Chapter 98: Halfway Out, A Surprise Attack by Cheng Yaojin

  Mr. Jiang opened the rooms on both sides for them to see, saying: "Our house, although it was bought from others, was actually a new house when we bought it. The family who built it moved away and sold the newly built house. So this house has only been built for over 20 years. Our old master is a meticulous person, spending a lot of money every year to repair the house; even when he doesn't live here, he will send someone to take care of it, so the house is extremely well-maintained." He pointed around and said: "You can walk around and take a look, these wooden beams don't have any signs of water seepage or spider webs, mouse holes, etc., everything is dry and clean."

  After visiting the wing room, several people walked through the hall and arrived at the backyard. It can be seen that the backyard is slightly larger than the front yard, not only are there more varieties of flowers and trees planted in the backyard than in the front yard, but also a small pond in front of the house on the left side. Now it's winter, dry season, but there is still plenty of water in the pond, which can be seen clearly with pebbles at the bottom of the pond, occasionally some fish swimming around in the water. The houses in the backyard are more exquisite than the hall in terms of materials and workmanship. There are also some simple furniture left inside, all of which are clean and tidy. If you buy it, as long as you add some things, you can move in.

  Yue Zhuo nodded again when she saw this place. Her previous life's upbringing made her particularly particular about the quality of life. Although this house was not particularly good, it was relatively satisfactory to her.

  However, she did not ask about the price. With Ye Yuqi and Guan's family present, things were naturally handled by them. She was a junior, and at critical moments, she had to take charge. But if she took the lead in every small matter, it would inevitably cause dissatisfaction from the two elders.

  Ye Yuxiu and Guan's family watched together, occasionally discussing, until after seeing the kitchen and vegetable garden, the group returned to the hall and sat down. Ye Yuxiu then asked: "I wonder how much silver the owner of this house plans to sell it for?"

  "Eight hundred taels." Old Jiang stretched out his hand and drew a line with his finger.

  "Eight hundred taels?" Except for Ye Zhuo, everyone else's face changed. Ye Yuqi and Guan Shi were used to being poor, and they usually hated to spend a single penny, let alone split it in half. Recently, although they had earned some money, eight hundred taels of silver was still a huge sum in their eyes; while Zheng Shi, although persuaded by Ye Yuqi and Guan Shi on the surface, still wanted to pay for it herself, but the price of this house was too far from what she had in her hands. The main house of the Ye family was still living in that dilapidated house.

  The old woman Wang, who brought them to see the house, heard this price and clicked her tongue. Eight hundred taels of silver. In the eyes of these ordinary people, it was a sky-high price. She turned around and looked at Guan Shi and Ye Yuqi, muttering in her heart: It seems that the jade carving workshop is still making a lot of money, the original situation of the Ye family's main house was similar to hers, but now they can afford to buy a big house worth eight hundred taels of silver.

  Old Jiang sells houses here and has received several waves of guests. It's clear that this price makes everyone hesitant in their hearts. However, there's no way around it - when he first bought the house, it cost 800 taels, and although it's an old house now, the housing prices in Nanshan Town have risen a lot. This house has been renovated extremely well, so selling it for 700-800 taels of silver isn't unreasonable.

  "You all take your time discussing, I'll go to the back kitchen and brew a pot of tea for everyone." said Old Man Jiang.

  "Thanks, Jiang." Ye Yiqi smiled and nodded his hands, but didn't stop him.

  As soon as Old Jiang went out, Ye Yuxiu turned around and asked Zheng Shi: "We've seen the house, what do you think, Mother of Zhuo?"

  "The house is a good one, but it's too expensive, we can't afford it." Zheng shook her head.

  "It's fine as long as you think this house is good. Don't worry about the rest." Ye Yuqi said. In just an instant, he had thought it through - although this house was expensive, it must be bought for Zheng Shi. Zheng Shi was Ye Zhuo's mother, and her own daughter had not only preserved the main house's property and workshop yesterday, but also made a profit of 820 taels and a small courtyard. If it weren't for Zheng Shi raising such a good daughter, everyone in the main house would have been left homeless - where would they have gotten that extra silver and property? So, Ye Yuqi thought that this house should be bought for Zheng Shi - even if it cost 1,200 taels of silver. Luo Jing Sheng's small courtyard was worth 300-400 taels too.

  "It's not about the money, you don't have to worry about it." Although Miss Guan thought the price was outrageous, Ye Yuxi could understand what she could understand. Moreover, she wasn't that kind of greedy person either.

  Zheng stood up: "I'm alone, and I don't need such a big house. Let's go take a look at other places. Or, let's go take a look at the house that Luo Jing gave us as compensation?"

  Ye Zhuo stood up and pulled Zheng Shi, who was persuading her, when she suddenly heard a man's voice from the entrance: "Is Old Man Jiang in?"

  Wang Pozi was also familiar with Old Man Jiang, otherwise he wouldn't have let her help spread the news about selling the house. At this time, since Old Man Jiang wasn't around, she could be considered half the owner of the house, so she responded and went to open the door. Before long, she led in a man in his late thirties with a strange expression. The man was dignified in appearance, wearing a blue long gown, dressed like a scholar, looking like a xiucai.

  The old woman glanced at Ye Yuqi and then said to the man, "Mr. Yang, please sit down. Jiang is going to the back to brew tea and will be here soon."

  The man with the surname Yang nodded, glanced around at the people in the hall, turned to Wang and said: "Is Old Jiang in the kitchen? I'll go find him myself." After speaking, he didn't wait for Wang's response and headed straight to the backyard. He seemed like someone who had been here before.

  "Who is this?" Ye Yuqi asked Wang Pozi, while stretching out his palm to press down on Zheng Shi, indicating for her to sit down. Zheng Shi had no choice but to sit down.

  The old woman frowned and shook her head: "I don't know either. I went out to open the door, he took a look at me, his expression was a bit strange. Later, when he found out I was a neighbor, he seemed to let out a sigh of relief, then said he was looking for Old Man Jiang, and came straight here. I didn't even have time to stop him."

  "Or is it also for buying a house?" asked Guan.

  Everyone was silent, but their expressions became solemn.

  If this person is also here to buy a house, then wanting to lower the price of the house again will be impossible. The worst-case scenario is that due to this person's participation, they may have to pay more than 800 taels of silver to buy the house. Honestly speaking, 800 taels is already a bit expensive for this house, and raising the price further would not be worth it. However, both the location and environment here are quite satisfactory, but giving up on it is also unbearable.

  It's really a dilemma.

  "It's really unnecessary to buy this house, let's just leave." Zheng Shi wanted to stand up again.

  "Mother, sit down." Ye Zhuo reached out and pressed down on Zheng Shi's shoulder.

  She had been silent all along, just to see the attitude of Ye Yuqi and Guan Shi. Although she always thought that the two elders were very good, they couldn't be compared with Ye Yuzhang. But human nature is a very complicated thing, some people don't show their greed, it's just because the temptation of immediate benefits hasn't crossed their moral line yet. Just like when someone picks up ten cents, he might kindly chase after the owner to return it; or if he picks up a hundred taels or even a thousand taels of silver notes, he is very likely to secretly keep the money and not say a word.

  Although the big house only has one child, there is no dispute over property. But if Ye Yuqi and Guan Shi can't let go of this money, in the future, she will choose to quietly keep her extra earnings for herself without letting them know.

  Just now, the performance of the two old men made her very satisfied. At this time, a sudden appearance of Cheng Yaojin, she naturally wanted to speak: "I think this place is great. Not only is the house decorated well; more importantly, the surrounding environment is good, there are no miscellaneous people living next door, the walls around the courtyard are high and solid enough, it's still relatively safe to live here; moreover, it's close to home, we can take care of each other. Such a house is hard to come by, even if we spend more silver, it's worth it. We currently have 1,100 taels of silver that can be used, and we're not afraid to bid with that person."

  "Let's just do it," said Tuo Er. Ye Yuqi nodded in agreement.

  Zheng still wanted to speak, but Guan interrupted and said: "Manwen, just listen to your uncle and Zhuoer. If we can't buy this house, we won't let you live anywhere else. Of course, if you're willing to stay with us forever, we'll leave here and go back home."

  Zheng was just about to speak when she heard Jiang Lao and Yang coming from inside, so she shut her mouth.

  "Sorry to keep you waiting." Old Jiang carried a teapot and some cups, walking out from inside.

  Doing business requires patience. If it weren't for this Yang man, Ye Yuqi would have waited for Old Jiang to ask about the negotiation results, which would have allowed him to take the initiative to lower the price. But now, he can't wait any longer. As soon as Old Jiang finished speaking, he said: "Old Jiang, I'll take this house. Is it convenient for you now? If it is, let's go to the yamen to handle the transfer procedures."

  Old Jiang was taken aback and then looked up at Mr. Yang with a glance.

  "Sorry about that, I actually came to see the house yesterday. Today I brought the silver ticket to go through the formalities with Old Man Jiang." said the man surnamed Yang.

  Ye Yiqi's face sank, and he said displeased to Old Man Jiang: "Old Brother Jiang, since you sold the house yesterday, why didn't you tell us earlier? Why did you bring us here to see the house? What do you mean by this? Are you playing a trick on us?"

  "Yes, Old Jiang, yesterday I asked you and you said it hadn't been sold, that's why I told my sister. Now you're saying the house has been sold to someone else, what does this mean?" Wang's wife also looked very unhappy.

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