"Madam, is your house for sale?" Wen Jinhe glanced at the door. The entrance was an entrance hall of about five square meters, with a lot of sundries placed, and the residence was inside.
The woman looked at the five people and hesitated, "Do you want to buy a house?"
Judging from the dress of this woman, it is obvious that she is the wife of a wealthy family. She is accompanied by two maids and two guards. No matter what she thinks, she will not buy a house here.
Wen Jinhe nodded, "Yes, I saw the wooden sign hanging at the door, so I thought about asking."
The woman opened half of the door and invited Wen Jinhe and the others in. "The men in the family have gone to work, so it's a little inconvenient."
After hearing this, Zhao Bi and He Shi consciously did not go in again, but stood guard at the door.
Entering the entrance is a small hall, which seems a bit crowded even if a Westerner is standing there.
A girl with two pigtails walked out of the kitchen carrying a clay pot.
The woman took out three pottery bowls and placed them on the table. The water was still steaming, so it must have just been heated.
"This house has a total of two wing rooms, a small kitchen, and the hall and entrance hall you see. The size is a bit small, but it is enough for a family to live in. I don't know what my wife wants to use the house in Beixiang for. ?”
After all, no matter how she looked at Wen Jinhe, he didn't seem like someone who wanted to buy the house here and live in it.
Wen Jinhe smiled slightly and said: "My family bought some fertile land in the north of the city. I wanted to buy more manpower to cultivate it. Some of the houses in the house cannot be accommodated. Beixiang is close to the north of the city, so I thought of buying some simple houses."
The woman felt a little more excited. It turned out that it was bought for the servants to live in, so it was suitable.
"Mrs. Beixiang Land Price must know that the owner of this house has said that it will be sold for eighty taels of silver, otherwise it will not be enough to buy a new house in the west of the city."
Wen Jinhe raised his eyebrows. The land price in the west of the city was more expensive than that in Beixiang. The new house in the west of the city would have to be at least one-third smaller in size. "Why do you want to change your house if you are so good?" It didn't look like their family was rich.
A smile appeared on the woman's face, "My Yao'er was accepted as a disciple by the master of Tianming Academy in the west of the city. The academy is far away from home. After much thought, I thought about selling the house and moving to the west of the city to get a smaller one."
"I wonder how many people sell houses in Beixiang?"
The woman shook her head, "Not much. This is the cheapest place in the capital. If you sell your house, you can't afford a bigger one."
When leaving, the woman tried again and again to persuade her that if she really wanted to, she could lower the price some more.
Wen Jinhe walked back and ordered: "Secretly find someone to purchase a large amount of land and houses in Beixiang at one tael of silver per square meter."
This purchase price is almost the same as the land in the west of the city. If you can sell your house and exchange it for the west of the city, there will definitely be many people selling it.
As soon as they walked out of the North Alley, they saw You Zhicheng in official uniform getting off the carriage.
Wen Jinhe frowned, wondering what the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance was doing here.
You Zhicheng was accompanied by a household minister and several guards. He was staring at the muddy road and was in trouble. The road in the North Alley was a bit narrow and there were many places where carriages couldn't pass, so he had to walk, but the road was too dirty.
While he was struggling, he saw Wen Jinhe and others walking towards him.
You Zhicheng rubbed his eyes in disbelief, why did the Queen appear here?
When Wen Jinhe almost came to him, You Zhicheng realized what he was doing and immediately knelt down to salute.
"No need, you don't have to do these false rituals outside. Are you here on business, Mr. You?" The official following behind him still had a booklet and pen in his hand.
You Zhicheng replied: "The design drawings of the Ministry of Industry for building the capital have been sent to the Ministry of Household Affairs for accounting. I want to find out what the people think so as to determine the amount of compensation."
After You Zhicheng finished speaking, he saw Wen Jinhe staring at him without speaking. He felt numb all over. Did he say something wrong?
"No need to ask. The Ministry of Revenue only needs to calculate the material and labor costs for repairing and rebuilding the capital. The compensation for the people will not be included in the calculation for the time being."
Seeing You Zhicheng's hesitation, Wen Jinhe continued: "Also, the plans for repairing the capital should not be circulated to anyone except the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Household Affairs."
You Zhicheng stared at Wen Jinhe's back in confusion. If he didn't pay compensation, there would be a riot.
He spent a day in distress and melancholy in the mansion. After going to court the next day, You Zhicheng came outside the imperial study and asked to see Li Junche.
"Your Majesty, the Queen said it will not be considered as compensation, but if this is not handled properly, the people will be resentful of the court."
Li Junche: "If the queen asks you not to count, then don't count. I have my own plan."
You Zhicheng returned to the household department with a skeptical attitude. Leaving aside the compensation, everything else would be much faster.
After he finished the calculation, everyone in the household department looked at the last number, and no one said a word.
Not counting the compensation, the repair cost of the entire capital was worth tens of millions of taels of silver, which was the tax revenue of Beidi Kingdom for two years.
Before You Zhicheng told the Ministry of Industry the amount, news came from his subordinates that all the land in Beixiang had been bought within three days.
You Zhicheng asked in surprise: "Have you bought all the land in Beixiang? Can you find out who it is?"
The Ministry of Household Lingshi shook his head and replied, "I didn't find out. The other party bought it at a price that was nearly 30%25 higher than the market price. When the families in Beixiang heard about it, they ran away faster than anyone else, for fear that it would be sold too late and they wouldn't want it."
Thirty percent higher than the market price is like money falling from the sky, so don’t rush to catch it.
You Zhicheng sat down and thought about the Wen Jinhe he met in Beixiang a few days ago. Could it be that the Queen Empress bought it?
But why did the empress buy so much land?
After You Zhicheng told Wei Zhengxu the cost of repairs and reconstruction, the other party took him into the palace first.
"Queen, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has calculated the budget. I wonder when the construction will start?" After learning about the situation in Nancheng, Wei Zhengxu, who was the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, couldn't wait to rebuild the capital.
Ten million taels of silver is indeed a lot.
"Start with the worst North Lane."
Wei Zheng smiled and nodded in agreement.
You Zhicheng, who was standing aside, looked at Wen Jinhe with deep meaning in his eyes.
After leaving Changle Palace, Wei Zhengxu said as he walked: "Since the Empress does not intend to compensate the people, the house will be replaced with a larger one at the worst so that the people will not suffer losses. Mr. You is in charge of the household department. How many households are there in the North Alley?"
You Zhicheng looked forward, "A few days ago, someone went to Beixiang to buy houses. They bought all the land in Beixiang at a price that was nearly 30%25 higher than the market price. Now there is only one owner there."
"Ah." Wei Zhengxu was stunned and his eyes relaxed, "It doesn't matter, I will just look for that person."
You Zhicheng wanted to find out what the queen wanted, so he followed Wei Zhengxu.
When I met the person, I found that the buyer was actually very young and quite handsome.
Su Huaizhi was sitting in his newly bought house, holding a lot of land deeds in his hands.
A few days after his father Su Qingli returned to Shuonan City, Wen Jinhe's letter was delivered to the Su Mansion.
