't want to show off. He smiled and said, "Okay! I'll buy a house covering about two acres of land, and take me to see the house."
Lu Guan'er was very happy. This was a big deal. He received a half-compensation of 40 or 50 taels of silver. It was rare to encounter one or two times a year. He immediately said: "I know there are three houses for sale in this kind of house. Why not take Mr. Li to see it now."
The three of them finished tea money, hired another carriage and headed south.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
There were three houses, and Li Weizheng was not satisfied with them after seeing two houses. One was located in Yanzhi Lane, Jiangning County. The entrance of the city was quite lively. The house covers two acres of land and has good conditions in all aspects. However, the surrounding environment is not good. They are all residential areas of craftsmen. The grade is not high and very noisy. Although it only costs 900 taels of silver after the bargaining, Li Weizheng still gave up. The second house is near the Imperial College and next to the Shangyuan County School. Although the cultural atmosphere is very strong, it is also the Jinwu Guard station next to it. There are many soldiers on the street and the inspection is strict, giving people a sense of depression. He doesn't like it, and he left without even asking about the price.
The carriage turned around and headed towards the third house. At this time, the middleman Lu Guan'er was a little nervous. There were only three houses in his hands that met Li Weizheng's conditions. Two of them were no longer favored. If the third house also failed, then this big deal would be dangerous. He actually understood Li Weizheng's requirements. The third house was facing the street, which was even more noisy and there were few trees. He must have missed it. It would be better if he didn't want to go, but he didn't want to lose this deal anyway.
He pondered for a moment, then asked, "If it was the private residence of the criminal official, would Mr. Li want it?"
Li Weizheng smiled and said, "As long as the house is legal, it doesn't matter anything else."
"That's right, I have two private houses for criminal officials. One is the house of Zhao Yong, the Marquis of Nanxiong, covering an area of four acres. Because it is a criminal official, most people are unwilling to buy it, so it is relatively cheap. The price is only 1,600 taels of silver, and you can bargain. It is estimated that 1,400 taels of silver can be taken down. However, after the house is confiscated, it has been vacant for ten years. The house is really old. The other is a different house of Guo Heng, the former Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. It covers two acres and five cents of the land. The location and quality are very good. Five years ago, when the Guo family was confiscated, it was estimated that it was sold. The buyer was a merchant from Yangzhou Prefecture. He wanted to go back to Yangzhou to retire and retire. He came to me last month and asked for a price of 1,000 taels of silver, and no money could be lost.
Li Wei was thinking secretly that if the price was considered, four acres of land were indeed cost-effective, but he was only a hundred households. The house with four acres of land was too silly. Moreover, even the middleman said that the house was old and it must be no longer decent. It would cost a lot of money to renovate, so he was not happy to wait.
"Then let's go and see the house covering an area of two or five cents." This area is just right for him.
"Okay! The coachman please turn around to Liu Jun Shiqiao."
Liu Jun Shiqiao is the area around Xinjiekou in Nanjing today. In the early Ming Dynasty, the area was not the most prosperous, but it was not remote. The carriage was parked in front of a house surrounded by a tall courtyard wall. Lu Guan'er jumped out of the carriage and went forward to knock on the door with great force. After a moment, the door opened. A man in his fifties leaned out and saw that it was Lu Guan'er, he was overjoyed, "But lead someone to see the house?"
"That's right!" Lu Guan'er asked nervously: "I wonder if Luo Guanren's house has been sold."
"Not yet, but people have been seeing the house one after another these days, but they have to bargain, I don't want to."
When Lu Guan'er heard that the house was still there, he felt relieved. He quickly invited Li Weizheng over and said, "Young Master Li, this is the owner of the housekeeper Luo Guanren."
He introduced Li Wei to the owner and said, "This young master Li wants to buy a house, so I'll take him to see it."
The owner looked at Li Weizheng and bowed and said, "I am a businessman. Although I am a businessman, I am very practical in my work. I have a thousand taels of silver in my house, and I can't lose a penny. I can see that we have a deal. If I don't like everyone, I will go my own way."
Li Weizheng also replied with a smile: "I want to look at the house first. If I am satisfied, money is not a problem."
"Okay, please Mr. Li!"
Luo Guanren led the way in front. The entrance was a large courtyard, a thin cobblestone road, and there were a row of tall privet trees on the side of the road, with four trees on the left and four trees on the left, just like two rows of maids to welcome guests. There were more than a dozen trees planted behind the privet trees. On the left is a peach forest and on the right is a li forest, representing the fragrance of peach and plum trees. Just after walking here, Li Weizheng fell in love with this house. There was a small road on both sides of the courtyard, leading to the residence and guest rooms of the people.
Walking through the courtyard is the middle hall. In the middle is the main hall, on both sides are several wing rooms, living rooms, an external study room for the owner, and small rooms for receiving important guests. There is a corridor between each room, which is quite elegant. In front of the main hall is a patio with stone tables and stone benches. A tall apricot tree stands like a god standing by the wall. The canopy covers most of the patio, and it is difficult for the three of them to surround the tree.
"Mr. Li, it is said that this kind of apricot tree is five hundred years old, and there is also a 300-year-old osmanthus tree in the back garden. These two big trees are a treasure for housekeeping. In fact, I sold 1,000 taels of silver and I don't understand why they still had to bargain."
Li Wei was walking to the stone bench and sat down. He saw that the stone table was carved with various small flowers, and the patterns were full of childlike fun, as if they were carved by children. It was obvious that he had been a while. He gently stroked the small flowers and asked with a smile: "How many rooms are there in this house?"
Luo Guanren's wife, concubines and daughters were in the inner house. He didn't want to take Li Weizheng in to see it, so he said, "The back house is a two-story building with eight rooms in total. I just spent 200 taels of silver to renovate the rest of the bungalows. There were not many rooms, but Mr. Li also saw it. The main reason is that there are too many trees in the house and it is impossible to build more houses. If the young master thinks there are few houses, he can cut down some trees."
Li Wei was interested in these trees. How could he cut them off? He smiled and turned around and asked Lu Guaner, "What else do you need to do to transfer the house?"
When Lu Guan'er saw that Li Wei was tempted, he was secretly happy and hurriedly said, "The house transfer is very simple. You two sign a contract. As a joint, I also need to sign it. Then the three of us and the land security guards will take the house deed to the county government to change the name, press the handprint, and pay half a share of tax. Even my commission, that is, if Mr. Li wants to buy this house, it will cost a total of 1,100 taels of silver."
Li Weizheng nodded and said to the owner: "Okay! I bought this house according to your price."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Chapter completed!